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Chapter 10

   A FINE HIDING-PLACE

   WHEN they were behind the rock the children felt sure they could not be seen, and they breathed more easily. Philip looked round and about. The gully they had been in before lay a little to the left. They could reach it without being seen from below.

   "Come on," said Philip, choosing a path that put rocks or bushes between them and the valley below. "This way."

   Up the hot gully went the children, and came to the ledge that ran round a steep bit of the mountain. They made their way round and once more saw the wonderful view they had seen before. Above them stood the ruined, burnt-out farm-house. Lucy-Ann carefully didn't look at it. It gave her such a miserable feeling to see the blackened beams and fallen walls.

   They stood and listened for the sound of the waterfall. It came softly to their ears, a continuous, musical sound, like a far-off orchestra playing a simple tune.

   "What a lovely noise!" said Dinah. "Philip, shall we climb down or up now? If you want to go to the foot of the waterfall and hide somewhere among the rocks there, we ought to climb down, oughtn't we? Last time we climbed up — over that rocky, stony bit."

   The boys stood and considered. "It would perhaps be best if we went down this time," said Jack at last. "Those rocks just above the waterfall may be slippery to climb down on, for they will be wet with the spray. We don't want to slip, and we're carrying so many things that we haven't free hands to use."

   So they chose a way that led downwards. Philip went first, finding the safest path he could; not that there was a real path, of course, for there was not. As they came nearer to the waterfall, spray blew around them, and left a fine wet mist on their hair. They were hot with climbing and the spray was deliciously cool.

   They rounded a corner, and saw the whole of the cascading water at once. What a sight! Lucy-Ann drew a quick breath of awe and delight, and stood staring.

   "What a thunderous noise!" shouted Jack, trying to make his voice heard. "It makes me feel all excited."

   "It does me too," agreed Dinah. "As if I want to do a jig or a hornpipe or something. And it makes me want to shout and yell."

   "Well, let's!" said Jack, and he began to caper and shout as if he was mad. The others did the same, except Lucy-Ann. It was almost as if they were trying to out-shout and out-dance the tumbling, roaring water.

   They soon stopped, quite exhausted. They were on a flat rock which was wet with the flying spray. They were not nearly at the foot of the water after all, but about a quarter of the way up the fall. The noise filled their ears, and sometimes the force of the spray made them gasp. It was somehow very exciting.

   "Well," said Jack at last, when they had gazed their fill at the waterfall, "let's think about a good hiding-place. I must say I don't think those men would dream of coming here to look for us."

   They all looked about for a cave or mass of rocks in or behind which they could hide. Lucy-Ann looked a little doubtful.

   "I don't know if I can bear to hear this terrific noise going on in my ears all the time," she called to Jack. "It makes me feel a bit dizzy."

   "Dizzy Lizzie," remarked Kiki at once. She too had been excited by the waterfall and had shouted with the others.

   "Well, you'll have to put up with the noise," said Jack. "You'll soon get used to it."

   Lucy-Ann looked worried. She was quite sure she wouldn't get used to that thundering going on all the time. She would never, never be able to sleep through it.

   The children wandered about by the waterfall, not going too near it because of the thick spray around it. They couldn't seem to find any good place to hide in at all. All the rocks there seemed to be wet, and there seemed to be no comfortable spot in which to put their things.

   "Our rugs would be soaked in no time with the fine mist that hangs about the fall," said Dinah. "And we can't possibly lie on wet rugs. I don't believe this was such a good idea after all."

   Jack was climbing a little higher. He came to where a giant fern grew. It hung down like a great green curtain and was lovely to see. Jack wondered whether they could hide behind it.

   He pushed aside the hanging green fronds and gave a shout at once. The others didn't hear it because of the noise of the water.

   "Golly!" said Jack to himself. "There's a cave behind this hanging fern — and it will be quite dry because the fern screens it from the spray. It's like a great thick curtain! Hey, you others!"

   But again nobody heard him. Jack couldn't wait for them to pay attention to him. He went through the hanging fronds and found himself in a dim dry cave, with a fairly low roof, and moss growing on the floor. He felt it. It was dry. Probably when the fern died down in the autumn, the spray flew into the cave and the moss then grew damp and flourished well. But now it was like a soft, dry green bed.

   "This is just — exactly — the place for us," said Jack, delighted. "Absolutely marvellous! Nobody could possibly see us here because the fern hangs down over the entrance, and it was only quite by accident I found it. It would be a most exciting place for us."

   There was a ledge running around one side of it, like a bench. "We could put all our things there — tins and so on," said Jack to himself. "And when we've put our macks down on this moss we'll have a most lovely bed. I really must tell the others."

