night.
„The tower"s fal ing into ruin," said Dick. „Large pieces have dropped out of it. And I should think the house is in ruin, too, though we can"t see enough of it at the moment, just a bit of the roof. Come on. This is going to be fun!"
The tower didn"t look the frightening thing it had seemed on the stormy night when the boys saw the flashing light. It just looked a poor old ruin. They made their way to it through high thistles, nettles and wil ow-herb.
„Doesn"t look as if anyone has been here for years," said Julian, rather puzzled. „I rather wish we"d brought a scythe to cut down these enormous weeds! We can hardly get through them. I"m stung all over with nettles, too."
They came to the house at last, and a poor, tumbledown ruin it was! The doors had fal en in, the windows were out of shape, and had no glass, the roof was ful of holes. An enormous climbing rose rambled everywhere, throwing masses of old-fashioned white roses over wal s and roof to hide the ugliness of the ruin.
Only the tower seemed stil strong, except at the top, where parts of the wall had crumbled away and fallen. Julian forced his way through the broken doorway into the house. Weeds grew in the floor.
„There"s a stone stairway going up the tower!" he called. „And I say, look here! What"s this on each stair?"
„Oil," said George. „Someone"s been carrying oil up in a can, or a lamp, and has spilt it.
Julian, we"d better be careful. That somebody may be here stil !"
Chapter Thirteen
IN THE WRECKERS’ TOWER
Dick and Anne came hurriedly up to the old stone stairway when they heard what Julian and George had said. Oil! That could only mean one thing, a lamp in the tower.
They all stood and looked at the big splashes of oil on each step.
„Come on up," said Julian at last. „I"l go first. Be careful how you go because the tower"s in a very crumbly state."
The tower was built at one end of the old house, and its walls were thicker than the house walls. The only entry to it was by a doorway inside the house. In the tower was a stone stairway that went very steeply up in a spiral.
„This must once have been the door of the tower," said Dick, kicking at a great thick slab of wood that lay mouldering away beside the stone doorway. „The tower doesn"t seem to hold anything but this stone stairway, just a look-out, I suppose."
„Or a place for signal ing to ships to entice them on the rocks," said George. „Oh, Timmy, don"t push past like that; you nearly made me fall, these stone steps are so steep."
As Dick said, the tower seemed to hold nothing but a stairway spiral ing up steeply. Julian came to the top first and gave a gasp. The view over the sea was astonishing. He could see for miles over the dark cornflower-blue waters. Near the coast the churning of the waves into white breakers and spray showed the hidden rocks that waited for unwary ships.
George came up beside him and stared in wonder, too. What a marvel ous sight, blue sky, blue sea, waves pounding over the rocks, and white gulls soaring on the stiff breeze.
Then Dick came up, and Julian gave him a warning. „Be careful. Don"t lean on the walls at all, they"re crumbling badly."
Julian put out his hand and touched the top of the tower wall near him. It crumbled and bits fell away below.
Big pieces had fallen away here and there, leaving great gaps in the wall round the top of the tower. When Anne came up also, Julian took her arm, afraid that with such a crowd up there someone might stumble against a crumbling wall and fall from the tower.
George had hold of Timmy"s collar and made him stand quite stil . „Don"t you go putting your great paws up on the wall," she warned him. „You"l find yourself down in the nettles below in no time if you do!"
„You can quite well see what a wonderful place this is for flashing a light at night over the sea," said Dick. „It could be seen for miles. In the old days, when sailing ships got caught in the storms that
„The tower"s fal ing into ruin," said Dick. „Large pieces have dropped out of it. And I should think the house is in ruin, too, though we can"t see enough of it at the moment, just a bit of the roof. Come on. This is going to be fun!"
The tower didn"t look the frightening thing it had seemed on the stormy night when the boys saw the flashing light. It just looked a poor old ruin. They made their way to it through high thistles, nettles and wil ow-herb.
„Doesn"t look as if anyone has been here for years," said Julian, rather puzzled. „I rather wish we"d brought a scythe to cut down these enormous weeds! We can hardly get through them. I"m stung all over with nettles, too."
They came to the house at last, and a poor, tumbledown ruin it was! The doors had fal en in, the windows were out of shape, and had no glass, the roof was ful of holes. An enormous climbing rose rambled everywhere, throwing masses of old-fashioned white roses over wal s and roof to hide the ugliness of the ruin.
Only the tower seemed stil strong, except at the top, where parts of the wall had crumbled away and fallen. Julian forced his way through the broken doorway into the house. Weeds grew in the floor.
„There"s a stone stairway going up the tower!" he called. „And I say, look here! What"s this on each stair?"
„Oil," said George. „Someone"s been carrying oil up in a can, or a lamp, and has spilt it.
Julian, we"d better be careful. That somebody may be here stil !"
Chapter Thirteen
IN THE WRECKERS’ TOWER
Dick and Anne came hurriedly up to the old stone stairway when they heard what Julian and George had said. Oil! That could only mean one thing, a lamp in the tower.
They all stood and looked at the big splashes of oil on each step.
„Come on up," said Julian at last. „I"l go first. Be careful how you go because the tower"s in a very crumbly state."
The tower was built at one end of the old house, and its walls were thicker than the house walls. The only entry to it was by a doorway inside the house. In the tower was a stone stairway that went very steeply up in a spiral.
„This must once have been the door of the tower," said Dick, kicking at a great thick slab of wood that lay mouldering away beside the stone doorway. „The tower doesn"t seem to hold anything but this stone stairway, just a look-out, I suppose."
„Or a place for signal ing to ships to entice them on the rocks," said George. „Oh, Timmy, don"t push past like that; you nearly made me fall, these stone steps are so steep."
As Dick said, the tower seemed to hold nothing but a stairway spiral ing up steeply. Julian came to the top first and gave a gasp. The view over the sea was astonishing. He could see for miles over the dark cornflower-blue waters. Near the coast the churning of the waves into white breakers and spray showed the hidden rocks that waited for unwary ships.
George came up beside him and stared in wonder, too. What a marvel ous sight, blue sky, blue sea, waves pounding over the rocks, and white gulls soaring on the stiff breeze.
Then Dick came up, and Julian gave him a warning. „Be careful. Don"t lean on the walls at all, they"re crumbling badly."
Julian put out his hand and touched the top of the tower wall near him. It crumbled and bits fell away below.
Big pieces had fallen away here and there, leaving great gaps in the wall round the top of the tower. When Anne came up also, Julian took her arm, afraid that with such a crowd up there someone might stumble against a crumbling wall and fall from the tower.
George had hold of Timmy"s collar and made him stand quite stil . „Don"t you go putting your great paws up on the wall," she warned him. „You"l find yourself down in the nettles below in no time if you do!"
„You can quite well see what a wonderful place this is for flashing a light at night over the sea," said Dick. „It could be seen for miles. In the old days, when sailing ships got caught in the storms that
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