Mystery Of The Burnt Cottage (14 page)

Bets could not wait for one moment to tell them her news. She was simply bursting with it - but just as she was in the middle of it, there came a very nasty surprise!

Up the garden appeared Pip’s mother, and with her was Clear-Orf, looking very smug and also very forbidding.

“Old Clear-Orf!” said Larry, in a low voice. “Whatever does he want?”

It was soon quite clear what he had come for! Pip’s mother spoke to the children in a very stern voice.

“Children! Mr. Goon has come to me with a very extraordinary story of your doings in the last few days. I can hardly believe what he says!”

“What’s the matter?” asked Pip, scowling at Clear-Orf.

“Pip, don’t scowl like that,” said his mother sharply. “Apparently all of you have been interfering in matters that concern the police. Even Bets! I simply cannot understand it. Mr. Goon even tells me that you and Frederick, Larry, got into Mr. Smellie’s house last night. What will your mothers say? And even little Bets has been following footprints and imagining herself to be a detective!”

“Who told Mr. Goon that?” burst out Bets. “Nobody knows but me - and Mr. Hick!”

“Mr. Hick rang me up, and I have just been to see him,” said Mr. Goon, speaking with great dignity. “He told me all your goings-on - interfering little busybodies!”

Bets burst into loud sobs. “Oh, Mr. Hick told me he wouldn’t tell any one!” she wailed. “Oh, he did promise me faithfully! He’s a wicked, wicked man! He’s broken his faithful promise. I hate him!”

“Bets! Behave yourself!” said her mother.

“Of course, Bets would go and give everything away!” said Pip sulkily. “That’s what comes of having her in the Find-Outers. Little idiot! She goes and tells everything to Mr. Hick, he rings up Clear-Orf, and now we’re all in the soup!”

“What are you muttering about. Pip?” said his mother. “Who is Clear-Orf?”

“Mr. Goon,” said Pip defiantly. “He’s always telling us to clear-orf.”

“Ho!” said Mr. Goon, swelling hihiself out like an angry frog, his blue eyes bulging fiercely. “Ho! Didn’t I always find you hanging about, you kids? Regular pests you are. Now you just listen to me for a few minutes.”

There was absolutely nothing to be done but listen to Mr. Goon. The five children stood there, red and angry, Bets still sobbing. Only Buster didn’t seem to care, but sniffed happily round Clear-Orf, who fended him off every now and again.

Clear-Orf had a lot to say about “nosey children” and “little nuisances” and “interfering with the law.” He ended up with a threat.

“And if I come across any of you nosing about again, or if Mr. Hick reports you to me, you’ll all get into Very Serious Trouble,” he said. “Ho yes - VERY SERIOUS TROUBLE. You keep out of matters that don’t concern you. And as for you, Master Laurence and Miss Daisy, and you Master Frederick, your parents are going to hear about this as well. You mark my words, you’ll be sorry you ever interefered with the Law.”

“We didn’t,” said Pip desperately. “We only tried to help.”

“Now, no back-chat!” said Mr. Goon majestically. “Children can’t help in these things. They only get into trouble - Very Serious Trouble.”

And with that Mr. Goon departed with Pip’s mother, a burly, righteous-looking figure in dark blue.

Very Strange Discoveries.

A storm of anger broke over poor Bets when Mr. Goon had gone.

“Idiot!” said Pip. “Going and blabbing everything out to old Hiccup!”

“Honestly, you’ve ruined everything, Bets,” said Daisy.

“This is the end of the Find-Outers,” said Larry gloomily. “That’s what comes of having a baby in it like Bets. Everything’s spoilt.”

Bets sobbed loudly. Fatty was sorry for her. He actually put his arm round her and spoke kindly, though he felt as impatient as the others at the break-up of their plans and hopes.

“Don’t cry, Bets. We all do silly things. It was clever of you and Buster to track those prints, I must say. And wouldn’t I like to know which of those two, Peeks or Smellie, wore those shoes!”

Pip’s mother appeared again, looking stern. “I hope you are feeling ashamed of yourselves,” she said. “I want you all to go down and apologize to Mr. Hick for interfering in his concerns. He is naturally very annoyed to think that you have been messing about each day in his garden.”

“We didn’t do any harm,” said Pip.

“That’s not the point,” said his mother. “You children simply cannot be allowed to go on to private property, and into private houses without permission. You will all go down immediately to Mr. Hick and apologize. Do as I say at once.”

