FIVE ON A HIKE TOGETHER by Enid Blyton

05 ANNE AND DICK

It began to get dark very suddenly. The sun had gone, and a big black cloud slid smoothly over the sky. "It's going to rain," said Dick. "Blow! I thought it was going to be a lovely evening."

"We'd better hurry," said Anne. "I hate sheltering under a hedge in the pouring rain, with drips down my neck, and puddles round my feet!"

They hurried. They went up the road that led out of the village and then came to a turning on the right. This must be the one the man had meant. They stopped and looked down it It seemed to be like one of the sunken lanes they had walked down in the morning, and it looked rather dark and tunnel-like now, in the twilight.

"I hope it's right," said Dick. "We'll ask the very first person we meet."

"If we do meet anyone!" said Anne, feeling that they never would in this curious deep lane. They went up it. It wound round and about and then went downhill into a very muddy bit indeed. Anne found herself sloshing about in thick mud.

"A stream or something must run across the lane here," she said. "Ugh! The water's got into my shoes! I'm sure we don't go this way, Dick. The water's quite deep farther on, I'm certain. I was up to my ankles just now."

Dick looked about in the deepening twilight. He made out something above him in the high hedge that grew on the steep bank each side.

"Look - is that a stile?" he said, "Where's my torch? At the bottom of my rucksack, of course! Can you get it out, Anne, to save me taking the thing off?"

Anne found the torch and gave it to Dick. He switched it on, and immediately the shadows round them grew blacker, and the lane seemed more tunnel-like than ever. Dick flashed the torch upwards to what he had thought was a stile.

"Yes - it is a stile," he said. "I expect that leads up to the farm-house - a short cut, probably. I've no doubt this lane is the one used by the farm-carts, and probably goes right round to the farm - but if this is a short cut we might as well take it. It must lead somewhere, anyway!"

They scrambled up the bank to the stile. Dick helped Anne over, and they found themselves in a wide field. In front of them was a narrow path, running between crops of some sort.

"Yes - this is obviously a short cut," said Dick, pleased. "I expect we'll see the lights of the farm-house in a minute."

"Or fall into the blue pond first," said Anne, rather dismally. It was just beginning to rain and she was wondering if it was worth while to untie her mac from her shoulder and put it on. Or was the farm-house really nearby? Julian had said it wasn't very far.

They walked across the field and came to another stile. The rain was coming down fast now, Anne decided to put on her mac. She stood under a thick bush and Dick helped her on with it. She had a small sou'wester in the pocket and put that on too. Dick put his on and they set off again.

The second stile led into another endless field, and the path then came at last to a big field-gate. They climbed over it and found themselves on what looked like a heathery moor - wild and uncultivated land! No farm-house was to be seen - though, indeed they could not have seen anything of one unless they had been very close to it, because the night was on them, dark and rainy.

"If only we could see some lights somewhere - shining out of a window," said Dick. He shone his torch on to the moor in front of them. "I don't quite know what to do. There doesn't seem a path here - and I just hate the idea of going all the way back across those wet fields, and into that dark little lane."

"Oh no - don't let's," said Anne, with a shiver. "I really didn't like that lane. There must be a path somewhere! It's silly for a gate to open on to moorland!"