“Yes,” said Jekky. Jo knew what that was — a thick rope with pegs thrust through the strands to act as foot-holds.

“But how will you get the peg-rope up?” said Jo, puzzled.

“It can be done,” said Bufflo again, and the talking went on. Jo suddenly began to feel terribly hungry and got up to get herself a meal. When she got back to the conference everything was apparently settled.

“We set off tonight as soon as darkness comes,” Bufflo told her. “You will not come, Jo. This is man’s business.”

“Of course I’m coming!” said Jo, amazed that anyone should think she wasn’t. “They’re my friends, aren’t they? I’m coming all right!”

“You are not,” said Bufflo, and Jo immediately made up her mind to disappear before the men set off and hide somewhere so that she might follow them.

By this time it was about six o’clock. Bufflo and the rope-man disappeared in Jekky’s caravan and became very busy there. Jo went peeping in at the door to see what they were doing but they ordered her out.

“This is not your business any more,” they said, and turned her out when she refused to go.

When darkness came, a little company set out from the camp. They had searched for Jo to make sure she was not coming, but she had disappeared. Bufflo led the way down the hill, looking extremely fat because he was wound about with a great deal of peg-rope. Then came Mr. Slither with one of his pythons draped round him. Then the rubber-man with Mr. Alfredo.

Bufflo also carried his whip though nobody quite knew why. Anyway, Bufflo always did carry a whip, it was part of him; so nobody questioned him about it.

Behind them, like a little shadow, slipped Jo. What were they going to do? She had watched the tower-window for the last two hours, and when darkness came she saw a light there — a light that shone on and off, on and off.

That’s Dick or Julian signalling, she thought. They will have wondered why I haven’t brought help sometime today. They don’t know that I was captured and tied up! I’ll have something to tell them when we’re all together again!

The little company went over the stile, into the lane and up the path to the castle. They came to the wall. The rubber-man took a jump at it, and literally seemed to run up it, fling himself on to the top, roll over and disappear!

“He’s over,” said Bufflo. “What it is to be made of rubber! I don’t believe that fellow ever feels hurt!”

There was a low whistle from the other side of the wall. Bufflo unwound a thin rope from his waist, tied a stone to it and flung it over. The rope slithered after the stone and over the wall like a long thin worm.

Thud! They heard the stone fall on the ground the other side. Another low whistle told them that the rubber-man had it. Bufflo then undid the peg-rope from his waist, and he and the others held out its length between them, standing one behind the other. One end was fastened to the thin rope whose other end held the stone.