Enid Blyton
The Official
The
Keith RobinsonFive Go Back to Kirrin Island
©2006 Enid Blyton Yahoo GroupEvery once in a while, regular members of the Enid Blyton Yahoo Group join forces and write a Round Robin. If you've never heard of a Round Robin, well, in this case it's a brand new story written by a group of fans, with each member writing a chapter and making it up as they go along. Nobody knows where the story will lead; there's no plot to follow, and the direction of the next chapter is decided by the end of the last one. It's a lot of fun, and the result is either a wonderful new story—or a complete mess!
What follows is the Famous Five in a brand new exciting adventure. There are over 20 members uniting to write this story, so this section will grow one chapter at a time over the next few months...
Chapter 21: A thrilling ending
by Nanine Kamp (October 30, 2006), Edited by Anita Bensoussane
Uncle Quentin and Julian left the room to telephone. After a while they returned.
"It's all being taken care of now," Uncle Quentin told the others. "The Inspector is on his way and he wants to hear the complete story in detail. He will be here in a few minutes. Some policemen will be sent to Kirrin Farm too to protect Joan and Penny, so we need not worry about them. Everything is under control and, before long, the gang will be rounded up."
Anne gave a sigh of relief.
"Everything is under control," she repeated. "How marvellous that sounds!"
"I must say it's a very strange story," Uncle Quentin remarked, looking sharply at the children. "I hope you haven't been letting your imaginations run away with you."
"Oh no!" said George at once. "Certainly not, Father."
"Well, let's sit down and wait for the Inspector," said Aunt Fanny. "Could you make some tea for him please, children? I'm just too tired to do it myself after that long trip back from Cambridge."
"Yes, I'll do it," answered Julian. "Do sit down, Aunt."
He headed for the kitchen and the others followed.
"Just look at all this mess!" exclaimed George.
The children stared in horror. There was the hole in the window and the kitchen door was wide open. Julian quickly went over to the door and closed it. At one side of the room a wooden shelf had been pulled off the wall and thrown to the ground. There it lay amid fragments of china from the crockery which had been displayed upon it. Worst of all was the wall itself. There, just where the shelf had hung, gaped a huge hole. It looked as if someone had slammed an enormous hammer against the wall. Pieces of plaster lay all over the place in the kitchen and everything was covered with a layer of fine, white dust.
"How can we make the tea in this mess?" asked Anne, sadly.
"There are six of us. If everyone helps we can clear away most of the mess while we're making the tea," said Julian. "Come on, you others."
"Wait a minute," said George. "I want to see where the treasure was hidden. It must have been in that hole."
She went over to the hole in the wall, followed by Jo.
"It's too high," said Jo. "Here, take this kitchen chair."
The girls each took a kitchen chair and stood on it. Then, together, they examined the hole.
"Yes, the treasure must have been here," agreed Jo. "There is enough space for a box."
"The builders must have built the treasure into this wall when they built the kitchen," said George. "Golly, to think that I never realised there was treasure right here in this house!"
Meanwhile, Anne had been busy filling buckets with water.
"Come on you two," said Julian to George and Jo. "Stop gazing at that hole and come down. It's time to start clearing up."
Soon the tea was ready. Julian had prepared sandwiches as well because everyone was starving. It was already too late for lunch, but with the sandwiches they would be able to hold out until dinner. However, as they sat down with their tea to wait for the Inspector, Timmy suddenly started to growl.
"What's the matter, Tim?" asked George anxiously, bending over the dog.
But Timmy couldn't answer. Instead he just kept on growling. He stood up and padded over to the window, growling deep down in his throat as he pressed his nose against the glass.
"Oh," said Anne with a shiver, "you don't think he's picked up the scent of a stranger hanging around, do you? I daren't look."
"I dare," said George.
The girl marched over to the window and looked outside but there was nothing to be seen.
"I can't see anything unusual," George told the others. "There are times that I wish Timmy could speak."
