Five Fall Into Adventure (11 page)

Julian was suddenly panic-stricken. Then he reasoned sternly with himself. There were no dangerous wild animals in this country, not even a wolf. It was probably a badger out on a nightly prowl. He listened for any snuffling sound, but he heard none, only the rustling as the animal moved about through the bushes.

It came nearer. It came right over to him! He felt warm breath on his ear and made a quick movement of revulsion. He sat up swiftly and put out his hand. It fell on something warm and hairy. He withdrew his hand at once, feeling for his torch in panic. To touch something warm and hairy in the pitch darkness was too much even for Julian!

Something caught hold of his arm, and he gave a yell and fought it off. Then he got the surprise of his life. The animal spoke.

‘Julian!’ said a voice. ‘It’s me!’

Julian, his hands trembling, flashed his torch round. The light fell on a dirty dark face, with tangled hair over its eyes.

‘Jo!’ said Julian. ‘Jo! What on earth are you doing here? You scared me stiff. I thought you were some horrible hairy animal. I must have touched your head.’

‘You did,’ said Jo, squeezing in under the bush. Anne and Dick, who had both wakened up at Julian’s yell, gazed at her, speechless with surprise. Jo of all people, here in the middle of the wood. How had she got there?

‘You’re surprised to see me, aren’t you?’ said Jo. ‘I got caught by Jake. But he didn’t know you were following behind. He dragged me off to the cottage he lives in and locked me up. He knew I’d spent the night at Kirrin Cottage, and he said he was going to take me to my Dad, who would give me the worst hiding I’d ever had in my life. So he would, too.’

‘So that’s what happened to you!’ said Dick.

‘Then I broke the window and got out,’ said Jo. ‘That Jake! I’ll never do a thing he tells me again - locking me up like that. I hate that worse than anything! Well, then I came to look for you.’

‘How did you find us?’ said Julian, in wonder.

‘Well, first I went to the caravan,’ said Jo. ‘Old Ma Smith - the one who always sits stirring a pot - she told me you’d been asking for my Dad’s caravan. I guessed you’d go off to find it. So along I went after you - but there was the caravan all by itself, and nobody there. Not even George.’

‘Where is George, do you know?’ asked Anne.

‘No. I don’t,’ said Jo. ‘Dad’s taken her somewhere else. I expect he put her on Blackie, because Blackie’s gone, too.’

‘What about Timmy?’ asked Dick.

Jo looked away. ‘I reckon they’ve done Timmy in,’ she said. Nobody said anything. The thought that Timmy might have come to harm was too dreadful to speak about.

‘How did you find us here?’ asked Julian at last.

‘That was easy,’ said Jo. ‘I can follow anybody’s trail. I’d have come quicker, but it got dark. My, you did wander round, didn’t you?’

‘Yes. We did,’ said Dick. ‘Do you mean to say you followed all our wanderings in and out and round about?’

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‘Oh, yes,’ said Jo. ‘Properly tired me out, you did, with all your messing round and round. Why did you leave the wheel-ruts?’

Julian told her. ‘You’re daft,’ said Jo. ‘If you’re going somewhere off the path, just mark the trees with a nick as you go along - one here and one there - and then you can always find your way back.’

‘We didn’t even know we were lost till we were,’ said Anne. She took Jo’s hand and squeezed it. She was so very, very glad to see her. Now they would be able to get out of this horrible wood.

Jo was surprised and touched, but she withdrew her hand at once. She didn’t like being fondled, though she would not have minded Dick taking her hand. Dick was her hero, someone above all others. He had been kind to her, and she was glad she had found him.

‘We found something written on the caravan wall,’ said Julian. ‘We think we know where George has been taken. It’s a place called Red Tower. Do you know it?’

‘There’s no place called Red Tower,’ said Jo at once. ‘It’s...’

‘Don’t be silly, Jo. You can’t possibly know if there’s no place called Red Tower,’ said Dick, impatiently. ‘There may be hundreds of places with that name. That’s the place we’ve got to find, anyway. The police will know it.’

Jo gave a frightened movement. ‘You promised you wouldn’t tell the police.’

‘Yes - we promised that - but only if you took us to George,’ said Dick. ‘And you didn’t.

And anyway if you had taken us to the caravan George wouldn’t have been there. So we’ll jolly well have to call in the police now and find out where Red Tower is.’

‘Was it Red Tower George had written down?’ asked Jo. ‘Well, then - I can take you to George!’

