4 wherever can we be?

the aeroplane landed with a slight bump that shook the children and made them gasp. then it ranalong a little way on its huge wheels, and stopped. they had arrived.

but where? dawn had come, and light came in at the windows, but it was not full morning yet.

one of the men switched off the throbbing engines. at once a great quiet and peace came into thecabin. how marvellous not to have that enormous noise flooding into their ears any more! thechildren were glad.

they heard the men’s voices. ‘we’ve made good time – and a good landing too. you broughther in well, juan.’

‘we’ve not got much time to spare,’ said juan. ‘come on – let’s get out and stretch our legs.

we’ll go to the hut and have a meal.’

to the children’s enormous delight the men clambered out of the plane and disappeared. theyhadn’t even gone round to the back of the crate and seen the children! maybe they could escapeand get help at once. anyway they would be able to send word to bill and mrs mannering tellingthem not to worry.

‘come on,’ said jack, getting up cautiously. ‘let’s squint out of the window and see where weare. on an aerodrome, i hope. we’ll probably see a mechanic or two, and ask them to direct us tosomeone in authority.’

they all crowded to the nearest window. but what a shock when they looked out!

they were not on an aerodrome at all. they were on a broad flat piece of grassland in a valley –and that valley seemed to be surrounded on all sides by towering mountains.

‘gosh!’ said jack. ‘where are we? back of beyond, i should think.’

‘we’re in a valley,’ said philip. ‘with mountains all round – awfully beautiful – but awfullylonely! how can we get help here? there won’t be a plane to take us back, that’s certain.’

there wasn’t a house or any kind of building to be seen. the view from the other side of theplane was exactly the same – mountains on every side. they seemed to be at the bottom of them,in a green valley. it was very strange. why should the men come there?

‘what are we going to do?’ asked dinah. ‘do we get out – or stay in – or what?’

‘well – i don’t know what you think, philip,’ said jack, ‘but i don’t like any of this. i don’t likethose men, i don’t like the way they flew off in the middle of the night after what sounded like alot of shooting – and i don’t like this lonely valley either. but all the same i think it would be agood idea if we got out and snooped round a bit. there must be people somewhere about –shepherds, perhaps – somebody like that.’

‘what country are we in?’ asked lucy-ann. ‘shall we be able to speak their language?’

‘i don’t suppose so for a minute,’ said philip. ‘but we’ll just have to try and make ourselvesunderstood.’

‘i wonder what those men have come here for,’ said dinah thoughtfully. ‘it seems a funnylonely place to come to. i don’t think they are up to any good. i think it would be just as well toget out now, whilst we can, and hide, and then see if we can’t find someone to help us. we canreport everything to bill when we get back.’

‘that’s the best idea,’ said jack at once. ‘i’ll be glad to be in the open air again. this plane’sjolly stuffy.’

they looked cautiously out of every window to see if they could spot the two men. but therewas no sign of them at all.

‘better get going,’ said jack. ‘what about our suitcases – and rugs – and kiki?’

‘don’t leave them here,’ said philip. ‘we don’t want the men to guess we’ve been passengers intheir plane. take them with us.’

so the four of them left the plane and handed down their cases and rugs to one another. kikiuttered a few words of annoyance at being lifted about like luggage, but only in a very low voice.

soon all the children were standing outside the plane, wondering which way to go. jacksuddenly nudged philip and made him jump.

‘look! look over there!’

they all looked and saw a thin spire of blue smoke rising into the air.

‘the men have made a fire down there, i should think,’ said jack in a low voice. ‘better not goin that direction. we’ll take this path here – if it is a path.’

the little procession wound round some big rocks, and came to where a stream burbled downthe hillside. it gushed out not far off as a spring, and became a little stream almost at once.

‘we could drink from that,’ said philip. ‘i’m thirsty. but i’m not hungry yet. funny!’

‘well, we’re all a bit tired and worried and puzzled,’ said jack. ‘let’s get some water into ourhands and lap it up. i’m thirsty too.’

the water was cold and crystal clear. it was delicious. all the children felt better for a drink.

dinah dipped her hanky into the stream and wiped her face. she felt much fresher then, and lucy-ann did the same.

‘the thing is to find a good hiding place for ourselves and these cases,’ said jack. ‘i’m afraid ifthose two men start wandering about they may come across us. where can we go?’

‘let’s go straight on,’ said dinah. ‘up the hill here. if we keep up a little we shall be able to seethe plane down in the valley and keep our sense of direction a bit. keep among those trees.’

‘that’s a good idea,’ said philip, and they made their way slowly towards the trees. they feltsafer among them. the men could not spot them there. on the other hand, they found that theycould no longer see the plane.

‘we can always spot it by climbing up a tree,’ said jack. ‘i say – look there – is that a house?’

set in a clearing was what looked like a house. but when the children got near they found that itwas almost burnt out – just a blackened ruin, empty and deserted.

