“There’s Pilescu! And Ranni! Look, over there, behind the plane!”
The two big Baronians had heard the engine of the car and they had come to see if it was the children arriving. Pilescu gave a deep-throated shout.
“Paul! My little lord!”
Paul raced over the grass to Pilescu. The big red-bearded man bowed low and then lifted the boy up in his strong arms.
“Pilescu! How are you? It’s grand to see you again,” said Paul, in the Baronian language that always sounded so strange to the other children.
Pilescu was devoted to the little prince. He had held him in his arms when he was only a few minutes old, and had vowed to be his man as long as he lived. His arms pressed so tightly round the small boy that Paul gasped for breath.
“Pilescu! I can’t breathe! Let me down,” he squealed. Pilescue grinned and set him down. Paul turned to Ranni, who bowed low and then gave him a hug like a bear, almost as tight as Pilescu’s.
“Ranni! Have you got any of the chocolate I like so much?” asked Paul. Ranni put his hand into his pocket and brought out a big packet of thick chocolate, wrapped in colourful paper. It had a Baronian name on it. Paul liked it better than any other chocolate, and had often shared it with Mike and Jack, when a parcel had arrived for him from Baronia.
Ranni and Pilescu welcomed the other children, beaming in delight to see them all, and Captain and Mrs. Arnold too. They had all shared a strange adventure in Africa, hidden in a Secret Mountain, and it was pleasant to be together again.
“Look after all these rascals, Pilescu,” said Mrs. Arnold, as she said goodbye to the excited children. “You know what monkeys they can be!”