The Secret of Killimooin tss-4 Page 4

  “I don’t know what we would do if we met another car on these curving roads that wind up and up the mountain-side,” said Peggy.

  “Oh, the roads have been cleared for us,” said Paul. “We shan’t meet any cars on the mountain roads, anyway, so you needn’t worry.”

  They didn’t. The cars roared along, stopping for nothing — nothing except lunch! At half-past twelve, when everyone was feeling very hungry, the signal was given to stop. They all got out to stretch their legs and have a run round. They were on a hillside, and below them ran a shining river, curving down the valley. It was a lovely place for a picnic.

  As usual the food was delicious. Ranni and Pilescu unpacked hampers and the children spread a snow-white cloth on the grass and set out plates and dishes.

  “Chicken sandwiches! Good!” said Mike.

  “Ice-cream pudding! My favourite!” said Nora.

  “About thirty different kinds of sandwiches!” said Jack. “I am glad I feel so terribly hungry.”

  It was a good meal, sitting out there on the hillside, where a little breeze blew.

  “It’s cooler already,” said Nora, thankfully.

  “It will be much cooler in Killimooin Castle,” said Ranni. “It is built in a cunning place, where two winds meet round a gully! It is always cool there on the hottest day. You will soon get back your rosy cheeks.”

  Everyone climbed back into the cars when lunch was finished, and off they went again. “Only about an hour more and the road ends for us,” said Pilescu, looking at his watch. “It goes on round the mountains, but leaves Killimooin behind. I hope the ponies will be there, ready for us.”

  “How is the baby going to ride a pony?” asked Nora. “Won’t she fall off?”

  “Oh, no,” said Pilescu. “You will see what happens to the little ones.”

  After about an hour, all the cars slowed down and stopped. The children looked out in excitement, for there was quite a gathering in front of them. Men with ponies stood there, saluting the cars. It was time to mount and ride, instead of sitting in a car!

  It took a long time to get everyone on to the sturdy, shaggy little ponies. Nora soon saw how the little children were taken! The bigger ponies had a big, comfortable basket strapped each side of them — and into these the younger children were put! Then with a man leading each pony, the small ones were quite safe, and could not possibly fall!

  “I’m not going in a basket,” said Nora, half afraid she might be told to. But all the other children could ride and were expected to do so. Each child sprang on to the pony brought beside him or her and held the reins. The ponies were stout and steady, very easy to ride, though Nora complained that hers bumped her.

  “Ah no, Nora — it is you who are bumping the pony!” said Pilescu, with a laugh.

  The little company set off. The nurses, who had all been country girls, thought nothing of taking their children on ponies to the castle. The smaller boys and girls chattered in high voices and laughed in delight at the excitement.

  The men leading the ponies that carried baskets or panniers leapt on to ponies also, and all the little sturdy animals trotted away up the rough mountain path that led to the new castle. The people who had come to watch the royal family’s arrival waved goodbye and shouted good wishes after them. Their cottages were here and there in the distance.

  The little company turned a bend in the path, and then the children saw the towering mountains very clearly, steep and forbidding, but very grand. Up and up they had to go, climbing higher little by little towards the castle Paul’s father had built the year before. No houses, no cottages were to be seen. It was very desolate indeed.

  “Look at those goats!” said Peggy, pointing to a flock of goats leaping up the rocky slopes. “What a lot of them! Where’s the goatherd?”

  “Up there,” said Paul. “Look — by that crooked tree.”

  The goatherd stared down at the company. He had the flaming red beard that most Baronians had, and he wore ragged trousers of goat-skin, and nothing else.

  “He looks awfully wild and fierce,” said Nora. “I don’t think I want to talk to goatherds if they look like that!”

  “Oh, they are quite harmless!” said Ranni, laughing at Nora’s scared face. “They would be more frightened of you than you would be of them!”

  It was fun at first to jog along on the ponies for the first few miles, but when the road grew steeper, and wound round and round, the children began to wish the long journey was over.

  “There’s one thing, it’s lovely and cool,” said Jack.

