Welcome to Horror Hotel

1. Auflage CIP-Titelaufnahme der Deutschen Bibliothek The Knickerbocker Kids/Thomas Brezina Welcome to Horror Hotel Übersetzung: Erich Ballinger David Solomon Redigiert von Maria E. Clay Lektorat: Dr. Irene Kunze Illustrationen: Atelier Bauch - Kiesel Satz: Zehetner Ges. m. b. H., A-2105 Oberrohrbach Wien - Stuttgart - Kiel: Neuer Breitschopf Verlag 1994 Alle Rechte, auch die des auszugsweisen Nachdrucks, der fotomechanischen Wiedergabe, der Übersetzung und der Übertragung in Bildstreifen, vorbehalten. © Copyright 1994 by hpt-Verlagsgesellschaft m. b. H. & Co. KG, Wien ISBN 3-7004-0373-9 -1-

The coast of England, stormy nights, a secret cave and a haunted hotel high up on the cliffs. That is the dangerous playground on which the Knickerbocker Kids try to solve the mysterious case of ghosts spooking in a labyrinth of Underground tunnels. Once you start reading, you can’t stop till you have finished.

Contents The Ghost Hunters.....................................................04 The Secret Room.......................................................06 “Off with You!” ........................................................09 Undesired Guests.......................................................11 The Underground Harbour.........................................14 Low Tide...................................................................16 Mysterious Accidents ................................................18 The Next Attempt ......................................................20 The Secret of the Room .............................................23 The Search for Axel...................................................25 Surprise on the Sandbank ..........................................28 Three Blind Mice.......................................................30 Word List ..................................................................34

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THE KNICKERBOCKER KIDS got their name in a funny way: Axel, Lilo, Poppi and Dominik had won the first prize in a contest for knickerbocker-lederhosendesigning. That was okay with them. However, they had to wear their funny-looking, flipped-out knickerbockerlederhosen in a fashion show. They didn’t like that. So they played a trick on the manager of the knickerbockerlederhosen-company. The manager became angry and shouted: “You crazy Knickerbocker Kids!” The children liked the name. So, since then, they have called themselves THE KNICKERBOCKER KIDS. KNICKERBOCKER MOTTO: We, the Knickerbocker Kids, are honest and true and stick our noses into every clue.

scanned by: crazy2001 corrected by: tigger

@ Oktober 2003

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The Ghost Hunters Tension was high in the hotel room. The four Knickerbocker Kids were waiting. Lilo and Poppi were in the antique bed pretending to be asleep. The two boys stood behind the door. One on the left side, the other on the right. Axel was holding a bucket of cold water in his hands while Dominik had his camera ready. Their hearts were pounding loudly. The old clock in the hall struck twelve: it was midnight. The witching hour had begun; the first ghosts would soon appear. The Horror Hotel was known for the horrible things that happened to visitors who stayed there. The four junior detectives were sure that the ghosts were not real. But in case they were wrong. Dominik was going to take some pictures of the ghosts. The Knickerbocker Kids stared at the door. Did they hear steps in the hall? Did a door open? Somewhere in the hotel a woman screamed. Chains rattled, a pitiful howling started and the pounding of a wooden stick came closer. The Knickerbocker Kids lost their cool! Poppi pulled the blanket up to her chin. Lilo, Axel and Dominik felt their muscles tensing. Their fear increased with every moment. Suddenly, the door of the wardrobe opened. A man wearing grey, torn sailor’s clothes came out. He had a wooden leg and a hook for a hand and he swung a sword through the air. “How did he get into our wardrobe?” Lieselotte stuttered. Axel und Dominik were so frightened they -4-

couldn’t move. The pirate ghost kicked Axel’s bucket so hard that the water splashed his face. Then the ghost spat into the camera lens so Dominik couldn’t take clear pictures. He then disappeared into the wardrobe with a loud scream. Axel was the first to recover. “I’ll get you! No matter who you are!” he screamed and threw the wardrobe door open. “I knew it!” the boy called out. At the back of it there was a sliding door which was just closing. Axel quickly took a gym shoe and put it between the door and the side of the wardrobe. The secret door was blocked and couldn’t shut. Axel heard the pirate swearing. “This is our chance to find out where the ghost comes from!” Axel said excitedly. He pulled on the secret door with all his strength. It slowly opened. There was a shaft cut into the rock which led down into the dark. Metal hooks, like a ladder, ran down one side. “A torch!” Axel yelled. Lieselotte had one under her blanket and threw it to him. “You… you want to go after the pirate?” Dominik asked. He didn’t like the idea at all. “I’ll be back very soon,” Axel said. The boy climbed into the shaft and went down into the dark. He held the torch between his teeth. Axel couldn’t guess how dangerous it would become…

