Timmy wagged his tail politely. ‘Woof,’ he agreed, and went to drink out of the bucket of water. Anne stopped him just in time.
‘No, Timmy! You’re not to drink out of our washing-up water. There’s yours, in the dish over there.’
Timmy went to his dish and lapped. He thought Anne was very fussy. Anne asked Mr Luffy if he would like any supper.
‘We’re not having a proper supper,’ she said. ‘We had tea so late. But I’ll cook you something if you like, Mr Luffy.’
‘Very kind of you. But I’ve had an enormous tea,’ said Mr Luffy. ‘I’ve brought up a fruit cake for you, from my own larder. Shall we share it for supper? And I’ve got a bottle of lime juice, too, which will taste grand with some of the stream water.’
The boys went off to get some fresh stream water for drinking. Anne got out some plates and cut slices of the cake.
‘Well,’ said Mr Luffy. ‘Had a nice walk?’
‘Yes/ said Anne, ‘except that we met a strange one-legged man who told us he saw spook-trains.’
Mr Luffy laughed. ‘Well, well! He must be a cousin of a little girl I know who thought she was sitting on a volcano.’
Anne giggled. ‘You’re not to tease me. No, honestly, Mr Luffy, this old man was a watchman at a sort of old railway yard – not used now – and he said when the spook-trains came, he blew out his light and got under his bed so that they shouldn’t get him.’
‘Poor old fellow,’ said Mr Luffy. ‘I hope he didn’t frighten you.’
‘He did a bit,’ said Anne. ‘And he threw a cinder at Dick and hit him on the head. Tomorrow we’re going to the farm to ask the boy there if he’s heard of the spook-trains, too. We met an old shepherd who said he’d heard them but not seen them.’
‘Well, well – it all sounds most interesting,’ said Mr Luffy. ‘But these exciting stories usually have a very tame explanation, you know. Now would you like to see what I found today? A very rare and interesting little beetle.’
He opened a small square tin and showed a shiny beetle to Anne. It had green feelers and a red fiery spot near its tail-end. It was a lovely little thing.
‘Now that’s much more exciting to me than half a dozen spook-trains,’ he told Anne. ‘Spook-trains won’t keep me awake at night – but thinking of this little beetle-fellow here certainly will.’
‘I don’t very much like beetles,’ said Anne. ‘But this one certainly is pretty. Do you really like hunting about all day for insects, and watching them, Mr Luffy?’
‘Yes, very much,’ said Mr Luffy. ‘Ah, here come the
boys with the water. Now we’ll hand the cake round, shall we? Where’s George? Oh, there she is, changing her shoes.’
George had a blister, and she had been putting a strip of plaster on her heel. She came up when the boys arrived and the cake was handed round. They sat in a circle, munching, while the sun gradually went down in a blaze of red.
‘Nice day tomorrow again,’ said Julian. ‘What shall we do?’
‘We’ll have to go to the farm first,’ said Dick. The farmer’s wife said she’d let us have some more bread if we turned up in the morning. And we could do with more eggs if we can get them. We took eight hard-boiled ones with us today and we’ve only one or two left. And who’s eaten all the tomatoes, I’d like to know?’
‘All of you,’ said Anne at once. ‘You’re perfect pigs over the tomatoes.’
‘I’m afraid I’m one of the pigs,’ apologised Mr Luffy. ‘I think you fried me six for my breakfast, Anne.’
‘That’s all right,’ said Anne. ‘You didn’t have as many as the others, even so! We can easily get some more.’
It was pleasant sitting there, eating and talking, and drinking lime juice and stream water. They were all tired, and it was nice to think of the cosy sleeping-bags. Timmy lifted his head and gave a vast yawn, showing an enormous amount of teeth.
‘Timmy! I could see right down to your tail then!’ said George. ‘Do shut your mouth up. You’ve made us all yawn.’
So he had. Even Mr Luffy was yawning. He got up. ‘Well, I’m going to turn in,’ he said. ‘Good night.
