Blyton, Enid – Famous Five 15 – Five On a Secret Trail

‘Did you get near the lights?’ asked Dick.

‘Yes, fairly near. But the odd thing was that they seemed high up when I got near them – not near the ground as I expected. And again Timmy couldn’t find anyone. You would have thought if there was anyone about, playing the fool, that Timmy would have found them. But he didn’t.’

‘Woof,’ said Timmy, dolefully. He didn’t like this queer business at all!

‘Well, if nobody’s making the noises and lights, it makes it even worse,’ said Anne. ‘Do let’s go home, Julian. Tomorrow.’

‘All right,’ said Julian. ‘I don’t feel particularly thrilled about all this myself. But there is one idea I’ve got in my mind which I’d like to sort out tomorrow.’

‘What’s that?’ said Dick.

‘Well – it may quite well be that somebody very badly wants us out of here for some reason,’ said Julian. ‘And that somebody may want to come and lift other stones and have a thorough search all over the place – which he can’t do with us around. So he’s trying to frighten us out!’

‘Yes – I believe you are right, Julian,’ said Dick. ‘Those noises – and lights – they would be enough to scare anyone out of a place. Too eerie for words! Well – let’s have a good snoop round in the daylight, to see if we can find any trace of a trickster!’

‘We will – but it’s extremely odd that Timmy didn’t find him,’ said Julian. ‘Timmy can smell anyone out of any hiding-place! Yes – we’ll have a very very good hunt round tomorrow.’

‘And if you find nothing and nobody, we’ll go home?’ asked Anne.

‘Yes, we will. I promise you,’ said Julian, hugging Anne. ‘Don’t worry. You shan’t have to stay here one night longer, unless you want to! Now – let’s try and go to sleep again!’

It took the four a long time to go to sleep after all this excitement in the middle of the night. Anne kept listening for the wailing noises again, but none came. She kept her eyes shut tightly in case she should happen to see any more of the queer lights outside the window.

George and the boys lay awake too, puzzling out the problems of lights and noises which were not apparently caused by anyone! Julian especially was puzzled.

Only Timmy was unconcerned. He went to sleep before anyone else, though he kept one ear wide open – and up went the other one when George moved, or Dick whispered to Julian.

The excitement of the night made them all sleep late.

Julian awoke first, and stared at the low ceiling in surprise. Now – where was he? In France? No. Ah, of course he was in the old ruined cottage!

He woke Dick, who yawned and stretched. ‘Remember those queer lights and noises last night?’ asked Dick. ‘What a fright they gave us! It seems silly to think we were all so puzzled and scared, now that the sun is shining in at the window, and we can see the countryside around for miles!’

‘I’m pretty certain someone is trying to scare us away,’ said Julian. ‘We are in their way here – they want to do some thorough explorations and they can’t, because of us! I’ve a good mind to take the girls home, Dick, and come back here with you.’

‘Anne might go, but George wouldn’t,’ said Dick. ‘You know what old George is – good as any boy, and as full of courage as any boy, too. Let’s not decide anything till we have had a look round this morning. I don’t really believe there’s anything spooky about this at all – I agree with you that it’s just a few tricks to frighten us away.’

‘Right,’ said Julian. ‘Let’s wake the girls. Hey, George! Anne! Sleepyheads! Get up and get us breakfast! What are girls for if not to get our meals?’

George sat up, looking furious, as Julian intended. ‘You jolly well get your own m…’ she began, and then laughed as she saw Julian’s amused face.

‘I was only just striking a little match to set you alight!’ said Julian. ‘Come on – let’s all go for a swim in the pool!’

They set off together happily in the warm sunshine, Timmy padding along, his tail waving vigorously. As soon as they got to the pool, they saw the boy there, floating lazily on his back.

‘There’s Guy!’ said Anne.

‘I wonder if he will admit to his name or not this morning!’ said George. ‘Remember how he told us his name was Guy – and then said it wasn’t a little while after? Silly ass! I can’t make out if he’s quite mad, or just thinks its funny to keep playing the fool!’

They came to the pool. The boy waved to them, grinning. ‘Come on in – it’s fine!’

‘Is your name Guy this morning or not’?’ called George.

The boy looked surprised. ‘Of course it’s Guy!’ he said. ‘Don’t be idiotic! Come on in and have a game.’

They had a fine swim and a mad one. Guy was like an eel, swimming under the water, catching their legs, splashing, swimming away fast, doubling round and going underwater just as they got up to him!

At last they all sat panting on the edge of the pond, the sun shining down warmly on them.

‘I say, Guy – did you hear anything strange last night?’ asked Dick. ‘Or see anything’?’

‘I didn’t see anything strange – but I thought I heard somebody wailing and crying in the distance,’ said Guy. ‘Just now and again when the wind brought the sound this way. Jet didn’t like it at all – did you, Jet? He went and hid under my legs!’

‘We heard it too – quite near us,’ said Julian. ‘And saw strange lights.’

They discussed the matter for some time, but Guy could not really help them, because he had not been near enough to the noises to hear them as clearly as the others had.

‘I’m getting hungry,’ said George, at last. ‘I keep thinking of ham and tomatoes and cheese. Let’s go back to the cottage.’

‘Right,’ said Julian. ‘Good-bye, Guy – see you sometime soon. Good-bye, Jet, you mad little thing.’

They went off together, their swim-suits almost dry already in the sun.

‘Well, Guy was perfectly sensible this morning,’ said Anne. ‘Funny! I wonder why he’s so silly sometimes.’

‘See – isn’t that him – running down the path there – to the right, look!’ said George, suddenly. ‘Now how did he get there so quickly? We left him by the pool!’

It certainly looked like Guy! They called to him, but he didn’t even look round or wave, though he must have heard them. They went on, puzzled. How could one person be so different each time – and why? What was the point?

They had a good breakfast and then went out to look round and see if they could find anything to explain the strange happenings of the night before.

‘The noises seemed to come from about here, when I came out last night,’ said Julian, stopping near the little group of trees. ‘And the lights seemed to start about here too – but not near the ground – they were high up, above my head.’

‘Above your head?’ said Dick, puzzled. ‘That seems odd.’

‘It doesn’t!’ said Anne. ‘Not a bit odd! What about those trees there? Couldn’t somebody climb up them and do the wailing and whining there, with some strange instrument – and set off the weird lights?’

Julian stared up at the trees and then round at Anne. He grinned suddenly.

‘Anne’s got it! Clever girl! Of course someone was up there – or maybe two people – one doing the noises with some weird instrument and the other playing about with fireworks of some kind. Not the noisy kind – just coloured fire or balloons lighted up from inside.’

‘Yes! That’s why the lights seemed to be so high up, when you came out!’ said Dick. ‘They were sent out by someone up in a tree!’

‘And floated away to scare us,’ said Anne. ‘Golly – I do feel glad that it was silly tricks like that that frightened us so. They wouldn’t frighten me again!’

‘It explains something else too,’ said George. ‘It explains why Timmy didn’t find anyone! They were safely up trees! I bet they hardly breathed when they knew Tim was down below.’

‘Yes. Of course! That puzzled me too,’ said Julian. ‘It was too spooky for words when even old Tim couldn’t find anyone real about – just noises and lights!’

‘Here’s something, look – a wrinkled little rubber-skin – pale green!’ said Dick, picking something up from the ground. ‘That’s what those lights were – balloons lighted up from inside in some way and sent floating away in the air.’