Five Go Back to Kirrin Island

©2006 Enid Blyton Yahoo Group

Every 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 7: The undersea passage
by Amarnath Raj (February 25, 2006)

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Julian, Dick and Anne set off through the tunnel. The twin beams of Julian and Dick's torchs lit up the dark interior of the tunnel.

"Mind your heads!" called Julian, who was leading the way, as the roof of the tunnel sloped downwards. His warning came too late for Dick, who had been busy fiddling with his torch and failed to notice the low ceiling until he knocked his head against a rocky outcrop.

"Ow! Thanks for the warning, Ju," said Dick sarcastically, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

As the tunnel led further underground, the three children came across the part of the tunnel which had been blocked by a cave-in on Julian and Dick's previous trip.

"I hope there won't be a cave-in further on. I don't fancy having to clear it, even though we did bring spades and trowels," said Dick.

"What's that sound?" asked Anne suddenly. The three could clearly hear a booming sound overhead.

"That's just the sound of the sea, Anne. We've been walking for almost half an hour now, so we should have reached the part of the tunnel that goes under Kirrin Bay," replied Julian.

Anne shuddered as she thought of the raging sea currents scouring the rocky bed of Kirrin Bay over their heads.

"Ju, the tunnel won't collapse suddenly, will it?" she asked fearfully.

"Don't be ridiculous, Anne! This tunnel has been here for centuries. I'm sure it's not going to collapse just because we are in it!" replied Dick. Despite his reply, both of Anne's brothers also felt slightly apprehensive.

They continued along the tunnel for another fifteen minutes, until they reached a fork in the tunnel.

"Oh bother, I'd forgotten that there's a whole maze of tunnels under the bay. Which passage should we take—the one on the right or the left?" said Julian.

"The last time we came down here, Timmy led the way. I'm sure we took the right-hand passage," said Dick.

"Well, if we're not sure, we'd better mark our route somehow, just in case we get lost," said Julian. "Not that we will, of course," he added hastily, seeing the look on Anne's face.

"Did anyone bring some string?" asked Julian.

"No, but I think I have some chalk in one of my pockets. We could use that," said Dick, proceeding to turn out his pockets.

"My goodness, the things you keep in your pockets!" commented Anne, watching Dick pull out a colourful array of knick-knacks.

Ignoring her, Dick said, "Got it!" as he handed Julian a stick of pink chalk.

Julian chalked an arrow at the entrance to the right-hand passage, before leading his siblings down their chosen route. Soon they reached another junction, this time with three tunnels leading onward. They chose the middle tunnel, making sure to mark their route with chalk.

"I think we've been lucky enough to choose the right passages. Unless I'm mistaken, we should be quite close to Kirrin Island," said Julian.

"Hullo, what's this?" he added, as the beam of his torch picked out several crates stacked in a niche in the wall of the tunnel.

The three children stopped to read the boldly-painted words on several of the empty crates which were lit up by the torchs.

WARNING! EXPLOSIVES!

The children looked at each other.

"Ju, you don't suppose these crates contained the explosives that were used to blow up Uncle Quentin's tower on the island, do you?" asked Dick.

"Well, I'm certainly quite sure these empty crates weren't here before. Whoever was behind the explosion must have used this tunnel to store the explosives," replied Julian.

"But I thought Uncle Quentin decided to keep the existence of this tunnel a secret after our last adventure on the island. How could anybody else know about it?" said Anne, feeling rather puzzled.

"George knows about it," said Dick slowly. "You don't suppose she really was behind the explosion."

"Don't make such an absurd suggestion again. I'm sure that, as much as George hates the tower being put up on her island, she wouldn't blow it up and risk causing damage to her island, especially the old castle. Besides, George would never stoop to such acts," said Julian firmly.

"Then the only reasonable conclusion is that someone else does know about this undersea passage. The question is, how?" said Dick.

"Julian, do you remember that man who tried to buy Kirrin Island in our very first adventure, so that he could get hold of the treasure? He managed to buy the original map of the island from Uncle Quentin. Maybe he kept a copy, even though he returned the original to us?" said Anne.

"That is a possibility," admitted Julian. "But that would suggest that he is the culprit behind the explosion, not Pottersham."

"Oh dear, this mystery is leading us round in circles. I do wish we had never come across all these people who would wish us harm," said poor Anne.

