chapter 14 where is george?

next morning, about half past seven, joan went downstairs as usual. berta was awake and decided tofetch sally from george's bedroom. she put on her dressing-gown and padded 61downstairs with timmy behind her, to george's room on the floor below. the door was shut, and sheknocked gently.

'come in,' said anne's sleepy voice. 'oh, it's you, berta.'

'yes. i've come for sally,' said berta. 'hallo - where's george?'

anne looked at the empty bed beside hers. 'i don't know. the last thing i heard of her was in themiddle of the night when we got cross because sally wouldn't settle down, and george said shewould take her down to the kennel.'

'oh. well, probably george has gone down to fetch her back,' said berta. 'i'll go up and dress. it's aheavenly morning again. are you going to bathe before breakfast, because if so i'll just put on myswim-suit.'

'yes. i think we might today - we're nice and early,' said anne, scrambling out of bed. 'go and wakethe boys. timmy, go down and find george.'

dick and julian were awake, and quite ready for a before-breakfast bathe. anne joined them as theywent downstairs. berta had already gone down and had discovered sally in the kennel, most excitedto see her. she pranced round barking happily.

timmy came up to the children, looking puzzled. he had hunted everywhere for george and hadn'tfound her. 'woof,' he said to anne. 'woof, woof!' it was just as if he were saying, 'please, where isgeorge?'

'haven't you found george yet?' said anne in surprise. she called to joan. 'joan, where's george?

has she gone down to bathe already?'

'i haven't seen her,' said joan. 'but i expect she has because the garden-door was open when i camedown, and i guessed one of you had gone for an early bathe.'

'well, george must be down on the beach, then,' said anne, feeling rather puzzled. why hadn'tgeorge wakened her and told her to come too?

soon all four were on the beach with the two dogs, sally very happy to be with berta again, andtimmy very downcast and puzzled. he stood staring up the beach and down, looking quite lost.

'i can't see george anywhere,' said dick, suddenly feeling scared. 'she's not in the sea.'

they all gazed over the water, but no one was bathing that morning. anne turned to julian in suddenpanic.

'ju! where is she?'

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'i wish i knew,' said julian, anxiously. 'she's not here. and she hasn't gone out in her boat - it's overthere. let's go back to the house.'

'i don't think george would have gone for an early bathe without telling me,' said anne. 'and i alsothink i would surely have woken up just for a moment when she came back after taking sally down -oh julian, i think something happened when she went downstairs with sally late last night!'

'i've been thinking that too,' said julian soberly. 'we know that there was someone about last night,because george saw a face outside the window. let's go back to the house and see if we can spotanything to help us near the garden door or the kennel.'

they went back, looking very anxious. as soon as they began to look about near the kennel, annegave an exclamation and bent down. she picked up something and held it out to the others without aword.

'what is it - gosh, it's the girdle off george's dressing-gown!' said dick, startled. 'that proves it!

george was caught when she came down to put sally into her kennel!'

'they must have thought she was me,' said berta, in tears. 'you see - she was carrying sally and theyknow sally belongs to me - and she has short hair too and dresses like a boy in the daytime.'

'that's it!' said julian. 'actually you look like a boy in your boy's things, but george doesn't - and thekidnappers are looking for a girl dressed as a boy - and george fitted the bill nicely, especially as shehad the poodle with her. she's been kidnapped!'

'and will my father get the usual note to say his daughter will not be harmed if he does what thekidnappers want, and hands over this new secret?' said berta.

'sure to,' said julian.

'what will they say when they know they've got george, not me?' asked berta.

'well...' said julian, considering. 'i really don't know. they might try the same thing with unclequentin, but of course, he hasn't got the figures they want.'

'what about berta now?' asked dick. 'once those men find they've got the wrong girl, they'll be afterberta in a trice!'

'george won't tell them,' said anne, at once. 'she'll know that berta would be in immediate danger ifshe did tell them - so she'll say nothing as long as she can.'

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'would she really?' said berta, wonderingly. 'she's brave, isn't she? she could get herself set free atonce if she said she wasn't me, and proved it. gee, she's wunnerful if she could do a thing like that!'

'george is brave all right,' said dick. 'as brave as any boy could be when she's in a fix! julian, let's goand tell joan. we've got to make up our minds what we are going to do about this - and also, wemust safeguard berta somehow. she can't possibly wander round with us any more.'

berta all at once began to feel scared. george's sudden disappearance had brought home to her thevery real danger she was in. she had not really believed in it before. she looked over her shoulderand all round and about as if she expected someone to pounce on her.

