Five on a Hike Together by Enid Blyton Page B

there was anyone in those cellars? You know jolly well he would be barking his head off!"
    „Yes. I know all that," said Anne, snuggling down in her heathery bed. „It"s just my imagination. You haven"t got any, George, so you don"t bother about imaginary fears.
    I"m not really scared while Timmy is here. But I do think it"s funny the way we always plunge into something peculiar when we"re together."
    „Adventures always do come to some people," said Dick. „You"ve only got to read the lives of explorers and see how they simply walk into adventures al the time."
    „Yes, but I"m not an explorer," said Anne. „I"m an ordinary person, and I"d be just as pleased if things didn"t keep happening to me."
    The others laughed, „I don"t expect anything much wil happen this time," said Julian, comfortingly. „We go back to school on Tuesday and that"s not far off. Not much time for anything to happen!"
    He was wrong of course. Things can happen one after the other in a few minutes! Stil , Anne cuddled down feeling happier. This was better than last night when she was al alone in that horrid little loft. Now she had al the others with her, Timmy too.

    Anne and George had one big bed between them. They drew their two rugs over themselves, and put their blazers on top too. Nobody had undressed because Julian had said that they might be too cold in just their night things.
    Timmy as usual put himself on George"s feet, She moved them because he was heavy. He wormed his way up the bed and found a very comfortable place between the knees of the two girls. He gave a heavy sigh.
    „That means he"s planning to go to sleep!" said George. „Are you quite comfortable, Anne?"
    „Yes," said Anne, sleepily. „I like Timmy there. I feel safe!"
    Julian was blowing out the candles. He left just one burning. Then he got into his bed of bracken and heather beside Dick. He felt tired too.
    The four slept like logs. Nobody moved except Timmy, who got up once or twice in the night and sniffed round inquiringly. He had heard a noise in the cellars. He stood at the closed door that led to the cellars and listened, his head on one side.
    He sniffed at the crack. Then he went back to bed, satisfied. It was only a toad! Timmy knew the smell of toads. If toads liked to crawl about in the night, they were welcome to!
    The second time he awoke he thought he heard something up in the kitchen above. He padded up the steps, his paws making a click-click-click as he went. He stood in the kitchen silently, his eyes gleaming like green lamps, as the moon shone on him.
    An animal with a long bushy tail began to slink away outside the house. It was a fine fox. It had smelt unusual smel s near the old ruin - the scent of people and of a dog, and it had come to find out what was happening.
    It had slunk into the kitchen and then smelt the strong scent of Timmy in the room below.
    As quietly as a cat it had slunk out again - but Timmy had awakened!
    Now the dog stood watching and waiting - but the fox had gone! Timmy sniffed its scent and padded to the door. He debated whether to bark and go after the fox.
    The scent grew very faint, and Timmy decided not to make a fuss. He padded back to the steps that led down to the cellar room, and curled up on George"s feet again. He was very heavy, but George was too tired to wake up and push him off. Timmy lay with one ear cocked for a while, and then went to sleep again, with his ear stil cocked. He was a good sentinel!
    It was dark in the cel ar when the one candle went out. There was no daylight or sunshine to wake the children down in that dim little room, and they slept late.
    Julian woke up first. He found his bed suddenly very hard, and he turned over to find a comfortable place. The heather and bracken had been flattened with his weight, and the floor below was very hard indeed! The movement woke him up, and he lay blinking in the darkness. Where was he?
    He remembered at once and sat up. Dick woke too and yawned.