by Paul Moxham
“But—” Amy said.
“The men will be here any moment. Go. I’ll try to slow them down as much as possible.”
Amy paused. As a flicker of light bounced around the corner, she knew that she had to leave her sister. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.” And then she was off into the darkness, taking the torch with her.
She could only think of one thing as she raced down the tunnel. Escape. Escape. Escape. That one word penetrated her brain.
Before she knew it, she was at the furnished cave. She glanced around as she looked for somewhere to hide. But she couldn’t see anywhere. She suddenly remembered that Joe had told her where he had hidden the other night, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what he had said exactly.
She could hear her pursuers closing the gap, so she headed for the hole. She put the torch in her pocket and climbed down the hole faster than she had ever done before. In fact, she was at the bottom before she even knew it.
Flicking the torch back on, she rushed along the tunnel. Soon, she was at the exit. As she climbed into the cave, she suddenly remembered why they hadn’t gone that way in the first place.
The tide was still in. Water filled half the cave. She hesitated. She had no idea how deep the water would be in some places and, as such, she couldn’t take the risk.
Disappointed, she climbed back into the tunnel and retreated the same way she had come in. Hoping that she would be able to make it back to the furnished cave, she hurried along.
But, halfway there, she paused. Voices were getting closer. Her heart caught in her throat. With the water behind her and the men in front of her, she realised she was trapped!
~
Pushing Will, Joe, and Sarah along in front of him, Constable Howard made his way into the cave. He turned to Baz, who had just returned from the adjoining cave. “Tie these children up. And make the ropes tight. I don’t want anyone escaping and giving us the slip. Understand?”
“Right, boss,” Baz replied. He strode towards the children. “Walk ahead of me to the next cave and make it snappy. Anyone out of line will get what they deserve.” He pushed the children into the adjoining cave.
Will glanced around and smiled as he saw his father was sitting by the wall.
Bruised, battered, and not looking the best, Mr Spencer greeted the others with a grim smile. “Hi, Will, Joe, Sarah.”
Will rushed forward and tried to hug him, but that was hard since his arms were tied behind his back.
Baz took hold of Will and started tying him up. He didn’t protest, as he knew it wouldn’t do him any good, so he just stood there. The others did the same as Baz tied them up one by one.
They sat down in silence as they waited for him to leave them alone, which he did a few moments later.
When Will could hear him chatting to the constable, he moved closer to his father and whispered to him. “Everyone was saying that you were a crook, but I stood up for you.”
Mr Spencer smiled despite the situation. “Thanks. But how did you find me?”
“It’s a long story,” Will replied. “But I guess we’ll be here for a while, so I’ll start at the very beginning.”
~
Amy suddenly remembered that there was one chance left. Like the others, she knew that the men used another tunnel to enter and exit the tunnel system, one that joined the tunnel she was currently in.
She didn’t know where it was, but it had to be somewhere. She moved off, swinging her torch back and forth along the cave walls. Nothing, absolutely nothing, out of the ordinary could be seen. And, as the moments passed by, the men got closer and closer.
Suddenly, a light from one of her pursuers struck her and someone yelled out. “Stop!”
Amy turned and raced back towards the beach cave as fast as she could. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she couldn’t get caught. She just couldn’t.
The men pursued her, their footsteps echoing off the walls of the tunnel, making them louder.
Arriving at the beach cave, Amy saw with dismay that it was completely flooded. She had to make a decision. If she went to the beach, the men would just catch her there. There was only one thing she could do. She hurriedly glanced around as she searched for something.
But, as footsteps thundered closer and she caught sight of the men once again, she knew she only had moments to find what she was searching for.
~
As Will finished telling Mr Spencer all that had happened, Jake roughly pushed Amy into the cave. Joe wanted to say something to her, but restrained himself from talking while the crook was still within hearing distance.
