The Flight To Adventure

Chapter 7 Where Are We?

       The aeroplane landed with a slight bump that shook the children and made them gasp.Then it ran a little way on it's huge wheels and stopped.They had arrived.
  But where? Dawn had come and lighy came in through the windows but it was not morning yet.One of the men switched off the throbbing engines.At once a great quiet and peace came into the environment.How marvellous was it to not have that throbbing noise into their ears anymore.The children were glad.
Then they heard the voice of one of the man saying"We have made it here on good time and you made a great landing too James."
   "We have not got much time to spare" said James."Come on let's get out and stretch our legs a bit.Then we will go to the hut and have a big meal.This long jourey has made me very hungry."
  To the children's enormous delight, the man climbed out of the plane and dissapeared.They hadn't even gone around the crates , so the children were safe for now.
Maybe they could escape and get help at once.They could find a way to send word to Bill and their mother, telling them not to worry.
  " Come on" said Jack " Let's see through the windows and see where we are.On an aeredrome, I hope.We will probably see a mechanic or two and ask them to direct us to the authorities.
So they all crowded around the nearest window but what a shock they got when they looked out.
They were in a broad flat piece of grass in a valley and the valley seemed to be surrounded by some towering mountains.
"Gosh, where are we?" cried out Clara.
 " We are in a valley, with mountains all around, which are awfully beautiful but extremely lonely at the same time" said Charles.
  " How can we get help here"said Jack. " There won't be any plane here to take us back, thats certain." 
  There wasn't any kind of house or a building to be seen.The view was the same from the other side of the plane.
They seemed to be in the bottom of a green valley.But why would the men come here? It was very strange.
"What are we gojng to do?"cried a frightened Jenny" Are we gonna stay in the plane or we go out".
  "Well, I don't know what you guys think but I don't like the feeling of this all. I don't like the way the men flew off in the darkness of the night, after
  what sounded like alot of shooting and I don't like this lonely valley either.But at the same time, I think it would be a good idea if we go out and snoop around a bit.We might get any sort of help."exclaimed Jack worriedly.
"What country are we in?" Asked Jenny" Shall we be able to understand their language?"
  "  I don't think so" said Charles" but we will have to try and make ourselves understood."
   " I wonder what those men have come here for"said Clara thoughtfully " It seems a very lonely  place to come to.I don't think that they are upto any good."
They looked cautiously out of every window, in case they could spot the two men but there was no sign of them at all.
"Better get going" said Jack" What about our suitcases and rugs and Lili?"
   Don't leave anything here"said Charles" We don't want the men to guess that there were any passengers on the plane, accompaning them."
  So the four of them left the plane and handed out the rugs and cases to one another.Lili uttered a few words of annoyance of being lifted about like luggage but only in a very low voice.
   Soon all of them were standing outside the plane, wondering where to go.Suddenly Jack nudged Charles and cried out " Look , look over there everyone"
They  all looked and saw a thin spire of smoke rising in the air.
  "The men have made a fire down there, I think" said Jack".Better not go in that direction. We will take the other path now and see where it leads us to."
  So the little party took the other path. Soon they came across a spring.
  " We could drink from that, I'm very thirsty" said Jenny.
So they drank some water.It was very cold and crystal clear.Then they diped their hankies in the water and cleaned their faces.They began to feel very refreshed by the coldness of the water.
" The thing is, We have to find a good hiding place for ourselves and these cases too" said Jack" I'm afraid if those men start wandering about, they might come across us.Where shall we go?"
  "Let's go straight on" said Clara " up this hill here.If we keep going up a little,we will be able to see the plane in the valley and keep our sense of direction a bit."
" Good idea" appreciated Charles" let's  go through the trees, they will keep us well hidden too."
" We could always spot the plane by climbing up a tree" said Jack. Suddenly he stoped and said " I say, is that a house, I see? "
Set in the clearing , was what looked like a house but when they got near it, they saw that it was almost burned out. Just a black ruin or something.
" What a pity, we could have asked for help from the people living here" said Charles.
  " I wonder how it got burned" said Clara.
They went on a little higher and came across another house, but to their dismay it too was burned out .
"  Two burned houses and no one to be found anywhere.That's very strange .I wonder what has been happening in this valley " said Jack.
Still going a little higher they saw a kind of a hut.
" Look it's a cow shed and it's not very much burned out either" said Jack" Let's go over and see if the roof is still on. If it is, we could place our things in there."
So they went to the broken down cow shed. It seemed as if the flames had caught hold of half of the shed and the other half was still intact. The roof was almost gone but at the back was a very sheltered place, where the cows were kept in the stalls.
"This place is fine. We can keep our stuff here" said Clara.
" The floor is dirty" said Jenny, turning up her nose in disguist.
" Well, we may find something to clean it" said Charles" than we can lay down  our rugs here. This will make a fine sleeping place."
"We might not be able to get much help today. So how about we spend the night here" said Clara.
Lili was also put down in her basket, placed on the cases. She gave a squak in protest.
" Do you think it's safe to let her out.
She must be very uncomfortable cooped up in that basket" said Jack.
" Yes let her out" said Charles" even if she does fly off and the men see her, they will not know who she belongs to."
So Lili was set free.She was overjoyed. She climbed out of the basket and flew to Jack's shoulder.she nibled on his ear affectionately.
"Where is your handkerchief? Poor poor Polly." She yelled out.
" Alright Lili, it's enough. Not so loud buddy. Keep quite" said Jack .
" shhhh" said Lili at the top of her voice. Than she said no more.
" Well what shall be our plan? " asked Charles" Shall we go exploring further in hope of help. Or shall we stay here and keep an eye on those men and see what they are upto. Or shall we just stay here and hide"
" I think we should explore a bit further" said Jack "the most important thing is to find help. Aunt Hills and Bill will be worried to death about us."
" It's such a lovely valley" exclaimed Jenny , as they steeped out of the shed" I can't seem to understand why we can't see a soul here."
"There definetly is something mysterious going on here" Said Jack.
"You bet it is" said Charles .
"I do think we have stumbled into a very thrilling adventure " said Clara .
"God knows how long will it take to get out of this valley"
" But what about meals? " said Jenny" we have only got the picnic packet that Aunt Hills gave us and a few biscuits and choclates. We shall starve if we don't get home quickly. We have got nothing much to eat "
No body had thought of that. It was a nuisance.An adventure was one thing but an adventure without food was another thing.
" I don't think that this will be an adventure" said Jack.
         But he didn't knew that this was only the beggining.