"Anyone got any ideas?" asked Dinah.

"Put the kettle on," said Kiki, coming in at just the right moment as usual.

"If only we could, Kiki," said Lucy-Ann with a small smile.

"It wouldn't be any good trying to overpower one of the men when they come to talk to us or bring us food, would it?" asked Dinah.

"No," said Philip after some thought. "We wouldn't know how many of the men there would be and we don't know where we are and could up completely lost and in an even worst situation than we are now."

"Those men have revolvers and are dangerous," said Jack, "We don't want to put you girls in danger."

"Anyway I'm not leaving without Bill," said Lucy-Ann quite determinedly. "He is always having to rescue us, now it's our turn to rescue him." The boys looked at each other uneasily. They were both wondering whether they would ever see Bill again, neither of them doubted what the men might be capable of.

"Well what are we going to do then!" asked Dinah. "Just sit tight and be putty in those men's hands?"

"No," said Philip. "We are definitely not going to just go along with it all. Bill's risked his life for us many a time. Now I'm not saying we should endanger our lives," said Philip hastily seeing Lucy-Ann's face. "I just mean that we should try and make things a little difficult for those men."

"Pifflebunk, Bifflepunk, Pifflebunk," said Kiki, stringing together nonsense words as she loved to do. Everyone laughed, and were very glad that Kiki was with them.

"You're right Kiki," said Jack. "We may indeed have to do a bit of Biffing before this adventure is over."

"Oh dear, are we really in another adventure?" said Lucy-Ann.

"Yes," said Dinah, "We really do fall into them don't we."

"What kind of difficulties did you have in mind for those men Philip?" said Jack. Everyone turned to look at Philip who was now stroking a little mouse. Dinah screamed and quickly moved away from Philip.

"Philip, where on earth did you find him?" asked Lucy-Ann amazed.

"I found him in the corner over there," said Philip indicating over his shoulder. "Isn't he sweet, I think I'm going to call him Whiskers." Lucy-Ann and Jack examined the mouse for a while. Dinah also watched closely, but from the other side of the room.

"This might seem strange," began Lucy-Ann, "But I somehow feel that now that Philip has found an animal to look after things will turn out all right. It just seems part of what happens to us, don't you agree?"

"Yes," said Dinah, "we find an adventure, then Philip adopts one of his disgusting creatures, then there's lots of excitement, then it turns out okay!"

"They are not disgusting!" said Philip. "Honestly, Dinah. Mice are lovely creatures."

"That doesn't mean it will turn out fine this time," said Jack, and immediately regretted saying it because Lucy-Ann looked very dismayed again.

Philip frowned hard at him. "Don't be so down Jack, it's not like you. Come on, let's think of a plan, or some plans, then we will feel better."

The room was bare. A light hung from the ceiling, and wooden boards comprised the floor. The walls appeared to have been wallpapered at one time in the past, but now half of it was missing or hanging off, and bare brick could be seen behind it. Kiki was attracted to it immediately. She loved ripping paper and fiddling with shoelaces, and this room offered her many hours of enjoyment. She began pecking at some loose pieces. Jack examined the door. It too was made of wood and the lock and handle were made from a piece of very formidable looking iron.

"I bet it's an oak door," Jack said. "I didn't notice when we came in, but door like this are usually extremely thick. We couldn't push it in." That was a disappointment. There was also a tiny window set high up in the wall, almost touching the ceiling. The windows were very grubby, and could hardly be seen through. Philip put Whiskers on the ledge while he peered at the frame. "This looks like iron too," he said. "If we got the whole frame out we could probably squeeze out, but I doubt we could get it out. It looks pretty solid." He gave it a push, but it didn't move a jot.

"Even if we got out, where would we go?" asked Dinah. "I couldn't see any evidence of another human for miles."

They all exchanged glum glances. "Right, come on, let's plan," said Jack, taking charge. "Sit down in a circle, here. Okay, now, our options are, one, the door, and two the window."

"Both of which are shut and probably impenetrable," said Philip.

"Well, you have to look at it another way," said Jack. "The door will be open when the men come."

"If they come," said Dinah.

"Anyway, Philip said it was too dangerous. We don't know where we are, or how many men there will be," said Lucy-Ann.

"I'm only outlining our every option," Jack said. "I think Philip's right in a way, it might be dangerous, but we're not going to escape if we just sit here, are we? We've got to do something."

"One, two, three, GO!" yelled Kiki suddenly, making them jump.

Everybody jumped violently.

"Gosh, I wish you wouldn't do that, Kiki," said Lucy-Ann, when her heart had stopped beating quite so fast.

"Yes, Kiki, look you've scared Whiskers," said Philip in dismay, as Whiskers shot from his pocket and darted towards the skirting. "He's not that tame yet, he may not come back to me now."

"Look, he's disappeared!" said Lucy-Ann. "He must have his mouse-hole down there."

Philip went over to the wall. He leant his hand on the wall to brace himself and went to lower himself down to floor level to look into the small hole where Whiskers had disappeared. But to his immense surprise, his hand went straight through the wall paper and disappeared up to his elbow!