Jake glared at all five of them. “If anyone is thinking of trying anything smart, let me remind you that someone will be out here with a gun at all times. And, without those torches of yours, you’ll be lost in the tunnels even if you do escape from here. So just stay put. We’ll be gone by tomorrow morning and, if you’re good, the boss will let someone know that you’re here.”
“You’ll never get away with this,” Mr Spencer said.
Jake laughed. “But we are.” He laughed once more before he left them in peace.
“Are you all right?” Joe asked glancing at Amy.
“Yes. I tried my best to escape, but I couldn’t,” Amy said.
“I’m sure you did,” Mr Spencer said. “I’m just glad to see that you are in one piece. I would never forgive myself if anything had happened to you. Now, if only we had something that we could use to help us escape.”
“I have something,” Amy said, as she suddenly turned her back to Will and pushed up against him.
“What are—” Will asked.
“Reach down into my back pocket,” Amy ordered.
Will reached down. Feeling something in there, he grabbed the object tightly in his grasp before withdrawing his hand to reveal that it was a rock.
“A rock?” Joe exclaimed. “How is that…” He paused as Will turned the rock over to reveal that, while it was blunt at one end, the other was sharp, sharp enough to cut through a piece of rope.
Mr Spencer smiled. “Good job, Amy.”
Amy smiled. “Once I knew I was trapped, I searched for the sharpest rock that I could find. Hopefully, we can use it to cut through the rope.”
Will transferred the rock to Amy’s hands. “So, who thinks that they have the best cutting skills?”
Joe glanced around at the others. “I’m happy to give it a try.”
“Okay, let’s see you give it a go on Mr Spencer,” Amy said as she transferred the rock to Joe who turned until his back was facing Will’s father.
The others helped the two get into position and then watched as Joe tried to cut through the rope. After losing the grip on the rock a few times, Joe finally began to make progress.
After having to pause a few times when one of the crooks glanced in to make sure that they weren’t up to anything, Joe realised that the rope around Mr Spencer’s hands was just too hard for the rock. He had made some progress, but it was so tiny that it didn’t make any difference.
Resting, Mr Spencer decided that they needed to try the rock on another piece of rope, one that was already worn out.
And so, with Will now doing the cutting, Joe tried his skills on Sarah’s rope. It was the most worn-out looking one of all of them. After working on it for five minutes, the rope gave way.
“Yes!” Sarah rubbed her hands together in an effort to get the blood through them once more.
“Great job, son,” Mr Spencer smiled. “Now Sarah, it’s up to you.”
Sarah nodded as she turned to Will and tried untying his ropes. It wasn’t easy work for Sarah, as the rope had been tied tightly but, after a while, she succeeded.
The two of them started working on the others and it was a welcome sight when everyone was free.
Mr Spencer tried standing up, but collapsed straight away. He grimaced. “My ankle hurts. Would one of you look out and tell me what you see? We need to know what the men are
up to.”
Joe nodded and crept to the front of the cave. He peeked out and saw Jake and Louis playing poker. He could hear noises in the tunnels, and he noticed that many of the boxes had disappeared from the cave, so it looked as though the rest of the men were moving the goods. After all, if what Jake had said was true, they would be leaving tonight and never coming back.
Joe froze as Louis stood up and walked towards the cave.
Chapter 23: A Chance To Escape
Joe was as quiet as a mouse as Louis passed by the entrance of the cave. He sighed with relief as the crook reached for a bottle that was sitting on one of the boxes. After he returned to the table, Joe hurried back and told the others what was going on.
Amy glanced at Mr Spencer. “What do we do now?”
Mr Spencer thought. “With Constable Howard in league with the crooks, the person that we need to contact is Inspector Price.”
Sarah suddenly smiled. “Constable Howard told us that he’d contacted him and he was coming here.”
“He probably said that just to make us believe that he was one of the good guys,” Joe said. “I bet you the inspector is still at Rockford trying to find the crooks.”
