So when she had tidied up and lit her candle she kissed her father and went upstairs. Her bedroom was tiny, but it had a dormer window jutting from the roof and facing down the valley. Before undressing she left the candle on the landing, closed the door and opened the window. To her surprise the mist had nearly gone and she could see the stars. Clear against the velvety blackness of the night the Great Bear straddled the sky and, as she leaned far out into the fresh, keen air, she thought she heard the sound of distant voices. She held her breath, so that not even her breathing would break the silence. Just as she felt she could hold on no longer - it was like coming up from a dive - she distinctly heard voices again, and now they were nearer. And there was another familiar sound, too... the clink of a horse's hoof on a loose stone.

She waited no longer, but raced down the stairs.

"Father! Come quickly! There are men and horses coming up the valley!"

The voices were near now. Once a man laughed. There didn't seem to be anything secret about the approach, so Peter ran to the gate and called, "Hello! Who's there, and what do you want?"

There was a pause, and then a voice she recognized said,

"That's Sterling's girl, I'll be bound. Wonder what she's doing up at this hour?" Then he called, "Hello, there! Is that young Peter?"

She ran down the track to meet them, and sure enough it was their old friend Bill Ward with two other men - one of them mounted on a chestnut mare which she knew came from a farm on the other side of the Onnybrook road.

"What's wrong, Bill? What's brought you up here at this time? What's happened?"

"Are the Morton twins here, and have you seen them?"

"No, I haven't," Peter said quickly. "Not all day, and we looked for them this morning at Witchend."

"The Morton twins have disappeared and we've no idea where they are. Alf Ingles and young David seem to think that they might have wandered to Appledore and he's gone round on his bike to see. If they're not there we can be pretty certain they're on the mountain and have probably got lost in the fog. We've got three more chaps searching the Witchend valley, and they're going to meet us on the top. Together we can cover a lot of ground, so don't you worry, Peter. We'll find them."

She gripped his arm fiercely. "Do something for me, Bill? We're friends, aren't we? We always were. Please, please, Bill, let me come with you. I've still got my pony, Sally, and you know how I know the mountain. I could really help, I'm sure."

They were at the gate now and the big man dismounted.

"If she's got a horse, let her come, We'd better hurry, though. Moon's coming up."