chapter 16 wreckers' way

julian flung open the door. timmy leapt past him and yelped with delight to find yan standingoutside. he fawned on the boy and licked him, and yan laughed.

'let's get out of here, quick!' said dick. 'that man may be along at any moment, you can't tell.'

'right. explanations later,' said julian. he hustled everyone out, took the key from the inside lock andshut the door. he inserted the key into the outside lock and turned it. he shot the bolts, took out thekey and put it into his pocket. he grinned at dick.

'now if that fellow comes along to see how we are he won't even know we're gone! he won't be ableto get in to see if we're there or not.'

'where shall we go now?' asked anne, feeling as if she was in a peculiar kind of dream.

julian stood and considered. 'it would be madness to go back up the passage and into the old house,'

he said. 'if there's any signalling going on, and there's pretty certain to be, we shall be caught again.

we'd be sure to make a noise scrambling out of that hole in the fire-place.'

'well, let's take that other passage we saw, the righthand one,' said george. 'look, there it is.' sheshone her torch on it. 'where does it lead to, yan?'

'to the beach,' said yan. 'i went down it when i was looking for you all, but you weren't there, so icame back and found that door. there is nobody on the beach.'

'well, let's go down there, then,' said dick. 'once we feel we're out of danger's way we can planwhat's best to do.'

they went along the other passage, their torch showing them the way. it was a steep tunnel, and theyfound it rather difficult going. anne managed to give yan a squeeze.

'you were clever to find us!' she said, and yan gave her a smile which she couldn't see because of thedark.

they heard the sound of waves at last and came out into the open air. it was a windy night, but starswere shining in the sky, and gave quite a fair light after the darkness of the passage.

'where are we exactly?' said dick, looking round. then he saw they were on the same beach as theyhad been a few days before, but a good way farther along.

'can we get back to the farm from here?' said julian, stopping to consider exactly where they were.

'gosh! i think we'd better hurry. the tide's coming in! we'll be cut off if we don't look out!'

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a wave ran up the sand almost to their feet. julian took a quick look at the cliff behind them. it wasvery steep. they certainly couldn't climb it in the darkness! would there be time to look for a cave tosit in till the tide went out again?

another wave ran up, and julian's feet felt suddenly wet. 'blow!' he said. 'this is getting serious.

the next big one will sweep us off our feet. i wish the moon was out. these stars give such a faintlight.'

'yan, is there a cave we can go to, a cave open to the air, not inside the cliff?' said george, anxiously.

'i take you back by the wreckers' way,' said yan, surprisingly. 'iss. you come with me.'

'of course, you said you knew the wreckers' way,' said julian, remembering. 'if it comes out nearhere, we're in luck's way! lead on, yan. you're a marvel! but do hurry, our feet got wet again justthen, and at any moment a giant of a wave may come!'

yan took the lead. he led them into cove after cove, and then came to a larger one than usual. hetook them to the back of the cove, and led them a little way up a cliff path.

he came to a great rock. he squeezed behind it and the others followed one by one. nobody couldever have guessed that there was a way into the cliff behind that rock.

'now we are in the wreckers' way,' said yan proudly, and led them on again. but suddenly hestopped and the others all bumped into one another. timmy gave a short, warning bark, and georgeput her hand on his collar.

'somebody comes!' whispered yan, and pushed them back. sure enough, they could hear voices inthe distance. they turned and hurried back. they didn't want to walk into any more trouble!

yan got to the front and led them back to the big rock. he was trembling. they all squeezed outbehind it, and yan went along the cliff face to a tiny cave, really only a big ledge with anoverhanging roof. 'ssssssssss!' he said warningly, sounding like a snake!

they sat down and waited. two men came out from behind the rock, one a big man, and one a smallone. nobody could see them clearly, but julian hissed into dick's ear: 'i'm sure that's mr.

penruthlan! see how enormous he is!'

dick nodded. it was no surprise to him to think that the giant farmer should be mixed up in this.

the five children held their breath and watched.

yan nudged dick and pointed out to sea. 'boat comes!' he whispered.

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dick could see and hear nothing. but in a few moments he did hear something, the whirr of a fastmotor-boat! what sharp ears yan must have! the others heard the noise, too, through the crashing ofthe waves on the rocks.

'no light,' whispered yan, as the noise of the boat grew louder.

'he'll be on the rocks!' said dick. but before the boat got to the rocks, the engine stopped. thechildren could just make out the boat now, swaying up and down beyond the barrier of rocks.

evidently it was not going to try and come any farther in.

now the watchers could hear voices again. the two men who had come down wreckers' way werestanding below the big rock that hid the entrance, talking. one leapt down to a rock farther down, anddisappeared. the other man was left standing alone.

'it was the big man who leapt down,' whispered julian. 'where's he gone? ah, there he is! you canjust see him moving behind that rock down there. what's he got?'

'a boat!' whispered yan. 'he has a boat down there, pulled up high out of reach of the big waves.

there is a pool there. he is going to row out to the other boat.'

the children strained their eyes to watch. the sky was quite clear, but the only light they had wasfrom the stars, and it was dificult to see anything more than moving shadows or outlines.

then there came the sound of oars in rowlocks, and a moving black shadow of a rowing-boat andman could be seen faintly, going over the waves.

