The Sea of Adventure (3 page)

Philip knew what it was, of course — but he suddenly stiffened as the light struck on something pale, hidden in a bush by the front gate. The something was moved quickly back into the shadows, but Philip had guessed what it was.

"That was someone's face I saw! Somebody is hiding in the bushes by the gate. Why? It can't be Bill. He'd come right in. Then it must be somebody waiting in ambush for him. Golly!"

He slipped across to the bed and awoke Jack. He whispered to him what he had seen. Jack was out of bed and by the window at once. But he could see nothing, of course. Mrs. Mannering had drawn the curtain back over the window, and no light shone out now. The garden was in darkness.

"We must do something quickly," said Jack. "If Bill comes, he'll be knocked out, if that's what that man down there is waiting for. Can we warn Bill? Its plain he knows there's danger for himself, or he wouldn't have been so mysterious on the telephone — and insisted he couldn't come if anyone else was here. I wish Aunt Allie would go to bed. What's the time? The clock struck eleven some time ago, I know."

There came the sound of somebody clicking off lights and a door closing. "It's Mother," said Philip. "She's not going to wait up any longer. She's coming up to bed. Good! Now the house will be in darkness, and maybe that fellow will go."

"We'll have to see that he does," said Jack. "Do you suppose Bill will come now, Philip? — it's getting very late."

"If he says he will, he will," said Philip. "Sh — here's Mother."

Both boys hopped into bed and pretended to be asleep. Mrs. Mannering switched the light on, and then, seeing that both boys were apparently sound asleep, she switched it off again quickly. She did the same in the girls' room, and then went to her own room.

Philip was soon sitting by the window again, eyes and ears open for any sign of the hidden man in the bushes below. He thought he heard a faint cough.

"He's still there," he said to Jack. "He must have got wind of Bill coming here tonight."

"Or more likely still, he knows that Bill is a great friend of ours, and whatever gang he belongs to has sent a man to watch in that bush every night," said Jack. "He's hoping that Bill will turn up sooner or later. Bill must have a lot of enemies. He's always tracking down crooks and criminals."

"Listen," said Philip, "I'm going to creep out of the back door, and get through the hedge of the next-door garden, and out of their back gate, so as not to let that hidden man hear me. And I'm going to watch for old Bill and warn him. He'll come up the road, not down, because that's the way he always comes."

"Good idea!" said Jack. "I'll come too."

"No. One of us must watch to see what that man down there does," said Philip. "We'll have to know if he's there or not. I'll go. You stay at the window. If I find Bill coming along I'll warn him and turn him back."

"All right," said Jack, wishing he had the exciting job of creeping about in dark gardens to go and meet Bill. "Give him our love — and tell him to phone us if he can, we'll meet him somewhere safe."

Philip slipped quietly out of the room. There was still a light in his mother's room, so he went very cautiously downstairs, anxious not to disturb her. She would be very scared if she knew about the hidden man.

He opened the back door quietly, shut it softly behind him, and went out into the dark garden. He had no torch, for he did not want to show any sign of himself at all.

He squeezed through a gap in the hedge, and came into the next-door garden. He knew it very well. He found the path, and then made his way quietly along the grass at the edge of it, afraid of making the gravel crunch a little, if he walked on it.

Then he thought he heard a sound. He stopped dead and listened. Surely there wasn't another man hiding somewhere? Could they be burglars, not men waiting for Bill, after all? Ought he to creep back and telephone to the police?

He listened again, straining his ears, and had a queer feeling that there was someone nearby, also listening. Listening for him, Philip, perhaps. It was not a nice thought, there in the darkness.

He took a step forward — and then suddenly someone fell on him savagely, pinned his arms behind him, and forced him on his face to the ground. Philip bit deep into the soft earth of a flower-bed, and choked. He could not even shout for help.

Chapter 4

A VISIT FROM BILL — AND A GREAT IDEA

PHILIP'S captor was remarkably quiet in his movements. He had captured Philip with hardly a sound, and as the boy had not had time to utter a single cry, nobody had heard anything at all. Philip struggled frantically, for he was half choked with the soft earth that his face was buried in.

