chapter 19 what an adventure!

and now, what had happened to anne? she had stumbled on and on for a long time, shouting tomr. luffy. and outside his tent mr. luffy sat, reading peacefully. but, as the evening came, andthen darkness, he became very worried indeed about the five children.

he wondered what to do. it was hopeless for one man to search the moors. half a dozen or morewere needed for that! he decided to get his car and go over to olly's farm to get the men fromthere. so off he went.

but when he got there he found no one at home except mrs. andrews and the little maid. mrs.

andrews looked bewildered and worried.

'what is the matter?' said mr. luffy gently, as she came running out to the car, looking troubled.

'oh, it's you, mr. luffy,' she said, when he told her who he was. 'i didn't know who you were.

mr. luffy, something strange is happening. all the men have gone - and all the lorries, too. myhusband has taken the car and nobody will tell me anything. i'm so worried.'

mr. luffy decided not to add to her worries by telling her the children were missing. he justpretended he had come to collect some milk. 'don't worry,' he said comfortingly to mrs.

andrews. 'you'll find things are all right in the morning, i expect. i'll come and see you then.

now i must be off on an urgent matter.'

he went bumping along the road in his car, puzzled. he had known there was something funnyabout olly's farm, and he had puzzled his brains a good deal over olly's yard and the spook-trains. he hoped the children hadn't got mixed up in anything dangerous.

'i'd better go down and report to the police that they're missing,' he thought. 'after all, i'm moreor less responsible for them. it's very worrying indeed.'

he told what he knew at the police station, and the sergeant, an intelligent man, at once musteredsix men and a police car.

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'have to find those kids,' he said. 'and we'll have to look into this olly's farm business, sir, andthese here spook-trains, whatever they may be. we've known there was something funny goingon, but we couldn't put our finger on it. but we'll find the children first.'

they went quickly up to the moors and the six men began to fan out to search, with mr. luffy atthe head. and the first thing they found was anne!

she was still stumbling along, crying for mr. luffy, but in a very small, weak voice now. whenshe heard his voice calling her in the darkness she wept for joy.

'oh, mr luffy! you must save the boys,' she begged him. 'they're in that tunnel - and they'vebeen caught by mr andrews and his men, i'm sure. they didn't come out and i waited andwaited! do come!'

'i've got some friends here who will certainly come and help,' said mr. luffy gently. he calledthe men, and in a few words told them what anne had said.

'in the tunnel?' said one of them. 'where the spook-trains run? well, come on, men, we'll godown there.'

'you stay behind, anne,' said mr. luffy. but she wouldn't. so he carried her as he followed themen who were making their way through the heather, down to olly's yard. they did not botherwith wooden-leg sam. they went straight to the tunnel and walked up it quietly. mr. luffy wasa good way behind with anne. she refused to stay with him in the yard.

'no,' she said, 'i'm not a coward. really i'm not. i want to help to rescue the boys. i wish georgewas here. where's george?'

mr. luffy had no idea. anne clung to his hand, scared but eager to prove that she was not acoward. mr. luffy thought she was grand!

meanwhile, julian and the others had been in the vent for a good while, tired and uncomfortable.

the men had searched in vain for them and were now looking closely into every niche at thesides of the tunnel.

and, of course, they found the vent! one of the men shone his light up it. it shone on to poorjulian's feet! the man gave a loud shout that almost made julian fall off the rung he wasstanding on.

'here they are! up this vent. who'd have thought it? come on down or it'll be the worse for you!'

julian didn't move. george pushed desperately at the iron bars above her head, but she could notmove them. one of the men climbed up the vent and caught hold of julian's foot.

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he dragged so hard at it that the boy's foot was forced off the rung. then the man dragged off theother foot, and julian found himself hanging by his arms with the man tugging hard at his feet.

he could hang on no longer. his tired arms gave way and he fell heavily down, landing half onthe man and half on the pile of soot. another man pounced on julian at once, while the firstclimbed up the vent to find the next boy.

soon dick felt his feet being tugged at, too.

'all right, all right. i'll come down!' he yelled, and climbed down. then jock climbed down, too.

the men looked at them angrily.

'giving us a chase like this! who undid your ropes?' said mr andrews, roughly. one of the menput a hand on his arm and nodded up towards the vent. 'someone else is coming down,' he said.

'we only tied up three boys, didn't we? who's this, then?'

it was george, of course. she wasn't going to desert the three boys. down she came, as black asnight with soot.

'another boy!' said the men. 'where did he come from?'

'any more up there?' asked mr andrews.

'look and see,' said julian, and got a box on the ears for his answer.

