Julian could not go to sleep. He tossed and turned, thinking about George. Hot-tempered, courageous, impatient, independent George! He worried and worried about her, wishing he could do something!

A small stone suddenly rattled against his window! He sat up, alert at once. Then something fell right into the room, and rolled over the floor. Julian was at the window in a trice. Who was throwing pebbles at his window?

He leaned out. A voice came up to him at once. “Is it you, Dick?”

“Jo! What are you doing here?” said Julian, startled, “It’s Julian speaking. Dick’s asleep. I’ll wake him, and let you in.”

But he did not need to go down and let Jo in. She was up a tree outside the window and across some ivy and on his windowsill before he had even shaken Dick awake!

She slid into the room. Julian switched on his light. There was Jo, sitting at the end of Dick’s bed, the familiar cheeky grin on her face! She was very brown, but still showed her freckles, and her hair was as short and curly as ever.

“I had to come,” she said. “When I got home from shopping, there was this girl Jane! She told me all about how George had been captured in mistake for her — and when I said to her, ‘You go straightaway and say you’re safe and sound, and it’s all a mistake, and George has got to be set free!’ she wouldn’t! She just wouldn’t! All she did was to sit and cry. Little coward!”

“No, no, Jo,” said Dick, and tried to explain everything to the indignant girl. But he could not convince her.

“If I was that girl Jane I wouldn’t let someone stay kidnapped because of me!” she said. “I don’t like her, she’s silly. And I’m supposed to keep an eye on her! Phoo! Not me! I’d like her to be kidnapped, the way she’s behaving about George.”

Julian looked at Jo. She was very very loyal to the Five, and proud of being their friend. She had been in two adventures with them now, an artful little gypsy girl, but a very loyal friend. Her father was in prison, and she was living with a cousin of Joan’s, and, for the first time in her life, going to school to learn lessons!

“Listen, Jo — we’ve found out a few more things since Berta — I mean Leslie — no, I don’t, I mean Jane…”

“What do you mean?” said Jo, puzzled.

“I mean Jane,” said Julian. “We’ve found out something else since Joan parked Jane with your cousin this morning.”

“Go on, tell me,” said Jo. “Have you found out where George is? I’ll go and break in and get her out, if you do!”

“Oh Jo — it’s no use just being fierce,” said Dick. “Things are not so easy as all that!”

“George threw out a bit of paper with this written on it,” said Julian, and he put it before Jo. “See? Just that one word—‘Gringo.’ Does it mean anything to you?”