Five Go Off In A Caravan Chapter Eighteen INSIDE THE HILL（在线收听）

Chapter Eighteen INSIDE THE HILL

The children had all put on extra jerseys, by Julian's orders, for he knew it would be cold inside the dark hill. Nobby had been lent an old one of Dick's. They were glad of them as soon as they were walking down the dark passage that led to the first cave, for the air was very chilly.

They came to the small cave and Julian flashed his torch to show them where the footholds went up the wall to a hole in the roof.

'It's exciting,' said George, thrilled. 'I like this sort of thing. Where does that hole in the roof lead to, I wonder? I'll go first, Ju.'

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'No, you won't,' said Julian firmly. 'I go first. You don't know what might be at the top!'

Up he went, his torch held in his mouth, for he needed both hands to climb. The footholds were strong nails driven into the rock of the cave-wall, and were fairly easy to climb.

He got to the hole in the roof and popped his head through. He gave a cry of astonishment.

'I say! There's a most ENORMOUS cavern here - bigger than six dance-halls - and the walls are all glittering with something - phosphorescence, I should think.'

He scrambled out of the hole and stood on the floor of the immense cave. Its walls twinkled in their queer light, and Julian shut off his torch. There was almost enough phosphorescent light in the cavern to see by!

One by one the others came up and stared in wonder. 'It's like Aladdin's cave!' said Anne. 'Isn't that a queer light shining from the walls - and from the roof, too, Julian?'

Dick and George had rather a difficulty in getting Timmy up to the cavern, but they managed it at last. Timmy put his tail down at once when he saw the curious light gleaming everywhere. But it went up again when George patted him.

'What  an  enormous  place!'  said  Dick.  'Do  you  suppose  this  is  where  the  men  hide  their  stuff, whatever it is?'

Julian  flashed  his  torch  on  again  and  swung  it  round  and  about,  picking  out  the  dark,  rocky corners. 'Can't see anything hidden,' he said. 'But we'd better explore the cave properly before we go on.'

So  the  five  children  explored  every  nook  and  cranny  of  the  gleaming  cave,  but  could  find nothing at all. Julian gave a sudden exclamation and picked something up from the floor.

'A  cigarette  end!'  he  said.  'That  shows  that  Lou  and  Dan  have  been  here.  Come  on,  let's  see  if there's a way out of this great cave.'

Right at the far end, half-way up the gleaming wall, was a large hole, rather like a tunnel. Julian climbed up to it and called to the others. 'This is the way they went. There's a dead match just at the entrance to the tunnel or whatever this is.'

It was a curious tunnel, no higher than their shoulders in some places, and it wound about as it went further into the hill. Julian thought that at one time water must have run through it. But it was quite dry now. The floor of the tunnel was worn very smooth, as if a stream had hollowed it out through many, many years.

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'I hope the stream won't take it into its head to begin running suddenly again!' said George. 'We should get jolly wet!'

The tunnel went on for some way, and Anne was beginning to feel it must go on for ever. Then the wall at one side widened out and made a big rocky shelf. Julian, who was first,  flashed his torch into the hollow.

'I say!' he shouted. 'Here's where those fellows keep their stores! There's a whole pile of things here!'

The others  crowded up  as  closely as  they  could,  each of them flashing their torch brightly. On the  wide,  rocky  shelf  lay  boxes  and  packages,  sacks  and  cases.  The  children  stared  at  them.

'What's in them?' said Nobby, full of intense curiosity. 'Let's see!'

He put down his torch and undid a sack. He slid in his hand - and brought it out holding a piece of shining gold plate!

'Coo!' said Nobby. 'So that's  what the police were after last  year when they came and searched the  camp!  And  it  was  hidden  safely  here.  Coo,  look  at  all  these  things.  Jumping  Jiminy,  they must have robbed the Queen herself!'

The sack was  full  of exquisite pieces  of  gold  plate  -  cups,  dishes, small  trays.  The children set them all out on the ledge. How they gleamed in the light of their torches!

'They're thieves in a very big way,' said Julian. 'No doubt about that. Let's look in this box.'

The box was not locked, and the lid opened easily. Inside was a piece of china, a vase so fragile that it looked as if it might break at a breath!

'Well, I don't know anything about china,' said Julian, 'but I suppose this is a very precious piece, worth  thousands  of  pounds.  A  collector  of  china  would  probably  give  a  very  large  sum  for  it.

What rogues Lou and Dan are!'

'Look here!' suddenly said George, and she pulled leather boxes out of a bag. 'Jewellery!'

She  opened  the  boxes.  The  children  exclaimed  in  awe.  Diamonds  flashed  brilliantly,  rubies glowed,  emeralds  shone  green.  Necklaces,  bracelets,  rings,  brooches  -  the  beautiful  things gleamed in the light of the five torches.

There was a tiara in one box that seemed to be made only of big diamonds. Anne picked it out of its box gently. Then she put it on her hair.

'I'm a princess! It's my crown!' she said.

