13

the extra passenger

jack stared in distress at the four children being bundled into the car – philip and dinah at theback with three men, and gussy and lucy-ann in front with the driver. what a crowd! if anyonesaw the car going along with such a number of people in, surely it would be noticed and stopped?

‘yes, it would,’ thought jack, ‘so that means they can’t be going very far – they will arrive attheir destination before daylight. are they going to take them to some hiding place fairly nearthen? why in the world have they got philip and the girls as well as gussy?’

everyone was now in the car. the doors were shut as quietly as possible. the engine wasstarted up – and just at that very moment jack had an idea!

he ran, crouching, to the back of the car. he hadn’t had time to shut the luggage boot properlywhen he had opened it to look inside. could he get into it before the car drove off? it was such afine big one.

the car began to move very slowly out of the quarry, bumping over rough places. jack flunghimself at the back of it, and clambered up on to the luggage boot. it swung right open, and jackhalf-fell into it. kiki was astounded, and flew off his shoulder at once. jack stared at her anxiously.

he dared not call her back.

but, as soon as she saw jack settled in the boot, she flew down again, and found his shoulder.

she talked solemnly into his ear, in a very low voice, trying to tell him in parrot language that shethought these goings-on were extremely peculiar, but that so long as jack approved of them, shedid too – and she was coming with him, even in this dark, smelly car boot!

jack felt comforted to have her. he puzzled over everything. where was bill? and aunt allie?

how was it these fellows had been able to get into quarry cottage so easily and capture everyone?

but what had they done with bill? was he lying knocked out in the cottage? ought jack to havegone to see, instead of climbing into the boot?

the car had now gathered speed and was going down country lanes very fast. it drew up once,at some dark little house, where a man came out. there was another car there and one of the menin the first car thankfully got out and went to the second car. this went on ahead, as if guiding theother. jack was glad. he didn’t want bright head lights behind him, showing him sitting in theboot!

‘i ought to close the boot and shut myself in. but suppose i can’t get it open again?’ he thought.

‘i simply must see what place they’re taking the others to. if i can do that, i can soon raise thealarm, have the place surrounded, and everyone rescued! i hope no one sees me here.’

another hour’s run in the smooth-running powerful car – then it stopped. there was a sharpexchange of words, a light flashed, and a gate creaked open.

‘hallo! we’re here already, wherever that may be!’ thought jack. ‘had i better get out now,while the car has stopped? blow – it’s too late. they’re going on again.’

the car bumped over a dark field. and then suddenly a strange, extraordinarily loud noisestarted up not far ahead. jack jumped violently, and kiki gave a loud screech, which fortunatelycouldn’t possibly be heard in the enormous noise going on.

‘an aeroplane!’ said jack. ‘so that’s what they’ve planned. they’re going off to tauri-hessia!

they must be. and they’ll hide gussy somewhere till their plans are all ready, and the girls andphilip with him. nobody will know where they are.’

he felt the car come to a stop with a bump. he crawled out of the boot at once, and ran to a bigshape looming up nearby. it was a lorry. jack crouched beside it, watching.

he saw an aeroplane not far off, its propellers whirring. it hadn’t all its lights on yet, but menwere round it with lamps. it was obviously soon going to take off.

what was this place? a private airfield? jack had no idea at all. he watched all the passengersin the big black car tumbling out, one after the other. he thought he heard lucy-ann crying, andhis heart sank. she would hate all this! she wasn’t tough, like dinah. where would she betomorrow?

everyone was hurried towards the plane. jack left his hiding place and hurried too. he had hadanother idea! could he hide in the plane? he had hidden in the car, and no one had suspected it.

would there be any place to hide in the plane?

he thought of the planes he had flown in. the luggage-space would be the only place. thereprobably wouldn’t be much there. it was a risk, but he’d take it. if he was discovered, well, at leasthe’d be with the others.

‘but i mustn’t be discovered!’ he thought desperately. ‘if i am i’ll be hidden away somewheretoo – and i simply must find out where the others are being taken, so that i can somehow get wordto bill.’

kiki came to his help, quite unexpectedly. she didn’t see why she shouldn’t talk to the others,whose voices she had recognized as soon as she heard them getting out of the car. she left jack’sshoulder and flew towards lucy-ann.

‘pop goes the weasel!’ she cried. ‘god save the king! send for the doctor!’

the four children in front turned round in utter amazement. ‘kiki! kiki ! how did you get here?’

the men pushing them forward stopped at once. they had no idea that kiki was only a parrot,and had not even spotted her in the darkness. they thought she must be someone coming after thechildren, on the airfield, someone quite unexpected, who had followed them!

orders were shouted. lamps flashed here and there. kiki was frightened and flew back to jack.

