The Secret Mountain tss-3 Read online

  “I suppose we ought to have a meal,” said Ranni, too lazy to do anything about it.

  “I’m so hot and tired I couldn’t eat even an ant’s egg!” said Jack.

  “You haven’t been offered one,” said Peggy. “The only thing I’d like would be something sweet to drink.”

  Mafumu disappeared for a moment. He came back laden with some strange-looking fruit, that looked like half nut, half pomegranate. He slit a hole in the top-end and showed Peggy how to drink from it.

  “I suppose it’s safe to drink the juice of this funny fruit,” said Peggy doubtfully.

  Ranni nodded. “Mafumu knows what is good or not,” he said. “Taste it and see what it’s like. If it’s nice I’ll have some too!”

  Peggy tipped up the queer green fruit. It was full of some thick, fleshy juice that trickled out rather like treacle. At first the taste was bitter, like lemon — but as the little girl sucked hard, a delicious coolness spread over her mouth and down her throat.

  “Golly!” said Peggy. “It makes me feel as if I’ve got ice-cream going down me, but not at all sweet. Do have some, you others!”

  Soon everyone was sucking the strange fruit. Nobody liked the bitter taste at first, but they all loved the glorious coolness that came afterwards.

  “Mafumu, you are very, very clever,” said Jack sleepily to the little boy, who was, as usual, curled up as near to his hero as he could manage. Mafumu grinned in delight. A word of praise from Jack made him very happy.

  Soon everyone was sleeping soundly — except Ranni, who was on guard, though he found it very difficult to keep awake in such heat. The heat danced round, and everything shimmered and quivered. If it had not been for the coolness that blew over from the nearby waterfall it would have been quite unbearable.

  Even the monkeys were quiet — but when they began to move in the tree and to chatter again Ranni awoke everyone. The great heat of the day was gone. If they were going to do any more exploring they must set off at once.

  And soon they had a great surprise — for when they rounded a rocky corner of the yellow mountain they heard voices! They all stopped still at once, hardly daring to breathe. Voices! Could they be natives — or folk from the Mountain.

  The voices were deep and harsh — like the voices of rooks, Jack thought. Ranni waved Mafumu forward, for he knew that the boy could move as silently as a shadow. Mafumu slid down on to his tummy and wriggled forward like a snake. It was marvellous to watch. The other children could not imagine how he could get along as quickly as he did.

  Everyone else sank down quietly behind the bushes and stayed as still as mice. Mafumu wriggled forward into a thick bush. It was prickly, but the boy did not seem to feel the scratches. He parted the bush-twigs carefully and looked through.

  Then he looked back towards Ranni, his face full of excitement, and beckoned him forward with a wave of his hand. The children had the amusement of watching big Ranni do his best to wriggle forward on his front, just as Mafumu had done. The enormous Baronian did very well, however, and was soon beside the boy, peering through the prickly bush.

  The two of them stayed there for some time. The others waited impatiently, hearing the harsh voices of the strangers, and wondering what Ranni and Mafumu could see.

  Suddenly there came a grating sound, a rolling, groaning noise — and the voices stopped. The queer noise came again, such a grating sound that it set everyone’s teeth on edge! With the rolling sound of rumbling thunder the noise echoed around — and then stopped. Now only the sharp calls of the birds, the ceaseless hum of thousands of insects and the silly chatter of monkeys could be heard — and behind it all the roaring of the waterfall in the distance.

  Ranni and Mafumu crawled back, their faces shining with excitement. They took hold of the other children and hurried them to a safe distance. And in the shade of a great rock Ranni told them what he and Mafumu had seen.

  The Way Into The Secret Mountain

  “Quick, Ranni, tell us everything!” said Jack.

  “We saw some of the Folk of the Secret Mountain!” said Ranni. “They certainly do look queer. It is just as Mafumu’s uncle said — they have flaming red hair and beards and their skins are a funny yellow. I couldn’t see if their eyes were green. They were dressed in flowing robes of all colours, and they wore turbans that showed their red hair.”

