FIVE ON KIRRIN ISLAND AGAIN by Enid Blyton

14 A SHOCK FOR GEORGE

DICK looked at George. He didn't think it would matter telling Martin where Timmy was, so long as George didn't give the reason why he had been left on the island.

But George was going to hold her tongue now. She looked at Martin and spoke quite airily. 'Oh, Timmy? We left him behind today. He's all right.' 

'Gone out shopping with your mother, I suppose, hoping for a visit to the butcher's!' said Martin. This was the first joke he had ever made to the children, and though it was rather a feeble one they laughed heartily. Martin looked pleased. He began to try and think of another little joke, while his deft hands put reds and blues and greens on the little wooden figures.

They all had a huge tea. Then, when the clock said a quarter to six the girls carried the painted figures carefully back to the coastguard, who was delighted with them. Dick took back the little tins of paint, and the brush, stuck in a jar of turpentine.

'Well now, he's clever that boy, isn't he?' said the coastguard, eyeing the figures in delight. 

'Looks sort of miserable and sulky -- but he's not a bad sort of boy!' 'I'll just have one more squint through your telescope,' said George, 'before it gets too dark.' She tilted it towards her island. But once more there was no sign of Timmy, or of her father either. She looked for some time, and then went to join the others. She shook her head as they raised their eyebrows inquiringly.

The girls washed up the tea-things, and cleared away neatly. Nobody felt as if they wanted to wait and see Mr. Curton. They didn't feel as if they liked him very much, now they knew how hard he was on Martin.

'Thanks for a lovely afternoon,' said Martin, limping to the door with them. 'I enjoyed my spot of painting, to say nothing of your company.' 

'You stick out for your painting,' said Julian. 'If it's the thing you've got to do, and you know it, you must go all out for it. See?' 

'Yes,' said Martin, and his face went sullen again. 'But there are things that make it difficult -- things I can't very well tell you. Oh well - never mind! I dare say it will all come right one day, and I'll be a famous artist with pictures in the academy!' 

'Come on, quickly,' said Dick, in a low voice to Julian. 'There's his father coming back!' They hurried off down the cliff-path, seeing Mr. Curton out of the corner of their eyes, coming up the other path.

'Horrid man!' said Anne. 'Forbidding Martin to do what he really longs to do. And he seemed so nice and jolly and all-over-us, didn't he?' 

'Very all-over-us,' said Dick, smiling at Anne's new word. 'But there are a lot of people like that -- one thing at home and quite another outside!'

 'I hope Mr. Curton hasn't been trying to explore that passage in the side of the quarry,' said George, looking back, and watching the man walk up to his back door. 'It would be too bad if he butted in and spoilt our fun. I mean -- there may be nothing to discover at all -- but it will be fun even finding there is nothing.' 

'Very involved!' said Dick, with a grin. 'But I gather what you mean. I say, that was a good tea, wasn't it?' 

'Yes,' said George, looking all round her in an absent-'minded manner.

'What's up?' said Dick. 'What are you looking like that for?'

 'Oh - how silly of me - I was just looking for Timmy,' said George. 'You know, I'm so used to him always being at my heels or somewhere near that I just can't get used to him not being here.' 

'Yes, I feel a bit like that too,' said Julian. 'As if there was something missing all the time. Good old Tim! We 'shall miss him awfully, all of us -- but you most of all, 'George.'