Mr Spencer nodded. “Yes, but one phone call from me and he’ll come rushing over. So, all we have to do is get to my house.”
“And how are we going to do that?” Amy asked.
Mr Spencer frowned. “With my sore ankle, I can’t go anywhere. And you lot are not going to be able to distract the guards out there by yourselves, so we’ll all have to wait.”
“Wait? But the crooks will be escaping soon,” Joe protested.
“The boat won’t be coming until it’s dark, so we have plenty of time. Besides, we have to be careful. We only have one chance. We can’t waste it, so I suggest we wait until my ankle feels better and we are able to overpower the men in the cave. Hopefully, they will need more men to carry the boxes and they might actually leave us…” Mr Spencer paused. Footsteps could be heard coming towards them. “Pretend you’re asleep.”
The children quickly scuttled to the walls, put their hands behind their backs, and closed their eyes.
A moment later, Dan glanced into the cave. His eyes scanned over the children before falling on Mr Spencer who was trying his best to look as though he was completely worn out.
“Just don’t hurt the children, that’s all I ask,” Mr Spencer said. “They didn’t mean to cause trouble. They are just curious kids. I’m sure you were like them once.”
Dan slowly nodded. “Well, they shouldn’t have been poking their noses into things that don’t concern them, but I’ll let it pass. I’ll make sure that someone finds you in the morning. I may be a crook, but I’ve got nothing against kids.” He turned and left.
~
Amy didn’t know how much time had passed since she had dozed off, but Joe suddenly shook her awake. She quickly stood up. The others were beside Mr Spencer as he stood by the entrance of the cave. It was time to leave.
Mr Spencer whispered, “Now!” He hurried forward and the children followed as quickly and silently as they could. He made his way to the table, grabbed a lantern that was there, and entered the tunnel.
Joe brought up the rear and, as he walked past the outer cave, he saw that all the boxes had been taken away. It was completely empty except for the table, chairs, and beds.
“Why didn’t the men leave a guard?” Amy asked, who still wasn’t sure what was happening.
“Mr Spencer was able to make them believe that we were all worn out and, as such, weren’t going to escape,” Joe said. “But I also think that they needed everyone to move the boxes.”
Amy nodded as the group hurried through the tunnel.
Mr Spencer paused as he entered the main tunnel. He listened carefully. All was silent. Suddenly, distant voices could be heard from the direction of the manor. He made a decision. “We have to go to the beach.”
He moved off, the lantern swinging to and fro as the others followed as quietly as they could. They made good progress and were soon at the entrance to the furnished cave. Mr Spencer handed the lantern to Joe and told the children to wait until he could go to the door and see if there was anyone behind it.
Mr Spencer hurried up to the door and quietly opened it a tad. He peeked in and saw that all the boxes had now gone from the room. Dan and Louis were sitting at the table, having a drink.
Louis grinned as he poured himself some whisky. “Let’s have a toast.”
Dan smiled and put his glass up in the air. “To Toulville. Where we can get drunk to our hearts content.”
Louis joined him. “To Toulville.”
They were halfway through drinking when a voice yelled up from the hole. “Louis! Dan! Where the heck are you? You’re supposed to be moving boxes, not celebrating.”
Dan quickly stood up. “Coming.” He hurried to the hole and started climbing down. Louis followed him a moment later.
Mr Spencer looked back at the children. “It’s all clear.” He opened the door and entered the cave. He walked over to the hole and listened. He could hear faint voices.
“What do we do now?” Will asked .
Mr Spencer sat down to rest his ankle as Joe placed the lantern on the table. “We wait a minute or two for those crooks down below to get far enough away and then we go down the hole.” He glanced across at the window. “Hey, does that look down at the beach?”
“Yes,” Will said.
“Good. Glance out and tell us what you see. That way we will know how soon the men intend to leave.”
Will and the others hurried to the window and glanced out. To his surprise, he saw that it was dark. “We must have been in that cave for ages.”