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The Secret Room The Knickerbocker Kids had ended up in England because Axel had failed in English and had to take an exam at the beginning of the following school year. So he had come to summer school in England and his friends had accompanied him. The school was on the coast of England, in Broadstairs. The little village was only a few kilometres away from Dover, an important harbour. During the past few months the opening of the Horror Hotel, high up on the cliffs, had caused much Sensation. Since its opening the hotel had been in the headlines of all the newspapers because it was haunted. The first guests had been frightened by strange noises and had seen ghostly women and pirates. Since then the hotel had been booked out. Therefore the hotel management had quickly doubled their prices. The summer school had held a costume competition and the four Knickerbocker Kids had won the first prize: a night in the Horror Hotel. The Knickerbocker Kids were delighted. Axel was sure that the spooks were a trick of the hotel management, and he wanted to prove it. Now he climbed down the shaft and finally reached a low, cold and damp tunnel. Light bulbs hanging from the ceiling lit up the tunnel. Axel saw that there were more shafts which led from the tunnel into the hotel rooms. “Through these shafts the people who play the ghosts enter the hotel rooms,” the junior detective thought. At the right-hand end of the corridor the boy saw a door which led into a lit room. A shadow on the wall told Axel that someone was in the room. -6-

Axel heard voices coming from the left. He quickly climbed up into the shaft. Beneath him a woman dressed in black and a man dressed as a skeleton walked by. They were talking to each other as though they were walking to a bus stop. Axel wasn’t afraid at all. It was as he had thought: living peoples dressed as ghosts. He waited a few seconds before he climbed down again. He stopped at the last rung and bent down to look. Two men and a woman were now coming out of the room in normal street clothes. It was too dark to really see their faces. They shut the door behind them and left. The lights went out in the tunnel. Axel wanted to climb back up the shaft when he heard another door open. He could hear the ocean! Foptsteps were coming from the direction of that door. He saw a light! Who was coming? It couldn’t be one of the dressed-up “ghosts”, because they had left in another direction. The junior detective waited, then climbed down, trying not to make a sound. He couldn’t be seen in the dark. Someone was Standing by the wall about ten metres away from the changing room and was unlocking some chains and locks. A door creaked open. The figure went into the room and started doing something there while whistling the children’s song “Three Blind Mice”. Axel became really curious. What was the person doing there? Slowly, step by Step, Axel moved towards the room. He had almost reached it when he heard the voices of his friends from above. “Axel, where are you?” Dominik called. Axel stood very still. The sounds in the secret room stopped. Maybe the person there had heard him? But he went on working. Axel fought with himself. Should he go -7-

on or should he go back? He decided to go on, but he sensed that something was wrong. Axel tiptoed to the door. All he could see inside was an old suitcase with many stickers on it. It was lying open on the table and somebody wearing black trousers and a black anorak was bending over it. “Hey, Axel, what’s the matter?” Dominik screamed again. The dark figure jumped up and looked around. There was no time for Axel to hide.

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“Off with You!” Everything happened really fast. The figure leaped at Axel. He grabbed Axel and tried to strangle him. “No… no!” Axel gasped and tried to free himself. But the other one was much too strong. Axel gasped for air, he felt his strength leaving his legs and arms and he saw black dots in front of his eyes. Screaming, the man threw Axel against the wall of the tunnel. Axel lost consciousness. “Hey, what is wrong? Why aren’t you answering?” Lilo shouted in a worried voice. The dark figure took the suitcase, locked the door, stepped over the boy and disappeared in the direction of the changing room. Half a minute later Lieselotte and Dominik climbed out of the shaft and Dominik discovered Axel with his torch. “A… A… Axel!” Dominik called out, running to his friend, “He… he is breathing, but there is blood on his head!” “He must have fallen!” Lieselotte thought. “But how can we take him out of here?” The girl ran in the direction where the man had disappeared and reached a locked door. Lilo hit the door. “Help! Help! Open the door!” she screamed. But no one answered. Lilo started to ran back to Axel when the door suddenly opened. The girl turned around and saw an old man with white hair. She had seen him before when they had arrived at the hotel. It was Archibald Dyer, the owner of the hotel. He looked at her with his small, sharp eyes. “Please… quickly… our friend is hurt!” Lilo called out. Mr. Dyerfollowed her without asking any questions. Half an hour later Axel was lying in bed with a bag of ice cubes on his head, groaning softly. He hadn’t -9-

regained consciousness yet. It was one o’clock in the morning before he was able to speak again. He told his worried friends the whole story. “And? What was in the locked room?” Dominik asked. Axel shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I… I only saw a suitcase with a lot of stickers on it.” Mr. Dyer carne in with a doctor who diagnosed a slight concussion. He told the boy to stay in bed and not get up until the next day. After the doctor had left Mr. Dyer got angry. “You little rascals! Why do you have to be so cunous? If you tell anyone my secret, you will be in trouble! This is the first time since I have owned this hotel that it’s making money.” Lieselotte ignored the shouting. “Years ago thieves used to use the secret shafts to get into the rooms, right?” Mister Dyer nodded. “I didn’t know these shafts existed until I discovered them a year ago. I came up with the idea of the Horror Hotel. It brings in a lot of money. But I don’t want kids like you here! This room is already reserved for tomorrow. You will have to go back to the summer school. That’s it!” Mr. Dyer left, slamming the door behind him. Axel sat up and gasped: “In… that…room… down there… something is wrong.” Lilo nodded. She had the same idea. She decided to go back and look around.