He was twisted over quickly, and a gag of some sort was put right across his mouth. His wrists, he found, were already tied together. Whatever could be happening? Did this fellow think he was Bill? But surely he knew that Bill was big and burly?

Trying to spit out the earth in his mouth behind the gag, Philip wriggled and struggled. But it was of no use, for his captor was strong and merciless.

He was picked up and carried to a summer-house, quite silently. "And now," hissed a voice, close to his ear, "how many more of you are there here? Tell me that, or you'll be sorry. Grunt twice if there are more of you."

Philip made no answer. He didn't know what to do, grunt or not grunt. Instead he groaned, for his mouth was still full of earth, and it did not taste at all nice.

His captor ran his hands over him. Then he got out a small pocket-torch, and flashed it once, very quickly, on Philip's gagged face. He saw the tuft of hair standing straight up on Philip's forehead, and gave a gasp.

"Philip! You little ass! What are you doing out here, creeping about in the dark?"

With a shock of amazement and delight, Philip recognised Bill's voice. Gosh, so it was Bill! Well, he didn't mind his mouth being full of earth then. He pulled at the gag, making gurgling sounds.

"Shut up!" whispered Bill urgently, and he took off the gag. "There may be others about. Don't make a sound. If you've anything to say whisper it right into my ear, like this."

"Bill," whispered Philip, his mouth finding Bill's ear, "there's a man hidden in the bushes at our front gate. We spotted him there, and I slipped out to warn you if I could. Be careful."

Bill undid Philip's wrists. The boy rubbed them tenderly. Bill knew how to tie people up, no doubt about that! Good thing he hadn't knocked him out.

"The back door's open," he whispered into Bill's ear. "As far as I know there's nobody waiting about at the back. Let's try and get into the house. We can talk there."

Very silently the two made their way back to the gap in the hedge that Philip knew so well. Neither of them trod on the gravel, in case the slight crunch might warn any hidden watcher.

They squeezed through the gap slowly and carefully. Now they were in Philip's own garden. Taking Bill by the arm he led him slowly over the dark lawn, under the trees, towards the house. There was no light in it anywhere now. Mrs. Mannering had gone to bed.

The back door was still unlocked. Philip pushed it open, and the two of them went in. "Don't put on the light," whispered Bill. "We don't want anyone to know that we're awake here. I'll lock this door."

They went cautiously upstairs. One of the stairs creaked loudly, and Jack, who was waiting in the bedroom, shot to the door. Luckily he didn't switch the light on.

"It's all right — it's only me," whispered Philip. "And I've got old Bill."

"Good egg!" said Jack in delight, and dragged them into his room. Bill gave his hand a hearty shake. He was very fond of the whole family.

"I must rinse my mouth out," said Philip. "It's full of earth still. I daren't do any spitting out in the garden, because of the noise. Ugh! It's horrible!"

"Poor Jack!" said Bill remorsefully. "I didn't know it was you, old fellow. I thought it was somebody lying in wait for me, and I meant to get him, before he got me!"

"You did it jolly well," said Philip, rinsing his mouth out. "Now where's my tooth-paste? I really must clean my teeth! Oh, blow!"

His hand, seeking for his tooth-paste in the dark, had knocked over a glass. It fell into the basin and smashed. It made a tremendous noise in the silent night.

"Go and warn the girls not to put their light on, if this has waked them," said Bill urgently to Jack. "Quick! And see if it has waked Aunt Allie. If it has, warn her too."

Lucy-Ann was awake, and Jack just managed to stop her switching on the light. His mother did not stir. Her room was further away and she had not heard the sound of breaking glass. Lucy-Ann was astonished to hear Jack's urgent voice.

"What's up?" she asked. "Anything gone wrong? Are you or Philip ill?"

"Of course not," said Jack impatiently. "Get your dressing-gown on, and wake Dinah. Bill's here! But we're not to put on any lights, see?"

