Chapter Eleven

IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT

Julian and the others made no attempt to follow Tinker. ‘Let him go, the little ass!’ said Julian. ‘Come into one of the tents and have a low pow-wow before we get undressed and go to sleep.’

‘I’m sorry poor old Tinker isn’t going to camp out with us, our first night in the field,’ said Anne. ‘I don’t think he meant to give anything away.’

‘That’s no excuse, Anne,’ said George. ‘He can be an awful little fathead at times, and he’s got to learn not to be. Let’s go to our tent. I feel quite tired. Come along, Timmy!’

She yawned and Dick yawned too. Then Julian found himself yawning. ‘Awfully catching, this yawning business!’ he said. ‘Well, it’s turned out to be a lovely night as regards weather - warm and dry - and there’s a nice little half-moon to look at. Good night, girls, sleep tight! And don’t scream if a spider wakes you, because I warn you, I am NOT going to get up to deal with a harmless spider!’

‘You wait till one runs all over your face!’ said Anne, ‘and starts making a web from your nose to your chin and catches flies in it!’

‘Don’t, Anne,’ said George. ‘I’m not a bit scared of spiders, but that’s a horrible idea of yours! Timmy, please watch out for spiders, and give me warning of them!’

Everyone laughed. ‘Well, good night, girls,’ said Dick. ‘Pity about young Tinker. Still, he’s got to learn a few things, and keeping his mouth shut is one of them.’

They were all quite tired, and it wasn’t long before everyone’s torch was out, and peace and quiet descended on the little camp. Much farther up the field the circus was also peaceful and quiet, though there were still lights here and there in the tents. Someone belonging to the circus band was strumming a banjo, but not loudly, and the sound was pleasant to hear - strum-a-strum - strum-a-strum - strummmm...

A few clouds blew up and slid across the moon. One by one the lights went out in the circus tents. The wind blew softly through the trees, and an owl hooted.

Anne was still awake. She lay listening to the wind, and to the owl’s ‘Too-whoo-too-whit’, and then she too fell asleep. Nobody heard someone stirring in the circus camp. Nobody saw a shadowy figure creep out when the moon was safely behind a cloud. It was late, very late, and the two camps were lost in dreams.

Timmy was fast asleep too - but in his sleep he heard a faint sound, and at once he was awake. He didn’t move, except for his ears, which switched themselves up to listen. He gave a little growl, but not enough to wake George. So long as the person who was moving about in the circus camp did not come near to George’s tent, or the boys’ tent, Timmy did not mean to bark. He heard a tiny grunt, and recognized it at once. Charlie the Chimp! Well, that was all right! Timmy fell asleep again.

Tinker, too, was fast asleep in his bed up at the house, Mischief at his feet. He had thought he would be too miserable to sleep, but found himself half-dreaming in no time. He didn’t hear a small noise outside, a very small noise indeed - a little scrape, as if someone’s foot had caught against a stone. Then there came other very small noises - and a whisper of a voice - and more noises again.

Nobody heard anything at all until Jenny woke up thirsty, and stretched out her hand to get a glass of water from her bed-table. She didn’t switch her light on, and was about to lie down again when her quick ears caught a little sound.

She sat up. ‘That can’t be the children,’ she thought. ‘They’re camping down in the field. Oh my goodness me, I hope it’s not a burglar - or someone trying to steal the Professor’s secrets. He’s got papers all over the place. Thank goodness he keeps most of them in that tower of his!’

She listened and then lay down again. But soon she heard another little noise, and sat up, scared. ‘It sounds as if it comes from the tower,’ she thought, and got out of bed. No - there was no light in the tower - no light anywhere, that she could see. The moon was behind a cloud. She’d just wait till it slid out and lighted up the courtyard below, and the tower. There! That was another little noise. Could it be the wind? No, it couldn’t. And now, what was that? It sounded just like someone whispering down there in the courtyard. Jenny felt really frightened, and began to shake. She must go and wake the Professor! Suppose it was someone after his precious papers? Or his wonderful new invention!

The moon swung out from behind the cloud and Jenny peered cautiously out of the window again. She gave a loud scream, and staggered back into her room, still screaming. ‘There’s a man! Help! Help! He’s climbing up the wall of the tower! Professor! PROFESSOR HAYLING! Come quickly! Thieves, robbers, help, help! Get the police!’

There came a long slithering sound, and before Jenny dared to look out again, the moon had gone behind another cloud, and she could not see a thing in the sudden darkness. There was a deep silence after the slithering noise, and Jenny couldn’t bear it. She rushed out of her bedroom, yelling at the top of her voice. ‘THIEVES! ROBBERS! SIR, COME QUICKLY!’

The Professor woke with a jump, threw off his bedclothes and rushed out into the passage, almost colliding with Jenny. He clutched at her, thinking she was the thief, and she screamed again, sure that one of the intruders had got hold of her. They struggled together, and then the Professor realized that he wasn’t holding a thief, he was holding poor, plump Jenny!

‘JENNY! What on earth are you doing, waking up the whole household!’ said the Professor, switching on the passage light. ‘Have you had a bad dream - a nightmare?’

‘No, sir, no sir,’ panted Jenny, out of breath with her struggle. ‘Sir, there’s robbers about. I saw one climbing up the tower wall - and there must have been others below. I heard them whispering, sir. Oh, I’m that scared! What shall we do? Can you telephone for the police, sir?’

