18 THE JIGSAW IS FINISHED

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN THE JIGSAW IS FINISHED EIGHT WORRIED and amazed fathers and mothers heard the strange story of the stolen dogs when the four boys at last got home, very late, and full of excitement. Janet heard Peter come in, and flew downstairs from her bed, anxious to hear everything. 'What! You found the dogs in cages! And oh, how extraordinary that the man I read about on that police notice was there! Oh, goodness, were you really locked up in the dog-cages? And did Scamper, dear, darling, brave old Scamper, go and fetch George to

your rescue? Scamper, you are one of the very, very best Secret Seven members!' 'Woof!' said Scamper, proudly, and sat up very straight. Janet laughed at the Pretty Sick Dog business. So did everybody. It struck them as very funny. The whole adventure seemed rather extraordinary now it was over. It was a curious mystery, a strange little adventure, that had really grown out of the 'job' and 'practices' that Peter had set all the members to do. 'In fact, we each had one bit of a jigsaw puzzle, and when we found they fitted together, we saw what the picture was!' said Peter. 'We each did our bit, even old George.' Next morning there was a Secret Seven meeting, of course, and will you believe it, George was there too, beaming all over his face. 'I say, can I come in?' he said, when he

arrived, and banged on the door. 'Oh, the password, it's still "Beware", isn't it? It was a very good one for this adventure, wasn't it? We all had to "Beware" like anything. I guessed you'd have a Secret Seven meeting this morning, so I've come too. My father says I can be a member again if you'll have me!' 'Oh, George!' cried everyone in delight, and Peter dragged him in at once. 'Did he really? Why? Because we've done such a good job again, and you helped?' 'Yes. You see, the Inspector and the sergeant both came to ask me a few questions, and they told Dad and Mother that all the Secret Seven were quite remarkable people, and Dad never said a word about having had me turned out! And after the policemen had gone, Dad said "All right, George. I give in. You can belong again. You can go and tell the Secret Seven to make you a member again." So here I am.' 'We solemnly make you a member, George,'

said Janet in delight. 'Scamper, we told you you were only temporary, didn't we? So you won't mind George taking your place. But you were very, very good as a member, Scamper. Wasn't he, everybody?' They all agreed heartily, and Scamper looked pleased and surprised to have so many pats and kind words. He gave a little whine as if to say 'Well, what about a biscuit too?' And Janet, always ready to understand his smallest whine, at once produced a big biscuit from a tin! 'You deserve it,' she said. 'If you hadn't gone to fetch George to the rescue last night, Peter and Colin and Jack would still be locked up in the dog-cages!' 'Gosh! So we would,' said Peter. 'Hallo, who's this coming?' The big kindly face of the Inspector looked through the little window, with the sergeant alongside. 'We don't know the password,' said the

Inspector, sorrowfully. 'Or we'd say it and come in.' 'It's "Beware"!' said Peter grinning, and flung open the door. 'We'll soon have to choose a new one, so it doesn't matter telling you.' 'Have you got any news?' asked Colin eagerly. 'Oh yes, that's why we came to find you,' said the Inspector. 'We thought you ought to know the results of the good work done by the remarkable Society you belong to!' 'Oh good– tell us!' said Janet. 'Well, we got the PSD 188 car,' said the Inspector. 'Got it at Pilberry.' 'Oh yes, why didn't we think of that?' said Peter. 'We thought that fellow lived at Pilberry!' 'Bless us, did you now?' said the Inspector. 'I'm beginning to wonder if there's anything you don't know! Well, we got the car, and the dogs. The man has got a shop there, with two

or three garages. He'd put the dogs into one of the garages. Goodness knows how many dogs he's stolen and sold. Ah, well PSD stood for Pretty Sick Driver by the time we'd told him all we knew about him!' 'And we also got the old caretaker fellow,' said the sergeant. 'He's a poor old stick, though, a bit feebleminded, but clever enough to help a dog-stealer, it seems! We wondered where he had gone to earth, and there he was, in this town, under our very noses!' 'We got the young man, too, at Starling's,' said the Inspector. 'He's a bad lot. He and the other man ran this dog-stealing business between them, quite cleverly too. Covered their tracks well all the time, and bamboozled us nicely. But they couldn't bamboozle the Secret Seven, could they?' he added, getting up. 'Well, we must be off. Thanks, all of you. I wish there were more children like you, you're a grand lot to have in our town!'