The Secret Mountain tss-3

by Enid Blyton

  “Ranni! This is a most wonderful story!” cried Prince Paul, his eyes shining with excitement. “Is it really true? Oh, do let’s go and find the secret mountain at once, this very minute!”

  “Don’t be an idiot, Paul,” said Mike, giving him a push. The little Prince was very excitable, and Mike and Jack often had to stop him when he wanted to rush off at once and do something. “Be quiet and listen to Ranni.”

  “All the people that live anywhere near are afraid of the Folk of the Secret Mountain,” said Ranni. “They think that they are very fierce, and they do not come this way if they can possibly help it. When they saw me, with my red hair, they really thought I was a man from the Secret Mountain, and they were too terrified even to run away.”

  “Did you ask them if they knew anything about Daddy and Mummy?” asked Peggy eagerly.

  “Of course,” said Ranni. “They knew nothing — but tomorrow a man is coming to our camp here, who saw the White Swallow come down, and who may be able to tell us something. But I think, children, that there is no doubt that Captain and Mrs. Arnold were captured by the Folk of the Secret Mountain. We don’t know why — but I am sure they are there.”

  “We cannot search for them, then,” said Pilescu. “We must fly to the nearest town and bring a proper search party back here.”

  “No, no, Pilescu,” cried everyone in dismay.

  “We are going to look for our parents,” said Mike proudly. “Pilescu, this is the third great adventure we children have had, and I tell you we are all plucky and daring. We will not fly away and leave others to follow this adventure.”

  All the children vowed and declared that they would not go with Ranni and Pilescu, and the two men looked at one another over the camp fire.

  “They are like a litter of tiger-cubs,” said Ranni in his own language to Pilescu.

  Prince Paul laughed excitedly. He knew that Ranni wanted to follow the adventure himself, and that this meant that Paul too would be with him, for he would not leave his little master now. Paul turned to the other children.

  “It’s all right,” he said. “We shan’t go! Ranni means to help us.”

  For a long time that night the little camp talked over Ranni’s strange tale. Where was the Secret Mountain? Who were the strange red-haired people who lived there? Why had they captured Captain and Mrs. Arnold? How in the world were the searchers to find the way into the mountain if not even the people round about know it? For a long time all these questions were discussed again and again.

  Then Pilescu looked at his watch. “It is very late!” he exclaimed. “Children, you must sleep. Ranni, I will keep watch tonight, for you must be very tired.”

  “Very well,” said Ranni. “You shall take the first half of the night and I will take the other. We can do nothing but wait until tomorrow, when the man who saw the White Swallow will come to talk to us.”

  Very soon all the camp was asleep, except Pilescu, who sat with his gun in hand, watching the moving animal-shapes that prowled some distance away, afraid to come nearer because of the fire. Pilescu loved an adventure as much as anyone, and he thought deeply about the Folk of the Secret Mountain, with their creamy-yellow skins, red hair and curious green eyes.

  The big Baronian was brave and fierce, as were all the men from the far-off land of Baronia, where Paul’s father was king. He was afraid of nothing. The only thing he did not like was taking the five children into danger — but, as Ranni had said, they were like tiger-cubs, fierce and daring, and had already been through some astonishing adventures by themselves.

  Morning came, and with it came the native who had seen the White Swallow come down. He was very tall, but with a sly and rather cruel face. Carrying three spears for him came a small, thin boy, with a sharp face and such a merry twinkle in his eyes that all the children liked him at once.

  “Who is that boy?” asked Jack, curiously. Ranni asked the man, and he replied, making a scornful face.

  “It’s his nephew,” said Ranni. “He is the naughty boy of the family, and is always running away, exploring the country by himself. Children of this tribe are not allowed to do this — they have to go with the hunters and be properly trained. This little chap is disobedient and wild, so his uncle has taken him in hand, as you see.”

  “I like the look of the boy,” said Jack. “But I don’t like the uncle at all. Ask him about the White Swallow, Ranni. See if he knows anything about Captain and Mrs. Arnold.”

