Pointers and Signals
‘ Hello again, young Rupert.’
Rupert’s mouth dropped open in astonishment as he looked at the man in the doorway to the small, bare room. ‘What are you doing here?’ Von Krankl slowly wheeled his chair inside and a monk slammed the door shut behind him, the key turning in the lock. He came over to Rupert, put a finger against his lips, scribbled something on a small notepad he took from his jacket and handed it to Rupert.
Cover the air vent.
He looked at Von Krankl in bemusement. The old man held out his coat and gestured for Rupert to use it, pointing at an air vent by his feet. Rupert did as he was asked and turned back to the old man, who was now over by the fireplace.
Von Krankl spoke to Rupert in a hoarse whisper. ‘They can listen in … the vents connect each room. Put in when the monastery was built. A cynic might say so that the fathers could check nobody was breaking their vow of silence. They will hear us if we talk normally but the coat should muffle whispers.’ He sat back and spoke again in his normal voice.
‘I was not the person you expected to see. Don’t worry, I am on your side. I am not in with these monks, which is why they have locked me in here too. How did you come to be here?’ He raised his eyebrows to Rupert and mouthed the word ‘Careful!’
Rupert cottoned on immediately. They could talk as long as they gave nothing away but needed to talk anyway so as not to arouse the suspicions of their unseen audience.
‘They want me to tell them where the gold is but I really don’t know. They want me to tell them what was in the message but I never read it. Sky locked me up in my room before I could go and look for it.’
Von Krankl smiled, nodding approval. He leaned forward and lowered his voice.
‘Very convincing. I almost believe you myself! I cannot explain everything but I have met with Laura, Rebecca and Drew. I believe they trust me and I hope you will too. I am Werner Von Krankl. I was on the German submarine which your Grandfather’s boat sank. I have long been his trusted friend and, as you know, I am the executor of his will.’ He paused as footsteps passed by outside.
‘Now, we need to find a way out of here. Luckily, I know this monastery well. I believe this is the room once occupied by the Black Monk himself.’
‘What!’ gasped Rupert.
‘The story goes that there is a secret door somewhere leading down into the caves. Look around, but be quiet. I hope you are not afraid of ghosts?’ A smile flickered on the old man’s face.
‘What am I looking for?’ whispered Rupert, looking disbelievingly at the bare walls.
Von Krankl raised both palms towards the ceiling. He spoke louder for the benefit of the air vent. ‘I am tired. They got me out of bed very early and I am not as young as I was. If you will excuse me, I am going to close my eyes for a while. We can talk later.’
The walls were solid and unbroken. The only obvious place in the room which might conceivably conceal a door or entry of some sort was the wide open hearth. A wooden mantelpiece surrounded the edge, with various carved wooden designs. Rupert ran his finger over the head of a horse, shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Von Krankl.
‘What is that?’ croaked the old man, craning his neck forward.
Rupert looked back over his shoulder. ‘What? That? A horse’s head.’
Von Krankl shook his head impatiently. ‘No, not that. Next to it. Those signs mean something. Push me in closer.’
Rupert grabbed the wheelchair handles but Von Krankl stopped him and got to his feet. Rupert’s mouth dropped open for the second time in a few minutes. ‘What? How?’
‘No time to explain now but they don’t know.’ He jerked his thumb towards the air vent. Von Krankl examined a small row of carvings at one side of the fireplace.
‘I will never run in the Olympic Games, but I can still get about. I thought so! Signals code, flags. The navy used them to send messages in olden times.’
‘What? You mean like Nelson, Trafalgar, England expects and all that?’
‘Exactly that. I was a signals officer when I joined the navy, although my memory is a bit rusty now. But these, if I am not mistaken, mean “close” and these here “open”.’
‘Open a door do you think?’ Rupert’s voice started to rise, his eyes shining with excitement.
‘Shh! Remember they are listening!’ Von Krankl hissed. ‘Perhaps it moves somehow and opens our door.’
