chapter 1 a grand holiday plan

"mother's got something up her sleeve," said philip mannering. "i know she has. she's gone allmysterious."

"yes," said his sister, dinah. "and whenever i ask what we're going to do this summer holidays shejust says 'wait and see!' as if we were about ten years old!""where's jack?" said philip. "we'll see if he knows what's up with mother.""he's gone out with lucy-ann," said dinah. "ah — i can hear old kiki screeching. they're coming!"jack and lucy-ann trent came in together, looking very much alike with their red hair, green eyesand dozens of freckles. jack grinned.

"hallo! you ought to have been with us just now. a dog barked at kiki, and she sat on a fence andmewed like a cat at him. you never saw such a surprised dog in your life!""he put his tail down and ran for his life," said lucy-ann, scratching kiki on the head. the parrotbegan to mew again, knowing that the children were talking about her. then she hissed and spat likean angry cat. the children laughed.

"if you'd done that to the dog he'd have died of astonishment," said jack. "good old kiki. nobodycan be dull when you're about."

kiki began to sway herself from side to side, and made a crooning noise. then she went off into oneof her tremendous cackles.

"now you're showing off," said philip. "don't let's take any notice of her. she'll get noisy and motherwill come rushing in."

"that reminds me — what's mother gone all mysterious about?" said dinah. "lucy-ann, haven't younoticed it?"

"well — aunt alison does act rather as if she's got something up her sleeve," said lucy-ann,considering the matter. "rather like she does before somebody's birthday. i think she's got a plan forthe summer holidays."

jack groaned. "blow! i've got a perfectly good plan too. simply wizard. i'd better get mine in beforeaunt allie gets her."

"what's yours?" asked dinah, with interest. jack always had wonderful plans, though not many ofthem came to anything.

"well — i thought we could all go off together on our bikes, taking a tent with us — and camp out ina different place each night," said jack. "it would be super."the others looked at him scornfully. "you suggested that last hols and the hols before," said dinah.

"mother said no then, and she's not likely to say yes now. it is a good plan, going off absolutely onour own like that — but ever since we've had so many adventures mother simply won't hear of it.""couldn't your mother come with us?" suggested lucy-ann hopefully.

"now you're being silly," said dinah. "mother's a dear — but grown-ups are so frightfully particularabout things. we'd have to put our macks on at the first spot of rain, and coats if the sun went in, andi wouldn't be surprised if we didn't each have to have an umbrella strapped to our bike-handles."the others laughed. "i suppose it wouldn't do to ask aunt allie too, then," said lucy-ann. "what apity!"

"what a pity, what a pity," agreed kiki at once. "wipe your feet and shut the door, where's yourhanky, naughty boy!"

"kiki's got the idea all right!" said philip. "that's the kind of thing that even the nicest grown-upssay, isn't it, kiki, old bird?"

"bill isn't like that," said lucy-ann at once. "bill's fine."everyone agreed at once. bill cunningham, or bill smugs as he had first called himself to them, wastheir very firm friend, and had shared all their adventures with them. sometimes they had draggedhim into them, and sometimes it was the other way round — he had got into one and they hadfollowed. it really did seem sometimes, as mrs. mannering said, that adventures cropped up whereverbill and the children were.

"i had an idea for these hols too," said philip. "i thought it would be pretty good fun to camp down bythe river, and look for otters. i've never had an otter for a pet. lovely things they are. i thought . . .""you would think of a thing like that," said dinah, half crossly. "just because you're mad on all kindsof creatures from fleas to — to . . ."

"elephants," said jack obligingly.

"from fleas to elephants, you think everyone else is," said dinah. "what a frightful holiday —looking for wet, slimy otters — and having them in the tent at night, i suppose — and all kinds ofother horrible things too."

"shut up, dinah," said philip. "otters aren't horrible. they're lovely. you should just see themswimming under the water. and by the way, i'm not mad on fleas. or mosquitoes. or horse-flies. ithink they're interesting, but you can't say i've ever had things like that for pets.""what about those earwigs you had once — that escaped out of the silly cage you made for them?

ugh! and that stag-beetle that did tricks? and that . . .""oh gosh! now we're off!" said jack, seeing one of the familiar quarrels breaking out between philipand hotheaded dinah. "i suppose we're going to listen to a long list of philip's pets now! anyway,here comes aunt allie. we can ask her what she thinks of our holiday ideas. get yours in first,philip."

mrs. mannering came in, with a booklet in her hand. she smiled round at the four children, and kikiput up her crest in delighted welcome.

"wipe your feet and shut the door," she said, in a friendly tone. "one, two, three, go!" she made anoise like a pistol shot after the word "go!" and mrs. mannering jumped in fright.

"it's all right, mother — she keeps doing that ever since she came to our school sports, and heard thestarter yelling to us, and letting off his pistol," grinned philip. "once she made that pistol-shot noisejust when we were all in a line, ready to start — and off we went long before time! you should haveheard her cackle. bad bird!"

"naughty polly, poor polly, what a pity, what a pity," said kiki. jack tapped her on the beak.