She patted her dog. "What are you growling for, old boy? What can it be?"
There was nothing else to do but wait and see. After a while, as suddenly as he had begun, Timmy stopped growling. Just a few seconds later the doorbell rang. Everyone sprang up.
"Who is it?" asked Sooty, frightened.
"Silly boy—it must be the Inspector," answered Uncle Quentin, annoyed at all the fuss. "I'll go and open the door."
And it was the Inspector! His deep voice filled the house and at once everyone felt a lot calmer.
"Well, let's hear your story then," said the Inspector, once the greetings were over and he was sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of tea in one hand. "Tell it from the beginning. From what I heard over the telephone it's a remarkable tale and you won't be surprised when I say that I really couldn't follow it all. But now I'm ready to hear everything."
The children began to relate their story, not missing out a single detail. They spoke of the strange lights at Arden Hall... the figure on the horse the following morning... the blowing up of the tower. Julian showed the Inspector the wallet which the children had found, and the strange little card that had been inside. Then the children talked about their expedition down the underground tunnel, and the papers they had found there.
"What papers?" asked Uncle Quentin on hearing that some of the documents were copies of his work. Julian produced the papers and Uncle Quentin was astonished.
"How did these get there?" he asked. "And what does that letterhead mean?"
"That emblem is the family crest of the Wallaces," Anne explained. "We will come to that later."
Sooty described how the children had cracked the code used by the band to identify themselves, and Julian showed the Inspector the list of names.
Then they spoke of the meeting between Pottersham and Bolo, and of the package that Pottersham had handed to Bolo.
Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny listened in horror. Had the children really been doing all this? But the worst was yet to come. The children related how George and Sooty had been taken prisoner, and how Anne had set off alone through the tunnels. At once Uncle Quentin decided that he would forbid the children to explore tunnels again. And as for going to Arden Hall! Why, he was responsible for these children! What could he possibly have said to Mr. Lenoir if anything had happened to Sooty?
Next the children described the rescue of George and Sooty, and how Dick and Sooty had managed to get Pottersham's package. Once again they produced papers, but these were the papers concerning the Wallace treasure and the Inspector showed less interest in them.
"What happened next?" he asked.
The children related the events of that morning, and how they had stumbled upon Pottersham. The Inspector sat up straight when he heard what Pottersham and Chapman had said in the underground tunnel. And when he learned that the last delivery was to be that very night, he suddenly sprang into action.
"We'll catch those men red-handed!" he said and he rose from his chair. "I need to make a few telephone calls. Could I use your telephone please, Sir?"
"Of course," answered Uncle Quentin.
The Inspector left the room but soon returned.
"I can't seem to get a connection," he said to Uncle Quentin. "Would you mind explaining to me how your telephone works?"
The two men went out together but soon came back again.
"The telephone line is dead!" Uncle Quentin told the waiting children. "What could have happened?"
"Well, I'll just have to return to the police station," said the Inspector. "Thank you for the tea, Mrs. Kirrin. Children, do you mind if I take the wallet and the papers with me?"
The Inspector bent over to gather up the papers, but then stopped. Timmy had started growling again! The Inspector stood still, surprised.
"That dog is a jolly good guard..." he began. But George wasn't listening.
"Timmy!" she exclaimed, running over to him. "Timmy, what is the matter?"
"Not that dog again!" muttered Uncle Quentin.
"Nevertheless, I'm going," the Inspector said firmly. He picked up the papers and left the room to put on his jacket. Uncle Quentin hurried after him to let him out. For a brief moment the Inspector halted in the doorway of the living-room and looked back.
"Good evening to you all. Till tomorrow."
He disappeared and the children heard the front door open. But then came the sound of voices they could not recognize. Strange, loud voices. The front door was slammed shut and the Inspector and Uncle Quentin came back.
