18

a little exploring

there was a long pause after this strange story. it was very hard to believe – and yet they had seenand heard such strange things the last few days that they felt anything might be true of this lonelymountain.

‘but what’s the idea?’ asked jack, after a while. ‘and why all the wheels and wires and things?

i just don’t get the hang of it all.’

‘nor do i. but sam reckons that if the experiment came off, and men could really fly with thesewings, somebody would make a most colossal fortune!’ said philip. ‘everyone would want them.

everyone would fly.’

‘it sounds lovely,’ said lucy-ann. ‘i should love to fly like the birds do – much, much betterthan going in an aeroplane!’

they all felt the same – but nobody could really believe in these ‘wings’ that sam had talked of.

‘how did he escape?’ asked jack, nodding at the black man.

‘he did an absolutely mad thing – as dangerous as jumping off a helicopter to try the “wings”,’

said philip. ‘he got a parachute out of the stores, came in here, fitted it on – and jumped!’

everyone shuddered. ‘what! jumped out of this cave, right from the top of the mountain?’ saidjack. ‘gosh, he’s a brave man!’

‘he is. his parachute opened, and he floated down to earth, landing with an awful bump. but ofcourse he’d learnt how to fall, and he soon recovered. the next thing was – to find safetysomewhere.’

‘he couldn’t have found a lonelier, more deserted bit of country than in these mountains,’ saidjack. ‘i suppose he didn’t even know where he was.’

‘he hadn’t the faintest idea,’ said philip. ‘i told him we were in wales – but he didn’t knowwhere that was.’

‘and then the dogs got after him, i suppose?’ said jack. ‘poor sam!’

‘yes. he knew about them, because they live up on the mountain-top with the men. he saysthey’re used to scare any possible wanderer who comes near this mountain – and, of course, tohunt anyone who does escape – or find anyone who crashes if the wings don’t work.’

‘that’s more likely,’ said jack. ‘gosh, what a horrible, callous lot of men there must be behindall this! i never heard of anything like it in my life.’

‘sam says there’s a king,’ said philip. ‘the king of the mountain! isn’t it incredible? thatthrone must be for him. sam’s never seen him. he must be the spider at work, catching all thesefellows and making them try out his mad experiments.’

‘we thought there was some colossal brain behind all this,’ said jack. ‘i suppose that hawk-eyed man – meier – isn’t the king, is he?’

‘oh, no! i don’t know what you’d call him – sort of organizer, i suppose. he sees to everything– the stores – all the arrangements – shuts up the men when the helicopters arrive – and so on.

there are two men, apparently, who work together on these things. the king is somebody whoonly appears on state occasions – such as when another pair of wings is produced, and the menhave to go down to that great stateroom, listen to some speech they don’t understand, and watchone of their number being picked to try out the wings.’

‘picking out a victim for sacrifice, it sounds like!’ said jack grimly. ‘i don’t like this at all. it’sso mad.’

‘sam was ill the last time the king picked out his victims,’ said philip. ‘so he hasn’t seen theking of the mountain, as i said. he must be a twisted sort of chap – really callous and cruel, tomake these fellows try out wings that can’t possibly be any good.’

‘i agree with you!’ said jack. ‘and i think the sooner we get out of here and get into touch withold bill, the better. i don’t feel safe in this mountain. no wonder lucy-ann got “feelings” about it.

i’ve got quite a lot of feelings about it myself now!’

‘look – sam’s waking up,’ said lucy-ann. they all looked at the man. he sat up, and rubbedhis eyes. he looked across the cave and seemed surprised to see so many children.

then he recognized lucy-ann as the little girl who had seen him up in the tree. he smiled, andthen shook his head.

‘didn’t i tell you to git away,’ said sam, looking solemn. ‘this here is a bad mountain. thosemen are bad, too.’

‘we’re going now, sam,’ said philip. as soon as we think it’s safe. will you come too? weknow the way out.’

sam looked frightened. ‘i’m scared of those dogs,’ he said. ‘i reckon i’m safe right here.’

‘you’re not. i bet you’ll be the very next one chosen to try out the “wings” you told me about,’

said philip.

‘the wings’re better than those dogs,’ said sam.

voices came past the door. the children fell silent and listened till they had gone past. samlistened too.

‘that was pete and jo,’ he said.

‘well, pete and jo have gone up to the mountain-top again,’ said jack. ‘come on. it seems agood time to go now. we didn’t meet anyone coming here – and the chances are we shan’t meetanyone going back. what a tale we’ll have to tell bill!’

they opened the door cautiously. snowy bounded out at once. kiki was on jack’s shoulder,having kept silent for a surprisingly long time. she did not seem to like this peculiar mountain!

they went quietly down the spiral stairway, following its many turns round and round. theycame to the openings where the stores were kept. it made them feel very hungry to see all the tinsof food; but there was no time to think of eating now. they had to escape as quickly as possible.

snowy led them down the dimly lit passages. the children expected to see the curious library ofbooks at the end of them, but snowy had apparently taken them a different way. they stoppedafter a while in dismay.