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Undesired Guests Dominik stayed with Axel while Lilo and Poppi went down into the shaft. Their first goal was the locked door to the secret room. Lilo counted four locks and three bolts. Even with a crowbar the door could hardly be opened. But what was behind it that needed to be protected so much? “Axel said something about hearing the ocean on the other side of the tunnel!” Poppi whispered. Lilo remembered this too. The two girls tiptoed through the tunnel, getting further and further away from the locked room. After 30 metres the tunnel ended at an old rusty door. Lieselotte wanted to open it but it was also locked. “What a shame!” the girl cried out softly and kicked the door with her shoe. The shoe stuck in the door. Lilo was shocked and pulled her foot back carefully. The metal was so rusty that there was now a hole in the lower part of the door. “Shhh… do you hear the ocean?” Poppi whispered. Lilo could hardly believe it. She lay down on the floor and looked through the hole with her torch. There were stairs leading to the ocean. So it must be possible to row a little boat to the cliffs below the Horror Hotel and look for the secret entrance. The next day Axel felt a little better. His head still hurt but he was able to get up. At ten o’clock Mr. Dyer knocked on their door to remind them to get ready to leave. They packed their nicksacks and went into the hall. A young man and woman were complaining to the receptionist. - 11 -

“There wasn’t any ghost in our room last night!” the man complained. “And we didn’t have any water in the morning!” the woman said. The receptionist didn’t raise an eyebrow. “I’m sorry,” she answered coldly. The man and the woman looked at each other. “What an unfriendly place! It seems your success went to your head!” the man said furiously. “Our guests are very satisfied, and we don’t need people who complain,” the receptionist answered. The couple didn’t know what to say. “We are leaving!” they shouted together. “All the better, I will write your bill!“The receptionist seemed happy that the couple was leaving. “Hey, Dad, the bill for Mr. and Mrs. Clintstone from Liverpool.” A look of triumph appeared on Lilo’s face. She went to the receptionist and said softly, “Pardon me, Miss, but our friend here had an accident in your secret tunnel.” The woman raised her eyebrows. “Dad, would you come here, please.” Mr. Dyer came and looked at Lilo furiously. “The doctor said that Axel should stay in bed,” Lilo said seriously. “You said there wasn’t any room for us. But now there is. My friend needs to stay here one or two more days. Everyone at the school would ask how he got hurt and then we would have to tell the truth. We never lie!” The hotel owner understood that Lilo was blackmailing him. He was about to explode. “Julie, say something,” he said. So Julie was Mr. Dyer’s daughter. “Where do you come from?” she asked. “From Austria,” Dominik answered.

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“A beautiful country!” Julie said. “Will you be staying in Broadstairs for a long time?” Poppi shookherhead. “Only three more days, then we are going back. I can’t wait to see my animals at home!” Julie thought for a moment and then said, “You can stay here, but you know, not a word to anyone about the secret of the hotel!” The four Kids nodded. Axel had to nod very slowly, because his head still hurt a lot. They had to wait in the hall until the couple from Liverpool left. In the meantime they watched an elderly couple who were checking out. Julie was very polite with them. Lilo only understood a little of what they said because they were from Spain. Axel rested with his eyes closed because the light hurt them. He opened them just in time to see something that alarmed him.

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The Underground Harbour Next to the Spanish couple was the old leather suitcase with the stickers on it. Was this the man who had been bending over the suitcase? If so, why had he been in the tunnel? Axel leaned over to Lilo and told her about the suitcase. She whispered to Dominik, “Quick… try to find out more about the suitcase.” Dominik pretended that he had to go to the toilet and fell over the suitcase, opening the lock as he fell. The suitcase popped open and dirty laundry spilled out. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” lied Dominik. The Spanish couple yelled something in Spanish and picked up the clothes. Dominik helped them pick up the clothes, skilfully searching the suitcase at the same time. “Did you find anything?” Lieselotte asked. The junior detective shrugged his shoulders. “No, I didn’t feel anything suspicious,” he answered. A short time later the kids were given their new room. Axel went straight to bed. Poppi stayed with him while Lieselotte and Dominik searched the walls and the wardrobe for a secret door. They didn’t find one. It was too bad, but Superbrain Lilo had another idea. She wanted to explore the cliffs around the Horror Hotel. Lilo and Dominik rented a rowboat. The two Knickerbocker Kids rowed along the shore, past the beaches, until they reached the steep cliffs. They could see the Horror Hotel above them. The girl searched the cliffs inch by inch with her binoculars. “Nothing, there isn’t any entrance to the cave,” she said disappointedly. “But the stairs led to the ocean. I don’t understand!” - 14 -

Returning to the harbour, they wem past a lighthouse that was only 500 metres away from the Horror Hotel. Lilo had an idea and steered towards a house next to the lighthouse. She knocked on the door and an unshaved man smoking a cigarette came out. “What do you want?” he snapped at the two Kids. Dominik wanted to leave when he saw this unfriendliness. “We have to write about the lighthouse for our summer school,” Lilo lied. “About the lighthouse and the coast. May I ask you some questions?” The man looked at Lilo suspiciously. “What do you want to know?” First the girl asked some harmless questions about the lighthouse. Then she asked the important question. “There is a cave in the cliffs which leads to the hotel, isn’t there?” she asked. The man looked at her sharply. “Who told you that?” he muttered. “Oh… a… somebody from Broadstairs told me.” Lilo stuttered. The man hesitated before answering. “I will only tell you if you promise you won’t look for it!” The Kids nodded. “Well, there is a cave, but you can only see it at low tide. At high tide it is filled with water,” the man explained. “About a hundred years ago it was a harbour for smugglers. They would sail into the cave where they sold their goods.” The Kids listened with excitement. “That’s it! Off with you! You are wasting my time!” the man shouted. He went inside and slammed the door. “George Higgins,” Dominik read on the door. “A name we have to remember!” Lieselotte added.

