by David Alric
‘Ah yes,’ said Clare. ‘That’s another whole story which I’ll tell you on the way down. I need to, to prepare you all for what you’re going to see. All in all, it’s been a pretty horrendous day!’
She then told them about the dreadful cave with its colony of spiders. The three scientists were fascinated, and on their descent through the cavern they took photographs and made notes of all they could see of the spiders’ lair through the fissure in the ceiling of that sinister grotto.
On their way back to the camp Helen told them what the professor had said about the villains’ plane.
‘From what I could make out,’ she said, ‘the plane itself is intact but it’s stuck in some kind of marsh at the bottom of a steep bank. Having seen what Lucy can achieve I think we may be able to do something about it, though I didn’t tell him that, of course. He thinks that we’re all now trapped in the valley and is presumably hoping that we’ve got some contingency rescue plan that will include him. He’s clearly very clever but I still can’t decide whether he’s genuine or not.’
‘Time will tell,’ said Julian. ‘We’ll obviously have to pretend to believe his story for the moment, but we’ll need to keep a very close eye on him.’
Clare, who was walking behind the others with Lucy and the monkeys, said quietly to Lucy: ‘They can pretend all they like, but I don’t trust him an inch!’
‘Well, I’ve not met him yet but I trust your instincts,’ Lucy replied. ‘I think I’ll take out a little insurance.’
She turned to her loyal monkeys:
‘I have yet another favour to ask. We think the Bearded One may wish us harm,’ she explained, ‘so you must take it in turns to watch him and let us know his movements. Sometimes he may put on a special skin and then you will not see him, but you will still be able to smell him.’ She had noticed during the walk that Queenie was limping slightly and Clare explained what had happened up on the cliff top.
‘What ails thee?’ Lucy asked the monkey. ‘Did a buzzithorn or a fellfang injure thy leg?’
‘Nay. One of the evil ones hurt me. I could not see him but I knew from his awful smell that it was the one like a great snortikin.’
As they crossed the fallen tree that bridged the central river Clare stopped to look down into the limpid water and pointed out a shoal of large fish to Lucy.
‘I don’t know what they are,’ she said longingly, ‘but I bet they’d be jolly tasty. I’m already fed up with all that stuff out of tins and cartons.’
‘What dost thou seek?’ asked Queenie, who always kept Lucy under close observation.
‘My sister, Clarekin, looks at the gillifin and wonders if they are good to eat,’ Lucy replied. The monkey turned to Clio who immediately left the group and disappeared beneath the trunk of the tree on her way down to the river bank. The girls were intrigued.
‘I didn’t know monkeys could catch fish,’ said Clare, after Lucy told her what had been said, ‘but I bet that’s what she’s up to.’
When they got back to camp Helen introduced the professor to Julian, Richard and Lucy. Luke was agog for news about his erstwhile companions. He expressed remorse when he heard they were all dead and his face adopted appropriate expressions of grief as Helen told him how three of them had been bitten by poisonous spiders and how Chopper and the pilot had been attacked by wild animals in the other valley after tricking the explorers with the invisibility suits. If the professor was disconcerted that they had found out about the invisibility suits he showed no sign of it. He was actually rather pleased about the way things had turned out. The fact that Chopper and Biggles had stolen the suits only corroborated what he had told Helen about his suspicions.
After Luke had returned to his cabin, followed a few seconds later by Queenie, Helen went to get some tins for their supper from the food stack.
‘I don’t think you’ll need all those, Helen,’ said Clare cheerfully, inspecting the labels. ‘Maybe just the peas and carrots. If I’ve learnt anything on this trip it’s that when Queenie gives orders, things happen. I think fresh supper’s on the way.’ Helen gave a puzzled smile but obediently started putting some tins of meat back, just as Clio bounded into the camp with a fish in her mouth which she laid proudly in front of Clare.
‘Told you so!’ said Clare triumphantly.
