“Right,” said Dick. “I vote we go this morning, but we’ll take Tim with us in case we meet those gypsies!”

Chapter Fourteen

The gypsies are not pleased

Julian and Dick went to stand where they had stood the night before, trying to see exactly in what direction the glow had been.

“I think it was beyond the gypsies’ camp, to the left,” said Julian. “What do you think, Dick?”

“Yes. That’s about it,” said Dick. “Shall we go now?” He raised his voice. “We’re going, George and Anne. Are you coming? We can leave our stuff here, tucked away in the caves because we shan’t be very long.”

George called back. “Julian, I think Timmy’s got a thorn in his foot or something. He’s limping. Anne and I think we’ll stay here with him and try to get it out. You go, but for goodness’ sake don’t get into trouble with the gypsies!”

“We shan’t,” said Julian. “We’ve as much right on this moor as they have and they know it. All right, we’ll leave you two here then with Timmy. Sure you don’t want any help with his paw?”

“Oh no,” said George. “I can manage, thank you.”

The two boys went off, leaving Anne and George fussing over Timmy’s paw. He had leapt into a gorse bush after a rabbit and a thorn had gone right into his left fore-paw. Then it had broken off, leaving the point in poor Timmy’s pad. No wonder he limped! George was going to have quite a time trying to ease out the bit of thorn.

Julian and Dick set off over the moor. It was a day like summer, far too warm for April. There was not a single cloud to be seen in the sky, which was as blue as forget-me-nots. The boys felt too hot in their pullovers and longed to take them off. But that would mean carrying them, which would be an awful nuisance.

The gypsy camp was not really far away. They soon came near to the curious hill that stood up from the flatness of the moor. The caravans still stood in its shelter, and the boys saw that a little group of men were sitting together, talking earnestly.

“I bet they’re having a jaw about that aeroplane last night,” said Dick. “And I bet it was they who set that light or fire, or whatever it was, to guide it. I wonder why it didn’t land.”

They kept in the shelter of big gorse bushes, as they skirted the camp. They were not particularly anxious to be seen. The dogs, sitting round the group of men, apparently did not see or hear them, which was lucky.

The boys made their way towards the place where they thought they had seen the glow, some way to the left of the camp, and beyond it.

“Doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary anywhere,” said Julian, stopping and looking round. “I was expecting to see a big burnt patch, or something.”