Five on Finniston Farm (13 page)

„Bil ! What in the name of goodness was that? A rat-fight, do you suppose?"

„They heard us," said Julian, excited. „Come on - once again. And bark the place down, Timmy!"

Timmy was only too ready to oblige, for he was very tired of tunnels and dark, echoing places by now! He barked long and fiercely, frightening Snippet so much that the little poodle actual y ran back up the tunnel! What with Tim"s barking, and everyone"s yelling, and the constant hammering, the noise was even louder than before, and Bill and Jamie listened in amazement.

„Comes from over yonder," said Bill. „Summat"s going on there. Beats me what it is though.

If "twere night-time, I"d think it were ghosties having a game! Come on - we"ll get over yonder."

The place was so ful of sacks that the two men had to clamber over the rows, disturbing the cat and her kittens. She had curled herself round them, scared of the unexpected noise.

„This corner, Bil ," said Jamie, standing on top of two layers of sacks. He put his hand to his mouth and bel owed like a bul .

„ANYONE ABOUT?"

The six below answered frantically at the tops of their voices, Timmy barking too.

„There"s a dog barking down there," said Bil , scratching his head, puzzled, looking down at the sacks as if he thought there might be a dog in one of them.

„A dog! There"s folks as well," said Jamie, astounded. „Where are they? Can"t be under these sacks!"

„Maybe they"re in that little old store-place we found one day, in the floor," suggested Bil .

„Remember? Under an old trap-door, it were, that were covered by a great slab of stone.

You remember, man!"

„Oh ay," said Jamie, and then the clamour began again, for the children were now getting near despair. „Gome on, Bil ," said Jamie, hearing the note of urgency, though he couldn"t make out a word from below. „Heave over these here sacks. We"ve got to get to the bottom of this!"

They heaved a dozen sacks away, and then at last the trap-door was uncovered. The stone slab that had once hidden it had been taken up some years ago by the two men and now stood against the wall. They had not bothered to replace it, not guessing that the „little old storeplace" as they had thought it, was real y an entrance to a secret, long-forgotten passage. It was fortunate indeed for the children that only the old wooden trap-door was between them and the men, for if the stone slab had been there too, no sound of their shouting would have been heard in the old chapel above!

„Now for this here trap-door," said Bil . He tapped on it with his great boot. „Who"s down here?" he demanded, wondering what the answer would be.

„US!" shrieked the twins, and the others joined in, with Timmy barking frantically again.

„Bless us al - them"s the twins" voices I heard!" said Jamie, „How did they climb into that store-room without moving these here sacks?"

With a great heave the two men pul ed up the heavy wooden slab, and looked down in the greatest astonishment at the little crowd below! They couldn"t believe their eyes!

Timmy was the first out. He leapt upwards and landed beside the men, wagging his great tail and licking them lavishly.

„Oh, thanks, Bil , thanks, Jamie," cried the twins as the two men pul ed them up. „Gosh, I"m thankful you were working overtime - and happened to come in here!"

„Your ma"s been hol ering for you," said Bil , disapprovingly. „And didn"t you say you was going to help me with them poles?"

„How did you get down there?" demanded Jamie, pul ing up the others one by one.

Julian was the last, and he handed up poor scared little Snippet, who real y felt he had had quite enough adventures for one day!

„Oh - it"s too long a story to tell you just now," said Harry. „But thanks again most awful y, Bill and Jamie. Can you put that slab back? Don"t tell anyone we were down there til we tel you how it happened, see? Now we"ll have to rush and tel Mother we"re al right!"

And away they all went, longing for tea, tired out, full of thankfulness at their escape from the little stone room under the chapel floor! What would everyone say when they displayed the treasures they had brought back with them?

A GREAT STORY TO TELL!

The twins tore down to the farm-house, and saw their mother, stil looking for them. They flung themselves on her, and she gave them a loving shake.

„Where have you been? You"re an hour late for tea, all of you. I"ve been so worried. Mr Henning told me some story about you digging up on the hil side!"

„Mother! We"re ravenous, so let"s have tea and we"ll tel you some Great News," said the twins, both together. „Mother, you wil be astonished. Where"s Dad - and Great-Grand-dad too?"

„They"re stil at the tea-table - they were late too," said Mrs Philpot. „They"ve been out looking for you all! Great-Grand-dad isn"t very pleased. What in the world have you brought with you? Surely those are not swords?"