‘Well,’ said the Professor, doubtfully. ‘Are you quite sure, Jenny, that you didn’t have a nightmare? I mean - if there really are robbers, I’ll certainly telephone - but it’s rather a long way for the police to come out here, and...’

‘Oh, sir - then won’t you just take a torch and look round the place?’ begged Jenny. ‘You know there’s your precious papers in that tower, sir. And isn’t there that new invention of yours? Oh yes, I know I’m not supposed to know anything about it, sir, but I do dust your rooms thoroughly, you know, and I see quite a lot, though I keep my mouth shut, and...’

‘Yes, yes, Jenny, I know,’ said poor Professor Hayling, trying to stop Jenny’s stream of talk. ‘But honestly, everything seems quiet now. I’ve looked out into the courtyard. There’s no one there. And you know as well as I do that nobody can get into my tower. It has three different keys - one to unlock the bottom door - one for the middle door, half-way up - and one for the top door. Jenny, be sensible. Nobody could have used my three keys. Look, there they are on my dressing-table.’

Jenny began to calm down, but she still wasn’t satisfied. ‘I did hear whispering, and I did see someone half-way up the wall of the tower, sir. Please do come down with me, sir, and let’s look around. I daren’t go on my own. But I shan’t sleep again tonight till I know nobody’s forced the tower door, or taken a ladder to go up the tower.’

‘All right, Jenny,’ said the Professor, with a sigh. ‘Put on your dressing-gown, and I’ll put mine on too - we’ll try the doors, and we’ll look for a ladder - though, mind you, it would have to be an absolutely colossal one to reach the top of that tower. Nobody could possibly bring one that size and length into our small courtyard! All right, all right - we’ll go.’

And so, a few minutes later, Jenny and the Professor were down in the courtyard. There was no sign of any ladder at all - no sign of anyone climbing up the wall-and the downstairs tower door was safely locked! ‘You unlock the door, sir, and go up to the top room and see if that door’s locked too,’ begged Jenny.

‘I think you’re being rather silly now, Jenny,’ said the Professor impatiently. ‘Here, take the keys yourself. This one’s locked, of course - and if the middle door is still locked, you’ll know nobody could have got into my top room. Hurry, Jenny.’

So Jenny, still trembling, slid a key into the bottom lock, opened the door, and began to climb the spiral stair that led upwards. Half-way was another door, also safely locked. She unlocked this too. She began to feel rather silly. Nobody could have gone through locked doors. And there now - the top one was well and truly locked also! She gave a sigh of relief and ran down the spiral stairway, locking the middle door, and then the bottom one. She gave the keys to the Professor, who by now was feeling rather chilly!

‘All locked, sir,’ said Jenny. ‘But I’m still sure someone was about. I could have sworn I saw someone up that tower-wall, and heard somebody else whispering below.’

‘I expect you were so scared that you imagined things, Jenny,’ said the Professor, yawning. ‘I think you’ll agree with me that the wall is far too steep for anyone to climb - and I’m pretty certain I’d have heard it if a ladder had been dragged about the courtyard!’

‘Well, I’m sure I’m very sorry, sir,’ said poor Jenny. ‘It’s a good thing we didn’t wake Tinker - though I’m surprised Mischief didn’t hear something and come running down the stairs.’

‘But Mischief is surely with Tinker, camping out in the field!’ said the Professor in surprise.

‘No - Tinker and Mischief are back, sir. I found them asleep in bed - but not the others!’ said Jenny. ‘Maybe Tinker has quarrelled with them. Funny that Mischief didn’t come running out to see what was up - he must have heard us!’

‘Mischief is clever - but not clever enough to open Tinker’s bedroom door,’ said the Professor, yawning again. ‘Good night, Jenny. Don’t worry. You’ll feel all right in the morning, and that will be that!’

The Professor went sleepily to his room. He looked out of the window down into the courtyard and then across at the tower, and smiled. Dear Jenny! She did rather let her imagination run away with her! As if anyone in the world could get up into that tower room without a ladder! And now could a long, long ladder be brought into that small courtyard without either being seen or heard? The Professor yawned once more and climbed into bed.

But someone had been in the tower room! Someone very clever, someone very light-fingered! What a shock for poor Professor Hayling next morning, when he crossed the courtyard, unlocked the bottom door of the tower - walked up the spiral stairway - unlocked the middle door, and went on up the stairway again - and finally unlocked the top door and opened it wide.

He stood and stared in horror. The place was upside down! All his papers were scattered everywhere. He crouched down at once to see if any were missing. Yes - quite a lot! But they seemed to have been taken quite haphazardly - a few pages from this note-

book - a few pages from that - some letters he had written and left on his desk to post - and good gracious, the ink was spilt all over the place - and the little clock was gone from the mantelpiece. So Jenny was right - a thief had been about last night. A thief that could apparently get through three locked doors - or else could climb up a long, long ladder that he had put outside without being seen - and taken away again!

‘I’ll have to ring the police,’ he thought. ‘But I must say it’s a mystery! I wonder if Tinker heard anything in the night? No, he couldn’t have, or he would have run to fetch me. It’s a mystery - a real puzzle of a MYSTERY!’