‘i say – this isn’t right. we didn’t see that cave there before – i’m sure we didn’t!’ said jack.

they hesitated, not knowing whether to go on or go back. it would be awful to get lost in the heartof the mountain!

‘i can hear some kind of noises,’ said lucy-ann, listening. ‘let’s creep on and see what theyare.’

they went on down a wide passage that at times ran very steeply downhill. the air suddenlygrew hot.

‘phew!’ said philip, mopping his forehead. ‘i can hardly breathe.’

they came out on a kind of balcony that overlooked a great deep pit, so vast that it took thechildren’s breath away. far down in the middle of it men were at work, though what they weredoing the children couldn’t possibly tell. they were as small as ants.

great lamps lit up the pit. the children gazed in astonishment. what could be going on downthere?

suddenly jack nudged philip. ‘look – the men have slid aside the floor of the pit – do you see?

what’s that under it?’

jack might well ask! out of the hole in the pit floor shone a brilliant mass of colour – but acolour the children did not know! it was not blue or green, not red or yellow, not any colour theyhad ever seen before. they gaped at it in surprise.

then, suddenly they felt a curious feeling – a feeling of lightness, as if they were in a dream,and not quite real. they clutched the balcony rail, afraid. at the same moment the men downbelow slid the great floor over the hole in the pit again, and shut out the brilliant mass of unknowncolour. at once the strange feeling passed away from the children, and they were themselves oncemore.

they felt a little weak. ‘let’s go,’ said jack, scared. ‘i don’t like this.’

but before they could go there began that now familiar rumbling noise from the very depths ofthe mountain! the children clung to one another. it was so much louder now that they were insidethe mountain. it was louder than thunder, an angry, unearthly noise. then the balcony they wereon began to shake.

jack took one last look down into the strange pit. the men had disappeared – probably hiddensafely behind rocky walls. jack caught lucy-ann’s hand and fled! after him came philip anddinah. kiki clung to jacks shoulder, more scared than any of them. snowy had disappearedcompletely.

the four children tore up the steep wide passage that had led them down to the pit. the floor ofit shook beneath their feet as they ran. the children felt sure that the whole of the great mountainwas shaking. what powers were being used by these men? surely they must have discovered somescientific secret unknown to anyone before!

the children did not stop running until they came to the end of the uphill passage. they werestreaming with perspiration, and panting loudly. snowy suddenly joined them and pressed againstphilip’s legs. all four children sank down in a heap and snowy walked over them, unheeded.

‘for goodness’ sake let’s get out of here,’ said philip at last. ‘i daresay if we were scientists weshouldn’t be a bit scared, only intensely interested – but all i can say is – let’s get out of here!’

everyone agreed heartily. the only thing was – which was the way? they got up and walkedalong a twisty little passage. it forked into two after a bit, and the children, not knowing which totake, took the right-hand one. it led them to a cell-like cave with a narrow bed in it, a jug andbasin, and a shelf. nothing more.

‘funny!’ said jack. ‘i expect it belongs to meier, or one of the other men. let’s go back.’

they went back to where the passage forked, and took the left-hand way. to their great surprisethey came to hanging curtains of purple silk, patterned with great red dragons!

they stopped. philip put his hand on snowy to prevent him from darting forward. jack crept tothe curtains on tiptoe.

beyond was a cave so beautifully decorated, so profusely hung with curtains and spread withthick carpets that it didn’t seem like a cave at all. a couch stood in one corner, covered with apurple silk quilt, worked with the same red dragons as on the curtains they had seen.

jack stared. perhaps this was where the king slept. it felt deliciously cool here. where did thelittle cooling draught come from? he saw a narrow rod hanging on the wall near him, with slits init all the way along. he put his hand up and felt a draught of air. how astonishing! it was only arod fixed to the wall. how could fresh air come out of it? again jack felt that there wereremarkably ingenious brains at work in this mountain.

he heard voices from a room further on whose opening was hidden by the same kind of purplecurtains that hung in other places. he tiptoed back to the others.

‘we’ll wait for a bit. there’s somebody talking in the room beyond this one. this is the king’sbedroom, i should think.’

they waited, peeping through the curtains every now and then. they all began to feel terriblyhungry. they were very relieved when the voices stopped and there was silence. they tiptoedthrough the bedroom and into the room beyond.

they stopped in delight – not at the strange beauty of the room – but at the gorgeous food onthe table!