Five Have a Wonderful Time (14 page)

Everyone was now in the room, staring at the sleeping man. He had his mouth open, and he still snored loudly.

"What are you going to do, Julian?" whispered George. "Wake him up?"

Julian nodded. He went over to the sleeping man and shook him by the shoulder. He woke up at once and stared in amazement at Julian, who was full in the moonlight. He struggled up to a sitting position.

"Who are you?" he said. "How did you get here — and who are those over in the shadows there?"

"Listen — are you Mr. Terry-Kane?" asked Julian.

"Yes. I am. But who are you?"

"We are staying on the hill opposite the castle," said Julian. "And we saw your face at the window, through our field-glasses. So we came to find you."

"But — but how do you know who I am?" said the man, still amazed.

"We read about you in the papers," said Julian. "And we saw your picture. We couldn't help noticing your eyebrows, sir — we even saw them through the glasses."

"Look here — can you undo me?" said the man, eagerly. "I must escape. Tomorrow night my enemies are smuggling me out of here, into a car and down to the sea and a boat is being hired to take me across to the Continent. They want me to tell them what I know about my latest experiments. I shan't of course — but life wouldn't be at all pleasant for me!"

"I'll cut the ropes," said Julian, and he took out his pocket-knife. He cut the knots that tied Terry-Kane's wrists together and then freed his legs. Timmy stood and watched, ready to pounce if the man did anything fierce!

"That's better," said the man, stretching his arms out.

"How did you manage to get to the window?" asked Julian, watching the man rub his arms and knees.

"Each evening one of the men who brought me here comes to bring me food and drink," said Terry-Kane.

"He undoes my hands so that I can feed myself. He sits and smokes while I eat, taking no notice of me. I drag myself over to the window to have a breath of fresh air. I can't stay there long because I am soon tied up again, of course. I can't imagine how anyone could see my face at this deep-set slit-window!"

"It was our field-glasses," said Julian. "They are such fine ones. It's a good thing you
did
get to the window for a breath of air or we'd never have found you!"

"Julian — I can hear a noise," said Jo, suddenly. She had ears like a cat, able to pick up the slightest sound.

"Where?" said Julian, turning sharply.

"Downstairs," whispered Jo. "Wait — I'll go and see."

She slipped out of the door and down the steep little stairs. She came to the door at the bottom, the one that led into the gallery.

Yes — someone was coming! Coming along the gallery too. Jo thought quickly. If she darted back up the stairs to warn the others this newcomer might go up there too, and they would all be caught. He could bolt the door at the top and would have six prisoners instead of one! She decided to crouch down on the floor of the gallery a little beyond the door that led upwards.

Footsteps came loudly along the gallery and up to the door. Then the stranger obviously found the door unbolted, and stopped in consternation. He stood perfectly still, listening. Jo thought he really must be able to hear her heart beating, it was thumping so loudly. She didn't dare to call out to try and warn the others — if she did they would walk straight into his arms!

And then Jo heard Julian's voice calling quietly down the stone stairs. "Jo! Jo! Where are you?" And then, oh dear, she thought she could hear Julian coming down the stairs to find her. "Don't come, Julian," she said under her breath. "Don't come."

But Julian came right down — and behind him came Terry-Kane and Dick, with the girls following with Timmy, on their way to escaping.

The stranger down at the door was even more amazed to hear voices and footsteps. He slammed the door suddenly and rammed the stout bolt home. The footsteps on the stairs stopped in alarm.

"Hey, Jo! Is that you?" called Julian's voice. "Open the door!"

The stranger spoke angrily. "The door's bolted. Who are you?"

There was a silence — then Terry-Kane answered. "So you're back again, Pottersham! Open that door at once."

Oho! thought Julian, so the other scientist is here too — Jeffrey Pottersham. He must have got Terry-Kane here by kidnapping him. What can have happened to Jo?

The man at the door stood there as if he didn't quite know what to do. Jo crouched down in the gallery and listened intently. The man spoke again.

"Who set you free? Who's that with you?"

"Now, listen, Pottersham," said Terry-Kane's voice, "I've had enough of this nonsense. You must be out of your mind, acting like this! Doping me, and kidnapping me, telling me we're going to go off by fishing-boat to the Continent, and the rest of it! There are four children here, who saw my face at the window and came to investigate, and…"

"
Children
!" said Pottersham, taken aback. "What in the middle of the night! How did they get up to this tower? I'm the only one that knows the way in."

"Pottersham, open the door!" shouted Terry-Kane, furiously. He gave it a kick, but the old door was sturdy and strong.

"You can go back to the tower, all of you," said Pottersham. I'm going off to get fresh orders. It looks as if we'll have to take those kids with us, Terry-Kane — they'll be sorry they saw your face at the window. They won't like life, where we're going!"

Pottersham turned and went back the way he had come. Jo guessed that he knew the same way in as they had happened on. She waited until she felt that it was perfectly safe, and then she ran to the door again. She hammered on it.

"Dick! Dick! Come down. Where are you?" She heard an answering shout from up the stairs behind the door, and then Dick came running down.

"Jo! Unbolt the door, quick!"

Jo unbolted it — but it wouldn't open. Julian had now come down too, and he called to Jo. "Turn the key, Jo.

It may be locked too."

"Julian, the key's gone!" cried Jo, and she tugged in vain at the door. "He must have locked it as well as bolted it — and he's taken the key. Oh, how can I get you out?"

"You can't," said Dick. "Still,
you're
free, Jo. You can go and tell the police. Buck up, now. You know the way, don't you?"

"I haven't got a torch, said Jo.

