Five Have Plenty of Fun (10 page)

„Shut up, George," said Julian. „Your temper gets us nowhere. Calm down and let"s hear what you saw. CALM DOWN, I say."

George stared at him, about to retort with something defiant. Then Timmy gave a small whimper - his heart was almost broken to hear George - George, his beloved mistress -

rave at him in such anger. He had no idea what he had done to displease her.

The whimper brought George to her senses. „Oh Timmy!" she said, and knelt down and flung her arms round his neck. „I didn"t mean to shout at you. I was so angry because we missed our chance of getting that man who was peeping in at us. Oh Timmy, it"s all right, it real y is."

Timmy was extremely glad to hear it. He licked George lavishly, and then lay down by her very soberly. He wished he knew what all the excitement was about.

So did Joan. She thumped on the table to get everyone"s attention, and at last got Julian to explain everything to her. She stared out of the window, half-thinking that she could see faces in the darkness outside. She drew the blind down sharply.

„We"ll go to bed," she said. „Al of us. I don"t like this. I shal ring up the police and warn them. Master Lesley, you come with me straightaway now."

„I think perhaps you"re right, Joan," said Julian. „I"l lock up everywhere. Come on, girls."

Timmy was astonished and upset to find himself handed over to Joan and Berta. Was George stil cross with him then? It was a very, very long time since he had slept away from her at night. He cheered up a little when he saw that Sal y was going to be with him, and trotted rather mournful y up the attic stairs to Joan"s room.

Joan soon got Berta into bed, and then undressed herself. She fastened the window and locked the door. She gave Timmy a rug in a corner, and Sally jumped up on Berta"s bed as usual.

„Now we ought to be quite safe!" said Joan, and settled creakingly into her bed.

On the floor below the two boys followed the same procedure, and so did Anne and George. Doors were locked and windows fastened, though it was a hot night and they were al sure they would be melted by the morning. George couldn"t bear to think of Timmy with Berta and Joan - especially as she had been so very cross with him. She lay in bed, full of remorse. Dear, kind, faithful Timmy - how could she have shouted at him like that?

„Do you suppose Timmy is feeling very upset?" she said, when she and Anne were in bed.

„A bit, perhaps," said Anne. „But dogs are very forgiving."

„I know. That somehow makes it worse," said George.

„Well, you real y shouldn"t get into such tempers," said Anne, seizing the opportunity to tell George a few home truths. „I thought you were getting over the tantrums you used to have. But these hols you"ve been pretty bad. Because of Berta, I suppose."

„I wish I could go up and say good night to Timmy," George began again, after a few minutes" silence.

„Oh for goodness" sake George!" said Anne, sleepily. „Do be sensible. You can"t go and bang on Joan"s door and ask for Timmy - you"d scare them to death!"

Anne fel asleep, but George didn"t. Then suddenly she heard the sound of a door being unlocked, and sat up. It sounded as if it came from the attic. Was it Joan unlocking her door? What did she want?

A cautious little knock came at George"s door. „Who is it?" said George.

„Me. Joan," said Joan"s voice. „I"ve brought Sally down, Miss George. Timmy keeps trying to get up on Miss Berta"s bed to be with Sal y, and she simply can"t go to sleep, her camp-bed is too small to hold all three of them. So wil you have Sally, please?"

„Oh blow!" said George, and went to open her door. „How"s Timmy?" she said, in a low voice.

„Al right," said Joan. „He"l be annoyed I"ve taken Sal y away. I"m glad to have him up here tonight with al these goings on!"

„Is he - is he happy, Joan?" asked George, but Joan had turned away and didn"t hear.

George sighed. Why had she offered to let Joan and Berta have Timmy tonight of all nights, when she had scolded him so unfairly? Now she had got to have this sil y little Sally instead!

Sal y whimpered. She didn"t like being away from Berta, and she was not fond of George.

She wriggled out of George"s arms and ran round the room, stil whimpering.

Anne woke up with a jump. „Whatever"s going on?" she said. „Why - it"s Sal y in the room!

How did she get here?"

George told her, sounding very cross. „Well, I hope she"l settle down," said Anne. „I don"t want her to whimper and run round the bedroom all night long."

