chapter 9 dick surprises the others

dick began his tale - but it really was very difficult to hear it because they couldn't walk four abreast,as there was no path to follow.

in the end julian stopped and pointed to a thick clump of heather. 'let's go and sit there and heardick's story properly. i keep missing bits. no one can hear us if we sit here.'

they sat down and dick started again. he told about the old woman who was afraid her son would beangry if she let them stay the night. he told about his bed in the straw.

'and now here comes the bit i think must have been a dream,' he said. 'i woke up to hear a scratchingnoise on the wooden walls of the barn...'

'rats or mice?' said george, and timmy leapt up at once, of course. he was sure she had said thewords to him!

'i thought that too,' said dick. 'but then i heard a gentle tap-tap-tapping on the window.'

'how horrid,' said anne. 'i shouldn't have liked that at all.'

'neither did i,' said dick, 'but the next thing i heard was my name being called! ''dick! dick!''

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just like that.'

'it must have been a dream then,' said anne. 'there was no one there who knew your name.'

dick went on. 'well, then the voice said - ''dick! i know you're there, i saw you go in!'' and it toldme to go to the window.'

'go on,' said julian. he was puzzled. no one in the world but anne could have known that dick wasin the barn - and it certainly wasn't anne out there in the night!

'well, i went to the window,' said dick, 'and i saw, rather dimly, of course, a wild-eyed lookingfellow. he couldn't see me in the darkness of the barn. i just mumbled, ''i'm here,'' hoping he wouldthink i was whoever he wanted.'

'what did he say next?' asked george.

'he said something that sounded stuff and nonsense,' said dick, 'he said it twice. it was ''two-trees.

gloomy water. saucy jane.'' and he said ''maggie knows.'' just like that!'

there was a silence. then george laughed. 'two-trees! gloomy water! saucy jane - and maggieknows about it! well, it must have been a dream, dick! you know it must. what do you think,julian?'

'well - it does sound a bit nonsensical to have someone come in the middle of the night and call dickby name and give him a strange message that doesn't mean a thing to him!' said julian. 'it soundsmore dream-like than real. i'd say it was a dream too.'

dick began to think they were right - and then a sudden thought struck him. he sat up straight.

'wait a bit!' he said. 'i've remembered something! the man slipped a bit of paper through the brokenpane of the window, and i picked it up!'

'ah - that's different,' said julian. 'now - if you can't find that paper, it's all a dream and you dreamtthe paper too - but if you can find it, well the whole thing is true. very peculiar indeed -but true.'

dick searched quickly in his pockets. he felt paper in one of them, and drew it out. it was a dirty,crumpled piece, with a few words on it and a few lines. he held it out to the others in silence, hiseyes shining.

'is this the paper?' asked julian. 'my word - so you didn't dream it after all, then!'

he took the paper. four heads bent over it to examine it. no, five - because timmy wanted to seewhat they were all so interested in. he thrust his hairy head between julian's and dick's.

'i can't make any sense of this paper,' said julian, 'it's a plan of some kind, i think - but what of, 36or where, it's impossible to know.'

'the fellow said that maggie had one of these bits of paper too,' said dick, remembering.

'who in the wide world is maggie?' said george, 'and why should maggie know?'

'any more to tell?' asked julian, intensely interested now.

'well - the son of the deaf old woman came into the barn later on,' said dick. 'and he sat and waitedand waited, and muttered and muttered - and then when i woke up he wasn't there. so i thought imust have dreamt him too. he didn't see me, of course.'

julian pursed up his lips and frowned. then anne spoke excitedly.

'dick! ju! i think i know why the second man came into the barn. it was the second man that thewild-eyed man wanted to give the message to, and the bit of paper - not to dick. he didn't want dick.

but he had seen him creep into the barn, and i suppose he thought dick was the man he really wantedand that he was in the barn waiting for him!'

'that's all very well - but how did he know my name?' asked dick.