“Look!” Amy pointed at the beach where a dinghy and a couple of men could be seen. A moment later, the small craft left the beach and headed out into the water.
“The boat must be already here,” Sarah said.
Joe nodded and peered out into the cove. Due to a mixture of mist and fog that had entered the sheltered waterway, it was impossible to see anything. He turned to Mr Spencer. “I can’t see anything, but we should get going now.”
Mr Spencer stood up and walked over to the hole. All was quiet. He turned to the children. “You lot go first.”
Joe hurried over and started climbing down. Sarah went next, then Amy.
As Will took the lantern from his father and prepared to climb down, the door suddenly opened and Jake entered. Both parties were surprised to see each other, but Mr Spencer reacted faster. He turned to Will. “Go get the inspector now!”
“But…” Will paused as Jake launched himself at Mr Spencer. He watched horrified as both bodies hit the ground and tumbled over and over, with each person trying to gain the upper hand.
“Go!” Mr Spencer yelled. “Tell him about Toulville!”
Will stood still, his face betraying the fact he wanted to help his father. But then he heard footsteps hurrying down the passageway and saw, through the open door, Baz heading towards them.
Will quickly went to the hole and, using one hand to climb down, hurried as fast as he could. He reached the ground and was surrounded by the others who had only caught snatches of the conversation.
“What’s happening?” Joe asked as he and the others followed Will as he hurried down the tunnel.
“Jake came and started fighting with my dad. He told me to leave and get help.”
“But couldn’t you—” Amy began.
“Another crook came and I had to run. There was no other choice. I just hope…” Will skidded to a stop as Rocky suddenly appeared and blocked the tunnel.
Rocky grinned as he shone his torch at them. “Well, well, what do we have here?”
Joe gasped. “Where did you come from?”
Rocky pointed his torch above him and the children could make out a hole. “Up there. You didn’t think we could move all those boxes through the other cave did you, especially at high tide?”
“Go
lly, so that’s where the entrance to the other tunnel is,” Amy exclaimed. “No wonder we didn’t see it before.”
“Did you block up the tunnel exit that we found?” Will said.
Rocky nodded as he smiled. “Of course. And I think we did a pretty good job of it. Who needs that tunnel when there’s an even better one available?”
The children didn’t answer. On the outside, they might have all been calm but, inside, they were all trying to think of a way past Rocky. Footsteps sounded and Baz came into view.
Will knew that the time had come. It was now or never. He threw the lantern at Rocky and yelled out. “To the beach!”
Chapter 24: A Risk Worth Taking
The children raced down the tunnel as Rocky, his hands laden with a lantern and torch, tried to stop them. He grabbed onto Sarah, but was no match for the rest of them as they ducked and tore past him.
It was a horrible feeling leaving Sarah behind, but Will knew that they had no other choice. They had to go slow now, as they had no light to guide them, but they increased their speed once Baz, holding a torch, came into view. He was surprisingly fast and managed to grab onto Amy.
Now it was just the boys left. Joe and Will ran as fast as they could, determined for Baz not to catch either of them.
Joe sighed with relief a moment later as he neared the entrance to the cave. They tore towards it. They had made it!
They skidded to a stop a moment later as they reached the place where the hole was.
Will shook his head in astonishment. “What?”
Joe gasped. He couldn’t believe it. It was no longer there! He rushed forward and felt the place where the hole used to be. He sighed with relief as his fingers touched loose dirt. “It’s just a mini landslide. The hole should be on the other side.”
Will nodded and they quickly moved the dirt away to reveal the hole.
“I’ll just make it a bit…” Joe paused as he heard footsteps. “Oh, no.”
“Go now!” Will said, anxious.
Joe nodded and went headfirst through the small hole. He was soon on the other side and waited as Will followed suit. He suddenly caught sight of Rocky as he came into view. “Rocky’s behind you!”