Julian put his arm around his younger sister to comfort her. "Now, Anne, let's not forget our priority—to bring home George and Timmy safely. Solving the mystery comes in second."

"Come on," said Dick impatiently. "Let's go and find George then."

"We'd better be careful. Whoever is using these tunnels might also still be about," warned Julian.

The three children set off along the tunnel again, this time with more caution. Suddenly Dick grabbed Julian's hand and pointed in the direction of a cavern leading off from the main tunnel.

"Isn't that the cave which Uncle Quentin used as his workroom?" he asked. "Look, there's a light in that cave."

Cautiously, the three of them approached the cave. There was no one in sight. However, a lamp was placed on the table, which was piled with documents.

"Dick, you keep watch at the entrance to the workroom while Anne and I have a quick look at those documents. They might help spread some light on this mystery," said Julian.

Dick nodded, and took up his place as sentry at the rocky arch leading into the cave. Meanwhile, Julian and Anne went towards the table and started shifting through the documents.

"Look, Ju! I was right, there's a map of Kirrin Island over here. It's a copy of that old, old map which showed the secret passages under the island," said Anne, waving the map at him.

"Good for you, Anne," said Julian absently, as he perused some of the other documents. He gave a low whistle.

"Anne, these notes here are a report of the experiments Uncle Quentin carried out here on Kirrin Island to find a source of more cost-efficient energy."

"How can Uncle Quentin's notes be here? He didn't leave them here, did he?" said Anne.

"No, Anne, these must be copies, which can only mean one thing: There is a traitor among the people Uncle Quentin entrusted with his theory. And look at the emblem on the letterhead these notes have been copied onto," he added, pointing to the top of one of the pages.

"Why, that's the same emblem of a yellow shield with a red snake as the one on the business card in the wallet Timmy found," said Anne wonderingly.

They looked at each other.

"Remember what Uncle Quentin said, that there were a few private individuals and organizations who wanted his theory. They would have been able to make an enormous fortune by making use of the information themselves, instead of allowing the world to profit from it," said Julian.

"Good gracious, you don't suppose they are still after his theory, do you?" said Anne.

Julian nodded grimly. "It does look like they are. There's something else, too. Read this note here," said Julian.

Anne read it aloud.

I will contact you after completing the job, which is planned for midnight. Meeting is at 7.30, in the usual place. Signed, J.P.

Anne looked up. "J.P. are the initials of Jeffrey Pottersham!"

Julian nodded. "And the tower was blown up around midnight. That must be the 'job' he's referring to in the note."

"Then Pottersham is the one behind all of this," declared Anne with confidence.

"I must say that seems almost certain," agreed Julian. "But he might not be acting alone."

"Where do you think is the 'usual place' they have their meetings?" wondered Anne. "He just says the meeting is at 7.30, he doesn't even say whether it is in the morning or evening."

Julian also looked thoughtful. The clues were slowly making more sense now. However, his train of thought was interrupted by Dick's urgent hiss.

"Someone's coming! I can hear footsteps. We have to go, quickly!"

Julian took Anne's hand and said, "Let's go, Anne. We don't want to be found here."

Anne went pale, but mustered her courage to tell Julian, "Shouldn't we take some of these documents, as evidence?"

"That's a good idea. Maybe this will help Uncle Quentin to identify the traitor," said Julian, as he quickly grabbed the copied notes.

The three of them rushed back down the passage. The sound of footsteps was getting closer.

"Quickly, hide in this side passage. It doesn't look like it's used often," whispered Julian to his younger siblings.

They ducked into the passage. To their dismay, the passage was blocked by pile of rubble. There had apparently been a cave-in and the passage was now a dead end. Anne clutched her eldest brother in terror as the sound of the footsteps became increasingly louder. With a shock, the children realized the men were coming down the side passage they were in.

Julian thought quickly, and noticed a shadowy alcove halfway down the passage. He pulled Anne and Dick into the alcove, praying that the men would not be able to see them in the shadows.

Then suddenly, something warm and furry leapt up at them. Anne was about to scream, but Julian quickly covered her mouth with his hand. He realized that the animal who was now pawing at them excitedly was, in fact, Timmy.

"Timmy, what are you doing here?" he whispered softly to the dog. "Is George with you?" he added, peering out of the alcove, trying to see the person coming down the passage toward them.

"George, is that you?"

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