"I can't get out," the Inspector said, sitting down once more. He was still wearing his jacket and he looked shocked. "The gang has surrounded the house to make certain they won't be caught during their final delivery!"
Everyone sat still and tense. Knowing that wicked men were outside the house preventing their escape was an awful thought. Anne was frightened and looked anxiously at the Inspector.
Jo fidgeted on her chair. "I don't like being held prisoner," she said.
After a while, Aunt Fanny spoke.
"What can we do, Inspector?" she asked.
"I'm afraid we can't do anything at the moment," replied the Inspector. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow morning, when the last delivery has taken place and the gang have finished. It's dreadful to think that they can carry on with their schemes now."
A face peeped suddenly through the window. It was a nasty face and Aunt Fanny gave a shriek. But the face quickly vanished.
Julian cleared his throat.
"We can escape," he began. "There is a secret tunnel here."
"We don't want to do anything like that, my boy," answered the Inspector. "If those man realised that we had gone, they might follow us and things could get very dangerous. No, we do what they want and stay here. Let's play a game to take our mind off things. Do you have a pack of cards?"
They all played Snap until dinner-time. Then Anne, Dick and Sooty went to the kitchen to prepare a meal, followed by Julian and Jo.
"I don't like that hole in the window," said Anne, shivering.
"Don't be afraid, Anne." Julian tried to comfort his sister. "No-one can get through the hole. It's too small, and look how sharp the glass is around the edge."
Jo was feeling restless.
"I've got to try to escape," she said to the others. "I can't bear being held prisoner in this house any longer. Please let me use your secret tunnel."
"You can't do that! You'd put us all in danger!" exclaimed Sooty.
"Listen, do you really think those men would miss me?" Jo answered. "They don't know me and I'm sure they've no idea exactly how many of us there are."
"Please be quiet," said Julian in a loud whisper. "Remember—there's a hole in the window and people outside can hear us. I must say I think Jo's plan is terrific. Of course there's no reason why she shouldn't escape. She could take a letter with her from the Inspector. It's our only chance to stop the gang!"
"All right, I suppose that makes sense," agreed Sooty. "Let's see what the Inspector has to say about it."
The three children left the kitchen in a hurry, Dick and Anne staying behind to prepare the meal. After all, everyone was feeling ravenous.
The Inspector approved of Jo's plan.
"That's a super idea," he said. "Now we have a chance of catching the gang after all! I'll just write a letter to my colleagues at the station."
He sat down at the table and began to write.
"It's getting dark," said Aunt Fanny. "Let's draw the curtains. I hate the thought of faces peering in. Besides, it means we'll be able to draw the curtains in Quentin's study without arousing curiosity."
So, all the curtains were drawn and, in the study, Julian opened the secret way—a tunnel that led to Kirrin Farm. The children had discovered the tunnel during one of their adventures. It was opened by a handle which made a stone sink into the floor, revealing the entrance to the secret way.
"Smashing!" remarked Jo when she saw how it worked.
The Inspector handed his letter to the gypsy-girl.
"Good luck," he said. "Take this straight to the police station."
Anne gave Jo some bread and a bottle of milk, which she had fetched in a hurry, and off Jo went! Soon she had completely disappeared into the cold, wet darkness of the tunnel.
The others closed the secret entrance and went back to the living-room, while Anne and Dick finished preparing the meal.
Although danger lurked outside Kirrin Cottage, dinner was fun. The Inspector proved to be a good storyteller and entertained the children with amusing tales of life in the police force. The meal over, Anne gave a sudden yawn.
"Sorry," she said.
"Oh no, it's quite understandable," Julian defended his sister. "It has been an exciting day today, what with wandering through underground tunnels! And we didn't get much sleep last night either. Only a couple of hours in the hay-loft."
"Would it be possible for the children to go up to bed?" Aunt Fanny asked the Inspector.
"Yes, that should be fine," he answered. "After all, it is bedtime so it's quite natural for them to go up now. Come on, children, upstairs with you all!"
