“Jupe, are you all right?”
Jupiter blinked and opened his eyes. He saw the blurred faces of Pete and Bob looking down at him.
He grunted and sat up. There was a lot of sand on his face, and he brushed it off carefully before replying.
“Of course I’m all right,” he said finally. “Not that the effect of both of you landing on me at once did me any good. In addition to knocking the breath out of me, you practically buried my face in the sand!’
Pete grinned. “He’s okay. He can still talk!’
“I hear him,” Bob said. “As usual, he’s making it seem our fault. As I recall, his weight broke the steps and railing first. What were we supposed to do — fly over him?”
Jupiter got to his feet slowly. He kicked at the litter of broken boards all round them. Then he picked up a splintered piece and studied it. He stooped and picked up another, comparing it with the first. He nodded as if satisfied.
“Your statement is correct, Bob,” Jupiter said. “My weight did break the steps first. But I’m inclined to believe that I had help. These steps appear to have been tampered with. Enough to make them give way at the slightest pressure.”
He extended the boards to his two partners.
“If you notice, the top part is splintered sharply. See how jagged it is? The bottom part is broken more evenly. Almost as if it had been partly sawn through before we came down the steps.”
Bob and Pete looked at the boards closely.
“Maybe you’re right,” Bob admitted. “But who knew we were coming down them?”
“Sure.” Pete said. “It was your own idea, Jupe. If we never went down the steps, the accident could have happened to anybody in the neighbourhood. We’ve only met Mr. Carter, Mr. Allen and Mr. Shelby, so far. There must be a lot of others who use this staircase.”
He pointed up the beach. “It’s a long walk to the other one. And a longer walk to the next one. Anybody could have come down here.”
Jupiter sighed and threw the boards down. “We don’t have the equipment to examine these boards anyway, to find out if they were actually sawed or not. Maybe I’m wrong in my deduction.”
Pete and Bob stared at each other. It was a rare day when Jupiter ever admitted to a wrong guess about anything.
Jupiter set his lips firmly. “However,” he said, “we can’t let ourselves be sidetracked by the accident on the steps. Our main purpose in coming down was to examine the beach here and the cave for evidence of the dragon. Let’s get on with it.”
Without a backward glance, Jupe started walking towards the sea. “We’ll look for tracks leading from the water inland towards the cave first. What Mr. Allen claimed he saw took that direction.”
Bob and Pete joined him, and the three advanced slowly over the sand. The wide expanse of beach appeared deserted. Overhead a few seagulls, screaming raucously, swooped about in erratic flight.
Pete pointed to one of the gulls who had just landed. “Maybe we ought to ask one of them if he saw a dragon recently. That would save us a lot of trouble.”
“Good idea,” Bob said. “And if they won’t talk, there’s that tug with the salvage rig about a mile out.”
He pointed offshore to a clumsy-looking craft trailing its rig. “They don’t look like they’re going anywhere in a hurry. Maybe they’re on a dragon hunt, too.”
Jupiter looked out and shook his head. “We don’t have to worry about what’s out that far. All we have to do is cover the shoreline round here.”
He ran his eye from the cave in the distance towards the water. “We should see tracks somewhere in this area. I suggest we spread out a little.”
They separated and walked slowly along the beach, scrutinizing the sand closely.
“All I see is a lot of seaweed piled up,” Bob said.
“Me, too,” Pete said. “Plus some seashells and a lot of driftwood.”
Bob shook his head finally. “No sign of any kind of tracks, Jupe. Could the tide have washed them away?”
Jupe tugged at his lip. “Possibly here, close to the water. But there’s plenty of dry sand for tracks all the way up to the cave. Let’s go up and look.”
“Do we have to?” asked Pete. “What if the dragon is in the cave? What are we opposed to do — fight it off with our bare hands?”
“I don’t expect us to have to fight anything, Pete,” Jupe said. “We’ll approach the cave entrance carefully. And we won’t go inside unless we’re certain it’s safe enough.”
Pete scowled. Then he stooped and picked up a long piece of driftwood. “Well, I don’t know how much good this will do me. But I’ll feel a lot safer with some kind of club in my hands.”
Bob picked up another piece of wood, part of an oar with the blade broken off. ”You have the right idea, Pete,” he said. “I remember seeing pictures of St George and the dragon. He didn’t use old drift wood, either. He was smart. He had a nice long sword.”
He brandished his long oar, then glanced at Jupiter. “Don’t you want some kind of weapon, too, Jupe? We can go back for those broken railings, if you like. They’ve still got some of the nails set in them. Nice long ones.”
Jupiter smiled and shrugged. “I suppose it won’t hurt to carry something.”
With that, he reached down and picked up a long, wet plank from the debris along the shore. He put it on his shoulder and glanced at his companions.
Bob and Pete smiled weakly. Then, with resolutely set faces and quaking hearts, the boys walked slowly towards the dark opening in the face of the cliff.
They crossed the slight ridge near the waterline, scanning the sand each foot of the way. Suddenly Jupiter stopped. His eyes were bright.
“Here’s something,” he said softly.
Bob and Pete looked down. There were unmistakable depressions in the loose soft sand.
“This dragon must be a new type,” Bob said finally. “It looks like it’s running on wheels.”
Jupiter nodded. He looked up and down the beach. “I don’t see anything. But these look like the tracks of some kind of vehicle. Maybe a beach buggy. Some times lifeguards use a jeep or beach buggy to patrol a long area, such as this.”
“Maybe,” Bob said. “But if they were on patrol, these tracks would be heading north and south — the way the beach runs. Instead, they’re heading towards the cave.”
“You’re right, Records,” Jupiter said. He dropped to his knees and studied the depressions.
Bob was scowling, looking back at the water. “I don’t get it. If the tracks show here, why couldn’t we see them near the water?”
“A heavy running tide and high breakers would wash them away, I guess,” Jupiter said.
Pete grinned. “I guess old Mr. Allen’s eyes aren’t too reliable. Instead of a dragon, what he probably saw was a jeep or something.”
“Possibly,” Jupiter answered. “In any event, when we get to the cave we’ll find out one way or the other.”
Ten yards from the cave, the tracks disappeared completely.
The boys looked at each other.
“Another mystery,” Pete said.
They reached the mouth of the cave. It looked empty.
“This opening is almost big enough for a bus,” Bob said. “I’ll take a look inside and see how far back it goes.”
Jupiter peered inside the cave. “All right, Bob. But stay within shouting distance. Pete and I will be with you, as soon as we check the entrance for any clues.”
