"Here's the end of the wood!" called Jack. "Now for another steep bit to another ledge - and we'll look down on the road. Come on, everybody!"

Chapter 19.

A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT - AND A PLAN.

IT certainly was a stiff climb again, up the steep, rather stony slope to the ledge they could see some way above. Lucy-Ann almost cried because her feet kept slipping so.

"I take one step up, and slip two steps back," she wailed.

"Well, hang on to me, then," said Philip, and gave her a tug up each time she took a step.

They all wanted a rest when they came to the next ledge, and to their delight they saw a patch of wild raspberries growing there. They could sit down in the canes and feast as they rested. Lovely! Kiki liked the raspberries very much indeed, and ate so many that Jack called to her.

"Kiki! You'll go pop!"

"Pop goes the weasel," answered Kiki, and helped herself to a few dozen more raspberries.

Soon they all felt they could go on again. They were very high up now, and could see even more mountains towering behind the ones they knew. It was a most magnificent sight.

"I feel very small and lost somehow, with all those great mountains sitting there," said Lucy-Ann, and the others felt the same. "Come on - let's go round the ledge now. We shall soon see the road. Thank goodness this ledge isn't narrow. It's almost wide enough to take a car."

It was not so easy walking round the ledge as Lucy-Ann thought, however, for there had been a fall of rocks there, further along, and there was a good deal of scrambling about to be done. The boys went first to find a safe way for the girls. They were thankful when they had got over the rock-fall and come to smoother ground again.

The ledge rounded a bend in the mountainside, and then, quite suddenly, the children saw the road below them. Yes, it was really a road! They stood and looked at it in delight.

"I never thought I should be so pleased to see a road before," said Dinah. "The road out of the valley! The road to Somewhere at last!"

"Look," said Lucy-Ann, "it winds up from quite a long way down. We can't see where it goes to from here, because it's hidden round that bend."

"You can see the pa.s.s, the Windy Pa.s.s, from here, though," said Jack, pointing. "See where this mountain and the next almost touch? That's where the pa.s.s must be - fairly high up and awfully narrow. I bet we'll have to go through it in single file."

"No, we won't," said Philip scornfully. "It's bound to be wide enough to take a cart. It only looks narrow because we're far off."

"Come on, let's get down to the road," said Dinah, and began to climb down to it. They were about twenty feet above it.

"I say, isn't it overgrown with gra.s.s and weeds!" said Jack, astonished. "That shows how little it has been used lately. Queer, isn't it? You'd think the people would put their only road out of the valley into some sort of order."

"It's jolly peculiar, I think," said Philip. "Come on - we can at least see it's a road, even if it is overgrown with weeds."

They walked along the road for some way. It wound upwards always, following long curves in and out on the slopes of the mountain. At last the children could clearly see where the Windy Pa.s.s must be, a narrow pa.s.sage between the two mountains, theirs and the next.

It was cold so high up and the wind was very strong. If the children had not been warm with climbing they would have shivered. As it was, they were all as warm as toast.

"Now - round this next corner - and I bet we shall see the pa.s.s!" cried Jack. "Then hurrah for the way out of this mysterious valley!"

They rounded the corner. Yes - there lay the pa.s.s - or what must once have been the pa.s.s. But it was a pa.s.s no longer.

Something had happened. The narrow way between the high mountains was blocked high with great rocks and black boulders. It was impa.s.sable.

At first the four children didn't quite take it in. They stood and stared in wonder.

"What's happened there?" said Jack at last. "It looks like an earthquake or something. Did you ever see such a terrible mess?"

"Great holes have been blown in the rocky walls on either side of the pa.s.s," said Philip. "Look, even high up there are holes like craters."

They stared in silence, and then Jack turned to the others. "Do you know what I think has happened?" he said. "Well, when enemies were here, fighting, they bombed the pa.s.s - and blocked it. All that devastation has been caused by bombs - I'm sure it has."

"Yes, I think you're right, Jack," said Philip. "It's just what it looks like. Aeroplanes must have flown just over the pa.s.s, and dropped scores of bombs down on the narrow road there. It's absolutely impa.s.sable."

"Do you mean - we can't get out?" asked Lucy-Ann in a trembling voice. Philip nodded.

"Afraid so," he said. "n.o.body could get over that steep, high, dangerous wall of blown-up rocks. This explains why people haven't come along to live in this valley yet. I suppose most of those living here were killed, and the rest escaped over the pa.s.s. Then it was blown up and n.o.body could come back. Those men in the plane, Juan and the rest, must have got wind of some treasure hidden in the valley, and thought they would try to enter the place by plane. About the only way to enter it, too."