  Ranni did not speak the man’s language very well, but he could understand it better. The man spoke a lot, waving his arms about, and almost acting the whole thing so that the children could nearly understand his story without understanding his words.

  “He says he was hunting not far from here, keeping a good look-out for any of the Secret Mountain Folk, when he heard the sky making a strange noise,” said Ranni. “He looked up, and saw a great white bird that said ‘r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r,’ as loudly as a thunderstorm.”

  The children shouted with laughter at this funny description of an aeroplane. Ranni could not help grinning, even though he knew the man had probably never seen a plane before, and went on with his translation.

  “He says the big white bird flew lower, and came down over there. He stayed behind his tree without moving. He thought the big white bird would see him and eat him.”

  Again everyone laughed. The tribesman grinned too, showing two rows of flashing white teeth. The little boy behind joined in the laughter, but stopped very suddenly when his uncle turned round and hit him hard on the side of the head.

  “Oh my goodness!” shouted Jack in surprise. “Why shouldn’t he laugh too?”

  “Children of this tribe must not laugh if their elders are present,” said Ranni. “This man’s nephew must often get into serious trouble, I should think! He looks as if he is on the point of giggling every minute!”

  The man went on with his story. He told how he had seen two people climb out of the big white bird, which amazed him very much. Then he saw something that frightened him even more than seeing the aeroplane and the pilots. He saw some of the Folk of the Secret Mountain, with their flaming red hair and pale skins!

  He had been so interested in the aeroplane that he had stayed watching behind his tree — but the sight of the Secret Mountain Folk had given him such a scare that his legs had come to life and he had run back towards his village.

  “So you didn’t see what happened to the White Bird people?” asked Ranni, deeply disappointed. The man shook his head. The small boy watching, imitated him so perfectly that all the children laughed, disappointed though they were.

  The man looked behind to see what everyone was smiling at and caught his nephew making faces. He strode over to him and knocked him down flat on the ground. The boy gave a yell, sat up and rubbed his head.

  “What a horrid fellow this man is,” said Pilescu in disgust. “Ranni, ask him if he can tell us the way to the Secret Mountain.”

  Ranni asked him. The man showed signs of fear as he answered.

  “He says yes, he knows the way to the mountain, but he does not know the way inside,” said Ranni.

  “Ask him if he will take us there,” said Pilescu. “Tell him we will pay him well if he does.”

  At first the man shook his head firmly when Ranni asked him. But when Pilescu took a mirror from the cabin of the plane, and showed the man himself in it, making signs to him that he would give it to him as well, the man was tempted.

  “He thinks the mirror is wonderful. He is in the mirror as well as outside it,” translated Ranni with a grin. “He says it would be a good thing to have it, because then if he is hurt or wounded, it will not matter — the man inside the mirror, which is himself too, will be all right, and he will be him instead.”

  Everyone smiled to hear this. The man had never seen a mirror before, he had only caught sight of himself in pools. It seemed as if another himself was in the strange gleaming thing that the red-haired man was offering him. He stood in front of t
he mirror, making awful faces, and laughing.

  Ranni asked him again if he would show them the way to the Secret Mountain if he gave him the mirror. The man nodded. The mirror was too much for him. Why, he had never seen anything like it before.

  “Tell him we will start tomorrow at dawn,” said Pilescu. “I want to make sure that we have everything we need before we set off. Also I want to look at the engines of the White Swallow and our own plane to see that they are all ready to take off, should we find Captain and Mrs. Arnold, and want to leave in a hurry!”

  The children were in a great state of excitement. They hardly knew how to keep still that day, even when the great heat came down, and they had to lie in the shade, panting and thirsty. It was so exciting to think that they really were to set off the next morning to the strange Secret Mountain.

  “I’m jolly glad Ranni and Pilescu are coming with us,” said Nora. “I do love adventures — but I can’t help feeling a little bit funny in the middle of me when I think of those strange folk that live in the middle of a forgotten mountain.

