don’t know,’ said Tinker. ‘Anyway I should think it would be a horrible place down there - dark and smelly, and narrow, and...’
‘Let’s go and see,’ said George, getting up. ‘I’m so bored at the moment that if I don’t do something, I’ll fall asleep for a hundred years.’
‘Ass,’ said Dick. ‘Still - quite a good idea of yours. We’d have a bit of peace while you were sleeping! Oooooch - don’t jab me like that, George!’
‘Come on,’ said George. ‘Let’s trot down and find out what’s down the shaft.’
Anne didn’t want to go down the shaft, but the others ran down the stairway, Timmy too, and soon came to the bottom, opposite the entrance door of the light-house.
Tinker showed them a large round trap-door in the floor there. ‘If we open that, we’ll be looking down into the foundation shaft,’ he said.
So they pulled up the large round wooden trap-door, and gazed downwards. They could see nothing at all except darkness! ‘Where’s my torch?’ said Julian. ‘I’ll fetch it!’
Soon his torch was lighting up the round shaft, and they saw an iron ladder going down it on one side. Julian climbed down a few steps and examined the walls of the shaft.
‘They’re cement!’ he called. ‘And they must be enormously thick, I should think. I’m going on down.’
So down he went, and down, marvelling at the sturdy cement lining of the enormous shaft. He wondered why it had not been filled in. Perhaps a hollow cement-lined shaft was stronger than a filled-in one? He didn’t know.
He came almost to the bottom - but he didn’t go down the last steps of the iron ladder. A peculiar noise came from below him! A gurgling, choking noise! What in the world could it be?
He shone his torch down to see - and then stared in amazement! There was water at the bottom of the shaft, water that swirled and moved around, making a strange hollow, gurgling noise. Where did it come from?
As he watched it, it disappeared - then it came back again! He shone his torch here and there to find out how the water made its way into the shaft.
‘There must be a tunnel or a passage of some sort down there, that the sea can enter!’
he thought. ‘It’s high tide now - so the water is swirling in. I wonder - now I wonder - if it’s free of water when the tide is out! And if so where does that tunnel, or whatever it is, lead to? Or is it always under water? I’ll go back and tell the others - and have another look at that old map!’
He climbed back, glad to be out of the smelly darkness of the old shaft. The others were at the top, looking down rather anxiously.
‘Here he is!’ said George. ‘See anything interesting, Julian?’
‘I did, rather,’ said Julian, climbing out of the shaft ‘Got that old map with you? I want to look at something if so.’
‘Come upstairs, then,’ said Dick. ‘We can see better there. What was down there, Ju?’
“Famous Five 19 - Five Go To Demon's Rock” By Enid Blyton 43
‘Wait till we’re up in the living-room,’ said Julian. He took the map from Tinker as soon as he arrived there, and sat down to look at it. He ran his finger down the shaft to the bottom, and then jabbed at a round mark drawn there.
‘See that? That’s a hole at the bottom of the shaft, through which sea-water is coming.
It’s high tide now, so the water is seeping into the shaft - but it’s only about a foot deep.
At low tide there wouldn’t be a single drop coming in. Wouldn’t I love to know where that water-tunnel went to - up to the surface of the rocks? Through them to somewhere a good way off? Or what!’
‘An undersea tunnel!’ said George, her eyes bright. ‘Why don’t we explore it sometime when the tide is out?’
‘Well - we’d have to be pretty certain we wouldn’t suddenly be drowned!’ said Julian, rolling up the map. ‘Very interesting, isn’t it? I suppose the hole was left in case the constant push of water there, when the tide was in, might
‘Let’s go and see,’ said George, getting up. ‘I’m so bored at the moment that if I don’t do something, I’ll fall asleep for a hundred years.’
‘Ass,’ said Dick. ‘Still - quite a good idea of yours. We’d have a bit of peace while you were sleeping! Oooooch - don’t jab me like that, George!’
‘Come on,’ said George. ‘Let’s trot down and find out what’s down the shaft.’
Anne didn’t want to go down the shaft, but the others ran down the stairway, Timmy too, and soon came to the bottom, opposite the entrance door of the light-house.
Tinker showed them a large round trap-door in the floor there. ‘If we open that, we’ll be looking down into the foundation shaft,’ he said.
So they pulled up the large round wooden trap-door, and gazed downwards. They could see nothing at all except darkness! ‘Where’s my torch?’ said Julian. ‘I’ll fetch it!’
Soon his torch was lighting up the round shaft, and they saw an iron ladder going down it on one side. Julian climbed down a few steps and examined the walls of the shaft.
‘They’re cement!’ he called. ‘And they must be enormously thick, I should think. I’m going on down.’
So down he went, and down, marvelling at the sturdy cement lining of the enormous shaft. He wondered why it had not been filled in. Perhaps a hollow cement-lined shaft was stronger than a filled-in one? He didn’t know.
He came almost to the bottom - but he didn’t go down the last steps of the iron ladder. A peculiar noise came from below him! A gurgling, choking noise! What in the world could it be?
He shone his torch down to see - and then stared in amazement! There was water at the bottom of the shaft, water that swirled and moved around, making a strange hollow, gurgling noise. Where did it come from?
As he watched it, it disappeared - then it came back again! He shone his torch here and there to find out how the water made its way into the shaft.
‘There must be a tunnel or a passage of some sort down there, that the sea can enter!’
he thought. ‘It’s high tide now - so the water is swirling in. I wonder - now I wonder - if it’s free of water when the tide is out! And if so where does that tunnel, or whatever it is, lead to? Or is it always under water? I’ll go back and tell the others - and have another look at that old map!’
He climbed back, glad to be out of the smelly darkness of the old shaft. The others were at the top, looking down rather anxiously.
‘Here he is!’ said George. ‘See anything interesting, Julian?’
‘I did, rather,’ said Julian, climbing out of the shaft ‘Got that old map with you? I want to look at something if so.’
‘Come upstairs, then,’ said Dick. ‘We can see better there. What was down there, Ju?’
“Famous Five 19 - Five Go To Demon's Rock” By Enid Blyton 43
‘Wait till we’re up in the living-room,’ said Julian. He took the map from Tinker as soon as he arrived there, and sat down to look at it. He ran his finger down the shaft to the bottom, and then jabbed at a round mark drawn there.
‘See that? That’s a hole at the bottom of the shaft, through which sea-water is coming.
It’s high tide now, so the water is seeping into the shaft - but it’s only about a foot deep.
At low tide there wouldn’t be a single drop coming in. Wouldn’t I love to know where that water-tunnel went to - up to the surface of the rocks? Through them to somewhere a good way off? Or what!’
‘An undersea tunnel!’ said George, her eyes bright. ‘Why don’t we explore it sometime when the tide is out?’
‘Well - we’d have to be pretty certain we wouldn’t suddenly be drowned!’ said Julian, rolling up the map. ‘Very interesting, isn’t it? I suppose the hole was left in case the constant push of water there, when the tide was in, might
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