Five Go Mad in the Brecon Beacons
Chapter Two: Trecastle
Aunt Nerys was a plump, motherly woman and all the children liked her straight away. She settled them in the van with the girls squeezed in up front with her and Uncle Bryn and the boys in the open back. Gwen enjoyed the comfort of the seat but would have quite liked to be in the back where, judging by the noise they made, the boys were having fun trying to stay in place by hanging on to the sides. It was a straight run out to the farm along the main road and both girls admired the wooded hills and small villages they passed through. It was hard to talk over the sound of the old van's engine so they gave up trying and just enjoyed the view.
"Now," said Aunt Nerys when they arrived at Trecastle Farm, "I expect you'd like to be in the old tower. It'll be warm enough at this time of year." She indicated the stone building at one corner of the farmyard. "There's three bedrooms, so some of you'll have to share, and a bathroom. You'll eat with us, of course."
"That sounds wonderful, ma'am. A real adventure," said Jack, smiling broadly. He spoke loudly to drown out Owen who was complaining about the farmyard smells.
She laughed. "Just call me Aunt Nerys, much easier on us all. Let me show you round." They entered the old building which had been a corn store before being converted into living accommodation. Inside was a large, stone-flagged room with a table and chairs, a couple of easy chairs and a dresser that contained books. A kettle and some mugs stood on a smaller table with containers for tea, cocoa, milk and sugar. In one corner was a large bathroom with a cast iron tub and the usual facilities. "You can use this as your own sitting room, especially if it rains, and make as much mess as you like. Up here," she was climbing the staircase which hugged the back wall, "are the bedrooms." On the first floor landing, she opened the only door. "This is a double and there's a twin room on the next and a single above that."
The children looked dutifully into all the rooms. The top room had splendid views over the tree tops and Owen bagged it for himself. The girls took the room on the middle floor as it was the cosiest of the three with views on both sides, down into the farmyard and across the fields and woods. This left Jack and Ianto to share the last room which suited them; as the oldest they could keep an eye on the others. Aunt Nerys left them to unpack and there was excited bustle as they found homes for their belongings and changed into old clothes.
Owen clattered down the wooden stairs first with Toshiko next down. They met in the large sitting room and poked around in the cupboards finding various board games including Scrabble, Monopoly and chess. "Tosh," said Owen, "do you know what that weird smell is?"
Toshiko looked at him wide-eyed, she'd never been called 'Tosh' before. She decided she liked it. "No. This is my first time in the country too," she admitted.
"I think it's horrid. Makes me want to puke!"
"Well next time don't be so rude as to say so!" came Jack's voice from the stairs. He and Ianto walked down together. "It's very kind of Aunt Nerys to have us here."
"Who are you to tell me what to do?"
"Someone who has more manners than you." He sat down at the table and leant the chair back so it was resting on its back legs.
"What's going on?" asked Gwen, running down the stairs. Her hair was tied up in a raggedy bunch on one side of her head. She looked at the others who seemed tense.
"Let's not have a row," said Ianto, "but Jack's right, Owen. It was rude to say that in front of Aunt Nerys." Owen shrugged and went back to looking at the books.
"Ianto, why don't you show us round," suggested Gwen, not wanting to start the holiday with a row.
Everyone liked the idea and they all, including Owen who dragged his feet a bit, trooped out into the farmyard. It was more or less square: the farmhouse made up the north side with a milking parlour and barns on the west and a tack room and hay store to the south. The tower was in the south east corner and they turned down a track that ran alongside it into fields and woodland. Ianto made sure they understood about closing gates and not spooking the animals. In the second field, they saw a youth a little older than Jack checking on two sheep.
"Hello, Rhys," called Ianto.
The youth waved, quickly finished what he was doing and walked over to them. He leant on the gate and eyed them curiously. "Ianto," he nodded. They had met when Ianto had stayed here with his parents. "Who're your friends?" They were all introduced and Gwen smiled at the young man who smiled back.
"Is this all the sheep you have?" asked Toshiko, vaguely disappointed to see only two.
Rhys laughed. "No! These have mastitis so we're keeping them separate for a bit. The main flock are in two-acre right now. Then there's the cows and a small herd of goats."
"Have you worked here long?" asked Jack.
"About two years. Started soon as I left school. Always wanted to work with animals."
"Do you live here?" asked Gwen. He was not as handsome as Jack, or possibly Ianto, but he had a friendly open face that she found attractive.
