Chapter Nineteen PRISONERS UNDERGROUND（在线收听）

Chapter Nineteen PRISONERS UNDERGROUND

Julian  didn't  answer.  He  was  angry  with  himself  for  not  thinking  that  this  might  happen!

Although Lou and Dan had been seen getting on the bus with bags, they might easily not have been spending the night away - the bags might contain things they wanted to sell - stolen goods of some kind.

'They came back quickly - and came up the hill, I suppose, to have another try at getting Nobby and  Pongo  back,'  said  Julian,  out  loud.  'What  an  idiot  I  am  to  leave  things  to  chance  like  that.

Well - I'll have a try at shifting these planks. I should be able to, with luck.'

He did his best, and did shift them to a certain extent - but, as he feared, the caravan had been run back over the hole, and even if he managed to shift some of the planks it was impossible to make a way out.

'Perhaps Pongo can help,' he said suddenly. He shouted loudly: 'Pongo! Pongo! Come and help!'

Everyone stood still, hoping that they would hear Pongo chattering somewhere near, or scraping at the planks above. But there was no sign or sound of Pongo.

Everyone called, but it was no use. Pongo didn't come. What had happened to him? Poor Nobby felt very worried.

'I wish I knew what has happened,' he kept saying. 'I feel as if something horrid has happened to poor old Pongo. Where can he be?'

Pongo  was  not  very  far  away.  He  was  lying  on  his  side,  his  head  bleeding.  He  was  quite unconscious, and could not hear the frantic calls of the children at all. Poor Pongo!

What Julian had feared had actually happened. Lou and Dan had come back up the hill, bringing money with them to tempt Nobby and Pongo back. When they had got near to the hollow, they had stood still and called loudly.

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'Nobby! Nobby! We've come to make friends, not to hurt you! We've got money for  you. Be a sensible boy and come back to the camp. Mr Gorgio is asking for you.'

When there had been no reply  at all, the men had gone nearer. Then they  had seen Pongo and had stopped. The chimpanzee could not get at them because he was tied up. He sat there snarling.

'Where have those kids gone?' asked Lou. Then he saw that the caravan had been moved back a little, and he at once guessed.

'They've found the way underground! The interfering little brutes! See, they've moved one of the caravans off the hole. What do we do now!'

'This  first,' said  Tiger Dan, in  a brutal  voice, and he picked up an enormous stone. He threw it with all his force at poor Pongo, who tried to leap out of the way. But the rope prevented him, and the stone hit him full on the head.

He gave a loud scream and fell down at once, lying quite still.

'You've gone and killed him,' said Lou.

'So much the better!' said Tiger  Dan.  'Now let's  go  and see if the  entrance-hole is  open. Those kids want their necks wringing!'

They went to the hollow and saw at once that the hole had been discovered, opened, and that the children must have gone down it.

'They're down there now,' said Tiger Dan, almost choking with rage. 'Shall we go down and deal with them - and get our stuff and clear off? We meant to clear off tomorrow, anyway. We might as well get the stuff out now.'

'What  -  in  the  daylight  -  with  any  of  the  farm  men  about  to  see  us!'  said  Lou  with  a  sneer.

'Clever, aren't you?'

'Well, have you got a better idea?' asked Tiger Dan.

'Why not follow our plan?' said Lou. 'Go down when it's dark and collect the stuff. We can bring our wagon up as we planned to do tonight. We don't need to bother about forcing the children to go now - they're underground - and we can make them prisoners till we're ready to clear off!'

'I see,' said Dan, and he grinned suddenly, showing his ugly teeth. 'Yes - we'll close up the hole and run the caravan back over it - and come up tonight in the dark with the wagon - go down -

collect everything - and shut up the hole again with the children in it. We'll send a card to Gorgio when we're safe and tell him to go up and set the kids free.'

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'Why bother to do that?' said  Lou, in a cruel voice. 'Let  'em starve underground, the interfering little beasts. Serve 'em right.'

'Can't  do  that,'  said  Dan.  'Have  the  police  after  us  worse  than  ever.  We'll  have  to  chuck  some food down the hole, to keep them going till they're set free. No good starving them, Lou. There'd be an awful outcry if we do anything like that.'

The two men carefully put back the boards over the top of the hole and replaced the heather tufts.

Then they ran the caravan back over the place. They looked at Pongo. The chimpanzee was still lying on his side, and the men could see what a nasty wound he had on his head.

'He ain't dead,' said Lou, and gave him a kick. 'He'll come round all right. Better leave him here.

He might come to himself if we carried him back to camp, and fight us. He can't do us any harm tonight, tied up like that.'

They went  away down the track. Not ten minutes afterwards the children came to the hole and found it blocked up! If only they hadn't stopped to explore that tunnel a bit further, they would have been able to get out and set Timmy on the two men.

But it was too late now. The hole was well and truly closed. No one could get out. No one could find poor Pongo and bathe his head. They were real prisoners.

They didn't like it at all. Anne began to cry, though she tried not to let the others see her. Nobby saw that she was upset, and put his arm round her.

'Don't cry, little Anne,' he said. 'We'll be all right.'

