“Then I vote we go one night and wait to see if a spook-train does come along,” said Dick.

“I shall come too,” said George.

“No, you won’t,” said Julian. “You’ll stay with Anne.”

George said nothing, but everyone could feel mutiny in the air.

“Do we tell Mr. Luffy, or don’t we?” said Dick.

“You know we’ve said we wouldn’t,” said Julian. He yawned. “I’m getting sleepy. And the sun has gone, so it will soon be dark. I wonder where old Luffy is?”

“Do you think I’d better wait up and see if he wants something to eat?” said Anne, anxiously.

“No. Not unless you want to keep awake till midnight!” said Julian. “He’ll have got some food down in his tent. He’ll be all right. I’m going to turn in. Coming, Dick?”

The boys were soon in their sleeping-bags. The girls lay in the heather for a little while longer, listening to the lonely-sounding cry of the curlews going home in the dusk. Then they, too, went into their own tent.

Once safely in their sleeping-bags, the two boys felt suddenly wide awake. They began to talk in low voices.

“Shall we take Jock down to see the yard in the daytime? Or shall we go one night and watch for the Train from Nowhere?” said Julian.

“I vote we go and watch at night,” said Dick. “We’ll never see a spook-train in the daytime. Wooden-Leg Sam is an interesting old chap, especially when he chucks cinders about — but I don’t know that I like him enough to go and visit him again!”

“Well — if Jock badly wants to go and have a snoop round to-morrow morning when he comes; we’d better take him,” said Julian. “We can always go one night, too, if we want to.”

“Right. We’ll wait and see what Jock says,” said Dick. They talked a little longer and then felt sleepy. Dick was just dropping off when he heard something coming wriggling through the heather. A head was stuck through the opening of the tent.

“If you dare to come in, I’ll smack your silly face,” said Dick, thinking it was Timmy. “I know what you want, you perfect pest — you want to flop down on my tummy. You just turn yourself round and go away! Do you hear?”

The head in the opening moved a little but didn’t go away. Dick raised himself up on one elbow.

“Put one paw inside my tent and you’ll be sent rolling down the hill!” he said. “I love you very much in the daytime, but I’m not fond of you at night — not when I’m in a sleeping-bag anyway. Scoot!”

The head made a peculiar apologetic sound. Then it spoke. “Er — you’re awake, I see. Are all of you allright — the girls too? I’m only just back.”

“Gosh! It’s Mr. Luffy,” said Dick, filled with horror. “I say, sir — I’m most awfully sorry — I thought you were Timmy, come to flop himself down on top of me, like he often does. So sorry, sir.”