"Yep, I've got a room in the farmhouse. Want to see the sheep? I was just off to check on them."
"Yes, please."
In the end just she and Owen, who preferred that to being around Jack who made him feel awkward, went with Rhys while the others continued walking towards the woodland. Ianto led them down a shady path beside a shallow stream until they arrived at a small lake. "This is a great place to swim," explained Ianto, "but you need to be careful."
"It doesn't look natural," said Toshiko. She had not spoken much so far, feeling as much out of her depth as Owen. Her family had always lived in cities and she knew nothing about the countryside but was willing to learn.
"It's not. It's a bomb crater."
"A bomb crater?" chorused Jack and Toshiko, amazed at such a thing in this quiet corner of rural Wales.
Ianto laughed at their expressions. "I'm not sure of the exact story, you'll have to ask Uncle Bryn, but apparently a bomber went off course during the war and dropped a bomb here to get rid of it. The stream filled it up."
"Wonder how deep it is?" said Jack, peering into the murky depths.
"Not too bad at the banks but it gets very deep if you go out beyond that point marked with the red pole." The looked and saw the metal pole, painted red, sticking up about four yards from the bank. "I always stay this side of it. The water's freezing by the way."
They walked on, round the lake, and found a clearing full of wild flowers. Toshiko thought it beautiful, with the sun slanting through the trees and the colourful flowers. She promised herself she'd come back with her camera on another day, maybe Gwen would like to see it too. Jack checked his watch and decided they ought to start back. Ianto took them down a different path at the edge of the farm where the wood gave way to open moorland. He halted and indicated to be quiet. Out on the moor a number of rabbits were feeding. The three young people stood in silence and watched them, entranced, until Jack said they must get back.
-ooOoo-
Supper was taken round the large farmhouse table. There were lashings of good things to eat and all the children tucked in; they were famished after their journey. "Sir," said Jack to Uncle Bryn, "Ianto showed us the lake and said it was made by a bomb. Is that right?"
"Oh yes, though it was two bombs. That was during the last war. I was a child then living up the road a bit, on my dad's farm, but I saw it. It was during the Cardiff Blitz back in '41. We often saw the planes in the distance but this night three of them came out our way. Must have got lost. The noise woke us all up and I went out with my old dad to have a look. Those planes were good and lost, circling round, then two of them dropped bombs right where the lake is now. Was just a crater for a while but the stream and the rain soon filled it up. The last bomb, the third one, didn't go off and the Army came and blew it up. That was a day I'll never forget." He chuckled and ate some more bread and butter. It was the first time he had said more than a few words to the children and they were surprised how affable he was; he'd been a bit forbidding before.
"Seems strange the planes were that far off target," commented Jack.
"It wasn't the only time it happened. There were a couple flew over a few days before. Never had any after that though."
"Curiousier and curiousier." Jack went back to his Welsh rarebit, lost in thought.
"I remember my granddad telling me about that," put in Rhys. He was sitting next to Gwen. "Reckoned there was something strange about it. But he always had odd ideas."
"Like what?" asked Jack and Toshiko together.
"He told me that there were people living in the ground during the war. Said he saw them come up for air a few times, when it was a dark night." He laughed. "Mind you, he was only out there himself 'cos he was poaching!"
Jack and Toshiko looked at one another thoughtfully across the table and he shook his head urgently when she opened her mouth to ask more. Frowning at him, she put her head down and went back to her meal. The talk turned to other things then. Owen, who didn't mind making fun of himself, made them laugh with his account of being chased by a sheep. Gwen and Rhys confirmed it was true. After helping to clear up, the children said good-night and went back to the tower. It was still light and they settled in the sitting room: Ianto and Gwen in the easy chairs, Owen sitting on the floor with a book and Jack and Toshiko with their heads together talking quietly at the table.
"Seems odd, don't you think?" said Jack.
"Umm. Almost like the first planes were looking for something then sent in the bombers." Toshiko answered just as quietly. She loved mysteries and was elated that one of the others had spotted the possibility of one right under their noses.
"That assumes they found something worth bombing."
"The people under the ground?"
Jack shrugged. "I belong to a school archaeological society and we had a talk a while back about military activity in Wales. Apparently there are rumours of a wartime research facility but no one knows for sure."
"What kind of research?"
"Don't know. I suppose it would be weapons of some sort." They were silent for a while, thinking about what they were saying. "Probably nothing in it," he said eventually, leaning back and smiling a broad smile, "but I do love a mystery."