"be quiet. parrots should be seen and not heard. aunt allie, we've just been talking about holidayplans. i thought it would be a super idea if you'd let us all go off on our bikes — ride where we likedand camp out each night. i know you've said we couldn't when i asked you before, but . . .""i say no again," said mrs. mannering very firmly.

"well, mother, could we go off to the river and camp there, because i want to find out more about theotters?" said philip, not taking any notice of dinah's scowl. "you see . . .""no, philip," said his mother, just as firmly as before. "and you know why i won't let you go onexpeditions like that. i should have thought you would have given up asking me by now.""but why won't you let us go?" wailed lucy-ann. "we shall be quite safe.""now, lucy-ann, you know perfectly well that as soon as i let you four out of my sight whenholidays come, you immediately — yes, immediately — fall into the most frightful adventuresimaginable." mrs. mannering sounded quite fierce. "and i am quite determined that these holidaysyou are not going off anywhere on your own, so it's just no good your asking me.""but, mother — that's just silly," said philip, in dismay. "you speak as if we go out looking foradventures. we don't. and i ask you — what possible adventure could we fall into if we just wentdown to the river to camp? why, you could come and see us for yourself every evening if youwanted to."

"yes — and the very first evening i came i should find you all spirited away somewhere, and mixedup with robbers or spies or rogues of some kind," said his mother. "think of some of your holidays— first you got lost down an old copper mine on a deserted island . . . then another time you got shutup in the dungeons of an old castle, mixed up with spies. . . .""oooh yes — and another time we got into the wrong aeroplane and were whisked off to the valleyof adventure," said lucy- ann, remembering. "that was when we. found all those queer stolenstatues hidden in caves — how their eyes gleamed when we saw them! i thought they were alive, butthey weren't."

"and the next time we went off with bill to the bird islands," said jack. "that was grand. we had twotame puffins, do you remember, philip?"

"huffin and puffin," put in kiki at once.

"quite right, old bird," said philip. "huffin and puffin they were. i loved them.""you may have gone to look for birds — but you found a whole nest of rogues," said his mother.

"gun-runners! terribly dangerous."

"well, mother, what about last summer hols?" said dinah. "you nearly got caught up in thatadventure!"

"horrible!" said mrs. mannering, with a shiver. "that awful mountain with its queer secrets and themad king of the mountain — you nearly didn't escape from there. no — i tell you quite definitelythat you can never again go off anywhere by yourselves. i'm always coming with you!"there was a silence at this. all four children were very fond of mrs. mannering — but they did likebeing on their own for some part of each holiday.

"well — aunt allie — suppose bill came with us — wouldn't that be all right?" asked lucy-ann. "ido always feel safe with bill."

"bill can't be trusted to keep out of adventures either," said mrs. mannering." he's grand, i know, andi'd trust him more than anyone else in the world. but when you and he get together there's just noknowing what will happen. so, these holidays, i've made a very safe plan — and dear old bill isn't init, so perhaps we shall keep away from danger and extraordinary happenings.""what's your plan, mother?" said dinah nervously. "don't say we're going to a seaside hotel oranything like that. they'd never take kiki.""i'm taking you all for a cruise on a big ship," said mrs. mannering, and she smiled. "i know you'lllike that. it's tremendous fun. we shall call at all sorts of places, and see all kinds of strange andexciting things. and i shall have you under my eye, in one place all the time — the ship will be ourhome for some time, and if we get off at various ports we shall all go in a party together. there won'tbe a chance of any strange adventure."

the four children looked at one another. kiki watched them. philip spoke first.

"it does sound rather exciting, mother! yes, it really does. we've never been on a really big shipbefore. of course, i shall miss having any animals. . . .""oh, philip — surely you can go without your everlasting menagerie of creatures?" cried dinah. "imust say it'll be a great relief to me to know you haven't got mice somewhere about you, or lizards, orslow- worms! mother, it sounds super, i think. thanks awfully for thinking up something soexciting."

"yes — it sounds smashing," said jack. "we'll see no end of birds i've never seen before.""jack's happy so long as he's somewhere that will provide him with birds," said lucy-ann with alaugh. "what with philip with his craze for all kinds of creatures, and jack with his passion for birds,it's a good thing we two girls haven't got crazes for anything as well. aunt allie, it's a wizard plan ofyours. when do we go?"

"next week," said mrs. mannering. "that will give us plenty of time to get our things ready andpacked. it will be very warm on the cruise, so we must get plenty of thin clothes to wear. white's thebest thing — it doesn't hold the heat so much. and you must all have sun-hats the whole time, sodon't begin to moan about wearing hats."

"isn't bill coming?" asked philip.

"no," said his mother firmly. "i feel rather mean about it, because he's just finished the job he's on,and he wants a holiday. but this time he's not coming with us. i want a nice peaceful holiday with noadventure at all."

"poor bill," said lucy-ann. "still — i daresay he'll be glad to have a holiday without us for a change.

i say — it's going to be fun, isn't it?""fun!" said kiki, joining in, and let off a screech of excitement. "fun, fun, fun!"