The three children downstairs felt very sorry for George. Uncle Quentinhad forbidden them to go up and see her."A little time for thinking out things all alone may do George good," hesaid."Poor old George," said Julian. "It's too bad, isn't it? I say—look atthe snow!"The snow was falling very thickly. Julian went to the window and lookedout. "I shall have to go and see that Timmy's kennel is all right," hesaid. "We don't want the poor old fellow to be snowed up! I expect he iswondering what the snow is!"Timothy was certainly very puzzled to see everywhere covered with softwhite stuff. He sat in his kennel and stared out at the falling flakes,his big brown eyes following them as they fell to the ground. He waspuzzled and unhappy. Why was he living out here by himself in the cold?Why didn't George come to him? Didn't she love him any more? The big dogwas very miserable, as miserable as George!He was delighted to see Julian. He jumped up at the boy and licked hisface. "Good old Tim!" said Julian. "Are you all right? Let me sweep awaysome of this snow and swing your kennel round a bit so that no flakesfly inside. There—that's better. No, we're not going for a walk, oldthing—not now."The boy patted the dog and fussed him a bit, then went indoors. Theothers met him at the sitting-room door."Julian! Mr. Roland is going out for a walk by himself. Aunt Fanny islying down, and Uncle Quentin is in his study. Can't we go up and seeGeorge?""We were forbidden to," said Julian, doubtfully."I know," said Dick. "But I don't mind risking it for the sake of makingGeorge feel a bit happier. It must be so awful for her, lying up thereall alone, knowing she can't see Tim for days.""Well—let me go up, as I'm the eldest," said Julian. "You two stay downhere in the sitting-room and talk. Then Uncle Quentin will think we'reall here. I'll slip up and see George for a few minutes.""All right," said Dick. "Give her our love and tell her we'll look afterTimmy."Julian slipped quietly up the stairs. He opened George's door and creptinside. He shut the door, and saw George sitting up in bed, looking athim in delight."Sh!" said Julian. "I'm not supposed to be here!""Oh Julian!" said George, joyfully. "How good of you to come. I was solonely. Come this side of the bed. Then if anyone comes in suddenly, youcan duck down and hide."Julian went to the other side of the bed. George began to pour out tohim all she had been thinking of."I believe Mr. Roland is the thief, I really do!" she said. "I'm notsaying that because I hate him, Julian, really I'm not. After all, I_did_ find him snooping round the study one afternoon—and again in themiddle of the night. He may have got to hear of my father's work, andcome to see if he could steal it. It was just lucky for him that weneeded a tutor. I'm sure he stole those pages, and I'm sure he wantedTimmy out of the house so that he could do his stealing without Timhearing him and growling.""Oh, George—I don't think so," said Julian, who really could notapprove of the idea of the tutor doing such a thing. "It all sounds sofar-fetched and unbelievable.""Lots of unbelievable things happen," said George. "Lots. And this isone of them.""Well, if Mr. Roland _did_ steal the pages, they must be somewhere inthe house," said Julian. "He hasn't been out all day. They must besomewhere in his bedroom.""Of course!" said George, looking thrilled. "I wish he'd go out! ThenI'd search his room.""George, you can't do things like that," said Julian, quite shocked."You simply don't know what things I can do, if I really want to," saidGeorge, setting her mouth in a firm line. "Oh—what's that noise?"There was the bang of a door. Julian went cautiously to the window andpeeped out. The snow had stopped falling for a time, and Mr. Roland hadtaken the chance of going out."It's Mr. Roland," said Julian."Oooh—I could search his room now, if you'll keep watch at the windowand tell me if he comes back," said George, throwing back the bedclothesat once."No, George, don't," said Julian. "Honestly and truly, it's awful tosearch somebody's room like that. And anyway, I dare say he's got thepages with him. He may even be going to give them to somebody!""I never thought of that," said George, and she looked at Julian withwide eyes. "Isn't that sickening? Of course he may be doing that. Heknows those two artists at Kirrin Farm-house, for instance. They may bein the plot too.""Oh, George, don't be silly," said Julian. "You are making a mountainout of a mole-hill, talking of plots and goodness knows what! Anyonewould think we were in the middle of a big adventure.""Well, I think we are," said George, unexpectedly, and she looked rathersolemn. "I sort of feel it all round me—a Big Adventure!"Julian stared at his cousin thoughtfully. Could there possibly beanything in what she said?"Julian, will you do something for me?" said George."Of course," said the boy, at once."Go out and follow Mr. Roland," said George. "Don't let him see you.There's a white mackintosh cloak in the hall cupboard. Put it on and youwon't be easily seen against the snow. Follow him and see if he meetsanyone and gives them anything that looks like the pages of my father'sbook—you know those big pages he writes on. They're very large.""All right," said Julian. "But if I do, promise you won't go and searchhis room. You can't do things like that, George.""I can," said George. "But I won't, if you'll just follow Mr. Roland