He pulled it back quickly. "Hey!" he called excitedly. The others crowded round quickly. "There isn't brick behind this bit of wallpaper, its wood, and its rotten through. There's a hidden alcove behind here!"

"Let me see," said Jack, impatiently. "Is there anything in it?"

Philip pulled at the wallpaper and rotten wood and made a hole the size of a small cupboard. There was nothing inside. "Empty," he said, disappointed.

Jack had a look for himself. Suddenly he gave a cry. "Look, its not an alcove at all! Do you know what I think this is?"

He showed the others how the 'cupboard' actually had no ceiling, but extended upwards, into inky blackness. He waved his hand up the hole to show that he couldn't feel the top. "I think this is one of those old-fashioned serving hatches that carried food between floors!" he explained, with an excited gleam in his eye. "See the rusty chain running down the middle? This house looks big enough and old enough to have had them. The kitchen was probably next door to this room, and the dining room above this one, so food was carried up through here. Then when it was no longer needed, someone put a piece of wooden board over it and papered over the lot!"

"If you're right…" began Dinah.

"Maybe we can escape through there!" cried Lucy-Ann.

"I'm going to have a look!" said Jack. "I think it's just about large enough for me to get into." Philip gave him a leg up into the hole. "Don't call up or anything," said Jack. "We don't know who's in the room above. I'll have to be as quiet as possible."

"Wait, I've got a torch here," said Dinah, handing it over. "You won't be able to see anything otherwise."

"Thanks," grinned Jack, then he was gone. They could hear muffled noises from the hole, as Jack's feet caught loose rubble and sent it falling down. They waited, feeling tense and impatient. The noise faded, then there was no sound for what felt like a long time.

"What if he gets caught?" said Lucy-Ann suddenly. "We could be waiting and waiting, not calling out in case someone hears, and he might not come back!"

"Don't worry," said Dinah. "If he doesn't come back we will go after him. Then at least we will all be caught together!"

But eventually they heard scuffing sounds of someone coming back down the shaft, and then they saw Jack's face grinning at them from the hole in the wall. He was covered in dust and cobwebs, but seemed in good spirits. They helped him down, and studied his face eagerly, waiting for him to speak.

"Well," he began. "I climbed up, and it was fairly easy because a lot of the brickwork was crumbled, so it made handy foot and hand holds. It was rather narrow though."

"Go on!" exclaimed Dinah. "You're talking too slowly!"

"All right!" said Jack. "Well, I got to the top, and I knew it was the top because I banged my head on the ceiling. I couldn't hear anything from the room, so I took my penknife and made a small hole to peer through. The room looked empty, so I made a larger hole, and climbed through."

This sounded promising. The girls were thrilled. Philip was wishing it had been he who had gone up the shaft. He had discovered it, after all.

"The door wasn't locked, and after I had listened carefully again, I peeked out. There are lots of doors and corridors, it looks like a big place. I could also see the staircase, so we could just go down and try and get out, I suppose."

"I'm not leaving without Bill," said Philip firmly. The others nodded quickly.

"I agree," said Jack. "But we know we can get out. I ventured out of the door and looked around a bit, but there were so many doors. I could hear voices but it was hard to tell where they were coming from. Then I thought I had better come back and tell you."

They all sat and thought for a while. Possibilities ran through their minds.

"What about, " began Philip, "all climbing up the shaft. Then the girls could go down the stairs and out of the front door, and try and find some help, while Jack and I look for Bill?"

"No," said Dinah at once. "We shouldn't split up. You might not be able to get Bill out, even if we do find him. I think we should all try to find him, together, then escape when we have him."

"Dinah has a point," said Jack. "But what are we going to do? If we all go up the shaft, there's a lot of us to hide. It would be better if just one of us goes at first. But then what will happen if the men come back while one of us is gone?"

They all looked over to the hole in the wall. It was very obvious. Nobody coming into the room could possibly miss it. Philip suddenly gave an exclamation.

"What have you thought of?" asked Jack.

"Oh, nothing," said Philip. "Sorry. But Whiskers has come back to me, look!" He held out his hand, where Whiskers was sitting on the palm.

Dinah drew away.

"Well, it looks like we should all go through the hole and find somewhere to hide in the house," said Jack. "Then we can look for Bill, and find a way to rescue him."

"It'll have to be a good hiding place though," said Lucy-Ann. "When those men find that we're gone, they will hunt for us well."

"Yes, and they will know where we've gone because of the big hole!" said Philip. "But I don't think we really have a choice now. The men will be furious if we stay because they will see the hole anyway."

"Come on," said Jack. "Enough of the talking. Let's go. I'll go first, and keep look out, then Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Philip you come last, okay?"

They all agreed, and soon Jack was out of sight up the shaft. Kiki gave an indignant squawk and flew up after him. She had missed Jack before, and been most put out that he hadn't taken her with him. She didn't mean to be left behind this time. Dinah followed, then Lucy-Ann climbed into the hole with Philip's help, and looked upwards. She hadn't even started to climb when the children heard voices coming nearer. As they exchanged horrified glances, they heard a key being slid into the lock. The men were coming back!

"Go, Lucy-Ann, go!" cried Philip.