"But I want to see the final delivery at Arden Hall!" protested George. "I want to show you what we saw the other night."
Uncle Quentin's face started turning red with annoyance but, before he could say a word, the Inspector spoke to George.
"I will wake you when it is time," he promised the girl. "Of course you're going to see it."
"Really?" asked Anne, happily. Watching the goings-on at Arden Hall with the Inspector would be most exciting!
"I promise," said the Inspector. "Now, off to bed with you all!"
"Will they be safe upstairs?" asked Aunt Fanny.
"Well, I'll go up as well," said the Inspector. "Perhaps you could go to your bedroom too and then we'll all be upstairs. Don't worry—I'll be keeping watch. Nothing's going to go wrong."
So, after they had cleared the dinner-table they all went upstairs to bed. The Inspector settled himself at the top of the stairs and lit a cigarette. In the dark, quiet house he smoked his cigarette, waiting patiently for events to unfold.
The Inspector kept his word and woke everyone around midnight. They all hurried to the girls' bedroom to look out of the window. The children shivered a little in the cold and felt sleepy, but that didn't last long. Through the window they could see the moors stretching out at the back of the house. Far away was the dark shadow of Arden Hall but the building appeared to be deserted.
"We're not too late, are we?" asked George, impatiently.
"No, I don't think so," said the Inspector.
The Inspector's sharp eyes spotted the light of a cigarette burning in the garden of Kirrin Cottage. The men had surrounded the house. What was going to happen?
The children and the Inspector stayed by the window. Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin had come to the bedroom as well but they were tired and had fallen asleep on the girls' beds.
After what seemed like ages, Julian suddenly saw something moving.
"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing. "Over there!"
The Inspector raised his field-glasses to his eyes. Julian and Dick had brought theirs too and they did the same.
"Do you see those figures, Inspector?" asked Dick. "They're stuffed dolls. We saw them at Arden Hall."
The Inspector nodded.
"The gang must use them to attract the attention of the glider," he answered. "Look, they're glowing. Are they fluorescent?"
Through his field-glasses the Inspector spotted the glider approaching.
"It's coming!" he told the children. "Look up at the sky. Soon it will drop the packages."
"I can see them!" yelled Dick, when the first package fell to the ground. "There goes the first one. And the second."
"Can I have a look through your glasses?" asked George. "I must have left mine at school."
Dick handed his glasses carefully to George, who looked through them eagerly. Meanwhile, more packages were being dropped on the moor.
"What a great haul this would have been," the Inspector said, frustrated. "It's maddening to be cooped up here. I hope Jo has managed to take the message to the station, and that my men are on their way. I can't see any sign of them yet.
Soon, all the packages had been delivered and the glider flew off.
"There goes the glider," said the Inspector. "Its job is done."
"The men are out on the moor now, collecting the packages," remarked Julian. "At least they must be there, though I can hardly see them."
"Yes, the place looks quiet now," remarked the Inspector. "I wonder where my men are. What's taking them so long?"
Just then, a few small lights shone out. Something was happening! The sound of gun-shots was carried on the wind to the cottage and the drone of a helicopter was heard in the sky. A bright light shone down from it on to the moor.
The Inspector let out a sigh of relief.
"They've done it!" he said. "Thank goodness. Look! The whole gang is being rounded up!"
He suddenly got busy.
"Golly—I forgot about the men out in the garden! We must be very careful. They may try to take us hostage. George, wake your parents, will you? Anne, can this room be locked?"
"Yes," answered Anne and showed him the key. "What's happening? Are we in danger?"
"Yes, I'm afraid we are," replied the Inspector, "but please try to stay calm."
He locked the room and advised everyone to get into one corner. The children, Timmy, Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny crawled into the corner and the Inspector took up a position in front of them. Keeping his gun at the ready, he kept a close eye on both the door and the windows. A silence came over the room. The children could hear noises in the garden. Were the men entering the cottage? They heard the sound of gun-shots, followed by screaming. What was happening down there? Was it the police? Or were the men actually in the cottage?
