GO AHEAD SECRET SEVEN by Enid Blyton

CHAPTER 14 DOWN THE COLE-HOLE!

Ronnie's party was a good one, and the three boys and Janet enjoyed themselves thoroughly. They quite forgot the exciting affair they were mixed up in, as they played all kinds of games.

But one game reminded them of the Secret Seven doings! Ronnie's mother suddenly came in with a tray of all kinds of things. "Now look well, everybody!" she said. "There are twenty things here. I am going to find out which of you has the best powers of observation! Look well for one minute, and then I shall take the tray away, and you must each write down what you saw on the tray, as many as you can!"

You can guess who won that competition, Janet! She remembered all twenty, and Peter was very proud of her.

"I believe you belong to a secret society, Janet," said Ronnie's mother, giving her a box of chocolates as prize. "You must be one of its best members!"

That reminded the three boys of the exciting thing they were to do the next night. Down the coal-hole they would go, and what would they find there?

There was no time for a proper meeting before Friday night, so Janet, Pam and Barbara hurriedly told Peter what they had or had not found out about lost or stolen dogs. Peter was very interested indeed, especially when he heard that most of them were from their own county.

"That rather looks as if the thieves have their quarters in the county too," he said. "And if so, it may be down that coal-hole! I'd like to pay back that nasty young man for getting George into trouble. I'm sure he's mixed up in this!"

It was dark about seven o'clock. The three boys and Scamper met at the end of Peter's road, and set off together. Colin had his rope-ladder, and they all had their torches. They felt very excited.

It was a dark night, and a slight drizzle was falling. The boys turned up their coat-collars. They went cautiously, in case that young man should turn up again out of some corner. They didn't like him. In fact each boy was secretly afraid of him. There was something horrid about his cold eyes and thin, cruel mouth that not one of them liked.

They went down Hartley Street and across Plain Square. A bus rumbled by and a few cars.

They came near to the alley-way. "Do you suppose that fellow's coming with another dog tonight?" whispered Jack. "We'd better keep a sharp look-out in case he does. It wouldn't do for him to find us getting down the coal-hole!"

"Well, you had better keep watch while we two get down," said Peter. "Then as soon as we're down you can make a run for the hole and get down yourself. I only hope that fellow doesn't come ... we'd be nicely trapped if he did. He's only got to pop on the lid and we're prisoners. We couldn't possibly lift up that heavy lid from inside."

This was not at all a nice thought. They went along even more cautiously, keeping a look-out for the young man. But there was no one to be seen near the alley-way. The boys went quietly down it and came into the yard. It was pitch-dark there.

They stood and listened for a while, with Scamper silent beside them. If the man was there they might hear a slight movement, or even breathing. But they heard nothing at all. It seemed quite safe to switch on torches and go across to the coal-hole.

Peter flashed his torch round quickly. The yard was deserted, dirty as ever, and very quiet. There was not even the lighted window to see.

They moved the box that hid the coal-hole and heaved off the heavy lid, and then Peter flashed his torch down. Nothing there but blackness and dirt. Colin undid the little rope-ladder he carried and let it drop slowly down into the coal-hole, rung by rung. Scamper watched it going down with much interest.

They peered down. Yes, it reached the bottom nicely. Colin fastened the top end carefully to a nearby stone post.

"Now, Jack, you go to the entrance of the alley and keep guard till we're down," whispered Peter. "Come as soon as you hear a low whistle."

Jack sped off obediently. Colin said he would go down first. So down he climbed, rung by rung, till he came to the bottom. He flashed his torch round. He was in a big coal-cellar. His feet crunched a little as he stepped here and there, and he guessed that there was still coke or coal dust on the floor.

"I'm coming now," whispered Peter. "Look out, I'm bringing Scamper too!" Down he came, and soon stood beside Colin. He remembered Jack, and sent a low whistle to tell him he could come.

Soon they heard Jack's feet above, and then he came down too, grinning in delight. They were all very excited. Peter flashed his torch all round.

"Now, there must be a way out of this cellar. Look, is that a door over there?"

"Yes," said Jack. "That probably leads into the other cellars or basements. We'd better go cautiously ... and listen hard as we go."

"Nobody saw us go down, that's one good thing!" said Peter, thankfully.

But he was wrong. Somebody did see them go down. It is true that he could hardly make them out in the darkness, but he heard their low voices and knew what was happening! Who was it? George, of course!

George had done what he had made up his mind to do!He had found the yard with the coal-hole, and he was hiding to watch what happened. Somehow or other, Secret Seven member or not, George was going to be in on this!