‘It’s a trout!’ exclaimed Richard. ‘And what a whopper!’ He turned to Julian, doubtfully. ‘At least I think it’s a trout. Did they exist in the Pleistocene, or am I exposing my ignorance?’
‘They certainly did,’ laughed Julian. ‘In fact trout are among the most primitive of all bony fishes. They’ve been around for a very long time.’
Meanwhile, Clio had turned to Lucy.
‘I sought the aid of the gillilance, who caught this at once. She now catches more and has been joined by other marshiquills. As we spoke the gillibane drew nigh; when he learnt that we serve thee he went to seek a special crustakin he says is fit for the Promised One. I shall return with Sophie to help me bring what they have caught.’
Lucy went to get a bag for Clio who then sped off again, accompanied by Sophie and her baby.
‘What’s going on now?’ asked Helen with an amused smile as she picked up the magnificent fish.
‘The monkeys have gone to get some more fish and some shellfish. Clio says she’s got a heron, other waders and an otter doing all the fishing.’
While they waited for the monkeys to return Richard examined Clive’s wrist. He was relieved to see that the bones didn’t need setting and adroitly replaced Clare’s temporary splint with a proper military field splint from his first aid supplies. Meanwhile, Julian went off to retrieve part of the engine grille from the wreckage of the plane in which he and Helen had first come to the crater. From this he constructed a makeshift barbecue and a fire was blazing merrily beneath it by the time Sophie and Clio returned, carrying the bag between them. Everybody smiled at the sight: the monkeys looked for all the world as if they had just returned from a trip to the local supermarket, the domestic picture completed by the presence of Sophie’s baby.
Eager hands pulled several glistening fish from the bag and there at the bottom was a large pile of beautiful crayfish, the otter’s gift to the Promised One. Soon the fire had turned to glowing charcoal and Julian cooked the most delicious barbecue that any of them could ever remember.
Over supper they discussed the professor’s reaction to receiving the news of his companions’ gruesome fates.
‘Well, I think he was just a good actor pretending to be sorry,’ said Julian. ‘I’m sure that, underneath, he was pleased and relieved to hear they were all dead.’
‘But that wouldn’t be surprising even if he’s innocent,’ said Clive, ‘considering how they treated him. It’s a truly incredible discovery he’s made and they were going to exploit it for their own benefit – and now we know what they are really like I’ve no doubt they would have killed him once they had everything they needed from him.’
‘But the whole thing seems very odd,’ said Clare. ‘How could a bunch of thugs like that possibly get to know about research going on in a university and contrive to kidnap the professor without a tremendous hoo-ha in the media? Can’t you imagine the headlines: “Top Professor Engaged in Earthshattering Research Disappears Without Trace”.
‘Yet we never heard or saw anything in the news. I think it’s all very fishy – excuse the pun,’ she added with a smile, as she forked up a generous portion of trout.
‘Maybe he was far cleverer than we think and was actually using the thugs for his own purposes,’ said Helen. ‘Maybe he would eventually have killed them. It would be easy enough to do with his invisibility suit. But then, if he’s not innocent, why would he have had anything to do with that lot in the first place?’
‘He must have had something to hide,’ burst in Lucy. ‘Maybe it’s not his invention at all. Maybe he pinched the idea and could only develop it in secret with their help.’
‘In that case he and th
e thugs were probably using each other’, said Clare slowly. ‘It was only a question of time before he would kill them or they would kill him. We must have precipitated a final crisis by our unexpected arrival. Without realizing it, we set in motion a series of events and accidents that have resulted in the prof coming out on top.’
They all fell silent for a moment. If their analysis was correct they had a ruthless criminal in their midst – one who in all probability had been prepared to commit serial murder to achieve his ends and who, almost certainly, had another invisibility suit and weapons at his disposal.
‘We’ll have to watch him like hawks,’ said Clare, ‘or we might all get murdered in our beds. That invisibility suit is really spooky – he could even be here now, listening to everything we say.’
It was an uncomfortable thought, and they looked around uneasily.