Suddenly, it was all over and there came a yell:
"Inspector, are you there? Inspector, it's me, agent Harris. We have the men. Hello Inspector, are you there?"
The Inspector flew to the window, opened it and leant out.
"Agent Harris? We're all safe up here. Is everything all right down there?"
"Yes," agent Harris shouted back. "Please come down. We've caught the lot of them!"
#
The next morning, the family were sitting around the dining table having their breakfast when they heard the clopping of hooves outside.
"That must be Penny!" exclaimed Anne.
It was Penny but she was not alone. Jo entered the room just behind her.
"Jo! You made it! The police caught the gang last night! Thank you so much for taking Inspector's letter!" exclaimed the children, all greeting her at once.
Jo smiled.
"Morning," she said. "Yes, I made it. But I'll tell you one thing, I'm never going to a police station again. They gave me such odd looks."
She pulled a face and everyone laughed.
"How's Joan getting on?" asked George.
"Joan is fine," Penny answered. "She will soon be home."
A few minutes later the doorbell rang and there stood the Inspector.
"Good morning," he said as he entered the dining-room. "I hope you managed to get some sleep after all the excitement last night."
The children greeted the inspector joyfully. Only Jo was a little upset.
"Did I miss all the excitement?" she asked. "That's a real pity!"
The children had finished eating, so they took the Inspector into the living-room where he told them everything.
"We did well last night," he said. "We caught the whole gang red-handed—they won't be able to talk their way out of this one. They were involved in something huge. Even bigger than we thought. We knew that there was something going on to do with medicines because the companies making them were prospering, but we hadn't suspected that medicines were being smuggled outside the country."
"How?" asked Anne.
"Well, in fact it was very easy," said the Inspector. "You saw the medicines being dropped last night on the moors by a glider, just as they have been before. On previous nights they were collected and taken through the underground tunnels, where they were stacked in the big cave you boys saw."
The Inspector nodded at Dick and Julian.
"After that they were transported by sea in small boats," he continued. "At low tide the boats could reach a part of Kirrin Island which cannot be seen from the mainland. There must be a cave which floods at high tide but becomes accessible at low tide. From that cave the gang shipped the medicines abroad."
"So, the men really were smugglers!" said Dick.
The Inspector nodded.
"Yes," he said. "Smuggling goods to rebels overseas. At the house of one of the gang members, Mr. Bolo, whom I believe you know, we found documents listing all the rebel-troops, with the names of their leaders and contact details. We also found details of codes and passwords. We handed the papers to our government straight away. I have a feeling that the Secret Service will be very pleased to have them."
Anne gasped.
"That must be the list we saw Jeffrey Pottersham hand to Alfred Bolo!" she exclaimed. "Pottersham told Bolo to read the instructions carefully and to keep the papers safe. Bolo was the go-between and the look-out of the gang."
"That's right," agreed the Inspector. "His job was to contact the rebels and to look after things here. A nasty piece of work."
Penny had been sitting in silence, listening to the talking going on around her, but now she spoke.
"What I'm wondering is," she said, "why did the gang use my family crest?"
"Oh, that was just a little joke of Pottersham's," the Inspector explained. "He knew your family crest, of course, and when the gang needed a logo he suggested that one, knowing that it would link his activities with the activities of the gang."
"Pottersham only wanted the Arden Hall treasure really, didn't he?" asked Sooty.
"Yes, Pottersham only intended to seek the Arden Hall treasure," answered the Inspector, "but he needed the gang to cover his activities and so he joined."
Julian sighed contentedly and stretched himself.
"What a simply marvellous adventure this has been!" he said.
"No, three adventures in one," said Dick, jokingly. "Smuggling; treasure-hunting; and Professor Hayling trying to discredit Uncle Quentin's work."
