their way up the mountainside in the darkness Julian decided to go back to the farm, slip up to his bedroom there, and find the extra torch he had put in one of the drawers.
“Come along,” he said to Dick. “We"ll try and get in and out without seeing Morgan or old Mrs. Jones.”
They went quietly back to the farmhouse, keeping a look-out for Morgan. Julian slipped up the stone stairway to the bedroom he had been given a few nights before, and rummaged in the drawer for his torch. Good - there it was!
He went downstairs again - and bumped into old Mrs. Jones at the bottom. She gave a little scream.
“Oh, "tis you, Julian bach! Now what have you been tel ing my Morgan to put him into such a temper! Enough to turn the milk sour his face is! Wait now, while I get you some supper. Would you like some pork and...”
“Well - we"ve decided to go back to the hut, after al ,” said Julian, hoping that the kind old woman wouldn"t be upset. “The girls are alone, you know - and it"s dark now.”
“Oh yes, yes - then you shall go back!” said Mrs. Jones. “Wait for one minute - you shal have some of my new bread, and some more pie. Wait now.”
The boys stood in the doorway, waiting, hoping that Morgan would not come by. They sudclcnly heard him in the distance, yelling at a dog, in his loud, real y fierce voice.
“Taking it out on the dogs, I suppose,” said Julian to Dick. “Gosh - I wouldn"t like to come up against him, if I was one of his men! Strong giant that he is, he could take on a dozen men if he wanted to - or a score of dogs!”
Mrs. Morgan came up with a net bag ful of food. “Here you are,” she said. “Take care of those girls - and don"t go near Morgan now. He"s in a fine temper, is my Morgan, and he is not nice to hear!”
The two boys thoroughly agreed. Morgan was not nice to hear. They were glad when they were away up the path, out of reach of his enormous voice!
“Well, that"s that,” said Julian. “No help to be got from this quarter! And we"re forbidden to do anything at all about the matter. As if we were kids!”
“He kept tel ing us we were only children,” said Dick, sounding disgusted. “I can"t make it out. Ju, WHY was he so annoyed about it all? Didn"t he believe us?”
“Oh yes - he believed us all right,” said Julian. “If you ask me, I think he knows much much more than we were able to tell him. There"s some kind of racket going on at Old Towers -
something queer and underhand - and Morgan is in it! That"s why he shut us up and told us not to interfere, and to forget all about it! He"s in what-ever"s going on, I"m sure of it.”
Dick whistled. “My word! So that"s why he was so angry. He thought we might be putting a spoke in his wheel. And of course the last thing he would want us to do would be to go to the police! Well - whatever do we do next, Ju?”
“I don"t know. We"ll have to talk it over with the girls,” said Julian, worried. “This would crop up just when we"re al set for a jol y holiday!”
“Julian, what do you think is going on at Old Towers?” asked Dick, puzzled. “I mean - it isn"t only a question of locking up an old lady in a tower - and selling off her goods and taking the money. It"s all the other things too - the rumblings and shudderings and that queer mist.”
“Well - apparently those things have been going on for some time,” said Julian. “They may have nothing whatever to do with what Morgan is mixed up in - which is, I"m sure, to do with robbing the old lady. In fact, those old tales may be a very good way of keeping people away from the place - in these country places people are much more afraid of strange happenings than townspeople are.”
“It al sounds very convincing when you put it like that,” said Dick. “But somehow I don"t feel convinced. I just can"t help feeling there"s something queer about it all - something we don"t know!”
They fel silent after that, walking one behind the other on the mountain path,
“Come along,” he said to Dick. “We"ll try and get in and out without seeing Morgan or old Mrs. Jones.”
They went quietly back to the farmhouse, keeping a look-out for Morgan. Julian slipped up the stone stairway to the bedroom he had been given a few nights before, and rummaged in the drawer for his torch. Good - there it was!
He went downstairs again - and bumped into old Mrs. Jones at the bottom. She gave a little scream.
“Oh, "tis you, Julian bach! Now what have you been tel ing my Morgan to put him into such a temper! Enough to turn the milk sour his face is! Wait now, while I get you some supper. Would you like some pork and...”
“Well - we"ve decided to go back to the hut, after al ,” said Julian, hoping that the kind old woman wouldn"t be upset. “The girls are alone, you know - and it"s dark now.”
“Oh yes, yes - then you shall go back!” said Mrs. Jones. “Wait for one minute - you shal have some of my new bread, and some more pie. Wait now.”
The boys stood in the doorway, waiting, hoping that Morgan would not come by. They sudclcnly heard him in the distance, yelling at a dog, in his loud, real y fierce voice.
“Taking it out on the dogs, I suppose,” said Julian to Dick. “Gosh - I wouldn"t like to come up against him, if I was one of his men! Strong giant that he is, he could take on a dozen men if he wanted to - or a score of dogs!”
Mrs. Morgan came up with a net bag ful of food. “Here you are,” she said. “Take care of those girls - and don"t go near Morgan now. He"s in a fine temper, is my Morgan, and he is not nice to hear!”
The two boys thoroughly agreed. Morgan was not nice to hear. They were glad when they were away up the path, out of reach of his enormous voice!
“Well, that"s that,” said Julian. “No help to be got from this quarter! And we"re forbidden to do anything at all about the matter. As if we were kids!”
“He kept tel ing us we were only children,” said Dick, sounding disgusted. “I can"t make it out. Ju, WHY was he so annoyed about it all? Didn"t he believe us?”
“Oh yes - he believed us all right,” said Julian. “If you ask me, I think he knows much much more than we were able to tell him. There"s some kind of racket going on at Old Towers -
something queer and underhand - and Morgan is in it! That"s why he shut us up and told us not to interfere, and to forget all about it! He"s in what-ever"s going on, I"m sure of it.”
Dick whistled. “My word! So that"s why he was so angry. He thought we might be putting a spoke in his wheel. And of course the last thing he would want us to do would be to go to the police! Well - whatever do we do next, Ju?”
“I don"t know. We"ll have to talk it over with the girls,” said Julian, worried. “This would crop up just when we"re al set for a jol y holiday!”
“Julian, what do you think is going on at Old Towers?” asked Dick, puzzled. “I mean - it isn"t only a question of locking up an old lady in a tower - and selling off her goods and taking the money. It"s all the other things too - the rumblings and shudderings and that queer mist.”
“Well - apparently those things have been going on for some time,” said Julian. “They may have nothing whatever to do with what Morgan is mixed up in - which is, I"m sure, to do with robbing the old lady. In fact, those old tales may be a very good way of keeping people away from the place - in these country places people are much more afraid of strange happenings than townspeople are.”
“It al sounds very convincing when you put it like that,” said Dick. “But somehow I don"t feel convinced. I just can"t help feeling there"s something queer about it all - something we don"t know!”
They fel silent after that, walking one behind the other on the mountain path,
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