by Enid Blyton
“Funny boy, isn’t he!” whispered Mike to Jack. “So awfully brave, and yet he cries like a girl sometimes.”
“We’d better hide quickly,” said Ranni. “The robbers may come back at any moment and we don’t want them to find us all here. They would have five prisoners then, instead of two! Let’s push the logs back exactly as they were, Mike. It will puzzle the robbers to know how we escaped, when they see that the logs have apparently not been moved!”
Back to the Robber Camp
It was easy to shift the logs back into position for now Ranni and Pilescu were able to use the whole of their strength, instead of being hindered by being in a deep pit. They finished their task and then went to discuss their next move under some thick bushes at the edge of the clearing.
They had a good view of the path from there and could see anyone coming, though they themselves could not be seen. They sat down and talked earnestly. Jack told the two Baronians all that had happened, and they were amazed.
“Shall we try and get back home the way we came?” asked Mike. “Perhaps that would be best.”
“I don’t know about that,” said Ranni. “Once the robbers discover that we are gone, they will be on the look-out for us, and probably men will be guarding the way back, ready to take us again.”
“Well, what else is there to do?” asked Paul, impatiently.
“Let us think carefully, little lord,” said Ranni. “Can there be any other way out of this Secret Forest, so well-hidden within the great Killimooin Mountains?”
Everyone was silent. It was quite impossible to climb the surrounding mountains, even if they could make their way through the depths of the forest towards them.
Jack spoke at last. “Ranni, where do you suppose this river goes to? It must go somewhere. If it was penned up in this valley, it would make a simply enormous lake, and it doesn’t do that, or we should have seen it from the air, when we flew over.”
Ranni sat and thought. “It must go somewhere, of course,” he said. “Maybe it finds its way underground, as it did in the mountain. You think perhaps it would be a good idea to follow the river, Jack, and see if we can float away on it, maybe through a tunnel in one of the mountains, to the other side.”
“We could try,” said Jack, doubtfully. “We could go back to the queer beehive-like houses tonight and see if our raft is still there. If it is, we could board it and go off on the river. The river won’t take us backwards, that is certain, so we shall have to go forwards with it!”
“Well, we will try that,” said Ranni, though he did not sound very hopeful. “Let us eat now, shall we? You must, as you said, be very hungry.”
The Baronians had brought the bread with them from the pit. All five began to eat, thinking of the adventure that lay ahead. Pilescu looked at the three boys. He saw that they were worn out.
“We will find a good hiding-place and rest there,” he said to Ranni. “We shall need to be fresh for tonight. Come, then. I will carry Paul. He is already half asleep!”
But before they could creep away, they heard the sound of voices, and saw three or four robber-women coming down the path, carrying pitchers of water and more bread! They had evidently come to bring food to the prisoners. Very silently the five vanished into the trees.
The women went to the pit and placed the food and water beside it. They had apparently been told to take it there and leave it, so that the men could hand it down to the prisoners when they came later, and could move the logs a little apart. It was beyond the women’s strength to move them.
The women peered curiously between the logs, and were amazed when they could not see the prisoners. They chattered together excitedly and then peered down again. It was dark in the pit, but even so, they should have been able to catch sight of the two men. Had not the children been to see them that morning and come back with tales of their fierce shouts and cries, their fiery red hair and beards? Then why could not these things be seen and heard now?
The women became certain that the prisoners were not there. Yet how could they have escaped? The logs were still across the mouth of the pit, and no men could move those without help from outside! It was a mystery to them. Chattering loudly, they fled away back to the robber encampment to tell the news. They left the food and water beside the empty pit.
As soon as the women had gone, Ranni slipped out of his hiding-place and went to the pit. He took the bread and ran back to the others.
“This may be useful!” he said. He tied a leather thong around it, and hung it at his back. It was a flat, round loaf, easy to carry.
“Now we will find a good hiding-place,” said the big Baronian. Pilescu picked up Paul in his arms and the two men strode away into the forest to find a safe hiding-place to rest until night came.
Presently they found one. A great rock jutted up between the thickly-growing trees, and underneath it was a well-hidden hole, draped by greenery. Once in the shelter of that rock, no one would see them.
“Do you know the way back to the clearing, Pilescu?” asked Paul, sleepily, as the big man arranged him comfortably on the ground, on the fur-lined cloaks that he and Ranni had taken off for the time being. They made good rugs for the three tired boys.
“I know it, little lord. Do not worry your head,” said Pilescu. “Now sleep. You must be wide-awake tonight, for you may need all your wits about you!”
The boys soon slept. They had had so little sleep the night before, and were so exhausted with all their adventures, that it was impossible to keep awake. The men kept a watch. They had been very touched to know that the boys had followed them to rescue them. Now it was their turn to watch over the boys, and save them from the robbers!
The sun began to slide down towards the west. The day was going. Ranni dozed, and Pilescu kept watch. Then Pilescu dozed whilst Ranni kept eyes and ears open. He heard excited cries towards the evening, coming from the clearing, and guessed that the robbers had discovered their escape. Then all was silence again. The Secret Forest was the most silent place that Ranni had ever been in. He wondered if the wind ever blew down in that valley, and if birds ever sang. It made him jump when a mouse-like creature scurried over his foot.
