Five Go Down to the Sea (5 page)

Grandad certainly had some interesting things to tell them, dreadful things, Anne thought.

„You"ve seen them rocks down on Tremannon coast," began Grandad. „Wicked rocks they be, hungry for ships and men. There"s many a ship been wrecked on purpose! Ay, you can look disbelieving-like, but it"s true."

„How did they get wrecked on purpose?" asked Dick. „Were they lured here by a false light, or something?"

The old man lowered his voice as if he was afraid of being overheard.

„Way back up the coast, more than a hundred years ago, there was a light set to guide the ships that sail round here," said Grandad. „They were to sail towards that light, and then hug the coast and avoid the rocks that stood out to sea. They were safe then. But, on wild nights, a light was set two miles farther down the coast, to bemuse lost ships, and drag them to the rocks round Tremannon coves."

„How wicked!" said Anne and George together. „How could men do that?"

„It"s fair amazing what men wil do," said Grandad, nodding his head. „Take my old Dad now - a kind man he was and went to church, so he did, and took me with him. But he was the one that set the false light burning every time, and sent men to watch the ship coming in on the rocks - crashing over them to break into pieces."

„Did you - did you ever see a ship crashing to its death?" asked Dick, imagining the groaning of the sailing ships, and the groaning of the men flung into the raging sea.

„Ay. I did so," said Grandad, his eyes taking on a very far-away look. „I were sent to the cove with the men, and had to hold a lantern to bemuse the ship again when she came to the rocks. Poor thing, she groaned like a live thing, she did, when she ran into them wicked rocks, and split into pieces. And next day I went to the cove to help get the goods that were scattered al around the cove. There were lots drownded that night, and..."

„Don"t tell us about that," said Dick, feeling sick. „Where did they flash the false light from?

From these hil s, or from the cliff somewhere?"

„I"l show you where my Dad flashed it from," said Grandad, and he got up slowly. „There"s only one place on these hil s where you could see the light a-flashing. The wreckers had to find somewhere well hidden, so that their wicked light couldn"t be seen from inland, or the police would stop it, but it could be seen plainly by any ship on the sea near this coast!"

He took them round his hil , and then pointed towards the coast. Set between two hil s there the roof of a house could just be seen, and from it rose a tower. It could only be seen from that one spot! Dick took a few steps to each side of it, and at once the house disappeared behind one or other of the hil s on each side of it.

„I were the only one that ever knew the false light could be seen from inland," said Grandad, pointing with his pipe-stem towards the far-off square tower. „I were watching lambs one night up here, and I saw the light a-flashing. And I heard there was a ship wrecked down in Tremannon cove that night so I reckoned it were the wreckers at work."

„Did you often see the light flashing over there, when you watched the sheep ?" asked George.

„Oh ay, many a time," said the shepherd. „And always on wild, stormy nights, when ships were labouring along, and in trouble, looking for some light to guide them into shore. Then a light would flare out over there, and I"d say to meself “Now may the Good God help those sailors tonight, for it"s sure that nobody else wil !” "

„How horrible!" said George, quite appal ed at such wickedness. „You must be glad that you never see that false light shining there on stormy nights now!"

Grandad looked at George, and his eyes were scared and strange. He lowered his voice and spoke to George as if she were a boy.

„Little master," he said, „that light stil flares on dark and stormy nights. The place is a ruin, and jackdaws build in the tower. But three times this year I"ve seen that light again! Come a stormy night it"l flare again! I know it in my bones, little master, I know it in my bones!"

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 stil flash in the old tower on wild and stormy nights? But why 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 a good 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 this coast for more years than I can remember. But I tel you that light flares up just as it used to do. I seen it 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 no light. 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 his hand to cuff the smal 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 I never would tell. Us al had to swear and promise that."

„But Yan here said that you taught the way to him," said Dick, puzzled.

Yan promptly removed himself from the company and disappeared round a clump of bushes. His old Great-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 every man living. I"m the last one left as knows of it. Yan! He"s dreaming!

Maybe he"s heard tel of an old Wreckers" Way, but that"s all."

„Oh!" said Dick, disappointed. He had hoped that Grandad would tell them the old way, and then they could 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 was puzzled. „Who could possibly flash that light?" he said to Gran-dad. „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 tell you I saw it again three times this year, same place, same light, same weather!

And if you telled me it weren"t flashed by mortal hands, I"d believe you."

