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Chapter Twenty-one THE END OF THE ADVENTURE

'WHERE'S he gone?' said Aunt Fanny, quite hurt. Nobody answered. Julian, George and Martin were watching the tower with anxious intensity¹. If only Uncle Quentin would appear at the top.

Ah - there he was! He had taken up with him a big stone. As everyone watched he smashed the glass round the tower with the stone. Crash! Crash! Crash! The wires that ran through the glass 90

were broken and split as the glass crashed into pieces. No power could race through them now.

Uncle Quentin leaned out of the broken glass room and shouted exultantly².

'It's all right! I was in time! I've destroyed the power that might have blown up the island - you're safe!'

George found that  her knees  were suddenly shaking. She had to sit down on the  floor. Timmy came and licked her face wonderingly. Then he too sat down.

'What's he doing, smashing the tower up?' asked a burly fisherman. 'I don't understand all this.'

Uncle Quentin came down the tower and rejoined them. 'Another ten minutes and I should have been too late,' he said. 'Thank goodness, Anne, you all arrived when you did.'

'I ran all the way home, told Aunt Fanny, and we got the fishermen to come over as soon as they could get out their boats,' explained Anne. 'We couldn't think of any other way of rescuing you.

Where are the wicked men?'

'Trying to escape down the under-sea tunnel,' said Julian. 'Oh - you don't know about that, Anne!'

Arid³ he told her; while the fishermen listened open-mouthed.

'Look here,' said Uncle Quentin, when he had finished. 'As the boats are here, the men might as well  take  all  my  gear  back  with  them.  I've  finished  my  job  here.  I  shan't  want  the  island  any more.'

'Oh! Then we can have it!' said George, delighted. 'And there's plenty of the holidays left. We'll help to bring up what you want, Father.'

'We ought to get back as quickly as we can, so as to catch those fellows at the other end of the tunnel, sir,' said one of the fishermen.

'Yes. We ought,' said Aunt Fanny.

'Gracious! They'll find Mr. Curton there with a broken leg,' said Anne, suddenly remembering.

The others looked at her in surprise. This was the first they had heard of Mr. Curton being in the quarry⁴. Anne explained. 'And I told him he was a very wicked man,' she ended triumphantly⁵.

'Quite  right,'  said  Uncle  Quentin,  with  a  laugh.  'Well,  perhaps  we'd  better  get  my  gear  another time.'

'Oh, two of us can see to that for you now,' said the burly fisherman. 'Miss George here, she's got her boat in the cove⁶, and you've got yours, sir. The others can go back with you, if you like - and Tom  and  me,  we'll  fix  up  your  things  and  bring  them  across  to  the  mainland  later  on.  Save  us coming over again, sir.'

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'Right,' said Uncle Quentin, pleased. 'You do that, then. It's down in the caves through that tunnel behind the stone.'

They  all went  down to  the cove.  It  was  a beautiful  day  and the sea was  very calm, except  just round the island, where the waters were always rough. Soon the boats were being sailed or rowed to the mainland.

'The adventure is over!' said Anne. 'How queer - I didn't think it was one while it was happening

-- but now I see it was!'

'Another to add to our long list of adventures,' said Julian. 'Cheer up, Martin - don't look so blue.

Whatever happens, we'll see you don't come out badly over this. You helped us, and you threw in your lot with us. We'll see that you don't suffer - won't we, Uncle Quentin? We'd never have got through those falls of rock if we hadn't had Martin and his spades!'

'Well  -  thanks,' said  Martin. 'If  you can  get  me away  from  my  guardian  - and never let me see him again - I'd be happy!'

'It's  quite  likely  that  Mr.  Curton  will  be  put  somewhere  safe  where  he  won't  be  able  to  see  his friends for quite a long time,' said Uncle Quentin dryly. 'So I don't think you need worry.'

As  soon  as  the  boats  reached  shore,  Julian,  Dick,  Timmy  and  Uncle  Quentin  went  off  to  the quarry to see if Mr. Curton was still there - and to wait for the other two men to come out of the tunnel! Mr. Curton was there all right, still groaning⁷ and calling for help. Uncle Quentin spoke⁸ to him sternly.

'We  know  your  part  in  this  matter,  Curton.  You  will  be  dealt  with  by  the  police.  They  will  be along in a short while.'

Timmy sniffed⁹ round Mr. Curton, and then walked away, nose in air, as if to say 'What a nasty bit of work!'

The others arranged themselves at the mouth of the hole and waited. But nobody came. An hour went by - two hours. Still nobody.

'I'm glad Martin and Anne didn't come,' said Uncle Quentin. 'I do wish we'd brought sandwiches.'

At  that  moment  the  police  arrived,  scrambling  down  the  steep  sides  of  the  quarry.  The  police doctor was with them and he saw to Mr. Curton's leg. Then, with the help of the others, he got the man to the top with great difficulty.

'Julian, go back and get sandwiches,' said Uncle Quentin at last. 'It looks as if we've got a long wait!'

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Julian  went  back,  and  was  soon  down  the  quarry  with  neat  packets  of  ham  sandwiches  and  a thermos¹⁰ of hot coffee. The two policemen who were still left offered to stay and watch, if Uncle Quentin wanted to go home.

