Chapter 18 INSIDE OLD TOWERS
'Well! Did you see that - she just let go and dropped!' said George, amazed. 'I wonder she didn't breakher legs. Julian, shine your torch down.'
Julian shone it down.
'It's a pretty good drop,' he said. 'I think we'll take the ropes off our toboggans and let ourselves downon those. I don't particularly want to break a leg or sprain¹ an ankle just at present.'
'If we pull our toboggans over the hole, and let their ropes hang down into it, they will hold us safely,'
said Dick, and pulled his toboggan right across the hole.
Then Julian pulled the other toboggan across as well, and soon the ropes were dangling² down, readyto take each of the four children.
'What about Timmy?' asked George, anxiously. 'Dave has jumped down - though I wonder he didn'tbreak a leg!'
'I'll wrap my coat over him and tie one of the ropes round him,' said Julian. 'Then we can let himdown easily. Come here, Tim.'
Tim was soon tied up in the coat with the rope. Then Dick slithered down on another rope, and stoodon the floor of the hole, ready to take Timmy when Julian let him down. It really wasn't very difficult.
Aily looked rather scornful as the four children used the ropes.
Julian laughed, and patted her shoulder.
'We're not all goat-like, you know,' he said. 'We don't gambol³ about the mountains all day long, likeyou, Aily. Well - that was your big big hole. What next?'
He shone his torch round. 'Yes - it's a pot-hole. There's a small underground cave here. Look - is thata tunnel leading out of it?'
'Yes,' said George, as Aily and the lamb skipped off together down into the darkness of the tunnel.
'Look at that - no torch, no lamp - and yet she goes off into the darkness without any fear!
I'd be scared stiff!'
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'She's got eyes like a cat,' said Anne. 'Well, do we follow her? We'd better or we shall lose her!'
'Come on, Timmy,' said George, and all Five went down the dark, winding⁴ little tunnel after Aily.
Anne glanced up at the rocky roof and thought with wonder of the thick masses of heather growingon its upper surface, all covered with thick snow.
Aily was nowhere to be seen! Julian grew worried.
'Aily! Come back!'
But there was no answer.
'Never mind,' said Dick. 'There's probably only one way to go, and she knows we must take it! If wecome to a fork, we'll shout again.'

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