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Low Tide The four friends were invited to dinner by Julie Dyer. Julie offered them the typical English fish and chips because she had had no time to cook. “I have to apologise for my father’s behaviour,” said Julie. “He was afraid that you would tell a curious reporter the truth about our hotel. That would be bad for us. Lots of guests really believe that this hotel is haunted.” “When… we were in the tunnel last night… we saw something…,” Lieselotte began. “There is a room down there. It is locked… but somebody was there… then this person knocked Axel down… so there must be something in that room which nobody should see!” Julie seemed to be surprised. “Mmm… Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve rarely gone down there. Dad looks after the three people who play the ghosts for us. I have no idea who else could have access to the tunnel.” “Who has the key for the door that leads to the secret smuggler’s harbour?” Dominik asked. “You do know a lot!” Julie said. “Yes, we are detectives… amateur detectives!” Poppi said proudly. The young lady was impressed. “Hmm, the door to the cave is always locked. And there is only one key to that door which Dad keeps. But he would never hurt anyone! No, I am sure of that!” The young lady became nervous. “Listen… I think I could use your help,” she said. “Would it be possible that you stay at the hotel until you leave Broadstairs? I know the director of the summer school and I will talk to him so that you can stay with us.” - 16 -

“Okay, but may we look around everywhere?” Lieselotte asked. “Please ask me first.” Julie said. “This house is old and full of dangers. But I will give you access everywhere. I want to find out myself what is happening here!” Axel had a question. “Julie, do you know what is in the locked room? Could it have anything to do with the guests’ luggage? I saw the Spanish couple’s suitcase in the room!” The young lady ran her fingers through her hair and thought, “Some guests leave their luggage with us because the rooms are so small. But the luggage room is near the reception desk. I will talk to Dad about it. Probably there is a simple explanation for it,” Julie smiled and left. Axel still had a headache, so he went up to his room. The other three took a walk in the garden behind the hotel. The garden ended at the cliffs, where they dropped down at least 30 metres. One could hear the splashing of the waves below. Lilo bent down and saw that something had changed. “It is low tide!” Superbrain smiled. “Let’s get a boat and row to the cave. The entrance should be visible now.” The three junior detectives went back to the hotel to inform Axel about their plan. They didn’t hear the quiet rustling in the bushes. Someone had followed them and had listened to their plans.

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Mysterious Accidents “But it will be dangerous,” Axel said. “You could be stranded on a Sandbank or… or the boat could crash on the cliffs. Then you wouldn’t find your way back to the beach in the dark and you might drown!” Lieseotte pulled aface. “Pessimist!” she muttered. The girl looked at her watch. It was almost nine o’clock. They needed to leave immediately before the tide came in again. The Knickerbocker Kids grabbed their torches and took their goggles and fins. “See you later,” they said to Axel and wanted to leave the room. But the door was locked. Dominik ran to the telephone and tried to call the reception but the line was dead. Suddenly smoke came out of the bathroom. “Something is burning!” Poppi screamed. Lieselotte quickly opened the bathroom door. Smoke was coming out of the wash-basin. It smelled like almonds. Lilo felt weak and had a hard time walking back into their room. When she reached her bed she fainted. When Lilo woke up the sun was high up in the sky. She felt as though she had to throw up. Every movement hurt her. “Dominik! Poppi! Axel!” she gasped. She found it difficult to speak; her throat was totally dry. “Hey, where are you?” Lilo raised her head and saw her friends. They were lying on their beds as though they were dead. All of them were fully dressed. A breeze blew into the room through the open window. Lilo tried to remember what had happened but - 18 -

her head was empty. She could only remember that she wanted to go to the secret harbour. The girl got up slowly. Every bone in her body hurt. She stumbled to the bathroom and turned on the water. It came out of the tap fresh and clear. She wanted to wash her face with cold water but her hands still didn’t quite do what she wanted them to. She knocked the toothbrushes from the shelf. The toothbrushes dissolved in the water. She stumbled backwards. “Help, Poppi! Dominik! Axel!” Lieselotte screamed. The others groaned. Poppi was the first to come into the bathroom. “Thirst!” she said and wanted a drink of water. “Don’t!” Lieselotte warned her. “This isn’t water… it’s acid!”

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The Next Attempt “Children?! Hello, children! Open the door!” Somebody was knocking on the door. The Knickerbocker Kids recognised Julie’s voice. “Has anything happened?” she asked. Axel’s head hurt worse than ever. In spite of the pain he tumbled out of bed and went to the door. He turned the door handle and the door opened. “So it wasn’t locked!” Axel said angrily. “It didn’t open before,” said Julie. “For heaven’s sake, what is wrong with you?” The Kids were very pale. They found it difficult to stand up. “What… what happened?” Julie asked again. Lilo pointed towards the bathroom. Julie went in and called: “I can’t see anything!” “The water… it’s acid!” Lieselotte yelled. Julie turned on the tap. “What are you talking about? This is water, what else?” The four Kids ran into the bathroom and stared into the wash-basin. The acid and the half-dissolved toothbrushes were gone. Clean water was coming out of the tap! “But a while ago… and last night… there was a gas… it made us faint!” Dominik stuttered. Julie Dyer looked at the four Kids. “I… I can’t believe that. But if it is true, then somebody is out to get you!” She thought for a moment and then said, “I’ll give you another room and you can stay in it all day. And I’ll call the police.” Half an hour later the Knickerbocker Kids moved into their new room and were served a typical English - 20 -

