AS soon as he had shot the bolts safely home, Jack collapsed. His tussle with Pepi, his long run through the wind and the rain, and the terrific excitement of making the men prisoners had been too much for him. He sank down to the steps outside the bolted door, and lay there quite still.

It was dark there. The old couple felt about for Jack in alarm. What was happening to the poor boy?

They found his torch in his pocket and took it out. They switched it on and looked anxiously at Jack's pale face and closed eyes. They tried to drag him up the steps.

"His clothes are wet," said the old woman, feeling Jack's soaked jersey and shorts. "He will get a chill, a terrible chill. Maybe he will die of it. What shall we do, old man?"

The old man answered her in her own language. "We will drag him up these steps. We will make him comfortable in the cave of stars. You shall wrap him in your shawl and he shall have my coat."

Together the old couple managed to drag Jack up the steps. How they panted and groaned. They could not get him any further than the top. The old man stripped off Jack's wet things and put his coat round him. The old woman wrapped him all round in her thick shawl. They squeezed out his wet things and hung them on the rocky wall to dry.

They were frightened. What were they going to do now? Those men were bolted in the caves with what was left of their precious treasure. How angry they would be when they discovered what had happened!

Jack soon came to himself again. He sat up, wondering where he was. He had been in a kind of half faint, half sleep. He clutched at his clothes. What on earth had he got on? A shawl? Gracious, was he dressed up as a statue again?

The old people heard him moving and switched on the torch again. They looked anxiously at him and were relieved to see that he was no longer so white.

"You are better now?" asked the old man gently.

"Yes, thanks. I'm all right," said Jack, pulling at the shawl. "Whatever's this?"

"Your clothes were so wet," said the old man. "We had to take them off to dry them or you would have got a terrible chill. You have my coat and my wife's shawl."

"Oh - well, thank you," said Jack, feeling rather foolish in the coat and shawl. "Sorry I gave you a fright. But I just conked out - that run up the mountainside, I suppose. I say - wasn't it a good idea bolting those men in?"

"Ah - but what will they do to us when they know?" said the old man sadly.

"Nothing! How can they?" said Jack. "They are on the wrong side of the bolted door, aren't they? Don't you worry, we're all right!"

He got up. His legs were not very steady, but he could walk all right. "I'm just going to the entrance of the caves to see if by any chance that awful wind-storm has died down," he said. "If it has, I'll make my way to the fern-cave, where the two girls are. They'll be scared by themselves."

Somehow he stumbled along to the entrance. The clouds were so low and black that it was like night outside. Rain still swept over the hillside in great torrents. It was quite impossible to go out.

"I should get completely lost," thought Jack. "Golly, the girls will be so worried about me! I hope they won't be frightened all by themselves. Well, it's no use - I'll have to spend the night here with the old people - but it won't be very comfortable."

It wasn't comfortable. They found a place in the cave of stars, a rounded, hollowed-out basin of rock, with only a few sharp edges. For the sake of warmth they all huddled together. Jack tried to make the old people take back their coat and shawl, saying that his clothes were almost dry.

But the old woman grew very angry when he suggested this, and scolded her husband hard in words that Jack could not understand, but whose meaning he could guess.

"My old one says that you are a bad bad boy to talk of putting on wet clothes," said the old fellow. "We will press close together. It is not cold in this cave."

It wasn't very cold, it was true. Jack lay between the old man and his wife, looking up at the roof of the strange cave. He watched the curious greenish-blue stars shine and fade, flicker and glow. There were hundreds of them, most enchanting to watch. Jack wondered about them for a long time and then fell asleep.

In the morning the old people awoke first and felt stiff and uncomfortable. But they did not move for fear of disturbing Jack. He awoke at last and sat up. He saw the glowing stars above and around, and knew where he was at once.

"I wonder what the time is," he said, looking at his watch. "Half-past seven! Gracious, I wonder what those men are doing! Are my clothes dry?"

Luckily they were. Jack put them on quickly, and gave back the coat and shawl with warm thanks. "Now, you stay here a bit," he said to the old couple. "I'm just going to the bolted door to see if I can hear anything."

He went off, feeling quite himself again now. As soon as he came to the top of the curving stairway that led down to the oaken door, he heard bangs and crashes. Ah - the men had discovered that they were bolted in!

Crash! Bang! Thud! Smash!

They were hammering at the stout door for all they were worth. How they shouted and yelled, how they kicked at that door and tried to smash it down!

Jack stood at the top of the steps and grinned in delight. Serve them right! They were getting a taste of their own medicine. They had locked the children in - and now they themselves were prisoners.

Suddenly there was a loud bang that made Jack jump. It was a revolver shot. The men were shooting at the door, hoping to smash the bolts.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Jack went back a little way, afraid that a bullet might glance off somehow and hit him, though this was impossible. BANG! BANG!

The bolts could not be smashed. The men gave the door a few more blows with something and then stopped. Jack ran back to tell the old couple all about it.

But they were frightened, so it wasn't much fun telling them. "I think I'll take you to the fern-cave, where the girls are," he told the old man. "We have food and rugs in that cave. Come with me."

