it was plain that there was no way up to the tower. It was very puzzling.
"Is there a better plan of the castle than this?" asked Julian, showing his guide-book. "A plan of the dungeons, for instance
— and a plan of the towers as they once were, before they were
ruined?"
The old lady said something that sounded like "Society of Reservation of something-or-other."
"What did you say?" asked Julian, patiently.
The witch-like woman was evidently getting tired of these questions. She opened a big book that showed the amount of people and fees paid, and looked down it. She put her finger on something written there, and showed it to Julian.
"Society for Preservation of Old Buildings," he read. "Oh — did somebody come from them lately? Would they know more than it says in the guide-book?"
"Yes," said the old woman. "Two men came. They spent all day here — last Thursday. You ask that Society what you want to know — not me. I only take the money."
She sounded quite intelligible all of a sudden. Then she relapsed into mumbles again, and no one could understand a word.
"Anyway, she's told us what we want to know," said Julian. "We'll telephone the Society and ask them if they can tell us any more about the castle. There may be secret passages and things not shown in the guide-book at all."
"How exciting!" said George, thrilled. "I say, let's go back to that tower and look at the outside of it. It might be climbable there."
They went back to see — but it wasn't climbable. Although the stones it was built of were uneven enough to form slight foot-holds and hand-holds it would be much too dangerous for anyone to try to climb up — even the cat-footed Jo. For one thing it would not be possible to tell which stones were loose and crumbling until the climber caught hold — and then down he would go!
All the same, Jo was willing to try. "I might be able to do it," she said, slipping off one of her shoes.
"Put your shoe on," said Dick at once. "You are NOT going to try any tricks of that sort. There isn't even ivy for you to cling to."
Jo put back her shoe sulkily, looking astonishingly like George as she scowled. And then, to everyone's enormous astonishment, who should come bounding up to them but Timmy!
"Timmy! Wherever have you come from?" said George, in surprise. "There's no way in except through the turnstile — and the door behind it is shut. We shut it ourselves! How did you get in?"
"Woof," said Timmy, trying to explain. He ran to the good tower, made his way over the blocks of stone lying about and stopped by a small space between three or four of the fallen stones. "Woof," he said again, and pawed at one of the stones.
"He came out there," said George. She tugged at a big stone, but she couldn't move it an inch, of course. "I don't know how in the world Timmy squeezed himself out of this space — it doesn't look big enough for a rabbit. Certainly none of us could get inside!"
"What puzzles me ," said Julian, "is how Timmy got in from the outside. We left him right outside the castle
— so he must have run round the outer wall somewhere and found a small hole. He must have squeezed into that."
"Yes. That's right," said Dick. "We know the walls are eight feet thick, so he must have found a place where a bit of it had broken at the bottom, and forced his way in. But — would there be a hole right through the whole thickness of eight feet?"
This was really puzzling. They all looked at Timmy, and he wagged his tail expectantly. Then he barked loudly and capered round as if he wanted a game.
The door behind the turnstile opened at once and the old lady appeared. "How did that dog get here?" she called. "He's to go out at once!"
"We don't know how he got in," said Dick. "Is there a hole in the outer wall?"
"No," said the old woman. "Not one. You must have let that dog in when I wasn't looking. He's to go out.
And you too. You've been here long enough."
"We may as well go," said Julian. "We've seen
"Is there a better plan of the castle than this?" asked Julian, showing his guide-book. "A plan of the dungeons, for instance
— and a plan of the towers as they once were, before they were
ruined?"
The old lady said something that sounded like "Society of Reservation of something-or-other."
"What did you say?" asked Julian, patiently.
The witch-like woman was evidently getting tired of these questions. She opened a big book that showed the amount of people and fees paid, and looked down it. She put her finger on something written there, and showed it to Julian.
"Society for Preservation of Old Buildings," he read. "Oh — did somebody come from them lately? Would they know more than it says in the guide-book?"
"Yes," said the old woman. "Two men came. They spent all day here — last Thursday. You ask that Society what you want to know — not me. I only take the money."
She sounded quite intelligible all of a sudden. Then she relapsed into mumbles again, and no one could understand a word.
"Anyway, she's told us what we want to know," said Julian. "We'll telephone the Society and ask them if they can tell us any more about the castle. There may be secret passages and things not shown in the guide-book at all."
"How exciting!" said George, thrilled. "I say, let's go back to that tower and look at the outside of it. It might be climbable there."
They went back to see — but it wasn't climbable. Although the stones it was built of were uneven enough to form slight foot-holds and hand-holds it would be much too dangerous for anyone to try to climb up — even the cat-footed Jo. For one thing it would not be possible to tell which stones were loose and crumbling until the climber caught hold — and then down he would go!
All the same, Jo was willing to try. "I might be able to do it," she said, slipping off one of her shoes.
"Put your shoe on," said Dick at once. "You are NOT going to try any tricks of that sort. There isn't even ivy for you to cling to."
Jo put back her shoe sulkily, looking astonishingly like George as she scowled. And then, to everyone's enormous astonishment, who should come bounding up to them but Timmy!
"Timmy! Wherever have you come from?" said George, in surprise. "There's no way in except through the turnstile — and the door behind it is shut. We shut it ourselves! How did you get in?"
"Woof," said Timmy, trying to explain. He ran to the good tower, made his way over the blocks of stone lying about and stopped by a small space between three or four of the fallen stones. "Woof," he said again, and pawed at one of the stones.
"He came out there," said George. She tugged at a big stone, but she couldn't move it an inch, of course. "I don't know how in the world Timmy squeezed himself out of this space — it doesn't look big enough for a rabbit. Certainly none of us could get inside!"
"What puzzles me ," said Julian, "is how Timmy got in from the outside. We left him right outside the castle
— so he must have run round the outer wall somewhere and found a small hole. He must have squeezed into that."
"Yes. That's right," said Dick. "We know the walls are eight feet thick, so he must have found a place where a bit of it had broken at the bottom, and forced his way in. But — would there be a hole right through the whole thickness of eight feet?"
This was really puzzling. They all looked at Timmy, and he wagged his tail expectantly. Then he barked loudly and capered round as if he wanted a game.
The door behind the turnstile opened at once and the old lady appeared. "How did that dog get here?" she called. "He's to go out at once!"
"We don't know how he got in," said Dick. "Is there a hole in the outer wall?"
"No," said the old woman. "Not one. You must have let that dog in when I wasn't looking. He's to go out.
And you too. You've been here long enough."
"We may as well go," said Julian. "We've seen
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