Blyton, Enid – Famous Five 14 – Five Have Plenty of Fun

‘He’s probably used to her,’ said Dick. ‘Well, let’s go to sleep. I wonder if George is asleep or awake? I hate to think of her a prisoner somewhere.’

‘I bet Timmy hates it more than we do,’ said Dick, hearing a long-drawn whimper from the next room. ‘Poor old Tim. He can’t go to sleep either!’

Dick and Julian managed to go to sleep at last, both thinking of a speedy little figure on a bicycle, racing through the night to ask questions of a roundabout boy called Spiky!

Chapter Seventeen

TO GRINGO’S FAIR

At half past seven next morning Joan came running upstairs to Julian’s bedroom, a piece of paper in her hand. She knocked on the door.

‘Master Julian! A dirty little note was on the front door mat when I got down this morning. It’s folded over with your name on the outside.’

Julian was out of bed in a trice. A note from the kidnappers perhaps? No – it couldn’t be. They wouldn’t write to him!

It was from Jo! She had scribbled it so badly that Julian could hardly read it.

‘Julian, I saw Spiky, he’s coming to the beech at levven I took Dick’s bike to go home on I will bring it back at levven, don’t be too cross. Jo.’

‘I suppose “beech” doesn’t mean a tree, it means the beach, the sands,’ said Dick. ‘And “levven” means eleven o’clock. Little scallywag – I hope she hasn’t damaged my bike in any way.’

Jo hadn’t. She had actually managed to find time to clean it before she left home, and arrived with it so bright and gleaming that Dick hadn’t the heart to scold her!

She was early so she came to the house instead of the beach. She rode through the gate and up the front path and Timmy ran to greet her with a volley of delighted barks. He liked Jo – in fact he really loved the little gypsy girl. She certainly had a way with animals! Sally followed, dancing on her tiptoes as usual, ready to welcome as a friend anyone that Timmy liked.

Dick hailed Jo from the front door as she came up. ‘Hallo, bicycle-stealer! My word, what’s happened to my bike – have you spring-cleaned it?’

Jo grinned, looking at Dick warily. ‘Yes. I’m sorry I took it, Dick.’

‘You’re not a bit sorry – but I’ll forgive you,’ said Dick, grinning too. ‘So you got to the Fair safely after all?’

‘Oh yes – and I woke up Spiky – he wasn’t half surprised,’ said Jo. ‘But his Pa was sleeping in the same caravan as he was, so I couldn’t say much. I just told him to be on Kirrin Beach at eleven. Then I rode back home. I ought to have left your bike on the way back, but I was a bit tired, so I rode home, instead of walking.

‘You can’t have had much sleep last night,’ said Julian, looking at the sunburnt girl with her untidy curly hair. ‘Hallo – who’s that?’

A short, plump boy was hurrying past the gate. He had a mop of black hair which stuck up into curious spikes of hair at the crown.

‘Oh – that’s Spiky!’ said Jo. ‘He’s on time, isn’t he? He’s called Spiky because of his hair. You won’t believe it, but he spends a fortune on hair-oil, trying to make those spiky bits go flat. But they won’t.’ She called loudly.

‘Spiky! Hey, SPIKY!’

Spiky turned at once. He had a pleasant, rather lopsided face, and eyes as black as currants. He stood staring at Jo and the boys. ‘I’m just off to the beach,’ he said.

‘Right. We’re coming too,’ said Jo, and she and the boys went to join. They met the ice-cream man on the way and Julian bought an ice-cream for each of them.

‘Coo – thanks,’ said Spiky, pleased. He was rather shy of Dick and Julian, and wondered very much why he had been asked to come.

They sat down on the beach. ‘I wasn’t half scared when you came tapping at the window last night,’ he said to Jo, licking his ice-cream with a very pink tongue. ‘What’s it all about?’

‘Well,’ said Julian, cautiously, ‘we’re interested in somebody called Gringo.’

