_The Adventure Begins_
When Molly went up to bed that night she took the pincushion with her
and placed it on the dressing-table, and tried her best to think that
it looked nice. “It really will be useful,” she told herself, and to
prove this she picked up a long pin and stuck it into the pumpkin
pincushion, though with a little more violence than was necessary. Then
she ran across the room and tumbled into bed.
It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the moonbeams streaming into
the room made it almost as light as day. Molly lay there snug, drowsily
planning out lovely rides that she and Jack would go as soon as they
had both learnt how to manage their cycles; the thought of her bicycle
sent a warm thrill through her heart and a smile of content hovering
about her mouth.
She could hear Jack in the next room moving noisily about; he always
made a dreadful noise in his room, thumping and banging things down
and whistling shrilly, until he got into bed. And to-night the extra
excitement of having a birthday seemed to make the thumping extra heavy
and the whistling extra shrill. Presently the thuds and bumps and
whistles ceased abruptly, and she knew that Jack was in bed; and to be
in bed and to be asleep were practically the same thing with Jack. No
sooner did his head touch the pillow than he was as good as asleep, and
no sooner did he open his eyes in the morning than he was out of bed
and hunting for his stockings. Sleep did not come so readily to Molly.
She would often lie awake for a long time after she had gone to bed,
thinking and planning, her brain ticking busily.
Molly was just wondering whether it would be possible for her and Jack
to cycle to Brighton and back in a day, and whether Mother would let
them go, when all at once she became aware that something was moving in
her room; a soft, rolling sound came from the direction of the window.
Molly raised her head and gazed with startled eyes across the moonlit
room. She could see something large and round moving softly on the
dressing-table. It looked just as if—— Surely her eyes were playing
her some trick! She stared across at the dressing-table, frightened,
yet fascinated. Then she sat up. No, her eyes had not deceived her.
There, in front of the looking-glass, rocking gently from side to side,
was the pumpkin pincushion, grown to nearly three times its original
size, and growing still larger every second.
Bigger and bigger it grew, until it had grown almost as big round
as the front wheel of Molly’s bicycle; then it ceased rocking (and
growing) and remained still for a few seconds; then, rolling quietly
along the dressing-table and over the edge, it fell with a dull thud to
the floor. Across to the door it rolled, bumped softly against it, and
drew back a few paces. Molly watched as the door swung open, and the
Grey Pumpkin passed out on to the landing.
Molly was filled with amazement. What had happened? What did it
mean? She remained quite still, hesitating for a moment. Then she
sprang out of bed. Her first fear had vanished, leaving in its place
an overwhelming curiosity—and another feeling that she couldn’t
define—she just felt that she _must_ follow the Pumpkin.
Her mind once made up, she felt perfectly calm and collected; even
collected enough to slip hastily into some clothes and put on her
little blue-and-white frock and her outdoor shoes. Never before in all
her short life had Molly dressed so quickly.
Meanwhile the Grey Pumpkin was making its way along the moonlit landing
to the top of the stairs. She heard it begin to descend—thud, thud—as
she whisked into Jack’s room.
“Jack! Jack!” she called in a loud whisper. “Don’t be frightened; it’s
only me—Molly. Hush! Are you awake? Oh, Jack, hush!” as Jack uttered a
sound between a loud yawn and a groan. “Get up quickly. It’s all right.
Only do be quick, quick!”
Jack sat up with a jerk.
“What is it? What’s the matter?” he exclaimed.
“Hush! Don’t make a sound or you’ll spoil everything, p’raps. Put on
some clothes, quickly, and come with me. Oh, don’t ask questions, Jack,
but do be quick, and don’t make the slightest noise.” And Molly ran
back to the landing and listened. Thud, thud, thud, the Pumpkin was
rolling steadily and slowly from stair to stair, and, judging by the
sound, was already a long way down. “Hurry, Jack,” said Molly.
It was easy for Jack to be quick, though not so easy to refrain from
asking questions, but to tell him not to make the slightest noise was
expecting a little too much of him. However, he only bumped twice
against the water-jug and knocked his hair-brush off the dressing-table
and fell over a chair before he was ready, and, all things considered,
he behaved in a very creditable manner.
Afterward, when thinking things over, Molly was surprised at her own
calmness in remembering to tell him about clothes and being quiet;
but remember she did, and found herself explaining to her brother as
rapidly as possible just what had happened.
“I know it sounds impossible, Jack,” she said, “but it’s true, and
you’ll see it yourself in a minute.”
The two children sped quickly along the landing and down the first
flight of stairs, passing from dark shadows into moonlit patches as
they went by landing windows, then back into the shadows again and down
another flight, and out into the moonlight once more; so on and on,
guided by the dull thud, thud of the Pumpkin on the soft stair-carpet
below them.
As they reached the top of the last flight the sound ceased.
“It’s reached the bottom,” whispered Molly.
Jack shook his head incredulously; he had not seen the Pumpkin yet
and could not believe it was the sole cause of the bumping noise he
had heard on the stairs. When the noise ceased they hesitated about
continuing their descent. It was pitch-black at the bottom of the last
flight, and Molly thought it would be so horrible if one of them put
their foot on that rolling grey thing in the dark.
