“Look at the horses!” cried Dick, as a bunch of them appeared with tossing heads and beautiful long thick tails. The boy who had knocked Tinker down was with them, whistling. They were all coming from a big horse-van, and were delighted to be in a field with lush green grass.

“Is that field gate properly shut?” yelled an enormous voice, and the boy yelled back, “Yes, Grandad. I shut it. There’s nowhere the horses can get out. My word — don’t they like this grass!”

Then he saw Julian and the others all looking over the fence, and waved to them. “See our horses? Aren’t they a grand lot?”

And, just to show off a little, he leapt on to the back of the nearest one, and went all round the edge of the field with it. George watched him enviously. If only she could have a horse like that!

“Well, let’s take our camp things into the field,” said Tinker. “The nearer we are to the circus the better. We ought to have some fun.”

He climbed over the fence and Dick followed. “I’ll hand everything over,” said Julian. “George can help me — she’s as good as a boy any day!”

George grinned. She loved to hear anyone say that! It was quite a job getting some of the things over the fence. The tents, neatly wrapped though they were, were heavy, awkward things to handle, but at last everything was safely over, lying on the grass.

Then Julian, Anne and George climbed over the fence too, and stood in the field, looking round for a good corner to set up their things.

“What about near those bushes over there?” said Julian. “There’s that big tree behind as well to protect us from the wind — and we aren’t too near the circus folk — they might not like us right on top of them — and yet we’re near enough to see what’s going on.”

“Oh, it’s going to be FUN!” said Anne, her eyes shining.

“I think I’d better go and find the old Grandad — Mr Tapper,” said Julian. “Just to tell him we’re here, in case he thinks we’re intruders and have no right to be here.”

“You haven’t got to ask his permission for us to be in MY field!” said Tinker, at once.

“Now don’t keep flying off the handle like that, Tinker,” said Julian. “This is merely a question of good manners — something you don’t seem to know much about! How do we know that the circus folk won’t resent us camping so near them? Much better to show ourselves friendly from the start.”

“All right, all right,” said Tinker, sulkily. “But it is my field, after all! You’ll be telling me to be friends with that nasty little circus-boy next!”

“Well, you’d better be — else he might knock you flat again!” said George. “Anyway, be sensible, Tinker — it’s not often people have a circus just at the bottom of their garden, and can pop over the fence, and mix with the circus folk.”