chapter 17 julian has a bright idea

aggie had managed to pack knives, forks, spoons, plates and mugs into the bottom of the basket.

there were two big bottles of milk. there was a large meat-pie with delicious looking pastry on top,and a collection of buns, biscuits and oranges. there were also some home-made sweets.

aggie had certainly been very generous!

all the things were quickly whipped out of the basket. the children carried them behind the bushes,sat down and proceeded to eat a first-rate dinner. timmy got his share of the meat-pie and biscuits.

he also gobbled up a large part of the hard yellow cheese.

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'now we'd better rinse everything under that garden tap over there, and then pack them neatly into thebottom of the basket again,' said julian. 'we don't want to get aggie into any sort of trouble for herkindness.'

the dishes were soon rinsed and packed back into the basket. the clothes were drawn over them- nothing could be seen!

aggie came outside to them in about half an hour. the children went to her and spoke in low voices.

'thanks, aggie, that was super!'

'you are a brick. we did enjoy it!'

'i bet hunchy didn't enjoy his dinner as much as we did!'

'sh!' said aggie, half-pleased and half-scared. 'you never know when hunchy's listening. he's gotears like a hare! listen - i'll be coming out to get the eggs from the hen-run at tea-time. i'll have abasket with me for the eggs - and i shall have your tea in it. i'll leave your tea in the hen-house wheni get the eggs. you can fetch it when i've gone.'

'you're a wonder, aggie!' said julian, admiringly. 'you really are.'

aggie looked pleased. it was plain that nobody had said a kind or admiring word to her for years andyears. she was a poor, miserable, scared old woman - but she was quite enjoying this little secret. shewas pleased at getting the better of hunchy too. perhaps she felt it was some slight revenge for all theyears he had ill-treated her.

she hung out some of the clothes in the basket, left one in to cover the dinner-things, and then wentback into the house.

'poor old thing,' said dick. 'what a life!'

'yes - i shouldn't like to be cooped up here for years and years with ruffians like perton and rooky,'

said julian.

'it looks as if we shall be if we don't hurry up and think of some plan of escape,' said dick.

'yes. we'd better think hard again,' said julian. 'come over to those trees there. we can sit on thegrass under them and talk without being overheard anywhere.'

'look - hunchy is polishing the black bentley,' said george. 'i'll just pass near him with timmy, andlet timmy growl. he'll see timmy's all alive and kicking then.'

so she took timmy near the bentley, and of course he growled horribly when he came upon hunchy.

hunchy promptly got into the car and shut the door. george grinned.

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'hallo!' she said. 'going off for a ride? can timmy and i come with you?'

she made as if she was going to open the door, and hunchy yelled loudly: 'don't you let that dog inhere! i've seen rooky's hand - one finger's very bad indeed. i don't want that dog going for me.'

'do take me for a ride with you, hunchy,' persisted george. 'timmy loves cars.'

'go away,' said hunchy, hanging on to the door-handle for dear life. 'i've got to get this car cleanedup for mr. perton this evening. you let me get out and finish the job.'

george laughed and went off to join the others. 'well, he can see timmy's all-alive-o,' said dick, witha grin. 'good thing too. we'd find ourselves in a much bigger fix if we hadn't got old timmy toprotect us.'

they went over to the clump of trees and sat down. 'what was it that hunchy said about the car?'

asked julian. george told him. julian looked thoughtful. anne knew that look - it meant that julianwas thinking of a plan! she prodded him.

'ju! you've got a plan, haven't you? what is it?'

'well - i'm only just wondering about something,' said julian, slowly. 'that car - and the fact that mr.

perton is going out in it tonight - which means he will go out through those gates . . .'

'what of it?' said dick. 'thinking of going with him?'

'well, yes, i was,' said julian, surprisingly. 'you see - if he's not going till dark, i think i couldprobably get into the boot - and hide there till the car stops somewhere, and then i could open theboot, get out, and go off for help!'

everyone looked at him in silence. anne's eyes gleamed. 'oh julian! it's a wizard plan.'

'it sounds jolly good,' said dick.

'the only thing is - i don't like being left here without julian,' said anne, suddenly feeling scared.

'everything's all right if julian's here.'

'i could go,' said dick.

'or i could,' said george, 'only there wouldn't be room for timmy too.'

'the boot looks pretty big from outside,' said julian. 'i wish i could take anne with me. then i'dknow she was safe. you others would be all right so long as you had timmy.'

they discussed the matter thoroughly. they dropped it towards tea- time when they saw aggiecoming out with a basket to collect the eggs. she made a sign to them not to come over to her.

possibly someone was watching. they stayed where they were, and watched her go into the hen-75house. she remained there a short time, and then came out with a basketful of new-laid eggs. shewalked to the house without looking at the children again.

