chapter 10 owl's dene on owl's hill

off they went again, cycling fast in the brilliant moonlight. even when the moon went behind a cloudit was still light enough to ride without lights. they rode for what seemed like miles, and then cameto a steep hill.

'is this owl's hill?' said anne, as they dismounted to walk up it. it was too steep to ride.

'yes,' said julian. 'at least, i think so - unless we've come quite wrong. but i don't think we have.

now the thing is - shall we find owl's dene at the top or not? and how shall we know it is owl'sdene!'

'we could ring the bell and ask,' said anne.

julian laughed. that was so like anne. 'maybe we'll have to do that!' he said. 'but we'll scout round abit first.'

they pushed their bicycles up the steep road. hedges bordered each side, and fields lay beyond.

there were no animals in them that the children could see - no horses, sheep or cows.

'look!' said anne, suddenly. 'i can see a building - at least, i'm sure i can see chimneys!'

they looked where she pointed. yes - certainly they were chimneys - tall, brick chimneys that lookedold.

'looks like an elizabethan mansion, with chimneys like that,' said julian. he paused and took a goodlook. 'it must be a big place. we ought to come to a drive or something soon.'

they pushed on with their bicycles. gradually the house came into view. it was more like a mansion,and in the moonlight it looked old, rather grand and very beautiful.

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'there are the gates,' said julian, thankfully. he was tired of pushing his bicycle up the hill.

'they're shut. hope they're not locked!'

as they drew near to the great, wrought-iron gates, they slowly opened. the children paused insurprise. why were they opening? not for them, that was certain!

then they heard the sound of a car in the distance. of course, that was what the gates were openingfor. the car, however, was not coming up the hill - it was coming down the drive on the other side ofthe gates.

'get out of sight, quickly,' said julian. 'we don't want to be seen yet.'

they crouched down in the ditch with their bicycles as a car came slowly out of the open gates.

julian gave an exclamation and nudged george.

'see that? it's the black bentley again - kmf 102!'

'how mysterious!' said george, surprised. 'what's it doing rushing about the country at night andpicking up stray men! taking them to this place too. i wonder if it is owl's dene.'

the car went by and disappeared round a bend in the hill. the children came out of the ditch withtimmy and their bicycles.

'let's walk cautiously up to the gates,' said julian. 'they're still open. funny how they opened whenthe car came. i never saw anyone by them!'

they walked boldly up to the open gates.

'look!' said julian, pointing up to the great brick posts from which the gates were hung. they alllooked, and exclaimed at the name shining there.

'well! so it is owl's dene, after all!'

'there's the name in brass letters - owl's dene! we've found it!'

'come on,' said julian, wheeling his bicycle through the gateway. 'we'll go in and snoop round.

we might be lucky enough to find old dick somewhere about.'

they all went through the gates - and then anne clutched julian in fright. she pointed silently behindthem.

the gates were closing again! but nobody was there to shut them. they closed silently and smoothlyall by themselves. there was something very weird about that.

'who's shutting them?' whispered anne, in a scared voice.

'i think it must be done by machinery,' whispered back julian. 'probably worked from the house.

let's go back and see if we can find any machinery that works them.'

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they left their bicycles by the side of the drive and walked back to the gates. julian looked for ahandle or latch to open them. but there was none.

he pulled at the gates. they did not budge. it was quite impossible to open them. they had been shutand locked by some kind of machinery, and nothing and nobody could open them but that specialmachinery.

'blow!' said julian, and he sounded so angry that the others looked at him in surprise.

'well, don't you see? - we're locked in! we're as much prisoners here as dick is, if he's here too.

we can't get out through the gates - and if you take a look you'll see a high wall running round theproperty from the gates - and i don't mind betting it goes the whole way round. we can't get out evenif we want to.'

they went back thoughtfully to their bicycles. 'better wheel them a little way into the trees and leavethem,' said julian. 'they hinder us too much now. we'll leave them and go snooping quietly round thehouse. hope there are no dogs.'

they left their bicycles well hidden among the trees at the side of the wide drive. the drive was notat all well-kept. it was mossy and weeds grew all over it. it was bare only where the wheels of carshad passed.

'shall we walk up the drive or keep to the side?' asked george.

'keep to the side,' said julian. 'we should easily be seen in the moonlight, walking up the drive.'

so they kept to the side, in the shadows of the trees. they followed the curves of the long drive untilthe house itself came into sight.

it really was very big indeed. it was built in the shape of the letter e with the middle stroke missing.

there was a courtyard in front, overgrown with weeds. a low wall, about knee high, ran round thecourtyard.

there was a light in a room on the top floor, and another one on the ground floor. otherwise fromthat side the house was dark.

