Dylan.
‘He’s counting the steps from our room to whoever else has been using the passageway,’ said Alan. ‘If he counts twenty-six steps out the door of our dorm he’ll be outside their door.’
‘Exactly,’ grinned Eoin. ‘Now what do you want to do about the phone, Alan? I’m inclined to agree with Dyl and leave it there for the moment.’
Alan went along with the plan and the trio climbed back into their bedroom. Without a second’s delay, Eoin began counting again, strode out the door and turnedleft down the corridor. He went silent as he neared the end of his sequence, and mouthed ‘26’ to his friends as he stopped right outside the door to dormitory number 11.
Alan’s eyes widened as Dylan’s face darkened.
The trio turned on their heels and went back to their dorm, closing the door firmly behind them.
They looked at each other, wary of what would happen next.
Alan was first to speak the word they all had at the front of their minds. ‘Duffy!’
Chapter 17
. . . . . . . . .
‘ N OT just Duffy,’ said Dylan, ‘but Sugrue, Flanagan and Humphries as well.’
‘We’d better make sure we’re completely right on this, lads,’ said Eoin. ‘That gang will destroy us if we slip up. We need to get the teachers in on this as soon as possible.’
‘But McCaffrey and Duffy’s father are best friends,’ whined Alan. ‘He’s always going on about how much fund-raising he does for the school. He won’t do anything to him.’
‘OK,’ said Eoin, ‘here’s what we do. We show Mr Carey and Mr Finn what we found. They’ll be horrified and won’t allow it to be hushed up.’
‘I wonder what’s behind the other door?’ asked Alan.
‘That lock looked pretty solid,’ said Dylan.
‘Look, the sooner this is sorted and we get our phones back the better,’ said Eoin. ‘I’ll go down to the staff room now.’
Dylan went along too, and Alan stayed behind to keep an eye on the secret chamber.
Mr Finn was talking to Mr Carey outside the staff room. He hailed Eoin as he came down the stairs.
‘Ah, Master Madden, hero of the JCT I hear.’
Eoin blushed because Mr Carey was present, and mumbled his thanks.
‘I’m sorry to interrupt, sirs, but we’ve discovered something serious in our room. Can you come up with us?’
The teachers immediately looked concerned, but Eoin assured them it wasn’t anything dangerous. Or at least he hoped it wasn’t.
When they got to the room he explained how three mobiles had gone missing, and how they had heard the sound of them ringing – he left out Mr McCaffrey’s part in their discovery – and how they had found the trapdoor. He also explained how they found their way in – leaving out the part about Brian – and showed the teachers the staircase.
Alan handed Mr Carey his lamp and the rugby coach led the way down.
‘We didn’t touch the phones, sir, in case you need to fingerprint them or something?’ said Dylan.
Mr Carey came back up through the floor a few minutes later. He dropped the mobiles on the bed.
‘I presume you discovered the ladder at the end ofthe corridor. Do you happen to know where it leads?’ he asked.
‘Yes sir,’ replied Eoin. ‘It’s No.11. Duffy, Sugrue …’
Mr Carey looked at Mr Finn. ‘This is very disturbing …’ Mr Finn started.
‘Don’t worry about fingerprints or any of that,’ Mr Carey chipped in. ‘Just be happy you got your phones back.’
‘But, sir––’ started Eoin.
‘I’ll have a word with the occupants of room 11, and be assured this will not happen again.’
And with that the teachers left.
‘That’s really annoying,’ said Alan.
‘They’re going to let them away with it,’ said Dylan.
Eoin stopped and looked at his two room-mates. ‘There’s something that just doesn’t add up,’ he said. ‘Why did Duffy’s gang leave the phones down there?’
‘They just wanted to cause trouble and they knew Rory would blame me,’ said Dylan.
‘Maybe,’ said Eoin.
‘He’s counting the steps from our room to whoever else has been using the passageway,’ said Alan. ‘If he counts twenty-six steps out the door of our dorm he’ll be outside their door.’
‘Exactly,’ grinned Eoin. ‘Now what do you want to do about the phone, Alan? I’m inclined to agree with Dyl and leave it there for the moment.’
Alan went along with the plan and the trio climbed back into their bedroom. Without a second’s delay, Eoin began counting again, strode out the door and turnedleft down the corridor. He went silent as he neared the end of his sequence, and mouthed ‘26’ to his friends as he stopped right outside the door to dormitory number 11.
Alan’s eyes widened as Dylan’s face darkened.
The trio turned on their heels and went back to their dorm, closing the door firmly behind them.
They looked at each other, wary of what would happen next.
Alan was first to speak the word they all had at the front of their minds. ‘Duffy!’
Chapter 17
. . . . . . . . .
‘ N OT just Duffy,’ said Dylan, ‘but Sugrue, Flanagan and Humphries as well.’
‘We’d better make sure we’re completely right on this, lads,’ said Eoin. ‘That gang will destroy us if we slip up. We need to get the teachers in on this as soon as possible.’
‘But McCaffrey and Duffy’s father are best friends,’ whined Alan. ‘He’s always going on about how much fund-raising he does for the school. He won’t do anything to him.’
‘OK,’ said Eoin, ‘here’s what we do. We show Mr Carey and Mr Finn what we found. They’ll be horrified and won’t allow it to be hushed up.’
‘I wonder what’s behind the other door?’ asked Alan.
‘That lock looked pretty solid,’ said Dylan.
‘Look, the sooner this is sorted and we get our phones back the better,’ said Eoin. ‘I’ll go down to the staff room now.’
Dylan went along too, and Alan stayed behind to keep an eye on the secret chamber.
Mr Finn was talking to Mr Carey outside the staff room. He hailed Eoin as he came down the stairs.
‘Ah, Master Madden, hero of the JCT I hear.’
Eoin blushed because Mr Carey was present, and mumbled his thanks.
‘I’m sorry to interrupt, sirs, but we’ve discovered something serious in our room. Can you come up with us?’
The teachers immediately looked concerned, but Eoin assured them it wasn’t anything dangerous. Or at least he hoped it wasn’t.
When they got to the room he explained how three mobiles had gone missing, and how they had heard the sound of them ringing – he left out Mr McCaffrey’s part in their discovery – and how they had found the trapdoor. He also explained how they found their way in – leaving out the part about Brian – and showed the teachers the staircase.
Alan handed Mr Carey his lamp and the rugby coach led the way down.
‘We didn’t touch the phones, sir, in case you need to fingerprint them or something?’ said Dylan.
Mr Carey came back up through the floor a few minutes later. He dropped the mobiles on the bed.
‘I presume you discovered the ladder at the end ofthe corridor. Do you happen to know where it leads?’ he asked.
‘Yes sir,’ replied Eoin. ‘It’s No.11. Duffy, Sugrue …’
Mr Carey looked at Mr Finn. ‘This is very disturbing …’ Mr Finn started.
‘Don’t worry about fingerprints or any of that,’ Mr Carey chipped in. ‘Just be happy you got your phones back.’
‘But, sir––’ started Eoin.
‘I’ll have a word with the occupants of room 11, and be assured this will not happen again.’
And with that the teachers left.
‘That’s really annoying,’ said Alan.
‘They’re going to let them away with it,’ said Dylan.
Eoin stopped and looked at his two room-mates. ‘There’s something that just doesn’t add up,’ he said. ‘Why did Duffy’s gang leave the phones down there?’
‘They just wanted to cause trouble and they knew Rory would blame me,’ said Dylan.
‘Maybe,’ said Eoin.
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