‘Right,’ said Dick, enjoying the thought of playing a trick on Lou. ‘Come on. There’s the bus. We’ll have to run for it.’
They all got into the bus. Lou was still watching, a small figure very far away. Dick felt inclined to wave cheekily to him, but didn’t.
The bus set off. They took three tickets for the town and one for the nearest stop. Timmy had a ticket, too, which he wore proudly in his collar. He loved going in a bus.
Julian got out at the first stop. ‘Well, see you this evening!’ he said. ‘Send Timmy on ahead to the caravans when you come back just in case the men are anywhere about. I may not be able to warn you.’
‘Right,’ said Dick. ‘Good-bye and good luck!’
Julian waved and set off back down the road he had come. He saw a little lane leading off up into the hills and decided to take it. It led him not very far from Mrs Mackie’s farm, so he soon knew where he was. He went back to the caravans, and quickly made himself some sandwiches and cut some cake to take to his hiding-place. He might have a long wait!
‘Now where shall I hide?’ thought the boy. ‘I want somewhere that will give me a view of the track so that I can see when the men come up it. And yet it must be somewhere that gives me a good view of their doings, too. What would be the best place?’
A tree? No, there wasn’t one that was near enough or thick enough. Behind a bush? No, the men might easily come round it and see him. What about the middle of a thick gorse bush? That might be a good idea.
But Julian gave that up very quickly, for he found the bush far too prickly to force his way into the middle. He scratched his arms and legs terribly.
‘Blow!’ he said. ‘I really must make up my mind, or the men may be here before I’m in hiding!’
And then he suddenly had a real brainwave, and he crowed in delight. Of course! The very place!
‘I’ll climb up on to the roof of one of the caravans!’ thought Julian. ‘Nobody will see me there and certainly nobody would guess I was there! That really is a fine idea. I shall have a fine view of the track and a first-rate view of the men and where they go!’
It wasn’t very easy to climb up on to the high roof. He had to get a rope, loop it at the end, and try to lasso the chimney in order to climb up.
He managed to lasso the chimney, and the rope hung down over the side of the caravan, ready for him to swarm up. He threw his packet of food up on to the roof and then climbed up himself. He pulled up the rope and coiled it beside him.
Then he lay down flat. He was certain that nobody could see him from below. Of course, if the men went higher up the hill and looked down on the caravans, he could easily be spotted but he would have to chance that.
He lay there quite still, watching the lake, and keeping eyes and ears open for anyone coming up the hillside. He was glad that it was not a very hot sunny day, or he would have been cooked up on the roof. He wished he had thought of filling a bottle with water in case he was thirsty.
He saw spires of smoke rising from where the circus camp lay, far below. He saw a couple of boats on the lake, a good way round the water people fishing, he supposed. He watched a couple of rabbits come out and play on the hillside just below.
The sun came out from behind the clouds for about ten minutes and Julian began to feel uncomfortably hot. Then it went in again and he felt better.
He suddenly heard somebody whistling and stiffened himself in expectation but it was only someone belonging to the farm, going down the hill some distance away. The whistle had carried clearly in the still air.
Then he got bored. The rabbits went in, and not even a butterfly sailed by. He could see no birds except a yellow-hammer that sat on the topmost spray of a bush and sang: ‘ Little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese’, over and over again in a most maddening manner.
Then it gave a cry of alarm and flew off. It had heard something that frightened it.
Julian heard something, too, and glued his eyes to the track that led up the hill. His heart began to beat. He could see two men. Were they Lou and Dan?
He did not dare to raise his head to see them when they came nearer in case they spotted him. But he knew their voices when they came near enough!
Yes it was Lou and Tiger Dan all right. There was no mistaking those two harsh, coarse voices. The men came right into the hollow, and Julian heard them talking.
‘Yes, there’s nobody here. Those kids have really gone off for the day at least and taken that wretched dog with them!’
‘I saw them get on the bus, dog and all, I told you,’ growled Lou. ‘There’ll be nobody here for the day. We can get what we want to.’
‘Let’s go and get it, then,’ said Dan.
Julian waited to see where they would go to. But they didn’t go out of the hollow. They stayed there, apparently beside the caravans. Julian did not dare to look over the edge of the roof to see what they were up to. He was glad he had fastened all the windows and locked the doors.
Then there began some curious scuffling sounds, and the men panted. The caravan on which Julian was lying began to shake a little.
‘What are they doing?’ thought Julian in bewilderment. In intense curiosity he slid quietly to the edge of the caravan roof and cautiously peeped over, though he had firmly made up his mind not to do this on any account.
He looked down on the ground. There was nobody there at all. Perhaps the men were the other side. He slid carefully across and peeped over the opposite side of the caravan, which was still shaking a little, as if the men were bumping against it.
There was nobody the other side either! How very extraordinary! ‘Golly! They must be underneath the caravan!’ thought Julian, going back to the middle of the roof. ‘Underneath! What in the wide world for?’
It was quite impossible to see underneath the caravan from where he was, so he had to lie quietly and wonder about the men’s doings. They grunted and groaned, and seemed to be scraping and scrabbling about, but nothing happened. Then Julian heard them scrambling out from underneath, angry and disappointed.
‘Give us a cigarette,’ said Lou in a disagreeable voice. ‘I’m fed up with this. Have to shift this van. Those tiresome brats! What did they want to choose this spot for?’
Julian heard a match struck and smelt cigarette smoke. Then he got a shock. The caravan he was on began to move! Heavens! Were the men going to push it over the ledge and send it rolling down the hillside?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SEVERAL THINGS HAPPEN
Julian was suddenly very scared. He wondered if he had better slide off the roof and run. He wouldn’t have much chance if the caravan went hurtling down the hill! But he didn’t move. He clung to the chimney with both hands, whilst the men shoved hard against the caravan.
It ran a few feet to the rocky ledge, and then stopped. Julian felt his forehead getting very damp, and he saw that his hands were trembling. He felt ashamed of being so scared, but he couldn’t help it.
‘Hey! Don’t send it down the hill!’ said Lou in alarm, and Julian’s heart felt lighter. So they didn’t mean to destroy the caravan in that way! They had just moved it to get at something underneath. But what could it be? Julian racked his brains to try and think what the floor of the hollow had been like when Dobby and Trotter pulled their caravans into it. As far as he could remember it was just an ordinary heathery hollow.
The men were now scrabbling away again by the back steps of the caravan. Julian was absolutely eaten up with curiosity, but he did not dare even to move. He could find out the secret when the men had gone. Meantime he really must be patient or he would spoil everything.
There was some muttered talking, but Julian couldn’t catch a word. Then, quite suddenly, there was complete and utter silence. Not a word. Not a bump against the caravan. Not a pant or even a grunt. Nothing at all.