"Did ye not see the rocking stone?" Uncle Micah boomed suddenly.

David shook his head.

"It guards the entry to the old mine," the old man went on, "but ye can squeeze past it if you know the way. The little ones could do that."

"There's no entrance there now." David was positive, but he turned to Jenny. "Did you see any way they could have got in?"

But now that Jenny was actually in the presence of the wizard and standing in Seven Gates itself, most of her fears seemed to have fled. He was not as bad as she had thought, and even now, when he wheeled on her with blazing eyes, she spoke out bravely.

"No, there wasn't a place. It was all stones except a little hole where the dog must have come through."

Then Uncle Micah seemed to come to life and everything began to happen quickly. Instead of standing about gloomily by himself and glowering at everybody, he took control and forgot to speak like the Old Testament. He called David a good, sensible lad, roared for Humphrey and then sent him hurrying for rope, crowbars, picks and shovels; he asked Mrs. Sterling to pack up some food in a knapsack, and then turned to Jenny almost gently:

"And you, lass? You're from the village? What do they call you?"

"Jenny Harman... sir," she nodded. The old man smiled - and somehow he didn't look so old when he smiled.

"Very well, Jenny Harman, there is special work for you. Run to Barton and tell Joe Hargreave, the constable, what's amiss. Say that I sent you. Say that in an hour we start from here for the old mine because it would seem that the rocking stone has fallen and that the two children may be in the mine. We bring rope and crowbars, but he must fetch what else we may need, and had better send for one of the quarrymen with explosive to join us later... Do you know what to say?"

Jenny repeated his message, tossed back her red hair, grinned at David and was away like the wind. And for the first time she ran through the pinewood without noticing it.

By this time Mrs. Sterling had disappeared and Humphrey was muttering to himself in one of the barns.

"God bless us all," he was heard to mutter. "Never have I seen the like this twenty year. Like the old master he is of a sudden. Like he was before young Mr. Charles go away... I seen some rope here come Saturday. Where's that there rope? That's that young Henry again... 'Rope,' Master said. 'And crowbars,' he said... Oh, dear! Oh dear! What a commotion and all..."