“Coming!” yelled Henry, and came running, looking very hopeful.

“Would you like to come with us?” said Julian. “We’re all going off’ for the day. Have you got any jobs to do, or can you come?”

“Can I come! Rather,” said Henry, joyfully. “But - does George know?”

“I’ll soon tell her,” said Julian, and went in search of George. She was helping Mrs Johnson to get saddle-bags ready, full of food.

“George,” said Julian, boldly. “Henry is coming too. Will there be enough food for everyone?”

“Oh! How nice of you to ask her!” said Mrs Johnson, sounding very pleased. “She’s dying to come. She’s been so good this week, too, while we’ve been short-handed. She deserves a treat. Isn’t that nice, George?”

George muttered something peculiar and went out of the room, her face scarlet. Julian stared after her, his eyebrows cocked in a comical manner.

“I don’t somehow feel that George thinks it’s nice,” he said. “I feel as if we are in for an awkward day, Mrs Johnson.”

“Oh, don’t take any notice of George when she’s silly,” said Mrs Johnson, comfortably, filling another paper bag with delicious-looking sandwiches. “And don’t take any notice of Henry, either, when she’s idiotic. There! If you get through all this food, I shall be surprised!”

William, one of the younger ones, came in just then. “What a lot of food you’ve given them,” he said. “Will there be enough left for us to have today?”

“Good gracious, yes!” said Mrs Johnson. “You think of nothing but your tummy, William! Go and find George and tell her the food is ready for her to put into the saddle-bags.”

William disappeared and then came back. “George says she’s got a headache and doesn’t think she’ll go on the ride,” he announced.

Julian looked startled and upset. “Now you listen to me, Julian,” said Mrs Johnson, beginning to insert the parcels of food carefully into the saddle-bags, “just you leave her to her imaginary headache. Don’t go fussing round her, and begging her to come and saying you won’t have Henry. Just believe quite firmly in her headache, and go off by yourselves. It’s the quickest way to make George see sense, believe me!”

“Yes. I think you’re right,” said Julian, frowning. To think that George should behave like a sulky little girl, after all the adventures they had been through together! Just because of Henry. It really was absurd.

“Where is George?” he said to William.

“Up in her room,” said William, who had been engrossed in picking up and eating all the crumbs he could. Julian went out of the room and into the yard.

He knew which window belonged to the room where George and Anne slept. He yelled up.

“I say, George! Sorry about your headache, old thing! Sure you don’t feel like coming?”

“No!” came back an answering shout, and the window was shut down with a slam.