Chapter Four WHERE IS UNCLE QUENTIN?
　　The four of them, with Timmy nosing round their legs, stood staring down at the big stone thathid the entrance to the dungeons². Julian was perfectly³ right. The stone could not have been liftedfor months, because weeds had grown closely round the edges, sending their small roots intoevery crack.
　　'No one is down there,' said Julian. 'We need not even bother to pull up the stone and go down tosee. If it had been lifted lately, those weeds would have been torn up as it was raised.'
　　'And anyway, we know that no one can get out of the dungeon¹ once the entrance stone is closingit,' said Dick. 'It's too heavy. Uncle Quentin wouldn't be silly enough to shut himself in! He'dleave it open.'
　　'Of course he would,' said Anne. 'Well - he's not there, then. He must be somewhere else.'
　　'But where?' said George. 'This is only a small island, and we know every corner of it. Oh -would he be in that cave we hid in once? The only cave on the island.'
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　　'Oh yes he might be,' said Julian. 'But I doubt it. I can't see Uncle Quentin dropping downthrough the hole in the cave's roof - and that's the only way of getting into it unless you're goingto clamber and slide about the rocks on the shore for ages. I can't see him doing that, either.'
　　They made their way beyond the castle to the other side of the island. Here there was a cave theyhad once lived in. It could be entered with difficulty on the seaward side, as Julian had said, byclambering over slippery rocks, or it could be entered by dropping down a rope through a hole inthe roof to the floor some way below.
　　They found the hole, half hidden in old heather. Julian felt about. The rope was still there.
　　'I'll slide down and have a look,' he said.
　　He went down the rope. It was knotted at intervals⁴, so that his feet found holding-places and hedid not slide down too quickly and scorch⁵ his hands.
　　He was soon in the cave. A dim light came in from the seaward side. Julian took a quick lookround. There was absolutely nothing there at all, except for an old box that they must have leftbehind when they were last here themselves.
　　He climbed up the rope again, his head appearing suddenly out of the hole. Dick gave him ahelping hand.

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