Wings Over Witchend, page 16
Dickie spoke first.
"We heard what the bully said. He tried to kill Mackie after he'd kicked him and now Mackie has escaped. You know where he'll go, don't you?"
"We'll tell you," Mary went on. "Don't trouble to say anything. We'll tell you. Our brave little dog will go straight home to my father and to all our friends. You might just as well let us go now 'cos they'll be here soon."
"However much that brute hurt him he'll get there," Dickie said. "Don't you worry about that. An' we'll tell you something else. He'll bring them back here."
"And our father is very fond of Mackie," Mary took up the tale. "When he sees how he's been hurt there's going to be trouble for somebody, so you'd better let us go."
The man was certainly angry now. He stepped towards them menacingly and when he spoke his voice was rougher than before and much more threatening.
"I've spent enough time with you kids. You'll stay here until you're called for and you'll keep quiet. If you bother me again I'll have you locked up in a place you won't like as much as this. Do you hear me? You won't like it."
He stooped and put his face down close to them. His breath smelled of tobacco. He was hateful but they didn't flinch, and neither did they move until he had slammed and locked the door again behind him. Then they flopped down on the sofa and Mary sighed a quavering sigh.
"Do you think he'll really get back to Witchend, Dickie? He was very bad. He's wounded, Dickie."
"Of course he'll get back. He's strong, and think how worried he'll be about us and how mad with the man who kicked him. He'll come back with the others soon, but why don't we do something to make this beastly man really mad now? I don't care much what happens so long as we make it difficult for him. Why don't we smash the window and shout?"
"I looked. The window faces the back. You can't see much except part of the yard and the end of the mountain. If we were on the front of the house we could wait until a car was passing and then make a terrific row until somebody stopped and rescued us."
"Dad and David and the others will rescue us, Mary. You know they will. This man said we were to keep quiet and not be a nuisance, so I think we ought to be a nuisance. They can't really hurt us very much and it's dark now, so p'raps we could do a trick on them and escape. Let's try."
He picked up an old chair from the corner, held it in front of him and charged the window with a yell of triumph. The cold air rushed into the room as the splintering glass tinkled and fell into the yard. Then he went crazy and, pushing Mary behind him, he attacked the remains of the window with all his strength. The chair was not too heavy and he managed to smash some of the wooden frame, so that he could lean out.
"Mind the broken glass," Mary urged as she tried to look out too. "Don't cut yourself."
"HELP!" Dickie yelled. "Let us out! Rescue! Help! Fire! Police! SPECIALLY POLICE! "
A door below opened and a flood of yellow light spilled out across the yard. Two men, one of whom was the Chief, came out and looked up as Dickie flung down a piece of splintered wood.
"Oh, Dickie!" Mary whispered as soon as they had gone in again. "What have you done? They'll never let us go now. They'll do something terrible to us."
"I don't care. They won't dare hurt us. I want to get them all muddled up and mad. The others will rescue us, Mary. Mackie will show them the way."
"I'm sure they'll try and find us, twin," she said. "But s'pose these men take us somewhere else? P'raps it wasn't so clever to break the window? P'raps they'd have forgotten about us if we'd stayed here and been quiet. S'pose they separate us?"
Dickie moved away from the window. He did not sound quite so confident when he said, "We've got to fight, haven't we? We couldn't just stay here as prisoners and not do anything."
Before Mary could answer, the door opened and three rough men came in. They all looked angry and determined.
"Little fools," one of them said quietly, and the way in which he said this was more frightening than if he had shouted. "Are you coming quietly?"
"No," Dickie shouted. "No, we're not. You jolly well take us home before my father and the police come and rescue us. You'll be sorry if you don't."
"I s'pose you know that our dog has gone to fetch our father?" Mary added. "You'll get into awful trouble if you keep us here. Please let us go."
"Shut up," the first man said. "For the last time, are you coming quietly or have we got to carry you again?"
