“Lucky Frank’s not as tough as he makes out and said yes.” Jim, who had walked over from the Secret Starling along with the girl and the baby, was as cheerful as Frank was grumpy, with thick brown hair and a spray of forget-me-nots in the buttonhole of his corduroy jacket. “Lucky he didn’t think twice about it.”

Lotti, still holding Federico, held out a hand to Frank.

“My name is Charlie,” she told him. “And I’m forever in your debt. I’m sorry you got wet, and I’m very sorry about my dog. When it comes to birds he is appallingly behaved. I don’t know that I can ever thank you enough.”

“All right, all right,” grumbled Frank, and they all pretended not to notice that he had gone a deep beetroot red. “No need to go on about it.”

The brothers returned to the Secret Starling and drove away, Lotti enthusiastically waving them off.

“Well!” said the girl with the baby. “That was exciting.”

Her name was Molly and she was the lock-keeper’s daughter. Her parents had left her in charge of the lock and the baby while they went to London to fetch Molly’s sister, Martha, who was just back from the war, driving ambulances in Central Europe.

“I wanted to go too,” said Molly.

“To London?” asked Lotti.

“To Central Europe,” said Molly. “But they wouldn’t let me. Said I’m too young.”

“Grown-ups are horribly unfair,” Lotti said sympathetically. “Believe me, we know.”

Molly’s eyes flicked over the Sparrowhawk. “Where are your parents?”

“Dead,” said Lotti. “We’re running away. Will you help us?”

“I don’t understand!” fumed Ben, when Emlyn Lock was safely behind them. “Why did you tell her we were running away?”

He was angry and Lotti was sorry for it, but she felt very calm.

“Molly liked us,” she said. “She thought we were exciting and she’s longing for excitement. She wanted to go to Central Europe! And I think, Ben, though I’m very good at lying, sometimes it’s better to tell the truth. I didn’t tell her much; I didn’t give any details. All I asked was that if a policeman comes, she tells him she hasn’t seen us.”

“A lot of use that will be. About a million other people saw us. They were cheering us!”

“I know,” said Lotti. “But Molly is the one Constable Skinner is most likely to ask. Don’t be cross, Ben. It will be all right, I promise. Let’s stop soon and eat and take the dogs for a walk before they get up to any more mischief. We’ve been miles and miles already, and Constable Skinner doesn’t even know the Sparrowhawk’s gone yet.”

“I’m not stopping,” said Ben. “Not until we get to France.”