9 VERY PECULIAR

CHAPTER NINE VERY PECULIAR GEORGE WAS extremely astonished. Why, the men were still there! Then where was Jack? What had happened to him? He stood there in the beam of the torch, gaping. 'Come on in,' said the voice, impatiently. 'We heard you saying "Cheeky Charlie". Have you got a message from him?' George gaped still more. A message from him? From Cheeky Charlie? Why, that was only a password! Just the name of a dog! What did the man mean? 'Will you come into the room?' said the man, again. 'What's the matter with you, boy?

Are you scared? We shan't eat a messenger from Charlie.' George went slowly into the room, his mind suddenly working at top speed. A messenger from Charlie. Could there be someone called Charlie, Cheeky Charlie? Did these men think he had come from him? How very extraordinary! 'There won't be no message from Charlie,' said the man called Zeb. 'Why should there be? He's waiting for news from us, isn't he? Here, boy– did Charlie send you to ask for news?' George could do nothing but nod his head. He didn't want to have to explain anything at all. These men appeared to think he had come to find them to get news for someone called Charlie. Perhaps if he let them give him the message, they would let him go without any further questions. 'Can't think why Charlie uses such a dumb

kid to send out,' grumbled Zeb. 'Got a pencil, Larry? I'll scribble a message.' 'A kid that can't open his mouth and speak a word is just the right messenger for us,' said the man with the clear voice. 'Tell Charlie what we've decided, Zeb. Don't forget that he's to mark the tarpaulin with white lines at one corner.' Zeb scribbled something in a notebook by the light of a torch. He tore out the page and folded it over. 'Here you are,' he said to George. 'Take this to Charlie, and don't you go calling him Cheeky Charlie, see? Little boys that are rude get their ears boxed! His friends can call him what they like, but not you.' 'Oh, leave the kid alone,' said Larry. 'Where's Charlie now, kid? At Dalling's or at Hammond's?' George didn't know what to answer. 'Dalling's,' he said at last, not knowing in the least what it meant.

Larry tossed him fifty pence. 'Clear off!' he said. 'You're scared stiff of this place, aren't you? Want me to take you down the hill?' This was the last thing that poor George wanted. He shook his head. The men got up. 'Well, if you want company, we're all going now. If not, buzz off.' George buzzed off, but not very far. He went back again into the other room, thankful to see that the moon had come out again, and had lit it enough for him to make his way quickly to the window. He clambered out awkwardly, because his legs were shaking and were not easy to manage. He made for a thick bush and flung himself into the middle. If those men really were going, he could wait till they were gone. Then he could go back and find Jack. WHAT had happened to Jack? He seemed to have disappeared completely.

The men went cautiously out of Tigger's Barn, keeping their voices low. The owl flew over their heads, giving a sudden hoot that startled them. Then George heard them laugh. Their footsteps went quietly down the hill. He heaved a sigh of relief. Then he scrambled out of the bush and went back into the house. He stood debating what to do. Should he try the password again? It had had surprising results last time, so perhaps this time it would be better just to call Jack's name. But before he could do so, a voice came out of the doorway that led to the further room. 'Cheeky Charlie!' it said, in a piercing whisper. George stood stock still, and didn't answer. Was it Jack saying that password? Or was it somebody else who knew the real Cheeky Charlie, whoever he might be? Then a light flashed on and caught him in its

beam. But this time, thank goodness, it was Jack's torch, and Jack himself gave an exclamation of relief. 'It is you, George! Why in the world didn't you answer when I said the password? You must have known it was me.' 'Oh, Jack! Where were you? I've had an awful time!' said George. 'You shouldn't have gone off and left me like that. Where have you been?' 'I was listening to those men, and fell into this cupboard,' said Jack. 'It shut on me, and I couldn't hear another word. I didn't dare to move in case those men came to look for me. But at last I opened the door, and when I couldn't hear anything, I wondered where you were! So I whispered the password.' 'Oh, I see,' said George, thankfully. 'So you didn't hear what happened to me? The men discovered me– and—' 'Discovered you! What did they do?' said