CHAPTER 10
Thierry, Aliénor and Jennifer ran down to the base of the mound and quickly found the tiny window that they had seen earlier. It was all covered in ivy and a thick vine. They began to pull the ivy away from the stones and cleared enough to see that the window was in fact a tiny door with a glass panel at the top. Thierry began to pull at the metal catch and, to his surprise, the door opened into the underground chamber. He peered in through the dark hole but couldn’t see anything. The sunlight now was on the other side of the moulin and didn’t help them at all.
“Do you think we could get in through that tiny door?” asked Jenny.
“I’m not sure,” replied Thierry. “It might just be possible if you go in head first while Aliénor and I hold your feet.”
“Oh!” cried Jenny, “I didn’t mean I wanted to be the one to go in!”
Thierry and Aliénor laughed and Thierry said, “I am only joking, Jenny, but I think we could get in if we tried hard. We would have to bend almost double, but it is possible. The problem is that we don’t have a light and it’s pitch dark in there and it could be dangerous. I think we should go back now and return after dark with a flashlight so that we can enter the building safely and then see if we can find the door that fits your key.” The girls thought this was a great idea. A night - time adventure would really make this holiday exciting.
“But how will we find our way back here in the dark?” asked Jenny. Thierry thought that if they marked their route through the forest on the way back and the moonlight was bright they would be able to get back to the windmill again. He closed the tiny door and pulled some of the ivy and vines back over it so that you could hardly tell they had been there.
“But how will we mark our track?” asked Aliénor, “We haven’t brought any chalk with us and if we used breadcrumbs like Hansel and Gretel I’m sure the birds would eat them.”
“Or the rats!” replied Thierry, who loved seeing the girls shudder in horror.
“What about using twigs or pinecones or little stones?” suggested Jenny, “Then nothing would eat them.”
“You know what, Jenny”, laughed Thierry, “You are cleverer than you look, for a redhead!” Jenny blushed crimson but was secretly pleased that Thierry was paying attention to her ideas.
Just as they were about to leave the moulin they heard a car approaching. “Quick, let’s hide behind those trees over there,” said Thierry. They all ran to the little patch of shrubby trees that were growing in the clearing and waited to see if the car drew up. “We must be near a road,” he whispered.
They waited, crouched down behind the trees, for what seemed ages but no car approached. Then they heard a car door slam and the sound of muffled voices. From where they were it was difficult to hear what was being said, and they couldn’t see what the car and its occupants were up to as they were on the opposite side of the windmill from the Three Musketeers. There were noises and an occasional shout like an order. There seemed to be at least two or three men unloading something from the car. Thierry thought that they had better make their escape while they could as the men could come round to their side of the building at any moment. He made hand signals to the girls that they should leave and the three of them ran as quietly as they could over the clearing and into the woods.
After a few metres they stopped and caught their breath. “What do you think they were doing?” whispered Jennifer.
“I don’t know,” replied Thierry. “Perhaps they are using the old mill as a storage depot. Perhaps they own it and we certainly don’t want to be caught trespassing.”
“But Aunty Izzy thought that the moulin was part of the house she is renting, so perhaps it is the men who are trespassing.”
“Well, we will come back as soon as we get a bright moonlit night and perhaps we will find out exactly what they were doing. Now we must try to mark up out path so that we can find the moulin again. Ok, Jenny, let’s put your idea into practice.”
Every few metres they stopped to make a little mound of the white limestone pebbles that were very common in this area. They thought they would be able to see them quite clearly by moonlight or with a torch. When they came to a junction they were especially careful to mark the direction of their route. This was a time consuming task but they all felt that it would be worth it in the end.
When they approached the house they stopped to make a final plan for their midnight escapade. Thierry thought it would be best if they all appeared to go to bed at their normal time tonight and then, if the moon was bright and the sky clear, they would meet up under Jenny’s window which was on the opposite side of the house from the twins and Aunty Izzy. Thierry said they should all wear warm clothes and bring a bottle of water each and a flashlight. He and Aliénor would stand in the garden near Jenny’s window and turn their flashlights on and off three times, one for each Musketeer. That would be the signal for Jenny to come down and for all three to return to the windmill.
Jenny said goodbye to the others who had turned into the trees toward the beach. She walked towards the house. She could hardly wait for the evening and the hope of a bright sky.