Wyndham trudging up the driveway. He ducked his head and sped past them.
"Hi!"
Noah Baxter's hand froze on the handle of the Volkswagen door. He swung around. "Jean! Alfie! What are you doing here?"
"Leonard's missing," Jean said. "We think he's around here somewhere. Mrs. Booth is out in her car looking for him, and my dad is searching too. We decided to come here."
"His bike's down there in the bushes," Alfie said. "We spotted it."
Keith stepped around from the other side of the car. "Well, let's take a look," he said. "Come on, Noah. We'll search the place from
bottom to top
."
Noah looked doubtful, but he followed the group into the lighthouse.
On the first floor they found the window open in the storage room. On the second floor, Jean discovered Leonard's flashlight where it had rolled out from under the worktable. Keith took it and frowned. "We'd better go up to the lantern gallery. That's the last place to look."
But at the top of the stairs, Alfie saw that the trapdoor was bolted. "He wouldn't be there, Mr. Raynor. It's locked from this side."
"Better look," Keith replied, unbolting the door.
"Yeah, better look," Noah Baxter growled.
And almost before Jean and Alfie knew it, they had joined Leonard and Watson in the dark lantern gallery — pushed in by Keith and Noah.
"Alfie! Jean!" Leonard gulped. "They're jewel thieves! My necklace — it was the Daumier jewels!"
The bolt on the trapdoor thudded into place. For a second there was dead silence in the round, glass room high above the crashing surf. Then Alfie yelled out, "We've got to stop them. We've
got
to!"
"How?" Jean asked hopelessly. "We can't even signal for help. Mr. Raynor took the flashlight."
Alfie bounded to the windows overlooking the driveway. "They haven't left yet," he said excitedly.
"What's the difference?" Jean said gloomily. "We're stuck here."
"Maybe not! I've got the matches I used to light the candles on the refreshment table," Alfie said.
Leonard shook his head. "You can't signal with matches, and there aren't any candles here."
But Alfie had other ideas. He struck a match and made his way to the old instrument panel. "The foghorn. It works from here somewhere. That'd bring help!"
"We should have let Mr. Raynor show us how things worked," Jean said. "He was going to when we were filming — "
Alfie interrupted. "I'll pull everything.
Something
ought to start!" He stared at the switches and dials. "Here goes!"
In seconds, the bellow of the foghorn came blasting in their ears, and the huge old lamp that once guided ships at sea began to glow dimly. Then its light quickly died down.
"No oil," Jean said desperately.
But in the dying light, Leonard spotted the sign on one of the two wooden boxes Noah had carried up to the lantern gallery. "Fireworks!" he exclaimed.
"That solves our signal problem!" Alfie shouted. "Come on!"
Leonard frowned. "That's funny," he thought. "The 'fireworks' box downstairs had 'Dynamite' written on the side of it."
But this was no time for just
thinking
, and Leonard rushed to help Alfie unload stacks of red-wrapped roman candles packed in a bed of straw.
Down in the doorway, as Keith and Noah headed for the Volkswagen, the sudden roar of the foghorn split the air. And almost before the first bellow died away, a roman candle came hissing downward, exploding in a burst of red and green stars.
"Fireworks! Those blasted kids found the fireworks!" Keith exclaimed.
"You and your fireworks!" Noah shouted angrily. "Let's get out of here!"
They hurriedly tossed their luggage into the Volkswagen. But before they could climb in themselves, three more roman candles came hurtling down almost on top of them. In a fiery shower of gold, silver, red, blue, and green stars, the two men dashed for cover.
CHAPTER 9
In the brilliant light of the exploding fireworks, Alfie had a clear view of Keith and Noah scurrying away from the Volkswagen.
"Keep em coming, Leonard," he shouted back
"Hi!"
Noah Baxter's hand froze on the handle of the Volkswagen door. He swung around. "Jean! Alfie! What are you doing here?"
"Leonard's missing," Jean said. "We think he's around here somewhere. Mrs. Booth is out in her car looking for him, and my dad is searching too. We decided to come here."
"His bike's down there in the bushes," Alfie said. "We spotted it."
Keith stepped around from the other side of the car. "Well, let's take a look," he said. "Come on, Noah. We'll search the place from
bottom to top
."
Noah looked doubtful, but he followed the group into the lighthouse.
On the first floor they found the window open in the storage room. On the second floor, Jean discovered Leonard's flashlight where it had rolled out from under the worktable. Keith took it and frowned. "We'd better go up to the lantern gallery. That's the last place to look."
But at the top of the stairs, Alfie saw that the trapdoor was bolted. "He wouldn't be there, Mr. Raynor. It's locked from this side."
"Better look," Keith replied, unbolting the door.
"Yeah, better look," Noah Baxter growled.
And almost before Jean and Alfie knew it, they had joined Leonard and Watson in the dark lantern gallery — pushed in by Keith and Noah.
"Alfie! Jean!" Leonard gulped. "They're jewel thieves! My necklace — it was the Daumier jewels!"
The bolt on the trapdoor thudded into place. For a second there was dead silence in the round, glass room high above the crashing surf. Then Alfie yelled out, "We've got to stop them. We've
got
to!"
"How?" Jean asked hopelessly. "We can't even signal for help. Mr. Raynor took the flashlight."
Alfie bounded to the windows overlooking the driveway. "They haven't left yet," he said excitedly.
"What's the difference?" Jean said gloomily. "We're stuck here."
"Maybe not! I've got the matches I used to light the candles on the refreshment table," Alfie said.
Leonard shook his head. "You can't signal with matches, and there aren't any candles here."
But Alfie had other ideas. He struck a match and made his way to the old instrument panel. "The foghorn. It works from here somewhere. That'd bring help!"
"We should have let Mr. Raynor show us how things worked," Jean said. "He was going to when we were filming — "
Alfie interrupted. "I'll pull everything.
Something
ought to start!" He stared at the switches and dials. "Here goes!"
In seconds, the bellow of the foghorn came blasting in their ears, and the huge old lamp that once guided ships at sea began to glow dimly. Then its light quickly died down.
"No oil," Jean said desperately.
But in the dying light, Leonard spotted the sign on one of the two wooden boxes Noah had carried up to the lantern gallery. "Fireworks!" he exclaimed.
"That solves our signal problem!" Alfie shouted. "Come on!"
Leonard frowned. "That's funny," he thought. "The 'fireworks' box downstairs had 'Dynamite' written on the side of it."
But this was no time for just
thinking
, and Leonard rushed to help Alfie unload stacks of red-wrapped roman candles packed in a bed of straw.
Down in the doorway, as Keith and Noah headed for the Volkswagen, the sudden roar of the foghorn split the air. And almost before the first bellow died away, a roman candle came hissing downward, exploding in a burst of red and green stars.
"Fireworks! Those blasted kids found the fireworks!" Keith exclaimed.
"You and your fireworks!" Noah shouted angrily. "Let's get out of here!"
They hurriedly tossed their luggage into the Volkswagen. But before they could climb in themselves, three more roman candles came hurtling down almost on top of them. In a fiery shower of gold, silver, red, blue, and green stars, the two men dashed for cover.
CHAPTER 9
In the brilliant light of the exploding fireworks, Alfie had a clear view of Keith and Noah scurrying away from the Volkswagen.
"Keep em coming, Leonard," he shouted back
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