We’ll make plans tomorrow morning. I’ll bring up some breakfast for you, if you like. I’ve got some tins of sardines.’
‘Oh, thanks,’ said Anne. ‘And there’s some of this cake left. I hope you won’t think that’s too funny a breakfast, Mr Luffy – sardines and fruit cake?’
‘Not a bit. It sounds a most sensible meal,’ came Mr Luffy’s voice from down the hillside. ‘Good night!’
The children sat there a few minutes longer. The sun went right out of sight. The wind grew a little chilly. Timmy yawned enormously again.
‘Come on,’ said Julian. ‘Time we turned in. Thank goodness Timmy didn’t come into our tent and walk all over me last night. Good night, girls. It’s going to be a heavenly night – but as I shall be asleep in about two shakes of a duck’s tail, I shan’t see much of it!’
The girls went into their tent. They were soon in their sleeping-bags. Just before they went to sleep Anne felt the slight shivering of the earth that meant a train was running underground somewhere. She could hear no rumbling sound. She fell asleep thinking ofit.
The boys were not asleep. They, too, had felt the trembling of the earth beneath them, and it had reminded them of the old railway yard.
‘Funny about those spook-trains, Dick,’ said Julian, sleepily. ‘Wonder if there is anything in it.’
‘No. How could there be?’ said Dick. ‘All the same we’ll go to the farm tomorrow and have a chat with that boy. He lives on the moors and he ought to know the truth.’
‘The real truth is that Wooden-Leg Sam is potty, and imagines all he says, and the old shepherd is ready to believe in anything strange,’ said Julian.
‘I expect you’re right,’ said Dick. ‘Oh my goodness, what’s that?’
A dark shape stood looking in at the tent-flap. It gave a little whine.
‘Oh, it’s you, Timmy. Would you mind not coming and pretending you’re a spook-train or something?’ said Dick. ‘And if you dare to put so much as half a paw on my middle, I’ll scare you down the hill with a roar like a man-eating tiger. Go away.’
Timmy put a paw on Julian. Julian yelled out to George. ‘George! Call this dog of yours, will you? He’s just about to turn himself round twenty times on my middle, and curl himself up for the night.’
There was no answer from George. Timmy, feeling that he was not wanted, disappeared. He went back to George and curled himself up on her feet. He put his nose down on his paws and slept.
‘Spooky Timmy,’ murmured Julian, re-arranging himself. ‘Timmy spooky – no, I mean – oh dear, what do I mean?’
‘Shut up,’ said Dick. ‘What with you and Timmy messing about, I can’t get – to – sleep!’ But he could and he did – almost before he had finished speaking. Silence fell on the little camp, and nobody noticed when the next train rumbled underground – not even Timmy!
6 Day at the farm
The next day the children were up very early, as early as Mr Luffy, and they all had breakfast together. Mr Luffy had a map of the moorlands, and he studied it carefully after breakfast.
‘I think I’ll go off for the whole day,’ he said to Julian, who was sitting beside him. ‘See that little valley marked here – Crowleg Vale – well, I have heard that there are some of the rarest beetles in Britain to be found there. I think I’ll take my gear and go along. What are you four going to do?’
‘Five,’ said George at once. ‘You’ve forgotten Timmy.’
‘So I have. I beg his pardon,’ said Mr Luffy, solemnly. ‘Well – what are you going to do?’
‘We’ll go over to the farm and get more food,’ said Julian. ‘And ask that farm-boy if he’s heard the tale of the spook-trains. And perhaps look round the farm and get to know the animals there. I always like a farm.’
‘Right,’ said Mr Luffy, beginning to light his pipe. ‘Don’t worry about me if I’m not back till dusk. When I’m bug-hunting I lose count of the time.’
‘You’re sure you won’t get lost?’ said Anne, anxiously. She didn’t really feel that Mr Luffy could take proper care of himself.
‘Oh yes. My right ear always warns me if I’m losing my way,’ said Mr Luffy. ‘It waggles hard.’