The message sounded extremely silly when Dick repeated it to the police. “Two-Trees. Gloomy Water, Saucy Jane. And Maggie knows.”

“Really?” said the policeman, in a sarcastic voice. “Maggie knows as well, does she? Well, you tell Maggie to come along here and tell me too. I’d like to meet Maggie - specially if she’s a friend of yours.”

“She’s not,” said Dick feeling annoyed. “That was in the message. I don’t know who Maggie is! How should I? We thought perhaps the police could unravel the meaning. We couldn’t. The fellow gave me this bit of paper too.”

He handed the piece of dirty paper to the policeman, who looked at it with a crooked smile “So he gave you this too, did he?” he said. “Now wasn’t that kind of him? And what do you suppose all this is, scribbled on the paper?”

“We don’t know,” said Dick. “But we thought our report might help the police to catch the prisoner, that’s all.”

“The prisoner’s caught,” said the policeman, with a smirk on his face. “You know so much - but you didn’t know that! Yes, he’s caught - four hours ago - and he’s safe back in prison now And let me tell you youngsters this - I’m not taken in by any silly schoolboy spoofing, see?”

“It’s not spoofing,” said Julian, in a very grown-up manner, “You should learn to see the difference between the truth and a joke.”

That didn’t please the policeman at all. He turned on Julian at once, his face reddening

“Now you run away!” he said. “I’m not having any cheek from you! Do you want me to take your names and addresses and report you?”

“If you like,” said Julian, in disgust. “Have you got a notebook there? I’ll give you all our names, and I myself will make a report to the police in our district when I get back.”

The policeman stared at him. He couldn’t help being impressed by Julian’s manner, and he calmed down a little.

“You go away, all of you,” he said, his voice not nearly so fierce. “I shan’t report you this time. But don’t you go spreading silly stories like that or you’ll get into trouble. Serious trouble too.”

“I don’t think so,” said Julian. “Anyway, seeing that you are not going to do anything about our story, may we have back our bit of paper, please?”

The policeman frowned. He made as if he would tear the paper up, but Dick snatched at it. He was too late. The aggravating policeman had torn it into four pieces and thrown it into the road!

“Don’t you have laws against scattering litter in your village?” asked Dick, severely, and carefully picked up the four pieces of paper. The policeman glared at Dick as he put the bits into his pocket. Then he made a peculiar snorting noise, turned on his heel and marched back to his sausages and onions.