“Yes — and my goodness me, she’s got a couple of horses with her!” cried Dick. “Good old Jo! She’s got Alfredo’s horses!”

Chapter Ten

Back with the fair-folk again

The four of them, with Timmy capering behind, ran to meet Jo. She beamed at everyone.

“Hallo, Anne, hallo, George! Pleased to meet you again! This isn’t half a surprise!”

“Jo! How did you get those horses?” said Dick, taking one by the bridle.

“Easy,” grinned Jo. “I just told Uncle Fredo all about you — what wonders you were — and all you did for me — and wasn’t I shocked when I heard they’d turned you out of your field! I let go then! I told them just what I thought of them, treating my best friends like that!”

“Did you really, Jo?” said George, doubtfully.

“Didn’t you hear me?” demanded Jo. “I yelled like anything at Uncle Fredo, and then his wife, my Aunt Anita, she yelled at him too — and then we both yelled at everyone.”

“It must have been quite a yelling match,” said Julian. “And the result was that you got your way, and got the horses to take back our caravans, Jo?”

“Well, when Aunt Anita told me they’d taken your caravans into the next field and left them there, and wouldn’t lend you horses to bring them back, I told them all a few things,” said Jo. “I said — no, I’d better not tell you what I said. I wasn’t very polite.”

“I bet you weren’t,” said Dick, who had already had a little experience of Jo’s wild tongue the year before.

“And when I told them how my father went to prison, and you got me a home with somebody nice who looks after me, they were sorry they’d treated you roughly,” said Jo. “And so I told Uncle Fredo I was going to catch two horses and bring your caravans back into the field again.”

“I see,” said Julian. “And the fair-folk just let you?”

“Oh, yes,” said Jo. “So let’s hitch them in, Julian, and go back at once. Isn’t that the farmer coming over there?”

It was, and he looked pretty grim. Julian hurriedly put one horse into the shafts of the girls’ caravan, and Dick backed the other horse into the shafts of the second caravan. The farmer came up and watched.

“So you thought you’d get horses after all, did you?” he said. “I thought you would. Telling me a lot of poppycock about being stranded here and not being able to get away!”

“Grrrrrrrr,” said Timmy at once, but he was the only one who made any reply!

“Gee-up!” said Jo, taking the reins of the horse pulling the girls’ caravan. “Hup there! Git along, will you?”

The horse got along, and Jo wickedly drove him so near to the farmer that he had to move back in a hurry. He growled something at her. Timmy, appearing round the caravan, growled back. The farmer stood back further, and watched the two caravans going down the hillside, out through the wide gap in the hedge, and down the lane.