breakfast with fried eggs, bacon, cornflakes, toast and jam. But the four friends weren’t very hungry. They only sipped their tea and stared in front of them. Lilo’s brain slowly started to work again. “I think yesterday someone didn’t want us to go to the secret harbour.” Poppi didn’t understand. “But we didn’t tell anyone.” Lilo shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t have an answer either. “If all these rooms have secret doors, it must also be possible to tinker with the taps. One thing is clear: something is wrong with the Horror Hotel. I think Mr. Dyer is doing something terrible and we have to find out what it is!” Around six o’clock the Knickerbocker Kids felt well again. Even Axel was feeling better. Lilo was afraid that someone was listening, so she wrote down her plan. “It is low tide now and we should finally explore the secret harbour. Who is coming with me?” Axel raised his hand. “We will go there by boat as soon as it gets dark. Dominik and Poppi will stay here and pretend that we’re all still in the room.” Axel and Lieselotte climbed out of the ground-floor window. Then they ran to the beach where they rented a boat. The waves were stronger than on the day before and so it was hard work. They rowed along the coast, past the lighthouse, until they reached the cliffs where they saw the Horror Hotel. “Look over there!” Axel pointed towards the lighthouse. Light signals were beamed across the water. Two long flashes followed by two short ones. The only thing which seemed strange to the two Kids were the red stripes in front of the lamps. Why was a part of the light red? - 21 -

“Could it be a signal?” Lilo asked. “Look, the hotel!” Axel had discovered something new. Light signals were being sent from a window on the top floor of the Horror Hotel. The light was blinking fast. But who was receiving the message? The two junior detectives turned their heads and looked out on the sea. There was a red light on top of the waves. It was probably a boat. The light in the hotel room went out and the light on the ocean began to move. “The boat! It is going towards the cave!” Lieselotte whispered. The light of the moon was bright enough to show the Kids the way to the cave. The cave entrance was about two metres high and four metres wide. The lower part of the cave was under water. “I will swim into the cave and see whether I can find out anything,” Axel said. Lilo wanted to hold him back. “No! Both of us will row into the cave.” “I can hide under water if necessary! They will see us if we take the boat. Lilo, I think that the other boat was being signalled to come into the cave. I want to find out what is in the boat. Maybe it has something to do with the locked room and the suitcase. Row closer to the cliffs but stay away from the cave! I will swim in and if I am not back in half an hour, row back to the harbour,” Axel told her. Lieselotte didn’t like this plan, but Axel didn’t give her time to answer. He dove in the water and disappeared in the dark.

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The Secret of the Room The coolness of the ocean refreshed Axel. His headache was completely gone and for the first time he really felt good again. The cave was very large. Axel took out his torch from a plastic bag and turned it on. He looked around the cave and saw several very old wooden docks. Steps went up to a door from one of them. Those must have been the Steps that Lilo had seen. Axel swam to the dock and was about to get out of the water when he heard a motorboat come into the cave. He quickly slipped under the dock. A light beam shone into the cave and along its green walls. The boat stopped at another dock. Then the light was dimmed. After about ten minutes the sound of a creaking door came from the tunnel. Another light shone into the cave. Unfortunately Axel couldn’t see anything from his hiding place. Judging from the sounds and the shadows, he guessed that somebody climbed out of the boat and handed something to someone on the Steps. It seemed to be a big box. The other person gave him a bundle in return which seemed to be money. Not a word was spoken. The nightly visitor went back to the boat and turned on the motor. The boat slowly left the cave. The other person went back up the stairs. Axel came out of the water quietly and jumped on to the dock. He switched on his torch and ran up to the door. In the meantime the dark figure had reached the top of the stairs, opened the door and gone into the secret tunnel. Axel tiptoed up the stairs. His heart began pounding wildly when he noticed that the door was left - 23 -

open and a light was on in the tunnel. He went in and saw another light coming from the secret room. And sounds too! Should he dare go to the door? It was his chance to find out what was in the room. He drew a deep breath and started to tiptoe towards the secret room. Only ten more metres… seven more metres… five more metres. Somebody was working in the room. Suddenly a big grey suitcase came flying into the corridor. Shocked, Axel pressed himself to the wall. Would he dare go on? “Now or never!” he thought. “If I don’t go now, I might give up my last chance to solve the mystery.” Only three more metres, only two, only one more metre. He was there! The boy had to bend over to look into the room. Axel held his breath. There was the table which he had seen before. On it was a suitcase and next to it was something else! The junior detective had no difficulty guessing what was going on. Axel knew that he must not walk past that door. So he had to return to the cave. But how could he get back from there? He was sure that Lilo wasn’t waiting for him any longer. He knew that he couldn’t swim all the way back. And if he stayed in the cave he would drown as soon as the tide came in. Axel leaned back and thought. He stared at the ceiling without noticing the big shadow of the person who was coming out of the room. Axel was grabbed by the shoulder and a hand was put over his mouth so he couldn’t scream. “You should never have come. Now you know too much, so you’ll have to take a trip with me!” the voice hissed into Axel’s ear. Axel knew that there was no chance of escaping. - 24 -

