by Paul Moxham
“Come in,” Joe said.
The girls entered. “Tell us what happened,” Amy said.
Joe sat down on his bed. “Well, I found my watch just where I thought it would be, and then I made my way up to the furnished cave.”
“Were the men there?” Sarah asked.
“Not when I entered,” Joe said, “but then I heard men coming from both directions.”
Shocked, Sarah stared at Joe. “Goodness, what did you do?”
“How did you escape?” Amy asked.
Joe offered them a grim smile. “Let me tell you, I was scared. Especially when I realised that the boxes were no longer there. But then I found a little hole just above the window, large enough for me to squeeze in.”
“Did you see the boss?” Sarah asked.
“Well, there was one man who wore a dark coat, sunglasses and a hat. Everyone stopped talking when he talked, so I think he was the boss.”
“What did they talk about?” Amy asked.
Joe thought. “About the boat and when it was coming and so on. Oh, and there were six men there.”
“What are we going to do?” Amy said.
“We have to find out the name of the boss,” Joe said.
“How are we going to do that?” Sarah said.
“I think Chandler Manor holds the key to the whole mystery,” Joe said. “We must find some way to break in. But first, let’s go and eat some breakfast. I’m starving.”
The three of them hurried downstairs and were just in time to say goodbye to their father. He had been called away on urgent business.
Chapter 7: Chandler Manor
After eating breakfast, the children walked through town until they came to Will’s place. He was in the garden, repairing his bicycle.
“Hey, Will,” Joe said. “Do you want to come with us to explore Chandler Manor?”
“Yes, but how are we going to get past the wall?” Will said.
“Well,” Joe answered, “I thought your dad might have a ladder we could borrow.”
“I think we have two ladders, but I’d better ask dad if we can take one.” Will stood up and the four of them hurried inside.
A few moments later, Will knocked on the study door.
“Come in,” said a warm, welcoming voice.
As Joe followed Will into the room, he found himself staring at a middle-aged man who had sandy coloured hair and a slender face. He was sitting at a well-worn wooden desk covered in papers.
The man, Mr Spencer, glanced up and saw the children. “Hi, Will. Are these the children you were telling me about earlier?”
Will nodded and Mr Spencer smiled as he glanced at the others. “Will has told me a lot about you. You seem like nice children.”
“What are you doing?” Sarah asked.
“I’m fixing up my latest draft for my newest novel. I’m not sure if Will told you or not, but I’m an author. I’ve been meaning to spend some time with Will, but I’ve been under pressure from my publisher, so it’s good to see that he has made some new friends. So, what are you going to do on this fine day?”
“We wondered if we could borrow one of your ladders,” Amy asked.
“A ladder?” Mr Spencer frowned. “May I ask what for?”
Amy paused, apparently unsure of what to say. Joe helped her out. “We have some fruit trees in our garden and we’d like to see if the fruit is ripe now.” Technically, this was the truth, as they did have some trees in their garden and, if they had time afterwards, then they would check out the trees.
Mr Spencer nodded. “I have two, one big and one small.”
“Can we take the small one please?” Joe said.
“I’ll just get it out of the shed.” Mr Spencer stood up and left the room.
The children followed Mr Spencer to the shed. Before long, he placed the small ladder onto the grass. “Take care of it. I don’t use it often, but I would like it back once you’ve finished with it.”
“Of course,” Amy said.
After Mr Spencer headed back inside, Joe glanced at the others. “So, are we all ready to go?”
“What do we do when we get there?” Sarah asked.
“We lean the ladder against the wall, climb up, then lift it up and place it on the other side,” Joe said.
“But isn’t the ladder going to be too heavy?” Amy asked.
Will flexed his muscles and said playfully, “Are you calling me weak?”
“No, but—” Amy said.
“Don’t worry,” Joe said. “With all four of us helping, we shouldn’t have any trouble getting the ladder there or lifting it to the other side of the wall.”
The children set off. They were able to make good progress by cutting through the woods via a path Will knew.
When they reached Chandler Manor, they headed to a part of the wall that couldn’t be seen from the main entrance and set the ladder in place.
Joe climbed up. “Who’s next?” he said as he reached the top.
The others climbed up without any difficulty. Joe didn’t think that the ladder would be too heavy to haul up, and he was right. Before long, they had the ladder leaning against the other side of the stone wall.
Everyone climbed down and, after stowing the ladder behind some bushes, walked towards the manor, trying to keep behind the trees and bushes as much as possible.
They had to find a way to get inside and discover as much as they could. That was the only way the police would believe them. The best way in would be via the front door, but going in the front would only be possible if it had been left unlocked. Even though that didn’t seem likely, it was still a possibility.
Rounding the corner of the ivy-covered building, they came to the front door. Just as they were about to see if it was unlocked, they heard a noise. The children were shocked to see the big steel gates slowly opening.
“Hide!” Will whispered. “A car must be coming.”
They hid in the nearby bushes that grew along the side of the wide driveway. They waited in complete silence and then, a moment later, the front door opened and a man stepped out.