The fight didn't last long. It couldn't. There were three men against two children who were already bruised, tired, cold and hungry. They kicked and struggled as they were forced into a corner and then carried out of the room. They were carried down the stairs and out of the back door into the snow-covered yard and the man with Dickie cursed as the little boy wriggled and fought. The third man strode ahead with a torch and opened the door of an old shed at the end of a row of out-buildings.
"Chuck them in," he growled, and then as the twins were dropped on the floor he stood in the doorway and warned them, "Now maybe you'll wish you'd been quiet. If you shout we'll come back and gag you."
The door slammed and as they slowly got to their feet they heard the click of a key in a padlock.
"Are you all right, Mary?" Dickie sobbed. "Did they hurt you?"
"Of course they did. I tried to bite his filthy hand and he hit me and my head is buzzing round an' round an' I feel sick."
"So do I... I hurt my bully, though. I know I did. They're afraid of us, twin, but I'm sorry if it's all my fault. P'raps I shouldn't have smashed the window. Let's find out where we are."
He put his arm round his sister and to his astonishment she turned and buried her face in his coat in a fit of sobbing. For the first time in his short life, although he couldn't have put it into words, he realized that she was relying on him and that he must try to comfort her and give her courage; but it was difficult to know what to say.
"Let's explore first," he suggested. "Let's do it together, twin, like we always do. They can't leave us here for long, Mary. Honestly they can't. They only hurt us 'cos we fought them and I shall tell them all at home what a wonderful fight you made. I wouldn't have been able to do anything without you, Mary."
She lifted her head and wiped her eyes with her hand,
"That's right," she whispered. "We always do things together, don't we, twin? This is the biggest adventure we've ever had. We told them we'd go out and find one and we have."
Dickie smiled shakily in the darkness.
"Trouble is, twin, that we didn't tell them where we were going. I think they're going to be mad with us. Now let's find out what this place is."
"It's so dark, Dickie. I hate it dark like this and I'm cold. It wouldn't be so bad if Mackie was here. Do you think those men are outside listening to us?"
"Course not. I bet they've gone into the warm. Come with me, Mary, and then we shan't be afraid."
He took her hand and they began to explore their prison. The floor was of brick and the walls of rough boards. There were no windows, but through the cracks of the door and between some of the boards they could see glimpses of the stars. Inside it was so black that they could almost feel the darkness. Slowly, inch by inch, they felt their way round the walls until Dickie's foot touched something hard which rolled under his boot. He lost his balance and pitched forward, dragging Mary with him on to a pile of hard objects which shifted under his weight.
"It's all right, twin. They're logs. This place is where they store their wood... Let's go on till we come to the door again. I'll go first."
A few more feet and then again his foot touched something soft and yielding and he only just choked back a cry of fear.
"What is it?" Mary gasped.
Cautiously he stooped and then laughed with relief.
"Old sacks, I think. We'll wrap ourselves up in them presently... Can you see where the door is now? It's not quite as dark."
They found nothing else, and although for one brave moment Dickie wondered whether to try breaking the door open with one of the logs, he decided not to suggest it to Mary who was now shaking with cold. When they reached the door again Dickie put both arms round her and held her close.
"We could cover ourselves with the sacks, twin," he suggested. "Would that make you warmer? I'm cold too, but it's not so bad if we stay close together."
"Stay close," she whispered. "I'm frightened, Dickie I feel horrid. I wouldn't tell anybody but you, but I'm frightened of this place."
"Let's look at the stars again. It's not so bad if we can see something outside."
Then the silence was broken by the sound of a car coming fast along the road towards the inn. They saw the faint reflections of its headlights in the tiny strip of sky visible through a crack in the door, and then heard the scrunch of tyres on the loose stones as the car came down the slope to the yard in front of the house.
"Shall I shout now?" Dickie whispered. "P'raps it's Daddy and Mr. Ingles in the Land Rover."
"How could it be? Mackie can't tell them where we are. He can only show them. No. Don't shout, Dickie. I couldn't be brave again with these men."
