“Right,” said Julian, and the three boys disappeared into the dark tunnel. Anne ran up the path that led alongside the top of it. How good it was to be in the open air again! That horrid tunnel! She ran along gaily, glad to be out in the sun.

She got to the other end of the tunnel quite quickly, and sat down on the path above the yard to wait for the others. She looked for Wooden-Leg Sam. He was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was in his little hut.

She hadn’t been there for more than two minutes when something surprising happened. A car came bumping slowly down the rough track to the yard! Anne sat up and watched. A man got out — and Anne’s eyes almost fell out of her head. Why, it was — surely it was Mr. Andrews, Jock’s stepfather!

He went over to Sam’s hut and threw open the door. Anne could hear the sound of voices. Then she heard another noise — the sound of a heavy lorry coming. She saw it come cautiously down the steep, rough track. It ran into an old tumble-down shed and stayed there. Then three men came out and Anne stared at them. Where had she seen them before?

“Of course! They’re the farm labourers at Jock’s farm!” she thought. “But what are they doing here? How very queer!”

Mr. Andrews joined the men and, to Anne’s dismay, they began to walk up the lines to the tunnel! Her heart almost stopped. Goodness, Julian, Dick and Jock were still in that tunnel, walking through it. They would bump right into Mr. Andrews and his men — and then what would happen? Mr. Andrews had warned them against going there, and had ordered Jock not to go.

Anne stared at the four men walking into the far-off mouth of the tunnel. What could she do? How could she warn the boys? She couldn’t! She would just have to stay there and wait for them to come out — probably chased by a furious Mr. Andrews and the other men. Oh dear, dear — if they were caught they would probably all get an awful whacking! What could she do?

“I can only wait,” thought poor Anne. “There’s nothing else to do. Oh, do come, Julian, Dick and Jock. I daren’t do anything but wait for you.”

She waited and waited. It was now long past tea-time. Julian had the tea, so there was nothing for Anne to eat. Nobody came out of the tunnel. Not a sound was heard. Anne at last decided to go down and ask Wooden-Leg Sam a few questions. So, rather afraid, the little girl set off down to the yard.

Sam was in his hut, drinking cocoa, and looking very sour. Something had evidently gone wrong. When he saw Anne’s shadow across the doorway he got up at once, shaking his fist.

“What, you children again! Didn’t you go into that there tunnel this afternoon, and didn’t I go up and telephone to Mr. Andrews to come and catch you all, poking your noses in all the time? How did you get out of that tunnel? Are the others with you? Didn’t Mr. Andrews catch you, eh?”