“Yes, she ought to have been a boy,” said Dick. “Like you, George,” he added hastily. “Both of you are real sports, plucky as anything.”

“How do you know Henry’s plucky?” said George, scornfully. “Only by her silly tales! I bet they’re all made-up and exaggerated.”

Julian changed the subject. “Shall we want rugs tonight, do you think?” he said.

“Rather! It may be warm now, and the sand is hot with the sun, but it won’t be quite so nice when it’s gone down,” said Anne. “Anyway we can always creep into one of those cosy little caves if we feel chilly. They’re as warm as toast. I went into one, so I know.”

They settled down quite early to sleep. The boys took one side of the quarry, the girls the other. Tim, as usual, was on George’s feet, much to Anne’s discomfort.

“He’s on mine too,” she complained to George. “He’s so long, he stretches over my feet as well. Move him, George.”

So George moved him, but as soon as Anne was asleep he stretched out again and lay on both girls’ legs. He slept with one ear open.

He heard a scurrying hedgehog. He heard all the rabbits out for a night-time game. He heard the frogs in a far-off pool croaking in the night. His sharp ear even heard the tinkle of the little spring outside the pit.

Nobody moved in the quarry. There was a small moon but it gave very little light. The stars that studded the sky seemed to give more light than the moon.

Timmy’s one open ear suddenly pricked itself right up. Then the other ear stood up too. Timmy was still asleep but his ears were both listening very hard!

A low, humming sound came slowly over the night. It came nearer and nearer. Timmy awoke properly and sat up, listening, his eyes wide open now.

The sound was now very loud indeed. Dick awoke and listened. What was that noise? An aeroplane? It must be jolly low! Surely it wasn’t about to land on the moor in the dark!

He woke Julian and they both got up and went out of the quarry. “It’s an aeroplane all right,” said Dick, in a low voice. “What’s it doing? It doesn’t seem to be going to land. It’s gone round in a low circle two or three times.”

“Is it in trouble, do you think?” asked Julian. “Here it comes again.”

“Look, what’s that light over there?” suddenly said Dick, pointing to the east. “See, that sort of glow. It’s not very far from the gypsies’ camp.”

“I don’t know,” said Julian, puzzled. “It’s not a fire, is it? We can’t see any flames and it doesn’t seem to flicker like a fire would.”

“I think it may be some sort of guide to that plane,” said Dick. “It seems to be circling round and about over the glow. Let’s watch it.”