"None, I'm afraid. Seems as if they got clean away." He turned to Mrs Denton and went on: "I've told these kids a bit about our trouble. No need to worry about them knowing, I'm sure, so I might as well tell the rest... The more people that know about what's going on in this part of the Forest the better, I reckon..."

He sounded so serious that they all stopped eating and stared at him. Mrs Denton fidgeted with her teaspoon and said quickly: "What is it, Alan?"

"I've been around this afternoon," Alan went on slowly. "I've been over to see Clancy at Three Oaks and Dixon at Little Hollow, and both of them are losing poultry now as well as sheep. We're planning to take it in turns to keep guard at nights... Trouble is, o' course, there's not enough of us to cover all the country round, though I reckon we could all guard our own places somehow."

Tom and David spoke at once.

"Why don't you ask us? I'll come."

"Will you let us in? We'll help to keep guard."

"I'll lend you Mackie if you'll let me come, too," Mary said.

Alan looked down the table and smiled at his mother.

"I told you they were the right sort, didn't I?" Then, to the Lone Piners, "It's grand of you to offer to help, and there's a chance in a day or two that we might be grateful for some sentries or guards, but there's nothing you can do now except to keep a good look-out for anyone suspicious either in Clun or on the hills around here. It's at night the sheep stealing is done, obviously, and that's what makes it difficult for us to be in the right place at the right time." Alan went on, "But we'll get 'em in the end."

"What could we do to help?" Penny asked plaintively. "Here's Peter and Jenny and me just as much use as any of the boys."

"I'd like to be disguised," Jenny began, but "What about that furniture van I saw?" Peter interrupted. "It was full of sheep I know, but when I told you yesterday you didn't seem very interested."

"I'm sorry, Peter," Alan said. "Maybe you're right after all, but nobody could bring a van up to a flock of sheep in daylight without somebody hearing it or seeing it."

Jon spoke for the first time in this conversation,

"Are you sure of that? It looks as if that's just what they have done. More likely daylight than night I should think, because surely they couldn't see how to drive them into a van after dark. Besides, wouldn't sheep make a lot of noise at night if they were suddenly confronted with a furniture van?"

Alan nodded.