‘How can you, when you say there’s no place called Red Tower?’ began Julian, exasperated. ‘I don’t believe a word you say, Jo. You’re a fraud - and I half-believe you’re still working for our enemies too!’

‘I’m not,’ said Jo. ‘I’m NOT! You’re mean. I tell you Red Tower isn’t a place. Red Tower is a man.’

There was a most surprised silence after this astonishing remark. A man! Nobody had thought.of that.

Jo spoke again, pleased at the surprise she had caused. ‘His name’s Tower, and he’s got red hair, flaming red - so he’s called Red Tower. See?’

‘Are you making this up, by any chance?’ asked Dick, after a pause. ‘You have made up things before, you know.’

‘All right. You can think I made it up, then,’ said Jo, sulkily. ‘I’ll go. Get yourselves out of this the best you can. You’re mean.’

She wriggled away, but Julian caught hold of her arm. ‘Oh, no, you don’t! You’ll just stay with us now, if I have to tie you to me all night long! You see, we find it difficult to trust you, Jo - and that’s your fault, not ours. But we’ll trust you just this once. Tell us about Red Tower, and take us to where he lives. If you do that, we’ll trust you for evermore.’

‘Will Dick trust me, too?’ said Jo, trying to get away from Julian’s hand.

‘Yes,’ said Dick shortly. He felt as if he would dearly like to smack this unpredictable, annoying, extraordinary, yet somehow likeable ragamuffin girl. ‘But I don’t feel as if I like you very much at present. If you want us to like you as well as to trust you, you’ll have to help us a lot more than you have done.’

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‘All right,’ said Jo, and she wriggled down again. ‘I’m tired. I’ll show you the way out in the morning, and then I’ll take you to Red’s. But you won’t like Red. He’s a beast.’

She would say nothing more, so once again they tried to sleep. They felt happier now that Jo was with them and would show them the right way out of the wood. Julian hardly thought she would leave them in the lurch now. He shut his eyes and was soon dreaming.

Jo woke first. She uncurled like an animal and stretched, forgetting where she was. She woke up the others, and they all sat up, feeling stiff, dirty and hungry.

‘I’m thirsty as well as hungry,’ complained Anne. ‘Where can we get something to eat and drink?’

‘Better get back home for a wash and a meal, and to let Joan know where we are,’ said Julian. ‘Come on, Jo - show us the way.’

Jo led the way immediately. The others wondered how in the world she knew it. They were even more astonished when they found themselves on the wheel-rut path in about two minutes.

‘Gracious! We were as near to it as that!’ said Dick. ‘And yet we seemed to walk for miles through this horrible wood.’

‘You did,’ said Jo. ‘You went round in an enormous circle, and you were almost back where you started. Come on - I’ll take you my way back to your house now - it’s much better than any bus!’

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Joan was extremely thankful to see them. She had been so worried the night before that if the telephone wires in the house had been mended, she would most certainly have rung up the police. As it was, she couldn’t telephone, and the night was so dark that she was really afraid of walking all the way down to the village.

‘I haven’t slept all night,’ she declared. ‘This mustn’t happen again, Master Julian. It’s worrying me to death. And now you haven’t got George or Timmy. I tell you, if they don’t turn up soon I’ll take matters into my own hands. I haven’t heard from your uncle and aunt either - let’s hope they’re not lost, too!’

She bustled about after this outburst, and was soon frying sausages and tomatoes for them. They couldn’t wait till they were cooked, and helped themselves to great hunks of bread and butter.

‘I can’t even go and wash till I’ve had something,’ said Anne. ‘I’m glad you knew so many short cuts back here, Jo - the way didn’t seem nearly so long as when we came by bus.’

It had really been amazing to see the deft, confident manner in which Jo had taken them home, through fields and little narrow paths, over stiles and across allotments. She was never once at a loss.

They had arrived not long after Joan had got up, and she had almost cried with surprise and relief when she had seen them walking up the front path.

‘And a lot of dirty little tatterdemalions you looked,’ she said, as she turned their breakfast out on to a big dish. ‘And still do, for that matter. I’ll get the kitchen fire going for a bath for you. You might all be sister and brothers to that ragamuffin Jo.’

Jo didn’t mind remarks of this sort at all. She chewed her bread and grinned. She wolfed the breakfast with no manners at all - but the others were nearly as bad, they were so hungry!

