Although they both felt wildly excited they were also rather scared. Jon was unhappy about Penny, and David, although he knew from experience that the twins were very skilled in the art of getting out of trouble, realized that they were all in very real danger. Not only were they in danger from the sea and the storm, but he was afraid that if the crowd got out of hand, it would be almost impossible to drive the car back. Jon was certain, too, that the girl had lied to them about Grandon. He was confident that it was the Dolphin car which they had passed at the end of the track, and this meant that Slinky was likely to be at the bungalow. It also meant that they were probably walking straight into a trap. He was thankful that he had not brought the papers. He wondered if David had got the same idea? It was clever of the girl to separate them like this and he was not sure but he fancied that her hand tightened on his arm just as if she could read his thoughts.

"Here we are," she said suddenly. "But we'll have to go up by the side of the house. We're not important enough to have a back door of our own! Hang on tight now, else the wind'll have us over," and she turned to face the gale roaring over the top of the great bank.

They struggled together through the loose shingle by the side of a deserted bungalow till they reached the track that ran under the bank and along which Jon and Penny had trudged when they had first visited Beach View. Valerie unlatched the little garden gate, and it was at that moment that the chimney on the next bungalow crashed. Jon saw it fall. It was outlined sharply against the storm-tossed sky, and some of the brick-work must have been loose, for the pot swayed twice before it finally smashed through the flimsy tiles of the roof. Valerie had not even stopped and was hurrying up the path when a strange, shapeless bulk detached itself from the gloom of the porch. David stopped for a moment, reminded of the many strange legends he had heard when they had lived in the Shropshire hills. As he paused he felt Jon's hand on his wrist.

"This is a trap," Jon whispered. "We've got to find the others and get out as quickly as we can. I bet Slinky's in here... But the place looks closed. The shutters are up! Gosh! What's that thing?"