The Search for Axel “Is Axel back?” Lieselotte asked, entering the room. Dominik and Poppi looked at Lilo with surprise. “Isn’t he with you?” Poppi asked. “No, he didn’t return from the cave!” Dominik got frightened. “But he isn’t here!” Lilo knew what that meant. “Something must have happened to him in the cave or in the tunnel.” How could the Kids get into the shaft? One entrance was behind the reception desk where Mr. Dyer worked. The three Kids didn’t know how they could get past him. Besides they were suspicious of him. Somebody knocked on their door. The Kids stared at the door. It was 11 o’clock. “Yes… hello?” Lilo stuttered. “It’s me, Mr. Dyer,” the hotel owner called. The three Kids couldn’t move with fear. “What do you want?” Lilo asked. “We are already in bed!” “It is about your friend. Please open the door!” Dominik and Poppi stared at Lilo. This might be a trick. “Where is Axel?” Lilo wanted to know. “Please open the door! I can’t scream through the door,” hissed Mr. Dyer, who was becoming angry. Slowly the girl turned the key. Mr Dyer rushed in and looked around. “So it is true what the person on the telephone told me. I received an anonymous phone call a few minutes ago. I was told that your friend was going to be drowned because he knew too much. The caller said that Axel couldn’t escape and that the water would soon be over his head.” - 25 -

Poppi covered her face with her hands. “What does this mean?” Mr. Dyer didn’t have any idea. But Lieselotte had an idea. “The cave under the hotel fills up with water during high tide. If he is in there he will drown. I’m sure he is in the cave.” The hotel owner didn’t know what to do. “And how do we get there?” “You have the key to the door.” Mr. Dyer didn’t know anything about a key. “But that doesn’t matter, we’ll get the door open somehow.” The three Knickerbocker Kids and Mr. Dyer went to the reception desk and ran into the tunnel. They ran past the door with the bolts and locks. It was locked again. They finally reached the end of the tunnel. The door to the cave was open. They hurried down the slippery stairs into the cave. Mr. Dyer switched on his lighter. “No Axel, only water and rock,” Poppi said. “Axel, Axel are you here?” Lieselotte screamed. Poppi had an idea: “The door wasn’t shut. He could have escaped.” Lieselotte added, “But he could be tied up and gagged.” Again they called their friend’s name, but there was no answer. Sadly they went back upstairs. The Knickerbocker Kids and Mr. Dyer went to the edge of the cliffs and looked out across the black sea. “There! There is a light out there,” Dominik shouted, pointing in the direction where he had seen it. “Goodwin Sands,” Mr. Dyer shouted. “He is there! Goodwin Sands are sandbanks that are dry during low tide. When the tide comes in the sandbanks disappear in the water. He will drown pretty soon because the tide is now coming in.” - 26 -

The man ran to the reception desk and called the coast guard. But the telephone line was dead. “I will take my own boat and go out there,” Mr. Dyer said. “We are coming, too,” Lieselotte decided. The hotel owner didn’t even protest. He knew that it wouldn’t help. Once again someone began to whistle “Three Blind Mice”.

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Surprise on the Sandbank Mr. Dyer’s boat was tied up only one kilometre from the hotel. It was an old fishing boat. Mr. Dyer had a lot of trouble steering the boat in the stormy water. “There are rocks in the ocean. If we crash into one of them we’ll sink immediately!” Mr. Dyer screamed through the heavy storm. Dominik was at the stern of the boat looking out for the light and giving Mr. Dyer directions where to steer. The storm got worse every minute and the waves were getting bigger and bigger, splashing on the deck. Soon Mr. Dyer and the three Kids were completely wet. It seemed to take a long time to get closer to the Sandbank. The light became bigger. Lilo had the impression that it was a kind of torch on top of a big pole because the light shone across the waves. It took them almost an hour to reach Goodwin Sands. Mr. Dyer turned off the boat’s motor once they had reached the sandbank. They saw the pole to which the torch was attached and Axel, who was tied to the pole. A thick piece of cloth was in his mouth. Poppi bent down to him and untied him. The boy took the piece of cloth out of his mouth and gasped: “How… how did you find me?” “This isn’t the time to ask questions!” Lieselotte screamed. “Come, we have to get back. This storm is getting extremely dangerous!” Mr. Dyer and the others ran back to the boat or rather to the place where the boat should have been. It was gone! Lilo pointed her torchlight to the ground, where - 28 -

they saw big footprints. Then a loud motor was turned on. “That is the boat which brought me here!” Axel screamed and ran in the direction of the sound. But when they arrived there the other boat was gone too. “Dominik, give me your jacket!” Lieselotte demanded. The boy took it off and handed it to her. She put it in front of the torch and removed it again. In this way she could send signals. Three long ones, three short ones, three long ones. The SOS signal. She repeated the Morse code and hoped that someone would see it. Lilo handed the jacket to Dominik and told him to continue the signals. Then she sat down next to Axel on the sand which was already getting damp from the water. “What did you discover in the room?” she asked him. “Narcotics! In little white bags! Somebody hides them in the suitcases of the hotel guests. Unknowingly the guests smuggle them into their own countries where someone secretly picks them up. So the Horror Hotel is a centre of drug smuggling. The drugs are brought into the secret cave, and from there into the locked room. Then somebody hides them in the suitcases. Axel, did you see the person?” The boy shook his head. “No, he was all dressed in black and had a stocking over his head!” Lilo had a suspicion. “It must be this Higgins from the lighthouse. I bet there is a secret way from the lighthouse to the smugglers’ cave. It must be him. And now he wants us to drown here so we can’t tell anyone.” Poppi turned to Lilo. “Lilo, I don’t want to drown here! The water is coming closer and closer! We… we can’t get back! And swimming is impossible!” Higgins had thought this out well. - 29 -