The children set off together down the drive, with Buster at their heels. They were all sulky and mutinous. They hated having to apologize to some one they detested. Also they all felt that it was terribly mean of Mr. Hick to have given Bets away like that, when he had solemnly promised not to.

“He’s a nasty piece of work,” said Larry, and every one agreed.

“I don’t care who fired his workroom,” said Fatty. “I’m glad it was burnt down, and his precious papers too.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” said Daisy, though she felt much the same herself at that moment.

They arrived at the house and rang the bell. Bets pointed out the footprints and they all gazed at them with interest. Bets was right The prints were exactly like the ones in Fatty’s drawing. It was too bad that they had to give up the search for the criminal just as they had almost found the man!

Mrs. Minns opened the door and was surprised to see the little company. Sweetie, who was at her heels, fled away with tail up in the air as soon as she saw Buster, i “Please, will you tell Mr. Hiccup - er, I mean Mr. 1 Hick - that we want to see him?” said Larry. Mrs. Minns looked even more surprised, and was about to answer when a voice called from the study.

“Who’s that, Mrs. Minns?”

“Five children and a dog,, sir,” answered Mrs. Minns. , “They say they want to see you.”

There was a pause. “Bring them in,” said Mr. Hick’s voice, and very solemnly the children and Buster went into the study. Mr. Hick was there, sitting in a big chair, his legs crossed, and his crest of hair looking rather alarming.

“What have you come for?” he asked.

“Mother said we were all to apologize to you, Mr. ‘ Hick,” said Pip. And, with one voice, the children chanted in a most mournful tone, “We apologize, Mr. Hick!”

“Hmmm,” said Mr. Hick, looking more amiable.”! should think so, indeed!”

“You said you wouldn’t tell any one,” burst out Bets. “You broke your promise.”

Mr. Hick didn’t consider that promises made to children need be kept at all, so he didn’t feel guilty or say he was sorry. He was about to say something when several aeroplanes passed over the garden, rather low. The noise made him jump and Buster growled. Larry ran to the window. He was extremely good at spotting any kind of aeroplane that flew overhead.

“It’s those Tempests again!” he cried. “I’ve only seen them twice over here. Look at their curious tail-fins.”

“They were over here two or three days ago,” said Mr.

Ill

Hick, with interest. “I saw them. There were seven. Are there seven today?”

Larry counted them. All the children looked out of the window - except Fatty. He didn’t look out of the window. He looked at Mr. Hick with a most bewildered expression on his face. He opened his mouth as if to speak, and then firmly closed it again. But he still went on’Staring at Mr. Hick, very deep in thought.

The Tempests came over again, roaring low. “Let’s go out and see them,” said Larry. “We can see them better out-of-doors. Goodbye, Mr. Hick.”

“Goodbye. And don’t poke and pry again into matters that don’t concern children,” said Mr. Hick stiffly. “It was probably Horace Peeks that fired my workroom. The police will soon make out a case against him. He wore rubber-soled shoes this morning when he came to see me, and there is no doubt that he made those prints up and down the drive.”

“Oh,” said the children, feeling very sorry for poor Lily. She would be terribly upset they knew. Only Fatty said nothing, but looked hard at Mr. Hick again, a curious expression on his face. They all went out - but the Tempests were now gone again, leaving a faint throbbing behind them.

“Well, that’s done,” said Larry, with relief. “How I hated apologizing to that mean fellow! I suppose Peeks did do it, after all - fire the cottage, I mean.”

Fatty was very silent as they all walked down the lane towards the river. They meant to go for a short walk before supper-time. Bets looked at Fatty.

“What’s the matter?” she asked. “Are your braises hurting you?”

“No. I’d forgotten all about them,” said Fatty. “I was thinking of something very, very, very queer!”

“What was it?” asked the others, interested. Fatty stopped and pointed up into the sky. “You know those planes we saw?” he said. The others nodded.

“Well,” said Fatty, “they were Tempests, and they have only been over here twice - once today - and once on the

evening of the day that the cottage was fired!”

“Well - what about it?” said Larry impatiently. “Nothing queer about that, surely!”

“Listen,” said Fatty, “when we spoke about those Tempests, what did Mr. Hick say? He said that he saw them when they were over here two or three days ago - and he counted them and there were seven. Which was quite correct.”