  “Golly!” said Mike, his eyes wide with excitement. “Go on — what happened?”

  “The queerest thing happened,” said Ranni. “I hardly know if I believe it or not. Well — let me tell you. As we lay there, watching these people talking together in their funny harsh voices, we noticed that they were near a very curious kind of rock.”

  “What sort of rock?” asked Pilescu.

  “It was an enormous rock,” said Ranni. “It was strange because it was much smaller at the bottom than at the top, so that it looked almost as if it must fall over. Well, as we watched, one of the Mountain Folk went up to the rock and pushed hard against it.”

  “Why, he couldn’t surely move an enormous rock!” cried Mike.

  “That’s what I thought,” said Ranni. “But that rock must be one of these curious balancing rocks that can be pivoted, or swung-round, at a touch, no matter how big they are. There are just a few known in the world, and this is another.”

  “What happened when the rock swung round?” asked Pilescu.

  “It not only swung round, it slid to one side,” said Ranni. “Just like the rock in the story of Ali Baba that you told me! And behind it was a great door in the mountain-side studded with shining knobs that glittered in the sun!”

  Everyone stared at Ranni in silence, too excited to speak. So that was the way into the mountain! They had stumbled on it quite by accident.

  “Go on,” whispered Peggy at last.

  “I couldn’t see how the great doorway was opened,” said Ranni. “It seemed to slide to one side, very quietly — but whether it was opened from the outside or the inside I really don’t know. Then the rock rolled back into place again, and swung back into position with that terrific roaring, groaning sound you heard.”

  “And did the people go into the mountain?” asked Mike.

  “They did,” answered Ranni, “We saw no more of them.”

  Everyone sat silent for a while, thinking of the queer entrance to the Secret Mountain. So that was what Mafumu’s uncle had meant when he said that to get into the mountain one had to walk through rock!

  “Well — what are we going to do?” said Jack. “We know the way in — but I wonder how that great studded door is opened! Oh, Ranni — can we try to get in tonight?”

  “We’d better,” said Ranni. “I will try by myself and see what happens. You can all find good hiding-places nearby and watch. I’ll take my gun, you may be sure!”

  The children could hardly wait for the sudden nightfall to come. They found themselves good hiding-places — though Jack and Mafumu found the best. Theirs was up a big tree not far from the mountain entrance. Mafumu found it, of course, and helped Jack up there. The others were behind or in the middle of thick bushes.

  When the stars hung brightly, and a crescent moon shone in the sky, Ranni crept forward to the strange rock, whose black shadow was enormous in the night. Everyone watched, hardly daring to breathe in case anything happened to Ranni.

  Big Ranni stepped quietly up to the rock. He thought he knew exactly where to heave, for he had seen one of the Mountain Folk move the rock and had noted the exact place. But it was difficult to find it at night.

  Ranni shoved and pushed. He pressed against the rock and heaved with all his might. Nothing happened. He stopped and mopped his hot forehead, wondering which was the right place to press against.

  He tried again and again — and just as he was giving up something happened. He pushed at the right place quite by accident! With a groaning roar the enormous rock swung slowly round and then slid back. The noise it made was terrific. Ranni sprang back into the shadows, afraid that a
hundred Mountain Folk might come rushing out at him.

  The studded door shone in the moonlight. It did not open. It stood there; big and solid, strange and silent, barring the way. Nobody came. Nobody shouted to see who had swung back the rock. Only the night-sounds came on the air, and the sound of the distant waterfall.

  Everyone waited, trembling with excitement. Jack nearly fell out of his tree, he shivered so much with wonder and expectation. But absolutely nothing happened. The rock remained where it was, the door shone behind.

  “Ranni! Maybe the Mountain Folk haven’t heard the noise!” whispered Pilescu. “Go and try the door.”

  Ranni crept forward again, keeping to the deep-black shadows. Once or twice the moonlight glinted on the gun he held in his hand. Ranni was taking no chances!

