Mystery of Banshee Towers (9 page)

“No banshee wailing today, Fatty,” said Ern, with a grin, as they walked round the show of sea-pictures.

“Not the right day!” said Fatty, and immediately fell into such deep thought that he didn’t hear a word of what Ern was saying to him.
“Not the right day?”
Why was one special day of the week the “right” day? Fatty didn’t believe in the Banshee, even although he had felt very scared when it had wailed the day before.

“Ern, I have a feeling I’d like to go and have a look down that trap-door hole again,” he said, suddenly. “You keep watch for me, see, and give a whistle if you see anyone coming. All the artists are gone except that Frenchman, and as far as I can see he’s having a good heart-to-heart talk with Mr Engler - goodness knows what about. I wish I did!”

He and Ern went into the Armour Room, and Ern stationed himself in the middle, so that he could watch all doors, and hear anyone approaching from any direction. Fatty went quietly to the great fireplace. He managed to move the cauldron to one side, and saw the trap-door underneath as before. He turned to Ern. “Everything safe?” he said, and Ern nodded. Not a footstep was to be heard anywhere, coming across the stone floors, not a voice echoed.

Fatty pulled up the trap-door lid, and peered down. Yes - there were steps leading downwards. To what? To the banshee - and maybe her machinery? Where was the
lower
entrance to this passage through the hill - the one the dogs must have found and taken to get up to Banshee Towers, and scrabble about under the trap-door? It must be a very well-hidden one, somewhere on the deserted hillside!

Fatty wished he dared to go down the steps and see what he could find. But he might be a long time gone, and he couldn’t leave Ern behind. Nor did he want to take Ern with him. Neither of them had torches, and it would be dangerous.

He heard a sudden hiss from Ern, and stood up at once. There was just time to shut the trap-door and replace the great iron cauldron, so that the trap-door lid could not be seen!

Just in time! Footsteps sounded in the little room beyond, and voices. Mr Engler and the artist were coming back! Fatty beckoned to Ern and the two fled into the hall and then through the turnstiles. The turnstile man was not there and to Fatty’s surprise he suddenly saw him walking out of the hall-entrance with Mr Engler and the artist!

“So they are all three buddies,” thought Fatty. “Well, I don’t know what it means, but it means
some
thing! I’ve got to work all this out, somehow. It’s certainly adding up to a mystery of some sort - but I can’t for the life of me see what or why or how!”

He and Ern went to get the two dogs, who, tired of being in the shed, were whining and pawing at the gate. They barked frantically and joyfully when the two boys came up. They hopped into their boxes on the rear mudguards and Fatty and Ern were soon sailing dangerously fast down the steep Banshee Hill.

“I think I’ll call a Meeting tomorrow,” Fatty said to Ern. “Something’s going on up there that I can’t make head or tail of. If we get the others to hear what we have to say and we all talk about it, we might see daylight. Good thing we went up, Ern, or you wouldn’t have spotted the missing boat. I’m sure that’s a clue to the mystery, whatever it is - but it’s just about the most puzzling clue we’ve ever had! We don’t even know what the mystery
is
, or if the clue really belongs to it. Whew!”

12 - AN INTERESTING TALK - AND A GOOD IDEA!

Fatty telephoned Larry and Daisy that night, and also Pip and Bets. He would not tell them why the Meeting was being called, and they all felt rather excited. “Is it a Mystery, Fatty? Oh, do say it’s another Mystery!” said Bets. “Have you any clues yet?”

“One,” said Fatty. “And I don’t even know what it’s a clue
to
- or if it
is
a clue! Tell you all about it tomorrow. Be here at ten, please. Actually, it’s a clue Ern found - I didn’t even notice it!”

Just before ten o’clock there came knockings on the door of Fatty’s workroom. He had lighted the stove, and had set out a variety of biscuits. As Fatty said, “It’s so much
easier
to talk when you’ve got something to eat as well!”

In came Larry, Daisy, Pip and Bets, looking eager and excited. Buster and Bingo gave them a most uproarious greeting, and upset the plate of biscuits.

“Now listen, you two dogs.” said Fatty, sternly, “I don’t know which of you had the bright idea of upsetting biscuits all over the floor, but I tell you this - not
one
biscuit do you have till we’ve finished our Meeting. I know dogs consider it clever to upset plates of biscuits and cats think it is smart to upset milk, so that they can help themselves but I’m just a bit smarter than you are, see? SIT!”