At that moment they heard the back door open and the sound of footsteps. Then the gleam of a torch on the snow and Dickie, holding Mary close, and with his mouth against her ear breathed, 'They're whispering something. Listen. Then if they open the door let's try and escape."
Mary shook her head in the darkness. 'They'd catch us, twin. We can't get away while they're all here... Listen again."
They strained their ears but all they could hear was something which sounded like, "What if it is the police? The boss will deal with them. Trust 'im. He's fooled 'em afore and he'll do it again... Look out for these kids now. They'll make a dash for it, like as not."
They were shining the torch on to the padlock now, and while one of them fumbled with the key Dickie pulled Mary back so that when the door was flung open the beam stabbed through the darkness and picked out the two white-faced and shivering children huddled together on a pile of sacks.
"Listen, kids," the first whispered hoarsely. "You'll be O.K. if you don't make a row. Stay quiet there and you're safe, but if you so much as whisper we're going to tie these handkerchiefs over your mouths," and he thrust his face towards them so that they flinched away as the other man flashed his torch at them. Dickie thought hard. If the police were actually inside the inn they wouldn't hear them if they shouted, and if they came into the yard the two men would certainly gag them, so it didn't seem worth it. He realized now that they hadn't a chance of escape even if the door had been left unlocked. The only sounds were their own chattering teeth and the heavy breathing of the two men kneeling beside them.
"Cold in here, 'Arry," one of them whispered. "He ought to move these kids. It's not right. You two O.K.?"
If the speaker had switched on his torch he would have seen a look of utter disdain on Mary's woebegone little face. Dickie knew what she was feeling, so he didn't answer either.
"Sulky, eh?" the man Harry said. "You kids know too much. Don't bother to speak now and remember I've got this handkerchief ready for you."
So they stayed in silence for ten minutes. Mary was now so dazed with cold and exhaustion that she dozed against her twin's shoulder. He would have liked to do the same, but he knew that he dare not drop off. The men grumbled and fidgeted but he knew they would carry out their threat. Then they heard the car drive off and their two captors relaxed and stood up. After a little they heard a whistle from across the yard and went out, locking the door behind them again.
"I don't think they acksherley wanted to hurt us," Mary said as she got up off the sacks. "It was better we didn't fight that time, Dickie. We wouldn't have got away. I s'pose it really was the police in the car?"
Dickie realized that she was feeling better and was glad because he wasn't sure what to do next. He didn't want to say so but he was feeling desperately hungry and faint. They moved over to the door and then heard the engine of a much heavier car. Again it crunched down the incline, but this time it did not stop in front of the inn but came round into the yard at the back of the house. The engine was switched off and then they heard men's voices and hurrying footsteps.
They could see no gleam of headlights through the crack in the door and for what seemed a long time nobody came near them.
"Dickie, I b'lieve they're all going! They wouldn't leave us here alone, would they? Shall we shout?"
"I don't want them to think we're afraid. If they do go without us p'raps we could smash the door down and escape? S'pose they take us where they're going? Mackie couldn't find us, could he? We don't really want to go anywhere else."
"Not really, but if they leave us here we'll starve and freeze and I don't want to do that. I'm famished, twin. I've never been so hungry... Look out. Here comes somebody."
The door opened and they recognized the Chief in his leather coat with its big collar. His pipe was in his mouth and he spoke without raising his voice.
"Come out! Hurry."
By now the twins were huddled on the pile of sacks and Dickie's hand closed on his sister's wrist. She knew that he meant her not to speak.
"Come out. You're coming for a ride."
''We're cold and hungry," Mary said. "Please let us go."
"You'll get something to eat as soon as you've learned your lesson. Are you coming quietly or must Harry fetch you again? Harry doesn't seem to like you much."
Dickie stood up and took his sister's hand and with their heads held high they walked out into the starlit yard. In the shadows behind the inn was the bulk of a big van, and as they walked forward they realized that the Chief was on one side of them and Harry on the other. There was no escape.