'let's walk quietly round it,' said julian, in a low voice. 'goodness - what's that?'

it was a weird and terrible screech that made them all jump in alarm. anne clutched julian in fright.

they stood and listened.

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something came down silently and brushed george's hair. she almost screamed - but before shecould, that terrible screech came again, and she put out her hand to quieten timmy, who was amazedand scared.

'what is it, ju!' whispered george. 'something touched me then. before i could see what it was it wasgone.'

'listen - it's all right,' whispered back julian. 'it's only an owl - a screech owl!'

'good gracious - so it was,' breathed back george, in great relief. 'what an ass i was not to think of it.

it's a barn-owl - a screech owl out hunting. anne, were you scared?'

'i should just think i was!' said anne, letting go her hold on julian's arm.

'so was i,' said richard, whose teeth were still chattering with fear. 'i nearly ran for my life! i wouldhave too, if i could have got my legs to work - but they were glued to the ground!'

the owl screeched again, a little farther away, and another one answered it. a third one screeched,and the night was really made hideous with the unearthly calls.

'i'd rather have a brown owl any day, calling to-whooo-oo-oo,' said george. 'that's a nice noise.

but this screeching is frightful.'

'no wonder it's called owl's hill,' said julian. 'perhaps it's always been a haunt of the screech-owls.'

the four children and timmy began to walk quietly round the house, keeping to the shadows asmuch as they could. everywhere was dark at the back except two long windows. they were leadedwindows, and curtains were pulled across them. julian tried to see through the cracks.

he found a place where two curtains didn't quite meet. he put his eye to the crack and looked in.

'it's the kitchen,' he told the others. 'an enormous place - lighted with one big oil-lamp. all the rest ofthe room is in shadow. there's a great fire-place at the end, with a few logs burning in it.'

'anyone there?' asked george, trying to see through the crack too. julian moved aside and let her takeher turn.

'no one that i can see,' he said. george gave an exclamation as she looked, and julian pushed heraside to look in again.

he saw a man walking into the room - a queer, dwarf-like fellow, with a hunched back that seemed toforce his head on one side. he had a very evil face. behind him came a woman - thin, drab and thepicture of misery.

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the man flung himself into a chair and began to fill a pipe. the woman took a kettle off the fire andwent to fill hot-water bottles in a corner.

'she must be the cook,' thought julian. 'what a misery she looks! i wonder what the man is -man-of-all-work, i suppose. what an evil face he's got!'

the woman spoke timidly to the man in the chair. julian, of course, could not hear a word fromoutside the window. the man answered her roughly, banging on the arm of the chair as he spoke.

the woman seemed to be pleading with him about something. the man flew into a rage, picked up apoker and threatened the woman with it. julian watched in horror. poor woman! no wonder shelooked miserable if that was the sort of thing that kept happening.

however, the man did nothing with the poker except brandish it in temper, and he soon replaced it,and settled down in his chair again. the woman said no more at all, but went on filling the bottles.

julian wondered who they were for.

he told the others what he had seen. they didn't like it at all. if the people in the kitchen behaved likethat whatever would those in the other part of the house be like?

they left the kitchen windows and went on round the house. they came to a lower room, lightedinside. but here the curtains were tightly drawn, and there was no crack to look through.

they looked up to the one room high up that was lighted. surely dick must be there? perhaps he waslocked up in the attic, all by himself? how they wished they knew!

dared they throw up a stone? they wondered if they should try. there didn't seem any way at all ofgetting into the house. the front door was well and truly shut. there was a side door also tightly shutand locked, because they had tried it. not a single window seemed to be open.

'i think i will throw up a stone,' said julian at last. 'i feel sure dick's up there, if he has been takenhere - and you're certain you heard the men say "owl's dene", aren't you, anne?'

'quite certain,' said anne. 'do throw a stone, julian. i'm getting so worried about poor dick.'

julian felt about on the ground for a stone. he found one embedded in the moss that was everywhere.

he balanced it in his hand. then up went the stone, but fell just short of the window.

julian got another. up it went - and hit the glass of the window with a sharp crack. somebody cameto the pane at once.

was it dick? everyone strained their eyes to see - but the window was too far up. julian threw upanother stone, and that hit the window too.

'i think it is dick,' said anne. 'oh dear - no it isn't after all. can't you see, julian?'

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but the person at the window, whoever he was, had now disappeared. the children felt a bituncomfortable. suppose it hadn't been dick? suppose it had been someone else who had nowdisappeared from the room to go and look for them?

'let's get away from this part of the house,' whispered julian. 'get round to the other side.'

they made their way round quietly - and richard suddenly pulled at julian's arm. 'look!' he said.

'there's a window open! can't we get in there?'