The Mystery of Smugglers Cove (The Mystery Series, Book 1) (10 page)

Finally, the rope stopped moving. They were just in time. Mr Spencer’s legs were almost over the edge. He released the rope from his grasp and collapsed. It had taken every muscle in his body to stop the rest of it from going over the edge.

Breathing heavily, he staggered to his feet. His arms were tired, but the danger was not over yet. He peered over the edge. He let out a sigh of relief. Will was still tied to the rope.

But he was hanging in mid-air. They had to haul him up quickly. There was no knowing when the rope would break.

Mr Spencer looked at the girls. “We all need to hold onto the rope and pull Will up. It will be hard, but if one person acts as an anchor, we should succeed.” He directed Amy and Sarah into various positions and then moved behind them. “We haul at my command. One… two… three.”

They all started pulling. This went on for a few minutes, and each time they gathered a large amount of rope, they would wrap it around the tree and tie it.

This was the easiest way that they could think of and, if they happened to slip, or if they wanted to take a break, then they could do so and not worry about all their hard effort being lost.

Finally, just as Amy was about to suggest they take a rest, her eyes lit up. “Hey! I think I see Will.”

Sarah smiled. “We’ve done it!”

“Okay, a few more heaves and that should do it,” Mr Spencer said, a wide grin spreading over his face.

Moments later, Will was safe. “Thanks, everyone. For a while there, I thought I was gone. Next time I’ll be more careful.”

“I hope you will,” Mr Spencer said as he gave his son a hug. “Lucky I was at home, otherwise you might be at the bottom of the cliff by now.”

Will smiled. “I’ll make sure it’ll never happen again.”

“My goodness!” Mr Spencer said. “It’s almost lunch time. Why don’t you young ladies go and collect your brother and come back to my place for a bite to eat?”

Amy was stuck for words. “Well, er, we were—”

“What’s she trying to say,” Will broke in, “is that we were planning to have a picnic on the beach today.”

“That’s right,” Amy said, “And we’re getting some food from our place.”

“Oh, all right then.” Mr Spencer smiled. “It’s more fun having picnics than eating inside with me.”

“No, it’s not that,” Amy protested.

“Well, have fun and no more taking risks, understood?” With that, Mr Spencer gathered up the rope and, with a cheery wave, strode back along the cliff path.

~

“I can’t see him or the boat,” Amy said, crestfallen.

“Are you sure this is the spot?” Sarah asked.

Amy nodded as she glanced around. “I was standing right here. I’m positive.”

“We can easily find out,” Will said. “If this was the spot, there should be marks on the sand where the rowboat was beached. Let’s go down and check.”

They made their way down the steep side path until they reached the sand and hurried to the spot where Amy thought the boat had been.

“It looks as though you’re right after all,” Will said, after finding some marks on the sand.

“I told you so,” Amy said, “but you didn’t believe me.”

“We do now,” Sarah replied. “As well as the marks made by the boat, I can see some footprints leading back the way we came.”

“Hmm,” Will murmured, as he looked at all the evidence. He walked over to the cliffs and studied the footprints there.

He walked back to the girls. He pointed to the first lot of footprints. “As you can see, there’s one set of footprints that’s smaller than the other. But the ones over at the cliff look almost identical.”

“What does that mean?” Sarah broke in.

Will explained. “I believe the two men that Amy saw came here and found Joe. One of them took the rowboat somewhere else, while the other one marched Joe back along the beach. I could be completely wrong though.”

“It doesn’t really matter what took place here,” Amy replied. “What really matters is, where’s Joe? If the crooks have captured him, then the most likely place for him to be would be the manor.”

“You’re probably right,” Will said. “I suggest that we explore Chandler Manor.”

Agreeing with him, the sisters followed him as they walked up the cliff path once again and through the woods until they reached the big building.

They found the ladder in the same place as they had left it. They leaned it against the wall and climbed over. After hiding it in the bushes, they proceeded to the manor.

They had made it almost halfway there when they heard a noise. Unable to recognise the sound, the children paused.

“Did you hear something?” Will asked.

“Yes,” Amy replied.

“Me too,” Sarah said. “It sounded like a dog barking.”

“You could be right,” Will said. “And if that’s the case, we’d better hurry. We don’t want to be caught out in the open if there are dogs about.”

They quickly made their way to the window that they had climbed through the previous day. After peering through to make sure that no one was about, they opened it and climbed over the sill.

They closed the window and crept towards the door. Will was just about to open it when he heard voices. He quickly motioned for the others to hide behind the curtains. It was unlikely that the men would come into the room but, if they did, he wanted to be prepared.

The voices became louder as they reached the door, but then quietened as the men walked past.

“That should be a warning to us,” Will said. “If we hear voices again, we should hide straight away. And, if it looks as though we’ll be caught, we should split up.”

“I agree,” Amy said. “Where should we search first?”

“We didn’t check out the top floor last time,” Will began, “so I think we should search that. Besides, unless they tied Joe up, they would have to put him in a high room, otherwise he could just climb out of the window. That’s why he’s most likely to be on the third floor.”