The back of the van was half open and before they could protest they were lifted up and pushed in. Harry climbed in after them and they realized that there were several men already inside. They heard the Chief say, "You've got your orders and know what to do if there's trouble. Keep those kids quiet but don't be rough. They've had enough. Get up there as quick as you can, George."
From the driving seat came George's reply.
"That's all very well, guv'nor, but I don't reckon we can get up that road. The snow will be frozen solid. 'Tisn't worth the risk."
"That's just why you're going to go that way. It's the safest way in the end. Close up and be off."
Mary groped for Dickie's hand as the van started and Harry muttered, "Where are those blamed kids?"
"Don't you dare touch us," Dickie said bravely as he pulled Mary back against the side of the van. Then he fell against the leg of another man who pulled him, not unkindly, down beside him.
"They're here, Harry," he said. "Just lay off 'em for a bit, will you? You're not so clever with kids." And then to the twins, "And don't you make no fuss either. Do as we say and I'll keep an eye on you," and they believed him.
The men must have had orders to keep quiet for they spoke only in whispers and the children could not make much sense of what they said. Mary flopped against Dickie and slept and he was so sleepy too that he hardly realized what was happening. After about half an hour they turned on to a very rough road and the driver, George, spoke over his shoulder.
"If I says get out, then get out quick, I told 'im we'd never get up here and what with the snow and all you'll be a lucky lot if we do."
"Not so much talk, George," Harry said from the back of the van. "Just get on with it."
George got the engine into bottom gear and slowly, very slowly, and sometimes with slithering wheels the huge van crawled up a long hill. Twice they faltered on sharp corners and the third time they stuck. Mary woke with a start to hear the driving wheels beneath them whizzing round in the snow, and then George shouted to the men to get out. Harry slipped the iron bar, opened the back and then snapped, "You kids stay there or you'll be in trouble. Keep still." Then, as the cursing men jumped out the twins glimpsed the star-spangled sky and the clouds rushing across the moon. A great wind was blowing too and when Mary murmured sleepily, "What's happening, twin? Where are we?" he was sure that his guess was right when he whispered, "Half-way up the Mynd, I think... Stay there. I'll look."
He crawled towards the half-closed doors at the end of the van and then realized that the others were at the back getting ready to push. At a shout from Harry the driver let in the clutch, and as the men strained and shoved the whizzing wheels slid over the frozen snow and then gripped. As the van crawled forward the men hauled themselves up over the tail-board and the doors were closed again. For ten more minutes they ground up the hill, slipping, swaying, and lurching while the men muttered and grumbled.
Mary slept again but Dickie was curious to know where they were going, and plucked up courage to ask the man who had befriended them earlier.
"That's something you won't know, son. Make up your mind to that, but keep quiet and you'll both be O.K. My name is Charles."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Charles," Dickie said politely. "I'm not sure whether you're the person to tell, but we're very, very hungry and cold, and if we don't have something soon I think we'll be very, very sick."
George changed gear again as the lorry breasted the hill and Dickie thought to himself, We're up now, but I wish I knew where. Must be on the Portway... Soon the lorry was in top gear and they rumbled along quite fast. Then they left the road, bumped across some rough ground and stopped.
"We're going to cover your eyes, kids," Harry said grimly. "Don't fuss and you'll soon be in the warm," and they were so surprised at this sudden politeness that they submitted to being blindfolded. Then they were lifted out and although the wind was strong and cold they sniffed at it thankfully. Harry kept his hand on Dickie's shoulder, while Charles walked the other side of Mary and helped her when she stumbled against a stone.
"O.K., Harry," said a familiar voice. "Take off those disgusting handkerchiefs and come in and shut the door."
With a shuffle of feet the men crowded in as the twins blinked and looked round curiously. They were in a shabby, unfurnished room with discoloured wallpaper hanging in strips from the filthy walls. The window was boarded over and an oil lamp hung from a beam in the ceiling. At the far end, opposite the door, was an iron stove in which a fire was roaring.