  “It will be quite cold at nights,” said Ranni. “You will have to sleep with thick covers over you.”

  “Well, that will be a change,” said Jack, thinking of how he had thrown off everything the night before and had yet been far too hot. “I say — I say — is that Killimooin Castle?”

  It was. It stood up there on the mountain-side, overlooking a steep gully, built of stones quarried from the mountain itself. It did not look new, and it did not look old. It looked exactly right, Nora thought. It was small, with rounded towers, and roughly hewn steps, cut out of the mountain rock, led up to it.

  “I shall feel as if I’m living two or three hundred years ago, when I’m in that castle,” said Peggy. “It’s a proper little castle, not an old ruin, or a new make-believe one. I do like it. Killimooin Castle — it just suits it, doesn’t it?”

  “Exactly,” said Jack. “It’s about half-way up the mountain, isn’t it? We’re pretty high already.”

  So they were. Although the mountains still towered above them, the valley below looked a very long way down. The wind blew again and Nora shivered.

  “Golly, I believe I shall be too cold now!” she said, with a laugh.

  “Oh, no — it’s only the sudden change from tremendous heat to the coolness of the mountains that you feel,” said Ranni. “Are you tired? You will want a good rest before tea!”

  “Oh, isn’t it nearly tea-time?” said Mike, in disappointment. “I feel so hungry. Look — we’re nearly at that fine flight of steps. I’m going to get off my pony.”

  The caretakers of the castle had been looking out for the royal arrivals. They stood at the top of the flight of steps, the big, iron-studded door open behind them. The children liked them at once.

  “That is Tooku, with Yamen his wife,” said Pilescu. “They are people from the mountains here. You will like to talk to them sometime, for they know many legends and stories of these old hills.”

  Tooku and Yamen greeted the children with cries of delight and joy. They were cheerful mountain-folk, not scared at the thought of princes and princesses arriving, but full of joy to see so many little children.

  It seemed no time at all before the whole company were in their new quarters. These were not nearly so grand and luxurious as those the children had had in the big palace, but not one of them cared about that. The castle rooms were small, but with high ceilings. The walls were hung with old embroidered tapestries. There were no curtains at the narrow windows — but, oh, the view from those windows!

  Mountains upon mountains could be seen, some wreathed in clouds, most of them with snow on the top. The trees on them looked like grass. The valley below seemed miles away.

  “Killimooin Castle has quite a different feel about it,” said Jack, with enjoyment. “The palace was big and modern and everything was up to date. Killimooin is grim and strong and wild, and I like it. There’s no hot water running in the bedrooms. I haven’t seen a bathroom yet — and our beds are more like rough couches with rugs and pillows than beds. I do like it.”

  It was great fun settling down in the castle. The children could go anywhere they liked, into the kitchens, the towers, the cellars. Tooku and Yamen welcomed them anywhere and any time.

  It was deliciously cool at Killimooin after the tremendous heat of the palace. The children slept well that first night, enjoying the coolness of the air that blew in at the narrow windows. It was good mountain air,
clean and scented with pine.

  Next morning Ranni spoke to the five children. “You have each a pony to ride, and you may ride when and where you will, if Pilescu or I are with you.”

  “Why can’t we go alone?” said Paul, rather sulkily. “We shan’t come to any harm.”

  “You might lose your way in the mountains,” said Ranni. “It is an easy thing to do. You must promise never to wander off without one of us.”

  Nobody wanted to promise. It wasn’t nearly so much fun to go about with a grown-up, as by themselves. But Ranni was firm.

  “You must promise,” he repeated. “No promise, no ponies. That is certain!”

  “I suppose we must promise, then,” said Jack. “All right — I promise not to go wandering off without a nursemaid!”

  “I promise too,” said Mike. The girls promised as well.

  “And you, little lord?” said big Ranni, turning to the still-sulky boy.

  “Well — I promise too,” said Paul. “But there isn’t any real danger, I’m sure!”

  Paul was wrong. There was danger — but not the kind that anyone guessed.