'It's  no  good  staying  here,'  said  Julian,  at  last.  'We  might  as  well  go  somewhere  more comfortable, and sit down and talk and eat. I'm hungry.'

They  all  went  back  down  the  passage,  up  through  the  hole  in  the  roof,  and  into  the  enormous cavern. They found a sandy corner and sat down. Julian handed Anne the kitbag and she undid it to get the food inside.

'Better only have one torch going,' said Julian. 'We don't know how long we'll be here. We don't want to be left in the dark!'

Everybody immediately switched off their torches. The idea of being lost in the dark inside the hill wasn't at all nice! Anne handed out slices of bread and butter, and the children put thin slices of Mrs Mackie's delicious ham on them.

They felt distinctly better when they had all eaten a good meal. That was jolly good,' said Dick.

'No, we won't eat that chocolate, Anne. We may want it later on. Golly, I'm thirsty!'

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'So am I,' said Nobby. 'My tongue's hanging out like old Timmy's. Let's go and get a drink.'

'Well, there was a stream in that other cave beyond the tunnel, wasn't there?' said Dick. 'We can drink from that. It'll be all right.'

'Well,  I  hope it will,' said Julian. 'We were told  not  to  drink water that  wasn't  boiled while we were caravanning - but we didn't know this sort of thing was going to happen! We'll go through the tunnel and get some water to drink from the stream.'

They  made  their  way  through  the  long,  winding  tunnel,  and  passed  the  shelf  of  stolen  goods.

Then on they went and came out into the cave through which the stream rushed so quickly. They dipped in their hands and drank thirstily. The water tasted lovely - so clear and cold.

Timmy drank too. He was puzzled at this adventure, but so long as he was with George he was happy. If his mistress suddenly took it into her head to live underground like a worm, that was all right - so long as Timmy was with her!

'I  wonder  if  this  stream  does  go  to  that  hole  in  the  hillside,  and  pours  out  there,'  said  Julian, suddenly. 'If it does, and we could follow it, we might be able to squeeze out.'

'We'd  get  terribly  wet,'  said  George,  'but  that  wouldn't  matter.  Let's  see  if  we  can  follow  the water.'

They went to where the stream disappeared into a tunnel rather like the dry one they had come along. Julian shone his torch into it.

'We could wade along, I think,' he said. 'It is very fast but not very deep. I know - I'll go along it myself and see where it goes, and come back and tell you.'

'No,' said George, at once. 'If you go, we all go. You might get separated from us. That would be awful.'

'All  right,'  said  Julian.  'I  thought  there  was  no  sense  in  us  all  getting  wet,  that's  all.  Come  on, we'll try now.'

One by one they waded into the stream. The current tugged at their legs, for the water ran very fast. But it was only just above their knees there. They waded along by the light of their torches, wondering where the tunnel would lead to.

Timmy half-waded, half-swam. He didn't like this water-business very much. It seemed silly to him.  He  pushed  ahead  of  Julian  and  then  a  little  further  down,  jumped  up  to  a  ledge  that  ran beside the water.

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'Good  idea,  Tim,'  said  Julian,  and  he  got  up  on  to  it  too.  He  had  to  crouch  down  rather  as  he walked because his head touched the roof of the tunnel if he didn't - but at least his legs were out of the icy-cold water! All the others did the same, and as long as the ledge ran along beside the stream they all walked along it.

But  at  times it disappeared and then they had to  wade in  the water again, which now suddenly got deeper. 'Gracious! It's almost to my waist,' said Anne. 'I hope it doesn't get any deeper. I'm holding my clothes up as high as I can, but they'll get soaked soon.'

Fortunately the water got no deeper, but it seemed to go faster. 'We're going down hill a bit,' said Julian at last. 'Perhaps we are getting near to where it pours out of the hill.'

They  were!  Some  distance  ahead  of  him  Julian  suddenly  saw  a  dim  light,  and  wondered whatever it could be. He soon knew! It was daylight creeping in through the water that poured out of the hole in the hillside - poured out in a torrent into the sunshine.

'We're almost there!' cried Julian. 'Come on.'

With  light  hearts  the  children  waded  along  in  the  water.  Now  they  would  soon  be  out  in  the warm  sunshine.  They  would  find  Pongo,  and  race  down  the  hill  in  the  warmth,  catch  the  first bus, and go to the police station.

But  nothing  like  that  happened  at  all.  To  their  enormous  disappointment  the  water  got  far  too deep to wade through, and Nobby stopped in fright. 'I daren't go no further,' he said. 'I'm almost off my feet now with the water rushing by.'

'I am, too,' said Anne, frightened.

'Perhaps  I  can  swim  out,'  said  Julian,  and  he  struck  out.  But  he  gave  it  up  in  dismay,  for  the torrent of water was too much for him, and he was afraid of being hurled against the rocky sides and having his head cracked.

It's  no  good,'  he  said,  gloomily.  'No  good  at  all.  All  that  wading  for  nothing.  It's  far  too dangerous to  go  any  further  - and  yet  daylight  is  only  a few  yards ahead.  It's  too  sickening  for words.'

'We must go back,' said  George. 'I'm  afraid  Timmy will be drowned if we don't. Oh, dear  - we must go all that way back!'