chapter 21 a very exciting finish!

julian was a courageous boy, but just at that minute he felt very scared indeed. and what must thechildren hidden in the secret room beyond be thinking? poor anne must be feeling terrified atrooky's shouts and the crashing on the door.

and then a really marvellous idea came to julian. why, oh why hadn't he thought of it before?

he could open the gates himself for the police to come in! he knew how to do it - and there was thewheel nearby in the corner, that set the gate machinery working! once he had the gates open it wouldnot be more than a few minutes, surely, before the police were hammering at the front door.

julian ran to the wheel-like handle. he turned it strongly. a grinding, whining noise came at once, asthe machinery went into action.

rooky was still crashing at the door with the heavy chair. already he had broken in one panel of it.

but when he suddenly heard the groaning of the machinery that opened the gates, he stopped inpanic. the gates were being opened! the police would soon be there - he would be caught!

he forgot the beautiful stories he had arranged to tell, forgot the plans that he and the others hadmade, forgot everything except that he must hide. he flung down the chair and fled.

julian sat down in the nearest chair, his heart beating as if he had just been running a race. the gateswere open - rooky had fled - the police would soon be there! and, even as he sat thinking this, therecame the sound of powerful cars roaring up the wide drive. then the engines stopped, and car doorswere thrown open.

someone began to hammer at the front door. 'open in the name of the law!' cried a loud voice, andthen came another hammering.

nobody opened the door. julian unlocked the half-broken door of the study he was in, and peeredcautiously into the hall. no one seemed to be about.

he raced to the front door, pulled back the bolts, and undid the heavy chain, afraid each moment thatsome of the men would come to punch him away. but they didn't.

the door was pushed open by the police, who swarmed in immediately. there were eight of them,and they looked surprised to see a boy there.

'which boy's this?' said the inspector.

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'julian, sir,' said julian. i'm glad you've come. things were getting pretty hot.'

'where are the men?' asked the inspector, walking right in.

'i don't know,' said julian.

'find them,' ordered the inspector, and his men fanned out up the hall. but before they could go intoany room, a cool voice called to them from the end of the corridor.

'may i ask what all this is?'

it was mr. perton, looking as calm as could be, smoking a cigarette. he stood at the door of hissitting-room, seeming quite unperturbed. since when has a man's house been broken into for noreason at all?'

'where are the rest of you?' demanded the inspector.

'in here, inspector,' drawled mr. perton. 'we were having a little conference, and heard thehammering at the door. apparently you got in somehow. i'm afraid you'll get into trouble for this.'

the inspector advanced to the room where mr. perton stood. he glanced into it.

'aha - our friend rooky, i see,' he said, genially. 'only a day or two out of prison, rooky, and you'remixed up in trouble again. where's weston?'

'i don't know what you mean,' said rooky, sullenly. 'how should i know where he is? he was inprison last time i knew anything about him.'

'yes. but he escaped,' said the inspector. 'somebody helped him, rooky. somebody planned hisescape for him - friends of yours - and somebody knows where the diamonds are that he stole andhid. i've a guess that you're going to share them with him in return for getting your friends to helphim. where is weston, rooky?'

'i tell you i don't know,' repeated rooky. 'not here, if that's what you're getting at. you can search thewhole house from top to bottom, if you like. perton won't mind. will you, perton?

look for the sparklers, too, if you want to. i don't know anything about them.'

'perton, we've suspected you for a long time,' said the inspector, turning to mr. perton, who was stillcalmly smoking his cigarette. 'we think you're at the bottom of all these prison escapes -that's why you bought this lonely old house, isn't it? - so that you could work from it undisturbed?

you arrange the escapes, you arrange for a change of clothes, you arrange for a safe hiding-place tillthe man can get out of the country.'

'utter nonsense,' said mr. perton.

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'and you only help criminals who have been known to do a clever robbery and hide the stuff beforethey're caught,' went on the inspector, in a grim voice. 'so you know you'll make plenty of profit onyour deals perton. weston is here all right - and so are the diamonds. where are they?'

'they're not here,' said perton. 'you're at liberty to look and see. you won't get anything out of me,inspector. i'm innocent.'

julian had listened to all this in amazement. why, they had fallen into the very middle of a nest ofthieves and rogues! well - he knew where weston was - and the diamonds too! he stepped forward.

'tell your story later, son,' said the inspector. 'we've things to do now.'

'well, sir - i can save you a lot of time,' said julian. 'i know where the hidden prisoner is - and thediamonds too!'

rooky leapt to his feet with a howl. mr. perton looked at julian hard. the other men glanced uneasilyat one another.

'you don't know anything!' shouted rooky. 'you only came here yesterday.'

the inspector regarded julian gravely. he liked this boy with the quiet manners and honest eyes.

'do you mean what you say?' he asked.

'oh yes,' said julian. 'come with me, sir.'

he turned and went out of the room. everyone crowded after him - police, rooky and the others; butthree of the policemen quietly placed themselves at the back.

julian led them to the study. rooky's face went purple, but perton gave him a sharp nudge and hesaid nothing. julian went to the bookcase and swept a whole shelf of books out at once.

rooky gave a terrific yell and leapt at julian. 'stop that! what are you doing?'

two policemen were on the infuriated rooky at once. they dragged him back. julian pulled out theknob and the panel slid noiselessly downwards, leaving a wide space in the wall behind.

from the secret room four faces gazed out - the faces of three children - and a man. timmy was theretoo, but he was on the floor. for a few moments nobody said a single word. the ones in the hiddenroom were so surprised to see such a crowd of policemen looking in at them - and the ones in thestudy were filled with amazement to see so many children in the tiny room!