Twilight came creeping into the forest. It was always dim there, and difficult to see the sunshine. Twilight came there before the outer world had lost its daylight. Ranni looked at his watch. Half-past seven. The boys still slept. Let them sleep for another hour or two, and then they would creep through the darkness of the forest, back to the clearing where they had left the raft.
Jack awoke first. He stretched himself and opened his eyes, looking into complete darkness. He wondered where he was. Then he heard Ranni speaking in a low voice to Pilescu; and everything came back to him. He was in the Secret Forest, of course — hidden under that rock! He sat up at once.
“Ranni! Pilescu! What time is it? Is everything all right?”
“Yes,” said Ranni. “Soon we will go to get the raft. We will wake the others now, and eat. Paul! Mike! It is time to wake!”
Soon all five of them were eating the hard bread. Ranni had some water in his flask, and everyone drank a little. Then they were ready to go.
By the light of his torch Ranni made his way back to the clearing where the pit was. He flashed his light around. There was no one there at all. The logs had been dragged away from the pit, when the robbers had come to see if what their women had said was true.
“We will take the path back,” said Ranni. “It is over there. Take hands and go in single file. We must not lose hold of one another. I go first. You next, Paul. Then Mike and Jack, and Pilescu last. Now — are you ready?”
They found the path and went along it quietly in single file. The boys felt excited, but perfectly safe now that they had Ranni and Pilescu.
Ranni halted after a while. He flashed his torch here and there. He had gone from the path!
“We are not very far from it,” he said. “I saw the axe-marks in a tree only a little way back. We must lo
ok for them.”
It was anxious work looking for the axe-marks which would tell them they were once more on the right path. Mike felt very uncomfortable as he wondered what would happen if they really got lost in that enormous forest! He thought he saw two gleaming eyes looking at him from between the trees and he jumped.
“Is that a wolf?” he whispered to Jack. But it was only his imagination! There was no wolf, merely a couple of shining leaves caught in the light of Ranni’s brilliant torch!
“Ah!” said Ranni, at last, in a glad voice. “Here is the path again. And look, there are axe-marks on that tree. Now we can go forward again. Keep a look-out, all of you, for the axe-marks that tell us we are on the right path.”
Everyone watched anxiously for the marks after that. It was impossible to stray far from the path if they followed the marks. They were made at regular intervals, and the little company soon made steady progress.
“We must be near the encampment!” said Ranni at last, in a low voice. “Can you hear the lapping of water? I think we are nearing that big pool.”
In another minute his torch shone on to the glittering waters of the pool. They had reached the cluster of huts. If only the robbers did not see or hear them!
A Way of Escape?
Everything was quiet. There were only a few small night-sounds — the lapping of the water, the squeal of some small animal, the splash of a fish jumping. There was nothing else to be heard at all.
The five stood quite still beside the big pool, listening. A curious sound came on the air, and the boys clutched one another.
“It’s all right,” whispered Ranni, a laugh in his voice. It’s only one of the robbers snoring in the nearest hut!”
So it was. The sound came again, and then died away. Ranni, who had switched off his torch, switched it on again. He wanted to find the raft that Paul had told him about. Luckily it was quite near him, about ten yards away, tied to a tree.
“Did you come down the mountain river on a raft like that?” whispered Paul to Ranni. The big man answered in a low voice.
“We came on a raft only as far as the outlet of the river, just where it leaves the mountain. The men steered the raft to the bank there, and we all jumped off. They tied up the raft and we walked the rest of the way to the Secret Forest. Apparently, whenever the robbers go up to the Temple Cave they walk along the ledge beside the mountain river, and drag a raft up with them, floating it on the rushing water. It must be hard work!”
“Oh! Then that’s why there are no rafts to be seen on this pool,” said Jack, who had been puzzling about this. “They only use them inside the mountain, to bring them down quickly.”
“Sh!” said Pilescu, warningly. “We had better not talk any more. Hold your torch higher, Ranni, so that I can see to untie the raft.”
It did not take long to free the raft. Ranni found a broken branch to use as a paddle. He did not want to be completely at the mercy of the river. With the branch to use, he could steer a little, and, if necessary, bring the raft to the bank.
“Get on the raft,” whispered Ranni. They all got into the hollowed-out piece in the centre. It was a tight fit! Ranni pushed the raft into the centre of the big pool, where it was caught in the current that flowed through it. The raft swung along at once, very slowly but surely. Soon it was out of the pool and on the river, which ran through the Secret Forest for miles.
It was very weird and mysterious, swinging along on the swift river, through the heart of the dark forest. Sometimes branches of trees swept down low and bumped the heads of the travellers, scraping their faces. It was impossible to prevent them. Ranni tried shining his torch so that they might have warning of overhanging boughs but the river was swift, and the down-sweeping branches were on them before they knew.
The boys huddled against one another, stiff and uncomfortable. When a big branch nearly took Paul overboard and gave him a great bruise on his forehead, Ranni decided to moor the raft till the night was over. He did not expect the robbers to pursue them down the river, because they had no boats.
