They kept hearing the voices of the men, now near at hand and now far-off.
Then the men began to shout for them.
"Dick!
Anne!
The others want you!
Where are you?
We've exciting news for you."
"Well, why don't they let Julian and George come up and tell us then?" whispered Dick.
"There's something wrong, I know there is.
I do wish we could get to Julian and George and find out what has happened."
The two men came into the courtyard.
They were angry.
"Where have those kids got to?" said Jake.
"Their boat is still in the cove, so they haven't got away. They must be hiding somewhere.
We can't wait all day for them."
"Well, let's take some food and drink down to the two we've locked up," said the other man.
"There's plenty in that little stone room.
I suppose it's a store the children brought over.
We'll leave half in the room so that the other two kids can have it. And we'll take their boat with us so that they can't escape."
"Right," said Jake.
"The thing to do is to get the gold away as quickly as possible, and make sure the children are prisoners here until we've made a safe getaway.
We won't bother any more about trying to buy the island.
After all, it was only the idea of getting the ingots that put us up to the idea of getting Kirrin Castle and the island."
"Well—come on," said his companion.
"We will take the food down now, and not bother about the other kids.
You stay here and see if you can spot them while I go down."
Dick and Anne hardly dared to breathe when they heard all this.
How they hoped that the men wouldn't think of looking down the well!
They heard one man walk to the little stone room.
It was plain that he was getting food and drink to take down to the two prisoners in the dungeons below.
The other man stayed in the courtyard, whistling softly.
After what seemed a very long time to the hidden children, the first man came back.
Then the two talked together, and at last went off to the cove.
Dick heard the motor-boat being started up.
"It's safe to get out now, Anne," he said.
"Isn't it cold down here?
I'll be glad to get out into the sunshine."
They climbed out and stood warming themselves in the hot summer sunshine.
They could see the motor-boat streaking towards the mainland.
"Well, they're gone for the moment," said Dick.
"And they've not taken our boat, as they said.
If only we could rescue Julian and George, we could get help, because George could row us back."
"Why can't we rescue them?" cried Anne, her eyes shining.
"We can go down the steps and unbolt the door, can't we?"
"No— we can't," said Dick.
"Look!"
Anne looked to where he pointed.
She saw that the two men had piled big, heavy slabs of broken stone over the dungeon entrance.
It had taken all their strength to put the big stones there.
Neither Dick nor Anne could hope to move them.