Each carved section was about four inches long and protruded from the wall. He felt all around them with his fingers and pressed. Nothing happened, so he grasped hold of the whole row with both hands and tried to turn it. After a few seconds, it moved sharply to the side! For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a clunk, as if something had been released. A small section of the wall at one side slid back silently, revealing a cavity behind. Von Krankl and Rupert looked at one another in astonishment.
‘Good grief! The Black Monk’s secret door?’ Rupert could barely contain his excitement.
Von Krankl nodded, amazed. A cold, dank smell seeped from the opening. Rupert leaned through and peered into the gloom. He could only see a few feet inside but enough to discover a narrow passage with a brick wall on the far side.
He put his mouth close to Von Krankl’s ear to whisper. ‘We should go now, while they think you are resting.’
‘You go,’ whispered the old man. ‘I must stay here. If you are not back in one hour, I shall assume you have managed to escape. It makes sense to have one man on the inside to keep an eye on them. Besides, if I go, my cover is blown.’ He pointed to the wheelchair.
‘While they think I cannot walk, I am not a threat to them.’
Rupert saw the sense in this. ‘What will you say about how I got out?’
‘The old ignorance ploy. That I thought they had simply come and taken you while I was sleeping. Now if you escape, you must do something for me. You know the wreck out in the bay?’
Rupert nodded, puzzled. Von Krankl hesitated, eyeing Rupert strangely.
‘You … there is an … accomplice of mine there, in hiding from our religious Nazi friends. I have been taking him food each day. He dare not go ashore and risk being seen, for his life would be in the gravest danger. He will wonder what has happened when I do not come tonight. You must tell him.’
‘That’s why the wheelchair was in the bushes by the boathouse! You borrowed the boat, didn’t you? Who is he?’
Von Krankl pursed his lips. ‘Forgive me … I cannot tell you … not yet. All in good time. You must trust me.’
By now Rupert was certain he could trust the old man. ‘Whatever you say. But will you be okay here?’
‘These men hold no fears for me. I have known their like for too many years. Now go, go! Before they get suspicious and come marching in here.’ Von Krankl put a hand on Rupert’s back, encouraging him towards the hole in the wall.
Rupert paused. ‘But we cannot contact you. How will we know?’
‘I have this, remember?’ The old man reached into a pouch under the seat of his wheelchair and took out a mobile phone. ‘I swapped numbers with Rebecca. I will make contact if I need to. Don’t call me in case they find the phone. Here, you will need this to see in the tunnel.’ He took a cigarette lighter out of his pocket. ‘I will have to close the entrance while you are gone in case I have visitors. If you return, tap three times.’
Rupert nodded. He took one final look around the room and squeezed himself through into the gloom.
The small passageway seemed to be part of the original building but did not look like it had been used in years. The dust and the cobwebs were so thick in places that he had to close his mouth and eyes and fight his way through them. He clicked Von Krankl’s lighter open and made his way along by the flickering orange flame. Further along, the passage divided. One way led down and Rupert thought he could hear the sea somewhere close below. In the other direction was an old door, which did not look as if it had been used in a long time. He managed to force it open and felt a rush of fresh air. It opened into a little copse on the hillside below the monastery. Rupert judged it would not be too difficult to scramble down to the shore and along. It was low tide and it would be possible to get across the rocks to the mainland. This would be his escape route then. He returned through the trees to the passageway and pulled the door behind him. He decided to explore the other direction, down.
A curious, haunting sound was coming from somewhere. It was not like any noise he had ever heard before. Rupert stopped, holding out a hand to steady himself against the rocky wall, and listened. What was it? He edged a few paces along and stopped again.
It almost sounded like singing, or chanting. Rupert’s heart beat a little faster. The strange sound was spooky and he was not altogether sure he wanted to go any further. ‘Pull yourself together,’ he muttered to himself, shaking his head. ‘It’s a monastery. It’s probably just the monks praying.’
With an effort, he crept slowly forward, the noise growing louder. He rounded a turn and saw a faint orange light glowing, flickering along the walls like the tongue of a snake. Rupert headed towards its source, reaching a ledge where the passageway opened out and he could suddenly see down into a wide cavern below. His eyes opened wide in surprise.