“The Assembly Hall,” Neil said. “We’re in the pantomime.”
“Pantomime, eh!” Murdo said thoughtfully, with a glance at Wullie. “Now what pantomime would that be?”
“Ali Baba and … and the Forty Thieves,” Clara said. She saw the funny side of her words the minute she’d said them and stuck her nails sharply into the palms of her hands so that she wouldn’t giggle.
Wullie, however, let out a real roar of laughter and even Murdo smiled sardonically. Neil and Clara eyed one another warily and managed to look puzzled as they joined in.
“Ali Baba, eh!” Murdo said. “Well, well! And when is it on?”
“The dress rehearsal is in a few days time,” Neil said slowly, wondering at his interest, “and it opens on Monday of next week.”
“Monday, eh,” Murdo repeated thoughtfully.
“It’s really good,” Clara said, smiling shyly at Wullie. “Matt Lafferty’s in it. You know … the guy who won that TV show? He’s fabulous!”
“Matt Lafferty,” Wullie grinned amiably. “Aye, I read that he was in a panto this year. He’s a great guy, he is!”
Murdo, meanwhile, got his map out of his pocket and spread it on their makeshift table. “Where did you say you came from?” he asked. “The Assembly Hall, wasn’t it?”
Neil nodded, fascinated at the sight of the map. “There’s the Mound,” he said, following its curve down towards Princes Street, “and the Assembly Hall must be above those streets there, don’t you think?”
“Aye,” Murdo agreed. “Now we’re about here so we’ll have to take this road that curves slightly.”
“Could you take us?” asked Clara shyly. “We’ve been so frightened and I don’t want to get lost again!”
“No problem,” Murdo said with a friendliness that left Wullie gawping. “We’ll take you there and see you safely back with your friends. Don’t worry!”
Neil looked guilty. “The thing is,” he said, “we didn’t tell anyone that we were going to explore down here and … well, we don’t want to get into trouble.”
“Yes,” added Clara, “if we’re caught, they mightn’t let us be in the pantomime any more.”
“You’ll no’ be caught, lassie,” Wullie growled. “We’re no’ going to shop you!”
“That works both ways, though,” Murdo said, looking at Neil meaningfully. “We don’t shop you — you don’t shop us? Okay?”
Neil looked at him and read the menace in his eyes. “Okay,” he agreed, his voice suddenly sounding shaky.
Clara looked at him sharply. What on earth was the matter with Neil?
Neil looked at her and shook his head slightly. He had been just about to warn the robbers about the Plague People as Mary King had said but the look in Murdo’s eyes had stopped him short. He felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as it suddenly dawned on him that if he gave him the ghosts’ warning, then Murdo would realize that they knew of his plans to rob the bank.
Not a good idea, thought Neil, his mind racing. It had been a big mistake to tell them that nobody knew where they were. Still, he reasoned, they’d got as far as the bank without letting the Plague People out, so maybe it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t pass on the message.
Convinced by the look on Neil’s face that he wouldn’t say a word to anyone about them being in the Underground City, Murdo relaxed. “Great!” he said, sounding a lot friendlier. “Now, let’s get you back to the Assembly Hall!”
Clara sighed with relief as they reached the shabby door that led to the cellars of the Assembly Hall and grinned at Neil who still looked rather white. Thank goodness they’d got back safely, he thought, as he thanked Murdo and Wullie and, with a brief wave of his hand, followed Clara who, hoping they hadn’t been missed, was already clattering her way up the narrow flight of stairs to rejoin the rehearsal.
The crooks watched them go but as Wullie turned to go back the way they’d come, Murdo held him back. “Hang on, Wullie,” he muttered. “What say you that we go up and have a nose about?”
Wullie puffed slightly as they climbed the stairs but once backstage they moved purposefully and as no one thought to question whether they belonged to the King’s or were Assembly Hall staff, they were able to make quite a thorough reconnaissance of the place.
“Got some plasticine on you then, Wullie?” queried Murdo.
“Never travel without it,” Wullie grinned, fishing around in one of the many inner pockets that had been specially built into his capacious overcoat. He knew perfectly well what was required of him for he, too, had noticed that the caretaker had left the keys in the basement doors. It took seconds for Wullie to take them out and press them gently, but deeply, into the plasticene.