Will opened the door and peered out. No one was in sight. He beckoned to the others and quietly but quickly headed up the hallway. Within minutes, they were climbing the stairs.

So far they hadn’t heard or seen anyone, so their luck was holding out. Reaching the third floor, they paused.

Deciding that it would waste time if they all went in the same direction, Will told the girls to check out the rooms on the left, while he went to the right. They were to open every door that they found and check if Joe was in that room. If the door was locked, it would be an indication that Joe was likely inside.

Will headed up the hallway. He made good time as he opened one door after another. A few minutes later, he was heading back to the girls. He was frustrated because he hadn’t found a single locked door. He glanced at his watch. They had already been inside Chandler Manor for fifteen minutes and they were still no closer to finding Joe. He wasn’t one to get anxious easily, but he knew that the longer they stayed there, the chance of them being caught increased. And, if all four of them were caught, who would come along and save them?

Seeing the girls up ahead,
Will noticed that they had stopped in front of one of the doors. Hoping that they had found Joe, he hurried towards them.

“This door’s locked,” Amy said.

“Let me see.” Will tried the handle. Locked. He peered through the keyhole, but he couldn’t see anything. “Okay. There’s a chance that Joe’s in here, so I’m going to call out. You get ready to run, just in case it’s someone else.”

He leaned close to the door and softly called out. He did this twice. He was just about to stop and speak to the girls, when he heard a noise on the other side of the door.

“Will? Is that you?” Joe called.

“Yes, it’s me,” Will said.

“I was wondering when you would arrive,” Joe said. “I’m glad you’re finally here. The men shoved me in this room a number of hours ago. They didn’t treat me too well, but they haven’t harmed me. And I haven’t seen them since.”

“I’m so glad they didn’t hurt you,” Sarah said.

“Me too,” Joe said. “They said something about the boss coming to talk to me. I think they want to find out if I know anything, and then they’ll decide what to do with me.”

Will nodded. “That means that we have to find a way to get you out of here quickly. As long as the boss doesn’t come, you’ll probably stay in here, but who knows where you’ll be after they talk to you.”

“Well, the door’s locked with a key, and the man that put me in here took the key away.”

“Hmm,” Amy said. “How can we get you out?”

“Not sure,” Joe replied. “Let me think for a second.”

Amy was just about to reply when Will said, “Quiet!”

The children listened. Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.

“Someone’s coming!” Will whispered.

Telling Joe that the crooks were coming, the children hurried into a nearby room. They didn’t have long to wait.

Peeking through the door which was ajar a tad, Will saw a man carrying a bowl of soup walking down the hallway.

He stopped outside Joe’s room, produced a key, unlocked the door, and went in. A minute passed before the man re-appeared without the soup. Locking the door, he turned and walked back down the hallway.

Will waited for another minute before he flung open the door and, along with the others, hurried to Joe’s room.

“Hey!” Amy exclaimed in delight. “Look, the key has been left in the keyhole.”

“Gosh, you’re right,” Will said. He grabbed the key and turned it. A moment later, the door swung open.

Sitting on the bed eating the soup was Joe. He smiled. “You’ve done it!”

“Keep your voice down.” Will smiled. “We don’t want someone coming to see what all the noise is about.”

“No, you’re right,” Joe said, putting the soup down and standing up. “The man said that he would be back in ten minutes, so let’s hurry.”

The two boys headed down the staircase. They reached the bottom without any trouble and were just about to head down the hallway when they heard voices.

“We need to hide,” Will whispered. He made for the nearest room, which turned out to be the study.

It wasn’t the best choice that they could have made, but with the men getting closer each second, there was no turning back. They quickly hid behind the curtains, hoping that the men would pass the room just like the previous time.

Unfortunately, they didn’t. They heard the door
open and Rocky
and Jake entered the room arguing. Rocky wanted a greater share of the profits as he felt he was the leader, but Jake disagreed. The argument went on for several minutes, with the voices getting louder.
 

Will peeked at his watch. Ten minutes had nearly gone by. Time was running out. If they didn’t escape soon, the alarm would be raised. Another minute passed, and finally, the men left the room.

Joe had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that they could now get to the window, when suddenly he heard shouting. He realised that his escape had been discovered.

Already, he could hear several men running around upstairs. Soon they would search every room. If they were to escape, it had to be within the next five minutes. Otherwise, it would be too late.

The odds were mounting against them the longer they stayed in the study.

Will moved out from behind the curtain and peeked through the door. “I can hear men upstairs. But the hallway is clear. It’s time to move.”

He opened the door and swiftly hurried up the hallway, trailed by the others. They reached the room without seeing any of the crooks and entered.

“We had better keep a guard at the door in case they come,” Will said. “Joe, how about you stand next to the door while the rest of us go through the window? Then, once we’re through, you can join us.”

“Okay,” Joe replied, as he stayed near the door, opening it a tad to see out into the hallway.

Amy jumped down onto the grass, quickly followed by Sarah.

Joe peered down the hallway and froze as he saw Jake come round the corner. He slammed the door shut as Jake yelled out. He quickly glanced around the room.

