Chapter Fourteen

MORGAN IS SURPRISING TOO

George did not particularly want to go down to the farm, as she was afraid of Timmy meeting the farm dogs again, and being attacked. Julian saw her doubtful face and understood.
“Would you like to stay here by yourself with Timmy, George, till we come back?” he said. “You should be all right with Tim - he’ll look after you. The only thing is - will you be scared if any more rumblings and shudderings and shimmerings come again tonight?”
“I’ll stay with George,” said Anne. “It would really be best if you two boys went alone. I’m a bit tired and I don’t think I could go as fast as you’d want to.”
“Right. Then Dick and I will go together, and leave you two girls here with Timmy,” said Julian. “Come on, Dick. If we hurry, we might get back before dark.”
They set off together, and went swiftly down the winding mountain path, still white with snow. They were glad when at last they saw the farmhouse. A light was already in the kitchen, and looked very welcoming!
They went in at the front door, and made their way to the big kitchen, where Mrs. Jones was washing up at the sink. She turned in astonishment when they came in, stamping the snow from their shoes.
“Well now - this is a surprise!” she said, drying her hands on a towel. “Is there something wrong? Where are the girls?”
“They’re up at the hut - they’re fine,” said Julian.
“You have come for something more to eat?” said Mrs. Jones, feeling certain this was the reason for their sudden visit.
“No, thank you - we’ve got plenty!” said Julian. “We just wondered if we could talk to your son - Morgan. We - well, we’ve got something to tell him. Something rather urgent.”
“Well now - what could that be?” said Mrs. Jones, all curiosity at once. “Let me see - yes, Morgan will be up at the big barn.” She pointed out of the window, where a big and picturesque old barn stood, outlined against the evening sky. “It is there you will find my Morgan. You will be staying the night, now, will you not? You will like supper - a good supper”
“Well - yes, we should,” said Julian, suddenly realising that they had missed out tea altogether. “Thanks awfully. We’ll just go and find Morgan.”
They made their way out to the big old barn. Morgan’s three dogs at once ran out when they heard strange footsteps, and growled. But they recognised the boys immediately and leapt round them, barking.
The giantlike Morgan came out to see what the dogs were barking about. He was surprised to find the two boys there, fondling the dogs.
“Hey?” he said, questioningly. “Anything wrong?”
“We think there is,” said Julian. “May we tell you about it?”
Morgan took them into the almost dark barn. He had been raking it over and he went on with his raking as Julian began his tale.
“It’s about Old Towers,” said Julian, and Morgan stopped his raking at once. But he went on again almost immediately, listening without a word.
Julian told him his story. He told him about the noises of rumbling, the shimmering in the sky that Dick had seen, the “shuddering” they had all felt - then about the old woman they had seen in the tower - and how Aily had told of the pieces of paper, and shown them one, which proved that old Mrs. Thomas was a prisoner in her own house.
For the first time Morgan spoke. “And where is this paper?” he asked in his deep bass voice.
Julian produced it and handed it over. Morgan lighted a lamp to look at it, for it was now practically dark.
He read it and put it into his pocket. “I’d rather like it back,” said Julian, surprised. “Unless you want it to show the police. What do you think about it all? And is there anything we can do? I don’t like to think of...”
“I will tell you what you are to do,” said Morgan. “You are to leave it to me, Morgan Jones. You are but children, you know nothing. This matter is not for children. I can tell you that. You must go back to the hut, and you must forget all you have heard and all you have seen. And if Aily comes again you must bring her down here to me, and I will talk to her.”
His voice was so hard and determined that the two boys were startled and shocked.
“But, Mr. Morgan!” said Julian. “Aren’t you going to do anything about this... go to the police, or...”
“I have told you, this is not a matter for children,” said Morgan. “I will say no more. You will go back to the hut, and you will say nothing to anyone. If you are not willing to do this, you will go home tomorrow.”
With that the giant of a man put his rake over his shoulder, and left the two boys alone in the barn. “What do you make of that?” said Julian, very angry. “Come on - we’ll go back to the hut. I’m not going to the farm for supper. I don’t feel as though I want to meet that rude, dour Morgan again this evening!”
Feeling angry and disappointed the boys made their way out of the barn, towards the path that led up to the hill. It was almost dark now, and Julian felt in his pocket for his torch.
“Blow! I didn’t bring it with me!” he said. “Have you one, Dick?”