"We could always have a look around while we're here," suggested Toshiko innocently. Jack's smile grew even broader. "Why didn't you want me to ask any more questions tonight?"
"Sorry about that," he said. "But if we want to explore, we don't want to other people to know about it. They might stop us."
"What are you two nattering about?" interrupted Gwen. She had been watching them and was getting curious and maybe a little jealous. She had never known a boy prefer Toshiko's company to her own.
"Planning a trip to swim in that lake," said Jack immediately. He looked over at the others. "What are the plans for tomorrow?"
They discussed it for a while but no one could decide what they wanted to do. Toshiko started to yawn, very politely, and soon went off to bed. The rest were not as tired so started a game of Scrabble which got rowdy when Gwen tried to use non-existent words. She then stole some tiles and Ianto chased her round the table, eventually cornering her and grabbing them back. That was effectively the end of the game and they all went off to bed.
In their room, Ianto and Jack lay side by side looking up at the uneven ceiling. "What were you discussing with Tosh?" asked the Welsh boy.
"That lake and the stories we heard over supper. I think our imaginations carried us away a bit," he said ruefully. "We had secret bases and scientists slaving away in them." He laughed, a happy, carefree sound.
"Nothing like that round here. This is too far off the beaten track." He turned on his side, back to Jack, and closed his eyes.
"Which is just where I'd put a secret base," mused Jack to himself before turning off the lamp and going to sleep.
-ooOoo-
It was barely light when Toshiko woke and lay still, wondering where she was. Then she remembered. Gwen was sleeping soundly in the other bed so Toshiko was as quiet as possible as she pulled on her swimsuit under some slacks and a sweater. She tiptoed down the stairs, put on her shoes and took a towel from the bathroom before leaving the tower. She took the same path as the day before and arrived at the lake just as the sun started to appear above the trees.
She had liked Jack's idea of exploring the lake. It was the obvious place to start if there was a mystery to be solved and she didn't want to wait. Taking off her outer clothes she dipped a toe in the water: it was as cold as Ianto had promised. Nevertheless she dived in, gasping with the shock. She was a strong swimmer and in a few strokes was near the red pole where she trod water and looked all around; nothing seemed out of place. She ducked under the surface but the water was muddy and she couldn't see very far. It was obvious, though, that the lake deepened suddenly at just this point. She popped back up and made for the bank. She was just scrabbling out when she saw a figure appear through the trees. The sunlight was behind him and she shivered suddenly, and not just from the chill of her swim.
"I should have known," came an American drawl. "Tosh, you beat me to it." His tone was full of admiration and she was unreasonably pleased. "Found anything?" He sat on the grass and took off his shoes before removing his outer clothes.
She sat beside him, towelling herself dry; it was much warmer out of the water. "No," she admitted. "The water's awfully murky and I could only see that the lake gets a lot deeper just where the pole is."
"Interesting. Mind if I take a look?" He was in just his swimming trunks by now and stood looking down at her.
She took a moment to admire his toned and tanned body; he was a remarkably attractive boy. "Not at all." She looked away, afraid she might be staring.
He dived in neatly and swam out to the pole. He was wearing goggles and he ducked his head under the water and swam along the edge of the drop. He had expected it to be circular but it wasn't. He poked his head up and shouted at Toshiko. "Where it gets deeper," he said, "it's a square set at an angle."
She caught on immediately. "Like a building?" she asked excitedly. She was in the water in a trice, swimming over to him.
When they were together, he said, "Yes, just like a building that's been blown up." They grinned conspiratorially. "I'm going to take another look, go a bit deeper. You stay here so I've got something to use as a reference for getting back." He took a series of deep breaths and then dived down.
She watched the place he had been and saw a few bubbles coming to the surface. They moved slightly to the left and she kept her eye on them as it showed where he was. After what seemed an age, and when she was starting to get worried, he surfaced just where she was looking. He took a number of breaths and swam over to her. "What did you find?" she asked as soon as he was close enough to hear.
"It's hard to be certain, but it looks like a building. That pole goes all the way down and I don't think it's been put there recently. It looks like it belongs to the building." He grinned again. "I'm going to try once more. Not too cold, are you?"
"I'm fine," she said, fighting to stop her teeth from chattering. He took more deep breaths and dove beneath the surface once more.
