There was a tiara in one box that seemed to be made only of big diamonds. Anne picked it out of its box gently. Then she put it on her hair.
"I"m a princess! It"s my crown!" she said.
"You look lovely," said n.o.bby admiringly. "You look as grand as Delphine the Bareback Rider when she goes into the ring on her horse, with jewels shining all over her!"
Anne put on necklaces and bracelets and sat there on the ledge like a little princess, shining brightly in the magnificent jewels. Then she took them off and put them carefully back into their satin-lined boxes.
"Well - what a haul those two rogues have made!" said Julian, pulling out some gleaming silver plate from another package. "They must be very fine burglars!"
"I know how they work," said d.i.c.k. "Lou"s a wonderful acrobat, isn"t he? I bet he does all the climbing about up walls and over roofs and into windows - and Tiger Dan stands below and catches everything he throws down."
"You"re about right," said n.o.bby, handling a beautiful silver cup. "Lou could climb anywhere - up ivy, up pipes - even up the bare wall of a house, I shouldn"t wonder! And jump! He can jump like a cat. He and Tiger Dan have been in this business for a long time, I expect. That"s where Uncle Dan went at night, of course, when we were on tour, and I woke up and found him gone out of the caravan!"
"And I expect he stores the stolen goods in that wagon of his you showed us," said Julian, remembering. "You told us how angry he was with you once when you went and rummaged about in it. He probably stored it there, and then he and Lou came up here each year and hid the stuff underground - waiting till the police had given up the search for the stolen things - and then they come and get it and sell it somewhere safe."
"A jolly clever plan," said d.i.c.k. "What a fine chance they"ve got - wandering about from place to place like that hearing of famous jewels or plate - slipping out at night - and Lou climbing up to bedrooms like a cat. I wonder how they found this place - it"s a most wonderful hidey-hole!"
"Yes. n.o.body would ever dream of it!" said George.
"And then we go and put our caravan bang on the top of the entrance - just when they want to put something in and take something out!" said Julian. "I must have annoyed them."
"What are we going to do about it?" said d.i.c.k.
Tell the police, of course," said Julian, promptly. "What do you suppose? My word, I"d like to see the face of the policeman who first sees this little haul."
They put everything back carefully. Julian shone his torch up the tunnel. "Shall we explore a bit further, or not?" he said. "It still goes on. Look!"
"Better get back," said n.o.bby. "Now we"ve found this we"d better do something about it."
"Oh, let"s just see where the tunnel goes to," said George. "It won"t take a minute!"
"All right," said Julian, who wanted to go up the tunnel as much as she did. He led the way, his torch shining brightly.
The tunnel came out into another cave, not nearly as big as the one they had left behind. At one end something gleamed like silver, and seemed to move. There was a curious sound there, too.
"What is it?" said Anne, alarmed. They stood and listened.
"Water!" said Julian, suddenly. "Of course! Can"t you hear it flowing along? It"s an underground stream, flowing through the hill to find an opening where it can rush out."
"Like that stream we saw before we came to our caravan camping-place," said George. "It rushed out of the hill. Do you remember? This may be the very one!"
"I expect it is!" said d.i.c.k. They went over to it and watched it. It rushed along in its own hollowed out channel, close to the side of the cave-wall.
"Maybe at one time it ran across this cave and down the tunnel we came up by," said Julian. "Yes, look - there"s a big kind of groove in the floor of the cave here - the stream must have run there once. Then for some reason it went a different way."
"Let"s get back," said n.o.bby. "I want to know if Pongo"s all right. I don"t somehow feel very comfortable about him. And I"m jolly cold, too. Let"s go back to the sunshine and have something to eat. I don"t want a picnic down here, after all."
"All right," said Julian, and they made their way back through the tunnel. They pa.s.sed the rock shelf on which lay the treasure, and came at last to the enormous gleaming cavern. They went across it to the hole that led down into the small cave. Down they went. Julian and George trying to manage Timmy between them. But it was very awkward, for he was a big dog.
Then along the pa.s.sage to the entrance-hole. They all felt quite pleased at the idea of going up into the sunshine again.
"Can"t see any daylight shining down the hole," said Julian puzzled. "It would be near here."
He came up against a blank wall, and was surprised. Where was the hole? Had they missed their way? Then he flashed his torch above him and saw the hole there - but there was no daylight shining in!
"I say!" said Julian, in horror. "I say! What do you think"s happened?"
"What?" asked everyone, in panic.
"The hole is closed!" said Julian. "We can"t get out! Somebody"s been along and put those planks across - and I bet they"ve put the caravan over them, too. We can"t get out!"
Everyone stared up at the closed entrance in dismay. They were prisoners.
"Whatever are we to do?" said George. "Julian - what are we going to do?"
CHAPTER NINETEEN
PRISONERS UNDERGROUND
Julian didn"t answer. He was angry with himself for not thinking that this might happen! Although Lou and Dan had been seen getting on the bus with bags, they might easily not have been spending the night away - the bags might contain things they wanted to sell - stolen goods of some kind.
"They came back quickly - and came up the hill, I suppose, to have another try at getting n.o.bby and Pongo back," said Julian, out loud. "What an idiot I am to leave things to chance like that. Well - I"ll have a try at shifting these planks. I should be able to, with luck."
He did his best, and did shift them to a certain extent - but, as he feared, the caravan had been run back over the hole, and even if he managed to shift some of the planks it was impossible to make a way out.
"Perhaps Pongo can help," he said suddenly. He shouted loudly: "Pongo! Pongo! Come and help!"
Everyone stood still, hoping that they would hear Pongo chattering somewhere near, or sc.r.a.ping at the planks above. But there was no sign or sound of Pongo.
Everyone called, but it was no use. Pongo didn"t come. What had happened to him? Poor n.o.bby felt very worried.
"I wish I knew what has happened," he kept saying. "I feel as if something horrid has happened to poor old Pongo. Where can he be?"
Pongo was not very far away. He was lying on his side, his head bleeding. He was quite unconscious, and could not hear the frantic calls of the children at all. Poor Pongo!
What Julian had feared had actually happened. Lou and Dan had come back up the hill, bringing money with them to tempt n.o.bby and Pongo back. When they had got near to the hollow, they had stood still and called loudly.
"n.o.bby! n.o.bby! We"ve come to make friends, not to hurt you! We"ve got money for you. Be a sensible boy and come back to the camp. Mr Gorgio is asking for you."
When there had been no reply at all, the men had gone nearer. Then they had seen Pongo and had stopped. The chimpanzee could not get at them because he was tied up. He sat there snarling.
"Where have those kids gone?" asked Lou. Then he saw that the caravan had been moved back a little, and he at once guessed.
"They"ve found the way underground! The interfering little brutes! See, they"ve moved one of the caravans off the hole. What do we do now!"