chapter 15 prisoners

they all flung themselves down on the grass verge and groaned.

'what have they done that for, just as we were going out?' said dick. 'was it a mistake, do you think?

i mean - did they think we'd had time to go out, or what?'

'well - if it was a mistake, it's easy to put right,' said julian. 'i'll just cycle back to the house and tellthem they shut the gates too soon.'

'yes - you do that,' said george. 'we'll wait here.'

but before julian could even mount his bicycle there came the sound of the car purring down thelong drive. all the children jumped to their feet. richard ran behind a bush in panic. he was terrifiedof having to face rooky again.

the car drew up by the children and stopped. 'yes, they're still here,' said mr. perton's voice, as hegot out of the car. rooky got out too. they came over to the children.

rooky ran his eyes over them. 'where's that other boy?' he asked quickly.

'i can't imagine,' said julian, coolly. 'dear me - i wonder if he had time to cycle out of the gateway.

why did you shut the gates so soon, mr. perton?'

rooky had caught sight of richard's shivering figure behind the bush. he strode over to him andyanked him out. he looked at him closely. then he pulled him over to mr. perton.

'yes - i thought so - this is the boy we want! he's sooted his hair or something, and that's why i didn'trecognize him. but when he'd gone i felt sure there was something familiar about him -that's why i wanted another look.' he shook poor richard like a dog shaking a rat.

'well - what do you want to do about it?' asked mr. perton, rather gloomily.

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'hold him, of course,' said rooky. 'i'll get back at his father now - he'll have to pay a very large sumof money for his horrible son! that'll be useful, won't it? and i can pay this kid out for some of thelies he told his father about me. nasty little rat.'

he shook richard again. julian stepped forward, white and furious.

'now you stop that,' he said. 'let the boy go. haven't you done enough already - keeping my brotherlocked up for nothing - holding us all for the night - and now you talk about kidnapping!

haven't you just come out of prison? do you want to go back there?'

rooky dropped richard and lunged out at julian. with a snarl timmy flung himself between themand bit the man's hand. rooky let out a howl of rage and nursed his injured hand. he yelled at julian.

'call that dog to heel. do you hear?'

'i'll call him to heel all right - if you talk sense,' said julian, still white with rage. 'you're going to letus all go, here and now. go back and open these gates.'

timmy growled terrifyingly, and both rooky and mr. perton took some hurried steps backwards.

rooky picked up a very big stone.

'if you dare to throw that i'll set my dog on you again!' shouted george, in sudden fear. mr.

perton knocked the stone out of rooky's hand.

'don't be a fool,' he said. 'that dog could make mincemeat of us - great ugly brute. look at his teeth.

for goodness' sake let the kids go, rooky.'

'not till we've finished our plans,' said rooky fiercely, still nursing his hand. 'keep 'em all prisonershere! we shan't be long before our jobs are done. and what's more i'm going to take that little ratthere off with me when i go! ha! i'll teach him a few things - and his father too.'

timmy growled again. he was straining at george's hand. she had him firmly by the collar.

richard trembled when he heard rooky's threats about him. tears ran down his face.

'yes - you can howl all you like,' said rooky, scowling at him. 'you wait till i get you! miserablelittle coward - you never did have any spunk - you just ran round telling tales and misbehavingyourself whenever you could.'

'look, rooky - you'd better come up to the house and have that hand seen to,' said mr. perton.

'it's bleeding badly. you ought to wash it and put some stuff on it - you know a dog's bite isdangerous. come on. you can deal with these kids afterwards.'

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rooky allowed himself to be led back to the car. he shook his unhurt fist at the children as theywatched silently.

'interfering brats! little . . .'

but the rest of his pleasant words were lost in the purring of the car's engine. mr. perton backed alittle, turned the car, and it disappeared up the drive. the five children sat themselves down on thegrass verge. richard began to sob out loud.

'do shut up, richard,' said george. 'rooky was right when he said you were a little coward, with nospunk. so you are. anne's much pluckier than you are. i wish to goodness we had never met you.'

richard rubbed his hands over his eyes. they were sooty, and made his face look most peculiar withstreaks of black soot mixed with his tears. he looked very woebegone indeed.

'i'm sorry,' he sniffed. 'i know you don't believe me - but i really am. i've always been a bit of acoward - i can't help it.'