She waited again, watching the bubbles. This time she checked her watch – which luckily was waterproofed – and kept an eye on how long he had been down. After a minute she got worried and at two she started to panic. She put her head under the water and dove down to search for him, going hand over hand on the red pole the better to keep her position. The water was dark and she could see little but slightly to her right she spotted a patch that was lighter than the rest. Letting go of the pole, she went towards the patch and realised it was Jack. He was struggling, his foot caught in something. Drawing on reserves she did not know she had, she traced down his leg and removed the wire that had tangled round his ankle.
Free at last, he made weakly for the surface, lungs desperate for air. She helped him and they both surfaced together and gasped, drawing in much-needed air. Jack was weak and about to slip back under the water when she got him on his back and slowly swam them both to the side of the lake. She kept at it doggedly, pushing herself on despite her muscles aching for rest. Suddenly Jack's weight was gone and she looked round wildly.
"It's okay, I've got him," said Ianto close to her ear.
"Let me help you, Tosh," said another voice: Gwen, she thought. Gratefully she allowed herself to be helped to the bank and up out of the water. Gwen wrapped her in the towel and helped her to dress even though she was still wet.
Between them, Ianto and Owen pulled Jack up onto the bank. He was conscious, just totally done in. He lay unresisting as Owen checked he was breathing then rubbed at his limbs with the towel as Ianto did the same using his Guernsey sweater. They were relieved when Jack responded and sat up. Dressed once more, he was able to stand. Owen quickly checked Toshiko but she was obviously okay, just cold. With Gwen and Ianto also wet and cold from their unexpected dip, the five made for the farm, Jack weak but managing to walk with Ianto's support.
Luckily Uncle Bryn and Rhys were in the milking parlour and too busy to see the bedraggled group scurry into the tower. Ianto immediately dried Jack off a bit more and bundled him into bed. Toshiko took a quick bath while Gwen and Ianto dried themselves off and all three dressed in dry clothes. Owen stayed with Jack, grateful for his St John's Ambulance training. Eventually they all gathered round Jack's bed. Amazingly, considering all that had happened, it was early and still half an hour before breakfast.
Toshiko sat cross-legged on the bed beside Ianto, Owen on a chair by Jack and Gwen stood near the window as they pooled information to work out what had happened. Jack and Toshiko mentioned the sunken building they'd discovered, surprised when the others were not very interested. Ianto was far more concerned about them going off alone to the lake, telling them both off in no uncertain manner. If he had not found Jack's note saying he had gone swimming and decided to show the others the lake things could have ended very differently.
"I'm really glad you came to find us," said Jack, squeezing Ianto's arm. "Though Tosh is my hero. She saved my life." The girl blushed prettily and refused to take credit for the rescue.
"You ought to see a doctor," said Owen, momentarily overwhelmed with the responsibility for Jack's health.
"I'm fine, Owen, really I am. Now I'm warm again there's no need to get a doctor. We don't need to tell Aunt Nerys either."
"I don't know -" began Ianto.
"If we say anything we'll be told not to go swimming again and it's really quite safe. I only got into trouble because I was exploring. Please, Ianto?" He squeezed his arm again and the other boy relented.
"All right but you're not to do anything energetic today," said Ianto sternly. "And no one goes swimming alone. Agreed?" They all solemnly agreed.
From the window, Gwen saw Rhys and Uncle Bryn return from taking the cows out to the fields and head for the house. It would be time for breakfast very soon. "Breakfast, everyone," she announced. "Are you going to be able to get up?" she asked Jack.
"Try and stop me. Indestructible, that's what I am." The others laughed, reassured by his humour. "Now, if the ladies will leave my boudoir I'll get dressed." He laughingly made to throw back the covers and the girls raced from the room.
Gwen and Toshiko did not wait for the boys, they crossed to the farmhouse and were met by the smell of sausage, eggs and bacon.
"Good morning," said Aunt Nerys from the stove, smiling at them. "Take a seat wherever you like. Cooked okay for you?" They nodded enthusiastically; their exertions had made them ravenous. Plates loaded with delicious food were soon put down in front of them and they started eating straightaway. "Gwen, sweetheart. Your father rang late last night to say your mother is doing well. She's fully recovered from the operation and the doctors are very pleased with her."
"Oh, I'm so pleased," said Gwen, meaning it. She had been worrying about her mother and about how her father was coping without either of them to run the house.
"He's going to ring again tonight, about 9.30, so he can have a word with you himself."
At this point the three boys entered the kitchen, Jack steady on his feet but just a bit paler than normal. They took seats and were soon demolishing the substantial breakfast provided for them.
And so, the mystery begins to unfold ... Next chapter coming soon.