"If you hadn't interrupted me," David said coldly, "I was going on to suggest that we all meet in Jon's and my room about midnight for a Council of War. What do you others think? Is it a good idea?"

"It's a good idea," they all chorused.

"You girls go up now then," David said. "We're going to examine the bike and we'll see you all later. And be quiet at midnight, else we shall wake Agnes and Mr Cantor. I'm sorry about the twins, but they can't expect to be in everything..."

"Can't they?" Peter laughed. "Cheerio for the present."

Jon had put his alarm clock under his pillow so that its shrilling should wake nobody but himself. It rang soon after twelve and although he was sleeping deeply he woke at once. This idea of a meeting seemed for a few minutes to be particularly stupid, for bed seemed the best of all places; but at last he reached over and shook David, who stirred and then sat up, instantly awake for once.

"Close the windows," he said, "and pull the curtains right across. I'll switch on the fire and go and wake the others."

He tried Tom first and the door squeaked horribly so that Dickie sighed, stirred in his sleep and then turned over with a grunt. David crept over to Tom's bed, shook him and then whispered in his ear till he awoke and remembered.

"I think we're all crackers," he muttered as he swung his legs out of bed. "All right, David. I'll go along to your room, but I hope we're not too long."

Peter answered the second soft knock and within five minutes they were all, except the twins, by the fire in David's room.

"I must tell you girls first," David began, "that we went down with a torch and had a look at the bike and that we think Dickie is right about Mr Cantor. It sounds amazing, I know, but there's no doubt that the bike had been used this evening. The tyres had got fresh mud on them, and there was a scrap of heather jammed between the handlebars and the jangling bell. There doesn't seem much doubt to us that Mr Cantor is a very suspicious character and that we should watch him closely now that this sheep-stealing has started. We've got to make plans now for tomorrow, and for the next day, and decide whether we tell Alan Denton all we suspect or whether we should hang around and try and watch Cantor. What do you think?"

Penny spoke first. "You may be quite right about the bike, David, but I don't think he's a thief. I think we ought to take it in turns to watch him anyway if everybody else thinks he's acting suspiciously."