Part 10 (2/2)

Julian was looking up round the cave. 'Does our tunnel end here?' he wondered. 'Is the where we have to look for whatever is hidden?'

'We'll have a look round the cave and see if there are any exits,' said d.i.c.k. Using their torches the five separated, Timmy keeping close to George, not seeming in the least surprised at this underground adventure.

'I've found another tunnel over here, leading out of the cave!' called d.i.c.k. No sooner had he said that than Anne called out too.

'There's one here as well!'

'Now - which do we take?' said Julian. 'How annoying that there should be two!'

'Would the fellow - what's his name - Paul - have marked the correct underground way on his plan?' said George. 'I mean - I don't see how he could possibly expect either himself or anyone else to find what he had hidden, if there are numbers of pa.s.sages to choose from down here!'

'You're right!' said Julian. 'Let's look about and see if we can find anything to help us.'

It wasn't long before d.i.c.k gave another shout. 'It's all right! This is the pa.s.sage to take, over here - the one I found just now. There's an arrow drawn in white chalk on the wall.'

Everyone crowded over to d.i.c.k, stepping across the little stream as they did so. d.i.c.k held his torch up and they all saw the white arrow, drawn roughly on the wall.

Julian was pleased. 'Good. That helps a lot! It shows we're going the right way - and that this is the secret way that Paul chose. Come on!'

They entered the tunnel, left the little stream behind, and went on again. 'Anyone got any idea in which direction we're going?' called d.i.c.k. 'East, west, north, south?'

Harry had a compa.s.s. He looked at it. 'I think we're going rather in the direction of the old Roman camp,' he said.

'Ah - that's interesting,' said Julian. 'This tunnel was probably used in olden times.'

'Guy and I have seen the plan of the camp as it probably used to be,' said Harry. 'And there are plenty of tunnels and caves and holes shown on it - just roughed in, not a proper plan of them. Gosh - I never thought I'd be exploring one! My father warned me not to, in case of roof-falls and things like that.'

The tunnel suddenly forked into two. One pa.s.sage was nice and wide, the other narrow. Julian took the wide one, thinking that the other was really too narrow to get through. Rut after a minute of two, he stopped, puzzled.

'There's a blank wall of rock here - the tunnel's ended! We'll have to turn back! I suppose we should have taken that very narrow opening.'

They went back, Harry leading the way now. Timmy suddenly took it into his head that he would like to lead, too, and made himself a real nuisance, pus.h.i.+ng his way between everyone's legs!

They came back to the fork. Harry shone his torch in at the second opening, the very narrow one. There, clearly marked on the right hand wall, was a white arrow in chalk!

'We're idiots,' said d.i.c.k. 'We don't even look for the sign-posts! Lead the way, Julian!'

This tunnel was very narrow indeed, and had rough, jutting rocky sides. There were loud 'Aahs!' and 'Oohs!' as elbows and ankles were knocked against hard rock.

And then again there came a blank wall of rock in front of Julian, and again he had to stop!

'Can't go this way either!' he said. 'There's a blank wall again - this is a blind alley too!'

There were cries of dismay at once.

'Blow! It can't be!'

'What's gone wrong! Look all round, Ju - flash your torch down at your feet and above your head!'

Julian shone his torch over his head, and gave an exclamation.

'There's a hole above my head!'

'Is there a white arrow anywhere?' called Harry.

'Yes! And it's pointing up, instead of forwards!' called back Julian. 'We're still all right - we've got to go upwards now - but how?'

George, who was just behind him, shone her torch on the side-walls. 'Look!' she said. 'We can easily get up to the hole. There are rough, natural steps up - made by ledges of rock. Look, Julian!'

'Yes,' said Julian. 'We can manage to get up quite easily, I think. George, you go first - I'll give you a boost up.'

George was delighted to go first. She put her torch between her teeth, and began to climb up the ledges, Julian pus.h.i.+ng her as best he could. She came to the hole and immediately saw that it would be quite easy to hoist herself through.

'One more boost and I'll be through!' she called to Julian. And with one last heave George, was up, rolling on the floor of a small cave above! She called down in excitement to the others.

'I believe this is the place where those things are hidden! I can see something on a ledge. Oh, do buck up!'

The others followed eagerly. d.i.c.k slipped off the rocky ledges in his excitement and almost squashed poor Harry as he fell on him. However, everyone was up at last, even Timmy, who was the most difficult of all to heave through! He seemed to have far too many vigorous legs!

Harry found no difficulty at all. 'I'm used to this kind of thing,' he said. 'Guy and I have explored a whole lot of tunnels and caves in hills and other places.'

George was pointing her torch at a broad ledge of rock. On it was a brown leather bag, and beside it, marked on the rock, was a very large arrow indeed.

Julian was overjoyed. He picked up the bag at once. 'My word - I hope there's something in it!' he said. 'It feels jolly light - as if it's empty!'

'Open it!' cried everyone - but Julian couldn't. It was locked - and alas, there wasn't a key!

Chapter Seventeen

FULL OF SURPRISES

'Its locked - we can't open the bag,' said Julian, and shook it vigorously as if that might make it fly open and spill whatever contents it had!

'We don't know if it's got anything of value in it or not,' said d.i.c.k, in deep disappointment. 'I mean - it might be some trick on that fellow Paul's part - he might have taken the blue-prints, or whatever they were he hid, for himself, and left the bag just to trick the others.'

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