Part 6 (1/2)
”We'll have a quick breakfast,” said Jack. ”Sardines, biscuits and milk, I think. I saw a tin of sardines at the top of one of our sacks. Yes, here it is.”
They saw smoke rising up from where the two men were, and knew that they too were up. So they finished their breakfast quickly, and Dinah once more pushed the tins down a convenient rabbit-hole. Then they ruffled up the gra.s.s on which they had been lying, so that it did not look quite so flat.
”I think we'd better find a good hiding-place for most of these tins,” said Philip, ”and take just a few of them with us to last us for today. We can't possibly lug these heavy sacks along all the way.”
”Couldn't we drop them into the middle of these bushes?” said Dinah. ”They're awfully thick. n.o.body would guess they were there. We could slip back and fetch any we wanted.”
So the sacks were dropped into the middle of the bushes, and certainly no one could see them unless they actually crawled into the very middle. Then the children gathered up their rugs, macks and odd clothes and set off. The boys carried the tins, and Jack had his camera and his gla.s.ses as well. So they were heavily laden and could not go very fast.
They took the same way that they had taken before. When they came to the gra.s.sy, flower-strewn hillside they sat down for a rest. After all, the men would hardly be following them! They would be hunting all round and about the cowshed.
Suddenly, from far off, Jack caught sight of a brilliant, twinkling flash. He lay down flat at once, telling the others to do the same. ”There's someone using field-gla.s.ses down there,” he said. ”We may not be seen if we lie flat. I just caught the flash of the sun on the eye-lenses. Das.h.!.+ I forgot the men might sweep the mountainside with gla.s.ses. They'll be after us if they've seen us.”
”Let's crawl to that rock and get behind it,” said Philip. ”Come on. Once we're behind there we can get on and find the waterfall.”
Chapter 10.
A FINE HIDING-PLACE.
WHEN they were behind the rock the children felt sure they could not be seen, and they breathed more easily. Philip looked round and about. The gully they had been in before lay a little to the left. They could reach it without being seen from below.
”Come on,” said Philip, choosing a path that put rocks or bushes between them and the valley below. ”This way.”
Up the hot gully went the children, and came to the ledge that ran round a steep bit of the mountain. They made their way round and once more saw the wonderful view they had seen before. Above them stood the ruined, burnt-out farm-house. Lucy-Ann carefully didn't look at it. It gave her such a miserable feeling to see the blackened beams and fallen walls.
They stood and listened for the sound of the waterfall. It came softly to their ears, a continuous, musical sound, like a far-off orchestra playing a simple tune.
”What a lovely noise!” said Dinah. ”Philip, shall we climb down or up now? If you want to go to the foot of the waterfall and hide somewhere among the rocks there, we ought to climb down, oughtn't we? Last time we climbed up - over that rocky, stony bit.”
The boys stood and considered. ”It would perhaps be best if we went down this time,” said Jack at last. ”Those rocks just above the waterfall may be slippery to climb down on, for they will be wet with the spray. We don't want to slip, and we're carrying so many things that we haven't free hands to use.”
So they chose a way that led downwards. Philip went first, finding the safest path he could; not that there was a real path, of course, for there was not. As they came nearer to the waterfall, spray blew around them, and left a fine wet mist on their hair. They were hot with climbing and the spray was deliciously cool.
They rounded a corner, and saw the whole of the cascading water at once. What a sight! Lucy-Ann drew a quick breath of awe and delight, and stood staring.
”What a thunderous noise!” shouted Jack, trying to make his voice heard. ”It makes me feel all excited.”
”It does me too,” agreed Dinah. ”As if I want to do a jig or a hornpipe or something. And it makes me want to shout and yell.”
”Well, let's!” said Jack, and he began to caper and shout as if he was mad. The others did the same, except Lucy-Ann. It was almost as if they were trying to out-shout and out-dance the tumbling, roaring water.