  The Coming Of Mafumu

  Pilescu and Ranni tinkered about with the White Swallow, which stood not very far off, and with their own plane most of the day. The children, of course, had thoroughly examined the White Swallow, feeling very sad to think that Captain and Mrs. Arnold had had to leave it so mysteriously.

  Mike had thought that there might have been a note left to tell what had happened, but the children had found nothing at all.

  “That’s not to be wondered at,” said Pilescu. “If they had had time to write a note, they would have had time also to fly off in the plane! As far as I can see there is nothing wrong with the White Swallow at all — though I can see where some small thing has been cleverly mended. It seems to me that Captain and Mrs. Arnold were taken by surprise and had not time to do anything at all.”

  “Both planes are fit to fly off at a moment’s notice,” said Ranni, appearing beside Pilescu, very oily and black, his red hair hanging wet and lank over his forehead.

  “Ought we to leave anyone on guard?” asked Mike. “Suppose we come back and find that the planes have been damaged?”

  Ranni frowned. “We will lock them of course, but I don’t think anyone would damage them. I just hope a herd of elephants doesn’t come and trample through them! We must just leave the planes and hope for the best.”

  Pilescu had got ready big packages of food and a few warm clothes and rugs. Paul laughed when he saw the woollen jerseys.

  “Good gracious, Pilescu, what are we taking those things for? I’d like to go about in a little pair of shorts and nothing else, like that small boy wears!”

  “If we go into the mountains it will be much cooler,” said Pilescu. “You may be glad of jerseys then.”

  The day passed slowly by. The children thought it would never end.

  “Why is it that time always goes so slowly when you are looking forward to something lovely in the future?” grumbled Mike. “Honestly, this day seems like a week.”

  But it passed at last, and the sudden night-time came. Monkeys chattered somewhere around, and big frogs in the washing-pool set up their usual tremendous croaking.

  Next day, at dawn, their guide arrived, and behind him, as usual, came the little boy, his nephew, wearing his scanty shorts. The boy wore no hat at all, and the five children wondered why in the world he didn’t get sunstroke.

  “I suppose he’s coming too,” said Jack, pleased. “I wonder what his name is. Ask him, Ranni.”

  The boy grinned and showed all his white teeth when Ranni shouted to him. He answered in a shrill voice:

  “Mafumu, Mafumu!”

  “His name is Mafumu,” said Ranni. “All right, Mafumu, don’t shout your name at us any more!”

  Mafumu was so overjoyed at being spoken to by the big Ranni that he kept shouting and wouldn’t stop.

  “Mafumu, Mafumu, Mafumu!”

  He was stopped in the usual way by his uncle, who slapped him hard on the head. Mafumu fell over, made a face at his uncle’s back, and got up again. The children were very glad he was coming with them. They really couldn’t help liking the cheeky little boy, with his twinkling black eyes and his flashing smile.

  Ranni closed and locked the entrance door of the cockpit. Then, with a few backward glances at the two gleaming planes, the little company set off on their new adventure. They were silent as they left the camp, for all of them were wondering what might happen in the near future.

  Then Mafumu broke the silence by lifting up his shrill voice and singing a strange slow song.

  “Sounds a bit like one of the hymns we have in church,” said Mike. “Oh no — his uncle is going for him again. Golly, how I wish he’d stop — he is always hitting poor Mafumu.”

  Mafumu was slapped into silence. He came behind the whole company, sulking, carrying a simply enormous load. His uncle also carried a great many packages, balanced most marvellously on his head. Ranni explained that the natives were used to carrying goods this way and thought nothing of taking heavy loads for many, many miles.

  Soon the open space where the planes had landed was left behind. The little company came towards what looked like a wood, but which was really a small forest that reached almost to the foot of the nearest mountain.

  It was very dark in the forest after the glare of the sunlight. The trees were so thick, and heavy rope-like creepers hung down from them everywhere. The children could see no path at all to follow, but the tribesman led them steadily on, never once upsetting any of the many packages piled up on his head.