'well!' said the inspector. 'well, i'm blessed! and if that isn't weston himself, large as life andtwice as natural!'

rooky began to struggle with the policemen. he seemed absolutely infuriated with julian.

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'that boy!' he muttered. 'let me get at him. that boy!'

'got the diamonds there, weston?' asked the inspector, cheerfully. 'may as well hand them over.'

weston was very pale indeed. he made no move at all. dick reached under the narrow bed andpulled out a bag. 'here they are,' he said, with a grin. 'jolly good lot they feel - heavy as anything!

can we come out now, ju?'

all three were helped out by policemen. weston was handcuffed before he was brought out.

rooky found that he also had handcuffs on all of a sudden, and to mr. perton's angry surprise heheard a click at his own wrists too!

'a very, very nice little haul,' said the inspector, in his most genial voice, as he looked inside the bag.

'what happened to your prison clothes, weston? that's a nice suit you've got on - but you weren'twearing that when you left prison.'

'i can tell you where they are,' said julian, remembering. everyone stared in amazement, exceptgeorge and anne, who also knew, of course.

'they're stuffed down a well belonging to an old tumble-down shack on a lane between here andmiddlecombe woods,' said julian. 'i could easily find it for you any time.'

mr. perton stared at julian as if he couldn't believe his ears. 'how do you know that?' he askedroughly. 'you can't know a thing like that!'

'i do know it,' said julian. 'and what's more you took him a new suit of clothes, and arrived at theshack in your black bentley, didn't you - kmf 102? i saw it.'

'that's got you, perton,' said the inspector, with a pleased smile. 'that's put you on the spot, hasn't it?

good boy, this - notices a whole lot of interesting things. i shouldn't be surprised if he joins the policeforce someday. we could do with people like him!'

perton spat out his cigarette and stamped on it viciously, as if he wished he was stamping on julian.

those children! if that idiot rooky hadn't spotted richard kent and gone after him, none of thiswould have happened. weston would have been safely hidden, the diamonds sold, weston couldhave been sent abroad, and he, perton, would have made a fortune. now a pack of children had spoilteverything.

'any other people in the house?' the inspector asked julian. 'you appear to be the one who knowsmore than anybody else, my boy - so perhaps you can tell me that.'

'yes - aggie and hunchy,' said julian, promptly. 'but don't be hard on aggie, sir - she was awfullygood to us, and she's terrified of hunchy.'

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'we'll remember what you say,' promised the inspector. 'search the house, men. bring along aggieand hunchy too. we'll want them for witnesses, anyway. leave two men on guard here.

the rest of us will go.'

it needed the black bentley as well as the two police cars to take everyone down the drive and on tothe next town! the children's bicycles had to be left behind, as they could not be got on the carsanywhere. as it was, it was a terrific squash.

'you going home tonight?' the inspector asked julian. 'we'll run you back. what about your people?

won't they be worried by all this?'

'they're away,' explained julian. 'and we were on a cycling tour. so they don't know. there's reallynowhere we can go for the night.'

but there was! there was a message awaiting the inspector to say that mrs. thurlow kent would bevery pleased indeed if julian and the others would spend the night with richard. she wanted to hearabout their extraordinary adventures.

'right,' said julian. 'that settles that. we'll go there - and anyway, i want to bang old richard on theback. he turned out quite a hero after all!'

'you'll have to keep around for a few days,' said the inspector. 'we'll want you, i expect - you've avery fine tale to tell, and you've been a great help.'

'we'll keep around then,' said julian. 'and if you could manage to have our bikes collected, sir, i'd bevery grateful.'

richard was at the front door to meet them all, although by now it was very late indeed. he wasdressed in clean clothes and looked very spruce beside the dirty, bedraggled company of children thathe went to greet.

'i wish i'd been in at the last!' he cried. 'i was sent off home, and i was wild. mother - and dad -here are the children i went off with.'

mr. thurlow kent had just come back from america. he shook hands with all of them. 'come alongin,' he said. 'we've got a fine spread for you - you must be ravenous!'

'tell me what happened, tell me at once,' demanded richard.

'we simply must have a bath first,' protested julian. 'we're filthy.'

'well, you can tell me while you're having a bath,' said richard. 'i can't wait to hear!'

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it was lovely to have hot baths and to be given clean clothes. george was solemnly handed out shortslike the boys, and the others grinned to see that both mr. and mrs. kent thought she was a boy.

george, of course, grinned too, and didn't say a word.

'i was very angry with richard when i heard what he had done,' said mr. kent, when they were allsitting at table, eating hungrily. 'i'm ashamed of him.'

richard looked downcast at once. he gazed beseechingly at julian.

'yes - richard made a fool of himself,' said julian. 'and landed us all into trouble. he wants taking inhand, sir.'

richard looked even more downcast. he went very red, and looked at the table-cloth.

'but,' said julian, 'he more than made up for his silliness, sir - he offered to squash himself into theboot of the car, and escape that way, and go and warn the police. that took some doing, believe me! ithink quite a bit of richard now!'

he leaned over and gave the boy a pat on the back. dick and the others followed it up with thumps,and timmy woofed in his deepest voice.

richard was now red with pleasure. 'thanks,' he said, awkwardly. 'i'll remember this.'

'see you do, my boy!' said his father. 'it might all have ended very differently!'

'but it didn't,' said anne happily. 'it ended like this. we can all breathe again!'

'till the next time,' said dick, with a grin. 'what do you say, timmy, old boy?'

'woof,' said timmy, of course, and thumped his tail on the floor. 'woof!'

the end