lever. The machinery slowed down. The balloon gradually deflated. The wailing grew slower and softer, and then stopped altogether. There was a marvellous silence, and everyone enjoyed the sudden peace. Bets heaved an enormous sigh.
“Ooooooooo! I shall never hear a more horrible noise in all my life than that wailing. Fatty, no real banshee could ever have wailed like that, surely.”
“I should find it very difficult to believe in a real banshee, Bets,” said Fatty, examining the machinery carefully, by the light of his torch. “I even find it difficult to believe in a man like Engler, who is wicked enough to rig up a thing like this. But unfortunately, he’s real enough! Well, what do we do now?”
“Fatty, please let’s go up through the trap-door if we can, and have a look at those pictures again,” begged Ern. “I do want to see if Bets remembers the one that the boat was in. If she does, I’ll know I’m right about it. If she doesn’t - well, then there’s no mystery. I’m beginning to hope there isn’t! What with banshees, and disappearing boats, and hidden machinery I feel rather sick!”
“Well, don’t be sick in here Ern, there really isn’t room!” said Fatty, briskly. “Right - we’ll go up through the trap-door - providing nobody’s about. But I think that if there had been, we should have had a visitor down here pretty quickly, trying to find out WHY the banshee wailed all on her own! I have a feeling that the place really is shut up today.”
Fatty went to an opening in the furthest wall of the queer little rock-room, and shone his torch into it. “Just as I thought!” he announced. “Steps! Steps cut into the rock, just like a ladder! I bet it’s the steps we saw leading down from that hole in the hearth, where the trap-door was!”
The others crowded round him. Yes - there were the steps that they had seen the other day from above! “I’ll go first,” said Fatty. “Better make no noise, just in case anyone’s about. But I feel certain there isn’t, or whoever was here would have come rushing to see why the banshee machinery was suddenly working!”
Everyone was silent as Fatty climbed the rocky steps. He soon came to the top, but could see nothing above his head but the trap-door set firmly in its place. “Here goes!” said Fatty, and gave it a push upwards. It upset the iron cauldron standing over it and this fell over on its side with a terrific clatter that scared Fatty almost as much as it frightened the others down below!
He stood at the top of the steps, listening. To his enormous relief he could hear nothing - no shouts of surprise, no clatter of running feet - nothing! The place must be completely empty. Well, thank goodness for that !
Fatty climbed out of the trap-door hole and looked round. The place seemed absolutely deserted. Well, now they could examine the pictures to their heart’s content - and maybe solve the mystery of the missing boat!
One by one he hauled the others up from the hole in the hearth. The dogs were handed up last of all by Ern, and were very glad to scurry around and stretch their legs properly! How they had hated that wailing!
“I want to look at that lovely sea-picture,” said Bets, at once. “Ern, come with me.”
She and Ern hurried through the Armour Room into the great hall where the pictures hung. Yes - there they all were, in their blues and greens, sunshiny, stormy, windy, some of them stretching from floor to ceiling.
“Here’s that boat-picture,” called Ern, standing in front of it. “Do you remember it, Bets?”
“Oh yes !” said Bets. “Yes - there was a little red boat that’s not there now. I know there was one, Ern, it was on this wave here, wasn’t it?” And Bets touched one of the waves not far from the bottom of the picture.
“Yes!” said Ern, triumphantly. “That’s exactly where it was, Bets. I told you that, didn’t I, Fatty? Now Bets has told you too. We can’t both be
“Ooooooooo! I shall never hear a more horrible noise in all my life than that wailing. Fatty, no real banshee could ever have wailed like that, surely.”
“I should find it very difficult to believe in a real banshee, Bets,” said Fatty, examining the machinery carefully, by the light of his torch. “I even find it difficult to believe in a man like Engler, who is wicked enough to rig up a thing like this. But unfortunately, he’s real enough! Well, what do we do now?”
“Fatty, please let’s go up through the trap-door if we can, and have a look at those pictures again,” begged Ern. “I do want to see if Bets remembers the one that the boat was in. If she does, I’ll know I’m right about it. If she doesn’t - well, then there’s no mystery. I’m beginning to hope there isn’t! What with banshees, and disappearing boats, and hidden machinery I feel rather sick!”
“Well, don’t be sick in here Ern, there really isn’t room!” said Fatty, briskly. “Right - we’ll go up through the trap-door - providing nobody’s about. But I think that if there had been, we should have had a visitor down here pretty quickly, trying to find out WHY the banshee wailed all on her own! I have a feeling that the place really is shut up today.”
Fatty went to an opening in the furthest wall of the queer little rock-room, and shone his torch into it. “Just as I thought!” he announced. “Steps! Steps cut into the rock, just like a ladder! I bet it’s the steps we saw leading down from that hole in the hearth, where the trap-door was!”
The others crowded round him. Yes - there were the steps that they had seen the other day from above! “I’ll go first,” said Fatty. “Better make no noise, just in case anyone’s about. But I feel certain there isn’t, or whoever was here would have come rushing to see why the banshee machinery was suddenly working!”
Everyone was silent as Fatty climbed the rocky steps. He soon came to the top, but could see nothing above his head but the trap-door set firmly in its place. “Here goes!” said Fatty, and gave it a push upwards. It upset the iron cauldron standing over it and this fell over on its side with a terrific clatter that scared Fatty almost as much as it frightened the others down below!
He stood at the top of the steps, listening. To his enormous relief he could hear nothing - no shouts of surprise, no clatter of running feet - nothing! The place must be completely empty. Well, thank goodness for that !
Fatty climbed out of the trap-door hole and looked round. The place seemed absolutely deserted. Well, now they could examine the pictures to their heart’s content - and maybe solve the mystery of the missing boat!
One by one he hauled the others up from the hole in the hearth. The dogs were handed up last of all by Ern, and were very glad to scurry around and stretch their legs properly! How they had hated that wailing!
“I want to look at that lovely sea-picture,” said Bets, at once. “Ern, come with me.”
She and Ern hurried through the Armour Room into the great hall where the pictures hung. Yes - there they all were, in their blues and greens, sunshiny, stormy, windy, some of them stretching from floor to ceiling.
“Here’s that boat-picture,” called Ern, standing in front of it. “Do you remember it, Bets?”
“Oh yes !” said Bets. “Yes - there was a little red boat that’s not there now. I know there was one, Ern, it was on this wave here, wasn’t it?” And Bets touched one of the waves not far from the bottom of the picture.
“Yes!” said Ern, triumphantly. “That’s exactly where it was, Bets. I told you that, didn’t I, Fatty? Now Bets has told you too. We can’t both be
Similar Books