‘what a pity,’ said philip. ‘we could easily have asked help from the people who lived there. iwonder how the house got burnt.’

they went on a little higher, through a copse of silver birch trees. they saw another building alittle higher up – but to their astonishment and dismay that too was a blackened, scorched ruin.

there was no sign of life anywhere about it.

‘two burnt houses – and nobody to be found anywhere,’ said jack. ‘very curious. what’s beenhappening in this valley?’

higher up still they could see yet another house – would that be burnt out too? they labouredup to it, and gazed on it in despair.

‘quite burnt out,’ said dinah. ‘what an awful thing! what’s happened to the people who livedhere? there must have been war here, or something. i do wonder where we are.’

‘look – that cowshed, or whatever it is, isn’t very much burnt out,’ said jack. ‘let’s go overand see if the roof is still on. if it is, we could put our things there.’

they made their way to the broken-down cowshed. it seemed as if the flames had got hold ofone half of it but had left the other half. the roof was almost off, but at the back was a shelteredplace, with stalls where cows had once been put.

‘this is all right,’ said jack, making his way into the last stall of all. ‘the roof here will keepout the rain if it comes – and there are some jolly big clouds about. we can put our things here.’

‘the floor’s dirty,’ said lucy-ann, turning up her nose in disgust.

‘well, we may perhaps be able to find a broom or something to get it clean – and we’ll spread itwith grass or bracken for a carpet,’ said dinah. ‘then, if we spread out our rugs on it, we couldeven sleep here. we may not be able to find anyone to help us today. we could spend the nighthere.’

they put their cases in the corner and draped the rugs over them. kiki was put down on top inher basket. she gave a squawk of protest.

‘do you think it would be safe to let her out?’ said jack. ‘she’ll sit on my shoulder for hoursnow, i’m sure, if i tell her to. she must be so uncomfortable cooped up in that box.’

‘yes – let her out,’ said philip. ‘if she does fly off for a bit and the men see her they won’t knowwhat she is or who she belongs to. she’ll give them a fright if she begins to talk.’

kiki was set free. she was overjoyed. she clambered out of the basket and flew to jack’sshoulder. she nibbled his ear fondly.

‘where’s your handkerchief?’ she said. ‘how many times have i told you to . . .’

‘all right, kiki, all right,’ said jack. ‘not so loud, there’s a good old thing.’

‘shhhhhhhhhh!’ said kiki at the top of her voice. then she said no more, but just sat andcracked her beak.

‘well – what are our plans?’ said philip, sitting on his suitcase. ‘shall we go exploring a bitfurther and see if we can find anyone to help us? or shall we keep an eye on those men and see ifwe can find out why they’ve come here? or shall we just stay here and hide?’

‘i think we’d better go exploring,’ said jack. ‘the most important thing really is to find help.

we simply must get back home at once if we can. aunt allie and bill will be worried to deathabout us.’

‘this is such a lovely valley,’ said dinah, looking out of the tumbledown cowshed. ‘i can’tthink why it isn’t packed with houses and cattle and sheep. but i can’t see a soul. i can’t even seeany smoke anywhere – except for that bit over there, where the men are. it’s very mysterious.

why are all those houses burnt, and why isn’t there anyone here?’

‘well, we’ve only seen just a bit of the valley and hillside,’ said philip. ‘we may go round acorner and come on a whole village. aren’t those mountains enormous?’

‘yes. they make a ring all round this valley,’ said lucy-ann. ‘i wonder where the way out it.

mountains always have passes through them, don’t they?’

‘yes,’ said jack. ‘but i shouldn’t care to go looking for one if i didn’t know the way. see thatmountain over there? it’s got a white tip. i bet that’s snow. it shows how high it must be.’

it certainly was a beautiful valley, and the mountains that guarded it were magnificent. but ithad a deserted lonely air about it, and even the few birds that flew by every now and again seemedsilent and cautious.

‘there’s something mysterious here,’ said jack. ‘you know – i believe – yes, i really do believe– we’re in for another adventure.’

‘rubbish!’ said philip. ‘we shall find a farm near by, get help, have a message sent somewhere,find a car road, go to the nearest town by car, and from there to an aerodrome. and i bet you we’llbe home by tomorrow.’

‘i bet we won’t,’ said jack. lucy-ann looked alarmed.

‘but what about meals?’ she said. ‘we’ve only got aunt allies picnic packet – and few biscuitsand some chocolate. we’ll starve if we don’t get home quickly. there’s nothing to eat here.’

nobody had thought of that. it was a nuisance. an adventure was one thing – but an adventurewithout anything to eat was quite another thing. that wouldn’t do at all.

‘i don’t think we’ll make this an adventure after all,’ said jack. but an adventure it was – andthey were only at the beginning of it too.