So he tied the raft to a tree, and the five of them nibbled bread and talked in low voices. Ranni fell off to sleep after a while, but the boys were wide-awake now. Pilescu kept watch. It seemed a long long time till dawn, but at last it came. The trees were so thick just there that the boys could see no sunlight, only a gradual lightening around them, as the tree trunks began to show, and the leaves to take on colour.
“We’ll go on now,” said Ranni. He untied the raft and on they went again, caught by the strong current. Now they could see when branches of trees would scrape over the raft, and Ranni steered to avoid them.
The river wound in and out, and suddenly took a great curve, almost doubling back on itself.
“I hope it doesn’t flow back very far!” said Pilescu. “We don’t want to land back near the robber camp!”
The river did wind back a good way, and at one part, although the little company did not know it, it was only about a mile from the robbers! It had a strange course in the Secret Forest. It flowed half-way through, doubled back, and finally flowed out of the trees about six miles from where it first flowed in. The travellers did not know this, though Ranni could tell, by the position of the sun, that they were now travelling almost in the opposite direction.
The trees suddenly thinned, and sunshine flooded down here and there, almost dazzling the two men and the three boys. The river flowed more rapidly, and the raft bobbed about.
“We are coming out of the Secret Forest!” said Jack, shading his eyes and looking forward. “The trees are getting thinner and thinner. Where does this river go, I wonder? I do wish it would take us right through the mountains somewhere and out at the other side. Then we could just walk round them till we come to Killimooin Castle.”
“Not so easily done!” said Pilescu.
A shout made them turn their heads. To their horror, between the trees, they saw one of the robbers! He called out something, and then ran off to tell his comrades, his red wolf-tail swinging behind him.
Six or seven more came running with him after a few minutes, and they stood watching the raft as it swung along in the distance.
One robber yelled something after them. “What did he say?” asked Jack. Ranni looked a little solemn.
“He speaks a curious dialect,” he said, “But I think I understood him to say, “Soon, soon, you will be in the middle of the earth!” I wonder what he meant.”
Everyone thought about it. “Do you think it means that the river goes down underground?” asked Jack. “Well if it does, it’s what we want, isn’t it?”
“It depends on whether there is room for the raft or not,” said Ranni. “We must keep a sharp look-out.”
The river ran on. The boys saw the mountains of Killimooin around them. In front of them, slightly to the left, was the one they knew, on the other side of which Killimooin Castle was built. It looked very different from this side, but the summit was the same shape.
Suddenly they heard a terrific roaring sound ahead of them. Quick as thought Ranni plunged the tree-branch into the water and tried to steer the raft out of the current. But it was very swift and the raft kept on its course.
Jack saw that the big Baronian looked pale and anxious as he tried in vain to swing the raft from its steady course. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Can you hear that noise?” said Ranni. “I think the river makes a fall somewhere ahead — maybe a big waterfall. We don’t want to be caught in it. I can’t get this raft out of the current.
Pilescu suddenly slipped overboard, and, taking the raft with one hand, tried to swim to the shore with it. But he could not move it from the swift current.
“Jump!” he cried to the others. “Jump, and swim. It is our only hope. We are getting near the fall.”
Everyone jumped into the water. Paul was the weakest swimmer and big Ranni took him on his back. The raft went bobbing off by itself.
Pilescu helped Mike
and Jack, but it was a stiff struggle to get to the bank of the swiftly-running river. They sat there, exhausted, hoping that no robber would come by, for they had no strength to resist anyone!
They recovered after a while. The hot sun dried their clothes, and steam began to rise from them.
“I wonder what happened to the raft,” said Jack.
“We’ll go and see!” said Ranni. “The noise is so tremendous here that the waterfall, or whatever it is, can’t be very far ahead. I think it must be where that fine mist hangs in the air over there, like smoke.”
They walked on beside the river, over rough ground. The noise became louder and louder. Then they suddenly saw what happened to the mountain river!
They rounded a big rock and came to the place where fine spray flew. The great silver river rushed by them — and then disappeared completely!
No river lowed ahead. The whole of the water vanished somewhere in that little place. Ranni went forward cautiously. He called to the others:
“It’s a good thing we got off the raft when we did! The river goes right down into the earth here!”
All the others joined Ranni. The spray soaked them as they stood there, trying to see where the volume of water went to.
It really was most extraordinary. There appeared to be a great cavern or chasm in the ground into which the river emptied itself with a terrific roar. The water fell into the enormous hole and completely disappeared.
“So that’s what the robber meant when he shouted that we should soon be in the middle of the earth,” said Jack. “That water must go deep down into enormous holes and crevices among the rocks. I suppose it goes right under the surrounding mountains and comes out somewhere else as a river again. How amazing!
“What a mercy we leapt off the raft!” said Mike, feeling scared at the thought of what might have happened if they and the raft together had plunged down into the heart of the earth. “Golly! This river has an exciting course! Through the mountain, down the slope, into the Secret Forest, out again, and down this chasm. Well — there’s no way out for us here, that’s certain.”