Lucy-Ann sat down and cried. "I'm so disappointed," she wailed. "I thought we were going to escape from this horrid, lonely valley, I really did. But now we're still prisoners here - and n-n-n-n.o.body can come in to rescue us!"

The others sat down by Lucy-Ann, feeling rather desperate too. They stared hopelessly at the blocked pa.s.s. What a terrible blow! Just as they had so hoped they would be able to escape, and get to Julius, and tell him about the treasure.

"Let's have something to eat," suggested Dinah. "We'll feel better then. No wonder we feel a bit dumpy now."

"Humpy dumpy," said Kiki at once. That made them laugh.

"Idiot!" said Philip. "You don't care about a blocked-up pa.s.s, do you, Kiki? You could fly over. It's a pity we can't tie a message to your leg and send you over to Julius for help."

"Oooh - couldn't we do that?" said Lucy-Ann at once.

"No, silly! For one thing, Kiki would probably tear the message off her leg," said Jack, "and for another she'd never know who to go and look for. She's a clever bird, but not as clever as that."

They felt a lot better after their meal. They ate it with their backs to the blocked pa.s.s. n.o.body could bear to look at it.

"I suppose we'll have to go back to our cave," said Dinah at last. "Doesn't seem anything else to do, really."

"No, I suppose there isn't," said Jack rather gloomily. "What a sell, isn't it?"

They had a good long rest. The sun was very fierce, but the wind was so strong that they were never too hot. In fact, Lucy-Ann went to a rock that sheltered her from the wind, because she felt too cool.

They started back after their rest. They were not nearly so cheerful and talkative as when they had set out that morning. The thought of having to stay in the lonely valley, after having such high hopes of escaping, was very damping to all of them.

Lucy-Ann looked so miserable that Jack tried to think of something to cheer her up. He thought of something really startling.

"Cheer up, Lucy-Ann," he said. "Maybe we'll find the treasure now, to make up for our disappointment."

Lucy-Ann stopped and stared at him, thrilled. "Really?" she said. "Oh, Jack - yes, let's look for the treasure ourselves now!"

Everyone stopped and thought about it for a few exciting moments. "Well, why not?" said Philip. "We can't get word about it to Julius, because we can't get over the pa.s.s. Those men have gone, and Otto is gone too. There's only us left. We might as well hunt for the treasure. It would be something exciting to do, to pa.s.s away the time."

"How simply gorgeous!" cried Dinah. "Just what I've always wanted to do - hunt for treasure. When shall we start? Tomorrow?"

"I say - suppose we really found it!" said Philip, looking thrilled. "Should we get a share of it, I wonder?"

"What a good thing Otto gave you the map, Freckles!" said Dinah to Jack. She always called him Freckles when she felt in a very good humour. "Let's have a look at it."

Jack took it out of his pocket. He unfolded the sheet of paper and spread it out. Otto had marked it with compa.s.s directions, just as he had marked the map showing the way to the pa.s.s.

"See the things he has drawn or printed," said Jack. "See this queer-shaped rock - it's shaped like a man in a cloak, with a ball-like head. If we saw that rock, we'd know it was a signpost to the treasure."

"And what's this - a bent tree?" asked Dinah. "Yes, but how are we to know where to look for them? We can't go wandering all over the mountainside looking for queer-shaped rocks and bent trees and things."

"Of course not," said Jack. "We'd have to begin properly, from the beginning - and the beginning is the waterfall we know. Otto drew a path from where the cowshed is to the waterfall, see - well, we can start right at the waterfall, without bothering about that path. Then, from the top of the fall we must look for that bent tree, and walk to there. Then from the bent tree we look for this - let's see, what did he say that was? - oh yes, it's a stretch of smooth black rock - well, when we get there, we look next for a spring of water - and from there we look out for that queer-shaped rock. Then somewhere about there is the treasure."

"Golly!" said Lucy-Ann, her eyes nearly popping out of her head. "Let's get back to the waterfall and start straight away. Come on!"

Jack folded up the map and looked round at the three excited faces. He grinned. "The treasure won't be much use to us, cooped up in this valley as we are," he said. "But it will be something really thrilling to do."

They set off once again, their minds busy with treasure-hunting. If only they could find what those men had been looking for and had not found! What would Bill say? He would wish to goodness he had been with them. He always said they fell into adventure after adventure.

When they got back to the waterfall, the sun had gone in, and huge black clouds hung over their mountain. Enormous drops of rain began to fall. The children gazed in disappointment at the lowering sky.

