“Julian, I saw Spiky, he’s coming to the beech at levven I took Dick’s bike to go home on I will bring it back at levven, don’t be too cross. Jo.”

“I suppose ‘beech’ doesn’t mean a tree, it means the beach, the sands,” said Dick. “And ‘levven’ means eleven o’clock. Little scallywag — I hope she hasn’t damaged my bike in any way.”

Jo hadn’t. She had actually managed to find time to clean it before she left home, and arrived with it so bright and gleaming that Dick hadn’t the heart to scold her!

She was early so she came to the house instead of the beach. She rode through the gate and up the front path and Timmy ran to greet her with a volley of delighted barks. He liked Jo — in fact he really loved the little gypsy girl. She certainly had a way with animals! Sally followed, dancing on her tiptoes as usual, ready to welcome as a friend anyone that Timmy liked.

Dick hailed Jo from the front door as she came up. “Hallo, bicycle-stealer! My word, what’s happened to my bike — have you spring-cleaned it?”

Jo grinned, looking at Dick warily. “Yes. I’m sorry I took it, Dick.”

“You’re not a bit sorry — but I’ll forgive you,” said Dick, grinning too. “So you got to the circus safely after all?”

“Oh yes — and I woke up Spiky — he wasn’t half surprised,” said Jo. “But his Pa was sleeping in the same caravan as he was, so I couldn’t say much. I just told him to be on Kirrin Beach at eleven. Then I rode back home. I ought to have left your bike on the way back, but I was a bit tired, so I rode home, instead of walking.”

“You can’t have had much sleep last night,” said Julian, looking at the sunburnt girl with her untidy curly hair. “Hallo — who’s that?”

A short, plump boy was hurrying past the gate. He had a mop of black hair which stuck up into curious spikes of hair at the crown.

“Oh — that’s Spiky!” said Jo. “He’s on time, isn’t he? He’s called Spiky because of his hair. You won’t believe it, but he spends a fortune on hair-oil, trying to make those spiky bits go flat. But they won’t.” She called loudly.

“Spiky! Hey, SPIKY!”

Spiky turned at once. He had a pleasant, rather lop-sided face, and eyes as black as currants. He stood staring at Jo and the boys. “I’m just off to the beach,” he said.

“Right. We’re coming too,” said Jo, and she and the boys went to join him. They met the ice-cream man on the way and Julian bought an ice-cream for each of them.

“Coo — thanks,” said Spiky, pleased. He was rather shy of Dick and Julian, and wondered very much why he had been asked to come.

They sat down on the beach. “I wasn’t half scared when you came tapping at the window last night,” he said to Jo, licking his ice-cream with a very pink tongue. “What’s it all about?”