There was a silence after this extraordinary statement. Anne looked over towards the far-off tower that showed just between the two distant hil s. How queer that this spot where they were standing was the only place from which the tower could be seen from inland.

The wreckers had been clever to choose a spot like that to flash a light from. No one but old Grandad up on the hil s could possibly have seen the light and guessed what was going on, no one but the cal ous wreckers themselves.

Grandad delved deep into more memories stored in his mind. He poured them out, tales of the old days, 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 witches and brownies, the wreckers and the kil ers 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, and sat outside in the sunshine, surrounded by nibbling sheep. One or two of the half-grown lambs came up, looking hot in their unshorn wool y coats. They nosed round the old shepherd, and he rubbed their wool y noses.

„These be lambs I fed from a bottle," he explained. „They always remember. Go away now, Wool y. Cake"s wasted on you."

Yan wolfed quite half the tea. He gave Anne a quick grin of pure pleasure, showing both his dimples at once. She smiled back. She liked this funny little boy now, and felt sorry for him. She was sure that his old Grandad didn"t give him enough to eat!

The church bel s 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"l be glad to be rid of us now, and smoke your pipe in peace with your sheep around you."

„Ay, I wil ," said Grandad, truthfully. „I do be one for my own company, and I likes to think my own thoughts. Long thoughts they be, too, going back nigh on a hundred years. If I wants to talk, I talks to my 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 up the basket, and said good-bye to the old man.

„Well, what do you think he meant when he talked about the light stil flashing in the old tower?" said Dick, as they went over the hil s back to the farm. „What an extraordinary thing to say. Was it true, do you suppose?"

„There"s only one way to find out!" said George, her eyes dancing. „Wait for a wild and stormy night and go and see!"

„But what about our agreement?" said Julian, solemnly. „If anything exciting seems about to happen we 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, doubtful y. She knew quite wel that the others didn"t think so!

„Look! Who are all these people?" said Dick, suddenly. They were just climbing over a stile to cross a lane to another field.

They sat on the stile and stared. Some carts were going by, open wagons, their canvas tops folded down. They were the most old-fashioned carts the children had ever seen, not in the least like gipsy caravans.

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

The children stared. After Grandad"s tales of long ago these old-time folk seemed just right! For a few moments Anne felt herself back in Grandad"s time, when he was a boy.

He must have seen people dressed like these!

„Who are they?" she said, wonderingly. And then the children saw red lettering painted on the biggest cart:

THE BARNIES

„Oh! It"s the Barnies! Don"t you remember Mrs Penruthlan tel ing 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 his side, and a wig of curly hair, threw a leaflet or two to them. They read them with interest.

THE BARNIES ARE COMING!

They wil sing, they wil dance, they wil fiddle.

They wil 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"l be fun!" said George, pleased. She cal ed out to the passing wagons: „Wil you be playing at Tremannon 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," cal ed 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."

„Al but the man driving the front cart. Did you see him?" said Anne. „He looked pretty grim, I thought."

Nobody else had noticed him. „He was probably the owner of the Barnies," said Dick.

„And has got all the 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 was playing 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 stil clucking around and ducks were quacking. A horse stamped somewhere near by, and the grunting of pigs came on the air. It al looked quite perfect.

Footsteps came through the farm-yard, and Mr Penruthlan came by. He grunted at them and went into a barn.

Anne spoke in almost a whisper. „I can imagine him living in the older days and being a wrecker. I can real y!"

„Yes! I know what you mean," said Dick. „He"s so fierce-looking and determined. What"s the word I want? Ruthless! I"m sure he would have made a good wrecker!"

„Do you suppose there are any wreckers now, and that light real y is flashed to make ships go on the rocks?" said George.

„Well, I shouldn"t have thought there were any wreckers in this country, anyway," said Dick. „I can"t imagine that such a thing would be tolerated for an instant. But if that light is flashed, what is it flashed for?"

„Old Grandad said there hadn"t been any wrecks on this coast for ages," said Julian. „I think really that the 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! I can"t imagine any other hands working it! He surely doesn"t think that his father is stil 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 real y mysterious," argued Dick. „It"s just a story an old man remembers, and I real y can"t believe that that light stil flashes on a wild stormy night. Grandad must have seen lightning or something. Why don"t we settle the matter for good and all and go and explore the old house with the tower?"