“We should have brought chalk with us so that we could mark our path,” Clara groaned, wishing that she’d thought of it before. “You know, like Hansel and Gretel.” But although they looked at each house carefully, they didn’t recognize the house they’d been in and soon afterwards found themselves close to a totally unfamiliar street that sloped steeply downwards.
“Look,” said Neil, striding forward, “this must be where the bank robbers hang out. They’ve been here and not long ago either,” he said, picking up a chipped saucer that stood on a pile of old crates. It was full of cigarette-ends. His nose wrinkled in disgust as the smell drifted round him. “One of the crooks must smoke!” he muttered, replacing the ashtray hurriedly. The heavy smoker was, of course, Wullie who couldn’t last for more than fifteen minutes without a fag. He reeked of cigarette smoke and then wondered why the non-smokers in the pub, edged to the other end of the bar!
Clara looked round nervously. “And this must be where they’re working,” she said, shining her torch on a scatter of tools, propped against the wall. “Look, they’ve got a lantern as well.”
“Now that we’re here, we should go down and see how far they’ve got,” Neil said slowly, letting the light of the torch shine down the dark, threatening curve of the alley. “I wonder if they’ve reached the bank yet.”
“It looks dead creepy, doesn’t it,” Clara said doubtfully, not at all anxious to venture further.
Neil shivered. “Come on,” he said grimly, “we’d better get it over with! I’ll borrow their lantern so that we have a bit more light. Careful how you go though; there are still bits of brick and stuff lying around.”
Murdo and Wullie had obviously been busy, for the alleyway was more or less clear of rubble. When they were about half way down, Clara tripped and fell over a jagged brick. She cried out as she hit the ground. “I’ve torn my jeans and I think I’ve cut my knee,” she muttered, getting to her feet and wiping her hands on the side of her jacket, “and grazed my hands!”
“For Pete’s sake, Clara! You’ll be fine!” Neil muttered as Clara dabbed at her cut knee and hobbled after him.
“Look, Neil,” she said in relief, “this must be what they were looking for.” Neil lifted the lantern as they walked up to a very new-looking red-brick wall. A pick and a shovel lay propped against it.
“The bank!” Neil said in triumph. “This wall must have been built by the bank! Bet you the vaults are behind it!”
Clara looked at the pick and the shovel and nodded. “I reckon they’re ready to break in,” she said.
“Yeah,” agreed her brother, holding up the lantern, “and,” he said, his eyes searching the alley, “it doesn’t look as though they’ve damaged any of the houses, either. The Plague People must still be holed up in their cellars.”
“Great!” Clara said sarcastically. “Thanks for that!” She looked round nervously, horrified at the thought that, had the crooks been careless, they might actually have come face to face with the Plague People.
“It’ll cheer up Mary King, no end,” Neil continued. “She was really worried that they’d let them escape.”
Clara shivered at the thought. “Come on, Neil,” she urged, “let’s go back now. We’ve seen enough, haven’t we?”
Clara was panting as she climbed up the steep hill to the top of the alley. Going up, she decided, was almost as bad as going down! “Get a move on, Neil,” she gasped. “We’ve got to find our way out of here!”
“Have you then?” said a rough voice as the beam of a powerful torch shone on them.
“They’re just a couple of kids, Murdo,” Wullie said in relief, peering out from behind him. “Just a couple of kids!”
“What are you doing down here?” Murdo said grimly, taking in Clara’s torn jeans and grimy face.
Real tears of relief came to Clara’s eyes as she saw the two men. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said, the tears spilling down her cheeks. “I … I thought we were going to be shut in here forever!”
“We were exploring the cellars in the Assembly Hall,” Neil explained, “and we got lost in all those old passageways.”
“We’re so glad to see you,” Clara smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes, totally unaware that she was leaving black streaks across her face. “Can you show us the way out? Please!”
“Where did you say you came from?” asked Murdo.