‘Old Gringo?’ said Spiky. ‘A lot of people’s interested in Gringo. Do you know what we say at the Fair? We say Gringo ought to put up a notice. “All dirty work done here!” He’s a bad lot, Gringo is – but he pays us well, even if he makes us work like slaves.’

‘He owns the Fair, doesn’t he?’ said Julian, and Spiky nodded. ‘I expect he uses it as a cover for all his other, bigger jobs,’ Julian said to Dick. He looked at the plump, black-eyed boy, wondering how far he could trust him. Jo saw the look and knew what it meant.

‘He’s all right,’ she said, nodding towards Spiky. ‘You can say what you like. He’s an oyster, he is. Ain’t you, Spiky?’

Spiky grinned his lopsided grin. Julian decided to trust him, and speaking in a low voice that really thrilled Spiky, he told him about the kidnapping of George. Spiky’s eyes nearly fell out of his head.

‘Coo!’ he said. ‘I bet old Gringo’s at the bottom of that. Last week he went off up to London – he told my Pa he was on to a big job – an American job, he said it was.’

‘Yes – it sounds as if it all fits,’ said Julian. ‘Spiky, this kidnapping happened the night before last. Did anything unusual occur in the Fair camp, do you know? It must have happened in the middle of the night.’

Spiky considered. He shook his head. ‘No – I don’t think so. Gringo’s big double-caravan is still there – so he can’t have gone. He had it moved right away from the camp yesterday morning – said there was too much noise for his old Ma, who lives in his posh caravan and looks after him. We was all glad it was moved – now he can’t spy on us so easily!’

‘I suppose you…’ began Julian, and then stopped as Dick gave an exclamation.

‘I’ve got an idea!’ he said. ‘Suppose that caravan was moved for another reason – suppose someone was making a row inside the van – someone shouting for help, say! Gringo would have to move it away from the rest of the camp in case that someone was heard.’

There was a pause, and then Spiky nodded. ‘Yes. It could be,’ he said. ‘I’ve never known Gringo move his caravan away from the camp before. Shall I do a bit of snooping for you?’

‘Yes,’ said Julian, excited. ‘My word – it would be a bit of luck if we could find George so quickly – and so near us too! A Fair camp would be a fine place to hide her, of course. Thank goodness we found that bit of paper with “Gringo” written on it!’

‘Let’s all go to the Fair this afternoon,’ said Dick. ‘Timmy too. He’d smell out George at once.’

‘Hadn’t we better tell the police first?’ said Julian. At once Spiky and Jo got up in alarm. Spiky looked as if he were going to run away immediately!

‘Don’t you get the police, Julian!’ said Jo urgently. ‘You won’t get anything more out of Spiky, if you do. Not a thing.’

‘I’m going,’ said Spiky, still looking terrified.

‘No, you’re not,’ said Dick, and caught hold of him. ‘We shan’t go to the police. They might frighten off Gringo and make him smuggle George away at once. I’ve no doubt he has plans to do so at any minute. We shan’t say a word, so sit down and be sensible.’

‘You can believe him,’ Jo told Spiky. ‘He’s straight, see?’

Spiky sat down, still looking wary. ‘If you’re coming to the Fair, come at four,’ he said. ‘It’s half-day closing today for the towns around, and the place will be packed. If you want to do any snooping, you won’t be noticed in that crowd.’

‘Right,’ said Julian. ‘We’ll be there. Look out for us, Spiky, in case you’ve got any news.’

Spiky then left, and the boys couldn’t help smiling at his back view – the spikes of hair at the top of his head were so very noticeable!

‘You’d better stay to lunch with us, Jo,’ said Dick, and the delighted girl beamed all over her face.

‘Will Joan’s cousin mind you not being back to dinner?’ asked Julian.

‘No. I said I wouldn’t be back all day,’ said Jo. ‘It’s still school holidays, you see. Anyway, I can’t stand that Jane – she moons about all the time – and she’s got some of my clothes on, too.’

Jo sounded so indignant about Berta that the boys had to laugh. They all went back to Kirrin Cottage, and found Joan and Anne hard at work in the house.