chapter 6 a queer tale

the four children shivered suddenly in the hot sun, as they listened to the shepherd's strange words.

were they true? did the wreckers' light still flash in the old tower on wild and stormy nights? butwhy should it? surely no wreckers any longer did their dreadful work on this lonely rocky coast?

dick voiced the thoughts of the others. 'but surely there are no wrecks on this coast now? isn't there agood lighthouse farther up, to warn ships to keep right out to sea?'

grandad nodded his grey head. 'yes. there's a lighthouse, and there's not been a wreck along thiscoast for more years than i can remember. but i tell you that light flares up just as it used to do. i seenit with my own eyes, and there's nought wrong with them yet!'

'i seen it too,' put in yan, suddenly.

grandad looked at yan, annoyed. 'you hold your noise, you,' he commanded. 'you've never seen nolight. you sleeps like a babe at nights.'

'i seen it,' said yan, obstinately, and moved out of grandad's way quickly as the old man raised hishand to cuff the small boy.

dick changed the subject. 'grandad, do you know anything about the wreckers' way?' he asked.

'is it a secret way to get down to the coves from inland? was it used by the wreckers?'

grandad frowned. 'that be a secret,' he said, shortly. 'my dad, he showed it to me, and i swore as inever would tell. us all had to swear and promise that.'

'but yan here said that you taught the way to him,' said dick, puzzled.

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yan promptly removed himself from the company and disappeared round a clump of bushes. his oldgreat-grandad glared round at the disappearing boy.

'yan! that boy! he doesn't know anything about the wreckers' way. it's lost and forgotten by everyman living. i'm the last one left as knows of it. yan! he's dreaming! maybe he's heard tell of an oldwreckers' way, but that's all.'

'oh!' said dick, disappointed. he had hoped that grandad would tell them the old way, and then theycould go and explore it. perhaps they could go and search for it, anyhow! it would be fun to do that.

julian came back to the question of the light flashing from the old tower by the coast. he waspuzzled. 'who could possibly flash that light?' he said to grandad. 'you say the place is a ruin.

are you sure it wasn't lightning you saw? you said it came on a wild and stormy night.'

'it weren't lightning,' said the old man shortly. 'i first saw that light near ninety years ago, and i tellyou i saw it again three times this year, same place, same light, same weather! and if you telled me itweren't flashed by mortal hands, i'd believe you.'

there was a silence after this extraordinary statement. anne looked over towards the far-off towerthat showed just between the two distant hills. how queer that this spot where they were standing wasthe only place from which the tower could be seen from inland. the wreckers had been clever tochoose a spot like that to flash a light from. no one but old grandad up on the hills could possiblyhave seen the light and guessed what was going on, no one but the callous wreckers themselves.

grandad delved deep into more memories stored in his mind. he poured them out, tales of the olddays, queer, unbelievable stories. one was about an old woman who was said to be a witch.

the things she did!

the four stared at the old shepherd, marvelling to think they were, in a way, linked with the witchesand brownies, the wreckers and the killers of long-ago days, through this old, old man.

yan appeared again as soon as julian opened the tea-basket. they had now gone back to the hut, andsat outside in the sunshine, surrounded by nibbling sheep. one or two of the half-grown lambs cameup, looking hot in their unshorn woolly coats. they nosed round the old shepherd, and he rubbedtheir woolly noses.

'these be lambs i fed from a bottle,' he explained. 'they always remember. go away now, woolly.

cake's wasted on you.'

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yan wolfed quite half the tea. he gave anne a quick grin of pure pleasure, showing both his dimplesat once. she smiled back. she liked this funny little boy now, and felt sorry for him. she was sure thathis old grandad didn't give him enough to eat!

the church bells began to ring, and the sun was now sliding down the sky. 'we must go,' said julian,reluctantly. 'it's quite a long walk back. thanks for a most interesting afternoon, grandad.

i expect you'll be glad to be rid of us now, and smoke your pipe in peace with your sheep aroundyou.'

'ay, i will,' said grandad, truthfully. 'i do be one for my own company, and i likes to think my ownthoughts. long thoughts they be, too, going back nigh on a hundred years. if i wants to talk, i talks tomy sheep. it's rare and wunnerful how they listen.'

the children laughed, but grandad was quite solemn, and meant every word he said. they packed upthe basket, and said good-bye to the old man.

'well, what do you think he meant when he talked about the light still flashing in the old tower?'

said dick, as they went over the hills back to the farm. 'what an extraordinary thing to say. was ittrue, do you suppose?'

'there's only one way to find out!' said george, her eyes dancing. 'wait for a wild and stormy nightand go and see!'

'but what about our agreement?' said julian, solemnly. 'if anything exciting seems about to happenwe turn our backs on it. that's what we decided. don't you remember?'

'pooh!' said george.

'we ought to keep the agreement,' said anne, doubtfully. she knew quite well that the others didn'tthink so!