'does he know the way through that mass of rocks?' wondered dick. 'he must know this coast well torisk rowing out through rocks at high tide in the dead of night!'

'why is he doing it?' asked anne.

'he's getting smuggled goods from the motorboat,' said julian. 'goodness knows what! there, i'velost him in the darkness.'

so had everyone. they could no longer hear the oars either, for the crashing of the waves on therocks drowned every other sound.

beyond the rocks lay the motor-boat, but only yan's sharp eyes could see it even faintly in thestarlight. once, in a sudden silence of the waves, there came the exchange of voices over the water.

'he's reached the motor-boat,' said dick. 'he'll be back in a minute.'

'look! the second man is going down to the cove now, going to help the first one in, i expect,'

said julian. 'what about us escaping through the wreckers' way while we've got the chance?'

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'good idea,' said george, scrambling up. 'come on, timmy! home!'

they went to the great rock arid squeezed behind it once more into the entrance of the wreckers'

way. then, yan once more leading, they went up the secret passage, flicking on the torch verythankfully.

'where does the wreckers' way come out?' asked anne.

'in a shed at tremannon farm,' said yan, to the astonishment of everyone.

'goodness, so it's very nice and handy for mr. penruthlan!' said george. 'i wonder how many timeshe has been up on the hills at night, and has been warned by the tower light to go down wreckers'

way to the cove and collect smuggled goods from some boat or other! a very good scheme, it seemsto me, and impossible for anyone to find out.'

'except us!' said dick in a pleased voice. 'we got on to it pretty well. there's not much we don'tknow about mr. penruthlan now!'

they went on and on. the passage was fairly straight and had probably been the bed of anunderground stream at some time. the way was quite smooth to the feet.

'we've walked about a mile, i should think!' groaned dick, at last. 'how far now, yan? shall we soonbe back?'

'iss,' said yan.

anne suddenly remembered that nobody knew how it was that yan had found them that night.

she turned to him.

'yan, how did you find us tonight? it seemed like a miracle when we woke up to find you outside thatlocked door!'

'it was easy,' said yan. 'you said to me: ' go away. do not come with us today.'' so i went back alittle way. but i followed you. i followed you to the old house, though i was frit.'

'i guess you were frit!' said dick with a grin. 'well, go on.'

'i hid,' said yan. 'you went up into the tower a long time. i came out into the room below, and...'

'it was you we heard scuffling there, then!' said anne. 'we wondered who it was!'

'iss,' said yan. 'i sat down on some weeds in a corner, and waited till you came down, and then i hidagain; but i watched you through a hole from outside. i saw you go through the fire-place.

one minute you were there. the next you were gone. i was frit.'

'i love that word!' said dick. 'so it was you who flattened down that patch of weeds that timmysniped at? well, what did you do next?'

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'i was going to come too,' said yan. 'but the hole was so dark and black. i stood in the fire-place for along time, hoping you would come back.'

'then what happened?' said dick.

'then i heard voices,' said yan. 'i thought it was you all coming back. but it wasn't. it was men.

so l ran away and hid in the nettles.'

'what a place to choose!' said george.

'then i was hungry,' said yan, 'and i went back to grandad's hut for food. he cuffed me for leavinghim, and he made me work for him all day. he was angry with me.'

'my word! so you've been on the hills all day, knowing we were down in that passage!' said julian.

'didn't you say anything to anyone?'

'i went down to tremannon farm to see if you were back when it grew dark,' said yan. 'but youweren't there. only the barnies were there, giving another show. i didn't see mr. or mrs.

penruthlan. i knew then that you must still be down in that dark hole. i was afraid the men had hurtyou.'

'so you came all the way again in the dark!' said julian, astonished. 'well, you've got pluck, i mustsay!'

'i was very frit,' said yan. 'my legs shook at the knees like my old grandad's. i climbed in at the hole,and at last i found you.'

'with no torch to light the way!' said dick, and clapped the small boy on the back. 'you're a realfriend, yan! timmy knew you all right when you came to the locked door. he didn't even bark!

he knew it was you.'

'i wanted to save timmy too,' said yan. 'iss. timmy is my friend.'

george said nothing to that. she was thinking, rather unwillingly, that yan was a remarkably braveyoung man, and that she had been silly and unkind to resent timmy's liking for him. what a goodthing he had liked timmy!

yan suddenly stopped. 'we are there,' he said. 'we are at tremannon farm. look above your heads.'

julian flashed his torch upwards, and stared. an open trapdoor was just above them.

'the trapdoor is open!' he said. 'someone came down here tonight!'

'and we know who!' said dick, grimly. 'mr. penruthlan and his friend! where does that trapdoor leadto, yan?'

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'into a corner of the machine shed,' said yan. 'when the trapdoor is shut, it is covered with sacks ofcorn or onions. they have been moved to open the way down.'

they all climbed out. julian flashed his torch round the shed. yes, there were the machines and thetools. well, who would have thought that the sacks he had seen in here the other day were hiding thetrapdoor that led to the wreckers' way!