'yes you can,' said julian, scornfully. 'anybody can help being a coward. cowardice is just thinkingof your own miserable skin instead of somebody else's. why, even little anne is more worried aboutus than she is about herself - and that makes her brave. she couldn't be a coward if she tried.'

this was a completely new idea to richard. he tried to wipe his face dry. 'i'll try to be like you,'

he said, in a muffled voice. 'you're all so decent. i've never had friends like you before.

honestly, i won't let you down again.'

'well, we'll see,' said julian, doubtfully. 'it would certainly be a surprise if you turned into a hero allof a sudden - a very nice surprise, of course - but in the meantime it would be a help if you stoppedhowling for a bit and let us talk.'

richard subsided. he really looked very peculiar with his soot-streaked face. julian turned to theothers.

'this is maddening!' he said. 'just as we so nearly got out. i suppose they'll shut us up in some roomand keep us there till they've finished whatever this "job" is. i imagine the "job" consists of gettingthat hidden fellow away in safety - the one i saw in the secret room.'

'won't richard's people report his disappearance to the police?' said george, fondling timmy, whowouldn't stop licking her now he had got her again.

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'yes, they will. but what good will that do? the police won't have the faintest notion where he is,'

said julian. 'nobody knows where we are, either, come to that - but aunt fanny won't worry yet,because she knows we're off on a cycling tour, and wouldn't be writing to her anyway.'

'do you think those men will really take me off with them when they go?' asked richard.

'well, we'll hope we shall have managed to escape before that,' said julian, not liking to say yes,certainly richard would be whisked away!

'how can we escape?' asked anne. 'we'd never get over those high walls. and i don't expect anyoneever comes by here - right at the top of this deserted hill. no tradesman would ever call.'

'what about the postman?' asked anne.

'they probably arrange to fetch their post each day,' said julian. 'i don't expect they want anyonecoming here at all. or - there may be a letter-box outside the gate. i never thought of that!'

they went to see. but although they craned their necks to see each side, there didn't seem to be anyletter-box at all for the postman to slip letters in. so the faint hope that had risen in their minds, thatthey might catch the postman and give him a message, vanished at once.

'hallo - here's the woman - aggie, or whatever her name is,' said george, suddenly, as timmygrowled. they all turned their heads. yes, aggie was coming down the drive in a hurry - could shebe going out? would the gates open for her?

their hopes died as she came near. 'oh, there you are! i've come with a message. you can do one oftwo things - you can stay out in the grounds all day, and not put foot into the house at all - or you cancome into the house and be locked up in one of the rooms.'

she looked round cautiously and lowered her voice. 'i'm sorry you didn't get out; right down upset iam. it's bad enough for an old woman like me, being cooped up here with hunchy - but it's not rightto keep children in this place. you're nice children too.'

'thanks,' said julian. 'now, seeing that you think we're so nice - tell us, is there any way we can getout besides going through these gates?'

'no. no way at all,' said the woman. 'it's like a prison, once those gates are shut. nobody's allowed in,and you're only allowed out if it suits mr. perton and the others. so don't try to escape - it's hopeless.'

nobody said anything to that. aggie glanced over her shoulder as if she feared somebody might belistening - hunchy perhaps - and went on in a low voice.

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'mr. perton said i wasn't to give you much food. and he said hunchy's to put down food for the dogwith poison in it - so don't you let him eat any but what i give you myself.'

the brute,' cried george, and she held timmy close against her. 'did you hear that, timmy? it's apity you didn't bite mr. perton too!'

'sh!' said the woman, afraid. 'i didn't ought to tell you all this, you know that - but you're kind, andyou gave me all that money. right down nice you are. now you listen to me - you'd better say you'drather keep out here in the grounds - because if you're locked up i wouldn't dare to bring you muchfood in case rooky came in and saw it. but if you stay out here it's easier. i can give you plenty.'

'thank you very much,' said julian, and the others nodded too. 'in any case we'd rather be out here. isuppose mr. perton is afraid we'd stumble on some of his queer secrets in the house if we had the freerun there! all right - tell him we'll be in the grounds. what about our food? how shall we manageabout that? we don't want to get you into trouble - but we're very hungry for our meals, and we reallycould do with a good dinner today.'

'i'll manage it for you,' said aggie, and she actually smiled. 'but mind what i say now - don't you letthat dog eat anything hunchy puts down for him! it'll be poisoned.'

a voice shouted from the house. aggie jerked her head up and listened. 'that's hunchy,' she said. 'imust go.'

she hurried back up the drive. 'well, well, well,' said julian, 'so they thought they'd poison oldtimmy, did they? they'll have to think again, old fellow, won't they?'

'woof,' said timmy, gravely, and didn't even wag his tail!