„Mother, let"s have tea first and we"ll tell you EVERYTHING!" said the twins. „Must we wash?

Oh blow - al right, come on, everyone, let"s wash. And we"ll put our treasures down in the darkest corner, so that Dad and Great-Grand-dad won"t see them til we"re ready to show them!"

Soon they were al sitting down at the tea-table, glad to see a wonderful spread! Great slices of thickly buttered bread, home-made jam, home-made cheese, a fat ginger cake, a fruit cake, a dish of ripe plums, and even a home-cooked ham if anyone wanted something more substantial!

Mr Philpot and old Great-Grand-dad were stil at the table, drinking a last cup of tea. Mrs Philpot had told them that the children had to wash, but would tell all that had happened when they came to their tea.

„Ho!" said Great-Grand-dad, frowning til his great bushy eyebrows almost covered his nose. „When I was a boy I dursent come in one minute late for my meals! You twins have worried your mother - that"s bad!"

„We"re awfully sorry, Great-Grand-dad," said the twins, in unison. „But just wait til you hear our story. Julian - you tell it!"

And so, between great munches of bread and butter, ham sandwiches, and slices of cake, the story was told, all the children joining in now and again.

Great-Grand-dad already knew that Mr Benning had been given permission to excavate, and that a cheque for £250 had been given to Mr Philpot. He had flown into a terrible temper, and only when Mrs Philpot had sobbed and said that she would give it back, though she could hardly bear to part with it, had Great-Grand-dad given in. Now ready to fly into another rage, he listened to the children"s story. He forgot to drink his cooling tea. He forgot to fil his pipe. He even forgot to ask a single question! Never had he heard such a wonderful, glorious tale in his life!

Julian told the story well, and the others fil ed in any bits he left out. Mrs Philpot"s eyes almost fell out of her head when she heard how Snippet and Nosey had gone into the rabbit-burrow and come out with a broken sword and a ring!

„But - but where did ..." she began, and listened again, to hear how Dick and Julian had enlarged the burrow, crawled right through it, and slid down into the long-lost secret tunnel!

„HA!" said Great-Grand-dad, getting out his great red handkerchief, and dabbing his forehead with it. „HA! Wish I"d been there. Go on, go on!"

Julian had stopped to drink his tea. He laughed and went on, describing how they had al gone up the tunnel with their torches, the dogs with them. „It was dark and smelly, and suddenly we heard a terrific noise!" he said.

„It got right inside our heads!" put in Anne.

„What was it, what was it?" said Great-Grand-dad, his eyes almost as big as the saucer in front of him.

„The noise of the men dril ing up on the old castle-site," said Julian, and Great-Grand-dad exploded in wrath. He pointed his pipe at his grandson, the farmer.

„Didn"t I tel you I wouldn"t have those men on my farm?" he began, and then calmed down as Mrs Philpot patted his arm, shushing him. „Go on, Julian," she said.

And then came the really exciting part, the story of how they came into the actual cel ars of the castle - the stone archways - the age-old dust...

„And the echoes!" said Anne. „When we whispered, a hundred other whispers came back!"

When Julian described their finds - the old armour, stil good, but black with age - the rack of swords and knives and daggers - the chest of gold...

GOLD! I don"t believe you!" shouted Great-Grand-dad. „You"re making that up, young man. Don"t you pile up your tale too much, now. Stick to the truth."

The twins promptly took some of the gold coins out of their pockets, stil bril iant and shining. They laid them on the table in front of the three amazed grown-ups.

„There you are! They wil tel you if we are making up al this or not - these gold coins! They wil speak more loudly than words!"

In awe Mr Philpot picked them up, and passed them one by one to the old man, and to his wife. Great-Grand-dad was dumbfounded and dumbstruck. He simply could not say a single word. He could only grunt and puff as he turned the coins over in his great horny hand.

„Are they real y gold?" said Mrs Philpot, quite overcome at the sudden appearance of the shining coins. „Trevor - wil they belong to us? Does it mean - does it mean that we"ll be well enough off to buy a new tractor for you - and..."

„Depends how much of this stuff there is, up in those old cellars," said Mr Philpot, trying to keep calm. „And depends on how much we"re allowed to keep, of course. Might belong to the Crown by now."

