“Julian! Listen! I want to talk to you,” said Anne. Julian let the load of straw slip to the ground, and turned to Anne.

“What’s up?” he said. “Don’t tell me it’s a row between George and Henry again, because I shan’t listen!”

“No. Nothing like that,” said Anne. “It’s Mrs Johnson. She’s got four children coming unexpectedly, before the others go. She’s in a great state about it, and I wondered what we could do to help. You see, she didn’t expect any of us four to be here this week.”

“No. That’s true,” said Julian, sitting down on his straw. “Let’s think hard.”

“It’s easy!” said Dick. “We’ll simply take our tents, some food, and go and camp out on the moor by some spring. WHAT could be nicer?”

“Oh yes!” said Anne, her eyes shining. “Oh Dick, that’s a marvellous idea! Mrs Johnson will get rid of us all and Timmy too, then, and we would have a lovely time all by ourselves!”

“Killing quite a lot of birds with one stone!” said Julian. “We’ve got a couple of tents in our kit, Anne. Very small ones, but they’ll do. And we can borrow rubber sheets to put on the heather, though it’s as dry as a bone, as far as I can see!”

“I’ll go and tell George!” said Anne, joyfully. “Let’s go today, Julian, and be out of the way before the new children come. Captain Johnson’s got two new horses coming too. He’ll be very glad to have a few of us out of the way!”

She flew off to tell George. George was busy polishing some harness, a job she liked very much. She listened to Anne’s excited tale. Henry was there too, looking gloomy. She looked gloomier still at the end.

“It’s too bad,” she said, when Anne had finished. “I could have come with you if it hadn’t been for these great-aunts of mine. WHY did they have to come just at this very moment! Don’t you think it’s maddening?”

Neither Anne nor George thought it was maddening. They were secretly very pleased indeed to think that they could once more go off entirely on their own, with Timmy, as they had so often done before. But they would have had to ask Henry if her aunts hadn’t written at this very lucky moment!

George didn’t like to show how delighted she was to think of going off camping on the moor. She and Anne did a little comforting of poor Henry and then went off to make arrangements with Mrs Johnson.

“Well, that’s a very bright idea of Dick’s!” she said in delight. “It solves a whole lot of problems. And I know you don’t mind. You’re thrilled at the chance, aren’t you! It’s really very helpful. I only wish poor Henry could go too, but she must go out with her old great-aunts. They adore her!”

“Of course she must,” said George, solemnly. She and Anne exchanged a look. Poor Henry. But really, it would be very nice to be without her for a little while.