  Blind Beowald, the Goatherd

  Two days later a great mist came over Killimooin and not even Ranni and Pilescu dared to ride out on their ponies, although they had said that they would take the children exploring round about.

  “No one can see his way in such a mist,” said Ranni, looking out of the window. “The clouds lie heavy over the valley below us. Up here the mist is so thick that we might easily leave the mountain path and go crashing down the mountain-side.”

  “It’s so disappointing,” sighed Paul. “What can we do instead?”

  Yamen put her head in at the door as she passed. “You can come down to tea with Tooku and me,” she invited. “We will have something nice for you, and you shall ask us all the things you want to know.”

  “Oh, good,” said Jack. “We’ll ask all about the Secret Forest. Maybe they know tales about that! That will be exciting.”

  Tea-time down in the big kitchen of the castle was great fun. An enormous fire glowed on the big hearth, and over it hung a black pot in which the soup for the evening meal was slowly simmering. A grand tea was spread on the wooden table, and the children enjoyed it. There were no thin sandwiches, no dainty buns and biscuits, no cream cakes — but, instead, there were hunks of new-made bread, baked by Yamen that morning, crisp rusks with golden butter, honey from the wild bees, and a queer, rich cake with a bitter-sweet taste that was delicious.

  “Yamen, tell us all you know about the Secret Forest,” begged Nora, as she buttered a rusk. “We have seen it when we flew over in an aeroplane. It was so big and so mysterious.”

  “The Secret Forest!” said Yamen. “Ah, no one knows anything of that. It is lost in the mountains, a hidden place unknown to man.”

  “Doesn’t anyone live there at all?” asked Jack, remembering the spire of smoke he thought he had seen.

  “How could they?” asked Tooku, in his deep, hoarse voice, from the end of the table. “There is no way over Killimooin Mountains.”

  “Hasn’t anyone ever found a way?” asked Jack.

  Tooku shook his head. “No. There is no way. I have heard it said, however, that there is a steep way to the top, whence one can see this great forest — but there is no way down the other side — no, not even for a goat!”

  The children listened in silence. It was disappointing to hear that there really was no way at all. Tooku ought to know, for he had lived among the mountains for years.

  “Ranni won’t let us go about alone,” complained Paul. “It makes us feel so babyish, Tooku. Can’t you tell him the mountains are safe?”

  “They are not safe,” said Tooku, slowly. “There are robbers. I have seen them from this very castle. Ah, when this place was built last year, the robbers must have hoped for travellers to come to and fro!”

  “What robbers?” asked Jack. “Where do they live? Are there many of them?”

  “Yes, there are many,” said Tooku, nodding his shaggy head. “Sometimes they rob the poor people of the countryside, coming in the night, and taking their goats and their hens. Sometimes they rob the travellers on the far-off road.”

  “Why aren’t they caught and punished?” demanded the little prince indignantly. “I won’t have robbers in my country!”

  “No one knows where these robbers live,” said Yamen. “Aie-aie — they are a terrible band of men. It is my belief that they have a stronghold far up the mountains.”

  “Perhaps they live in the Secret Forest!” said Jack.

  “Oh, you and your Secret Forest!” said Nora. “Don’t keep asking about it, Jack. You’ve been told ever so many times there’s no way for people to get to it.”

  “Are there any wild animals about the mountains?” asked Mike.

  “There are wolves,” said Yamen. “We hear them howling in the cold wintertime, when they can find no food. Yes, they came even to this castle, for I saw them myself.”

  “How frightening!” said Nora, shivering. “Well, I’m jolly glad I promised Ranni I wouldn’t go out without him or Pilescu! I don’t want to be captured by robbers or caught by wolves.”

  “You don’t want to believe all their stories,” said Peggy, in a low voice.

  Yamen heard her, and although she did not understand what the little girl said, she guessed.

  “Ah!” she said, “you think these are but tales, little one? If you want to know more, go to the goatherd, Beowald, and he will tell you many more strange tales of the mountain-side!”

  Beowald sounded rather exciting, the children thought. They asked where he could be found.

