‘I’ll take Pongo with me, and Barker and Growler,’ said Nobby, delighted at the invitation. ‘If I lose the way back, they won’t!’
So they all set off up the hill, tired with their long and exciting day. Anne began to plan what she would give the little company for supper. Ham, certainly and tomatoes and some of that raspberry syrup diluted with icy-cold spring-water.
They all heard Timmy barking excitedly as soon as they came near the caravans. He barked without ceasing, loudly and determinedly.
‘He sounds cross,’ said Dick. ‘Poor old Tim! He must think we’ve quite deserted him.’
They came to the caravans and Timmy flung himself on George as if he hadn’t seen her for a year. He pawed her and licked her, then pawed her again.
Barker and Growler were pleased to see him too, and as for Pongo, he was delighted. He shook hands with Timmy’s tail several times, and was disappointed that Timmy took no notice of him.
‘Hallo! What’s Barker gnawing at?’ suddenly said Dick. ‘Raw meat! How did it come here? Do you suppose the farmer has been by and given Timmy some? Well, why didn’t he eat it, then?’
They all looked at Barker, who was gnawing some meat on the ground. Growler ran to it too. But Timmy would not go near it. Nor would Pongo. Timmy put his tail down and Pongo hid his furry face behind his paws.
‘Funny,’ said the children, puzzled at the queer behaviour of the two animals. Then suddenly they understood for poor Barker suddenly gave a terrible whine, shivered from head to foot, and rolled over on his side.
‘Jiminy it’s poisoned!’ yelled Nobby, and kicked Growler away from the meat. He picked Barker up, and to the children’s utter dismay they saw that Nobby was crying.
‘He’s done for,’ said the boy, in a choking voice. ‘Poor old Barker.’
Carrying Barker in his arms, with Growler and Pongo behind him, poor Nobby stumbled down the hill. No one liked to follow him. Poisoned meat! What a terrible thing.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
JULIAN THINKS OF A PLAN
George was trembling. Her legs felt as if they wouldn’t hold her up, and she sank down on the ledge. She put her arms round Timmy.
‘Oh, Timmy! That meat was meant for you! Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness you were clever enough not to touch it! Timmy, you might have been poisoned!’
Timmy licked his mistress soberly. The others stood round, staring, not knowing what to think. Poor Barker! Would he die? Suppose it had been old Timmy? They had left him all alone, and he might have eaten the meat and died.
‘I’ll never, never leave you up here alone again!’ said George.
‘Who threw him the poisoned meat, do you think?’ said Anne, in a small voice.
‘Who do you suppose?’ said George, in a hard, scornful voice. ‘Lou and Tiger Dan!’
‘They want to get us away from here, that’s plain,’ said Dick. ‘But again why?’
‘What can there be about this place that makes the men want to get rid of us all?’ wondered Julian. ‘They’re real rogues. Poor Nobby. He must have an awful life with them. And now they’ve gone and poisoned his dog.’
Nobody felt like eating very much that evening. Anne got out the bread and the butter and a pot of jam. George wouldn’t eat anything. What a horrid end to a lovely day!
They all went to bed early, and nobody objected when Julian said he was going to lock both the caravans. ‘Not that I think either Lou or Dan will be up here tonight,’ he said. ‘But you never know!’
Whether they came or not the children didn’t know, for although Timmy began to bark loudly in the middle of the night, and scraped frantically at the shut door of George’s caravan, there was nothing to be seen or heard when Julian opened his door and flashed on his torch.
Timmy didn’t bark any more. He lay quite quietly sleeping with one ear cocked. Julian lay in bed and thought hard. Probably Lou and Dan had come creeping up in the dark, hoping that Timmy had taken the meat and been poisoned. But when they heard him bark, they knew he was all right, and they must have gone away again. What plan would they make next?
‘There’s something behind all this,’ Julian thought, again and again. ‘But what can it be? Why do they want us out of this particular spot?’
He couldn’t imagine. He fell asleep at last with a vague plan in his mind. He would tell it to the others tomorrow. Perhaps if he could make Lou and Dan think they had all gone off for the day with Timmy but really, he, Julian, would be left behind, in hiding maybe he could find out something, if Lou and Dan came along …
Julian fell asleep in the middle of thinking out his plan. Like the others, he dreamt of elephants squirting him with water, of Pongo chasing the monkeys, of the dogs playing football with excited yaps and then into the dream came lumps of poisoned meat! Horrid.
Anne woke with a jump, having dreamt that someone had put poison into the hard-boiled eggs they were going to eat. She lay trembling in her bunk, and called to George in a small voice.
‘George! I’ve been having an awful dream!’
George woke up, and Timmy stirred and stretched himself. George switched on her torch.
‘I’ve been having beastly dreams, too,’ she said. ‘I dreamt that those men were after Timmy. I’ll leave my torch on for a bit and we’ll talk. I expect that with all the excitement we’ve had today, and the horrid end to it this evening, we’re just in the mood for horrid dreams! Still they are only dreams.’
‘Woof,’ said Timmy, and scratched himself.
‘Don’t,’ said George. ‘You shake the whole caravan when you do that, Timmy. Stop it.’
Timmy stopped. He sighed and lay down heavily. He put his head on his paws and looked sleepily at George, as if to say, ‘Put that torch out. I want to go to sleep.’
The next morning was not so warm, and the sky was cloudy. Nobody felt very cheerful, because they kept thinking of Nobby and poor Barker. They ate their breakfast almost in silence, and then Anne and George began to stack the plates, ready to take them to the spring to rinse.
‘I’ll go to the farm this morning,’ said Julian. ‘You sit on the ledge and take the field-glasses, Dick. We’ll see if Nobby goes out in his boat and waves. I’ve an idea that he won’t want us down in the camp this morning. If he suspects his Uncle Dan and Lou of putting down the meat that poisoned Barker, he’ll probably have had a frightful row with them.’
He went off to the farm with two empty baskets. Mrs Mackie was ready for him, and he bought a further supply of delicious-looking food. Her present this time was a round ginger cake, warm from the oven!
‘Do the circus folk come up here often to buy food?’ asked Julian, as he paid Mrs Mackie.
‘They come sometimes,’ said Mrs Mackie. ‘I don’t mind the women or the children dirty though they are, and not above taking one of my chickens now and again but it’s the men I can’t abide. There were two here last year, messing about in the hills, that my husband had to send off quick.’
Julian pricked up his ears. Two men? What were they like?’
‘Ugly fellows,’ said Mrs Mackie. ‘And one had the yellowest teeth I ever saw. Bad-tempered chaps, both of them. They came up here at night, and we were afraid our chickens would go. They swore they weren’t after our chickens but what else would they be up here at night for?’
‘I can’t imagine,’ said Julian. He was sure that the two men Mrs Mackie spoke of were Lou and Tiger Dan. Why did they wander about in the hills at night?
He went off with the food. When he got near the camping-place, Dick called to him excitedly.
‘Hey, Julian! Come and look through the glasses. Nobby’s out in his boat with Pongo, and I simply can’t make out what it is they’re both waving.’
Julian took the glasses and looked through them. Far down the hill, on the surface of the lake, floated Nobby’s little boat. In it was Nobby, and with him was Pongo. Both of them were waving something bright red.
‘Can’t see what they’re waving but that doesn’t matter,’ said Julian. The thing is what they’re waving is red, not white. Red for danger. He’s warning us.’
‘Golly I didn’t think of that. What an idiot I am!’ said Dick. ‘Yes red for danger. What’s up, I wonder?’