SECRET SEVEN WIN THROUGH by Enid Blyton

CHAPTER 11 OFF THEY GO AGAIN!

The meeting in the summer-house the next morning was quite exciting. Peter and Janet and Scamper waited impatiently for Jack and Colin to come. Pam and Barbara came together as usual, then came George, and last of all Colin and Jack.

'Sorry we're a bit late,' said Jack. 'I went to call for Colin. His leg's still stiff so he couldn't walk very fast, though you ran fast enough last night, didn't you, Colin?'

Colin grinned. He had a bruise on the left cheekbone near his ear, where he had been struck the night before. He felt rather proud of it.

'We've got news,' said Jack, feeling extremely important as he looked round at the expectant faces of the others.

'Well, buck up and tell us then,' said Peter impatiently. 'Did those two men meet? What did you hear?'

'Tell it all from the beginning,' begged Janet. 'I like to know every single thing so that I can see it in my mind's eye.'

'All right,' said Jack. 'Well, Colin and I met by the post-office at eight o'clock, and the men came at half past. Colin hid behind a tree, and I climbed up into it.'

'Jolly good,' said Peter approvingly.

'Just as the men were beginning to talk Colin did the most terrific sneeze you ever heard,' said Jack. 'Honestly, I nearly fell out of the tree!'

'Goodness!' said Janet. 'Whatever happened then?'

'The men ran round the tree and found poor old Colin, and that bruise on his cheek is where he got hit,' said Jack. Everyone gazed in awe at Colin's bruise, and he felt very proud indeed.

'He had to run for his life, and there was I, stuck up the tree,' went on Jack, enjoying himself immensely. 'I can tell you, it was quite an adventure! Well then, the men spoke in low voices again, but I managed to hear the important thing.'

'What was it?' demanded Peter. 'You're so long-winded. Get to the point.'

"The first man, he must have been the Jim mentioned in the letter he said "The Scarecrow!"' said Jack, lowering his voice just as the men had done. ' "The Scarecrow! That's where it is!" he said. "The Scarecrow!" Then the two men went off, and I hadn't time to shadow them because I was up the tree.'

'You did jolly well,' said Peter. 'Jolly well! It was a pity about Colin's sneeze. Still, you heard the main thing, Jack and that was the word "Scarecrow".'

'What does it mean, though?' asked Jack. 'Do you know? Does it mean a real scarecrow?'

'No. There's a tiny inn called "The Scarecrow" up on the common/ said Peter. 'I've often passed it when I've been in the car with my father. We'll go up there and snoop round. I bet that's where something is hidden loot from some robbery, probably.'

'Oh, yes, I remember seeing that inn too, and thinking what a queer name it had,' said Janet. 'Peter, let's go now! Before Albert gets away with anything!'

'Yes. We'd certainly better go now, this very minute!' said Peter. 'We may find Albert there, digging away in some corner of the garden. It would be very interesting to see what he digs up!'

Everyone felt the delicious surge of excitement that always came over them when adventure was in the air. 'Get your bikes,' ordered Peter. 'Colin, is your knee too stiff to bike, do you think?'

'I can pedal all right with one leg,' said Colin, who wasn't going to be left out of this morning's excitement for anything. 'Come on, let's get our bikes, those of you who didn't come on them.'

'Meet at the cross-roads by the old barn,' said Peter. 'Wait for each other. Then we'll all set off together. My word, we're really on to something now!'

George was the only one who had come on a bike. The others set off to get theirs. Peter and Janet fetched their two from the shed, and set off with George to the cross-roads, Scamper running excitedly behind them. He knew when adventure was about, he always knew!

Soon everyone was at the cross-roads, even Colin, who could only pedal with one leg. Jack came last, looking hot and cross.

'What's up?' asked Janet, seeing how upset he looked. 'Did you get into trouble at home about anything?'

'No. It's Susie,' said Jack, with a groan. 'She says that she and Jeff went up to our cave this morning, you know I had to tell Mother about it in front of Susie, and when she saw we'd gone, she and Jeff decided to have it for their meeting-place! Isn't that maddening?'

'Well, let them if they want to!' said Peter. 'Much good may it do them! Albert will probably visit them as he did us and take their things! Serve them right!*

'I wonder how Albert gets into the cave if he doesn't use our entrance!' said Janet. 'We know he used it once, because Jack saw him that time, when we were playing hide-and-seek. But he didn't use it when he robbed us of all those things, those silk threads at the entrance weren't broken, you remember!'

'I imagine that our dear friend Albert may be somewhere at the inn called "The Scarecrow"!' said Peter. 'He probably won't be using the cave much more if he finds what he's looking for!'

'Look, there it is... The Scarecrow!' said Pam, riding ahead. 'What a funny old inn... hundreds of years old, I should think. Come on, everybody...  isn't this exciting!'