“These moors are awfully high, aren’t they?” said George. “I guess they’ll be freezing cold in the winter.”

“They are,” said Julian. “And they may be jolly windy and cold in the summer, too, so Luffy says we’d better take sweaters and things. He says in the winter they are covered with snow for months. The sheep have to be dug out when they get lost.”

Dick’s finger followed a small winding road that made its way over the wild stretch of moorland. “That’s the road we go,” he said. “And I suppose we strike off here, look, where a cart-track is shown. That would go to the farm. We shall have to carry our stuff from wherever Luffy parks his car, and take it to our camping-place.”

“Not too near Luffy, I hope,” said George.

“Oh, no. He’s agreed to keep an eye on us, but he’ll forget all about us once he’s settled down in his own tent,” said Julian. “He will, really. Two chaps I know once went out in his car with him for a day’s run, and he came back without them in the evening. He’d forgotten he had them with him, and had left them wandering somewhere miles and miles away.”

“Good old Luffy,” said Dick. “That’s the sort of fellow we want! He won’t come sprinting up to ask if we’ve cleaned our teeth or if we’ve got our warm jerseys on!”

The others laughed, and Timmy stretched his doggy mouth into a grin again. His tongue hung out happily. It was good to have all four of his friends with him again, and to hear them planning a holiday. Timmy went to school with George and Anne in term time, and he missed the two boys very much. But he belonged to George, and would not dream of leaving her. It was a good thing that George’s school allowed pets, or George would certainly not have gone!

Julian folded up the map again. “I hope all the things we’ve ordered will come in good time,” he said. “We’ve got about six days to wait. I’d better keep on reminding Luffy that we’re going with him, or he’s quite likely to start without us!”

It was difficult to have to wait so long now that everything was planned. Parcels came from various stores and were eagerly opened. The sleeping-bags were fine.

“Super!” said Anne.

“Smashing!” said George, crawling into hers. “Look! I can lace it up at the neck — and it’s got a hood thing to come right over my head. Golly, it’s warm! I shan’t mind the coldest night if I’m sleeping in this. I vote we sleep in them to-night.”

“What? In our bedrooms?” said Anne.

“Yes. Why not? Just to get used to them,” said George, who felt that a sleeping-bag was a hundred times better than an ordinary bed.

So that night all four slept on the floor of their bedrooms in their sleeping-bags, and voted them very comfortable and as warm as toast.