Knock Three Times! Page 2
CHAPTER II
_The Adventure Begins_
When Molly went up to bed that night she took the pincushion with herand placed it on the dressing-table, and tried her best to think thatit looked nice. "It really will be useful," she told herself, and toprove this she picked up a long pin and stuck it into the pumpkinpincushion, though with a little more violence than was necessary. Thenshe ran across the room and tumbled into bed.
It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the moonbeams streaming intothe room made it almost as light as day. Molly lay there snug, drowsilyplanning out lovely rides that she and Jack would go as soon as theyhad both learnt how to manage their cycles; the thought of her bicyclesent a warm thrill through her heart and a smile of content hoveringabout her mouth.
She could hear Jack in the next room moving noisily about; he alwaysmade a dreadful noise in his room, thumping and banging things downand whistling shrilly, until he got into bed. And to-night the extraexcitement of having a birthday seemed to make the thumping extra heavyand the whistling extra shrill. Presently the thuds and bumps andwhistles ceased abruptly, and she knew that Jack was in bed; and to bein bed and to be asleep were practically the same thing with Jack. Nosooner did his head touch the pillow than he was as good as asleep, andno sooner did he open his eyes in the morning than he was out of bedand hunting for his stockings. Sleep did not come so readily to Molly.She would often lie awake for a long time after she had gone to bed,thinking and planning, her brain ticking busily.
Molly was just wondering whether it would be possible for her and Jackto cycle to Brighton and back in a day, and whether Mother would letthem go, when all at once she became aware that something was moving inher room; a soft, rolling sound came from the direction of the window.
Molly raised her head and gazed with startled eyes across the moonlitroom. She could see something large and round moving softly on thedressing-table. It looked just as if---- Surely her eyes were playingher some trick! She stared across at the dressing-table, frightened,yet fascinated. Then she sat up. No, her eyes had not deceived her.
There, in front of the looking-glass, rocking gently from side to side,was the pumpkin pincushion, grown to nearly three times its originalsize, and growing still larger every second.
Bigger and bigger it grew, until it had grown almost as big roundas the front wheel of Molly's bicycle; then it ceased rocking (andgrowing) and remained still for a few seconds; then, rolling quietlyalong the dressing-table and over the edge, it fell with a dull thud tothe floor. Across to the door it rolled, bumped softly against it, anddrew back a few paces. Molly watched as the door swung open, and theGrey Pumpkin passed out on to the landing.
Molly was filled with amazement. What had happened? What did itmean? She remained quite still, hesitating for a moment. Then shesprang out of bed. Her first fear had vanished, leaving in its placean overwhelming curiosity--and another feeling that she couldn'tdefine--she just felt that she _must_ follow the Pumpkin.
Her mind once made up, she felt perfectly calm and collected; evencollected enough to slip hastily into some clothes and put on herlittle blue-and-white frock and her outdoor shoes. Never before in allher short life had Molly dressed so quickly.
Meanwhile the Grey Pumpkin was making its way along the moonlit landingto the top of the stairs. She heard it begin to descend--thud, thud--asshe whisked into Jack's room.
"Jack! Jack!" she called in a loud whisper. "Don't be frightened; it'sonly me--Molly. Hush! Are you awake? Oh, Jack, hush!" as Jack uttered asound between a loud yawn and a groan. "Get up quickly. It's all right.Only do be quick, quick!"
Jack sat up with a jerk.
"What is it? What's the matter?" he exclaimed.
"Hush! Don't make a sound or you'll spoil everything, p'raps. Put onsome clothes, quickly, and come with me. Oh, don't ask questions, Jack,but do be quick, and don't make the slightest noise." And Molly ranback to the landing and listened. Thud, thud, thud, the Pumpkin wasrolling steadily and slowly from stair to stair, and, judging by thesound, was already a long way down. "Hurry, Jack," said Molly.
It was easy for Jack to be quick, though not so easy to refrain fromasking questions, but to tell him not to make the slightest noise wasexpecting a little too much of him. However, he only bumped twiceagainst the water-jug and knocked his hair-brush off the dressing-tableand fell over a chair before he was ready, and, all things considered,he behaved in a very creditable manner.
Afterward, when thinking things over, Molly was surprised at her owncalmness in remembering to tell him about clothes and being quiet;but remember she did, and found herself explaining to her brother asrapidly as possible just what had happened.
"I know it sounds impossible, Jack," she said, "but it's true, andyou'll see it yourself in a minute."
The two children sped quickly along the landing and down the firstflight of stairs, passing from dark shadows into moonlit patches asthey went by landing windows, then back into the shadows again and downanother flight, and out into the moonlight once more; so on and on,guided by the dull thud, thud of the Pumpkin on the soft stair-carpetbelow them.
As they reached the top of the last flight the sound ceased.
"It's reached the bottom," whispered Molly.
Jack shook his head incredulously; he had not seen the Pumpkin yetand could not believe it was the sole cause of the bumping noise hehad heard on the stairs. When the noise ceased they hesitated aboutcontinuing their descent. It was pitch-black at the bottom of the lastflight, and Molly thought it would be so horrible if one of them puttheir foot on that rolling grey thing in the dark.
