The Secret of Killimooin

He paced steadily for two hours. Then he stiffened and listened. He could hear voices! They echoed up from the tu

“They have managed to get their raft to the side and land, and have turned back to come after us!” thought Pilescu. “What are we to do? They will be on us before we can escape. How I wish I had a gun with me!”

But the robbers had taken away all the weapons carried by the Baronians. Neither Ra

The voices came nearer. Pilescu woke Ra

“We will cover ourselves with our cloaks and sit with our backs to the wall, on either side of the recess,” whispered Ra

They could not hear any voices now. They guessed that the robbers were very near. They carried no torch but were coming along the ledge they knew so well, in complete darkness.

Ra

There came the sound of a loud voice and it was clear that all the robbers were now on the platform. Ra

There appeared to be no more sounds at all. Neither Ra

They sat like that for ten minutes without hearing a sound. Then, very silently, Ra

“They’ve gone,” whispered Ra

“That’s not so good,” said Pilescu, switching off his torch. “If they wait for us there, they will catch us easily. Jack said that Beowald was going to fetch the villagers to hurry after us — it is possible that they might have got as far as the waterfall cave, and might help us. But we can depend on nothing!”

“We will let the boys rest a little longer,” said Ra

Pilescu was thankful to be able to allow himself to close his eyes. He leaned his big head against the wall at the back, and fell into a deep sleep at once. Ra

But they did not return. There was no sound to make Ra

Pilescu awoke a little while later. He spoke to Ra

“Have you heard anything, Ra

“Nothing,” said Ra

“Yes,” said Pilescu, yawning. “I feel better now. I think I could tackle four or five of those ruffians at once. I will wake the boys.”

He awoke them all. They did not want to open their eyes! But at last they did, and soon sat munching some of the bread they had found on the little shelf nearby the night before.

Ra

“It’s not very nice to think they’re somewhere further up, waiting for us!” said Mike, feeling uncomfortable. “I suppose they’ll be in one of the caves. “We’ll have to look out!”

“We’ll look out all right!” said Jack, who, like Pilescu, felt all the better for his night’s sleep. “I’m not standing any nonsense from wolf-tailed robbers!”

They left the platform, and made their way to the ledge that ran beside the river, beyond the platform. As usual Ra

“It’s not so very far up to the waterfall cave from here, as far as I remember,” said Jack. “About two hours or so.”

They began to stumble along the rocky ledge again, the water splashing over their feet. The boys were surprised to find that the ledge was now ankle-deep in water.

“It wasn’t when we came down this way,” said Mike. “Was it as deep as this when you and Pilescu were brought down by the robbers, Ra

“No,” said Ra

So they were. It was very puzzling and rather disturbing. Why was the river swelling like that?

In the Cave of the Waterfall

The higher they went, the deeper the water became that overflowed the ledge. The river roared more loudly, too. Ra

“It is the terrific rainstorm that has caused the river to swell!” he called back, his voice rising over the roar of the water. “The rain has soaked deep into the mountain, and has made its way to the river. You know what a rainstorm we had yesterday — it seemed as if whole seas of water had been emptied down on the earth. The river is swelling rapidly. I hope it doesn’t swell much more, or we shall find it impossible to get along.”

This was a very frightening thought. It would be dreadful to be trapped in the mountain tu

When nearly two hours had gone by, they began to hope they were nearing the waterfall cave. The river by now had risen above their knees and it was difficult to stagger along, because the water pulled against them the whole time. Ra

But, quite suddenly, they heard the sound of the waterfall that fell down into the big cave! It could only be the waterfall they heard, for the noise was so tremendous. “We are nearly there!” yelled Ra

“Look out for the robbers!” shouted back Jack.

They rounded the last bit of the ledge, and, by the light of Ra

There was no sign of the robbers. The five of them went cautiously into the cave and looked round. By the light of Ra

“It is greater now,” said Ra