10 THE YOUNG MAN AT STARLING’S

CHAPTER TEN THE YOUNG MAN AT STARLING'S SO, AFTER school the next afternoon, Colin, Jack and Peter set off to go to Starling's Hotel, to see if they could find the young man who had hauled George home the other night and caused him to leave the Secret Seven. They discussed what to say to him. 'We'll tell him the marvellous things that the Secret Seven have done,' said Peter. 'He'll soon see that a Society that can do the things we've done would only have decent boys and girls as members. I might tell him to go and ask the police about us. They would stick up for us

like anything, because we've helped them so much.' At last they came to Starling's. It was rather a poor little hotel. There was a woman in the hall, and Peter asked her politely if there was a young man staying there. If so, could they please speak to him? 'What's his name?' asked the woman. 'We don't know,' said Peter. 'Well, what's he like?' said the woman, sounding impatient. 'We, we don't know that either,' said Peter, feeling foolish, and wishing that he had asked George for a description of the man. 'All we know is that he's young.' 'Oh well, I suppose it's Mr Taylor you want,' said the woman, ungraciously. 'He's the only young man staying here. Go into that room and I'll ask him to come and speak to you.' They went into a tiny room and stood about

awkwardly. Soon a young man came in and eyed the three boys curiously. 'What do you want?' he said. Peter explained. 'It's about George, our friend,' he said. 'The boy you caught the other night. You thought he was up to no good, but actually he was only putting in a bit of shadowing practice. He belonged to our Secret Society, you see, and we do all kinds of things. George's parents have told him he's not to belong, so—' 'Well, it's nothing to do with me,' said the young man. 'I can't do anything. He shouldn't play the fool.' 'He wasn't,' said Peter, warming up. 'I tell you, we're a very well-known society here, the police know us well; we've helped them many a time.' 'What rubbish!' said the young man. 'You ring up the Inspector and ask about us, then!' said Jack, indignantly.

The young man seemed rather astonished at this. He stared at Jack as if wondering whether to find out about them from the police or not. 'Well, whether you are friends with the police or not, I'm not having any more to do with your friend George, or whatever his name is,' said the young man. 'So that's that. He's got no right to shadow people, whether in play or not. Now clear out, all of you.' Colin hadn't said a word. He had been eyeing the young man closely, and Peter wondered why. Was he trying to do as the girls had done, and 'observe' someone closely so that he could describe him later? As they went out, gloomy and resentful, a dog barked somewhere. Colin turned to the young man. 'Is that your dog barking?' he asked. 'What dog? No! I haven't got a dog. And it wouldn't be any good if I had,' said the young man. 'They're not allowed in this hotel.'

Colin said no more, and the three boys walked out of the little hotel. They said nothing till they were well beyond the gate. 'He's hateful!' burst out Peter. 'Horrible cold eyes and thin mouth! As soon as I saw him I knew he was the kind of person that likes to get people into trouble. We once had a horrid teacher at school who had a mouth just like that!' 'Colin, why didn't you help us?' said Jack, as they walked down the road. 'You never said a word, till you asked about the dog that barked. Did you have to be unfriendly like that? You might have backed us up.' 'Wait a minute, I'll soon tell you why,' said Colin, and then the others saw that he was bursting to say something. 'Let's get right out of sight and hearing of Starling's first.' They walked on for a while, and then Colin spoke in a low voice. 'That fellow, that young man, he was the

same one I saw last night with the dog that disappeared!' Jack and Peter stopped in surprise. 'What! Are you sure? But you asked him if it was his dog that was barking, and he said no he hadn't a dog!' Peter blurted all this out in far too loud a voice. Colin was afraid the passers-by might hear and he nudged Peter's arm. 'Be quiet. This may be important. Don't let's give anything away.' 'It's very interesting,' said Peter. 'Let's go to that yard at once and explore. We know the young man is safely at Starling's. He won't disturb us.' 'Come on, then,' said Colin. 'Oh, bother! Here's Susie.' And Susie it was, coming at them like a hurricane, all out of breath. 'Peter! I've heard that George isn't in the Secret Seven any more. Please, PLEASE let me in! Jack, tell Peter to let me be in.'