But Sal y wouldn"t settle down. Her whimpering became louder, and when she took a flying jump on to George"s bed and landed right on George"s middle, the girl had had enough of it. She sat up and spoke in a fierce whisper.

„You little idiot! I"m jol y well going to take you downstairs and put you into Timmy"s kennel!"

„Good idea," said Anne, sleepily. George picked up the lively little poodle and went out of the room, shutting the door softly. Anne promptly went to sleep again.

George crept down the stairs and went to the garden door. She undid it and walked out in dressing-gown and pyjamas, her curly hair all tousled, carrying the whimpering little dog.

Suddenly she felt Sally stiffen in her arms, and growl. Grrrrrrr! George stood quite stil . What had Sal y heard?

Then things happened very suddenly indeed. A torch was flashed in her face, and before she could cry out, a cloth was thrown over her head so that she could not make a sound.

„This is the one!" said a low voice. „The one with curly hair! And this is her dog, the poodle.

Put him in that kennel, quick, before he barks the place down."

Sal y, too scared even to growl, was pushed into the kennel and the door shut on her.

George, struggling and trying vainly to call out, was lifted off her feet and carried swiftly down to the front gate.

The garden door swung creaking to and fro in the night wind. Sal y whimpered in her kennel. But no one heard either door or dog. Everyone in Kirrin Cottage was sound asleep!

Next morning, about half past seven, Joan went downstairs as usual. Berta was awake and decided to fetch Sal y from George"s bedroom. She put on her dressing-gown and padded downstairs with Timmy behind her, to George"s room on the floor below. The door was shut, and she knocked gently.

„Come in," said Anne"s sleepy voice. „Oh, it"s you, Berta."

„Yes. I"ve come for Sally," said Berta. „Hal o - where"s George?"

Anne looked at the empty bed beside hers. „I don"t know. The last thing I heard of her was in the middle of the night when we got cross because Sal y wouldn"t settle down, and George said she would take her down to the kennel."

„Oh. Well, probably George has gone down to fetch her back," said Berta. „I"l go up and dress. It"s a heavenly morning again. Are you going to bathe before breakfast, because if so I"l just put on my swim-suit."

„Yes. I think we might today - we"re nice and early," said Anne, scrambling out of bed.

„Go and wake the boys. Timmy, go down and find George."

Dick and Julian were awake, and quite ready for a before-breakfast bathe. Anne joined them as they went downstairs. Berta had already gone down and had discovered Sal y in the kennel, most excited to see her. She pranced round barking happily.

Timmy came up to the children, looking puzzled. He had hunted everywhere for George and hadn"t found her. „Woof," he said to Anne. „Woof, woof!" It was just as if he were saying, „Please, where is George?"

„Haven"t you found George yet?" said Anne in surprise. She called to Joan. „Joan, where"s George? Has she gone down to bathe already?"

„I haven"t seen her," said Joan. „But I expect she has because the garden-door was open when I came down, and I guessed one of you had gone for an early bathe."

„Well, George must be down on the beach, then," said Anne, feeling rather puzzled. Why hadn"t George wakened her and told her to come too?

Soon all four were on the beach with the two dogs, Sal y very happy to be with Berta again, and Timmy very downcast and puzzled, He stood staring up the beach and down, looking quite lost.

„I can"t see George anywhere," said Dick, suddenly feeling scared. „She"s not in the sea."

They all gazed over the water, but no one was bathing that morning. Anne turned to Julian in sudden panic.

„Ju! Where is she?"

„I wish I knew," said Julian, anxiously. „She"s not here. And she hasn"t gone out in her boat -

it"s over there. Let"s go back to the house."

„I don"t think George would have gone for an early bathe without telling me," said Anne.

„And I also think I would surely have woken up just for a moment when she came back after taking Sally down - oh Julian, I think something happened when she went downstairs with Sal y late last night!"

„I"ve been thinking that too," said Julian soberly. „We know that there was someone about last night, because George saw a face outside the window. Let"s go back to the house and see if we can spot anything to help us near the garden door or the kennel."

They went back, looking very anxious. As soon as they began to look about near the kennel, Anne gave an exclamation and bent down. She picked up something and held it out to the others without a word.

„What is it - gosh, it"s the girdle off George"s dressing-gown!" said Dick, startled. „That proves it! George was caught when she came down to put Sal y into her kennel!"

