The bottom of the ditch was still in deep shadow, but his eyes soon became accustomed to the dark and after a little searching he found a heavy hurdle leaning against the side of the bank. He crouched down and put his ear against the rough bracken with which it was disguised, but could only hear the plaintive, monotonous call of the sheep. Very, very gently he pulled the hurdle across until there was a gap large enough for him to squeeze through. His head hit the roof, so he went down on his hands and knees and crawled forward.

The sound of the sheep was much clearer now, and suddenly he heard a man's voice only a few yards away calling directions to the dog, and guessed that the sheep were now being driven into pens. After what seemed a very long time he heard the man whistle to the dog, and then footsteps which died away in the distance.

He crawled forward cautiously. The tunnel sloped down for a few yards, turned a little and then ran uphill. As he crawled up he sniffed the fresh, cold air again and noticed with surprise that some windows on the ground floor of the big house were lit up. This was the first sign of life in the house behind the grey walls seen by any of the Lone Piners.

Tom put his head out into the open and looked round cautiously. Although the house itself was in shadow, the ground in front of it was bathed in moonlight. He glanced first to his right and saw at once that his guess had been correct: the stolen sheep were crowded together in a pen. When he had given a quick look in the other direction he shot back into his tunnel like a startled rabbit, for, not more than fifty yards away, standing on a rough drive, was a large furniture van. Two men were wrestling with a wheel, and when he turned again and there was a lull in the bleating of the sheep, Tom could hear the mutter of their grumbling voices.

Unless the van had been there all the time, which did not seem very likely, it must have arrived while he was following the shepherd down the ditch! It was just then that Tom began to wonder what had happened to the other two and whether he had really been a little too clever. Perhaps it would be better to creep back down the tunnel and find David and Jon? After all, he was the first to get inside the grey walls - at least he thought he was - and he had seen the stolen sheep, the furniture van, the driver and his mate and the lights in the windows. Surely he had enough evidence now for a policeman?