The Secret Mountain - - Страница 2

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“A pink elephant,” said Mike at once.

“A blue bed-jacket!” said Nora.

“A clockwork mouse!” said Peggy.

“A nice new rattle!” cried Jack.

“Don’t be silly,” grinned Paul, who was now quite used to the English children’s teasing ways. “You’re all wrong — he’s given me an aeroplane of my very own!”

The four children stared at Paul in the greatest surprise. The knew that Paul’s father was a rich king — but even so, an aeroplane seemed a very extravagant present to give to a small boy.

“An aeroplane!” said Mike. “Golly — if you aren’t lucky, Paul! But you are too young to fly it. It won’t be any use to you.”

“Yes, it will,” said Paul. “My father has sent me his finest pilot with it. I can fly all over your little country of England and get to know it very well.”

“Paper! Evening paper! Lost aeroplane found! White Swallow found!”

With a yell the four children rushed down the stairs to buy a paper. But what a dreadful disappointment for them! It was true that the White Swallow had been found — but Captain and Mrs. Arnold were not with it. They had completely disappeared!

The children read the news in silence. The aeroplane had been seen by one of the searching planes, which had landed nearby. Something had gone wrong with the White Swallow and Captain Arnold had plainly been putting it right — then something had happened to stop him.

“And now they’ve both disappeared, and, although all the natives round have been questioned about them, nobody knows anything — or they say they don’t, which comes to the same thing,” said Peggy, almost in tears.

“I wish to goodness we could go out to Africa and look for them,” said Mike, who hadn’t really much idea of how enormous a place Africa was.

Prince Paul slipped a hand through Mike’s arm. His eyes shone.

“We will go!” he said. “What about my new aeroplane! We can go in that — and Pilescu, my pilot, can take us! He is always ready for an adventure! Don’t let’s go back to school, Mike — let’s go off in my aeroplane!”

The others stared at the little Prince in astonishment. What an idea!

“We couldn’t possibly,” said Mike.

“Why not?” said Paul. “Are you afraid? Well, I will go by myself then.”

“Indeed, you won’t!” cried Jack. “Mike — it’s an idea! We’ve had marvellous adventures together — this will be another. Let’s go — oh, do let’s go!”

Not one of the five children thought of the great risk and danger of the adventure they were so light-heartedly planning.

“Shall we tell Dimmy?” said Nora.

“Of course not,” said Jack scornfully. “You know what grown-ups are — why, Dimmy would at once telephone Paul’s pilot and forbid him to take us anywhere.”

“Well, it seems horrid to leave her and not tell her anything,” said Nora, who was very fond of Miss Dimmy.

“We’ll leave a note for her that she can read when we are well away,” said Mike. “But we really mustn’t do anything to warn her or anyone else. My word — what a mercy that Paul had that aeroplane for his birthday!”

“When shall we go?” said Paul, his big dark eyes shining brightly. “Now — this very minute?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Paul,” said Jack. “We’ve got to get a few things together. We ought to have guns, I think, for one thing.”

“I don’t like guns,” said Nora. “They might go off by themselves.”

“Guns don’t,” said Jack. “You girls don’t need to have guns. But where can we get these things — I’m sure I don’t know.”

“Pilescu, my pilot, can get everything we want,” said Prince Paul. “Don’t worry.”

“But how will he know what to get?” asked Mike. “I hardly know myself what we ought to take.”

“I will tell him he must find out,” said Paul. “Show me where your telephone is Mike, and I will tell him everything.”

Soon Paul was holding a most extraordinary talk with his puzzled pilot. In the end Pilescu said he must come round to the flat and talk to his small master. He could not believe that he was really to do what Paul commanded.

“I say — suppose your pilot refuses to do what you tell him?” said Jack. “I’m sure he will just laugh and tell us to go back to school and learn our tables or something!”

“Pilescu is my man,” said the little Prince, putting his small chin into the air, and looking very royal all of a sudden. “He has sworn an oath to me to obey me all my life. He has to do what I say.”

“Suppose he tells your father?” said Mike.

“Then I will no longer have him as my man,” said Paul fiercely. “And that will break his heart, for he loves me and honours me. I am his prince, and one day I will be his king.”

“You talk like a history book,” said Peggy with a laugh. “All right, Paul — you try to get Pilescu to do what we have planned. He’ll soon be here.”

In twenty minutes Pilescu arrived. He was a strange-looking person, very tall, very strong, with fierce black eyes and a flaming red beard that seemed on fire when it caught the sun.

He bowed to all the children in turn, for his manners were marvellous. Then he spoke to Paul in a curiously gentle voice.

“Little Prince, I cannot believe that you wish me to do what you said on the telephone. It is not possible. I cannot do it.”

Prince Paul flew into a rage, and stamped on the floor, his face bright red, and his dark eyes flashing in anger.

“Pilescu! How dare you talk to me like this? My father, the king, told me that you must do my smallest wish. I will not have you for my man. I will send you back to Baronia to my father and ask him for a better man.”

“Little Prince, I held you in my arms when you were born, and I promised then that you should be my lord,” said Pilescu, in a troubled voice. “I shall never leave you, now that your father has sent me to be with you. But do not ask me to do what I think may bring danger to you.”

“Pilescu! Shall I, the king’s son, think of danger!” cried the little Prince. “These are my friends you see here. They are in trouble and I have promised to help them. Do you not remember how they saved me when I was kidnapped from my country of Baronia? Now it is my turn to help them. You will do what I say.”

The other four children watched in astonishment. They had not seen Paul acting the prince before. Before ten minutes had gone by the big Baronian had promised to do all that his haughty little master demanded. He bowed himself out and was gone from the flat before Dimmy came to find out who the visitor was.

“Good, Paul!” said Mike. “Now all we’ve got to do is to wait till Pilescu lets us know how he got on.”

Before the night was gone Pilescu telephoned to Prince Paul. The boy came running to the others, his face eager and shining.

“Pilescu has found out everything for us. He has bought all we need, but he says we must pack two bags with all we ourselves would like to have. So we must do that. We must leave the house at midnight, get into the car that will be waiting for us at the corner — and go to the airfield!”

“Golly! How exciting!” said Mike. The girls rubbed their hands, thrilled to think of the adventure starting so soon. Only Jack looked a little doubtful. He was the eldest, and he wondered for the first time if they were wise to go on this new and strange adventure.

But the others would not even let him speak of his doubts. No — they had made up their minds, and everything was ready except for the packing of their two bags. They were going; they were going!

The bags were packed. The five children were so excited that they really did not know what to pack, and when the bags were full, not one child could possibly have said what was in them! With trembling hands they did up the leather straps, and then Mike wrote out a note for Dimmy.

He stuck the note into the mirror on the girls’ dressing-table. It was quite a short note.

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