"Oh dear — well, we can't possibly get one of ours out to you," said Dick. "You'd better wait till morning, then, Jo. You may lose yourself down in those dark passages. Yes—wait till morning."

"The passages will still be dark!" said poor Jo. "I'd better go now."

"No — you're to wait till morning," said Julian, fearing that Jo might wander off in the strange passages, and be lost for ever! She might even find herself down in the dungeons. Horrible thought.

"All right," said Jo. "I'll wait till morning. I'll curl up on the gallery here. It's quite warm."

"It will be very hard!" said Dick. "We'll go back to the room upstairs, Jo. Call us if you want us. What a blessing you're free!"

Jo curled up on the gallery, but she couldn't sleep. For one thing the floor was very hard, and the stone was very very cold. She suddenly thought of the little room where they had seen the pitcher, the dagger and the chocolate wrapping-paper. That would be a far better place to sleep! She could lie on the bench!

She stood up and thought out the way. All she had to do was to go round the gallery till she came to the little door that opened on to the corkscrew staircase leading from the gallery to the little hidden room.

She made her way cautiously to the door. She felt for the iron ring, turned it and opened the door. It was very, very dark, and she could see nothing at all in front of her. She put out her foot carefully. Was she at the top of the spiral staircase?

She found that she was. She held out her hands on either side, touching the stone walls of the curious little stairway, and went slowly down, step by step.

"Oh dear — am I going the right way? The stairs seem to be going on so long!" thought Jo. "I don't like it —

but I MUST go on!"

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JO came to the end of the spiral stairway at last. She found herself on the level once more, and remembered the little straight passage that led to the secret room from the stairway. Good, good, good! Now she would soon be in the room and could lie down on the bench.

She went through the doorway of the secret room without knowing it, because it was so dark. She groped her way along, and suddenly felt the edge of the bench.

"Here at last," she said thankfully, out loud.

And then poor Jo got a dreadful shock! A pair of strong arms went round her and held her fast! She screamed and struggled, her heart beating in wild alarm. Who was it? Oh, if only she had a light!

And then a torch was switched on, and held to her face. "Oho! You must be Jo, I suppose," said Pottersham's voice. "I wondered who you were when one of those kids yelled out for you! I thought you must be wandering somewhere about. I guessed you'd come this way, and I sat on the bench and waited for you."

"Let me go," said Jo fiercely and struggled like a wild cat. The man only held her all the more tightly. He was very strong.

Jo suddenly put down her face and bit his hand. He gave a shout and loosened his hold. Jo was almost free when he caught her again, and shook her like a rat. "You little wild cat! Don't you do that again!"

Jo did it again, even more fiercely, and the man dropped her on to the ground, nursing his hand. Jo made for the entrance of the room, but again the man was too quick and she found herself held again.

"I'll tie you up," said the man, furiously. "I'll rope you so that you won't be able to move! And I'll leave you here in the dark till I come back again."

He took a rope from round his waist and proceeded to tie Jo up so thoroughly that she could hardly move. Her hands were behind her

back, her legs were tied at knees and ankles. She rolled about the floor, calling the man all the names she knew.

"Well, you're safe for the time being," said Pottersham, sucking his bitten hand, "Now I'm going. I wish you joy of the hard cold floor and the darkness, you savage little wild cat!"

Jo heard his footsteps going in the distance. She could have kicked herself for not having guessed he might have been lying in wait for her. Now she couldn't get help for the others. In fact, she was much worse off than they were because she was tied up, and they weren't.

Poor Jo! She dozed off, exhausted by the night's excitement and her fierce struggle. She lay against the wall, so uncomfortable that she kept waking from her doze every few minutes.

And then a thought came into her head. She remembered the rope-man, all tied up in length after length of knotted rope. She had watched him set himself free so many times. Could any of his tricks help her now?

"The rope-man would be able to get himself free of this rope in two minutes!" she thought, and began to wriggle and struggle again. But she was not the rope-man, and after about an hour she was so exhausted again that she went into a doze once more.

When she awoke, she felt better. She forced herself into a sitting position, and made herself think clearly and slowly.

"Work one knot free first," she said to herself, remembering what the rope-man had told her. "At first you won't know which knot is best. When you know that you will always be able to free yourself in two minutes.

But find that one knot first!"

She said all this to herself as she tried to find a knot that might be worked loose. At last one seemed a little looser than the others. It was one that bound her left wrist to her right. She twisted her wrist round and got her thumb to the knot. She picked and pulled and at last it loosened a little. She had more control over that hand now. If only she had a knife somewhere! She could manage to get it between her finger and thumb now and perhaps use it to cut another knot.

She suddenly lost her patience and flung her head back on the bench, straining and pulling at the rope. She knocked against something and it fell to the stone floor with a clatter. Jo wondered what it was — and then she knew.

"That dagger! That old, rusty dagger! Oh, if I could find it I might do something with it!"

She swung herself round on the floor till she felt the dagger under her. She rolled over on her back and tried to pick it up with her free finger and thumb, and at last she managed to hold it.

She sat up, bent forward and did her best to force the rusty dagger up and down a little on the rope that tied her hands behind her. She could hardly move it at all because her hands were still so tightly tied. But she persevered.

She grew so tired that she had to give it up for a long while. Then she tried again, then had another long rest.

The third time she was lucky! The rope suddenly frayed and broke! She pulled her hands hard, found them looser and picked at a knot.

It took Jo a long long time to free her hands, but she did it at last. She couldn't manage to undo her legs at first, because her hands were trembling so much. But after another long rest she undid the tight knots, and shook her legs free. "Well, thank goodness I learnt a few hints from the rope-man," she said, out loud. "I'd never have got free if I hadn't!"