The dogs sat, eyeing the biscuits mournfully. Bets felt sorry for them and patted them. “Do begin the Meeting, Fatty,” she said. “We’re LONGING to hear about this new Mystery. Is it
really
one?”

“Well, that’s what we’re going to decide,” said Fatty. “If it is, we must make our plans to solve it. If it isn’t, we just don’t bother any more. Now, listen to what Ern discovered yesterday when we went up to Banshee Towers. Ern, would you like to take over - and tell what happened?”

“Oh, no thanks, Fatty,” said Ern, uneasily. “You’re the one to talk. There’s nobody talks like you. I could listen for ages. My uncle, Mr Goon always said you had the gift of the gab and he’s right. You could talk the hind leg off a donkey, you could, or the tail off a horse, or the…”

“Well, really, Ern - anyone would think
you
had the gift of the gab,” said Larry, surprised. “Do go on!”

“No,” said Ern, and subsided. So Fatty took over, and began the tale of Ern’s strange discovery.

“Ern went to look at that big sea-picture that he and Bets liked so much,” he said. “Do you remember it, Bets?”

“Oh
yes
- every bit of it. It was lovely!” said Bets.

“Well, describe it,” said Fatty. “And don’t leave even the smallest detail out, Bets. It’s important.”

“It was a picture of a stormy sea, with waves lashing against a very high cliff,” said Bets. “The sky was blue in parts, and white in others. It was so full of spray that it almost made me feel wet.”

“Anything else?” asked Fatty.

“Well no - except that there was a tiny red boat bobbing on a wave.” said Bets. “When I saw that I suddenly realized how enormous the cliff was, and I thought the artist must have put it there on purpose - to make the cliff grander and the sea more - well, more magnificent, you know.”

“Bets - that’s just what we wanted you to remember - the
boat
,” said Fatty, “because the boat is the only clue we have. That little boat is no longer in the picture. It’s gone. It isn’t there!”

There was an astonished silence. “Well, what’s happened to it?” said Pip. at last. “Did some artist there wash it out - or paint over it? Perhaps he didn’t like it?”

“No, he didn’t wash it out, it seems,” said Fatty. “There are
no
marks and
no
erasures. Now - isn’t that a peculiar little Mystery?”

“It’s impossible!” said Pip. “Perhaps Bets and Ern are mistaken - the little boat must have been in another of the sea-pictures. After all, there are masses of them up in that big hall.”

“Yes.
That’s
the solution!” said Larry. “It’s obvious! Ern’s mistaking one picture for another. There must be
another
picture there, with the little boat in it - there can’t have been a boat in the one Ern thinks there was. Yes, I
know
that Bets saw it as well - but she too may have seen it in a different picture, that’s all. After all, she didn’t go up with you and Ern yesterday. If she had, she would probably have pointed out that it was in a different picture, and even taken you to it.”

“I tell you,” said Ern, exasperated, “I tell you the boat was in THAT PARTICULAR PICTURE I SAW YESTERDAY AND THE DAY BEFORE. I ought to know! I stood in front of it for ages. I feel as if I could almost paint the same picture myself!”

“All right, Ern, calm down,” said Fatty. “Now, Find-Outers, any ideas?”

“You’re
sure
, Ern, that it’s the same picture, and is in exactly the same place?” asked Daisy. “Same cliffs, same waves, same sky, same frame, everything?”

“Same everything,” said Ern, rather sulkily. “Goodness knows I looked at it long enough. It’s just the
boat
that is missing - the little tiny boat.”

“Well, I simply don’t see any answer to this particular puzzle,” said Fatty. “It’s certainly a mystery - but rather a silly little mystery, with no rhyme or reason - just a sea-picture from which a very small red boat has gone. We must give it up.”

“The smallest mystery we’ve ever had, and the only one impossible to solve - what a pity!” said Larry.

“I think we
all
ought to pop up to Banshee Towers and have a look round to see if by any chance the picture with the boat has been hung somewhere else,” said Daisy. “After all, some of the pictures look very alike - they are
all
sea-pictures with waves and cliffs and skies and ships. I’d rather like to solve this particular little mystery - not leave it in the air. It’s a nice day - we could cycle up again.”

“Yes. Let’s do that,” said Pip. “What do you say Ern?”

“Good idea.” said Ern. “I’d like to find my little boat! Let’s go now!”