forme. I'm sure he's going to hand over what he has stolen to others whoare in the plot! And I bet those others will be the two artists atKirrin Farm-house that he pretended not to know!""You'll find you're quite wrong," said Julian, going to the door. "I'msure I shan't be able to follow Mr. Roland, anyway—he's been gone fiveminutes now!""Yes, you will, silly—he'll have left his footmarks in the snow," saidGeorge. "And oh, Julian—I quite forget to tell you something elseexciting. Oh dear, there isn't time now. I'll tell you when you comeback, if you can come up again then. It's about the Secret Way.""Really?" said Julian, in delight. It had been a great disappointment tohim that all their hunting and searching had come to nothing. "Allright—I'll try and creep up again later. If I don't come, you'll know Ican't, and you must wait till bed-time."He disappeared and shut the door quietly. He slipped downstairs, poppedhis head into the sitting-room and whispered to the others that he wasgoing out after the tutor."Tell you why, later," he said. He put the white mackintosh cloak aroundhim and went out into the garden. Snow was beginning to fall again, butnot yet heavily enough to hide Mr. Roland's deep footsteps. He had hadbig Wellington boots on, and the footmarks showed up well in thesix-inch-deep snow.The boy followed them quickly. The countryside was very wintry-lookingnow. The sky was low and leaden, and he could see there was much moresnow to come. He hurried on after Mr. Roland, though he could not see asign of the tutor.Down the lane, and over the path that led across the common went thedouble row of footmarks. Julian stumbled on, his eyes glued to thefoot-prints. Suddenly he heard the sound of voices and stopped. A biggorse bush lay to the right and the voices came from there. The boy wentnearer to the bush. He heard his tutor's voice, talking in low tones. Hecould not hear a word that was said."Whoever can he be talking to?" he wondered. He crept up closer to thebush. There was a hollow space inside. Julian thought he could creepright into it, though it would be very prickly, and peer out of theother side. Carefully the boy crept into the prickly hollow, where thebranches were bare and brown.He parted the prickly branches slowly and cautiously—and to hisamazement he saw Mr. Roland talking to the two artists from KirrinFarm-house—Mr. Thomas and Mr. Wilton! So George was right. The tutorhad met them—and, as Julian watched, Mr. Roland handed over to Mr.Thomas a doubled up sheaf of papers."They look just like pages from Uncle Quentin's book," said Julian tohimself. "I say—this is mighty queer. It does begin to look like aplot—with Mr. Roland as the centre of it!"Mr. Thomas put the papers into the pocket of his overcoat. The menmuttered a few more words, which even Julian's sharp ears could notcatch, and then parted. The artists went off towards Kirrin Farm-house,and Mr. Roland took the path back over the common. Julian crouched downin the hollow of the prickly gorse bush, hoping the tutor would not turnand see him. Luckily he didn't. He went straight on and disappeared intothe snow, which was now falling thickly. It was also beginning to getdark and Julian, unable to see the path very clearly, hurried after Mr.Roland, half-afraid of being lost in the snow-storm.Mr. Roland was not anxious to be out longer than he could help, either.He almost ran back to Kirrin Cottage. He came to the gate at last, andJulian watched him go into the house. He gave him a little time to takeoff his things and then, giving Timothy a pat as he went by, he went tothe garden door. He took off his mackintosh cloak, changed his boots,and slipped into the sitting-room before Mr. Roland had come down fromhis bedroom."What's happened?" asked Dick and Anne, seeing that Julian was in agreat state of excitement. But he could not tell them, for at thatmoment Joanna came in to lay the tea.Much to Julian's disappointment, he could not say a word to the othersall that evening, because one or other of the grown-ups was always inthe room. Neither could he go up to see George. He could hardly wait totell his news, but it was no good, he had to."Is it still snowing, Aunt Fanny?" asked Anne.Her aunt went to the front door and looked out. The snow was piled highagainst the step!"Yes," she said, when she came back. "It is snowing fast and thickly. Ifit goes on like this we shall be completely snowed up, as we were twowinters ago! We couldn't get out of the house for five days then. Themilkman couldn't get to us, nor the baker. Fortunately we had plenty oftinned milk, and I can bake my own bread. Poor children—you will not beable to go out to-morrow—the snow will be too thick!""Will Kirrin Farm-house be snowed up too?" asked Mr. Roland."Oh yes—worse than we shall be," said Aunt Fanny. "But they won't mind!They have plenty of food there. They will be prisoners just as much, andmore, as we shall."Julian wondered why Mr. Roland had asked that question. Was he afraidthat his friends would not be able to send those pages away by thepost—or take them anywhere by bus or car? The boy felt certain this wasthe reason for the question. How he longed to be able to talk overeverything with the others."I'm tired!" he said, about eight o'clock. "Let's go to bed."Dick and Anne stared at him in astonishment. Usually, as he was theeldest, he went to bed last of all. To-night he was actually _asking_ togo! Julian winked quickly at them, and they backed him up at once.Dick yawned widely, and so did Anne. Their aunt put down the sewing shewas doing. "You _do_ sound tired!" she said. "I think you'd better allgo to bed.""Could I just go out and see if Timmy is all right?" asked Julian. Hisaunt nodded. The boy put on his rubber boots and coat, and slipped outthrough the garden door into the yard. It was very deep in snow, too.Tim's kennel was half-hidden in it. The dog had trampled a space infront of the kennel door, and stood there, looking for Julian as he cameout of the house."Poor old boy, out here in the snow all alone," said Julian. He pattedthe dog, and Timmy whined. He was asking to go back with the boy."I wish I _could_ take you back with me," said Julian. "Never mind,Timothy. I'll come and see you to-morrow."He went indoors again. The children said good night to their aunt andMr. Roland, and went upstairs."Undress quickly, put on dressing-gowns and meet in George's room,"whispered Julian to the others. "Don't make a sound or we'll have AuntFanny up. Quick now!"In less than three minutes the children were undressed, and were sittingon George's bed. She was very pleased to see them. Anne slipped into bedwith her, because her feet were cold."Julian! Did you follow Mr. Roland all right?" whispered George."Why did he follow him?" asked Dick, who had been dying to know.Julian told them everything as quickly as he could—all that Georgesuspected—and how he had followed the tutor—and what he had seen. WhenGeorge heard how Julian had watched him giving a sheaf of papers to thetwo artists, her eyes gleamed angrily."The thief! They must have been the lost pages! And to think my fatherhas been so friendly to him. Oh, what can we do? Those men will get thepapers away as quickly as they can, and the secret Father has beenworking on for ages will be used by someone else—for some othercountry, probably!""They can't get the papers away," said Julian. "You've no idea how thickthe snow is now, George. We shall be prisoners here for a few days, ifthis snow goes on, and so will the people in Kirrin Farm-house. If theywant to hide the papers, they will have to hide them in the farm-house!If only we could get over there and hunt round!""Well, we can't," said Dick. "That's quite certain. We'd be up to ournecks in snow!"The four children looked gloomily at one another. Dick and Anne couldhardly believe that the jolly Mr. Roland was a thief—a spy perhaps,trying to steal a valuable secret from a friendly scientist. And theycouldn't stop it."We'd better tell your father," said Julian at last."No," said Anne. "He wouldn't believe it, would he, George?""He'd laugh at us and go straight and tell Mr. Roland," said George."That would warn him, and he mustn't be warned. He mustn't know that weguess anything.""Sh! Aunt Fanny's coming!" whispered Dick, suddenly. The boys slippedout of the room and into bed. Anne hopped across to her own little bed.All was peace and quiet when the children's aunt came into the bedroom.She said good night and tucked them up. As soon as she had gone down,the four children met together again in George's room."George, tell me now what you were going to say about the Secret Way,"said Julian."Oh yes," said George. "Well, there may be nothing in my idea atall—but in the study downstairs, there are eight wooden panels over themantelpiece—and the floor is of stone—and the room faces east! A bitqueer, isn't it? Just what the directions said.""Is there a cupboard there too?" asked Julian."No. But there is everything else," said George. "And I was justwondering if by any chance the entrance to the Secret Way is in thishouse, not in the farmhouse. After all, they both belonged to my familyat one time, you know. The people living at the farm-house years agomust have known all about this cottage.""Golly, George—suppose the entrance _was_ here!" said Dick. "Wouldn'tit be simply marvellous! Let's go straight down and look!""Don't be silly," said Julian. "Go down to the study when Uncle Quentinis there? I'd rather meet twenty lions than face Uncle! Especially afterwhat has happened!""Well, we simply MUST find out if George's idea is right; we simplymust," said Dick, forgetting to whisper."Shut up, idiot!" said Julian, giving him a punch. "Do you want to bringthe whole household up here?""Sorry!" said Dick. "But, oh golly, this is exciting. It's an Adventureagain.""Just what I said," said George, eagerly. "Listen, shall we wait tillmidnight, and then creep down to the study when everyone is asleep, andtry our luck? There may be nothing in my idea at all—but we'll have tofind out now. I don't believe I could go to sleep till I've tried one ofthose panels over the mantelpiece to see if something happens.""Well, I know I can't sleep a wink either," said Dick. "Listen—is thatsomeone coming up? We'd better go. Come on, Julian! Meet in George'sroom at midnight—and we'll creep down and try out George's idea!"The two boys went off to their own room. Neither of them could sleep awink. Nor could George. She lay awake, and went over and over in hermind all that had happened those holidays. "It's like a jigsaw puzzle,"she thought. "I couldn't understand a lot of things at first—but nowthey are fitting together, and making a picture."Anne was fast asleep. She had to be awakened at midnight. "Come on!"whispered Julian, shaking her. "Don't you want to share in thisadventure?"
