chapter twenty a rescue - and a new prisoner!

the next day julian was awake early and went up the rope to the cliff-top to see if the sticks wereabout. he saw them coming up the steps that led from the dungeons. mrs. stick looked pale andworried.

"we've got to find our edgar," she kept saying to mr. stick. "i tell you we've got to find our edgar.

he's not down in the dungeons. that i do know. we've yelled ourselves hoarse down there.""and he's not on the island," said mr. stick. "we hunted all over it yesterday. i think whoever washere then, took our goods, caught edgar, and made off with him and everything else in their boat.

that's what i think."

"well, they've taken him to the mainland then," said mrs. stick. "we'd better take our boat and goback there and ask a few questions. what i'd like to know is - who is it messing about here andinterfering with our plans? it makes me scared. just when things are going nicely too!""is it all right to leave here just now?" said mr. stick, doubtfully. "suppose whoever was hereyesterday is still here - they might pop down into the dungeons when we're gone.""well, they're not here," said mrs. stick, firmly. "use your common sense, if you've got any -wouldn't our edgar yell the place down if he was being kept prisoner on this little island - andwouldn't we hear him? i tell you he must have been taken off in a boat, together with all the otherthings that are gone. and i don't like it.""all right, all right!" said mr. stick in a grumbling tone. "that boy's always a nuisance - always insilly trouble of some sort."

"how can you talk of poor edgar like that?" cried mrs. stick. "do you think the poor child likesbeing captured! goodness knows what he's going through - feeling frightened and lonely withoutme."

julian felt disgusted. here was mrs. stick talking like that about old spotty-face - and yet she had alittle girl down in the dungeons - a child much younger than edgar! what a beast she was.

"what about tinker?" said mr. stick, in a sulky tone. "better leave him here, hadn't we, to guard theentrance to the dungeons? not that there will be anyone here, if what you say is right."92

"oh, we'll leave tinker," said mrs. stick, setting off to the boat. julian saw them embark, leaving thedog behind. tinker watched them rowing away, his tail well down between his legs. then he turnedand ran back to the courtyard, and lay down dolefully in the sun. he was very uneasy. his ears werecocked and he kept looking this way and that. he didn't like this queer island and its unexpectednoises.

julian tore back to the cave and dropped down the rope, startling edgar very much. "come outsidethe cave and i'll tell you my plans," said julian to the others. he didn't want edgar to hear them. theyall went outside.

anne had got breakfast ready while julian had been gone, and the kettle was boiling away merrily onthe little stove.

"listen!" said julian. "the sticks have gone off in their boat back to the mainland to see if they canfind their precious little darling edgar. mrs. stick is all hot and bothered because she thinkssomeone's gone off with him and she's afraid the poor boy will be feeling frightened and lonely!""well!" said george. "doesn't she think that the little kidnapped girl must be feeling much worse?

what a horrid woman she is!"

"you're right," said julian. "well, what i propose to do is this - we'll go down into the dungeons nowand rescue the little girl - and bring her here to our cave for breakfast. then we'll take her off in ourboat, go to the police, find out where her parents are, and telephone to them that she is safe.""what shall we do with edgar?" said anne.

"i know!" said george at once. "we'll put edgar into the dungeon instead of the little girl! think howastonished the sticks will be to find the little girl gone and their dear edgar shut up in the dungeoninstead!"

"oooh! - that is a good idea," said anne, and all the others laughed and agreed.

"you stay here, anne, and cut some more bread and butter for the little girl," said julian. he knewthat anne hated going down into the dungeons.

anne nodded, pleased.

"all right, i will. i'll just take the kettle off for a bit too, or else the water will boil away."they all went back into the cave. "come with us, edgar," said julian. "you come too, timmy.""where're you going to take me?" said edgar, suspiciously.

"a nice cosy, comfortable place, where cows can't get at you," said julian. "come on! buck up."93

"gr-r-r-r-r-r," said timmy, his nose against edgar's leg. edgar got up in a hurry.

they all went up the rope, one after another, though edgar was terribly scared, and was sure hecouldn't. but with timmy snapping at his ankles below, he climbed up the rope remarkably quickly,and was hauled out at the top by julian.

"now, quick march!" said julian, who wanted to get everything over before the sticks thought ofreturning. and quick march it was, over the cliffs, over the low wall of the castle, and down into thecourtyard.

"i'm not going down into those dungeons with you," said edgar, in alarm.

"you are, spotty-face," said julian, amiably.

"where's my pa and ma?" said edgar, looking anxiously all round.

"those cows have got them, i expect," said george. "the ones that came and mooed at you and threwthings, you know."

everyone giggled, except edgar, who looked worried and pale. he did not like this kind of adventureat all. the children came to the dungeon entrance, and found that the sticks had not only closed downthe stone that opened the way to the dungeons, but had also dragged heavy rocks across it.