'i'll go and see if she's left anything in the hen-house,' said dick, and went over to it. he soonappeared again, grinning. his pockets bulged!

aggie had left about two dozen potted-meat sandwiches, a big slab of cherry cake and a bottle ofmilk. the children went under the bushes and dick unloaded his pockets. 'she even left a bone forold tim,' he said.

'i suppose it's all right,' said george doubtfully. julian smelt it.

'perfectly fresh,' he said. 'no poison here at all! anyway, aggie wouldn't play a dirty trick like that.

come on - let's tuck in.'

they were very bored after tea, so julian arranged some races and some jumping competitions.

timmy, of course, would have won them all if he had been counted as a proper competitor. but hewasn't. he went in for everything, though, and barked so excitedly that mr. perton came to a windowand yelled to him to stop.

'sorry!' yelled back george. 'timmy's so full of beans today, you see!'

'mr. perton will be wondering why,' said julian, with a grin. 'he'll be rowing hunchy for not gettingon with the poison job.'

when it began to grow dark the children went cautiously to the car. hunchy had finished working onit. quietly julian opened the boot and looked inside. he gave an exclamation of disappointment.

'it's only a small one! i can't get in there, i'm afraid. nor can you, dick.'

'i'll go then,' said anne, in a small voice.

'certainly not,' said julian.

'well - i'll go,' said richard, surprisingly. 'i could just about squash in there.'

'you!' said dick. 'you'd be scared stiff.'

richard was silent for a moment. 'yes - i should,' he admitted. 'but i'm still ready to go. i'll do myvery best if you'd like me to try. after all - it's me or nobody. you won't let anne go - and there's notenough room for george and timmy - and not enough for either you or julian, dick.'

everyone was astonished. it didn't seem a bit like richard to offer to do an unselfish or courageousaction. julian felt very doubtful.

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'well - this is a serious thing, you know, richard,' he said. 'i mean - if you're going to do it, you'vegot to do it properly - go right through with it - not get frightened in the middle and begin howling, sothat the men hear you and examine the boot.'

'i know,' said richard. 'i think i can do it all right. i do wish you'd trust me a bit.'

'i can't understand your offering to do a difficult thing like that,' said julian. 'it doesn't seem a bit likeyou - you've not shown yourself to be at all plucky so far!'

'julian, i think i understand,' said anne suddenly, and she pulled at her brother's sleeve. 'he's thinkingof our skins this time, not of his own - or at least he's trying to. let's give him a chance to show he'sgot a bit of courage.'

'i only just want a chance,' said richard in a small voice.

'all right,' said julian. 'you shall have it. it'll be a very pleasant surprise if you take your chance anddo something helpful!'

'tell me exactly what i've got to do,' said richard, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

'well - once you're in the boot we'll have to shut you in. goodness knows how long you'll have towait there in the dark,' said julian. 'i warn you it will be jolly stuffy and uncomfortable. when the cargoes off it will be more uncomfortable still.'

'poor richard,' said anne.

'as soon as the car stops anywhere and you hear the men get out, wait a minute to give them time toget out of sight and hearing - and then scramble out of the boot yourself and go straight to the nearestpolice-station,' said julian. 'tell your story quickly, give this address - owl's dene, owl's hill, somemiles from middlecombe woods - and the police will do the rest. got all that?'

'yes,' said richard.

'do you still want to go, now you know what you're in for?' asked dick.

'yes,' said richard again. he was surprised by a warm hug from anne.

'richard, you're nice - and i didn't think you were!' said anne.

he then got a thump on the back from julian, 'well, richard - pull this off and you'll wipe out all thesilly things you've done! now - what about getting into the boot immediately? we don't know whenthe men will be coming out.'

'yes. i'll get in now,' said richard, feeling remarkably brave after anne's hug and julian's thump.

julian opened the boot. he examined the inside of the boot-cover. 'i don't believe richard could openit from the inside,' he said. 'no, he couldn't. we mustn't close it tight, then - i'll have to 77wedge it a bit open with a stick or something. that will give him a little air, and he'll be able to pushthe boot open when he wants to. where's a stick?'

dick found one. richard got into the boot and curled himself up. there wasn't very much room evenfor him! he looked extremely cramped. julian shut the boot and wedged it with a stick so that therewas a crack of half an inch all round.

dick gave him a sharp nudge. 'quick - someone's coming!'