THE HAUNTED CAVES

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 156, 3 July 1937, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE HAUNTED CAVES

THREE excited *• hoolgirl*. pack* on ba.-k*. stick- in hand, frolicked •juilv ihnni'jh l'ixie Valley leading toward* MerlinV Hill. I •.j.j>i iilt day for half-term isn't it':" exciaimed Betty Herrington. ••.loliv lucky to -jet off without tho-e other fourth former*."" laughed Maida Morrison. "They'd have given ik- away." "O-oh: But this is an eerie place." moaned dainty little Bennie HeWton. "Not a soul about. Nothing but that mournful peewit's cry. Just terrifying. Let's go back. "Betinie'. "Whatever"* the matter?' "t"iive* me the creeps, and Bennie shuddered. "You're tired, that'* all. I'.ive me your pack. I told vmi not come in thin shoe* and silk 4t<vk;i»sr». tea*ed Maida. "But no re*t t..! t.ie adventure's over." "Of course not." .-himed :n Betty. "Whv. von were keener tnan anyone a week .ljo. ' "We mean to win tnat pr:/e offered tor the most t'': r 'i -'.I'. eiiture. So no no turmivz back. Beun e." tie- iared emphatically. otii-r _;rl* imagine they arc -n..inj t'• win it. ton." replied Bennie t"noughtfully. "Boys a* well. Mv brother Tack declare* the fellow-' a: Pen-hurst are ju*t mad to pull it off. They mean the money to go toward* the new sports pavilion." "Hope to meet them at it." laughed Rett v. "Well show thetn that girls have ac= much pluck and imagination a? boy*." ""More." announced Maida decid- I edly. "Do you suppose any of that Pensliurst have the brains to j plan out such a bold adventure as we're after?" "Not they." agreed Betty. "And a* it will take us a couple of hours longer to explore the haunted caves, we mn*t hurry up." "Very well."' sighed Bennie reluctantly. "Here goes." And phe kicked off her thin shoes, stuffed them into her pack, and pulled on a pair of thick socks Maida lent her. "Wish I'd put on thick things like you two." she moaned. But. in spite of this, the three of them started to clamber the steep slope of the haunted hill. "How thrilling if we meet that ghostly hound that prowls round th« crags'." laughed the cheerful Betty. "0-oh!" shivered Bennie. "Lool here, girls, do slow down. I'm ou' of breath." "You would be in those clothes; invested Betty good-humotiredlj "We're not going to a garden part\ Look at those crags ahead. Giant and devils once leapt over then We've got to do ditto. Bennie." "Can't. Betty. Impossible." "Must." retorted Betty hopeful!) And taking out her rope, she bega to fa«ten the three of them together "Tn case the ghostly hound fancit Bennie." she explained. "11l lead. Maida." she continue! "You come last and Bennie between." "I knew we'd have a topping fime. cried Maida. "I felt it in my blood Thrills! More thrills! Now, up wt go-"

After muck exertion* pulling and pushing Bentiie. the trio reached the of the known a» Merlins Foot. In front of them gaped the great bla-.-k hole leading to the haunted ci\ern-i beyond. •• There "once dwelt your distinr.iMied ancestors, the* cave men, dear,'' began Betty. But her remarks were cut short _bv ,t -h.ulowy form suddenly springing f:"o*n the cave. Ht'iinie shrieked, dipped and drag--2HILT at the ro|>e. all three went slippin- and sliding about twenty yards ili.wn the hill auain. "Sillv girl, Bennie. It's only a fI.X." And Betty and Maida laughed , unrestrainedlv. I '"It'-i that ghostly hound." declared , Bennie. between chattering teeth. | "Rubbish. Now then, up again." j Once more they reached the top.

"Oh! My ankle," moaned Bennie, linking on the ground. "What's the matter?" inquired Maida sympathetically. "Awfully sorry, girls. I can't go on. A twist, I think. My own fault. Serves me right. You two L'i> on. I'll stuv here." "Certainly not." decided Maida. "I'll stop and do the first aid stunt." "Bennie's lawn petticoat will make tine bandages." teased Betty. "Believe that's why she wore it." "Ah, I hear running water in the cave. Fetch some. Betty, pleaee," asked Maida. "Then off yon go and explore the caves yourself. I'll follow later. Now, Bennie, let's eee the wounded limb." "Right!" exclaimed the madcap Betty. "I'll track the prhostly cave men to their laic. Bennie can be ready with the camera to snap us when I drag the spectres from the cave."

"Please, don't let Betty go alone," pleaded Bennie. "Suppose anything liappened to her." "Suppose?" retorted Betty scornfully. "Isn't that exactly why we came, silly? Of course, something ia going -to h&gpen." "Don't jret nervous, Bennie. Betty's all right. Ghosts won't scare her." "Rather . not. It's a perfectly gorgeous arrangement going alone, though I'm. awfully sorry for the reason." "Well, take my torch," proffered Bennie. "You'll feel safer with two." "flood," replied Betty, as she stuffed the torch right down her stocking. "For no one find it there." she added laughingly. Then, flinging off her pack, and bidding her two companions a merry farewell, Betty plunged boldly into the dim cavern. Leading from this outer cave, there was a winding passage along which Betty groped her way. At the end *he spied a low archway and with difficulty twisted her body through it. Then she crawled through a narrow tunnel. Suddenly her torch revealed a , large lmll. It presented a scene of , dazzling beauty; a dark lake glit- . tered strangely in the eerie light, i Betty took from her pocket a stone : which she had brought for the purpose. She flung it into the lake. Not a sound. "Ah," said Betty to herself. "No bottom to it. Just what the legends say." Then, through the silent, stuffy air. came a burst of fiendish laughter which echoed and re-echoed through the mysterious cave. "How perfectly thrilling!" declared Betty, aloud. "I knew all along something would turn up. Now for it." , . And on went Betty to explore farther. The roof was a mass of glittering pendants. "Just like those quaint onea dangling from old Mrs. Brown's chandelier, in her best parlour, at the village tuck shop," laughed Betty to herself. "Stalactites, learned folk say," she continued. "What a gorgeous grotto they make. Wish we could carry them off for stage props at our next school show." Some shone white in the torchlight. Others of more sombre hue looked like haunted castles or vast organ pipes. Bettv decided that, from them, came a low moaning sound, as if an unseen hard were playing a dirge on the organ to the deep dark waters of the awe-inspiring lake. "Pooh! A little water won't .hurt me." she told "But what.an uncanny sound." Drip . . . drip . . . drip . . . everlastingly. "If only I could come across the ghosts that haunt the place." she mused, wriggling through another tunnel. Once more she pushed on farther, through winding passages out into a second large hall. To sret there. Betty found herself wading through icy-cold water, then dodcring underneath a glittering waterfall.

(To be continued.)