"Yes, you're right. What a complicated adventure!" said George. "I am glad we were able to solve all those mysteries. But what about the damage to our kitchen? Could we... "
"That's all been sorted out already," interrupted the Inspector. "We are to make a report of the damage and the insurance company will pay for everything."
"Oh, that is good news!" said George.
"Inspector, could you please write a report on my equipment too?" asked Penny. "That was damaged during the course of the adventure as well."
"What! Was it damaged by the men?" exclaimed the Inspector, surprised. "But why? Who did it?"
"No, it wasn't the men," said Penny, hastily. But then she hesitated. Everyone was looking at Sooty, who found himself blushing.
"I did it," he confessed in a small voice.
"Only to help us escape from the island," Julian explained. "Otherwise we would never have got away."
"Well," said the Inspector to Penny, "in that case we'll have a talk about it and I'll make a report of your equipment so that it too can be replaced."
Sooty was delighted to hear that. For one moment he had regretted damaging Penny's equipment, although it had been rather a lot of fun at the time.
The Inspector still had a lot to do at the station and said that he had better be getting back. He would talk to Penny later. He said goodbye and left.
"You were put on the spot there, weren't you, Sooty?" said Julian, grinning, but Sooty just laughed.
"I say, I have a super idea," he said. "Since Penny no longer has her equipment, she won't be able to continue with her work for a while. Penny, why don't you take us on a trip in your glass-bottomed boat today? Dick said you promised you would."
Penny smiled.
"You certainly know how to take advantage of a situation, young man!" she answered. "But, as it happens, the equipment you damaged was only for measuring phosphorescence. I have plenty of other experiments running which will keep me busy."
"Oh," said Sooty, disappointed.
Penny laughed.
"Don't worry, I'll keep my promise," she said. "I'll take you out in my boat this afternoon if you like. Does that sound all right?"
The children approved of this plan heartily. To go out to sea that afternoon and view an underwater world sounded like a fantastic thing to do!
"Oh I can't wait!" said Anne. "I hope this afternoon will hurry up and come!"
"You must be mad!" said Sooty. "I want the days to go more slowly. Don't forget, I have to go home tomorrow evening. My tutor wants me to start lessons on Monday and I'm not looking forward to that at all!"
The others laughed. Poor Sooty! But boys who spent term-time playing tricks must expect to be crammed in the hols!
That afternoon a small company gathered round Penny's boat on Kirrin beach. Penny had removed part of the wooden base of the boat and replaced it with glass. Anne looked through it.
"Ooh, I can see the sand," she said. "Oh, how lovely it looks!"
"Wait until you're out at sea," Penny answered. "Then everything looks even more amazing. There will be lots to see beneath the waves."
"Are we ready?" asked Julian.
He and Dick were to pull the boat into the sea.
George took the oars. She was to row. All the strange goings-on in recent days had left little time for rowing, so she was pleased to have the opportunity to put in a bit of practice.
"I'm ready!" she yelled.
"Woof!" said Timmy, agreeing.
And away they went! Julian and Dick pulled the boat into the water and climbed in. It was a warm afternoon with a hot sun and the sea was a shimmering blue dotted with sparkling white waves near the shore.
Anne looked around her joyfully and burst into song. The others joined in and sang along with her. The adventure was over and everything was fine! The sun was shining and life was simply lovely. How could they possibly stop themselves from singing out loud?
We'll stay on the beach and wave goodbye to the boat as it slowly disappears behind Kirrin Island. Goodbye Anne, Dick and Julian! Goodbye George and Penny, and Sooty and Jo! And of course, goodbye Timmy! It was smashing to be with you once again, sharing your adventures and going back to Kirrin Island! Thank goodness the island will not be spoiled and will lie there peacefully in the bay, waiting for more adventures to come. And I am sure that they will come, and that we will be there to share them! Goodbye to you all for now, Famous Five, and we hope to see you again soon!