Everyone else sank down quietly behind the bushes and stayed as still as mice. Mafumu wriggled forward into a thick bush. It was prickly, but the boy did not seem to feel the scratches. He parted the bush-twigs carefully and looked through.
Then he looked back towards Ranni, his face full of excitement, and beckoned him forward with a wave of his hand. The children had the amusement of watching big Ranni do his best to wriggle forward on his front, just as Mafumu had done. The enormous Baronian did very well, however, and was soon beside the boy, peering through the prickly bush.
The two of them stayed there for some time. The others waited impatiently, hearing the harsh voices of the strangers, and wondering what Ranni and Mafumu could see.
Suddenly there came a grating sound, a rolling, groaning noise — and the voices stopped. The queer noise came again, such a grating sound that it set everyone’s teeth on edge! With the rolling sound of rumbling thunder the noise echoed around — and then stopped. Now only the sharp calls of the birds, the ceaseless hum of thousands of insects and the silly chatter of monkeys could be heard — and behind it all the roaring of the waterfall in the distance.
Ranni and Mafumu crawled back, their faces shining with excitement. They took hold of the other children and hurried them to a safe distance. And in the shade of a great rock Ranni told them what he and Mafumu had seen.
The Way Into The Secret Mountain
“Quick, Ranni, tell us everything!” said Jack.
“We saw some of the Folk of the Secret Mountain!” said Ranni. “They certainly do look queer. It is just as Mafumu’s uncle said — they have flaming red hair and beards and their skins are a funny yellow. I couldn’t see if their eyes were green. They were dressed in flowing robes of all colours, and they wore turbans that showed their red hair.”
“Golly!” said Mike, his eyes wide with excitement. “Go on — what happened?”
“The queerest thing happened,” said Ranni. “I hardly know if I believe it or not. Well — let me tell you. As we lay there, watching these people talking together in their funny harsh voices, we noticed that they were near a very curious kind of rock.”