'he didn't know it! he didn't know it was you at all!' said anne, excitedly. 'the other man's namemust have been dick too! don't you see? they must have planned to meet there, the wild-eyed manand the old woman's son - and the first man saw dick go in, so he waited a bit and then went andtapped on the window! and when he called ''dick! dick!'' of course dick thought it was he that hewanted, and he took the message and everything! and then the other man, the real dick came along -and was too late to meet the first one. our dick had met him and got the message!'

anne was quite breathless after this long speech. she sat and stared at the others eagerly. didn't theythink she was right?

they did, of course. julian clapped her on the back. 'well worked out, anne! of course that's whathappened.'

dick suddenly remembered the boy they had met on the way down from the old woman's cottage tobeacons village - the whistling boy. what had he said about the old woman and her son?

'anne - what did that whistling boy say? wait a bit - he said that was mrs. taggart's place - and hesaid we'd better not go there or her son would drive us off. and he said - yes, i remember now- he said ''dirty dick we call him - he's a terror!'' dirty dick! his name must be dick then! whydidn't i think of it before?'

'that proves that anne is right,' said julian, pleased. anne looked pleased too. it wasn't often that 37she thought of something clever before the others did!

they all sat thinking. 'would this have anything to do with the escaped prisoner?' said george at last.

'it might,' said julian. 'he might have been the prisoner himself, that fellow who came with themessage. did he say who the message was from?'

'yes,' said dick, trying to remember. 'he said it was from nailer. i think that was the name - but itwas all given in whispers, you know.'

'a message from nailer,' said julian. 'well - perhaps nailer is in prison - a friend of the man whoescaped. and maybe when he knew this fellow was going to make a dash for it, he gave him amessage for someone - the man at that old cottage, son of the old woman. they may have had aprearranged plan.'

'how do you mean?' asked dick, looking puzzled.

'well - the old woman's son, dirty dick, may have known that when the bells rang out, this fellowwas making a run for it - and would come to bring him a message. he was to wait in the barn at nightif the bells rang, just in case it was nailer's friend who had escaped.'

'yes, i see,' said dick. 'i think you're right. yes, i'm sure you are. my word, i'm glad i didn't knowthat fellow at the window was an escaped convict!'

'and you've got the message from nailer!' said anne. 'what a peculiar thing! just because we lost ourway and went to the wrong place, you get a message from a prisoner given you by one who'sescaped! it's a pity we don't know what the message means - or the paper either.'

'had we better tell the police?' said george. 'i mean - it may be important. it might help them to catchthat man.'

'yes,' said julian. 'i think we should tell the police. let's have a look at our map. where's the nextvillage?'

he looked at the map for a minute. 'i think really we might as well go on with what i had planned,' hesaid. 'i planned we should reach this village here - reebles, look - in time for lunch, in case we hadn'tgot sandwiches. we'd have gone there for drinks anyway. so i vote we just carry on with our ramble,and call in at reebles police station - if there is one - and tell them our bit of news.'

they all got up. timmy was glad. he didn't approve of this long sit-down so soon after breakfast. hebounded ahead in delight.

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'his leg's quite all right,' said anne, pleased. 'well i hope it teaches him not to go down rabbit holesagain!'

it didn't, of course. he had his head down half a dozen within the next half-hour, but fortunately hecould get no farther, and he was able to pull himself out quite easily.

the four saw little wild ponies that day. they came trotting over a hillock together, small and brown,with long manes and tails, looking very busy indeed. the children stopped in delight. the ponies sawthem, tossed their pretty heads, turned one way all together and galloped off like the wind.

timmy wanted to go after them, but george held his collar tightly. no one must chase those dearlittle wild ponies!

'lovely!' said anne. 'lovely to meet them as suddenly as that. i hope we meet some more.'

the morning was as warm and sunny as the day before. once again the four of them had to take offtheir blazers, and timmy's tongue hung out, wet and dripping. the heather and wiry grass was softunderfoot. they followed the stream closely, liking its brown colour and its soft gurgling voice.

they bathed their hot feet in it as they ate one of their sandwiches at half past eleven. 'this is bliss!'

said george, lying back on a tuft of heather with her feet lapped by the water. 'the stream is ticklingmy feet, and the sun is warming my face - lovely! oh, get away, timmy, you idiot!

breathing down my neck like that, and making my face so wet!'

the stream at last joined the path that led to the village of reebles. they walked along it, beginningto think of dinner. it would be fun to have it in a little inn or perhaps a farm- house, and keep theirsandwiches for tea-time.

'but first we must find the police-station,' said julian. 'we'll get our tale told, and then we'll be readyfor our meal!'