„THE CROWN!" roared Great-Grand-dad, standing up suddenly. „The CROWN! NO, SIR! It"s mine! Ours! Found on my land, put there by our ancestors. Yes - and I"l give old Mr Finniston down in the vil age a share, so I wil . He"s been a good friend of mine for years!"

The children thought that was quite a good idea! They then showed the jewel ery they had brought, and Mrs Philpot marvelled at it, tarnished though it was.

But the swords and daggers brought the greatest excitement to old Great-Grand-dad and his grandson, Mr Philpot! As soon as they heard that the children had actually brought back some of the old weapons, the two men got up and went to get them.

Great-Grand-dad picked up the biggest and heaviest of the swords, and swung it dangerously round his head, looking like a reincarnation of some fearsome old warrior, with his great beard and blazing eyes.

„No, no, Grand-dad!" said Mrs Philpot in fright. „Oh, you"l knock down the things on the dresser - there, I knew you would! Bang goes my meat-dish!"

And down it went, CRASH! Timmy and Snippet almost jumped out of their skins, and began to bark frantical y.

„Sit DOWN, all of you!" cried Mrs Philpot to the excited dogs and the men. „Let Julian finish his story! Great-Grand-dad, SIT DOWN!"

„Ha," said Great-Grand-dad, a broad smile on his face, sitting down in his chair. „HA! Did me good to swing that sword. Where"s that American? I might try it out on him!"

The children roared with delight. It was great to see the old man so delighted. „Go on with that tale of yours," he said to Julian. „You tell it well, boy. Go on! Now, Ma, don"t you take my sword away. I"m keeping it here, between my legs, in case I want to use it. HA!"

Julian quickly finished his tale, and told how they had walked back down the passage and found their burrow entrance fal en in - and then gone right down the rest of the tunnel and come at last into the little stone-walled room.

„And we couldn"t get out," said Julian. „There was a great wooden trap-door over our heads, and on it lay a dozen or so sacks - heavy as lead! We couldn"t lift it. So we yelled!"

„So that"s where the secret passage led to!" said Mr Philpot. „How did you get out?"

„We yelled and hammered, and Bil and Jamie heard us, and pul ed off the sacks, and lifted up the old trap-door," said Julian. „Gosh, we were glad to see them! We thought we might be lost for ever! Jamie knew about the little stone vault down under the chapel floor - but he thought it was just an old storeroom!"

„I"ve never heard of it before," said Mrs Philpot, and old Great-Grand-dad nodded his head in agreement.

„No more have I," he said. „For as long as I can remember the floor of that old chapel has been piled with sacks, and what bits I could see of the floor were covered with thick dust.

Yes, even when I was a boy, playing hide and seek in the old place, it was full of sacks -

and that"s every bit of eighty-five years ago now! Well, well - seems like yesterday I was playing in there with a cat and her kittens!"

„There"s a cat and her kittens there now," said Anne.

„Ay, little lass - and there"ll be a cat and her kittens there when you"re an old, old woman!" said Great-Grand-dad. „There"s some things never change, thanks be to the Lord. Well, well - I can sleep easy of nights now - I reckon you and the farm wil be al right Trevor, with the money you"l make out of those old finds - and I"l live to see the twins growing up and handling the finest farm in Dorset, so I shal - with everything new-fangled they want, bless their bonny faces! And now I"l just have one more swing with that sword!"

The children fled! Great-Grand-dad looked years younger already - and goodness knows what damage he would do with that great sword! What an afternoon it had been - one they would never forget!

‘THE MOST EXCITING ADVENTURE WE’VE EVER HAD!’

After all the excitement of the afternoon the children felt lazy. The twins went off to feed the chickens. „Better late than never!" they said, together.

„Where are Mr Henning and Mr Durleston and that awful Junior, Mrs Philpot?" asked George, getting up to help with the washing of the tea-things.

„Oh, Mr Henning came in to say he and Mr Durleston were going to a meal at a hotel, and taking Junior too," said Mrs Philpot. „He seemed very pleased with himself indeed. He said that they had broken through to the cellars of the old castle, and expected great things - and that maybe a second cheque of £250 would be coming soon!"

„You won"t take it, though, wil you, Mrs Philpot?" said Julian quickly, overhearing what was being said. „The things down in that cel ar wil be worth much more than any money Mr Henning is likely to offer you. He"d only take them to America and sell them for vast sums and make a huge profit. Why should you let him do that?"