They soon stopped, quite exhausted. They were on a flat rock which was wet with the flying spray. They were not nearly at the foot of the water after all, but about a quarter of the way up the fall. The noise filled their ears, and sometimes the force of the spray made them gasp. It was somehow very exciting.
”Well,” said Jack at last, when they had gazed their fill at the waterfall, ”let's think about a good hiding-place. I must say I don't think those men would dream of coming here to look for us.”
They all looked about for a cave or ma.s.s of rocks in or behind which they could hide. Lucy-Ann looked a little doubtful.
”I don't know if I can bear to hear this terrific noise going on in my ears all the time,” she called to Jack. ”It makes me feel a bit dizzy.”
”Dizzy Lizzie,” remarked Kiki at once. She too had been excited by the waterfall and had shouted with the others.
”Well, you'll have to put up with the noise,” said Jack. ”You'll soon get used to it.”
Lucy-Ann looked worried. She was quite sure she wouldn't get used to that thundering going on all the time. She would never, never be able to sleep through it.
The children wandered about by the waterfall, not going too near it because of the thick spray around it. They couldn't seem to find any good place to hide in at all. All the rocks there seemed to be wet, and there seemed to be no comfortable spot in which to put their things.
”Our rugs would be soaked in no time with the fine mist that hangs about the fall,” said Dinah. ”And we can't possibly lie on wet rugs. I don't believe this was such a good idea after all.”
Jack was climbing a little higher. He came to where a giant fern grew. It hung down like a great green curtain and was lovely to see. Jack wondered whether they could hide behind it.
He pushed aside the hanging green fronds and gave a shout at once. The others didn't hear it because of the noise of the water.
”Golly!” said Jack to himself. ”There's a cave behind this hanging fern - and it will be quite dry because the fern screens it from the spray. It's like a great thick curtain! Hey, you others!”
But again n.o.body heard him. Jack couldn't wait for them to pay attention to him. He went through the hanging fronds and found himself in a dim dry cave, with a fairly low roof, and moss growing on the floor. He felt it. It was dry. Probably when the fern died down in the autumn, the spray flew into the cave and the moss then grew damp and flourished well. But now it was like a soft, dry green bed.
”This is just - exactly - the place for us,” said Jack, delighted. ”Absolutely marvellous! n.o.body could possibly see us here because the fern hangs down over the entrance, and it was only quite by accident I found it. It would be a most exciting place for us.”
There was a ledge running around one side of it, like a bench. ”We could put all our things there - tins and so on,” said Jack to himself. ”And when we've put our macks down on this moss we'll have a most lovely bed. I really must tell the others.”
It was quite time that he showed himself, for the others had now missed him and were yelling at the tops of their voices for him.
”Jack! JA-CK! Where are you? JACK!”
Jack heard their voices as he pushed aside the fern-fronds and looked out, just his head showing. Dinah and Kiki suddenly caught sight of his face peering out of the fern some way above them. Kiki gave a squawk of surprise and flew up at once. Dinah jumped.
”Look!” she yelled to Philip and Lucy-Ann. ”Look where Jack is - hiding behind that giant fern!”
Jack put his hands to his mouth and yelled at the top of his voice, trying to drown the noise of the waterfall. ”Come on up here! I've found something marvellous!”
The others climbed up eagerly. Jack held aside the green fronds for them. ”Won't you come into my parlour!” he said politely. ”So pleased to see you all.”
They pa.s.sed through the green curtain into the cave behind. They called out in delighted surprise.
”What a lovely place! n.o.body could ever find us here!”
”There's a soft green carpet on the floor! It's moss!”
”The roar of the fall isn't nearly so loud here! We can hear ourselves speak!”
”Glad you like it,” said Jack modestly. ”I found it quite by accident. It's perfect, isn't it?”
It was. Lucy-Ann was relieved that the thunder of the waterfall was lessened here, in the cave. Dinah was thrilled with the softness of the moss. Philip was pleased by the real safety of such a hiding-place. n.o.body would ever find it except by chance.