He headed towards the garage beside the manor and pulled up the roller door. He climbed into an old blue sedan and soon departed down the driveway.
Once the car was through the gate, it started to close.
After waiting a few moments to make sure that the coast was clear, the children headed up the steps to the front door.
Will put his hand on the doorknob. If it was still unlocked, it would save precious time and be an easy escape route. But if it wasn’t, they would have to find some other way to enter.
It opened. Breathing a sigh of relief, Will stepped inside, the others following close behind. They hadn’t intended to linger, but they were so in awe of the sight that greeted them they just had to pause.
In front of them was a giant foyer with a massive staircase in the middle. With the paint peeling off the walls and cracks appearing in the steps, it looked somewhat shabby. Even so, the sheer size of the individual marble stairs, as well as the whole staircase, left the children awestruck.
A hallway led to the right and left on each of the floors. As this was a three-storey building, there was a spiral staircase just to the left of the top of the first lot of stairs that led up to the top floor.
“Golly,” Amy said.
“There must be a ton of rooms in this place,” Sarah said. “How are we going to have time to search them?”
“We can probably dismiss the rooms on the third floor,” Joe said. “If I were a crook, I would want to stash my goods somewhere close, not someplace that would require me going up and down a number of stairs. We’ll have to be fast, so we should split up.”
“Good idea,” Amy said. “Why don’t Will and I search the second floor? You two can have the ground floor.”
“Sounds good,” Joe said. “Let’s meet back here in fifteen minutes.”
The two groups set off, all too aware that if they made too much noise, there coul
d be trouble. Searching upstairs, Will and Amy didn’t have any luck. After coming across countless bedrooms and bathrooms that were empty, they thought they should go downstairs. Clearly, there wasn’t any illegal business happening on the second floor. They trooped downstairs and met the others.
“Any luck?” Joe asked.
“No,” Will replied. “Maybe they’re hiding the goods in the basement.”
“But Joe and I didn’t see any sign of steps leading to one,” Sarah said.
“Listen! I hear the gate opening again,” Amy blurted out. “The car must be coming back.”
“Good,” Will said. “That fellow ought to come back inside, and when he does, we can follow him. He should lead us to the others and the goods.”
“Let’s hide behind the stairs,” Joe suggested, “so he doesn’t see us when he comes in.”
The group hurried around to the back of the crumbling marble structure and waited. A minute later, they heard the front door open. Footsteps echoed down the hallways.
Motioning for the others to follow him, Joe edged along the wall until he came to the corner of the hallway and peered around it. The man was nowhere to be seen, but they could hear distant voices up ahead.
Joe looked over his shoulder to see where the others were. They were right behind him. “Let’s go,” he whispered. He tiptoed as fast as he could down the passageway.
After a right hand turn, and then a left one, they came to the end of the hallway. Of all the rooms they had passed, all were empty of people and furniture. Now there was only one more room left, and that room had an open door.
Joe pressed himself to the wall as he edged towards the door as quietly as possible. He paused before the open door and smiled with relief as he saw that the room was empty. It appeared to be a kitchen. On the other side of the room, steps descended into a basement, the source of the voices.
After telling the girls to wait where they were, the boys crept down the steps. Now that they were so close, Joe’s heart beat faster in anticipation at what they would find.
The boys walked around the corner and came out into a brightly lit medium-sized room. Pausing, they stared at the sight in front of them.
Chapter 8: Too Close For Comfort
The basement contained two couches, crates, and three printing presses. A desk stood by the wall and a man was examining notes with a magnifying glass. The machines were being operated by a number of men.
Silently, they watched for the next few minutes as another person came into view. They assumed that he had come up through the tunnel, but as they couldn’t see the entire room, they didn’t know where the entrance was.
Satisfied that they had seen enough, they re-joined the girls and quickly told them what was happening below. Determined to come back when the men weren’t there, the children hurried back the way that they had come.
Joe suddenly spotted a door that he had previously not seen. He hurried towards it and opened it. After seeing that it led to a study, the children entered. In front of them was a gigantic oak desk, leather chairs, and two massive bookcases. It was evident that this room was often used, as there were various papers spread out all over the desk.
On the left side of the room, there was a panel. It was made of metal, with a lever sticking out. The words ‘Open’ and ‘Close’ were written on it.
“That must be what opens the gate,” Will said.
“Probably.” Amy glanced at the papers. “We should grab something and show it to the police.”
“Maybe,” Joe said, “as long as we don’t take anything the men might miss. They might get suspicious.”
They all peered at the documents, which ranged from newspaper cuttings to offers to buy the manor. There was even one piece of paper that looked as though it had been cut from a French newspaper.
“I can’t understand all the words,” Joe said, “but it says something about money.”
“Hey, I’ve just had a thought,” Amy said. “What if they put the fake money on the boat and transport it across the Channel?”
Will looked at her in admiration. “I think you might be right.”
