CHAPTER XI
_Trapped_
Jack and Molly clutched hold of each other tightly, while a feeling ofdespair rushed over them. How foolish, how very foolish, they had beento trust the girl! What awful thing could be going to happen to themnow? they wondered. The whispered conversation between the two at theend of the passage ended in a loud burst of laughter and giggling; thenthe girl turned toward them and beckoned.
"Come on," she said, "and the quicker the better it will be for you....No nonsense now," as the children did not move.
"How dare you!" Jack managed to say. "Open this door and let us out atonce. You--you mean sneak!" His voice was shaky, but very determined.
"Oh, don't be silly," said the girl. "You've _got_ to obey now--so youmight just as well come--unless you'd like me to fetch you both?"
"Heh! Heh!" laughed the figure behind her. "I'd like to see you fetchthem--that I would!"
The laughter and the nameless threat underlying the words gave thechildren a creepy sensation all up and down their spines.
"Oh, let's go before she _fetches_ us," cried Molly, and went forward,dragging Jack by the hand.
"That's sense," said the girl, and made room for them to pass out ofthe passage into the firelight.
They found themselves in a round, cave-like room, which was lit up bythe dancing flames of a log fire. Afterward Jack and Molly could notremember seeing any furniture in the room--nothing but the fire and astone-arched fireplace. They could not recall seeing any windows, butthey remembered the floor, which was made of cobbles, because it washard to walk on. The room appeared to have no ceiling, or else a veryhigh one, at any rate no ceiling was visible; overhead all was driftingsmoke and black gloom, like the entrance to a railway tunnel.
"Let's have a look at the pretty dears," said the figure beside thegirl, moving forward, and Jack and Molly stood face to face with theugliest old woman they had ever seen, in fact, had ever even imagined.Her clay-coloured face was a mass of deep wrinkles; her narrow, sunkeneyes looked like two restless black beads, darting from side to side,as if to escape from the two slits of eyelids which imprisoned them.Her nose and chin curved towards each other, after the fashion ofnut-crackers, and her otherwise toothless mouth had one long yellowfang always visible. A bright crimson scarf was wound round her head,like a turban, from which long wisps of jet black hair escaped and hungabout her face.
As the children looked at her, she did a terrifying thing (which theyquickly discovered was a constant habit of hers). The old woman'srestless beady eyes became suddenly still, and she fixed upon thechildren in turn a piercing stare, gradually opening her eyes wider andwider and wider until they became two big round black balls encircledby saucers of white--great, staring, still eyes ... then suddenly thelids snapped over them, and they were once more little darting blackbeads.
"Heh! Heh! Heh!" laughed the old woman. "What a surprise for yer,duckies, wasn't it, now?" And she thrust her face close to the childrenand leered unpleasantly. "Stoopid little baggages!" she added. "Farfor better you'd stopped at home--meddlin' in what don't concern you.But we'll soon learn you to come a-meddlin'." She turned to the girlbehind her. "All right," she said in an undertone. "I'd know 'em again.I've had a good look. When's _he_ coming?"
"In about an hour, I expect," answered the girl. Then she dropped hervoice and started whispering again.
The two children gazed into each other's frightened white faces, and alittle sob escaped from Molly.
"Eh?" said the old woman. "What you say, ducky?... Nothing?... Allright. Come along then, my pretties, come along and wait in thedrorin'-room. His Excellency the Grey Pumpkin is not at home just atpresent, but he won't be long; oh, dear no, he won't be long. Step thisway in the drorin'-room. He'll be _pleased_ to see yer. Heh! Heh!"
Molly glanced despairingly at the girl in green, the girl who had beenso friendly a short time before when they were outside in the lane.Molly held out her hands appealingly--but the girl only laughed.
"Oh have you no pity?" cried Molly. "Do, _do_ let us go. He'll neverknow--the Pumpkin need never know. And--and if there is anything we cando for you, I'm sure my brother and I will be only too pleased...."
"Would you even give up the search--and go straight back home?" askedthe girl sharply.
Here, then, was their chance of escape. If they would promise--Mollylooked at Jack. What would the Pumpkin do to Jack--to her--when hecame? She shuddered. Then she thought of Old Nancy, and the King, andGlan, and she knew that what the girl asked of them was impossible. Sheand Jack exchanged glances again. They had decided. They would taketheir chance.
"Would you promise?" asked the girl.
"No," answered Jack and Molly together.
"Hurry up and push them in, then, mother." The girl turned away,dismissing the subject immediately.
The old woman, chuckling to herself, opened a door in the wall (whichthe children had not noticed before) and told them to follow her tothe "drorin'-room" unless they wanted to be "fetched" there. So theyfollowed her.
It was pitch dark on the other side of the door, and the old womancalled out to the girl in green to hold a light for them, which shedid, standing in the doorway holding a flickering taper above herhead. Jack and Molly followed the old woman along a short passage,down a flight of stone steps to a door at the bottom. She took a keyfrom her pocket, and calling to the girl in green again, telling herto hold the light at the top of the steps, she fumbled at the lock,opened the door, and then, without more ado, she pushed Jack and Mollyinside, and slammed the door on them. They heard her lock the door,then go shuffling up the steps, grumbling to herself. Then another doorbanged--and all was silent.
Jack and Molly were in absolute darkness, and could not see an inch infront of them. They dared not move, but stood still clinging hold ofeach other.
"Oh, Jack, why _did_ we trust her?" sobbed Molly.
"How were we to know ... she seemed so decent ... the sneak!" saidJack. "Oh, can't we _do_ anything, Molly?"