As they waited they heard a slight bump—then a streak of light
appeared, and they saw the back door swing quietly open. The
Pumpkin—and Jack could see plainly that it was a huge pumpkin—rolled
ponderously out, and the door began slowly to close again.
“Quick!” gasped Molly; and the two sped down the last flight, and the
next moment were standing breathless outside the back door.
Their garden was long, and backed on to a small wood (which had been
the scene of many a picnic during the summer months). A low, broken
fence divided the wood from the garden; and it was for this fence that
the Pumpkin was heading. It rolled steadily on in a quiet, deliberate
way that made it the more uncanny.
Jack and Molly followed—two quaint little figures, moving warily
over the grass, with glistening eyes and rapidly beating hearts, half
fearful, half curious, and very excited. Jack could scarcely believe
his eyes even now, and stared fascinated at the moving grey thing in
front of him, as it glided under the broken fence and into the wood
beyond. As it gained the woodland path the sound of little twigs and
dried leaves crackling as it rolled over them came to the children’s
ears.
Jack and Molly clambered over the fence, and in doing so Jack lost one
of his slippers, but did not miss it in his excitement, and they both
ran a few steps along the path to get in sight of the Pumpkin again.
[Illustration: JACK AND MOLLY CLAMBERED OVER THE FENCE]
It was not so easy to see in the wood, for the trees met overhead and
screened out the moonlight. Here and there a stray beam penetrated,
scattering little pools of silver light on the ground; and each time
the Pumpkin passed into these pools of light the children hastened
their footsteps, but faltered again each time it glided into the gloom,
where it was difficult to see and there was nothing save the crackling
of the twigs to guide them.
Suddenly Molly caught hold of her brother’s arm, and they both
stood still. The Pumpkin had stopped in the dim light at the foot
of a gigantic old tree with a gnarled and twisted trunk. Watching
breathlessly, they saw it knock three times deliberately and heavily
against the bark, and then roll back a few paces and wait.
There was a low, creaking sound, and the side of the tree swung outward
like a door; and the Pumpkin passed in.
The door began slowly to close again. Jack and Molly looked at each
other. What should they do? They both felt it was now or never.
“Now!” said Jack.
“Quick!” assented Molly.
Like a flash they reached the door and slipped through—just in
time. It closed behind them with a muffled thud, catching the sleeve
of Jack’s coat as it did so, and they found themselves in complete
darkness.
Their curiosity and excitement turned to sudden fear when they heard
the door close behind them, and they stood quite still, with their
backs pressed hard against the interior of the tree-trunk, not daring
to move. A soft, familiar rolling sound could be heard a short way in
front of them. It ceased, there was a short silence, then came three
distinct knocks, followed by a creaking noise, and another door opened
on the other side of the tree. As the light crept into the interior
of the tree the children saw to their astonishment that it was not
moonlight, but daylight, the subdued light of evening.
A quick glance showed them the hollow interior of the huge tree and
the distance they were from the open door. As they caught sight of
the ground they both gave a start, for it was composed solely of half
a dozen branches stretched across from side to side, and beneath the
branches was a big black hole that went down and down and looked as
if it had no bottom. They realized that they were standing at the
extreme edge of the hole, on a little step of thick, sticky clay.
However were they to walk over on one of those thin branches to the
door on the other side without missing their footing and falling down
into the hole? But even as they caught hold of hands, determined to
make a desperate effort to cross while there was light to see, the Grey
Pumpkin passed out into the daylight, and the door swung slowly to
again, and they were left in darkness once more.
They stood stock still, not daring to move.
“Oh, Jack, whatever shall we do?” said Molly, almost crying.
“Knock on the door behind us and go back home,” suggested Jack. “Let’s
get out of this old dark hole, and the Pumpkin can go where it jolly
well likes.... Leave go my arm a moment, Molly, and I’ll turn round and
knock.” He turned to suit the action to his words, tearing the corner
of his sleeve out of the crack as he did so.
“But, Jack,” Molly said hurriedly. “Wait a minute.... Somehow ... I’ve
got a feeling that we _ought_ to go on, if only we could.... Don’t
knock yet, Jack.... I feel as if somebody wants us, through that door
on the other side ... if only we could get across. Oh, Jack, do be
careful—you’ll slip!”
“Look here,” said Jack, “are you afraid to chance the crossing—do you
really think it’s worth it?”
“The Pumpkin must have rolled across without the floor giving way—but
then, it—he—I mean, what shall we do, Jack?”
“Shall we try?” suggested Jack.
Molly hesitated. Then “Yes, let’s,” she said. “Only—shall we?” she
faltered.
“You stay here while I go across and knock three times on the other
door,” said Jack, at once decided. “Then while it’s light you run
across.”
“Oh, Jack, do be careful,” cried Molly.
For Jack had already started. He felt with his foot for the thickest
branch and stepped recklessly forward. To his delight he found that it
was quite easy to walk across, and all their fears had been groundless.
“Why, Moll,” he called joyfully, “it’s as easy as anything. Wait a sec.
I’m almost there.”
He reached the clay step on the other side and gave three good knocks
to relieve his feelings. With a low creaking the door opened slowly,
and as the light streamed in Molly ran quickly and easily across, and
the next moment they both stood outside the tree, and the door was
shut.