chapter 14 an exciting night - and a surprising morning

soon there came the sound of loud breathing and grunts, as the searchers tried to prise up the stone bythe pump. it was obviously very heavy, and very difficult to move, for it had become almost part ofthe floor itself, through the centuries!

'drat the thing! it's tearing my hands to pieces!' said a voice. 'lend me that jemmy, tom - you don'tseem to be doing much good with it!'

after a lot more struggling and panting the stone was loosened. 'up she comes!' said a voice, and upcame the stone so suddenly that it sounded as if most of those pulling at it had sat down very hard onthe floor!

the two hidden boys were beside themselves with interest and excitement. how they wished theycould go and watch! but it was impossible. they must just listen and try to make out what washappening from what the men said below them.

'is it a well down there? yes, it is! my, the water's pretty far down - and black as pitch too.'

there was a silence as the well was examined in the light of torches. then an exasperated voice, theone with the drawl, said: 'this is no secret way! who's going to get through that water! it's just anordinary small well, and nothing else. that word can't have meant water.'

'all right, boss. what does it mean then?' said the woman. 'i don't know. this isn't a plan, it's a riddle!

why couldn't paul have made it clear where this stone slab is - he just goes and does a lot of scribbleround it - and all we can make out is that it's on this common, somewhere near here -and the secret way is behind the slab!'

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'and all we have to do is to go and look behind dozens of heavy slabs!' said someone else. 'i'm fedup. we've lifted slabs in that wretched camp - we've lifted some here - and we still don't know ifwe're anywhere near the right one.'

'shut up,' said the voice of the drawler but now the voice was sharp and angry. 'if we have to pull thiscottage down, if we have to lift every slab there is, if we have to take over that camp, i'll do it! i tellyou, this makes all the difference between wealth and poverty! anyone who wants to back out can doso - but he'd better be careful!'

'now boss, now boss, don't you fly off the handle!' said the woman. 'we're all in this! we'll do all yousay. look, let's start by lifting a few more slabs. there are not so very many that are the size that paulfigured on this plan.'

then began a boring time for the two hidden boys, as slab after slab was lifted and put back.

nothing was found under any of them, apparently.

the men went to the out-buildings too, leaving the woman in the cottage. the boys thought she hadgone as well, and julian moved a little, feeling rather cramped after being still for so long.

the woman's ears must have been sharp for she called out at once.

'who's there? is it you, tom?'

the boys stiffened and stood like statues. the woman said no more. it was not long before the mencame back, talking among themselves. it sounded as if there were three of them.

'no go,' said the drawler. 'i think we'll have to search that camp really well again.'

'that's going to be difficult with someone already there,' said the woman.

'we'll deal with him,' said a voice, grimly. julian frowned. did that mean that guy was in danger? hehad better warn him!

'i'm fed up with this place,' said the woman. 'let's go. i don't think the slab is anywhere here!

we're wasting our time!'

to the boys' great relief, the four searchers left the cottage and went off together. julian and dickleaned over the crumbling wall of the room they stood in, and watched the lights of the torches andlanterns getting dimmer and dimmer over the common. good! now they could go back to the girls!

'i'm stiff!' said dick, stretching himself.

'well, ju - we know a lot more now, don't we? it's clear that someone called paul has stolen somevaluable blue-prints of something - maybe a new plane, or battleship perhaps - and has 59hidden them in some secret place he knew of about here - and to get to it you have to lift a slab ofstone of a certain size.'

'yes. and we know the size because we've already seen the one they lifted in the old stables,'

said julian. 'i vote we go there and measure it - or measure the one by the sink. i should think that theright slab will be somewhere in the old camp. we'd better tell guy and let him into the secret. he'llhelp us to search!'

'what a peculiar business this is to find ourselves mixed up in,' said dick. 'all because george didn'tlike people laughing at old timmy with a cardboard collar round his neck! timmy's the cause ofthis!'

the boys went down the stone stairs, and, of course, dick quite forgot about the rambler, whichcaught him neatly round the ankle and almost tripped him headlong down the stairs!

'blow!' he said, clutching julian and nearly making him topple too. 'sorry. it was that rambler again.

it's ripped my ankle all round. put on the torch for goodness' sake.'

they carefully measured the stone slab by the sink and then made their way out of the cottage and uptowards the spring, hoping that they would find the great gorse-bush in the dark. they tried to getunder the wrong one at first, but at last found the right one. they heard a small welcome bark fromtimmy.

'oh! julian! dick! is it you?' said anne's voice, as the boys squeezed through into the hollow middle.