'it's all right, berta - there's no one here at present!' said dick, comfortingly. 'but you'd better getindoors, all the same. i don't think george would give away the fact that she wasn't you, but the menmight find out some other way - and back they would come, hotfoot!'

berta raced indoors as if someone was chasing her! julian shut and locked the garden door and calledjoan.

they had a very serious conference indeed. joan was horrified. she wept when she heard that georgemust have been kidnapped in the middle of the night. she wiped her eyes with her apron.

'i said we must lock the doors and the windows, i said we must tell the police - and then miss georgehas to go down all by herself into the garden!' she said. 'if only she hadn't had the poodle with her!

no wonder they thought she was berta, with sally in her arms.'

'listen, joan,' said julian. 'there are a lot of things to do. first we must tell the police. then somehowwe must contact aunt fanny and uncle quentin - it's so like them not to give us an address! then wemust most certainly decide about berta. she must be well hidden away somewhere.'

'yes. that's certain,' said joan, wiping her eyes again. she sat and thought for a minute, and then herface lightened.

'i know where we could hide her!' she said. 'you remember jo - the little gypsy girl you've had one ortwo adventures with?'

'yes,' said julian. 'she lives with your cousin now, doesn't she?'

'she does,' said joan. 'and my cousin would have berta straightaway if she knew about this. she livesin a quiet little village where nothing ever happens, and nobody would think anything of my cousinhaving a child to stay with jo. she often does.'

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'it really seems an idea,' said dick. 'doesn't it, julian? we've simply got to get berta away at once.

we could trust jo to look after her, too - jo's as sharp as a packet of needles!'

'the police would know, too,' said julian, 'and would keep an eye on her as well. joan, can you ringup and get a taxi and take berta now, this very minute?'

'it'll be a surprise for my cousin, my arriving this time of the morning,' said joan, standing up andtaking off her apron, 'but she's quick on the uptake, and she'll do it, i know. master lesley, get a fewthings together - nothing posh, mind, like your silver hairbrush.'

berta looked extremely scared by now, and was inclined to refuse to go. julian put his arm round her.

'look,' he said, 'i bet george is holding her tongue so that we can get you away in safety before themen tumble to the fact that they've got the wrong boy - so you can play up, too, can't you, and bebrave?'

'yes,' said berta, looking up at julian's kind, serious face. 'i'll do what you say - but what's this jolike? joan said she was a little gypsy girl. i don't like gypsies.'

'you'll like this one all right,' said julian. 'she's a pickle and a scamp and a scallywag - but her heart'sin the right place - isn't it, joan?'

joan nodded. she had always been fond of the reckless, cheeky little jo, and it was she who hadfound a home for her when jo's father had had to go to prison. 'come on, master lesley,' she said.

'we must hurry. master julian, is she to go as a girl or a boy now - we've got to decide that too.'

'a girl, please - please, please, a girl!' said berta, at once.

julian considered. 'yes, i think you're right,' he said. 'you'd better be a girl now - but for goodness'

sake don't call yourself berta yet.'

'she can be jane,' said joan, firmly. 'that's a nice name, but quite ordinary enough for nobody tonotice. berta is too noticeable a name. come along, now - we'll have to pick out your simplestclothes!'

'now i'll ring up the police,' said julian, 'and also ring for a taxi.'

'no, don't get a taxi for us,' said joan. 'i don't want to arrive at my cousin's little cottage in a taxi, andmake everyone stare! jane and i will catch the market bus and people will think i'm going off tomarket. we can get another bus there, that will take us almost all the way to my cousin's.

we've only to walk down the lane then.'

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'good idea,' said julian, and went to the telephone. he got hold of the police sergeant, and told histale. the man showed not the least excitement, but took down quickly all that julian told him.

'i'll be up in ten minutes,' he said. 'wait in till i come.'

julian put down the receiver. dick and anne were watching him with troubled eyes. what washappening to george? was she frightened - or furious - or perhaps hurt?

timmy was absolutely miserable. he knew by now that something had happened to george. he hadgone a dozen times to the place where her dressing-gown girdle had been found, and had sniffedround disconsolately.

sally knew he was unhappy and trotted after him soberly. when he lay down she lay down besidehim. when he got up, she got up too. it would have been amusing to watch if anyone had felt likebeing amused. but nobody felt that way!

footsteps came up the path. 'the police!' said julian. 'they've not been long!'