The sound of voices approaching reached them. The children left the study and hid in a nearby room.
The men walked down the hallway a moment later and entered the study. The children heard the grating of the gate moving. Someone must have pulled the lever.
The children held their breath as the men passed the room where they were hiding behind sofas.
Judging by the men’s conversation as they walked by, they were going out for a while.
Will realised that if the men locked the front door, they would have to find another way out. And if they broke a window, the men would surely see it the next day and become suspicious.
After a few minutes had elapsed without any further sounds, Joe got up and walked to the door. Opening it quietly, he was pleased to see that there was no one near the front entrance. But he could still hear a voice upstairs.
Joe led the others to a nearby window and looked out. He was surprised to see that the gate was closed. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. “It’s locked.”
“How can it be?” Will asked. “The men haven’t gone out yet.”
“Well,” Sarah said, “maybe only one of the men went in the car. Maybe the others plan to use the tunnel entrance after they’ve finished upstairs.”
“Possibly,” Joe said. “Come on, it’s getting late. We need to get out of here. We don’t want to be trapped like last time. Let’s head to the basement and grab some of the money before we find a way out.”
They headed back down the hallway and into the basement. Walking down the steps, Will rounded the corner and stopped in surprise. Sarah gasped.
Rocky was sitting at the table in front of a bunch of money! Hearing Sarah’s gasp of surprise, he glanced up. “Hey!” He ran towards them.
“Go back!” Joe shouted. He turned around and sped up the steps. The others quickly followed.
“Stop!” Rocky yelled as he reached the stairs.
“Don’t listen to him,” Joe said. He glanced about in an attempt to navigate the maze of hallways.
“He’s catching up!” Amy cried.
Joe looked behind him to see how far behind the crook was. They had roughly a fifty-foot lead, but he was gaining. If they were to escape, they would have to try something different.
“We need to split up,” Joe yelled. “Will – you and Amy head left while Sarah and I go right.”
When they arrived at the end of the hallway, they did precisely that. Joe tore up the stairs with his sister following close behind.
“Hurry up,” Joe called as they reached the top. They began running down the hallway, trying to find a place to hide.
“I’m doing the best I can,” Sarah puffed. She followed her brother into one of the many bedrooms.
“Get under the bed,” Joe whispered. He climbed inside a wooden closet, leaving the door partly open.
Moments later, Rocky entered the room. He trod quietly on the carpet as he made his way around the room. He bent down to look underneath the bed. Joe rushed out of the closet and hit the man with the broom. Grabbing his head in pain, Rocky tumbled to the floor.
Joe dropped the broom and waited for Sarah to get out from underneath the bed. They raced downstairs.
“Will? Amy?” Joe called out quietly.
“We’re here,” Will said, peeking out from around a corner.
“Have you found a way out?” Joe asked.
“I might have,” Will said. “One of the rooms I passed looked as though the window might have been broken.”
“Let’s check it out then,” Joe said. He glanced anxiously up the stairs.
There was still no sign of Rocky, but they needed to hurry up and get out of the manor before he recovered. They ran in the direction of the room.
The children entered the messy room. Running to the window, Joe found what he was looking for. The windowpane had previou
sly been hit with a rock and the window was smashed.
Joe grabbed the handle and pushed. The window swung outwards. He thrust his legs over the side and dropped down onto the grass. Glancing around to make sure no one was in sight, he beckoned to the others to follow him. First Amy, then Sarah, and finally Will appeared.
“What’s your plan?” Will asked.
“Make for the ladder,” Joe said. “Hopefully, once we climb it and get off the property, the man will give up.”
They made for the wall where they had left the ladder. They had managed to travel a quarter of the way before Joe heard a noise. He glanced back and saw that Rocky was sprinting straight for them.
“Split up!” Joe shouted. The others did as he suggested and ran in different directions.
Rocky followed Joe, gaining on him every second. But, in his haste, he failed to look where he was going and tripped over a tree root. He hit the ground hard.
At the sound of the thud, Joe headed towards the nearby oak trees in the hope that he could hide amongst the branches. Moments later, he reached the trees and started climbing up one of them.
Rocky closed on where Joe had been moments earlier and slowed down. He looked around in confusion.
Joe peeked out from his hiding place and watched as Rocky started climbing one of the nearby trees. Despite the situation, he grinned at how long it took the crook to climb the tree. He clearly hadn’t climbed many trees in his life before, and this was especially evident when, not finding him at that tree, he tried to climb down again. He paused halfway, fear on his face.
Sensing his chance to escape, Joe began climbing down his tree. He glanced towards Rocky as the crook tumbled down and fell, twisting his ankle.
Joe grinned and raced away. He paused for a moment to glance back a few moments later and was glad to see the crook limping slowly back towards the manor.
Chapter 9: Midnight
The children hurried to the ladder. They were soon on the other side of the wall and, after hiding the ladder in the bushes, headed back to Will’s house.
Promising Will that they would meet up again the following day, the three children hurried to Rose Cottage.