"Coming on their bikes. We wanted to cycle, o' course, but that bully David wouldn't let us... And, Peter, Agnes has got the most terrific tea-supper ready for us. We've been in to see her, and it's going to be grand - but we just had to come out and explore before the others came."

"Look! Look!" Jenny squealed suddenly. "There they are... I can see Tom... They're waving... Now they're shouting... Be quiet, Dickie, for just one second and we'll listen."

"Come down now," came faintly up to them. "Let's explore to-morrow... Come back and show us where the house is."

"Of course we must go back," Jenny said. "It wasn't fair to go exploring on our own first... Come on!"

As they turned to go down the hill again Peter bent down to pat Macbeth. Suddenly she felt ashamed of herself for thinking just now that she did not want the Warrenders. But she felt unaccountably shy, too, and she and Sally were the last of the little procession that hurried down the opposite side of the hill to where she could now see lights in the windows of houses and David, Tom, a taller boy who must be Jon, and a slighter figure who must be Penny.

Then the others were all round her, talking and laughing. She stumbled a little with weariness, and realized that David was next to her and was saying:

"This is Peter, who I always wanted you to meet. She's the brains of this club of ours, as you'll soon find out. She's ridden Sally here a much longer way round than we came on bikes, and I'm so tired I can hardly stand..."

This was a long speech for David, and Peter felt her cheeks burn as Jon shook hands with her and said, "It's too dark to see you properly, Peter, but it's grand for us to be here and to meet you all."

And on her other side Penny slid an arm through hers, and for once had little to say beyond, "We think we've known you a long time, Peter. Ever since David and the twins came to Rye in the summer."

"If I don't eat soon I'll collapse," Tom said. "Let's find this house we're going to live in and all be polite to each other there... Come on, Jenny. You know where it is. Come in front with me and let's get going."

They turned into a narrow lane which ran steeply downhill, turned left again, and found themselves in the main street.

"It's not far, thank goodness," Mary said. "Just past that lamp-post. Look! There's Agnes at the door now waitin' for us."

As they hurried under the lamp-post Peter and Penny looked at each other in the light and then laughed as they caught themselves doing it.

"Silly of me," Penny said. "Silly because I guessed what you looked like... Or I suppose it was what David told us about you."