  The others watched him from their hiding-places. He went right up to the door. He felt over it with his hand. He pushed gently against it. He tried to slide it to one side. He tried all the studs and knobs to see if by chance any of them opened the great door. But no matter what he did, the door remained shut.

  “Let us come and see,” whispered Mike to Pilescu. The boy felt that he could not keep still any longer. Pilescu was also longing to go to the mountain door, so he, Mike, Paul, and the two girls crept forward in the shadows.

  Jack wanted to come too — and began to climb carefully down the tree, getting caught in a great creeper as he did so. Mafumu tried to untangle him, but the more he tried, the more mixed-up poor Jack got.

  And then, just as Jack was almost untangled, there came a grinding, grating roar once more — and the enormous rock slid along in front of the great door and swung round slowly into its place.

  Behind it, caught between the rock and the door, was everyone except Mafumu and Jack! The girls, Mike, Paul, Ranni and Pilescu were in the narrow passage between.

  Ranni tried to stop the rock from sliding back into place, but once started on its way nothing would stop the enormously heavy rock. No one could escape, either, for there was no time to slip out of the trap.

  Jack and Mafumu stared towards the rock in the greatest dismay. Jack leapt down from the tree, almost breaking his ankle, and ran towards the mountain.

  “Are you safe, are you safe!” he shouted.

  But there was no answer. The swinging rock shut the sound of voices away. Jack beat on the rock, he tried to heave it as he had seen Ranni do, and Mafumu did the same. But neither boy could find the secret balance of the rock, and it stayed where it was, colossal in the moonlight, towering above them as they shouted and hammered on it.

  And then, behind the rock, the great door slid back! Jack and Mafumu heard it, and fell silent, listening. What was happening?

  What indeed? When the door slid back, the little company in front of it stared with wide eyes into a great hall-like cave. It was lighted by glowing lamps, and a wide flight of steps led downwards for a little way. Up these steps came the Folk of the Secret Mountain, dressed in their flowing robes, and carrying strange yellow wands which glittered from top to bottom.

  The leader was a very tall man with a bright red beard and gleaming eyes. He spoke to Ranni in language rather like that used by Mafumu. Ranni understood some of it.

  “He wants us to follow him,” Ranni said to Pilescu. “Got your gun, Pilescu?”

  “Yes,” said the big Baronian. “But it’s no use using it, Ranni. There are too many of them. Put your gun away for the moment, and we’ll see what happens. We are in a nice mess now. Only Jack and Mafumu are safe!”

  That was a strange journey into the heart of the mountain. Big carved lamps glowed all the way, lighting up enormous flights of steps, great walls, and high rocky ceilings.

  “The mountain is full of hollows which these people have made into halls and rooms,” said Ranni in a low voice to Pilescu. “Isn’t it amazing? Look at those great pictures drawn in colour on the walls! They are strange but very beautiful.”

  The children gazed in wonder at the great coloured pictures on the rocky walls of the mountain-caves. Lamps were set cleverly to light up the pictures so that the men and animals in them seemed almost alive. The Secret Mountain was indeed a marvellous place!

  At last the long journey through the heart of the mountain came to an end. The little party found themselves in a queer room, whose rocky ceiling rose too high for them to make out by the light of their lamp. Shining stones were set into the walls, and these glittered like stars in the lamplight.

  A rough platform was at one end of the room. On it were piled heaps of wonderful rugs, beautifully woven, and marvellously patterned in all the brightest colours imaginable. The children sat down on them, tired out.

  Pitchers of ice-cold water stood on a stone table. Everyone drank deep. Flat cakes lay on a shallow dish beside the pitchers. Mike tasted one. It was sweet and dry, quite pleasant to eat. Everyone made a meal, wondering what was going to happen.

  The door to their strange room was made of strong wood and had been fastened on the outside. There was nothing to do but wait. The Mountain Folk had left them quite alone in the heart of their queer home.

  “We’d better get some rest,” said Ranni, and he covered up the three children with the rugs. “I don’t know what to wish about Jack. I’m glad he’s not caught — and yet I wish we were all here together.”

