Jon pushed Mary in front of him and grinned at Penny.

"All right, Newpenny? Sure?"

She gulped back the quick tears and nodded. When she could trust her voice again she said:

"Yes, we're all O.K. Where are those beasts who locked us in?"

"Bolted, of course," David said over his shoulder as he fumbled with the latch on the front door. "Look out now, you kids, and hang on to me because I don't know what will happen when I open the door... All right behind? Right! Here she goes!"

There was a shattering crash as the wind flung the door back against the wall and the tinkle of falling glass as the coloured panes smashed to pieces. A picture fell and everything around them seemed to be shaking and collapsing as the gale filled the house with wind.

"Buck up, David!" Jon urged from behind. "Down the side of the next-door house where we came up, and we'd better make for that little hill."

They struggled out into the wind, which tore at their hair and plucked at their clothes and whistled round their legs. The daylight had gone now and only a few streaks of angry red behind the black clouds showed where the sun had sunk in the west. And over in the east the full moon was rising over a wild and fantastic scene. As the children turned their backs to the sea it seemed as if they were alone in a wilderness of empty shacks and bungalows.

"The others can't be far ahead," David called over his shoulder, "and if we catch them before they can start the car, we'll force them to take us back with them. They dare not refuse when they see we've all escaped... Gosh! It's wet here. Careful how you go."

In between the bungalows the shingle now was loose and wet, but when they looked back the great bank was still holding, although the ground was shaking with the force of the waves. They turned to the right at the back of the bungalows and made for the foot of the hill, where the cars had been left. Here the path had disappeared under a sheet of water, which crept nearer their feet as they watched.

"Don't wait!" Jon shouted. "Go straight through it. Don't worry about getting your feet wet. No time to waste!"

They were half-way through and Dickie was up to his knees when he stopped.

"Where's Mary?" he demanded.

They looked back and were just able in the gloom to distinguish her on the edge of the pool. She was stooping over something at her feet.

David was furious. "Silly little ass!" he muttered, and then cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted:

"Paddle through it, Mary. Buck up! Nobody will say anything if you get your feet wet... Nothing to be afraid of... Look at Dickie... It's only to his knees now..."