“What’s up?” Will said as he prepared to climb out of the window.

“Quick, help me,” Joe said, urgently. “The crook spotted me. We need to delay him while we make our escape.”

The only thing that they could find to do the job was a couch. It had seen better days, but it was still strong and sturdy. It was an anxious few moments as the two of them dragged it in front of the door.

Once it was in place, Joe raced to the window and leapt out. Will joined him a moment later and soon all three were racing to the wall.

Will frowned. “The ladder’s gone! The crooks must have taken it.”

“Oh no!” Sarah cried. “If we don’t have the ladder, how can we escape?”

“We’ll have to think fast,” Joe said. “The men will break through the room that we left soon. When they do, they’ll know that we are outside.”

“We could…” Amy began, but she paused as the gates started to open.

“Look!” Sarah broke in. “Someone must be coming in.”

“You’re right,” Joe said. “This might be our only chance of escape. But we’ll need to run if we’re to make it.”

He sprinted as fast as he could towards the gates, keeping close to the wall. The gates were fully open by the time a big black car glided through the entrance.

“That might be the boss,” Will exclaimed, as they hid behind a tree as the vehicle sped past them.

“Maybe,” Joe said.

“We have to hurry!” Amy cried, as she ran as fast as she could towards the gates that had now started to close.

They were too late. They arrived at the gates just as they slid back into the closed position.

“Oh no!” Sarah exclaimed. She tried pulling on the gates. They didn’t budge.

“What are we going to do?” Amy said.

Joe paused as he heard a noise. “Do you hear what I hear?”

Will spun round and turned towards the ivy-covered manor. He was just in time to see two massive German Shepherd’s round the south-west corner of the building and tear towards them. They were barking furiously. “They must have discovered that we had escaped out of the window and got the dogs out.”

 
“Let’s climb one of these trees,” Amy suggested. “If we do that, the dogs won’t be able to get to us.”

“That’s a good idea,” Joe said. “We might even be able to climb onto the wall and down the other side.”

They quickly spread out as they each picked a tree to climb. Will glanced back towards the building. The animals were approaching fast, they would have to hurry.

Joe climbed up his tree as fast as he could. He paused as he got to the third branch. Looking over at the manor, he was able to make out several men emerging from the front door.

The dogs had now reached the trees and were barking savagely. Joe didn’t know much about dogs, but he could see that these animals were athletic and had sharp teeth. They were the perfect dog to stop intruders. He looked over at the other trees to see if everyone else was all right.

They were. The girls sat still while Will attempted to get to the wall by climbing along one of the branches. Unless he was fast, the men would catch him. But if he slipped, one of the dogs could easily attack him. Reaching the end of the branch, he realised that even if he risked jumping for the wall, the crooks would probably let the dog’s loose outside and he would be caught then.

With this thought in his mind, Will decided that it was just too risky. He started moving back the way he had come.

Soon Dan, Rocky, and Jake had reached the trees. The first thing that they did was to call the dogs off.

Rocky called out, “It’s all over now. Come down, otherwise we’ll come up and get you.”

Joe peered through the leaves at the other children and he saw Will nod his head. He took that as a sign of surrender and started to climb down. Before long, all four children were standing on firm ground.

“Good to see that you’re sensible,” Rocky said. “Now, head towards the house.”

The children obeyed. On reaching the manor, with Jake keeping watch behind them, Dan led the group to the same room in which Joe had been a prisoner in. After the children had entered, Dan locked the door and left them in peace.

Amy went to the lone window and glanced out. “There’s no way out via the window. It’s too high to jump down.”

“I checked that out last time I was here,” Joe announced, as he sat down on the bed. “In fact, I checked out everything. The only way out is through that door that we came in. But it’s locked with a key, and unless we get that, we’ll be here forever.”

“Surely they can’t lock us up forever!” Sarah cried. She also sat down.

Joe put his arm around his sister. “I didn’t mean that literally. Once they’ve finished doing whatever they are doing, we’ll be free to go. If they…” He paused as the door suddenly opened and Rocky entered.

The crook leaned against the door as he waited for the person behind him to enter. It was a man wearing a grey coat and sunglasses. Joe assumed he was the boss.

“I’m charge of things here,” the man said, “so I thought I would come up and interview you myself. You can start by telling me your names and why you are trespassing on private property.”

Joe decided to be the spokesperson. “I’m Joe. These are my sisters, Amy and Sarah, and this is my friend, Will. They were on your property because they came to rescue me.”

The boss was about to reply, when suddenly he had a fit of coughing. It was a deep, throaty kind of cough. Joe knew that if he didn’t remember anything about the man physically, he would remember the cough. After the coughing had stopped, the boss resumed talking. “Is that so?”

“If you dare hurt us,” Sarah broke in, “I’ll tell my dad who will lock you up.”

“And how is your father going to find you here?” the boss replied in a sneering voice. “I don’t suppose you told him that you were going to enter private property, did you?”

“We did. And if we don’t show up then the police will storm this place and find us,” Will said.