The man was standing by the window of the cafe, as if he were waiting for someone. He had on a cap, and his hair was rather long. Peter looked as closely at him as he could.
"The fellow who drove the car had a low-brimmed hat,''' he thought, " and long hair. This man's got a cap, but somehow he looks like that man we saw in the car. His hair's the same, over the back of his collar."
The man moved a little nearer, and coughed impatiently. He took a cigarette packet from his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He turned away from the wind and towards Peter in order to light it, and then Peter knew for certain that it was the man he was looking for!
" The top of his middle finger is missing!" he thought. "I saw it clearly in the flame of the match as he lighted his cigarette. It must be the fellow! Perhaps he's waiting for the other man."
Almost before he had finished thinking this, the second man came up! There was no mistaking that cap and the short, cropped hair, grown a little
longer now. The cap was pulled down over his face exactly as it had been when he was in the car. He wore an old mackintosh, and Peter tried to see if it had a button missing.
The two men said a word of greeting and then went into the cafe. They went right through the room to a door at the back, opened it, and disappeared.
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" Colin! George! Jack! Those were the two men," called Peter in a low voice full of excitement. "One of them had half a finger missing. I saw it."
" And the other had a button off his mac!" said Jack. " I noticed that, though I didn't know he was one of the men we're after! But seeing that I'm in charge of the button now, I'm making a point of looking carefully at every mackintosh I see! I believe our button matches his exactly."
" Good work! " said Peter. " Now listen, the next move is very, very important. Two of you must shadow these men. If they separate, you must separate too, and each go after one of them. Colin, you must wheel me home."
" Right," said the three, always willing to obey Peter's leadership. He really was very good at this kind of thing.
" Get as close to those men as you can and see if you can hear anything useful," said Peter. " And track them right to their homes if you can. Report to me at the Secret Seven shed as soon as you can."
"Right," said George and Jack, feeling as if they were first-class plain-clothes policemen!
The two men were not long in Sid's. They came out after about ten minutes, looking angry. They stood in the door-way, taking no notice of the guy and the boys.
" Sid's let us down," said the man with the missing finger. " He said he'd give us two hundred, now he's knocked it down to fifty. Better go back to Q's and tell him. He'll be wild."
The boys listened intently, pretending to fiddle about with the guy.
"I'm not arguing with Sid again," said the other man. "I reckon I'm an idiot to come out of hiding yet, till my hair's grown. Come on, let's go."
They went off down the street, and George and Jack immediately set off behind them, leaving Colin with Peter.
"Did you hear that?" said Peter, in great excitement, forgetting he was a guy. "They've stolen something and want to sell it to Sid, and he won't give them what he promised. So they're going back to Q, whoever he is probably the chief to report it. Well, we know that Q is a man, now!"
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"And did you hear what the other fellow said about his hair growing ? " said Colin, bending over Peter. " I bet he's just come out of prison, it's so short. They always shave it there, don't they? Or perhaps he's an escaped prisoner, in hiding. Gosh, Peter, this is super! "
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"Wheel me to our shed," commanded Peter, wishing he could get out and walk. "Buck up. The girls will be there already, and George and Jack will join us as soon as they can. Do buck up! ... I'm going to get out and walk," announced Peter. "It's a nice dark road we're in. Stop a minute, Colin, and I'll get out."
Colin stopped, and Peter climbed out of the barrow. Colin shone his torch to help him and an old man with a dog saw the guy stepping out of the barrow. He stared as if he couldn't believe his eyes, and then hurried off at top speed. Good gracious! A guy coming alive. No, surely his eyes must have deceived him!
It wasn't long before Colin and Peter were whispering the password outside the shed at the bottom of Peter's garden. The barrow was shoved into some bushes, and Peter had taken off his mask.
" Fireworks! " said the boys, and the door opened at once. Pam gave a little scream as Peter came in, still looking very peculiar with a black wool wig, a cap, and very tight clothes.
" We've got news! " said Peter. " Grand news. Just listen, all of you! "