The old people wouldn't stir out of the place they knew so well. They were terrified of the open air, of the hillside and the outer world. They shrank back and nothing that Jack could say would make them change their minds.

"Well, I shall just have to go to the girls myself, then," said Jack at last. "I'll bring them back here with food and rugs. We might as well all be together. Those men are no longer a danger to us. They can't possibly get out. Even if they find the hole behind that picture, I'm sure they won't get any further than the cave of echoes."

He said good-bye to the frightened old people and went out into the sunshine. It was warm on his head and back - delicious. The sky was blue again and the wind had gone.

He made his way to the waterfall, arriving there without any mistake, for he could follow the "signposts" easily now. He was hailed by the girls as soon as they saw him. They were peeping out through the fern-fronds.

"Jack! You didn't come back last night! Oh, Jack, I hardly slept at all, wondering what had happened to you," cried Lucy-Ann.

"What happened?" asked Dinah, who was looking rather pale. She too had been very anxious, especially when the storm had come.

"Heaps!" said Jack. "Marvellous news! Best in the world!"

"Gracious! Is Philip back, then? - and Bill here?" cried Lucy-Ann at once.

"No - that's not my news," said Jack. "Do you know what I've done? Bolted those men into the caves. What do you think of that?"

"What a wonderful idea!" said the girls together. "But what about the old people?" asked Dinah.

"Oh, I got them out first," said Jack. "And I found Pepi back by the cowshed place, and tied him up properly. He's bound to that big tree where we once hid."

"JACK! How marvellous you are!" cried Lucy-Ann. "Did you fight him?"

"Well - not exactly," said Jack. "He caught me, and I kicked him hard. And just then the wind blew hard and a couple of our suitcases fell out of the tree and knocked him out. It was as much of a surprise to me as to him."

"Oh - of course - we left our suitcases up there!" said Dinah. "Oh, Jack - what a good thing we did!"

"Pepi must have had a most uncomfortable night," said Jack. "The rain and wind were his only companions."

He told them how he had left the old couple in the cave of stars, and related the tale of the angry men trying to smash down the door.

"I can't get the old people to leave the caves," he said. "So we'd better take rugs and food and go back there to keep them company. They lent me their coat and shawl last night when my things were soaked. We can't leave them alone there without food or bedding."

"Oh dear - I do like this cave so much better than anywhere else," sighed Lucy-Ann. "Still - those old people have been very good to us. Is Martha there too, Jack?"

"Golly! - no, I'd forgotten all about her," said Jack, remembering. "I hope those men don't kill and eat her."

This was a dreadful thought, and made poor Lucy-Ann quite dumb for a minute or two. Poor Martha. Surely the men would leave her alone?

Kiki, of course, was as delighted to see Jack as the girls had been. She nestled on his shoulder, making crooning noises all the time he was talking, pulling at his ear and ruffling up his hair. Jack scratched her poll, delighted to have her again.

The girls collected a few tins, and Jack piled rugs over his shoulder. Then, with Kiki flying ahead, they set off to follow the familiar "signposts" to the treasure caves. The sun beat down hotly. It was a really lovely day.

"I wish I could draw a plan of how that hole behind the picture leads to our fern-cave," said Dinah. "The mountain is riddled with holes and caves. I say, isn't the waterfall loud this morning? - and it seems bigger than ever. I suppose it's all the rain last night."

They arrived at the entrance to the caves at last and went in. They made their way to the cave of stars and the old couple greeted them warmly and joyfully. The old woman was full of delight to see Lucy-Ann again, and fondled her lovingly.

"I'm hungry," said Lucy-Ann, trying to wriggle out of Elsa's arms. "Very hungry."

They all were. It was a queer place to have a meal in - the cave of stars. The children watched the flickering, shining lights, quite entranced by them. If only Lucy-Ann could take some home for her bedroom ceiling! She wished this once again as she watched the shining stars.

"Well, now, all we've got to do is to wait," said Jack, arranging the pile of rugs for everyone to sit on as comfortably as possible. "Everything rests with Philip now. Those men evidently don't know he hid in a plane or they would have said something. He must have escaped all right. What is he doing, I wonder?"

Chapter 29.

A VERY STRANGE JOURNEY.

WHAT had happened to Philip? He was certainly having a most adventurous time.

He slept under the pile of coats and rugs in the plane until dawn. Then the planes landed, and b.u.mped along the ground on their huge wheels. Philip awoke at once.

He made a peep-hole through the rugs and watched to see what the two men in his plane were doing. They were getting out. What a bit of luck that they hadn't even looked round the plane, or taken a coat from the pile!

Other men outside were greeting the new arrivals. Philip sat up and tried to hear what was said. But half of the speech was in a foreign language, and there was such a babel that it was impossible to make out anything.

He glanced round the plane. One of the crates was now in it, and a tarpaulin was tied loosely round it. Philip tried to see what was in it. Packed in straw was one of the statues, evidently one that was very valuable.

Philip peeped cautiously out of the window of the plane, for now the men's voices had ceased. Where were the men? Could he slip out now and escape to get help?

