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"The Negro told me. His name's Sam," said Philip, nodding towards
the sleeping Negro. "Let's wait till those fellows come back with their
stores, or whatever they've gone to fetch. I don't think they'll even
look at this door. They don't know I'm here!"
"Well for goodness' sake tell us all about everything then," said
Jack, filled with intense curiosity. "Paratroopers! It sounds
impossible."
"Well, you know when I was caught, don't you?" began Philip. "They
took me to that steep wall, behind a thick screen of creeper, and in
at an opening there. I was pushed up some kind of ladder in the dark
a rope-ladder, I should think, and we went up for ages and ages."
The others nodded. They knew all about that.
"We went through long passages, and came to a jolly frightening place
with wheels and things. . . . Did you see it too?"
"Yes. Most extraordinary. But there was no one there," said Jack.
"I didn't have time to see much," said Philip. "Then we went round
a gallery the one that looks down on that place of wheels and wires
and sparks and flames and came into a most magnificent place like
a room out of a palace!"
"Yes we saw it too. A room for a king, with throne and all," said
Jack. "But nobody there!"
"Well, then I was pushed up passages and steps to this cave," said
Philip. "And I was bolted in, and here I've stayed ever since! The Negro
was pushed in too but poor little Snowy was bolted out! He's come
and bleated outside my door dozens of times. I hated that. He sounded
so lost and miserable."
Snowy was very happy now, however! He was curled up on Philip's knee,
occasionally butting him gently to get a little more attention.
"I've had food pushed in through the door all tinned stuff," said
Philip. "But nobody's said a word to me, not even that nasty
foreign-looking fellow who caught me. You should see his eyes! You often
read in books about people with piercing eyes. Well, he's really got
them they go right through you! I was glad he didn't question me much,
because I felt as if he'd know everything by reading my very thoughts."
The others had been listening intently. Jack nodded towards the
sleeping Negro. "What did he tell you?"
"Oh, a lot of peculiar things," said Philip. "He said he saw an
advertisement in the paper asking for men who had been paratroopers
you know, men who are trained to jump out of planes high in the air,
and parachute to earth."
"Yes. Go on," said Jack, impatiently.
"Well, the hawk-eyed man the one who captured me he goes by the
name of Meier by the way interviewed him at some office in Mexico,
and offered him a terrific sum of money if he'd come and try some new
kind of parachute-jumping."
"What kind?" asked Dinah.
"I don't exactly know. Sam sounded a bit muddled when he told me
or else I didn't understand him," said Philip. "It's something to do
with flying through the air on wings wings fixed to his arms. Apparently
you can't possibly fall to earth when you've got these wings on, and
you can guide yourself where and how you like just as birds do."
"That's impossible," said Jack at once. "Quite mad."
"Yes. That's why I think Sam got hold of the wrong idea," said Philip.
"Well this fellow Meier engaged a whole lot of ex-paratroopers, paid
them fabulous sums, and brought them here, in helicopters, to the top
of this mountain. And their job is to try out these wings or so Sam
says."
"Has he tried them?" asked Jack.
"No. But three of his mates have. They had these queer wings fitted
to their arms and were given orders to jump from the helicopter at a
given moment or else be pushed out," said Philip.
"What happened?" asked Jack.
"Sam doesn't know," answered Philip. "You see, none of his mates came
back. He's pretty certain they fell to their death. He didn't want to
do the same so he got away."
Chapter 18
A LITTLE EXPLORING
THERE was a long pause after this strange story. It was very hard
to believe and yet they had seen and heard such strange things the
last few days that they felt anything might be true of this lonely
mountain.
"But what's the idea?" asked Jack, after a while. "And why all the
wheels and wires and things? I just don't get the hang of it all."
"Nor do I. But Sam reckons that if the experiment came off, and men
could really fly with these wings, somebody would make a most colossal
fortune!" said Philip. "Everyone would want them. Everyone would fly."
"It sounds lovely," said Lucy-Ann. "I should love to fly like the
birds do much, much better than going in an aeroplane!"
They all felt the same but nobody could really believe in these
"wings" that Sam had talked of.
"How did he escape?" asked Jack, nodding at the black man.
"He did an absolutely mad thing as dangerous as jumping off a
helicopter to try the 'wings,' " said Philip. "He got a parachute out
of the stores, came in here, fitted it on and jumped!"
Everyone shuddered. "What! Jumped out of this cave, right from the
top of the mountain?" said Jack. "Gosh, he's a brave man!"
"He is. His parachute opened, and he floated down to earth, landing
with an awful bump. But he'd learnt how to fall, and he soon recovered.
The next thing was to find safety somewhere."
"He couldn't have found a lonelier, more deserted bit of country than
in these mountains," said Jack. "I suppose he didn't even know where
he was."
"He hadn't the faintest idea," said Philip. "I told him we were in
Wales but he didn't know there was such a place."
"And then the dogs got after him, I suppose?" said Jack. "Poor Sam!"
"Yes. He knew about them, because they live up on the mountain-top
with the men. He says they're used to scare any possible wanderer who
comes near this mountain and, of course, to hunt anyone who does escape
or find anyone who crashes if the wings don't work."
"That's more likely," said Jack. "Gosh, what a horrible, callous lot
of men there must be behind all this! I never heard of anything like
it in my life."
"Sam says there's a king," said Philip. "The king of the mountain!
Isn't it incredible? That throne must be for him. Sam's never seen him.
He must be the spider at work, catching all these fellows and making
them try out his mad experiments."
"We thought there was some colossal brain behind all this," said Jack.
"I suppose that hawk-eyed man Meier isn't the king, is he?"
"Oh no! I don't know what you'd call him sort of organiser, I suppose.
He sees to everything the stores all the arrangements shuts up
the men when the helicopter arrives and so on. There are two men,
apparently, who work together on these things. The king is somebody
who only appears on state occasions such as when another pair of wings
is produced, and the men have to go down to that great state-room, listen
to some harangue they don't understand, and watch one of their number
being picked to try out the wings."
"Picking out a victim for sacrifice, it sounds like!" said Jack grimly.
"I don't like this at all. It's so mad."
"Sam was ill the last time the king picked out his victims," said
Philip. "So he hasn't seen the king of the mountain, as I said. He must
be a queer sort of chap really callous and cruel, to make these fellows
try out wings that can't possibly be any good."
"I agree with you!" said Jack. "And I think the sooner we get out
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