“What are you getting at?” asked Pip, frowning.

“I’m getting at something queer,” said Fatty. “Where was Mr. Hick on the evening that the fire was started?”

“On the London train!” said Larry.

“Then how could he have seen and counted the Tempests that flew over here!” said Fatty.

There was a startled silence. Every one thought hard. Larry spoke first. “It is queer!” he said. “Those planes have only been here twice - every one spoke about them. And if Hiccup saw them that evening - then he must have been here!”

“And yet his chauffeur met the London train and he walked off it!” said Daisy. “He couldn’t possibly have seen the planes if he was really on the train, because at that time the train had hardly started out from London!”

“And so,” said Fatty, a note of triumph in his voice, “and so, Find-Outers, we have yet another Suspect. Mr. Hick hihiself!”

“Oooh,” said Bets, amazed. “But he wouldn’t fire his own cottage!”

“He might - to get the insurance money on his valuable papers,” said Fatty. “People do that sometimes. I expect he sold the papers - then set fire to the workroom and pretended the papers were burnt., in order to get more money. Golly! Can it really be possible?”

“We can’t tell any one,” said Daisy.

“I should think not!” said Larry. “Whatever in the world shall we do about it? “

“We must find out how it was that Mr. Hick got on the London train that night,” said Fatty. “Look - we’re near the railway line here. The London trains always come by

here, and there’s one due. Let’s see what happens.”

The children climbed on to the fence by the railway and sat there, waiting. Soon they saw a cloud of smoke in the distance. The train was coming. It came roaring along -but when it reached one portion of the line, it slowed down, and finally it stopped.

“It always stops there,” said Bets. “I’ve noticed that. Perhaps it gets water or something.”

It was too far away to see why it had stopped. Anyway it soon started up again, and puffed by the five children. Buster ran away behind a bush when it came. He was afraid of the noise.

Fatty was again thinking very deeply. So was Larry. “Listen,” said Fatty. “Is it possible for any one at night to wait for the train just there, and hop into an empty carriage, do you think? Then, at Peterswood Station, if he had a season ticket, people would never know he hadn’t come all the way from London.”

“Fatty, I believe you’re right!” said Larry. “I was just thinking the very same thing myself. I believe Hiccup could have done it. Pretended to go to London - slipped back - hid in the ditch, leaving those few footprints behind him - fired the cottage - slipped back to the railway line just there - waited till the train stopped, as it always does - hopped into an empty carriage in the dark - and then got out as cool as a cucumber, to be met by his car and chauffeur at the station!”

The more the children thought about this, the more certain they felt that Mr. Hick might have done it. “After all,” said Bets, “A man that could break his faithful promise could do anything, simply anything.”

“Whatever is Buster doing?” said Fatty, hearing some excited barks coming from the little dog, some way back in the copse of trees behind them. “Buster! BUSTER! What’s the matter? Found a rabbit?”

Buster yelped and then appeared, dragging something black and muddy. “Whatever has he got?” said Bets.

Every one looked to see. “It’s an old shoe!” said Daisy, laughing. “Buster, what do you want with an old shoe ? “

Buster went to Bets and laid the shoe down at her feet Then he stood looking up at her, as if he was telling her something, wagging his tail hard. Bets picked up the shoe. She turned it over.

“Look!” said Bets. “The real proper shoe at last! The one that made the footprints!”

The others nearly fell off the fence in their excitement. Bets was perfectly right. It was THE SHOE!

“Buster followed the footprints and knew their smell, and when he smelt the shoes hidden over there he knew the smell again, and that’s why he brought them to me” cried Bets. “We had followed the prints together, you see. Oh, and now I know why he kept on and on sniffing round Mr. Hick’s shoes when I went to see him. He could smell the same smell!”

“Clever dog,” said Fatty, patting Buster. “Where’s the other shoe, old fellow? Find it, find it!”

Buster rushed off to a bush not far away and began to scrape violently beneath it. Soon he unearthed the other shoe and laid it at Fatty’s feet. The children picked it up.

“Well!” said Fatty. “This is very queer. I suppose old Hiccup got the wind up after Bets had told him she had followed the footprints, and went out and buried the shoes in case the police should find them in his house, or spot him wearing them. And good old Buster smelt them out. Clever good, marvellous dog! Big bone for you tomorrow, Buster., a GREAT BIG BONE!”