Three Blind Mice The waves were already touching the feet of the four Knickerbocker Kids when the torch finally went out. They still had two lanterns from the boat. “Who was it who made us come out here?” Mr. Dyer asked angrily. “Higgins!” Lilo answered. “But it doesn’t matter. We have to risk swimming back.” The hotel owner was against this plan. “It is impossible in this kind of weather!” Lilo went up to Mr. Dyer and screamed in his face. “And what do you suggest?” The man didn’t have any answer. Suddenly Axel jumped to his feet and shouted, “Look! There… a light! It is coming towards us!” The junior detectives used the lanterns to signal SOS. A boat fought its way through the waves and came closer and closer to the Sandbank. It was the coast guard. They took Mr. Dyer and the Kids on board. “What are you doing out here? Are you crazy, Dyer?” the captain wanted to know. “Mr. Higgins is a drug smuggler. You have to arrest him!” Lilo called out. The man looked at Lilo. “I think that Higgins must have had a bad conscience. He was the one who called us.” This message was a complete surprise for the Knickerbocker Kids. It was one thirty in the morning when they arrived at the Horror Hotel. They were wet and cold. Julie came running from behind the reception desk and stared at the Kids and at her father. - 30 -

“What… what happened to you?” “We will explain later. Please make us some tea,” Mr. Dyer asked his daughter. After all of them had taken a hot shower and slipped into their jogging suits they went down to the Dyers’ flat. “Sit down. A cup of tea is the best thing now,” the hotel owner muttered. “Also I want to know what is going on here.” Axel and Lilo began to tell the whole story. Julie and her father listened very carefully. The tea-kettle began to whistle so Julie got up and went into the kitchen. “Hmm. I never thought about the locked door. And hardly anybody has access to the luggage room,” Mr. Dyer said. His daughter returned with a big tray and because nobody said anything she began to whistle. Poppi sang the tune. “Three Blind Mice.” Axel leaped to his feet. “Julie… you are the drug smuggler! You knocked me down twice as you whistled this song!” The young woman stared at him. Suddenly she pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the Kids and at Mr. Dyer. “Julie!” he shouted. “No more nice and lovely Julie,” the woman hissed. “Sit down, father. Now it is my turn to talk. I have spent much time in this rotten house. Now I have enough money and you won’t take it from me. Yes, it was my idea to make our guests smuggle drugs. But now these kids have spoiled my plan so I must disappear. But before I leave I will have to kill all ofyou!” Mr. Dyer jumped up. “I am your father!” he screamed. “I don’t care!” Julie answered coldly. She put her finger on the trigger. There war a loud metallic sound and then Julie sank to the floor. Mr. Higgins stood behind her with a frying pan - 31 -

in his hand. He must have come in through the service door in the kitchen. “I really came to ask you, Dyer, what these suspicions against me are all about!” he said. “But now I know the answer.” Julie Dyer and the man who had brought her the drugs were arrested. The police fooled him into coming back into the cave the following day by signalling to him. Mr. Dyer found it difficult to speak as he said goodbye to the kids the next day. He was still in a state of shock. “Stay just as you are,” he said to the Knickerbocker Kids in a soft voice. The junior detectives went down to Mr. Higgins to apologise. They had done him wrong. The man had forgiven them already and told them that from now on he would take better care of his neighbour. “But why did you send those red signals the other day?” Axel wanted to know. Mr. Higgins grinned. “Landlubbers, this is the warning to keep away from the sandbanks! It is always done like that!” They laughed about this simple explanation and went back to the summer school. The headmaster looked at them for a long time. “Julie Dyer would have used you for smuggling as well,” he said. “I didn’t suspect anything when she calied me and asked if you could stay at the Hotel for a few more days. But one thing I know for sure: I am giving you the very best marks for solving mystery cases!” The Knickerbocker Kids looked at each other proudly. Axel would pass his English exam of course, but would a new adventure await them?

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“Sure, otherwise we wouldn’t be the Knickerbocker Kids!” Lieselotte said with a smile. And she was right, of course!

