The Mystery of Smugglers Cove (The Mystery Series, Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

heard what Rocky said.” Jake sighed. “We had better get started.”
    “Okay,” Louis said. He got up and walked towards the children’s hiding place.
    Louis started moving the boxes at the far end of the pile. Jake went to help him.
    The time had come. Joe threw his rock right through the hole. It was a perfect shot.
    “Hey! What was that?” Jake shouted. He snatched the lamp and ran over to the hole, with Louis not far behind.
    Will grinned. The plan was working. The table was now between them and the men.
    “Now!” Joe whispered. He stood up and, followed by the others, started tiptoeing across the room. They managed to get two-thirds of the way before their luck ran out.
    Jake turned and saw them. He snarled. “Hey! What are you doing here?” He strode menacingly towards them.
    “Run!” Joe yelled out and sprinted to the door. Amy and Sarah followed close behind.
    Will paused at the door. With all his might, he threw his rock at the lamp. The room was plunged into darkness.
    Will slipped through the door the others had left open and then closed it behind him. As luck would have it, the key had been left in the lock. He grabbed and turned it, locking the men in the room. He hurried around the corner of the tunnel, where the others were waiting for him.
    “Everything go okay?” Joe asked.
    “Yes, but we’d better get moving. They might have an extra key,” Will said.
    “I’m scared!” Sarah cried.
    Joe gave her a big hug. “Don’t worry. We’re ahead of those crooks for the moment, and that’s how it will stay.”
    “But what if there’s someone in front of us?” Sarah said.
    “Don’t worry about that now,” Will said. “Let’s concentrate on where we are, so no more talking unless it’s absolutely necessary. We don’t want to give the crooks notice that we’re coming.”
    The children hurried up the tunnel. It narrowed dramatically, forcing them to travel single file. This slowed them down.
    Joe turned the corner and stopped. He was in yet another cave. While not as large as the first one, this one also contained a number of boxes. There were two passageways leading out.
    “Which one do we choose?” Amy asked.
    “I don’t know,” Joe said. “One heads straight up in the direction that we’ve been going. The other one heads to the left. What do you think, Will?”
    “Your guess is as good as mine,” Will answered. “That man who came into the cave talked about going to the house, so one of them must lead there. That’s the way we don’t want to go. We should try to head for the other one.”
    “But we don’t know where the other one leads to,” Sarah said, desperation in her voice.
    “You’re right,” Joe replied, “but there’s a chance that no one will be at the end of the other tunnel. If we go to the house, there will surely be someone there.”
    “Hurry up!” Amy said, trembling. “I can hear the men coming!”
    Joe realised that if they didn’t make a decision within the next few moments, they would be caught. “Let’s try the one that goes to the left. The other one looks as though it’s used more often.”
    Leading the way, he hurried along the tunnel with the others following close behind. They hadn’t gone far when Joe noticed that the light from his torch was becoming dim. He prayed that it would last until they were out of the tunnel.
    Finally, they spotted light streaming in through a small opening.
    “Yes! An exit!” Joe yelled out as he walked the final few steps towards the light.
    Pushing away some bushes, he was able to make the hole bigger. He made his way through the small opening and stepped into the bright sunlight.
    Five hundred or so feet down the hill stood Chandler Manor.
    “Hadn’t we better get moving away from here fast?” Sarah said. “The crooks may be following us.”
    “Yes, we need to find somewhere to hide,” Joe said, urgently looking around. They could either head towards town, into the woods, or towards the manor.