22

escape!

it was not difficult to climb up the iron rungs. toni was soon up in the roof of the tower. kiki wasfirst though! she flew up from jack’s shoulder, and perched on the big bell, making a slightclanging noise that startled her considerably!

the iron ladder went right above the bell, which hung from a great beam. above it was a stoneplatform, with an opening in it at one side for the iron ladder to pass through. toni climbed up tothe bell, and then through the opening above it, and passed on to the stone platform. jack camenext and then pedro. bingo was last.

there were arched openings like windows in the top of the tower opening off the stoneplatform, one arch facing each way – north, south, east and west. toni peered out of the arch thatfaced the window in the castle opposite.

he considered the distance carefully. jack peered out too. it seemed a long way to him in thedarkness! he shivered. he didn’t at all want to go on with this idea, now that he was up so high,and could see what a drop it was to the ground.

but toni and bingo treated it in a very casual, matter-of-fact manner. they talked to oneanother, and discussed it very thoroughly and with great interest. they apparently had no doubt atall but that they could do what they had planned.

toni said something to pedro, and he repeated it to jack in english. ‘toni says he is ready. hesays how can we attract the attention of your friends in the room opposite? they will have to helpat the beginning.’

‘if we flash a torch on and off – or perhaps hoot like an owl – philip will come,’ said jack.

‘we try the owl,’ said toni, and jack put his cupped hands to his mouth and blew virogouslybetween his two thumbs.

‘hooo! hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!’ came quaveringly on the night air. jack hooted again.

they waited, their eyes on the shadowy window opposite. then, from the window, a lightflashed on and off.

‘philip’s there,’ said jack, joyfully, and flashed his own torch. ‘philip!’ he called, in a lowvoice. ‘can you hear me?’

‘yes! where are you? not over there, surely!’ said philip, in an amazed voice.

‘tell him toni is coming over on a rope,’ said pedro. ‘but we’ve got to get the rope across first– so will he look out for a stone, tied on to a bit of string – and pull on it, so that the thicker ropecan come across?’

‘i know a better way than that!’ said jack, suddenly excited. ‘let kiki take the rope across – notthe thick heavy wire one, of course – but the first rope – the one that’s fixed to the wire! she cantake it in her beak.’

‘ah – that is good!’ said toni, understanding and approving at once. ‘it will save time.’

‘philip – kiki’s coming across with a rope,’ called jack, cautiously. ‘look out for her. take therope and pull hard. it will bring across a wire rope. can you find something to loop it to? it has astrong ring at the end – see that it is made fast.’

‘right. but how will . . . i say, i don’t understand,’ said philip, bewildered.

‘call kiki!’ said jack. kiki had now been given the end of the rope in her beak. she was pullingat it with interest. ‘take it to philip,’ said jack.

‘kiki!’ called philip. ‘kiki!’

kiki flew straight across to him, carrying the end of the rope in her strong beak. she knew shehad to take it to philip, of course, but she had no idea that behind her came a whole length, paidout quickly by toni!

she landed on philip’s shoulder, and let go the rope to nibble his ear. philip just caught it intime. he wasted no time, but pulled on it hard. more and more rope came in – and then, joined tothe ordinary rope, came the strong wire rope, heavy but flexible.

philip hauled on that too until a tug warned him to stop. now he had to fasten it securely tosomething. but what?

he had a lamp in his room and he lighted it, to see better. he kept it turned low, and held it upto see where he could fasten the ring that was on the end of the wire rope.

his bed had strong iron feet. philip dragged the bed to the window, waking gussy up with ajump as he did so, and then slipped the iron ring under one foot, pulling it up about twelve inches.

now it should be held fast! the bed was by the window, the iron foot against the stone wall.

neither bed nor foot could move. the rope should be safe for anyone to use!

‘what is it? what’s happening?’ said gussy, sitting up in bed in surprise, unable to see much inthe dim light of the lamp.

‘be quiet,’ said philip, who was now almost too excited to speak. ‘jack’s out there. go andwake the girls – but for goodness’ sake don’t make a noise!’

over in the bell tower toni pulled on his end of the wire rope. he pulled as hard as he could,and bingo pulled with him. was the other end quite fast – safe enough for toni to walk across onit? he had to be quite certain of that before he tried to walk the rope.

‘it’s fast enough,’ said bingo, in his own language. ‘it will hold you!’

toni wasted no time. he got out of the stone archway, and stood upright on the narrow sill.

bingo held a torch to light up the wire stretching in front, from the bell tower to the window awayopposite.

toni tested the wire with his foot – and then jack gasped in astonishment. toni had run straightacross the wire at top speed! there were his legs and feet, clearly lighted in the beam of the torch,running easily over the taut wire!

toni reached the opposite window, and stood on the sill for a moment. then he bent his headand climbed in, finding the bed just below the sill. philip gripped hold of him, looking white.

‘i say! what a thing to do! you might have fallen!’

the girls were now in the boys’ room, having been awakened by gussy. kiki was with them,making a great fuss of them both. ‘who’s this?’ said lucy-ann, startled to see toni jumping downto the bed. ‘philip – what’s happening?’