'treat them rough now,' ordered peters. 'teach them a lesson, the little pests. take them away.'

the children's hearts sank. the men caught hold of them roughly. blow! now they would bemade prisoners again.

suddenly a cry came from down the tunnel: 'police! run for it!'

the men dropped the children's arms at once and stood undecided. a man came tearing up thetunnel. 'i tell you the police are coming!' he gasped. 'are you stone deaf? there's a whole crowdof them. run for it! somebody's split on us.'

'get along to kilty's yard!' shouted peters. 'we can get cars there. run for it!'

to the children's dismay, the men tore down the tunnel to kilty's yard. they would escape!

they heard the sound of the men's feet as they ran along the line.

george found her voice. 'timmy! where are you? after them, timmy! stop them!'

a black shadow came streaking by out of the hole in the wall, where timmy had been hiding andwatching for a chance to come to george. he had heard her voice and obeyed. he raced after themen like a greyhound, his tongue hanging out, panting as he went.

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these were the men who had ill-treated george and the others, were they? aha, timmy knewhow to deal with people like that!

the policemen came running up, and mr. luffy and anne came up behind them.

'they've gone down there, with timmy after them,' shouted george. the men looked at her andgasped. she was black all over. the others were filthy dirty too, with sooty-black faces in thelight of the lamp that still shone down from the wall of the tunnel.

'george!' shrieked anne in delight. 'julian! oh, are you all safe? i went back to tell mr. luffyabout you and i got lost. i'm so ashamed!'

'you've nothing to be ashamed of, anne,' said mr. luffy. 'you're a grand girl! brave as a lion!'

from down the tunnel came shouts and yells and loud barks. timmy was at work! he had caughtup with the men and launched himself on them one after another, bringing each one heavily tothe ground. they were terrified to find a big animal growling and snapping all around them.

timmy held them at bay in the tunnel, not allowing them to go one step further, snapping at anyman who dared to go near.

the police ran up. timmy growled extra fiercely just to let the men know that it was quiteimpossible to get by him. in a trice each of the men was imprisoned by a pair of strong arms andthey were being told to come quietly.

they didn't go quietly. for one thing mr. andrews lost his nerve and howled dismally. jock feltvery ashamed of him.

'shut up,' said a burly policeman. 'we know you're only the miserable little cat's-paw - takingmoney from the big men to hold your tongue and obey orders.'

timmy barked as if to say, 'yes, don't you dare call him a dog's paw! that would be too good aname for him!'

'well, i don't think i ever in my life saw dirtier children,' said mr. luffy. 'i vote we all go back tomy car and i drive the lot of you over to olly's farm for a meal and a bath!'

so back they all went, tired, dirty, and also feeling very thrilled.

what a night! they told anne all that had happened, and she told them her story, too. she almostfell asleep in the car as she talked, she was so tired.

mrs. andrews was sensible and kind, though upset to hear that her husband had been taken offby the police. she got hot water for baths, and laid a meal for the hungry children.

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'i wouldn't worry over much, mrs. andrews,' said kindly mr. luffy. 'that husband of yoursneeds a lesson, you know. this will probably keep him going straight in future. the farm isyours, and you can now hire proper farm-workers who will do what you want them to do. and ithink jock will be happier without a stepfather for the present.'

'you're right, mr. luffy,' said mrs. andrews, wiping her eyes quickly. 'quite right. i'll let jockhelp me with the farm, and get it going beautifully. to think that mr. andrews was in with allthose black marketeers! it's that friend of his, you know, who makes him do all this. he's soweak. he knew jock was snooping about in that tunnel, and that's why he wanted him to goaway - and kept making him have a boy here or go out with him. i knew there was somethingfunny going on.'

'no wonder he was worried when jock took it into his head to go and camp with our little lot,'

said mr. luffy.

'to think of that old yard and tunnel being used again!' said mrs. andrews. 'and all those talesabout spook-trains - and the way they hid that train, and hid all the stuff, too. why, it's like afairy tale isn't it!'

she ran to see if the water was hot for the baths. it was, and she went to call the children, whowere in the big bedroom next door. she opened it and looked in. then she called mr. luffyupstairs.

he looked in at the door, too. the five, and timmy, were lying on the floor in a heap, waiting forthe bathwater. they hadn't liked to sit on chairs or beds, they were so dirty. and they had fallenasleep where they sat, their faces as black as a sweep's.

'talk about black marketeers!' whispered mrs. andrews. 'anyone would think we'd got thewhole lot of them here in the bedroom!'

they all woke up and went to have a bath one by one, and a good meal after that. then back tocamp with mr. luffy, jock with them, too.

it was glorious to snuggle down into the sleeping-bags. george called out to the three boys.

'now don't you dare to go off without me tonight, see?'

'the adventure is over,' called back dick. 'how did you like it, jock?'

'like it?' said jock, with a happy sigh. 'it was simply - smashing!'

the end