  “Take the path that winds high above the castle,” shid Tooku. “When you come to a crooked pine, struck by lightning, take the goat-track that forks to the left. It is a rocky way, but your ponies will manage it well. Follow this track until you come to a spring gushing out beside a big rock. Shout for Beowald, and he will hear you, for his ears are like that of a mountain hare, and he can hear the growing of the grass in spring, and the flash of a shooting star in November!”

  The next day was fine and clear. The children reminded Ranni of his promise and he grinned at them, his eyes shining in the brilliant sunlight.

  “Yes, we will go,” he said. “I will get the ponies. We will take our lunch with us and explore.”

  “We want to find Beowald the goatherd,” said Paul. “Have you heard of him, Ranni?”

  Ranni shook his head. He went to get the ponies, whilst Nora and Peggy ran off to ask Yamen to pack them up some lunch.

  Soon they were all ready. Ranni made them take thick Baronian cloaks, lined with fur, for he said that if a mist suddenly came down they would feel very cold indeed.

  They set off up the steep mountain-way that wound high above the castle. The ponies were sure-footed on the rocky path, though they sent hundreds of little pebbles clattering down the mountain-side as they went. They were nice little beasts, friendly and eager, and the children were already very fond of them.

  Ranni led the way, Pilescu rode last of all. It was a merry little company that went up the steep mountain that sunny morning.

  “We’ve got to look out for a crooked pine tree, struck by lightning,” said Jack to Ranni, who was just in front of him. “Then we take the goat-track to the left.”

  “There’s an eagle!” said Nora, suddenly, as she saw a great bird rising into the air, its wings spreading out against the sun. “Are eagles dangerous, Pilescu?”

  “They will not attack us,” said Ranni. “They like to swoop down on the little kids that belong to the goats and take them to feed their young ones, if they are nesting.”

  “I wonder if we shall see a wolf,” said Peggy, hoping that they wouldn’t. “I say, isn’t it fun riding up and up like this! I do like it.”

  “There’s the crooked pine tree!” shouted Paul. “Look — over there. We shall soon come up to it. Isn’t it ugly? You don’t often see a pine tree
that is not tall and straight.”

  The crooked pine tree seemed to point to the left, where the path forked into two. To the left was a narrow goat-track, and the ponies took that way, their steady little hooves clattering along merrily.

  It was lovely up there in the cool clear air, with the valley far below, swimming in summer sunshine. Sometimes a little wispy cloud floated below the children, and once one floated right into them. But it was nothing but a mist when the children found themselves in it!

  “Clouds are only mists,” said Nora. “They look so solid when you see them sailing across the sky, especially those mountainous, piled-up clouds that race across in March and April — but they’re nothing but mist!”

  “What’s that noise?” said Jack, his sharp ears hearing something.

  “Water bubbling somewhere,” said Nora, stopping her pony. “It must be the spring gushing out, that Tooku and Yamen told us about. We must be getting near where Beowald should be.”

  “Look at the goats all about,” said Peggy, and she pointed up the mountain-side. There were scores of goats there, some staring at the children in surprise, some leaping from rock to rock in a hair-raising manner.

  “Goats have plenty of circus-tricks,” said Mike, laughing as he watched a goat take a flying leap from a rocky ledge, and land with all four feet bunched together on a small rock not more than six inches square. “Off he goes again! I wonder they don’t break their legs.”

  “They must be Beowald’s goats,” said Peggy. “Ranni, call Beowald.”

  But before Ranni could shout, another noise came to the children’s ears. It was a strange, plaintive noise, like a peculiar melody with neither beginning nor end. It was odd, and the children listened, feeling a little uncomfortable.

  “Whatever’s that?” asked Peggy.

  They rode on a little way and came to a big rock beside which gushed a clear spring, running from a rocky hole in the mountain-side. On the other side, in the shelter of the rock, lay a youth, dressed only in rough trousers of goat-skin. Round his neck, tied by a leather cord, was a kind of flute, and on this the goatherd was playing his strange, unending melodies.