Lone pine five, p.15
Lone Pine Five, page 15
"Will you come with me now, Tom, back to Greystone Dingle, and see what it looks like after the flood?"
"But why? Why now, before breakfast? And why not the others?"
"Don't ask such stupid questions, Tom. I just want to go and I thought it would be fun if we went together... After all," she added, almost without realizing it, "you did give me the spoon."
He looked at her quietly for a moment and then smiled and nodded.
"All right. Thanks for asking me. I'll just leave a note for David telling them not to wait breakfast. How do we go?"
"On bikes. I'll borrow Dad's for you. Hurry up!"
Tom went back into the barn, scribbled on a page of David's notebook, tore it out and put it on the top of the stove, which was now cold.
Jenny was waiting by the white gate leading down through the whispering trees, but she did not say much as they slithered through the mud down to the road, except, "I've had a most peculiar dream, Tom."
"Is that why I've got to rush about like this on an empty stomach?" he protested.
"This dream was peculiar, Tom. It was about Roman soldiers and a house burning, and when I woke up I was clutching your spoon."
Tom was about to ask, "What's that got to do with it?" when he had enough sense to say nothing. Maybe all would be made clear to him before long!
It was a perfect morning, with a rain-washed sky, when they reached Barton village post office.
"Better come into the yard with me, Tom. I'm sure Dad won't mind if you borrow his bike."
Tom was not so sure, but Jenny was so insistent about going to the dingle that he shrugged his shoulders and helped her out with the bicycles. Mr Harman did not often ride his bicycle, and its appearance suggested that he was not very interested in it either. Tom looked at it with distaste.
"Don't be difficult, Tom," Jenny said brightly. "It's perfectly all right if you're sensible. There's a pump for the tyres in the corner of the shed... I think you have to be careful of the chain because that jams sometimes - at least it did once and Dad fell off."
Tom did his best, but as Mr Harman was taller than he was and as he could not find a spanner, the saddle was of little use to him. But at last they saw the mountain on their right, with the pinewood below, and Tom knew that his period of torture was over for the time being.
"I'm not cycling any longer, Jen," he said as he dropped the hated bicycle on the grass verge. "What do we do now?"
Jenny jumped off too, and laughed.
"You are funny when you're cross, Tom. It was better and quicker to bike than to walk, and I think this is fun. I like coming out like this without the others for once, and I want to see what the water has done to the valley."
It was difficult to resist her high spirits, so Tom laughed good-naturedly as she dropped her bicycle beside the other and turned towards the track through the wood, which was more like the bed of a river this morning. They noticed that water was still running across the road which was covered with mud, stones, pine needles and debris. Then they splashed up the sticky path until they reached the clearing and saw the Smithsons' caravan, but not their car.
"Looks deserted," Tom said, and walked up boldly and tapped on the window. The door with the broken lock was fastened now with a piece of rope on the outside) so as it was obvious that Tom's guess was correct they went on up the valley.
"What are you looking for, Jen?" he asked. "Do you want to go as far as the cave?"
"I don't know, Tom. Honestly I don't, although I would like to see whether the beginning of this stream is still in the same place. There's still a lot of water in it."
The stream was still four or five times bigger than when they had first seen it, and yesterday's flood had brought down a lot of mud and rubbish. But everything looked different in this morning's bright sunshine, and Jenny was singing cheerfully as she swung along the narrow track a yard or so in front of Tom. She was still leading when they came to the rock beyond which Mr Smithson had been scraping among the stones when they had first come up to the cave. As soon as she was past the rock she stopped short and Tom barged into her.
"Something has happened here, Tom," she said. "It's different. The ground has been washed away and the water is running over something bright."
She ran forward excitedly and went down on her knees in the mud.
"My dream, Tom! This isn't it really; but it's something to do with it, I know... It must be, Tom, because I wanted to come here so badly ever since I woke up... What is this, Tom? It looks like part of a floor all made up of little bits of coloured stone. I s'pose the river was stopped a bit by the rock here and the water has washed the soil away."
Tom flopped down beside her. He was puzzled, but excited, too, as he said: "Somehow or other I reckon your old Mr Wilkins ought to see this. Would you like to go back for him while I stay on guard here?"
But Jenny was looking at a heap of mud and rubbish piled up against a rock on the other side of the stream.