It was dreadful, just standing in the dark--waiting. They talked inlow tones to each other for a while, wondering how long it would bebefore the Pumpkin arrived. Neither of them dared to speak of what hemight do when he came. If--if anything happened to them, would any onemiss them, and come in search of them----
And then Molly remembered.
"Jack!" she cried. "The matches! Old Nancy's matches!"
"Why ever didn't we think of them before?" exclaimed Jack.
Now was the time to use them, undoubtedly; for if ever there was a darkplace where some light was needed.... Jack and Molly were fumblingeagerly in their satchels.
"Be careful, Jack," said Molly. "Don't drop any. Have you got yoursyet? I have. Now I'll strike one--and see what happens."
Jack was still searching his satchel for his box of matches. MeanwhileMolly took a match out of her box and struck it.
The children were not quite sure what they had expected to happen, butthey felt vaguely disappointed to see just an ordinary little flare oflight spring out of the darkness. Just an ordinary little flickeringmatch. Anyway, they could now see what sort of a place they were shutup in. It was a kind of underground cellar, small and square and highroofed, and except for a few old boxes in one corner, empty. The wallswere damp and mouldy, the floor broken and uneven, and the place seemedfull of cobwebs.
And then they realized that it was not quite an ordinary match. Itburnt longer, and, strange to say, the rays from it were concentratingall in one direction--like a long thin streak of light--pointing. Jackand Molly quickly sensed this. But what was the light pointing at? Theflame was directed straight toward the boxes in the corner.
The children crossed the cellar and examined the boxes. They lookedlike wooden sugar boxes; there were three of them; and they were allempty. Jack pulled them away from the wall, but there was nothingbehind them.
Then Molly's match flickered--and went out.
"Here, I'll light one," said Jack. "I've got mine now."
br /> So Jack lit one. Just the usual match flare at first, but as soon asit burned up the light gathered together all on one side of the matchas it were, a long streak pointing in the exactly opposite directionto where the boxes were, right over on the other side of the cellar.For a moment Jack doubted, wondering whether it was a sort of joke onhim. But he and Molly followed the light quickly, and saw that it wasconcentrated on a spot, high up on the wall, near the roof.
"Look! quick!" said Molly. "There's an iron ring or handle or somethingup there."
"But how can we reach it?" began Jack.
And then they remembered what the first match had shown them, andhastily dragging the boxes across the floor, piled them one on top ofthe other underneath the ring in the wall. Then Jack's match went out.
Both children were now tremendously excited; and fearful lest thePumpkin should come before they had finished their investigations, theymoved as rapidly as possible. Molly lit the next match, while Jackclambered up to the top of the boxes. Her light pointed straight at theiron ring.
"It's a ring all right!" cried Jack. "But, oh, Moll, I can't quitereach it! Whatever shall we do?"
As the match pointed steadily at the ring, and offered no furthersuggestions, Molly climbed up to the top of the boxes too. Jack'sremark was only too true; the ring was just out of reach, try as theywould to touch it.
"I believe I could reach it if you could lift me up, Jack," said Molly.
"Right-o!" said Jack. And then Molly's match went out.
As it would be too difficult to hold a match while trying to reach thering, and as Molly said she remembered just where the ring was on thewall, it was decided to pull the ring if possible, and then light amatch, and see what had happened.
So Jack lifted Molly up, and after groping about on the wall with herhands for a few seconds, she caught hold of the ring.
"I've got it! Keep steady, Jack!" she cried, joyfully, and gave avigorous tug at the iron ring. "Something's given way--it feels as if asort of door's opened. All right, put me down now, Jack, and strike amatch."
Jack followed her directions, and by the light of the match they sawthat a small square door had opened in the wall above their heads. Thelight from the match pointed straight through the opening. It lookedlike a narrow, dark tunnel beyond. Jack put his match down on the topof the boxes to see if it would give them sufficient light from there,but directly it left his hand it went out, so they decided to try toget into the tunnel before they lit up again, as it was too difficultto hold matches while scrambling through the little black opening.Jack hoisted Molly up first, and she managed to get through the door,and then she turned and reached down her hand to pull Jack up. It wasrather an ordeal, doing all this in the dark, but at length it wassafely accomplished and they were both inside the tunnel. Once throughthe door, although rather cramped, they found there was sufficient roomto stand up, if they bent their heads.
They did not stop to close the door behind them, but, lighting anothermatch, they scurried along the tunnel as fast as ever they could.The tunnel twisted and turned a good deal, and then began to slopegradually upward. Two more matches they were obliged to light beforethey came at length to a standstill where the tunnel branched outin two directions. The light pointed steadily to the left, so theyfollowed it. Another minute's rapid walking, and they felt a rush ofcool air, and when their match spluttered and went out, they could seethat the inky darkness was thinning a little way ahead, and so they didnot light another match, but hastened onward toward a glimmer of lightin the distance. As they drew nearer they saw that it was the end ofthe tunnel and led out into the open air.
Jack and Molly moved cautiously when they came to the end. They creptout, and found themselves in the middle of a thick tangle of bushes.Through the bushes they struggled and forced a way until they at lengthcame out on to a narrow footpath which threaded its way in and out of ahost of bushes and trees. They began to run as soon as they were on thefootpath, though they did not know where they were or where it wouldlead them: but they ran, and continued to run, until they reached awider path, and saw that they were on a big open heath. They paused toregain their breath and take their bearings.
It was night-time, but the moon which sailed overhead in a clear skymade everything almost as light as day. They were certainly on a heathof some sort.
"Why, of course," Jack gasped, very much out of breath, "this must bethe Goblin's Heath!"