He stared in surprise. The planes, and others too, were on a vast gra.s.sy plain - and in front and all round was the blue sea. All round! Well, then, they must be on some island somewhere.

He sat and thought for a moment. These men were rogues. They were doing a deal in valuable treasures hidden and perhaps forgotten during the last war; they had planes of their own - and a secret landing-ground. What could be better than a lonely island, say, off the coast of Scotland?

"Then I suppose they'll have motor-boats or launches of their own to get the stuff away," thought Philip. "A proper gang of them! I'll never get away from here without being seen - never. If it's an island - and it seems as if it must be - I'm as much a prisoner here as I was in the treasure caves. Blow!"

Then Dinah's idea came into his mind. What about hiding in the crate? That figure would be sure to be put on board a boat and shipped off somewhere to be sold. Well, couldn't he go with it?

He peeped out again to see where the men were. They were evidently having food and drink in a hut some distance off. Philip reckoned that he would have at least half an hour to get to work.

He loosened the tarpaulin a little more. He found that the crate was fastened by a hasp. He pulled it undone, and the whole side of the crate opened, like a sideways lid. Straw began to tumble out.

The figure was inside, packed loosely round with straw. Philip thought it must be the statue of some old-time saint. He looked at it closely. Could it be made of gold? It looked like it. Anyway, it didn't matter. It was going to lie where Philip had just been lying - under the pile of rugs and coats. And Philip was going to take its place.

It was not really very difficult to get the figure out of the straw, but it was heavy once it was out. Philip almost fell under its weight, though it was only about as big as he was himself.

He dragged it to the pile of rugs. He put it right underneath, and piled the things over it so that not a sc.r.a.p of it showed. Then he cleared up the fallen bits of straw and pushed them carefully back into the crate.

Then he had the task of creeping into the straw himself. The statue had made quite a hole, and Philip settled down in the same place. He pulled the straw carefully round him, and dragged the sideways lid shut. But he could not fasten the hasp, and had to leave it, hoping that if the men saw it open they would simply think it had come undone by accident.

It was terribly warm in the straw. Philip began to be alarmed in case he might not be able to breath after a time, and he burrowed a little tunnel from his mouth and nose to the outside of the straw. After that he felt better.

He had been in the crate about a quarter of an hour when two men drove up in a cart. They unloaded all the planes. They carefully slid the crate that Philip was in out of the plane, and when the side swung open, fastened the hasp carefully. They did not guess for one moment that a live boy was inside, instead of a silent statue.

Philip's crate was loaded into the cart with other things. Then the cart was driven off towards the sea, b.u.mping over ruts as it went. Philip was terribly jolted. The straw tickled and p.r.i.c.ked him everywhere. He could hardly breathe.

But he didn't mind. He would soon be on board ship, and taken to the mainland somewhere. Then he could escape and go to the police. So he lay there patiently, trying to avoid the sharp p.r.i.c.kles of the straw by wriggling about every now and again.

He could see nothing in the crate. He could only guess when the cart arrived at a small jetty, beside which a big launch was moored. He was carried on board and dumped on a lower deck.

b.u.mp! Philip gasped, for he was very much shaken. Other things were dumped beside him. Then there came the sound of shouts and orders. The motor of the launch started up and Philip felt the vessel moving smoothly over the water. They were off!

"These men don't lose much time," thought Philip. "They don't have these things on their hands very long. Wonder who buys them?"

The trip to the mainland, wherever it was, was a long one. Philip was now quite sure that the landing-ground for the planes was on some lonely island. But at last the launch eased into some kind of harbour and came to a stop. Men began to unload it at once.

The crate was rather roughly handled, and once poor Philip was put upside-down for half a minute. That was terrible. He thought he would have to call out. But just as he felt he couldn't bear it any longer, he felt the crate being lifted again and put on a car or into a van, which drove off almost immediately.

After a while it stopped. Philip heard the sound of an engine whistling and his heart leapt for joy. They were probably at a railway station. Perhaps he would be put into the luggage van - or on a goods train. It would be easy enough to escape then. He had not dared to before, for he had felt certain that all the men handling the crate so far had been accomplices of the others.

He was not put on a train. He was left in a yard, along with other goods that were to go by a later train. He strained his ears, hoping to hear the van being driven off. Then, he thought, it would be safe for him to get out.

He waited for about twenty minutes. Then he began to try and wriggle out. But he could not undo the hasp. Blow!

He yelled. "Hi! Hi! Help me!"

A porter not far off jumped in alarm. He looked all round. There was no one in sight except a solitary pa.s.senger waiting for the next train, and another porter on the opposite platform.

Philip yelled again. "Hi! Hi! Let me out!"

The porter felt terribly scared. He looked at the waiting pa.s.senger. Had he heard the shouts too - or was it just the porter's own imagination? The pa.s.senger had heard them, and he was looking most alarmed.

"Somebody in trouble somewhere," said the man, walking to the porter. "Sounds as if he's in that little yard there."

"There's n.o.body there," said the porter, staring into the yard.