“Well, we’ve got you,” said the rope-man. “And now we’ll get on to the next bit of business!”

Chapter Nineteen

Jo joins in

The ‘scientitist’, as Skippy persisted in calling him, was put into an empty caravan with windows and doors shut, because he shouted so loudly. When the snake-man opened the door and slid in one of his pythons the scientist stopped shouting at once and lay extremely still.

The snake-man opened the door and his python glided out again. But the man in the caravan had learnt his lesson. Not another sound came from him!

Then everyone in the camp held a conference. There was no hurry about it at all, because it had been decided that nothing should be done before night-time.

“If we make a rescue in the daylight, then the police will come,” said Alfredo. “They will interfere. They will not believe a word we say. They never do.”

“How shall we rescue them?” said Skippy. “Do we go through these strange passages and up steep stone stairs? It does not sound nice to me.”

“It isn’t at all nice,” Jo assured her. “And anyway it wouldn’t be sensible. The door leading to the tower-room is locked, I told you. And that man has got the key.”

“Ah!” said Bufflo, springing up at once. “You didn’t tell us that before! He has the key? Then I will get it from him!”

“I didn’t think of that,” said Jo, watching Bufflo leap up the caravan steps.

He came out in a minute or two and joined them again. “He has no key on him,” he said. “He says he never had. He says we are all mad, and he will get the police.”

“He will find it hard to get the police just yet,” said Mrs. Alfredo, and gave a high little laugh. “He has thrown away the key — or given it to a friend, perhaps?”

“Well, it’s settled we can’t get in through the door that leads to the tower-room, then,” said the snake-man, who seemed to have a better grasp of things than the others. “Right. Is there any other way into the room?”

“Only by the window,” said Jo. “That slit-window there, see? Too high for any ladder, of course. Anyway, we’ve got to get into the courtyard first. We’ll have to climb over the high castle wall.”

“That is easy,” said the rubber-man. “I can climb any wall. But not, perhaps, one so high as the tower wall.”

“Can anyone get into or out of the slit of a window?” asked Bufflo screwing up his eyes to look at the tower.

“Oh, yes — it’s bigger than you think,” said Jo. “It’s very deep — the walls are so thick, you see — though I don’t think they are so thick up there as they are down below. But Bufflo, how can anyone get up to that window?”

“It can be done,” said Bufflo. “That is not so difficult! You can lend us a peg-rope, Jekky?” he said to the rope-man.