14 WHAT AN EXCITEMENT!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN WHAT AN EXCITEMENT! PETER, JANET, and all the others threw down their spades and trowels and raced to the cave at top speed. 'What is it?' cried Peter. Then he saw Susie and Jeff and stopped. 'Clear out,' he cried. 'This is our cave, not yours.' 'Wait, Peter,' said Jack. 'Susie's just told me something strange.' He told the others what Susie had said, how she and Jeff had buried themselves all but their noses in the empty cave, and then someone had come from the back and walked out!

'So there is some way into this cave from the back,' he said. 'I know we've looked and looked, but there must be! Susie, did you hear anything at all before this man walked out of the cave?' 'Yes,' said Susie. 'I heard a kind of thud – so did Jeff.' 'As if someone had leapt down to the sandy floor,' said Jeff. 'Like this!' He jumped into the air and came down, making a soft thud. 'Then the way in from the back must be from somewhere up near the roof,' said Peter. 'Anyone got a torch?' 'Here's mine,' said Jack. 'I found it on the ledge where I'd left it.' Peter took it. 'Come on,' he said. 'We're jolly well going to solve this mystery. Wait though – Colin, keep guard at the front of the cave, in case that man comes back. Take a good look at him if he does.' 'Right,' said Colin, and limped to the front

of the cave, though he would dearly have liked to be with the others. There was quite a crowd at the back of the cave. Peter shone his torch on to the roof there. It was fairly high. He saw a rocky ledge jutting out and thought he would climb up to it. 'Give me a hand,' he said to Jack. 'Hold the torch for a minute, Janet.'

He was soon up on the ledge, and then shone the torch on to the roof again. He gave a sudden exclamation. 'What is it?' shouted everyone, almost dancing with excitement.

'There's a round hole here. You can't see it from where you are,' said Peter. 'And there's a rope-end hanging down. I can just reach it.' The others craned their necks to see what Peter saw, but they couldn't. The hole was hidden by a jutting-out piece of rock, and it was only because Peter was high up on the ledge that he could see it at all. He shone his torch on the thick rope-end. It was well within his reach from the ledge on which he stood. He stuffed the torch into his pocket. 'I can get hold of the rope,' he called down, 'and I think I can pull myself up by it. I'll try anyway.' He caught the rope in both hands, and then by means of treading on first one narrow ledge of rock and then another, he managed to get right into the hole. He let go of the ledges with his feet and swung on the rope with his hands. He climbed up it as he did at gym, and came to a broad ledge, where he rested for a

moment or two. Then he stood on the ledge, putting his head up through the hole that still went upwards, and found that he was looking out of the hole into another cave above! He shone his torch around. He gave a yell to the others down below, but to them his voice sounded curiously muffled and hollow. They were quite startled to hear it. 'Hey! There's another cave here, a much smaller one! And some of our food's here, and all our cushions, and books and magazines! And there's a bag too, a small mailbag that looks full of something!' 'What? What do you say?' yelled the others, almost overcome with excitement at all this shouting, and not being able to make out a word. 'PETER! What have you found?' cried Janet. Peter came down from the rope, found the