Dick hadn’t one either, and as neither of them felt like making their way up the mountainside in the darkness Julian decided to go back to the farm, slip up to his bedroom there, and find the extra torch he had put in one of the drawers.
“Come along,” he said to Dick. “We’ll try and get in and out without seeing Morgan or old Mrs. Jones.”
They went quietly back to the farmhouse, keeping a look-out for Morgan. Julian slipped up the stone stairway to the bedroom he had been given a few nights before, and rummaged in the drawer for his torch. Good - there it was!
He went downstairs again - and bumped into old Mrs. Jones at the bottom. She gave a little scream.
“Oh, ’tis you, Julian bach! Now what have you been telling my Morgan to put him into such a temper! Enough to turn the milk sour his face is! Wait now, while I get you some supper. Would you like some pork and...”
“Well - we’ve decided to go back to the hut, after all,” said Julian, hoping that the kind old woman wouldn’t be upset. “The girls are alone, you know - and it’s dark now.”
“Oh yes, yes - then you shall go back!” said Mrs. Jones. “Wait for one minute - you shall have some of my new bread, and some more pie. Wait now.”
The boys stood in the doorway, waiting, hoping that Morgan would not come by. They sudclcnly heard him in the distance, yelling at a dog, in his loud, really fierce voice.
“Taking it out on the dogs, I suppose,” said Julian to Dick. “Gosh - I wouldn’t like to come up against him, if I was one of his men! Strong giant that he is, he could take on a dozen men if he wanted to - or a score of dogs!”
Mrs. Morgan came up with a net bag full of food. “Here you are,” she said. “Take care of those girls - and don’t go near Morgan now. He’s in a fine temper, is my Morgan, and he is not nice to hear!”
The two boys thoroughly agreed. Morgan was not nice to hear. They were glad when they were away up the path, out of reach of his enormous voice!
“Well, that’s that,” said Julian. “No help to be got from this quarter! And we’re forbidden to do anything at all about the matter. As if we were kids!”
“He kept telling us we were only children,” said Dick, sounding disgusted. “I can’t make it out. Ju, WHY was he so annoyed about it all? Didn’t he believe us?”
“Oh yes - he believed us all right,” said Julian. “If you ask me, I think he knows much much more than we were able to tell him. There’s some kind of racket going on at Old Towers - something queer and underhand - and Morgan is in it! That’s why he shut us up and told us not to interfere, and to forget all about it! He’s in what-ever’s going on, I’m sure of it.”
Dick whistled. “My word! So that’s why he was so angry. He thought we might be putting a spoke in his wheel. And of course the last thing he would want us to do would be to go to the police! Well - whatever do we do next, Ju?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to talk it over with the girls,” said Julian, worried. “This would crop up just when we’re all set for a jolly holiday!”
“Julian, what do you think is going on at Old Towers?” asked Dick, puzzled. “I mean - it isn’t only a question of locking up an old lady in a tower - and selling off her goods and taking the money. It’s all the other things too - the rumblings and shudderings and that queer mist.”
“Well - apparently those things have been going on for some time,” said Julian. “They may have nothing whatever to do with what Morgan is mixed up in - which is, I’m sure, to do with robbing the old lady. In fact, those old tales may be a very good way of keeping people away from the place - in these country places people are much more afraid of strange happenings than townspeople are.”
“It all sounds very convincing when you put it like that,” said Dick. “But somehow I don’t feel convinced. I just can’t help feeling there’s something queer about it all - something we don’t know!”
They fell silent after that, walking one behind the other on the mountain path, seeing the big black stones looming up one after the other in the light of Julian’s torch. It seemed a long long way in the dark, much longer than in the daylight.
But at last they saw the light in the window of the hut. Thank goodness! They were both very hungry now, and were glad that Mrs. Jones had presented them with more food. They could really tuck in.
Timmy barked as soon as they came near, and George let him out of the door. She knew by his bark that it was the boys coming back.
“Oh, we are glad you came back, instead of staying down at the farm!” cried Anne. “What happened? Is Morgan going to the police?”
“No,” said Julian. “He was angry. He told us not to interfere. He took that bit of paper with the message on, and never gave it back to us. We think he’s mixed up with whatever is going on!”
“Very well then,” said George at once. “We’ll take up the matter ourselves! We’ll find out what’s going on - and MOST CERTAINLY we’ll get poor old Mrs. Thomas out of that tower. I don’t know how - but we’ll do it! Won’t we, Timmy?”