Part 5 (1/2)
”Don't be so mysterious, George!” said Julian, impatiently. ”What is this strange plan? You'd better tell us, even if we're not in it. Can't you trust us?”
”Yes, of course. But you might try to stop me,” said George, looking sulky.
”Then you'd certainly better tell us,” said Julian feeling uneasy. George was such a madcap once she got ideas into her head. Goodness knows what she might do!
But George wouldn't say another word. Julian gave it up at last, but secretly made up his mind not to let George out of his sight that day. If she was going to carry out some wild plan, then she would have to do it under his, Julian's, eye!
But George didn't seem to be carrying out any wild plan. She bathed again with the others, went for a walk with them, and went for a row on the sea. She didn't want to go to Kirrin Island, so the others didn't press her, thinking that she didn't want to be out of sight of the beach in case Edgar came with a message from her father.
It was quite a pleasant day. The children bought sausage rolls again, and fruit, and picnicked on the beach. Timmy had a large and juicy bone from the butcher's.
”I've got a bit of shopping to do,” said George, about tea-time. ”You others go and see if Mrs. Stick is getting some tea for us, and I'll fly down to the shops and get what I want.”
Julian p.r.i.c.ked up his ears at once. Was George sending them off so that she could be alone to carry out this mysterious plan of hers?
”I'll come with you,” said Julian, getting up. ”d.i.c.k can tackle Mrs. Stick for once, and take Timmy with him.”
”No, you go,” said George. ”I won't be long.”
But Julian was determined not to go. In the end they all went with George, for d.i.c.k did not want to face Mrs. Stick without Julian or George.
George went into the little general shop and got a new battery for her torch. She bought two boxes of matches, and a bottle of methylated spirit.
”Whatever do you want that for?” said Anne in surprise.
”Oh, it might come in useful,” said George, and said no more.
They all went back to Kirrin Cottage. Tea was actually on the table! True, it was not a thrilling tea, being merely bread and jam and a pot of hot tea-still it was there, and was eatable.
It rained that evening. The children sat round the table and played cards. Their hearts were lighter now that they had had good news of George's mother. In the middle of the game Julian got up and rang the bell. The others stared at him in the greatest surprise.
”What are you ringing the bell for?” asked George, her eyes wide with astonishment.
”To tell Mrs. Stick to bring some supper,” said Julian, with a grin. But no one answered the bell. So Julian rang again and then again.
The kitchen door opened at last and Mrs. Stick came up the pa.s.sage, evidently in a bad temper. She came into the sitting-room.
. ”You stop ringing that bell!” she said, angrily. ”I'm not answering any bells rung by you.”
”I rang it to tell you that we wanted some supper,” said Julian, ”And to say that if you would rather I came and got it myself from the larder-with Timmy-as I did last night, I'll come with pleasure. But if not, you can bring a decent supper to us yourself.”
”If you come stealing things out of my larder again, I'll-I'll ...” began Mrs. Stick.
”You'll call in the police!” Julian finished for her. ”Do. That would please us very much. I can see our local policeman taking down all the details in his notebook. I could give him quite a few.”
Mrs. Stick muttered something rude under her breath, glared at Julian as if she could kill him, and went off down the pa.s.sage again. By the sound of the clattering . and cras.h.i.+ng of crockery in the kitchen it was plain that Mrs. Stick was getting some sort of supper for them, and Julian grinned to himself as he dealt out the cards.
Supper was not as good as the night before, but it was not bad. It was a little cold ham, cheese and the remains of a milk pudding. There was also a plate of cooked meat for Timmy.
George looked at it sharply. ”Take that away,” she said. ”I bet you've poisoned it again. Take it away!”
”No. On the contrary, leave it here,” said Julian. ”I'll take it down to the local chemist tomorrow and get him. to test it. If, as George thinks, it's poisoned, the chemist might have a lot of interesting things to tell us.”
Mrs. Stick took the meat away without a word. ”Horrible woman!” said George, pulling Timothy close to her. ”How I hate her! I feel so afraid for Timmy.”
Somehow that spoilt the evening. As it grew dark the children became sleepy. ”It's ten o'clock,” said Julian. ”Bed, I think, everyone! Anne ought to have gone long ago. She isn't nearly old enough to stay up as late as this.”
”Well!” began Anne, indignantly. ”I'm nearly as old as George, aren't I? I can't help being younger, can I?”
”All right, all right!” said Julian laughing. ”I shan't make you go off to bed by yourself, don't worry. We all keep together in this house while the Sticks are about. Come on! We'll go now, shall we?”
The children were tired. They had swum, walked and rowed that day. Julian tried to keep awake a little while, but he too fell asleep very quickly.
He awoke with a jump, thinking that he had heard a. noise. But everything was quiet. What could the noise have been? Was it one of the Sticks creeping about? No-it couldn't be that, or Tim would have barked the house down. Then what was it? Something must have waked him.
”I suppose it's not old George doing anything about that plan of hers!” thought Julian, suddenly. He sat up, He felt about for his dressing-gown and put it on. Without waking d.i.c.k he crept to the girls” room, and switched on his torch to see that they were all right.
Anne was in her bed, sleeping peacefully. But George's bed was empty. George's clothes were gone!
”Blow!” said Julian, under his breath. ”Where has she gone? I bet she's run away to find where her mother is!”
His torch picked out a white ”envelope pinned to George's pillow. He stepped softly over to it.
It had his name printed on it in bold letters. ”JULIAN.” . Julian ripped it open and read it.
”Dear JULIAN,” said the note, ”Don't be angry with me, please. I daren't stay in Kirrin Cottage any longer in case the Sticks somehow poison Timmy. You know that would break my heart. So I've gone to live by myself on our island till Mother and Father come back. Please leave a note for Father and tell him to ask Jim to sail near Kirrin Island with his little red flag flying from the mast as soon as they are back. Then I'll come home. You and d.i.c.k and Anne must go back to your own parents now I've gone. It would be silly to stay at Kirrin Cottage with the Sticks now I'm not there.
Love from GEORGE.”
Julian read the note through. ”Well, why didn't I guess that was her plan!” he said to himself. ”That's why we didn't come into it! She meant to go off by herself with Timmy. I can't let her do that. She can't live all by herself on Kirrin Island for so long. She might fall ill. She might slip on a rock and hurt herself, and no one would ever know!”
. The boy was really worried about the determined little girl. He wondered what to do. That noise he heard must have been made by George. So she couldn't have got a very long start really. If he tore down to the beach, George might still be there, and he could stop her.
So, in his dressing gown, he ran down the front path, out of the gate, and took the road to the beach. The rain had stopped, and the stars were out. But it was not at all a light night.
”How can George expect to get through those rocks in the dark,” he thought. ”She's mad! She'll strike her boat on a rock, and sink.”
He tore on in the darkness, talking aloud to himself. ”No wonder she wanted a new battery for her torch, and matches-and I suppose the methylated spirit was for her little cooking stove! Why ever couldn't she tell us? It would have been fun to go with her.”
He came to the beach. He saw the light of a torch where George kept her boat. He ran to it, his feet sinking in the soft wet sand.
”George! Idiot! You're not to go off like this all alone, in the dead of night!” called Julian.
George was pus.h.i.+ng her boat out into the water. She jumped when she heard Julian's voice. ”You can't stop me!” she said. ”I'm just off!”