„They must have thought she was me," said Berta, in tears. „You see - she was carrying Sal y and they know Sal y belongs to me - and she has short hair too and dresses like a boy in the daytime."

„That"s it!" said Julian. „Actually you look like a boy in your boy"s things, but George doesn"t - and the kidnappers are looking for a girl dressed as a boy - and George fitted the bill nicely, especial y as she had the poodle with her. She"s been kidnapped!"

„And wil my father get the usual note to say his daughter wil not be harmed if he does what the kidnappers want, and hands over this new secret?" said Berta.

„Sure to," said Julian.

„What wil they say when they know they"ve got George, not me?" asked Berta.

„Well..." said Julian, considering. „I real y don"t know. They might try the same thing with Uncle Quentin, but of course, he hasn"t got the figures they want."

„What about Berta now?" asked Dick. „Once those men find they"ve got the wrong girl, they"l be after Berta in a trice!"

„George won"t tell them," said Anne, at once. „She"ll know that Berta would be in immediate danger if she did tel them - so she"ll say nothing as long as she can."

„Would she real y?" said Berta, wonderingly. „She"s brave, isn"t she? She could get herself set free at once if she said she wasn"t me, and proved it. Gee, she"s wunnerful if she could do a thing like that!"

„George is brave all right," said Dick. „As brave as any boy could be when she"s in a fix!

Julian, let"s go and tell Joan. We"ve GOT to make up our minds what we are going to do about this - and also, we must safeguard Berta somehow. She can"t possibly wander round with us any more."

Berta all at once began to feel scared. George"s sudden disappearance had brought home to her the very real danger she was in. She had not really believed in it before. She looked over her shoulder and al round and about as if she expected someone to pounce on her.

„It"s al right, Berta - there"s no one here at present!" said Dick, comfortingly. „But you"d better get indoors, al the same. I don"t think George would give away the fact that she wasn"t you, but the men might find out some other way - and back they would come, hotfoot!"

Berta raced indoors as if someone was chasing her! Julian shut and locked the garden door and called Joan.

They had a very serious conference indeed. Joan was horrified. She wept when she heard that George must have been kidnapped in the middle of the night. She wiped her eyes with her apron.

„I said we must lock the doors and the windows, I said we must tel the police - and then Miss George has to go down all by herself into the garden!" she said. „If only she hadn"t had the poodle with her! No wonder they thought she was Berta, with Sal y in her arms."

„Listen, Joan," said Julian. „There are a lot of things to do. First we must tell the police. Then somehow we must contact Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin - it"s so like them not to give us an address! Then we must most certainly decide about Berta. She must be wel hidden away somewhere."

„Yes. That"s certain," said Joan, wiping her eyes again. She sat and thought for a minute, and then her face lightened.

„I know where we could hide her!" she said. „You remember Jo - the little gypsy girl you"ve had one or two adventures with?"

„Yes," said Julian. „She lives with your cousin now, doesn"t she?"

„She does," said Joan. „And my cousin would have Berta straightaway if she knew about this. She lives in a quiet little vil age where nothing ever happens, and nobody would think anything of my cousin having a child to stay with Jo. She often does."

„It real y seems an idea," said Dick. „Doesn"t it, Julian? We"ve simply got to get Berta away at once. We could trust Jo to look after her, too - Jo"s as sharp as a packet of needles!"

„The police would know, too," said Julian, „and would keep an eye on her as wel . Joan, can you ring up and get a taxi and take Berta now, this very minute?"

„It"l be a surprise for my cousin, my arriving this time of the morning," said Joan, standing up and taking off her apron, „but she"s quick on the uptake, and she"ll do it, I know.

Master Lesley, get a few things together - nothing posh, mind, like your silver hairbrush."

Berta looked extremely scared by now, and was inclined to refuse to go. Julian put his arm round her.

„Look," he said, „I bet George is holding her tongue so that we can get you away in safety before the men tumble to the fact that they"ve got the wrong boy - so you can play up, too, can"t you, and be brave?"

„Yes," said Berta, looking up at Julian"s kind, serious face. „I"l do what you say - but what"s this Jo like? Joan said she was a little gypsy girl. I don"t like gypsies."