Suddenly a cry came from down the tunnel: “Police! Run for it!”

The men dropped the children’s arms at once and stood undecided. A man came tearing up the tunnel. “I tell you the police are coming!” he gasped. “Are you stone deaf? There’s a whole crowd of them. Run for it! Somebody’s split on us.”

“Get along to Kilty Yard!” shouted Peters. “We can get cars there. Run for it!”

To the children’s dismay, the men tore down the tunnel to Kilty’s Yard. They would escape! They heard the sound of the men’s feet as they ran along the line.

George found her voice. “Timmy! Where are you? After them, Timmy! Stop them!”

A black shadow came streaking by out of the hole in the wall, where Timmy had been hiding and watching for a chance to come to George. He had heard her voice and obeyed. He raced after the men like a greyhound, his tongue hanging out, panting as he went.

These were the men who had ill-treated George and the others, were they? Aha, Timmy knew how to deal with people like that!

The policemen came running up, and Mr. Luffy and Anne came up behind them.

“They’ve gone down there, with Timmy after them,” shouted George. The men looked at her and gasped. She looked like a black boy. The others were filthy dirty too, with sooty-black faces in the light of the lamp that still shone down from the wall of the tunnel.

“George!” shrieked Anne in delight. “Julian! Oh, are you all safe? I went back to tell Mr. Luffy about you and I got lost. I’m so ashamed!”

“You’ve nothing to be ashamed of, Anne,” said Mr. Luffy. “You’re a grand girl! Brave as a lion!”

From down the tunnel, came shouts and yells and loud barks. Timmy was at work! He had caught up the men and launched himself on them one after another, bringing each one heavily to the ground. They were terrified to find a big animal growling and snapping all round them. Timmy held them at bay in the tunnel, not allowing them to go one step further, snapping at any man who dared to go near.

The police ran up. Timmy growled extra fiercely just to let the men know that it was quite impossible to get by him. In a trice each of the men was imprisoned by a pair of strong arms, and they were being told to come quietly.

They didn’t go quietly. For one thing Mr. Andrews lost his nerve and howled dismally. Jock felt very ashamed of him.

“Shut up,” said a burly policeman. “We know you’re only the miserable little cat’s-paw — taking money from the big men to hold your tongue and obey orders.”

Timmy barked as if to say, “Yes — don’t you dare call him a dog’s paw! That would be too good a name for him!”

“Well, I don’t think I ever in my life saw dirtier children,” said Mr. Luffy. “I vote we all go back to my car and I drive the lot of you over to Olly’s Farm for a meal and a bath!”