He fell asleep again, and was awakened by Timmy busily licking his face. He sat up with a start. The girls were peering in at his tent, grinning. They were fully dressed already.
‘Wake up, lazy!’ said Anne. ‘We sent Timmy in to get you up. It’s half past seven. We’ve been up for ages/
‘It’s a simply heavenly morning,’ said George.
‘Going to be a frightfully hot day. Do get up. We’re going to find the stream and wash in it. It seems silly to lug heavy buckets of water to and fro for washing, if the stream’s nearby.’
Dick awoke too. He and Julian decided to go and take a bathe in the stream. They wandered out into the sunny morning, feeling very happy and very hungry. The girls were just coming back from the stream.
‘It’s over there,’ said Anne, pointing. ‘Timmy, go with them and show them. It’s a lovely little brown stream, awfully cold, and it’s got ferns along its banks. We’ve left the bucket there. Bring it back full, will you?’
‘What do you want us to do that for, if you’ve already washed?’ asked Dick.
‘We want water for washing-up the dishes,’ said Anne. ‘I suddenly remembered we’d need water for that. I say, do you think we ought to wake up Mr Luffy? There’s no sign of him yet.’
‘No, let him sleep,’ said Julian. ‘He’s probably tired out with driving the car so slowly! We can easily save him some breakfast. What are we going to have?’
‘We’ve unpacked some bacon rashers and tomatoes, ‘ said Anne, who loved cooking. ‘How do you light the stove, Julian?’
‘George knows,’ said Julian. ‘I say, did we pack a frying-pan?’
‘Yes. I packed it myself,’ said Anne. ‘Do go and bathe if you’re going to. Breakfast will be ready before you are!’
Timmy gravely trotted off with the boys and showed them the stream. Julian and Dick at once lay down in the clear brown bed, and kicked wildly. Timmy leapt in too, and there were yells and shrieks.
‘Well – I should think we’ve woken up old Luffy now!’ said Dick, rubbing himself down with a rough towel. ‘How lovely and cold that was. The trouble is it’s made me feel twice as hungry!’
‘Doesn’t that frying bacon smell good?’ said Julian, sniffing the air. They walked back to the girls. There was still no sign of Mr Luffy. He must indeed sleep very soundly!
They sat down in the heather and began their breakfast. Anne had fried big rounds of bread in the fat, and the boys told her she was the best cook in the world. She was very pleased.
‘I shall look after the food side for you,’ she said. ‘But George muist help with the preparing of the meals and washing-up. See, George?’
George didn’t see. She hated doing all the things that Anne loved to do, such as making beds and washing-up. She looked sulky.
‘Look at old George! Why bother about the washing-up when there’s Timmy only too pleased to use his tongue to wash every plate?’ said Dick.
Everyone laughed, even George. ‘All right,’ she said, Til help of course. Only let’s use as few plates as possible, then there won’t be much washing-up. Is there any more fried bread, Anne?’
‘No. But there are some biscuits in that tin,’ said Anne. ‘I say, boys, who’s going to go to the farm each day for milk and things? I expect they can let us have bread, too, and fruit.’
‘Oh, one or other of us will go,’ said Dick. ‘Anne, hadn’t you better fry something for old Luffy now? I’ll go and wake him. Half the day will be gone if he doesn’t get up now.’
Til go and make a noise like an earwig outside his tent,’ said Julian, getting up. ‘He might not wake with
all our yells and shouts, but he’d certainly wake at the call of a friendly earwig!’
He went down to the tent. He cleared his throat and called politely: ‘Are you awake yet, sir?’
There was no answer. Julian called again. Then, puzzled, he went to the tent opening. The flap was closed. He pulled it aside and looked in.
The tent was empty! There was nobody there at all.
‘What’s up, Ju?’ called Dick.
‘He’s not here,’ said Julian. ‘Where can he be?’
There was silence. For a panic-stricken moment Anne thought one of their strange adventures was beginning. Then Dick called out again: ‘Is his bug-tin gone? You know, the tin box with straps that he takes with him when he goes insect-hunting? And what about his clothes?’
Julian inspected the inside of the tent again. ‘Okay!’ he called, much to everyone’s relief. ‘His clothes are gone, and so has his bug-tin. He must have slipped out early, before we were awake. I bet he’s forgotten all about us and breakfast and everything!’
‘That would be just like him,’ said Dick. ‘Well, we’re not his keepers. He can do as he likes! If he doesn’t want breakfast, he needn’t have any. He’ll come back when he’s finished his hunting, I suppose.’
‘Anne! Can you get on with the doings if Dick and I go to the farmhouse and see what food they’ve got?’ asked Julian. ‘The time’s getting on, and if we’re going for a walk or anything today, we don’t want to start too late.’
‘Right,’ said Anne. ‘You go too, George. I can manage everything nicely, now that the boys have brought me a bucketful of water. Take Timmy. He wants a walk.’
George was only too pleased to get out of the washing-up. She and the boys, with Timmy trotting in front, set off to the farmhouse. Anne got on with her jobs, humming softly to herself in the sunshine. She soon finished them, and then looked to see if the others were coming back. There was no sign of them, or of Mr Luffy either.
Til go for a walk on my own,’ thought Anne. Til follow that little stream uphill and see where it begins. That would be fun. I can’t possibly lose my way if I keep by the water.’
She set off in the sunshine and came to the little brown stream that gurgled down the hill. She scrambled through the heather beside it, following its course uphill. She liked all the little green ferns and the cushions of velvety moss that edged it. She tasted the water – it was cold and sweet and clean.
Feeling very happy all by herself, Anne walked on and on. She came at last to a big mound of a hill-top. The little stream began there, half-way up the mound. It came gurgling out of the heathery hillside, edged with moss, and made its chattering way far down the hill.
‘So that’s where you begin, is it?’ said Anne. She flung herself down on the heather, hot with her climb. It was nice there, with the sun on her face, and the sound of the trickling water nearby.
She lay listening to the humming bees and the water. And then she heard another sound. She took no notice of it at all at first.
Then she sat up, frightened. ‘The noise is underground! Deep, deep underground! It rumbles and roars. Oh, what is going to happen? Is there going to be an earthquake!’
The rumbling seemed to come nearer and nearer.
Anne didn’t even dare to get up and run. She sat there and trembled.
Then there came an unearthly shriek, and not far off a most astonishing thing happened. A great cloud of white smoke came right out of the ground and hung in the air before the wind blew it away. Anne was simply horrified. It was so sudden, so very unexpected on this quiet hillside. The rumbling noise went on for a while and then gradually faded away.
Anne leapt to her feet in a panic. She fled down the hill, screaming loudly: ‘It’s a volcano! Help! Help! I’ve been sitting on a volcano. It’s going to burst, it’s sending out smoke. Help, help, it’s a VOLCANO!’
She tore down the hillside, caught her foot on a tuft of heather and went rolling over and over, sobbing. She came to rest at last, and then heard an anxious voice calling:
‘Who’s that? What’s the matter?’
It was Mr Luffy’s voice. Anne screamed to him in relief. ‘Mr Luffy! Come and save me! There’s a volcano here!’
There was such terror in her voice that Mr Luffy came racing to her at once. He sat down beside the trembling girl and put his arm round her. ‘Whatever’s the matter?’ he said. ‘What’s frightened you?’
Anne told him again. ‘Up there-do you see? That’s a volcano, Mr Luffy. It trembled and rumbled and then it shot up clouds of smoke. Oh quick, before it sends out red hot cinders!’
‘Now, now!’ said Mr Luffy, and to Anne’s surprise and relief he actually laughed. ‘Do you mean to tell me you don’t know what that was?’