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'You  look  lovely,'  said  Nobby  admiringly.  'You  look  as  grand  as  Delphine  the  Bareback  Rider when she goes into the ring on her horse, with jewels shining all over her!'

Anne  put  on  necklaces  and  bracelets  and  sat  there  on  the  ledge  like  a  little  princess,  shining brightly in the magnificent jewels. Then she took them off and put them carefully back into their satin-lined boxes.

'Well - what a haul those two rogues have made!' said Julian, pulling out some gleaming silver plate from another package. 'They must be very fine burglars!'

'I  know  how  they  work,'  said  Dick.  'Lou's  a  wonderful  acrobat,  isn't  he?  I  bet  he  does  all  the climbing  about  up  walls  and  over  roofs  and  into  windows  -  and  Tiger  Dan  stands  below  and catches everything he throws down.'

'You're about right,' said Nobby, handling a beautiful silver cup. 'Lou could climb anywhere - up ivy, up pipes - even up the bare wall of a house, I shouldn't wonder! And jump! He can jump like a cat. He and Tiger Dan have been in this business for a long time, I expect. That's where Uncle Dan went at night, of course, when we were on tour, and I woke up and found him gone out of the caravan!'

'And  I  expect  he  stores  the  stolen  goods  in  that  wagon  of  his  you  showed  us,'  said  Julian, remembering.  'You  told  us  how  angry  he  was  with  you  once  when  you  went  and  rummaged about in it. He probably stored it there, and then he and Lou came up here each year and hid the stuff underground - waiting till the police had given up the search for the stolen things - and then they come and get it and sell it somewhere safe.'

'A jolly clever plan,' said Dick. 'What a fine chance they've got - wandering about from place to place like that hearing of famous jewels or plate - slipping out at night - and Lou climbing up to bedrooms like a cat. I wonder how they found this place - it's a most wonderful hidey-hole!'

'Yes. Nobody would ever dream of it!' said George.

'And then we go and put our caravan bang on the top of the entrance - just when they want to put something in and take something out!' said Julian. 'I must have annoyed them.'

'What are we going to do about it?' said Dick.

Tell the police, of course,' said Julian, promptly. 'What do you suppose? My word, I'd like to see the face of the policeman who first sees this little haul.'

They put everything back carefully. Julian shone his torch up the tunnel. 'Shall we explore a bit further, or not?' he said. 'It still goes on. Look!'

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'Better get back,' said Nobby. 'Now we've found this we'd better do something about it.'

'Oh, let's just see where the tunnel goes to,' said George. 'It won't take a minute!'

'All right,' said Julian, who wanted to go up the tunnel as much as she did. He led the way, his torch shining brightly.

The tunnel came out into another cave, not nearly as big as the one they had left behind. At one end something gleamed like silver, and seemed to move. There was a curious sound there, too.

'What is it?' said Anne, alarmed. They stood and listened.

'Water!' said  Julian, suddenly.  'Of  course! Can't  you hear it  flowing along? It's an underground stream, flowing through the hill to find an opening where it can rush out.'

'Like that stream we saw before we came to our caravan camping-place,' said George. 'It rushed out of the hill. Do you remember? This may be the very one!'

'I  expect  it  is!'  said  Dick.  They  went  over  to  it  and  watched  it.  It  rushed  along  in  its  own hollowed out channel, close to the side of the cave-wall.

'Maybe at one time it ran across this cave and down the tunnel we came up by,' said Julian. 'Yes, look - there's a big kind of groove in the floor of the cave here - the stream must have run there once. Then for some reason it went a different way.'

'Let's  get  back,'  said  Nobby.  'I  want  to  know  if  Pongo's  all  right.  I  don't  somehow  feel  very comfortable about him. And I'm jolly cold, too. Let's go back to the sunshine and have something to eat. I don't want a picnic down here, after all.'

'All  right,' said  Julian, and they made their  way  back through the tunnel.  They passed the rock shelf on  which  lay  the treasure, and came  at  last  to  the enormous  gleaming  cavern. They  went across it to the hole that led down into the small cave. Down they went. Julian and George trying to manage Timmy between them. But it was very awkward, for he was a big dog.

Then along the passage to the entrance-hole. They all felt quite pleased at the idea of going up into the sunshine again.

'Can't see any daylight shining down the hole,' said Julian puzzled. 'It would be near here.'

He came up against a blank wall, and was surprised. Where was the hole? Had they missed their way?  Then  he  flashed  his  torch  above  him  and  saw  the  hole  there  -  but  there  was  no  daylight shining in!

'I say!' said Julian, in horror. 'I say! What do you think's happened?'

'What?' asked everyone, in panic.

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'The hole is closed!' said Julian. 'We can't get out! Somebody's been along and put those planks across - and I bet they've put the caravan over them, too. We can't get out!'

Everyone stared up at the closed entrance in dismay. They were prisoners.

'Whatever are we to do?' said George. 'Julian - what are we going to do?'