And before long the six children were on their bicycles, once more on their way to Banshee Towers. A little Mystery like this was not going to beat the Find-Outers! They took the dogs too, in the boxes on Ern’s and Fatty’s back wheels. It was quite a little company, cycling along up the hill to Banshee Towers.

They were there at last - but what a shock! There was a notice up that said “CLOSED FOR TEMPORARY REPAIRS”.

“Blow! Look at that!” said Ern, in dismay. “Now we shan’t be able to find out about the boat.”

It was indeed a blow. “Panting up that steep hill all for nothing!” groaned Pip. “Is the turnstile man anywhere about? He’s a surly fellow, but he might let us in if we told him we only want to be there for half a minute.”

“I wonder what repairs they are doing?” said Fatty. “The place seemed in very good order to me.”

“Look - it’s probably pipes they are replacing,” said Larry. pointing to a pile of pipes of all sizes. “Looks as if their water-system has gone wrong. These arc lead pipes - like we have in our houses at home. Probably the place is damp and you can’t have damp in a picture-gallery. Ruins the pictures at once!”

“Yes. You’re probably right,” said Fatty, examining the pipes. “Well, Easter is over so they won’t have many visitors till Whitsun - good time now to do any repairs. Well, what shall we do? Shall we just look round to see if
any
one’s about? “

They wandered around, but saw no one. “What a waste of a morning,” said Larry. “What can we do now?”

“I tell you what we
could
do, which would be rather fun,” said Pip. “You remember how the dogs discovered some secret way up the hill, that led to the great fireplace in the Armour Room? They must have found an entrance somewhere on the hill - a cave or a hole of some sort - that had a passage leading to Banshee Towers! Can’t we look for that?”

“Well, it
would
be fun,” said Larry, and the others nodded. “Anyone brought a torch?”

Three of them had torches in their pockets. Good! “I don’t expect there’s much chance either of finding where the dogs made their way into the hill, or of getting up any passages ourselves,” said Fatty. “It was probably nothing more than a large rabbit-hole they found, leading into some underground warren. Anyway - let’s have a shot at finding it.”

“The dogs will help,” said Ern, and away they went on their bicycles down the hill with Bingo and Buster racing behind. Halfway down Fatty leapt off his bike, and called to Buster.

“Buster! Find! Find, Buster!”

Buster stood still with his ears pricked.
Find?
What was he to find? There were no rabbits here. He and Bingo hadn’t sniffed the scent of a single one. What
could
Fatty mean?

“Find, Buster! Find the hole you discovered the other day!” ordered Fatty. “FIND!”

He pointed here and there over the hill. Buster still stood with his ears cocked, his head on one side, trying his hardest to understand what his master wanted. It suddenly dawned on him that there was a hole somewhere - the hole he and Bingo had found - perhaps that was what Fatty wanted? A hole!

He gave a sharp little bark, and ran a little way uphill. He stood there, looking from side to side, sniffing the wind. Bingo came to join him, though he hadn’t the faintest idea of what Fatty wanted.

Buster gave another short bark, and ran to the right, and then made for a great bush that overhung a steep part of the hill. Bingo followed, yapping.

“Come on - I think old Buster has understood what I meant,” said Fatty, and he and the others climbed up the hill, soon becoming out of breath, for it was very steep just there. They had carefully hidden their bicycles under some thick bushes, a little lower down.

Both dogs had disappeared! Fatty yelled loudly. “BUSTER! Where are you? BUSTER!”

Buster appeared by the overhanging bush, and barked. Bingo appeared and barked too. What Buster did, he had to do as well!

“Come on,” said Fatty. “I think Buster’s found what we want! Whew - look here, under this bush - a great hole! I bet Buster thought it was a giant rabbit-hole. I have a feeling that this is where
we
disappear - into the heart of the hill. Let’s hope we come up in the right place! Follow me, everybody!”

And there they go, one by one. Be careful, Fatty - there may be danger ahead!

13 - UP THE PASSAGE - AND A QUEER FIND!

The hole was quite a large one, with long grass and some kind of creeping plant growing across the entrance. Fatty, bent double, pushed his way into it, shining his torch in front of him. He could hear Buster and Bingo scrabbling some way ahead, giving little woofs, as if chatting with each other.

The hole became much larger after a few yards, and Fatty was able to straighten himself a little and make his way more comfortably. He soon saw that the passage he was in was now of rock, not of earth. It was very uneven, and at times the roof came down so low that he had to bend almost double.