DEATH CLOSE BEHIND
"Cut for the passage!" cried Porky as he realized that his quarry had escaped and knew that her release meant fresh dangers for them. Instinctively he held on to the bundle in his hands, and with Beany at his heels raced through the door and up the narrow passage that led to the secret door in the panel.
They found it closed tight. Furiously the boys shook and tugged at the heavy handle which was wont to turn and release the sliding panel. It did not budge. They shook and banged.
"It's no good," said Porky finally, as they paused, gasping and out of breath. "We are trapped!"
"Some one will hear us if we bang long enough," said Beany, kicking at the secret door.
"Not so you would know it," said his brother bitterly. "You can't hear a sound. That paneling is six inches thick along here. Made so on purpose, I suppose. We had better go down and try to get out by the passage that leads into the garden."
They turned and hurried back, retracing their steps through the passage and the two underground rooms. As Beany passed the great sword, he dragged it from its upright position in the floor and took it with him.
"I guess this belongs to me as much as to any one," he said grimly. "I'll take it home to Pop."
As he, spoke, the candles on the table shook in a sudden draft and went out.
"That's about the last straw!" said Porky, falling over a chair.
"Gimme your hand!" said Beany. "I know where the passage is and it is short, because I counted the number of steps they took before I heard the outside door open and smelled the outside air. I know it opens into the castle garden because I heard them talking about going out that way. Oh, I have a long story to tell you, Porky, but it will have to wait until we are well out of this. I don't feel any too happy yet."
He clasped his brother's hand in his with a sudden close pressure. Porky returned it, and laid an affectionate arm around his brother's shoulder as together they went cautiously toward the passage leading to the garden.
They found it easily; Beany had used his eyes to good advantage. Feeling carefully as they went, they reached the end where a massive, rough door barred their way.
Porky drew a box of safety matches from his pocket, and by their feeble light they examined the heavy barrier. There was no sign of a latch or keyhole, but the door was securely fastened on the other side.
They were trapped!
"Well, what do you know about that!" muttered Beany, scowling. He felt slowly along the crack of the closely set door and pressed the barred surface, but it did not give under his touch.
Porky flipped a match out of his fingers as it burned him, and the boys stood motionless in the darkness, wondering what to do next. Beany leaned on the hilt of the long sword; Porky traced figure eights on the wall beside him with the tip or the scorched finger that had held the match.
Beany leaned over and tapped his shoulder.
"What's the noise back there?" he whispered.
"Didn't hear anything," answered Porky after a breathless pause of listening.
"I certainly heard something," declared Beany. "Let's pussyfoot back and see if we can find out what it was. I know I heard something. Perhaps our dear friend the old dame is somewhere around."
"There was nothing for her to hide in or behind," said Porky. "The bed was the only piece of furniture large enough and, besides, I feel sure she skipped out the other passage. What would she come back for? She must have known that we were here."
"There is mighty little she doesn't know if any one should ask you," answered Beany. "Oh, just wait until I have a chance to tell you the whole yarn! Only it is not finished yet. There were a couple of prisoners in the room I was in, a young fellow in uniform and a girl. They must have carried them into the garden when they turned my chair around so I could look toward the way you came in. I heard them scuffling about."
"Well, let's go take a look," said Porky.
They silently retraced their steps back to the great chamber where the bed stood. Carefully, with their backs to the wall, they lighted a couple of candles they had taken from the table. The room was empty, but with the keen trained sensitiveness of young animals, they sensed danger.
"I bet it is the bed," said Porky as though answering a question. "Let's look it over."
Beany, holding the candles, stood by as Porky carefully removed the tumbled and tattered fragments which had once been satin and down coverlets fit for queens to dream under. He cautiously lifted the top feather bed in his arms and laid it on the floor. Beany gave a gasp and, reaching forward, almost flung himself on a black object which rolled down into a depression in the under bed. He fumbled with it, then stood erect, his face glistening with a cold sweat. He pointed to the object in silence.
Porky stooped over it. It was a time bomb, large enough and vicious enough to wreck the entire wing.
"That's funny," said Porky. "You turned the trick that time but it does seem they are taking a lot of bother just to get rid of us."
"Why, you're crazy!" said Beany. "What's over this room? The General's office, of course! That was the trick. They had us in here, and after she got away, the old woman came back and set that thing where she thought we would never think to look for it. I think she heard us in the passage that goes to the garden, and thought we would stay there fussing with that outside door. If this thing went off, of course it would wreck this room, and even if we were not killed by falling stones, we would be trapped in there like a couple of rats. Well, it will never harm any one now, but we have got to get out of here somehow or other."
Both boys were unnerved and shaken They stood looking at each other. They knew that it must be very late, but overhead they could hear the muffled tramp of booted feet in the General's office. They stood gazing at the oak paneled ceiling. A big square directly over the high bed was sagging, and it was there that they could hear the sounds from above. Porky commenced to study the situation.
The bed was a four poster, hundreds of years old. When the castle had been shelled, it had been brought down from some upper room of state.