As they waited they heard a slight bump--then a streak of lightappeared, and they saw the back door swing quietly open. ThePumpkin--and Jack could see plainly that it was a huge pumpkin--rolledponderously out, and the door began slowly to close again.
"Quick!" gasped Molly; and the two sped down the last flight, and thenext moment were standing breathless outside the back door.
Their garden was long, and backed on to a small wood (which had beenthe scene of many a picnic during the summer months). A low, brokenfence divided the wood from the garden; and it was for this fence thatthe Pumpkin was heading. It rolled steadily on in a quiet, deliberateway that made it the more uncanny.
Jack and Molly followed--two quaint little figures, moving warilyover the grass, with glistening eyes and rapidly beating hearts, halffearful, half curious, and very excited. Jack could scarcely believehis eyes even now, and stared fascinated at the moving grey thing infront of him, as it glided under the broken fence and into the woodbeyond. As it gained the woodland path the sound of little twigs anddried leaves crackling as it rolled over them came to the children'sears.
Jack and Molly clambered over the fence, and in doing so Jack lost oneof his slippers, but did not miss it in his excitement, and they bothran a few steps along the path to get in sight of the Pumpkin again.
JACK AND MOLLY CLAMBERED OVER THE FENCE]
It was not so easy to see in the wood, for the trees met overhead andscreened out the moonlight. Here and there a stray beam penetrated,scattering little pools of silver light on the ground; and each timethe Pumpkin passed into these pools of light the children hastenedtheir footsteps, but faltered again each time it glided into the gloom,where it was difficult to see and there was nothing save the cracklingof the twigs to guide them.
Suddenly Molly caught hold of her brother's arm, and they bothstood still. The Pumpkin had stopped in the dim light at the footof a gigantic old tree with a gnarled and twisted trunk. Watchingbreathlessly, they saw it knock three times deliberately and heavilyagainst the bark, and then roll back a few paces and wait.
There was a low, creaking sound, and the side of the tree swung outwardlike a door; and the Pumpkin passed in.
The door began slowly to close again. Jack and Molly looked at eachother. What should they do? They both felt it was now or never.
"Now!" said Jack.
"Quick!" assented Molly.
Like a flash they reached the door and slipped through--just intime. It closed behind them with a muffled thud, catching the sleeveof Jack's coat as it did so, and they found themselves in completedarkness.
Their curiosity and excitement turned to sudden fear when they heardthe door close behind them, and they stood quite still, with theirbacks pressed hard against the interior of the tree-trunk, not daringto move. A soft, familiar rolling sound could be heard a short way infront of them. It ceased, there was a short silence, then came threedistinct knocks, followed by a creaking noise, and another door openedon the other side of the tree. As the light crept into the interiorof the tree the children saw to their astonishment that it was notmoonlight, but daylight, the subdued light of evening.
A quick glance showed them the hollow interior of the huge tree andthe distance they were from the open door. As they caught sight ofthe ground they both gave a start, for it was composed solely of halfa dozen branches stretched across from side to side, and beneath thebranches was a big black hole that went down and down and looked asif it had no bottom. They realized that they were standing at theextreme edge of the hole, on a little step of thick, sticky clay.However were they to walk over on one of those thin branches to thedoor on the other side without missing their footing and falling downinto the hole? But even as they caught hold of hands, determined tomake a desperate effort to cross while there was light to see, the GreyPumpkin passed out into the daylight, and the door swung slowly toagain, and they were left in darkness once more.
They stood stock still, not daring to move.
"Oh, Jack, whatever shall we do?" said Molly, almost crying.
"Knock on the door behind us and go back home," suggested Jack. "Let'sget out of this old dark hole, and the Pumpkin can go where it jollywell likes.... Leave go my arm a moment, Molly, and I'll turn round andknock." He turned to suit the action to his words, tearing the cornerof his sleeve out of the crack as he did so.
"But, Jack," Molly said hurriedly. "Wait a minute.... Somehow ... I'vegot a feeling that we _ought_ to go on, if only we could.... Don'tknock yet, Jack.... I feel as if somebody wants us, through that dooron the other side ... if only we could get across. Oh, Jack, do becareful--you'll slip!"
"Look here," said Jack, "are you afraid to chance the crossing--do youreally think it's worth it?"
"The Pumpkin must have rolled across without the floor giving way--butthen, it--he--I mean, what shall we do, Jack?"
"Shall we try?" suggested Jack.
Molly hesitated. Then "Yes, let's," she said. "Only--shall we?" shefaltered.
"You stay here while I go across and knock three times on the otherdoor," said Jack, at once decided. "Then while it's light you runacross."
"Oh, Jack, do be careful," cried Molly.
For Jack had already started. He felt with his foot for the thickestbranch and stepped recklessly forward. To his delight he found that itwas quite easy to walk across, and all their fears had been groundless.
"Why, Moll," he called joyfully, "it's as easy as anything. Wait a sec.I'm almost there."
He reached the clay step on the other side and gave three good knocksto relieve his feelings. With a low creaking the door opened slowly,and as the light streamed in Molly ran quickly and easily across, andthe next moment they both stood outside the tree, and the door wasshut.