Act 2

Chapter 11

The wind whistled eerily in the pine trees as the two children and Andrija trudged wearily on westwards. Suddenly, Andrija abruptly turned north, and in a little while they were marching vertically up the mountain. In the darkness, they tripped and stumbled over tree roots numerous times.
Suddenly out of the silence, they heard a great explosion coming from the east that lit up the night sky in a fiery light. Then darkness reigned again, and the only sounds left were screams and the crackling of flames.
“That was the house exploding,” Andrija told them softly.
“Why?” Jane swallowed. “Why did the house blow up?”
“I do not know exactly, and do not have time to tell you now. I shall tell you what I do know in a little while. We must hurry.”
They were soon on their way once more. Jane realized that it was getting more and more difficult to breathe. As if reading her thoughts, Will whispered, “The altitude…we’re getting up real high. Maybe we’ll reach the peak in a half hour.”
The darkness was oppressive and the cold was growing unbearable when Andrija suddenly cried, “We have reached the peak!” She puffed out white mist, her eyes sparkling. She leaned on Jane and gave a great sigh of relief as she gazed around her.
Dawn was breaking and the world was bathed in a rosy light. Jane was astonished to find that they were above the clouds. The dazzling pure white of the snow was blinding, and Will shaded his eyes as he admired the view.
Andrija walked a few yards away to investigate a great boulder, and returned to announce that she had found shelter out of the wind. There was a great crevice in the rock that was large enough for them to squeeze into.
Jane, Will, and Andrija sat down once they were inside. It was cozy inside, and the wind roared high overhead. Will leaned against the stone and pulled his coat tighter about him. “Now can you tell us why you got us out of the house and why we heard that explosion and the screams and why the Enchanter’s Army was hiking up the mountain towards us?”
“I will first tell you why I woke you up and why we escaped from the house,” said Andrija. “I was awake all night long last night, for I had a strange feeling about Mr. Ruther and Mr. Ford. The house in itself seemed strange. I crept out of bed and looked about the room. Pulling aside a curtain, I discovered a picture of the Enchanter. Soon I made a few more discoveries. I found a crumpled letter in a drawer that was addressed to Mr. Ruther and Mr. Ford from the Enchanter himself, congratulating them on their prowess as his personal secret agents.”
“Secret agents!” Jane gasped.
“We should have listened to you, Andrija, when you first told us that you didn’t like the looks of that house,” said Will. “This will be a lesson to Jane and me.”
“Of course, after reading this, I felt a deep suspicion that Mr. Ruther knew exactly who we were and what our purpose was for climbing the mountain.” Andrija continued. “The Enchanter had probably given the men a warning to look out for two children.”
“I see,” Jane breathed.
“Immediately, I woke you and began making an escape rope. I do believe that Mr. Ruther and Mr. Ford sent word to the Enchanter’s headquarters that they were lodging two children. The Enchanter sent his army swarming up the slopes of the mountain to kidnap us and most likely make an end of us- hence the torches from the east.
“I am not quite sure about the explosions and the screams, but my best guess is this. I think that the Enchanter’s army, in a rage to discover that Mr. Ruther and Mr. Ford’s visitors had escaped, blew up the house with gunpowder, and probably at this very moment are punishing Mr. Ruther and Mr. Ford, which explains the screams.”
Will shivered and Jane grimaced.
Suddenly Will cried: “We almost forgot, Jane! We have to read what our next step is to finding this Diadem!”
Jane took out the Book and flipped it open. “We must walk down the Northern side of the mountain...” Jane’s face lit up in enthusiasm. “Somewhere along there, we should find the diadem in a cave beneath a precipice. Wherever is that?” Her enthusiasm died away. “We are so close to finding the diadem but I don’t like the sound of a precipice. Let alone a cave. Why! There might even be bears in there!”
Will grinned at her. “Don’t worry. That’s why we have Andrija. Andrija will do all the dangerous stuff for us. Right, Andri?”
Andrija fluttered her eyelashes. “Oh dear me! You are too flattering, Willy-boy! But I’m afraid that I’m not capable of becoming bear-food. The creatures just don’t like me…suppose I’m too tough. They’d quite enjoy a sweet boy like you for supper, though.”
Jane giggled as Will pretended to sulk.
Andrija laughed too, then stretched and stood up. “We’d better be going. I don’t know where the Enchanter’s Army is and I’d feel much safer if we knew their location and where they are headed before taking a rest. We’ve got a full day in front of us for hiking down the mountain. Maybe…just maybe we’ll find the diadem today.”
* * *
Walking down the Northern side of the mountain was easy. And when Will had the ingenious idea of making a sled out of an enormous wedge of tree bark, it became exciting and speedy.
Jane squealed, holding on with all her might as the crude sled nearly collided with a pine tree. Will tried to direct the sled best he could by pushing to the side with a thick stick he had found. He sat in the back, Jane in the middle, and Andrija in the front.
The sled went bumping, sliding, spinning down the mountain. Jane closed her eyes and felt the wind whip against her face, tussle her dark hair, and bring color to her cheeks. Suddenly she heard Will cry out, and she opened her eyes just in time to see the sled fly over the edge of a cliff into the yawning empty expanse of air.

------------------------------------------------