The Smugglers' Mine Read Online Free Page B

wall, and it was the same as far as they could see: small splinters of gold embedded into the rock. On and on and on. And old, fragmented skeletons of desperate pirates, open-mouthed skulls, bones clutching tightly to chests of rotting wood. Some had blades tucked inside their ribs, and others had severed limbs. There was no doubt that many a battle had been fought on the Rock.
    They looked ahead to where the passage grew narrow again.

    As they walked on, it tailed off into more little tunnels. On they went, this way, that way, upwards, downwards, sideways. Long honeycombed networks of passageways all littered with jeweled stones for as far as they could see.
    The three buccaneers were speechless. Save for a few gasps of wonderment, they barely managed to speak to one another.
    MacDowell broke the silence. “Wallopin’ weevils! I ain’t never laid eyes on such a treat in all me days. The devil sure was full of ’imself the day he put this place together. It’s enough to turn any sane man into the worst of sea dogs.”
    Stanley didn’t have a clue what MacDowell was saying.
    â€œThis ain’t no ordinary find, Stanley. Yer need to keep this one firmly under yer hat.
There’s serious consequences in this gettin’ out in the open.”
    â€œWhat do you mean by that?” Daisy asked.
    â€œListen now,” he began, “and listen good. This ain’t no buried treasure we’re lookin’ at. Oh no, this is a gold mine. A place where gold occurs naturally in the rock. Where it’s dug from in the first place. Are yer with me?”
    â€œAye, captain,” said Stanley. “I’m with you.”
    â€œDaisy?”
    â€œAye, aye, sir.”
    â€œIf this ’ere secret creeps outside o’ this old mine, you can kiss good-bye to Candlestick Hall and every other thing in sight. If ever yer needed to keep a secret, me dears, this’ll be it.”
    â€œI’m not sure what you’re saying,” quizzed Daisy as she squinted through the darkness.
    â€œWell, pin yer ears back now and take heed.
If the rest o’ the pirate world gets to know that Crampton Rock is hiding a gold mine, they’ll be here in a flash. Them and every gold prospector that ever lived, chinking away at these hollows until every last little piece has been claimed. And when that’s been done, this whole island will collapse under the strain and you’d better find another Rock to put down your roots in.”
    Stanley stared at Daisy and she stared back at him. Their wide grins had turned into serious expressions at the thought of what might come.
    They turned back and tiptoed out through the mine, back out into the cellar, replacing the stone flag in its place … where just ahead of them, the watchful eyes sneaked away unseen.

6
    Desperate Measures
    Edmund Darkling awoke in his cell. The same four walls were still around him. He had been here for only a short space of time, but frustration and desperation had already taken their toll. He was not prepared to give in to this dreadful life of half-existence when he knew there was a way out.
    That night Grace Darkling came to visit,
with the children following at her heels. She was allowed a short while to sit with her husband, but usually before the conversation had even begun they were herded back out into the street.
    â€œGrace, I am at my wits’ end,” declared Mr. Darkling. “I need to walk outside under the moonlight. I need to feel the earth beneath my feet. My children will grow up outside these walls and I will be confined inside them. I’m sorry, Grace, but I must make my escape in the only way I know how.”
    â€œNo, Edmund, please. Wait. There is another way, I’m sure. We can make a plea to the court. They may show some leniency if we wait a while,” Grace begged.
    â€œThere is no other way. Prepare yourself; you will not see me in here again after