‘I think you’ve all forgotten something,’ Lucy said calmly. ‘We can’t see him but the animals know exactly where he is all the time. That’s why I’ve got the monkeys keeping a twenty-four-hour watch on him. He’s asleep in his hut at the moment.’
They all looked relieved and slightly foolish at having forgotten the continuing protection that Lucy’s power provided.
Richard was impressed by his daughter’s forward planning.
‘But why were you watching him before we had our discussion?’
Lucy laughed. ‘Clare and I were discussing him on the way back across the crater. We both think he’s a crook and I’ve had him on CCMW ever since we got back.’
‘CCMW?’ asked Richard.
‘Crater Camp Monkey Watch,’ said Lucy, and they all laughed.
‘I think it’s great we’ve got him under surveillance,’ said Julian, ‘but he’s still a danger. If he’s armed he may not care whether we can see him or not.’
‘Well, at least you’re safe, Dad,’ said Clive. ‘You’re the only one who can fly so he needs you to escape from the crater. The rest of us are dispensable!’
‘We don’t know that,’ said Helen, and the others looked at her. ‘I mean, we don’t know he can’t fly. We don’t know anything about him. He could be a flying ace for all we know.’
There was silence again. What she said was true.
‘Does he know our plane’s bust?’ asked Julian. Helen thought for a while.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘He came to talk to me just after I’d got your note. I was very upset and worried about you and, as I had no reason to suspect him, it was only natural to tell him what had happened. I even thought they might be able to rescue you in their plane but, of course, he had come to tell me it was unusable.’
‘Well, even if he can fly a plane, we’re safe for the moment,’ said Richard, ‘because he knows both planes are out of action which means he can’t escape. He’ll expect us to have emergency rescue plans in place, and without having the details he won’t make a move until a rescue plane is actually on the ground.’
‘Talking of which, it’s a pity we don’t have a contingency rescue plan in place!’ said Julian. ‘The plan I made with José depends on our radioing him. I know we had trouble using a radio near the cliffs last time we came, but for some reason I never imagined it wouldn’t work anywhere in the valley. Maybe it’s something to do with the funny ore the professor’s been so interested in; it must affect all electromagnetic radiations.’
‘Actually, we do have a contingency rescue plan,’ interjected Lucy, and Richard suddenly remembered the note she had made him write for José‘s dog. She explained the arrangement to the others and they all felt greatly relieved.
‘But,’ Lucy continued, ‘we only need to use it if we can’t get their plane out.’ She nodded her head to the villains’ camp where the professor slept. ‘From what Helen says, the plane isn’t damaged, it’s just stuck, so we should be able to get it out with the help of the animals.’
‘If and when we do, though,’ said Clare, ‘we’ll have to be extra careful of the professor because he’ll then have a means of escape if he can fly. And another thought has just struck me. Am I right in thinking, Helen, that Chopper and the pilot didn’t leave the camp yesterday until after the prof had spoken to you?’
‘Yes,’ said Helen. ‘They were still there when I left – they had to be, because they followed me to the cliff.’
‘Well that proves the professor is either a completely innocent victim – as he claims – or is working strictly to his own agenda; he certainly wasn’t acting in collusion with the other villains.’
‘How come?’ asked Clive. He was beginning to find the whole thing rather bewildering.
‘Because he let Chopper and the pilot go off looking to steal an aeroplane that he already knew had crashed. Helen had just told him.’
‘Clever girl,’ said Richard. ‘You’re absolutely right – but it still means we’ve got to watch him, so keep the CCMW going, Lucy.’
‘So,’ said Helen, ‘our next task is to look at their plane and see what state it’s in. If we can’t get it working, or Julian doesn’t think he can fly it, we’ll use Lucy’s brilliant dog plan. Meanwhile we’ll all behave as normally as possible to the professor, but watch him for the slightest sign of suspicious behaviour. What will we do, incidentally,’ she added, ‘if he does try something?’