'oh, what ages you've been! we haven't slept a wink. keep still, timmy, do - this place is too smallfor you to rampage about in!'

the boys settled down and torches were put on. julian related the curious happenings to the twointerested girls. george was thrilled.

'oh i say! fancy all this springing up out of the blue so suddenly! what are you going to do?'

'warn guy first thing in the morning - and then get in touch with the police, i think,' said julian.

'we ourselves can't stop the men searching the camp, and as soon as they do find the slab they'relooking for, they can easily get what they want and go off with it!'

'well, it's really thrilling,' said george. 'i wish i'd been with you. i'll never go to sleep tonight!'

but they did manage to drop off to sleep, for they were all very tired. after a few hours, just as dawnwas breaking, timmy lifted his head and growled. george awoke at once.

'what is it, tim? i can't hear anything.'

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but timmy could, that was certain. george woke julian, and made him listen to timmy's continuousgrowling.

'what do you think he's growling at?' she asked. 'he keeps on and on. i can't hear a thing, can you?'

'no,' said julian, listening. 'well, it's no use my creeping out and going searching in the dark forwhatever timmy's growling at. it might be something silly like a weasel or a hedgehog or a stoat.

shut up, tim. that's enough.'

although it was as dark as night under the thick old gorse-bush, outside it was just getting light.

what was timmy growling at? were there people about again? or was it just one of the hedgehogshe so heartily disliked?

he stopped growling at last and put his head down on his paws, closing his eyes. george patted him.

'well, whatever it was, it's gone. are you comfy, julian? it's very cramped in here - and hot too, isn'tit?'

'yes. we'll get up fairly early and go to warn guy - then we'll have a swim,' said julian, yawning. heswitched off his torch and went to sleep again.

it was late when they awoke. dick was the first, and he looked at his watch. he gave an exclamation.

'gosh! it's half past eight! hey, ju - anne - george - wake up, it's almost afternoon!'

everyone felt stiff and cramped, and they went off to have a swim and to warn guy. as they camenear the camp, they stopped in amazement.

someone was howling down in the trench, howling so miserably and so broken-heartedly that thefive felt quite panic-stricken. whatever in the world could have happened? they ran to the edge ofthe excavations and looked down into the trench.

the boy was there, lying on his face, sobbing. he kept lifting his head and howling, then putting itdown again.

'guy! guy! whatever's happened?' shouted julian. he leapt down beside the boy. 'are you hurt'? isjet hurt? what's the matter?'

'it's guy! he's gone! they've taken him,' howled the boy. 'and i was so awful to him. now he's gone.

he'll never come back, i know he won't!'

'guy's gone? but - but you're guy!' said julian in astonishment. 'what do you mean?'

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he felt sure that the boy really was mad now - quite mad - talking about himself like that. he pattedhim on the shoulder. 'look - you're ill. you come along with us. you need a doctor.'

the boy sprang to his feet, his face swollen and stained. 'i'm not ill! i tell you guy's gone. i'm notguy. he's my twin. there are two of us.'

everyone gasped. it took half a minute to think about this and get everything straight - and then, ofcourse many things were clear! there was not one mad boy, there were two ordinary boys -but they were twins! there wasn't, as they had thought, just one boy who contradicted himself all thetime, who seemed continually to appear suddenly and unexpectedly, and who was sometimes niceand sometimes not.

'twins! why on earth didn't we think of that before?' said julian. 'we thought there was only one ofyou. you were never together.'

'no. we quarrelled - quarrelled bitterly,' said the boy, tears in his eyes again. 'and when twinsquarrel, really quarrel, it's worse than any quarrel there is! we hated one another then - we really did!

we wouldn't be with one another, we wouldn't eat together, or dig together, or sleep together. we'veoften quarrelled before, but not like this - not like this! i just pretended that he didn't exist - and hedid the same with me!'

'what a to-do!' said julian, astonished and worried. 'well now - what's happened to make you soupset? tell me!'

'guy wanted to be friends with me again last night,' said the boy. 'and i wouldn't. i hit him andwalked away. then this morning i was sorry and went to find him and be friends - and - and...'

he stopped and howled again. everyone felt very sad and uncomfortable. 'go on, tell us,' said julian,gently.

'i was just in time to see him fighting two men, and screaming at them, and kicking - then theyhustled him away somewhere!' said the boy. 'i fell down in the trench and hurt my leg - and by thetime i dragged myself up, guy had gone - and so had everyone else!'

he turned away and wept again. 'i'll never forgive myself, never! if i'd made friends last night i couldhave helped him - and i didn't!'