   It was quite time that he showed himself, for the others had now missed him and were yelling at the tops of their voices for him.

   "Jack! JA-CK! Where are you? JACK!"

   Jack heard their voices as he pushed aside the fern-fronds and looked out, just his head showing. Dinah and Kiki suddenly caught sight of his face peering out of the fern some way above them. Kiki gave a squawk of surprise and flew up at once. Dinah jumped.

   "Look!" she yelled to Philip and Lucy-Ann. "Look where Jack is — hiding behind that giant fern!"

   Jack put his hands to his mouth and yelled at the top of his voice, trying to drown the noise of the waterfall. "Come on up here! I've found something marvellous!"

   The others climbed up eagerly. Jack held aside the green fronds for them. "Won't you come into my parlour!" he said politely. "So pleased to see you all."

   They passed through the green curtain into the cave behind. They called out in delighted surprise.

   "What a lovely place! Nobody could ever find us here!"

   "There's a soft green carpet on the floor! It's moss!"

   "The roar of the fall isn't nearly so loud here! We can hear ourselves speak!"

   "Glad you like it," said Jack modestly. "I found it quite by accident. It's perfect, isn't it?"

   It was. Lucy-Ann was relieved that the thunder of the waterfall was lessened here, in the cave. Dinah was thrilled with the softness of the moss. Philip was pleased by the real safety of such a hiding-place. Nobody would ever find it except by chance.

   "Let's go and fetch our things from the rock where we left them," said Dinah, who always liked all her belongings set out neatly together. "There is plenty of room for them here. I shall put our tins of food on that rocky ledge."

   "We can only just stand upright," said Philip. He went to where the green fronds hung down over the entrance, making the cave rather dark. He parted the fronds and at once a ray of sunshine fell into the cave, lighting it up well.

   "We could tie back some of the fern so that we get the sun in the cave," said Philip. "We've got a jolly good view of the waterfall from here — and we can see everything around well, so that if anyone comes we shall spot them at once. It's fine."

   "I shan't mind living here a bit for a little while," said Lucy-Ann happily. "I feel safe here."

   "You may have to live here a long while," said Philip. "Well — I can think of worse places."

   "Those men would never find us here," said. Jack. "Never!"

   He tied back some of the fronds, and the children sat down on the floor for a little while, enjoying the sunshine that now poured in. The moss was like a cushion to sit on.

   After a bit they all climbed down to where they had left their rugs and tins and other things. They carried them up to their new home. Dinah arranged the loose things on the rocky ledge. They looked nice there.

   "We shall have a lovely soft bed tonight," she said. "We ought to sleep jolly well in here. It's not musty or stuffy."

   "Fusty-musty-dusty," said Kiki at once, remembering the three words she had learnt in the last holidays. "Fusty-musty-dusty, fusty . . ."

   "Oh, don't begin that again, Kiki," said Jack. "We got tired of that long ago."

   Kiki flew to his shoulder, and looked out of the queer little cave. There was really a wonderful view outside — first of all, the cascading waterfall, with rainbows caught in it here and there; then beyond it the steep mountainside and far beyond that, lower down, the green valley which stretched to the foot of steep mountains on the opposite side, towering up one behind the other.

   It was about time for a meal again. All the children seemed to get hungry at the same time, and they glanced at the tins on the shelf or ledge. Jack felt for his tin-opener.

   "You mind you don't lose that," said Philip. "That's our most precious possession at the moment, Jack — your tin-opener."

   "Don't worry. I shan't lose it," said Jack, and began to open a tin. Kiki watched with her head on one side. She liked these tins. They had most exciting things inside, she considered.

   Soon they were all sitting eating hungrily, looking out of the cave entrance to the sparkling waterfall not far off. It was nice to sit there munching away, with that lovely view outside, the soft moss beneath them, and the warm sun on their bare legs.

   "We do seem to have some adventures," said Jack. "It's most peculiar the way we can't seem to keep out of them. I do hope Bill and Aunt Allie aren't worrying too much about us. If only we could get word to them!"

   "We can't," said Philip. "We're stuck here all alone, with no means of getting into touch with anyone as far as I can see — except those two men. I'm blessed if I can see what to do. Thank goodness we've got plenty of food."

   "We'd better go back to that bush where we dumped the rest of the tins and fetch them along here as soon as we can," said Jack. "What we've brought won't last us more than today. Will you two girls be all right if Philip and I go along and get what we can? We shan't be able to bring them all at one go. We must make several journeys."

   "Yes, we shall be quite all right here," said Dinah, giving Kiki the last bit of salmon out of her tin. "You set off this afternoon. You can leave Kiki here to guard us."

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