'look! who are all these people?' said dick, suddenly. they were just climbing over a stile to cross alane to another field.

they sat on the stile and stared. some carts were going by, open wagons, their canvas tops foldeddown. they were the most old-fashioned carts the children had ever seen, not in the least like gipsycaravans.

ten or eleven people were with the wagons, dressed in the clothes of other days! some rode in thewagons and some walked. some were middle-aged, some were young, but they all looked cheerfuland gay.

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the children stared. after grandad's tales of long ago these old-time folk seemed just right! for afew moments anne felt herself back in grandad's time, when he was a boy. he must have seenpeople dressed like these!

'who are they?' she said, wonderingly. and then the children saw red lettering painted on the biggestcart:

the barnies

'oh! it's the barnies! don't you remember mrs. penruthlan telling us about them?' said anne.

'the strolling players, who play to the country-folk around, in the barns. what fun!'

the barnies waved to the watching children. one man, dressed in velvet and lace, with a sword at hisside, and a wig of curly hair, threw a leaflet or two to them. they read them with interest.

the barnies are coming!

they will sing, they will dance, they will fiddle.

they will perform plays of all kinds.

edith wells, the nightingale singer.

bonnie carter, the old-time dancer.

janie coster and her fiddle.

john walters, finest tenor in the world.

georgie roth - he'll make you laugh!

and others.

we also present clopper, the funniest horse in the world!

the barnies are coming!

'this'll be fun!' said george, pleased. she called out to the passing wagons: 'will you be playing attremannon farm?'

'oh, yes!' called a man with bright, merry eyes. 'we always play there. you staying there?'

'yes,' said george. 'we'll look out for you all. where are you going now?'

'to poltelly farm for the night,' called the man. 'we'll be at tremannon soon.'

the wagons passed, and the gay, queerly-dressed players went out of sight. 'good,' said dick.

'their show may not be first-rate, but it's sure to be funny. they looked a merry lot.'

'all but the man driving the front cart. did you see him?' said anne. 'he looked pretty grim, ithought.'

31

nobody else had noticed him. 'he was probably the owner of the barnies,' said dick. 'and has got allthe organization on his shoulders. well, come on. where's timmy?'

they looked round for him, and george frowned. yan had followed them as usual, and timmy wasplaying with him. bother yan! was he going to trail them all day and every day?

they went back to the peaceful farm- house. hens were still clucking around and ducks werequacking. a horse stamped somewhere near by, and the grunting of pigs came on the air. it all lookedquite perfect.

footsteps came through the farm-yard, and mr. penruthlan came by. he grunted at them and wentinto a barn.

anne spoke in almost a whisper. 'i can imagine him living in the older days and being a wrecker.

i can really!'

'yes! i know what you mean,' said dick. 'he's so fierce-looking and determined. what's the word iwant? ruthless! i'm sure he would have made a good wrecker!'

'do you suppose there are any wreckers now, and that light really is flashed to make ships go on therocks?' said george.

'well, i shouldn't have thought there were any wreckers in this country, anyway,' said dick. 'i can'timagine that such a thing would be tolerated for an instant. but if that light is flashed, what is itflashed for?'

'old grandad said there hadn't been any wrecks on this coast for ages,' said julian. 'i think really thatthe old man is wandering a bit in his mind about that light!'

'but yan said he had seen it, too,' said anne.

'i'm not sure that yan's as truthful as he might be!' said julian.

'why did grandad say that the light isn't fiashed by mortal hands now?' asked george. 'it must be! ican't imagine any other hands working it! he surely doesn't think that his father is still doing it?'

there was a pause. 'we could easily find out if we popped over to that tower and had a look at it,'

said dick.

there was another pause. 'i thought we said we wouldn't go poking about in anything mysterious,'

said anne.

'this isn't really mysterious,' argued dick. 'it's just a story an old man remembers, and i really can'tbelieve that that light still flashes on a wild stormy night. grandad must have seen lightning 32or something. why don't we settle the matter for good and all and go and explore the old house withthe tower?'

'i should like to,' said george firmly. 'i never was keen on this ''keep away from anything unusual''

idea we suddenly had. we've got timmy with us - we can't possibly come to any harm!'

'all right,' said anne, with a sigh. 'i give up. we'll go if you want to.'

'good old anne,' said dick, giving her a friendly slap on the back. 'but you needn't come, you know.

why don't you stay behind and hear our story when we come back?'

'certainly not,' said anne, quite cross. 'i may not want to go as much as you do, but i'm not going tobe left out of anything, so don't think it!'

'all right. it's settled then,' said julian. 'we take our opportunity and go as soon as we can,tomorrow, perhaps.'

mrs. penruthlan came to the door and called them. 'your high tea is ready. you must be hungry.

come along indoors.'

the sun suddenly went in. julian looked up at the sky in surprise. 'my word, look at those blackclouds!' he said. 'there's a storm coming! well, i thought there might be, it's been so terribly hot allday!'

'a storm!' said george. 'that light flashes on wild and stormy nights! oh, julian, do you think it willflash tonight? can't we - can't we go and see?'