"Blow!" said Philip. "There's going to be a rain-storm, I should think. No good going off treasure-hunting in this. Better get into the cave before we get soaked. Here comes the rain properly!"

They only just got into their cosy cave in time. Then the rain pelted down in torrents, and added its voice to the roar of the waterfall.

"Rain all you like!" called Jack. "But do be sunny tomorrow - we're going treasure-hunting!"

Chapter 20.

SIGNPOSTS TO THE TREASURE.

THEY slept very soundly indeed that night, for they were tired out. The rain fell all night long, but towards dawn the clouds cleared away, and the sky, when the sun rose, was a clear pale blue. Lucy-Ann liked it very much when she parted the soaking fern-fronds and looked out.

"Everything's newly-washed and clean, even the sky," she said. "Lovely! Just look!"

"Just the day for a treasure-hunt," said Jack. "I hope this sun will dry the gra.s.s quickly, or we shall get our feet soaked."

"Good thing we brought so many tins out of the men's hut," said Dinah, reaching down two or three. "Are there still some in that bush where we first hid them, Jack?"

"Plenty," said Jack. "I took one or two to open for Otto the day before yesterday, but there are heaps left. We can go and get them some time."

They tied back the fern-fronds and ate their breakfast sitting at the front of the cave, looking out on the far mountains, backed by the sky, which was now turning a deeper blue.

"Well, shall we set off?" said Jack, when they had finished. "Kiki, take your head out of that tin. You know it's completely empty."

"Poor Kiki!" said Kiki. "What a pity!"

They all scrambled out of the cave. Things were certainly drying fast in the hot summer sun. "Look, those rocks are steaming!" said Lucy-Ann in surprise, pointing to some near-by rocks. So they were. They looked most peculiar with the steam rising up.

"Better take some food with us," said Jack. "Got some, Dinah?"

"Of course," said Dinah. "We can't come all the way back here for food."

"We've got to get to where the waterfall begins, just as we did yesterday," said Jack. "Follow me, all of you. I know the way."

They soon stood at the top of the waterfall, and once more watched the great gush of water surge out from the heart of the mountain. It seemed twice as big and turbulent as the day before.

"Well, I suppose the underground water has been swelled up because of last night's rain," said Philip. "And so the waterfall is bigger and stronger."

"Yes, that's the reason," said Jack, raising his voice to a shout because of the noise of the water. "Kiki, stop screeching in my ear."

The waterfall excited Kiki, and she made a terrible noise that morning. Jack would not have her on his shoulder after a while, because of her screeches. She flew off in a huff.

"Now, what about that bent tree?" said Dinah, remembering. By this time they were standing a little way above the beginning of the waterfall. "I can't see any bent tree at all!"

"Oh, golly - don't say there isn't a bent tree!" groaned Jack, looking this way and that all round and about and above his head. "Gosh, there doesn't seem to be one, does there?"

There didn't. What few trees they could see were perfectly straight. Then Lucy-Ann gave a cry and pointed downwards. "There it is, isn't it? - just below us, on the other side of the waterfall. Look!"

They all went to stand by Lucy-Ann, and looked. She was right. On the other side of the fall, some way below them, was a curiously bent tree. It was a birch-tree, and why it should have grown so bent-over was a puzzle. The wind was no stronger there than anywhere else. Anyway, it was decidedly bent and that was all that mattered.

They crossed above the beginning of the waterfall, clambering over the rocks, and then scrambled down on the other side of the fall. They reached the bent tree at last.

"First signpost," said Jack.

"No, second," said Dinah. "The waterfall is really the first."

"Well, second then," said Jack. "Now for the third - a big stretch of flat black rock - a wall of it, I should think."

They all looked in every direction for a stretch of black rock. This time it was Jack's keen eyes that spotted it. It was some way off, and looked difficult to reach, for it meant climbing along the steep face of the mountainside, which just there was very cliff-like.

Still, it had to be done, so they set off. It was easier after the first stretch, for there were all kinds of plants and bushes firmly rooted in the sloping cliff, and these could be used as handholds or footholds. Jack helped Lucy-Ann along, but Dinah scorned Philip's help, especially as she knew he had the lizard somewhere about him.

It took them at least half an hour of stiff scrambling and climbing to reach the wall of black rock, though actually, in distance, it was not so very far. They stood by the rock, panting.

"Funny shiny black rock," said Jack, running his fingers over the smooth surface. "Wonder what it is."

"Oh, never mind," said Dinah, impatient to get on. "What's our next signpost? This is the third."

"A spring of water," said Philip. "Isn't that right, Jack - or shall we look at the map?"