  The chattering of monkeys was everywhere. The children saw the little brown creatures peering down at them, and laughed with delight to see a mother monkey holding a tiny baby in her arms. Other wild creatures scuttled away, and once their guide gave a loud shout and flung his spear at a large snake that slid silently away.

  “Oooh,” said Nora, startled. “I forgot there might be snakes here. I hope I don’t tread on one. I say, isn’t this an exciting forest? It’s like one in a fairy-tale. I feel as if witches and fairies might come out at any moment.”

  “Well, just make sure you don’t wander off looking for fairy castles,” said Pilescu. There are probably lots of snakes and insects in the undergrowth, and you can be sure our guide is taking us by the safest path.”

  Mafumu was enjoying himself. He was a long way behind his uncle, for the guide led the way, and Mafumu came at the tail of the company. Next to him was Jack, and Mafumu was doing his best to make friends with him.

  He picked a brilliant scarlet blossom from one of the trees and tried to stick it behind Jack’s ear. Jack was most annoyed, and the others laughed till they cried at the sight of Jack with a red flower behind his ear. Mafumu thought that Jack didn’t like the colour of the flower, so he picked a bright blue one and tried that.

  Jack found himself decorated with this flower, and he took it from his ear crossly, whilst the others giggled again.

  “Shut up, Mafumu,” he said.

  Mafumu was very quick at picking up what he heard the children say, even though he did not understand the words. “Shutup, shutup, shutup,” he repeated in delight. He called to Ranni. “Shutup, shutup, shutup!”

  Nobody could help laughing at Mafumu. He was so silly, so cheerful, so quick, and even when his uncle was unkind to him he was smiling a moment later.

  He still badly wanted to make friends with Jack, and the next present he made to the boy was a large and juicy-looking fruit of some sort. He pressed it into Jack’s hand, flashing his white teeth, and saying some thing that sounded like “Ammakeepa-lotti-loo.”

  Jack looked at the fruit. He smelt it. It had a most delicious scent, and smelt as sweet as honey. “Is it safe to eat this, Ranni?” he called.

  Ranni looked round and nodded. “Yes — that is a rare fruit, only found in forests like these. Did Mafumu find it for you?”

  “Yes,” said Jack. “He keeps on giving me things. I wish he wouldn
’t.”

  “Well, tell him to give them to me instead,” cried Peggy. “I’d love to have those beautiful flowers and that delicious-looking yellow fruit. It looks like a mixture of an extra-large pear and a giant grape!”

  Jack tasted it. It was the loveliest fruit he had ever had, so sweet that it seemed to be made of honey. The boy gave a taste to the two girls. They made faces of delight, and Nora called to Mafumu.

  “Find some more please, Mafumu; find some more!”

  “Shutup, shutup, shutup,” replied Mafumu cheerfully, quite understanding what Nora meant, and thinking that his answer was correct. He disappeared into the forest and was gone such a long time that the children began to be alarmed.

  “Ranni! Do you think Mafumu is all right?” shouted Jack from the back of the line. “He’s been gone for ages. He won’t get lost, will he?”

  Ranni spoke to the guide in front. The man laughed and made some sort of quick answer.

  “He says that Mafumu knows his forest as an ant knows its own anthill,” translated Ranni. “He says, too, that he would not care at all if Mafumu were eaten by a crocodile or caught by a leopard. He doesn’t seem at all fond of his small nephew, does he?”

  “I think he’s a horrid man,” said Peggy. “My goodness — are there leopards about?”

  “Well, you needn’t worry even if there are,” said Ranni. “Pilescu and I have guns, and our leader has plenty of spears ready.”

  It was cool and dark in the forest and the little company were able to go for a long way without resting, twisting and turning through the trees. Frogs croaked somewhere, and birds called harshly. Jack spotted some brightly coloured parrots, and there were some rather queer squirrel-like creatures that hopped from branch to branch. The monkeys were most interested in the children, and a little crowd of them swung through the trees, following the company for quite a long way.