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Word List A access - Zugang accompany - begleiten acid - Säure aim - zielen almond - Mandel apologise - sich entschuldigen appear - erscheinen arrest - verhaften as though - als ob attached - befestigt attempt - Versuch, versuchen B beam - Strahl; (Lichtsignale) senden behaviour - Benehmen beneath - unter bent (von: bend) - bückte bet - wetten bill - Rechnung binoculars - Fernglas blackmail - erpressen blew (von: blow) - blies bolt - Türriegel brain - Gehirn breath - Atemzug breathe - atmen breeze - Brise, leichter Wind brought (von: bring) - brachte bucket - Kübel bulb - Glühbirne

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C capture - fangen cause - verursachen chain - Kette changing room - Umkleideraum check out of a hotel - ausziehen cliff - Klippe cloth - Stoff, Tuch coast guard - Küstenwache complain - sich beschweren conscience - Gewissen conscious - bewußt consciousness - Bewußtsein concussion - Gehirnerschütterung couple - Paar crash - zerschellen, zusammenstoßen creak - knarren, quietschen crowbar - Brecheisen cube - Würfel curious – neugierig D damp-feucht dare - wagen decide - beschließen delighted - erfreut dim - abblenden; (halb)dunkel direction - Richtung disappear - verschwinden disappoint - enttäuschen discover - entdecken dissolve - (sich) auflösen door handle - Türklinke dove (von: dive) - tauchte drop - abfallen, sich fallen lassen - 35 -

drown - ertrinken, ertränken drugs – Drogen E entrance - Eingang escape - entkommen excited - aufgeregt excitement - Aufregung explanation - Erklärung explore – erforschen F fail - versagen faint - ohnmächtig werden felt (von: feel) - fühlte sich fin - Flosse flash - Blitz footprint - Fußabdruck footstep - Schritt fought (von: fight) - kämpfte frying pan - Bratpfanne furious – zornig G gagged - geknebelt gasp - keuchen goal - Ziel goggles - Taucherbrille goods - Waren grab - ergreifen groan - stöhnen ground floor - Erdgeschoß gym shoe - Turnschuh H harbour - Hafen hardly - kaum - 36 -

haunted - verwunschen headline - Schlagzeile headmaster - Schuldirektor heaven: for heaven’s sake - um Himmels willen hesitate - zögern high tide - Flut hiss - zischen hit - schlagen hook - Haken hung (von: hang) - hing hunter – Jäger I impressed - beeindruckt impression - Eindruck in case - falls increase - zunehmen in spite of - trotz J judge - beurteilen K knew (von: know) - wußte knock down - niederschlagen L ladder - Leiter landlubber - Landratte laundry - Wäsche lay (von: lie) down - legte sich nieder leap - springen led (von: lead) - führte left (von: leave) - ging weg, fuhr weg lie - liegen; lügen lighter - Feuerzeug lighthouse - Leuchtturm - 37 -

lit (von: light) - erleuchtete, erleuchtet lock - (Tür-)Schloß; versperren low tide - Ebbe luggage - Gepäck M mean - bedeuten message - Botschaft mice (Mz. von mouse) - Mäuse mutter - murren, murmeln mystery - Geheimnis N narcotics - Rauschgift nod - nicken O off with you! - verschwinde! owner - Eigentümer P pale - blaß pitiful - jämmerlich point - zeigen pole - Mast polite - höflich pound - schlagen pretend - vortäuschen probably - wahrscheinlich protect - beschützen prove - beweisen R raise - aufheben, hochziehen rascal - Lausbub, “Miststück” rarely - selten rattle - rasseln recognise - erkennen - 38 -

recover - sich erholen regain - wiedererlangen remove - wegnehmen rent - mieten rock - Fels rowboat - Ruderboot rotten - verfallen rang - Leitersprosse rush - rennen, eilen rustle - rascheln rusty – rostig S sailor - Seemann satisfied - zufrieden saw (von: see) - sah scream - schreien search - Suche; (untersuchen) sense - fühlen shadow - Schatten shaft - Schacht shame: what a shame! - wie schade! shore - Küste shower - Dusche shrug - zucken skilful - geschickt slam - zuschlagen sliding door - Schiebetüre slight - gering, leicht snap - schnappendem, “anschnauzen” softly - (hier:) leise solve - lösen sound - Geräusch spat (von: spit) - spuckte - 39 -

spill out - hervorquellen splash - anspritzen spoil - vereiteln, “verpatzen” spook - Gespenst squeak - quietschen steep - steil steer - steuern step - Schritt; steigen stern - Bug straight - geradewegs, gerade strangle - erwürgen strength - Kraft stuck (von: stick) - steckte stumble - stolpern success - Erfolg suggest - vorschlagen surprise - Überraschung; überraschen suspect - verdächtigen, argwöhnen suspicious - verdächtig, mißtrauisch suspicion - Verdacht swear - fluchen sword - Schwert swung (von: swing) – schwang T tap - Wasserhahn tense - sich anspannen tension - Spannung thief (Mz. von thieves) - Dieb thirst - Durst threw (von: throw) - warf throw up - erbrechen tide - Flut (= high tide) - Ebbe (= low tide) tied up - gefesselt, angebunden - 40 -

tinker - manipulieren tiptoe - Zehenspitzen, auf Zehenspitzen gehen torch - Taschenlampe, Fackel torn (von: tear) - zerrissen transparent - durchsichtig tray - Tablett trigger - Abzug truth - Wahrheit tumble - stolpern tune - Melodie tunnel - (hier:) unterirdischer Gang turn - (sich) umdrehen U Underground - unterirdisch undesired - unerwünscht unlock - aufsperren unshaved - unrasiert untie - losbinden V visible - sichtbar W wardrobe - Kasten wash-basin - Waschbecken waste - vergeuden weak - schwach whisper - flüstern whistle - pfeifen witching hour - Geisterstunde witch - Hexe worried – sorgenvoll Y yell - schreien

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