The high, massive posts, beautifully carved, supported a great roof of heavily carved black oak.
"Look here," said Porky. "Can't we shin up on top and beat on the floor with the hilt of that sword?"
"What good would that do?" demanded Beany. "They wouldn't know where to find us. I don't believe we could make enough racket anyhow so they would pay any attention to it."
Porky thought a moment, then to Beany's disgust he commenced to caper around in a manner that Beany thought little befitted their serious position. He knew that when the explosion failed to occur, some one would be sent back by the master spy, and Beany could not doubt that that would mean a quick death for them both.
"What ails you?" he demanded.
"Just this," said Porky. "We will rap out a call for help in the code—the Morse code. Half the fellows in that office understand it. If there is any one there at all, they will catch on."
"Honest, Porky—" said Beany, then he stopped. He certainly was proud of Porky but decided not to tell him so.
Porky chuckled. He knew what his brother was thinking. "Some little nut, eh?" he asked, patting his own head.
"Tell better after you have tried it," growled Beany, shinning up the post nearest him. Porky started after him.
"Wait!" said Beany. "We will have to have a chair. You can't reach high enough."
It was difficult to get one of the massive carved chairs aloft. They had to tear the bedding into ropes and pull it up in that way; but once on the top, Porky shinned hastily up and mounted it. He was rather quicker at telegraphy than Beany.
He wrapped his handkerchief around the blade of the long sword, so he could grasp it, and beat heavily on the paneled ceiling. Then he shook his head.
"Listen to that!" he complained. "That loose panel will have to come down. You couldn't hear that little clack a foot away. Steady me."
He handed the sword to Beany and, springing up, clutched the loose sagging edge of woodwork in his lean, muscular hands. It sprung up and down under his weight, but did not give.
"Grab my feet and pull!" he ordered over his shoulder.
Beany obeyed.
There was a sharp tussle but the old, centuries old wood was not proof against the fresh young strength measured against it. It suddenly gave way and a couple of yards fell with a clatter and cloud of dust, hurling the boys flat on the top of the bed canopy, which swayed in an alarming manner.
They shoved the paneling over the edge, and stood up. Once more their candles were out, but Porky lit a match and soon the little flame made a light about them. Beany kicked something with his toe.
"What's that?" he said.
"Don't know," said Porky, rubbing his hands together. "There's a couple more of them.
"Don't bother with that junk! Bundles of rags, I suppose. We have got to get out of here. You don't know what those spies will be up to next."
But Beany, always curious, ripped a hole in the side of the rough, pouch in his hand.
"It's full of gold money," he said.
"My word!" said Porky, looking down from the chair. "Scoop 'em all into your pockets, for the love of Mike!"
"Pockets!" said Beany scornfully. "There's a couple of quarts of stuff in these three bags!"
He slipped out of his blouse and, tying the sleeves together, made a sort of bag in which he carefully placed the sacks. Then he stepped carefully across their swaying platform and steadied the chair on which his brother stood with the sword hilt thrust between the huge rafters against the floor above.
The tramping in the room overhead sounded quite clear now that the paneling was gone. It annoyed Porky, who was trying the best he knew to make his pounding heard.
"Why don't the geezers sit down?" he complained. And as though in answer, there was a sudden silence above.
"It won't be so funny if they have all gone away," said Beany, listening intently.
"You bet it won't!" said Porky, beating still harder.
"They are all there," said Beany. "If they had gone out, we would have heard the steps all turning in the direction of the door, which is over there behind you."
"Well, here goes!" said Porky, pausing a moment to rest. "I am going to give the wireless call for help."
Then while both boys almost stopped breathing, Porky slowly and distinctly tapped out the thrilling summons that turns great ships out of their courses to race across leagues of angry sea to help the perishing.
"S.O.S! S.O.S!" Over and over, carefully, slowly Porky rapped, pausing now and then to listen.
"No go!" said Beany despondently.
"Wait," whispered Porky; "they are stirring up there."
Once more he rapped out his message, and gave a groan of relief as faintly but distinctly a spurred heel on the floor above beat the answer:
"We hear. Where are you? Who speaks?"
As rapidly as he dared Porky, who was an expert in the code, explained their position, gave the necessary directions for opening the secret door in the panel, received an "All right!" from above, and the boys, leaving the chair standing in its lofty position, slid down the bed post, Beany still clinging stubbornly to the sword.
As they stood for a moment beside the great bed, a gust of fresh air entered the room.
"The garden door!" Beany hissed in his brother's ear. "They are coming! Run for it!"
The boys turned and raced for the passage leading to the upper hall. As they ran Porky stumbled against a chair. It went over with a crash. They turned as they hurried through the door leading into the passage.
Behind them, just perceptible to their eyes now accustomed to the darkness, three forms came running in relentless pursuit. One form reached them just as they turned into the passage. Beany paused in his flight and blindly hurled the heavy sword full at his pursuer, then slammed the door and followed Porky, now several yards ahead of him. Death was close behind.