‘Leave that to me,’ said Lucy with a grim smile and on that note they all went to bed. Despite the fact that their minds were buzzing with everything that had taken place that day they were all physically exhausted and soon they were fast asleep, while the monkeys took turns to sit, silent and watchful, around the professor’s cabin.
20
Spider Speak
The next day they woke to the sound of a tropical thunderstorm. Peals of thunder reverberated round the valley and lightning streaked through the sky every few seconds. The rain was torrential and soon the ground around the tents was turning to mud.
The men splashed their way through the downpour over to the girls’ tent. Clare and Helen were getting some breakfast ready on a camp table and Lucy was talking to Queenie.
‘The Bearded One is still asleep, even though the jagged skyflashes crash so loudly,’ the monkey told her.
‘Thank you,’ said Lucy. ‘Tell me when next he leaves his wooden den and whether he is carrying a firestick.’ The monkey disappeared and Lucy joined the others for breakfast.
Over the meal the conversation turned back once again to the cave in the cliff and Clare’s terrifying encounter with the giant spiders.
‘One thing still puzzles me,’ said Clare. ‘Lucy had instructed the animals in this valley to do us no harm; that’s why Clive and I – and Helen, of course – were able to cross the valley safely to the cliff. That’s right, isn’t it?’ She looked questioningly at her sister who nodded in agreement.
‘Well, I don’t think I would ever have been brave enough to go into that dark cave unless I knew that nothing would harm me – even though Sophie here was tugging me to go in.’ The monkey was crouching by her side and she stroked her affectionately. ‘But when we came up against the spider, I had no doubt whatsoever that it would have attacked me. It attacked Sophie and, as you know, it killed the others –’ her voice faltered slightly as she remembered those sinister grey cocoons dangling in the cave. ‘But we know that they were also protected by Lucy because the animals thought all the humans in the crater were linked with her – even before we arrived the animals in the valley didn’t harm the villains.’
‘What are you saying?’ asked Richard.
‘What I’m saying is that the spider didn’t seem to know what every other animal in our valley knew. I was wondering if the spider caves go right through to the other side and that the spiders are actually from the dinosaur valley – where the animals don’t know about Lucy.’
The others were impressed. ‘What a fascinating thought,’ said Helen.
‘Did spiders exist in the Cretaceous?’ asked Richard.
‘Oh yes,’ she said. ‘In fact I’ve got a fossil
amber paperweight on my desk at home in which there’s a spider web dating from the early Cretaceous period – about 110 million years ago.’
‘The only problem is,’ said Julian, who had been following the conversation intently, ‘that we know that there can’t be a communication through the cliff because the valleys have completely separate populations of animals, separated in time by millions of years.’
This was so obviously true that the group was silent for a moment.
‘Just say …’ said Helen thoughtfully, ‘just say that there is a communication, but that it’s only small enough to let small animals through – and of course giant spiders. Once the spiders had colonized the caves during the Cretaceous period, nothing could ever have passed from one valley to the other. Large animals would have been prevented by their size, and anything small enough to get through would have been eaten by the spiders. They and their progeny have just sat there for millions of years gobbling up anything from either side that came through.’
‘What an intriguing thought,’ said Richard. ‘Just imagine, a colony of giant spiders sitting in the dark, there since time immemorial, acting as the unconscious custodians of the isolation that has preserved these unique habitats.’
As they thought over Richard’s words, Lucy noticed that Clare was looking nervously at Clive and winked at the others. Since they had been tiny she had teased her big sister about her fear of spiders.
‘Well, there’s only one way to find out if Helen’s right,’ she said briskly. Everybody looked at her expectantly. ‘Before we leave the valley I’m going to the cave – Clare can show me the way to the spiders’ den – and I’ll see if they know I’m the Promised One.’
‘What a great idea!’ said Helen.
‘Fantastic scientific information,’ said Julian.
‘Well, as long as you’re careful,’ said Richard gravely, ‘I can think of nothing that could be of greater value to our knowledge of natural history.’
There was a long silence in which they all looked at Clare, struggling to keep their faces straight.