'Dear  me,  no!'  he  said.  'I  want  to  see  the  faces  of  these  two  fellows  when  they  come  out.  It's going to be one of the nicest moments of my life! The island is not blown up. My secret is safe.

My  book  is  safe.  My  work  is  finished.  And  I  just  want  to  tell  these  things  to  my  two  dear friends!'

'You know, Father, I believe they've lost their way underground,' said George. 'Julian said there were many different, passages. Timmy took the boys through the right ones, of course -- but they would have been quite lost if they hadn't had him with them!'

Her father's face fell at the thought of the men being lost underground. He did so badly want to see their dismayed faces when they arrived in the quarry!

'We could send Timmy in,' said Julian. 'He would soon find them and bring them out. Wouldn't you, Tim?'

'Woof,' said Timmy, agreeing.

'Oh yes - that's a good idea,' said George. 'They won't hurt him if they think he can show them the way out! Go on in, Timmy. Find them boy; find them! Bring them here!'

'Woof,' said Timmy, obligingly, and disappeared under the shelf of rock.

Everyone waited, munching¹¹ sandwiches and sipping¹² coffee. And then they heard Timmy's bark again, from underground! There was a panting noise, then a scraping sound as somebody came wriggling¹³ out from under the rock. He stood up - and then he saw the silent group watching him.

He gasped¹⁴.

'Good morning, Johnson,' said Uncle Quentin, in an amiable¹⁵ voice. 'How are you?'

Johnson went white. He sat down on the nearby heather. 'You win!' he said.

'I do,' said Uncle Quentin. 'In fact, I win handsomely. Your little plan went wrong. My secret is still safe - and next year it will be given to the whole world!'

There  was  another  scraping  sound  and  the  second  man  arrived.  He  stood  up  too  -  and  then  he saw the quietly watching group.

'Good  morning,  Peters,'  said  Uncle  Quentin.  'So  nice  to  see  you  again.  How  did  you  like  your underground walk? We found it better to come by sea.'

Peters looked at Johnson, and he too sat down suddenly. 'What's happened?' he said to Johnson.

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'It's all up,' said Johnson. Then Timmy appeared, wagging his tail, and went to George.

'I bet they were glad when Timmy came up to them!' said Julian.

Johnson  looked  at  him.  'Yes.  We  were  lost  in  those  hateful  tunnels.  Curton  said  he'd  come  to meet us, but he never came.'

'No. He's probably in the prison hospital by now, with a broken leg,' said Uncle Quentin. 'Well, constable¹⁶ - do your duty.'

Both men were at once arrested. Then the whole company made their way back over the moor¹⁷.

The two men were put into a police car and driven off. The rest of the company went into Kirrin Cottage to have a good meal.

'I'm most terribly hungry,' said George. 'Joanna, have you got anything nice for breakfast?'

'Not much,' said Joanna, from the kitchen. 'Only bacon and eggs and mushrooms!'

'Oooh!' said Anne. 'Joanna, you shall have the O.B.C.B.E.!'

'And what may that be?' cried Joanna, but Anne couldn't remember.

'It's a decoration!' she cried.

'Well, I'm not a Christmas tree!' shouted back Joanna. 'You come and help with the breakfast!'

It  was  a  very  jolly  breakfast  that  the  seven  of  them  -  no  eight,  for  Timmy  must  certainly  be counted  --  sat  down  to.  Martin,  now  that  he  was  free  of  his  guardian,  became  quite  a  different boy.

The children made plans for him. 'You can stay with the coastguard, because he likes  you  - he kept on and on saying you weren't a bad boy! And you can come and play with us and go to the island. And Uncle Quentin will see if he can get  you into an art-school.  He says  you deserve a reward for helping¹⁸ to save his wonderful secret!'

Martin glowed with pleasure. It seemed as if a load had fallen away from his shoulders.

'I've never had a chance till now,' he said, 'I'll make good. You see if I don't!'

'Mother! Can we go and stay on Kirrin Island and watch the tower being taken down tomorrow?'

begged  George.  'Do  say  yes!  And  can  we  stay  there  a  whole  week?  We  can  sleep  in  that  little room as we did before.'

'Well  --  I  suppose  you  can!'  said  her  mother,  smiling  at  George's  eager  face.  'I'd  rather  like  to have your father to myself for a few days and feed him up a bit.'

'Oh -- that reminds me, Fanny,' said her husband, suddenly. 'I tried some soup you left for me, the night before last. And, my dear, it was horrible! Quite bad!'

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'Oh Quentin! I told you to pour it away! You know I did,' said his wife, distressed¹⁹. 'It must have been completely bad. You really are dreadful.'

They all finished their breakfast at last, and went out into the garden. They looked across Kirrin Bay to Kirrin Island. It looked lovely in the morning sun.

'We've had a lot of adventures together,' said Julian. 'More than most children. They have been exciting, haven't they?'

Yes -- they have. But now we must say good-bye to the Five, and to Kirrin Island too. Good-bye, Julian, Dick, George, Anne -- and Timmy. But only Timmy hears our good-bye, for he has such sharp ears.

THE END