Something fluttered by his head with a low squawk. "Oh, Kiki! I wondered where you were," said Jack. "What made you sleep in the girls' room tonight? Come along and see Bill!"

Lucy-Ann awoke an astonished Dinah. The two girls put on their dressing-gowns and went to the boys' room. Kiki was already there, nibbling Bill's ear in delight, making soft noises in his ear.

"Hallo! Hallo!" said Bill, when the girls crept softly into the room. "Which is which? I can only feel you. Ah, this must be Lucy-Ann — I can smell your freckles!"

"You can't smell freckles," said Lucy-Ann, giggling. "But you're right, it is me, all the same. Oh, Bill, where have you been so long? You didn't answer any of our letters at all."

"I know," said Bill. "You see — I was on a peculiar job — hunting down a gang of rogues — and then, before I knew what was happening, they got wind of what I was doing — and began to hunt me down! So I had to go into hiding, and keep dark."

"Why — would they have kidnapped you or something, Bill?" asked Lucy-Ann, scared.

"Oh, there's no knowing what they would have done to me," said Bill airily. "I should certainly have disappeared for good. But here I am, as you see."

"So that's what that man at the front gate was there for — hoping to get you," said Philip. "Why have you come to see us now, Bill? Do you want us to do anything?"

"Well," said Bill, "I've got to disappear for some time, and I wanted to see your mother particularly, to give her a few things to keep for me — just in case — well, just in case I didn't turn up again. I'm what is called a 'marked man' now, as far as this particular gang is concerned. I know too much about them for their own comfort."

"Oh, Bill — but where are you going to disappear to?" asked Lucy-Ann forlornly. "I don't like you to disappear into the blue. Can't you tell us?"

"Oh — I'll probably lead the simple life somewhere in the wilds," said Bill. "Till these fellows have given up hunting for me, or get themselves caught. I don't want to disappear — don't think that! I'm not afraid of any of them, but my chiefs can't afford to let anyone get hold of me. So I've got to vanish completely for a time — and not even get into touch with you or my family."

There was a silence. It wasn't nice to hear all this, told in a low voice in the darkness of midnight. Lucy-Ann groped for Bill's hand. He squeezed her fingers.

"Cheer up! You'll hear from me again some day — next year, or the year after. I shall take some kind of disguise — become a miner somewhere in the wilds of Alaska — or — or a lonely ornithologist on some desolate island — or . . ."

Jack gave a gasp. Something clicked in his mind as a really brilliant idea slid into place there.

"Bill! Oh, Bill! I've thought of something grand!"

"Sh! Not so loud!" said Bill. "And just take Kiki on your shoulder now, will you, before she nibbles away the whole of my left ear."

"Listen, Bill," said Jack urgently. "I've thought of something. We had a great disappointment today — I'll tell you about it first."

"Go on, then," said Bill, thankful that Kiki was no longer on his shoulder.

"I don't expect you know, but we've all had measles pretty badly," said Jack. "That's why we're not back at school. Well, the doctor said we ought to go away for a change, and Aunt Allie decided we could go on a bird-watching expedition, with Dr. Johns and his party, to some lonely coasts and islands off the north of Britain — you know, places that only birds live on, and only bird-lovers visit."

"I know," said Bill, listening intently.

"Well, Dr. Johns got hurt in an accident today," said Jack. "So we can't go because there is nobody to take us. But — why can't you take us — disguised as some bird-man or other? — then we'd have a perfectly glorious holiday, you'd be able to get off into the unknown without anyone knowing — and we could leave you behind there when we come back — quite safe!"

There was a silence. All the children waited breathlessly for Bill's answer. Even Kiki seemed to be listening anxiously.

"I don't know," said Bill at last. "It's too much like using you as a smoke-screen — and if my enemies saw through the smoke — well, things wouldn't be too good for you or for me either. I don't think it's possible."

The mere thought of Bill's turning the wonderful idea down made the children more enthusiastic and urgent about it. They each had a few words to contribute.