"There's something sticking out of that mud, Tom. What is it?"
Together they splashed through the stream and plunged eager hands into the mess of mud, and found what was to be known later as the Greystone Treasure - six pieces of wonderful silver plate which was once used at the table of a wealthy Roman sixteen centuries ago. To Tom and Jenny the three plates, two goblets and beautifully shaped bowl did not look like treasure, for they were black and so dirty that it was not possible to see the engraved designs on each. But Jenny was sure.
"This is it, Tom! This is the Roman treasure Mr Wilkins believed was here. I'm sure it is. And that bit of stone floor is part of a Roman's house... And we've found it, Tom. You bought me the spoon that began all this adventure, and now we've finished it together."
Tom fingered one of the beautifully shaped goblets, with its fluted stem and big round base, and then smiled at her.
"People must be crackers if they think all this old junk is worth a lot of money, but I'm glad it's you that found it, Jen... Let's take it back to show the old man, and meanwhile we'd better cover up the Roman floor with mud. If anyone else comes this way they might be curious... Or would you like to take the treasure back while I stay on guard here?"
"No, Tom. I won't move a step without you. This is yours as much as mine, and we'll take it back together and surprise them all... I believe I remember an old sack in the cave. Will you go up and get that and I'll stay here to gloat!"
About fifteen minutes later they were back where they had left the bicycles, and although most of the road was uphill back to Barton Beach, even Tom was too excited now to worry much about the discomfort of riding all the way on the pedals. They left the bicycles in the yard behind the post office again and, after what seemed an eternity, they came to the last white gate and looked across the farmyard of Seven Gates.
"Here you are, Jenny," Tom said as he offered her the sack. "Take your million pounds. You found it. Let's go in and surprise them."
The doors of H.Q.2 were wide open and there was the clatter of many voices as they walked across the farmyard. Then they saw that breakfast was not yet over and that Mr Wilkins, Mr Ringway, the two Mr Sterlings and Aunt Carol were there as guests.
For a moment Tom and Jenny stood in the doorway, and then Mary saw them and gave a whoop of welcome.
"Where have you been, you two? What have you been doing?"
Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at the two adventurers, and this was Jenny's really great moment. She smiled at them all, walked to the long trestle table, and stopped beside Mr Wilkins.
The old man turned in surprise.
"Good morning, my dear. And where have you been, so early in the morning alter yesterday's exhausting adventures?"
Jenny leaned over him and pushed his plate and cup to one side. Then she kissed the top of his head, emptied the sack on to the table-cloth and said, "I told you the Lone Piners would help you, Mr Wilkins. I think this is what you've been looking for."
Pandemonium followed this dramatic moment, and it was some time before Tom and Jenny were able to tell their story coherently. Mr Ringway was almost beside himself with excitement, and when he heard about the portion of Roman pavement he grabbed Mr Wilkins by the arm and made for the door.
"Greystone must not be left unguarded for one instant," he said. "Come, Wilkins! Come at once! This is history."
Then he ran back into the barn and shook hands with Jenny and Tom.
"What about us?" Dickie said. "We did a lot too, Mr Ringway."
"If you've got time," Mary added, "we'll show you an underground lake that we fell in. Maybe that place is full of old things too."
While they were speaking a familiar car crawled through the mud into the farmyard, and with a rapturous cry of "Daddy!" Mary dashed through the puddles with Macbeth at her heels.
When Mr Morton was able to disentangle himself and the greetings and introductions were over, he explained that it was too wet for further camping and that he had come to take them home.
"But we've found a million pounds," Mary said. "Or Jenny has, which is nearly the same thing, because - "
"I know, Mary! I quite understand," Mr Morton smiled. "It's the same thing because you have a secret understanding... Now before someone tells me the full story, I've brought a telegram addressed to David. We thought we had better open it, David, just in case we had to reply," and he put his hand in his pocket and handed his elder son an envelope.
Everyone stopped talking, as people always do when a telegram arrives, and David moved a few steps away. Peter was at his elbow and Tom and Jenny just behind him as he unfolded the thin paper and read the message. Then he looked up at his friends and laughed.
"It's from Rye. Listen, chaps! 'We may want Lone Piners soon have just seen Ballinger again up to no good we wouldn't be surprised Jon and Penny.' "
Malcolm Saville, Lone Pine Five