‘no time to talk yet,’ said philip, who wasn’t really sure himself what was happening. ‘we’rebeing rescued, that’s all!’

toni was now busy pulling on a rope that he had brought across with him. he was haulingsteadily on it – and along the wire, hanging neatly down from it, came a small trapeze swing – theone that toni used each night when he swung high up in the circus tent, doing his tricks!

it clicked against the stone wall. toni turned to philip. ‘you sit there,’ he said, pointing to theswing below the rope. ‘sit still, see? and i will pull you over to jack.’

philip was startled. he looked at the trapeze swinging below the wire rope, running along it on apulley wheel. so that was the idea! they were each in turn to sit on that peculiar swing, and bepulled across to the bell tower! well!

‘hurry!’ said toni, impatiently. ‘you first?’

yes,’ said philip, thinking perhaps that if the others saw him going across quite easily theywouldn’t be afraid. he turned to gussy and the startled girls.

‘i’ll go first and you watch me,’ he said. ‘then lucy-ann – then you, gussy – and you last,dinah.’

he stood on the bed, and then swung himself up on the stone window sill. he held on to therope outside, and suddenly felt toni’s strong hands under his armpits. it really wasn’t verydifficult to sit on the trapeze.

‘i come!’ said toni, to the anxious watchers opposite, and he ran over the wire once more,pulling the trapeze back to the bell tower. philip arrived there on the swing almost before he knewit! he was pulled off and dragged into the tower in safety. jack found his hand and shook it hard.

he found that he suddenly couldn’t say a word! neither could philip.

toni ran across again, pulling back the trapeze. lucy-ann was scared almost stiff with fright,but she was brave and managed to get on to the swing quite well, with toni’s help. away shewent, giving a little gasp as she thought of the great distance to the ground below her.

back came toni with the swing, and gussy was pushed forward to get on it. he was sofrightened that toni began to wonder whether he would fall off in the middle of his trip across thewire! but gussy held on grimly, his teeth chattering – and almost burst into tears of relief when hegot safely to the bell tower.

dinah had no trouble. she wasn’t afraid, and if she had been she wouldn’t have shown it! sheshot across easily, with toni pulling her, as sure-footed as a cat.

everyone suddenly felt very cheerful. lucy-ann hugged jack without stopping. there was nowsuch a crowd on the little stone platform at the top of the tower that poor toni could hardly findroom for himself!

‘what about this wire rope?’ said pedro. ‘how can we get it back?’

‘we leave it,’ said toni. ‘it is not possible to get it away. i have another.’

‘let’s get down to the ground,’ said jack, half afraid that now things had gone so well,something might suddenly happen to make them go wrong. ‘i’ll go first.’

soon they were all at the bottom of the tower. ‘silent, now,’ whispered jack, and they began towalk cautiously down the slope of the hill to the circus.

lucy-ann kept close to jack, and he put his arm round her. he was very glad to know that hissister was safe. gussy stumbled along, scared and puzzled. he didn’t really seem to know quitewhat was happening!

‘the girls can have our van,’ said pedro to jack. ‘you and i and gussy can sleep beneath it.’

but before they could get to the van, a great clamour came on the air, and startled them so muchthat they all stood still in panic. whatever was that tremendous noise?

‘it’s a bell – it’s bells!’ said jack, putting his hands to his ears. ‘the bell in the bell tower – andthe bell in the church – and another bell somewhere else! whatever’s happening? have theymissed gussy already?’

the circus folk all awoke and rushed out of their vans, marvelling at the pandemonium of noisemade by the bells. clang, clang, jangle, jangle, clang, clang! it went on all the time!

and then there came shouting from the town. lights shone out, and still the bells went on andon. ‘there are some ringing from the next village too,’ said jack, marvelling. ‘it’s to warn thepeople about something. what can it be? they can’t know yet about gussy escaping – why,except for count paritolen and his sister nobody knew gussy was a prisoner.’

no – the bells were not ringing for gussy. they were giving other news – serious news.

‘the king! the king is gone! he has disappeared! he is nowhere to be found. the king isgone!’

the townsfolk shouted the news to one another in foreboding. what had happened to theirking? had he been killed? all the bells in the country rang out the news. enemies had taken theirking! who? why? clang, clang, clang, jangle, jangle!

‘my word!’ said jack, when he heard the news. ‘we only just got gussy out in time. only just!

another half-hour and it would have been too late.’

‘yes,’ said philip. and i’d like to see count paritolen’s face when he rushes to the tower roomto get gussy out of bed and put him on the throne – and gussy’s not there! the king gone – andno one to put in his place!’

gussy howled. ‘what’s happened to my uncle?’ he cried. ‘where is he? i don’t want to beking!’

‘shut up!’ said jack, fiercely. ‘do you want every single person here to know you’re the prince?

if someone gives you away, you’ll be captured by the count immediately! go into that caravanand don’t dare to make a sound!’