FIVE ON A HIKE TOGETHER by Enid Blyton

22 AN EXCITING FINISH

They awoke to hear Timmy barking. It was daylight already. Julian leapt up the steps to see what was the matter. He saw Maggie not very far away.

"Why do you keep such a fierce dog?" she called. "I just came to see if you wanted to take any food with you. We'll give you some if you like."

"It's too kind of you, all of a sudden!" said Julian. How anxious Maggie was to get rid of them! She would even give them food to get rid of them quickly. But Julian didn't want any food from Maggie or Dirty Dick!

"Do you want some, then?" asked the woman. She couldn't make Julian out. He looked a youngster, and yet his manner was anything but childish. She was rather afraid of him.

"No thanks," said Julian. "We're just about to go, Got to get back to school today, you know."

"Well, you'd better hurry then," said the woman. "It's going to rain."

Julian turned on his heel, grinning. It wasn't going to rain. Maggie would say anything to hurry them away! Still, that was just what Julian wanted - to get away as quickly as possible!

In ten minutes' time the four children were ready to go. Each had rucksack and mac on their back - and each had jewels worth thousands of pounds in their charge! What a very extraordinary thing.

"It will be a lovely walk across the moors," said Anne, as they went along. "I feel like singing now everything's turned out all right. The only thing is - nobody at school will believe George or me when we tell them what's happened,"

"We shall probably be set a composition to do - "What did you do on your half-term?" said George. "And Miss Peters will read ours and say "Quite well written, but rather far-fetched, don't you think?"

Everyone laughed. Timmy looked round with his tongue out and what George called 'his smiling face'. Then his 'smile' vanished, and he began to bark, facing to the rear of the children.

They looked round, startled. "Gosh - it's Maggie and Dirty Dick - rushing along like fury!" said Dick. "What's up? Are they sorry we've gone and want us back again?"

"They're trying to cut us off," said Julian. "Look - they've left the path and they're going to take a short cut to come across us. There is marshland all round, so we can't leave our own path. What idiots they are! Unless they know this bit of marsh-moor country they'll get bogged."

Maggie and Dirty Dick were yelling and shouting in a fury. Dirty Dick shook his fists, and leapt from tuft to tuft like a goat.

"They look as if they have gone quite mad," said Anne, suddenly afraid. "What's the matter with them?"

"I know!" said George. "They've been into our cellar room - and they've found that waterproof covering and all those empty boxes. They've found out that we've got the goods!"

"Of course!" said Julian. "We should have thrown all the boxes into the cellars beyond. No wonder they're in a fury. They've lost a fortune to us four!"

"What do they think they can do now, though?" said Dick. "We've got Timmy. He'll certainly fly at them if they come too near. But Dirty Dick looks mad enough to fight even Timmy. Honestly, I think he's gone off his head."

"I think he has," said Julian, startled by the man's mad shouts and behaviour.

He looked at Anne, who had gone white. Julian felt sure that Timmy would go for Dirty Dick and bring him to the ground, and he didn't want Anne to see dog and man fighting savagely. There was no doubt that Dirty Dick was quite out of his mind with rage and disappointment.