‘It’s a spade and trowel you want for your food this morning, not a knife and fork,’ said Joan, disapprovingly. ‘You’re just shovelling it in. No, I can’t cook you any more, Master Julian. There’s not a sausage left in the house nor a bit of bacon either. You fill up with toast and marmalade.’

The bath water ran vigorously after breakfast. All four had baths. Jo didn’t want to, but Joan ran after her with a carpet beater, vowing and declaring she would beat the dust and dirt out of her if she didn’t bath. So Jo bathed, and quite enjoyed it.

They had a conference after breakfast. ‘About this fellow, Red Tower,’ said Julian. ‘Who is he, Jo? What do you know about him?’

‘Not much,’ said Jo. ‘He’s rich, and he talks queer, and I think he’s mad. He gets fellows like Dad and Jake to do his dirty work for him.’

‘What dirty work?’ asked Dick.

‘Oh - stealing and such,’ said Jo, vaguely. ‘I don’t really know. Dad doesn’t tell me much; I just do what I’m told, and don’t ask questions. I don’t want more slaps than I get!’

‘Where does he live?’ said Anne. ‘Far away?’

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‘He’s taken a house on the cliff,’ said Jo. ‘I don’t know the way by land. Only by boat. It’s a queer place - like a small castle almost, with very thick stone walls. Just the place for Red, my Dad says.’

‘Have you been there?’ asked Dick, eagerly.

Jo nodded. ‘Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘Twice. My Dad took a big iron box there once, and another time he took something in a sack. I went with him.’

‘Why?’ asked Julian. ‘I shouldn’t have thought he’d wanted you messing round!’

‘I rowed the boat,’ said Jo. ‘I told you, Red’s place is up on the cliff. We got to it by boat; I don’t know the way by road. There’s a sort of cave behind a cove we landed at, and we went in there. Red met us. He came from his house on the cliff, he said, but I don’t know how.’

Dick looked at Jo closely. ‘I suppose you’ll say next that there’s a secret way from the cave to the house!’ he said. ‘Go on!’

‘Must be,’ said Jo. She suddenly glared at Dick. ‘Don’t you believe me? All right, find the place yourself!’

‘Well - it does sound like a tale in a book,’ said Julian. ‘You’re sure it is all true, Jo? We don’t want to go on a wild-goose chase again, you know.’

‘There’s no wild goose in my story,’ said Jo, puzzled. She hadn’t the faintest idea what a wild-goose chase was. ‘I’m telling you about Red. I’m ready to go when you are. We’ll have to have a boat, though.’

‘We’ll take George’s,’ said Dick, getting up. ‘Look, Jo - I think we’d better leave Anne behind this time. I don’t like taking her into something that may be dangerous.

‘I want to come,’ said Anne at once.

‘No, you stay with me,’ said Joan. ‘I want company today. ‘I’m getting scared of being by myself with all these things happening. You stay with me.’

So Anne stayed behind, really rather glad, and watched the other three go off together.

Jo slipped into the hedge to avoid being seen by Jake, in case he was anywhere about.

Julian and Dick went down to the beach and glanced round to make sure the gipsy was nowhere in sight.

They beckoned to Jo, and she came swiftly from hiding, and leapt into George’s boat.

She lay down in it so that she couldn’t be seen. The boys hauled the boat down to the sea. Dick jumped in, and Julian pushed off when a big wave came. Then he jumped in too.

‘How far up the coast is it?’ he asked Jo, who was still at the bottom of the boat.

‘I don’t know,’ said Jo, with her usual irritating vagueness. ‘Two hours, three hours, maybe.’

Time didn’t mean the same to Jo as it did to the others. For one thing Jo had no wrist-watch as they had, always there to be glanced at. She wouldn’t have found one any use if she had, because she couldn’t tell the time. Time was just day and night to her, nothing else.

Dick put up the little sail. The wind was in their favour, so he thought he might as well use it. They would get there all the more quickly.

‘Did you bring the lunch that Joan put up for us?’ said Julian to Dick. ‘I can’t see it anywhere.’

‘Jo! You must be lying on it!’ said Dick.

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‘It won’t hurt it,’ said Jo. She sat up as soon as they were well out to sea, and offered to take the tiller.

She was very deft with it, and the boys soon saw that they could leave her to guide the boat. Julian unfolded the map he had brought with him.

‘I wonder whereabouts this place is where Red lives,’ he said. ‘It’s pretty desolate all the way up to the next place, Port Limmersley, If there is a castle-like building, it must be a very lonely place to live in. There’s not even a little fishing village shown for miles.’