  “Perhaps Jack and Mafumu will find some way of rescuing us,” said Peggy hopefully.

  Ranni laughed shortly. “It’s no good hoping that, Peggy! If he tries to get through the rock entrance, and through that big studded door, he will just find himself a prisoner!”

  “Do you suppose we’ll see Mummy and Daddy?” asked Nora suddenly. “They must be somewhere in this mountain too.”

  “Yes — that’s quite likely,” said Pilescu thoughtfully. “Ranni, I’ll keep guard for the first half of the night. You go to sleep with the others now.”

  In spite of all the tremendous excitement of the day the three children were soon asleep on the soft rugs. Ranni did not sleep at first, but at last he dozed off, sitting half upright in case Pilescu needed him quickly.

  But the night passed away silently and no one came to disturb them in their cell-like room. The lamp burned steadily, giving a soft light to the curious, high-roofed room. It burned until the day — and even then it still lit the room, for no daylight, no sunlight ever entered the heart of the Secret Mountain.

  Mafumu Makes A Discovery

  Jack was almost beside himself with alarm and despair. Mafumu kept close beside him, saying nothing at all, looking at Jack out of his big dark eyes. Both boys beat again and again on the great rock that hid the entrance to the Secret Mountain. They heard the door behind slide back into place once more — and then all was silent.

  “Come,” said Mafumu at last, and he took Jack’s arm. He led him to where everyone had left their packs, and the two sat down together.

  “What are we to do?” said Jack at last, burying his head in his hands. “I can’t bear to think of everyone captured, and we can’t get at them.”

  Mafumu did not understand. He sat there looking at Jack, muttering something in his own language. Then he made a kind of bed of the packs, and pushed Jack down on them.

  “We sleep now. I find way soon,” said the younger boy flashing his white teeth in the moonlight. They must wait until the morning.

  Jack fell asleep at last. As soon as Mafumu saw that his eyes were closed, and heard his regular breathing he crept away from Jack. He stood upright in the brilliant moonlight and looked at the great mountain. How was he going to find a way inside?

  Mafumu was not yet ten years old, but he was the sharpest boy in his tribe. He was mischievous, disobedient and wilful, but he had brains. He had lain thinking and thinking of how he might get into the Secret Mountain without going through the entrance of the sliding rock.

  And into his mind had come a picture of the great waterfall. He saw it springing from the mountain-side, a great gushing fall of silvery water. He was going
to see if it came from the heart of the Secret Mountain!

  The boy slipped away in the moonlight. He ran until he came to the great waterfall. It was magnificent in the light of the moon, and the spray shone like purest silver. The noise was twice as loud at night, and he was half-afraid.

  He glanced fearfully all round him. He was not afraid of animals or snakes — but he was afraid of being caught by the Folk of the Mountain. If he should be captured, Jack would be left helpless, for he did not know the countryside as Mafumu did.

  Mafumu made his way up the mountain, keeping as close to the waterfall as he could. Several times he was drenched, but he liked that. It was cool! The night was hot, and Mafumu was bathed in perspiration as he climbed upwards. The mountain was very steep indeed. It was only by working his way from rocky ledge to ledge that he could get up at all.

  At last he came to where the waterfall began. Mafumu worked his way above the fall, and found that, as he had thought, the water gushed straight out of the mountain itself. There must be an underground river running through the mountain. The great hill towered above him, reaching to the clouds. Just below him the waterfall sprang from the mountain, and the fine spray clung to his skin.

  He worked his way down again, almost deafened by the noise of the fall. He came to where the water shot out of the mountain in a great arch. He wriggled his way towards it, and found a rocky ledge, wide and damp, just by the fall itself.

  Mafumu stood and shivered with fright, for the noise was tremendous. It flowed all around him like rumbling thunder. He edged his way behind the great arch of water, for the rocky ledge stretched all the way behind.

  And there, hidden in the misty spray that hung always around and about the waterfall, Mafumu thought that he had discovered another way into the Secret Mountain! For surely, where the water was able to come out of the mountain, he and Jack would be able to go in!