‘wipe your feet!’ she called, much to the amazement of the men with the lamps.

jack ran round the other side of the lorry, for the men were coming too near him. then he sawhis chance. everyone’s attention was on the men who were searching the field with lamps.

nobody was watching the plane.

jack ran to it in the darkness, stumbling as he went. thank goodness the moon had convenientlygone behind a remarkably black cloud! he felt a drop of rain. perhaps the moon wouldn’t comeout till he was safely in the plane.

he reached the plane, and thankfully saw the steps up to it. he ran up and found himself in theplane. no one was there. he groped his way to the back, where he hoped to find the luggage-space. he felt something that was shaped like a crate. yes – this must be where they put theluggage! he felt round again, and came across a box. it had a lid, and he lifted it up, hoping thatthe box was empty.

it wasn’t. it was full of something soft, that might be clothes, or material of some kind. it feltlike silk. jack pulled most of it out and stuffed in into a corner, behind the big crate.

then he hurriedly got into the box and pulled the lid down. only just in time! kiki was withhim, of course, silent and astonished. jack had tapped her beak to tell her she must be absolutelyquiet.

he heard the sound of voices and the noise of feet going up the steps into the plane. he heardshouts, and bangs and whirs. the propellers, which had stopped, were started up again, and theaeroplane shook violently.

the wheels bumped very slowly over the field and then the bumping stopped.

‘we’ve taken off,’ thought jack, thankfully. ‘and i’m here with the others, though they don’tknow it. now will my luck hold? shall i get to wherever they’re going without being discovered?

i do hope so! if only i can find out where they will be hidden, things will be easy.’

it was uncomfortable in the box, but as jack had left some of the soft material at the bottom, atleast he had something soft to crouch on. kiki didn’t like it at all. she grumbled in his ear, andthen suddenly produced a tremendous sneeze.

it sounded very loud indeed to jack. he sat as quiet as a mouse, waiting for someone to comeand look round the luggage-space. but nobody did. the noise of the engines was too loud forkiki’s sneeze to be heard. it was a real sneeze, not a pretend one, and kiki was just as surprised asjack was when it came.

the children in the front of the plane talked in low voices, sure that the engines would drownwhat they were saying. it seemed queer to be sitting in a plane dressed in night clothes – all butphilip, of course.

‘was that kiki we heard out on the field?’ said lucy-ann. ‘it must have been. i’m sure i heard“pop goes the weasel”!’

‘i believe it was,’ said philip. ‘i wouldn’t be surprised if old jack hung on to that car somehow.

after all, we know he was in that quarry – he probably saw what was happening, and managed tohang on behind somewhere.’

‘i wish he was with us now,’ sighed lucy-ann. ‘i shan’t like being without him. where are wegoing, i wonder? to some horrid old castle – or perhaps a palace? gussy, have you got a palace?’

‘yes,’ said gussy. ‘but only a small one. we shan’t go there, because the people know me.

they would see me. i have heard these men talking, and they do not want me to be seen yet. firstthey must deal with my uncle. i hope they will not kill him. he is nice, my uncle.’

‘i sincerely hope they won’t do anything of the sort,’ said philip. ‘you’d have to be king then,gussy. how i’d hate to be a king! always having to be on my best behaviour, never to lose mytemper or do a thing that was wrong or impolite, having to be nice to people i hated, and . . .’

‘why isn’t your father king?’ asked dinah. ‘why are you the heir to the throne?’

‘my father is dead,’ said gussy. ‘there is only my mother, and in our country women are notallowed to rule. so one day i must be king. i shall like it.’

‘well – you like ordering people about, and showing off,’ said dinah. ‘so i suppose it’ll suityou. but i can’t say you’re my idea of a king. oh dear – i wish this hadn’t happened. all oureaster hols spoiled!’

‘i hate all this,’ said lucy-ann, dismally. ‘i’m cold, and now i’m sleepy.’

‘cuddle up to me,’ said dinah. after all, it’s the middle of the night, so we ought to feel sleepy.

i do too. let’s go to sleep. it will make the night seem shorter.’

‘i could go to sleep at once if i didn’t keep thinking of bill and aunt allie,’ said lucy-ann,shutting her eyes, and getting close to dinah for warmth. ‘i keep on thinking about – about – ikeep on . . .’

philip smiled at dinah over lucy-ann’s head. she was asleep already, in spite of her ‘thinking’.

poor lucy-ann – she fell into adventures as readily as the others, but she didn’t enjoy them nearlyso much!

jack fell into an uncomfortable sleep too, in his box in the luggage-space. kiki tucked her headunder her wing and slept peacefully. the plane went on and on in the night, through a rain-storm,and then out into clear weather again, with a moon still bright in the sky.

none of the children saw that it was flying over the brilliant, moonlit sea. none of them gazeddown to see the towns that looked like toy villages far below. the engines droned on and on, andthe rhythm lulled the sleepers for mile upon mile.

and then the plane began to circle over a small airfield. it had arrived! philip woke in a hurryand shook the girls. gussy woke too and looked down from the window.

‘tauri-hessia!’ he said, proudly. ‘my country, tauri-hessia!’