"blow your parents!" said julian, to edgar. "making a lot of trouble for everybody. come on, stiryourself - all hands to these stones. edgar, pull when we pull. go on! you'll get into trouble if youdon't."

edgar pulled with the rest, and one by one the rocks were moved away. then the heavy trapdoorstone was hauled up too, and the flight of steps was exposed leading down into darkness.

"there's tinker!" suddenly cried edgar, pointing to a bush some distance away. tinker was there,hiding, quite terrified at seeing timothy again.

fat lot of good stinker is," said julian. "no, timmy - you're not to eat him. stay here! he wouldn'ttaste nice if you did eat him!"

timothy was sorry not to be able to chase stinker round and round the island. if he couldn't chaserabbits, he might at least be allowed to chase stinker!

they all went down into the dungeons. julian's white chalk-marks were still on the rocky walls, so itwas easy to find the way to the cave-like room where the children, last summer, had found piles ofgolden ingots. they felt sure that the little kidnapped girl had been put there, for this cave had a bigwooden door that could be bolted on the outside.

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they came to the door. it was well and truly bolted. there was no sound from inside. everyonehalted outside and timmy scratched at the door, whining gently. he knew there was someone inside.

"hallo, there!" shouted julian, in a loud and cheerful voice. "are you all right? we've come to rescueyou."

there was a scrambling noise, as if someone had got up from a stool. then a small voice soundedfrom the cave.

"hallo! who are you? oh, do please rescue me! i'm so lonely and frightened!""just undoing the door!" called back julian, cheerfully. "we're all children out here, so don't beafraid. you'll soon be safe."

he shot back the bolts, and flung open the door. inside the cave, which was lighted by a lantern,stood a small girl, with a scared little white face, and large dark eyes. dark red hair tumbled roundher cheeks, and she had evidently been crying bitterly, for her face was dirty and tear-stained.

dick went to her and put his arm round her. "everything's all right now," he said. "you're safe.

we'll take you back to your mother."

"i do want her, i do, i do," said the little girl, and tears ran down her cheeks again. "why am i here? idon't like being here."

"oh, it's just an adventure you've had," said. julian. "it's over now - at least, nearly over. there's stilla bit of it left - a nice bit, though. we want you to come and have breakfast with us in our cave.

we've a lovely cave."

"oh, have you?" said the little girl, rubbing her eyes. "i want to go with you, i like you, but i didn'tlike those other people."

"of course you didn't," said george. "look! this is timothy, our dog. he wants to be friends withyou."

"what a simply lovely dog!" said the little girl, and flung her arms around timmy's neck. he lickedher in delight. george was pleased. she put her arm round the little girl.

"what's your name?" she said.

"jennifer mary armstrong," said the little girl. "what's yours?""george," said george, and the little girl nodded, thinking that george was a boy, not a girl, for shewas dressed in jeans just like julian and dick, and her hair was short, too, though very curly.

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the others told her their names - and then she looked at edgar, who had said nothing.

"this is spotty-face," said julian. "he isn't a friend of ours. it was his father and mother who put youhere, jennifer. now we are going to leave him here in your place. it will be such a pleasant surprisefor them, won't it?"

edgar gave a yell of dismay and tried to back away - but julian gave him a strong shove that sent himflying into the cave.

"there's only one way to teach people like you and your parents that wickedness doesn't pay!"said the boy, grimly. "and that is to punish you hard. people like you don't understand kindness.

you think it's just being soft and silly. all right - you can have a taste of what jennifer has had. it willdo you good, and do your parents a lot of good too! good-bye!"edgar began to howl dismally as julian bolted the big wooden door top and bottom. "i shall starve!"he wailed.

"oh no, you won't," said julian. "there's plenty of food and water in there, so help yourself. it woulddo you good to go hungry for a while, all the same.""mind the cows don't get you!" called dick, and he gave a realistic moo that startled jennifer verymuch, for the echoes came mooing round too.

"it's all right - only the echoes," said george, smiling at her in the torch-light. edgar howled away inthe cave, sobbing like a baby.

"little coward, isn't he?" said julian. "come on - let's get back. i'm awfully hungry for my breakfast.""so am i," said jennifer, slipping her small hand into julian's. "i wasn't hungry at all in that cave- but now i am. thank you for rescuing me.""don't mention it," said julian, grinning at her. "it's a real pleasure - and an even greater one to putold spotty-face there instead of you. nice to give the sticks a dose of their own medicine."jennifer didn't know what he meant, but the others did, and they chuckled. they made their way backthrough the dark, musty passages of the dungeons, passing many caves, big and small, on the way.

they came at last to the flight of steps and went up them into the dazzling sunlight.

"oh!" said jennifer, breathing in great gulps of the fresh, sea-smelling air. "oh! this is lovely!

where am i?"

"on our island," said george. "and this is our ruined castle. you were brought here last night in aboat. we heard you scream, and that's how we guessed you were being made a prisoner."96

they walked to the cliff, and jennifer was amazed at the way they disappeared down the knottedrope. she was eager to try too, and soon slid down into the cave.

"nice kid, isn't she?" said julian to george. "my word, she's had even more of an adventure than wehave!"