When they got there they tied up the boat and stepped out on to the sandy shore. They made their way to the village and soon came to a baker’s shop. They bought warm new bread and some jam tarts. They went to the grocer’s and bought half a pound of butter, some potted meat to spread on their bread, and some biscuits and chocolate. They also bought some ginger-beer, and then sat down by the roadside to eat a peculiar, but very delicious breakfast!

Jack and Mike lent their pocket-knives to every one to spread the potted meat and butter on thick slices cut from the new loaf. How lovely it tasted!

Then they ate the jam tarts and the biscuits, munched the chocolate, and drank the ginger-beer. They felt much better after their meal, and Jack looked about for a garage.

There wasn’t one - but at that moment a bus rattled up and stopped nearby. The children went to ask if there was any bus that would take them near Spiggy Holes.

“My bus starts off again in ten minutes’ time,” said the driver. “I go as far as Cliftonside, and you can get a bus there to Spiggy Holes.”

The children were pleased. They got into the bus and waited for it to start. It set off at last and rumbled down the country lanes for an hour until it arrived at Cliftonside. Out tumbled the children, and went to get the bus for Spiggy Holes. It didn’t start for half an hour, so they went to buy some more ginger-beer, for it was a hot day and they felt very thirsty again.

They arrived at Spiggy Holes at half-past twelve. The bus stopped a mile away from Peep-Hole and the children took a short cut across the fields.

“We’d better just keep a watch-out in case anyone else is looking for Paul,” said Jack. “You never know!“

So they kept a look-out, and walked beside the tall hedges to hide themselves till they got to Peep-Hole.

And what a surprise they had when they got to the field opposite Peep-Hole - for there on the grass was a big aeroplane! It was painted a bright blue, and had silvery edges that shone in the sun!

The children stopped in the greatest surprise. Nobody was in the aeroplane. Nobody was about at all. They didn’t know whether to go to Peep-Hole or not - did the aeroplane belong to the enemy? Or was it a friend’s? It was all very mysterious indeed.

Alone at Peep-Hole

The five children stared and stared at the aeroplane. Paul went rather pale.

“It looks like an aeroplane from my own country,” he said. “Do you think my enemies have flown over here to find me? If only I knew what had happened to my father - whether he got better or not! I am very unhappy.”

“Cheer up, old son,” said Jack. “We’ll soon find out everything. I expect Dimmy has told the police to find out what’s been going on in your country, and she’ll tell us as soon as we find her.”

“I want to see Dimmy,” said Nora. “I feel safe when I’m with her.”

“Well, let’s go quietly to Peep-Hole without being seen, and find her,” said Mike. So they crept along by the tall hedge, turned into the little lane where Peep-Hole stood, and ran into the small front garden.

The front door was shut. It usually stood wide open. They went round to the back door. That was shut and locked too! The children stared at one another in surprise.

“Has Dimmy locked herself in?” they wondered. “What’s been happening?”

“All the ground-floor windows are shut too,” said Jack, who had been round looking. “But there’s one open up there - do you see it? I believe if I climb up that old pear tree there, I could wriggle along that branch and get on to the window-sill.”

“Well, be careful then,” said Peggy. “It doesn’t look very safe to me!”

Jack climbed the tree, hoisted up by Mike. He wriggled carefully along the big branch that waved near the window. The other children stood below and watched him - but a shower of little hard pears fell on their heads and they went back a few steps, laughing.

Jack got safely to the window-sill. He opened the window and jumped inside. They heard his footsteps pattering down the stairs.

Then the bolts were shot back, the key was turned, and Jack opened the door. “Come on in,” he said. “We’ll just see if Dimmy is anywhere here - but there’s not a sound in the house.”

The children hunted everywhere for Dimmy. She was gone. The house was quiet and lonely, and the children didn’t know what to do. When would Dimmy come back? Where had she gone? Where was George? Perhaps they could find him.

“Well, I vote we have something to eat,” said Jack at last. “There’s some ham in the larder - I’ve just looked - and some tomatoes too and stale bread. We can pick plums from the garden as well. Come on!”

Over the meal the children talked about what they should do. Should they stay at Peep-Hole till Dimmy came back? But suppose she didn’t come back! They didn’t feel very safe at Peep-Hole, so near the Old House, without Dimmy or George, because perhaps somebody might find out they were there and come to catch poor Paul again.

“Well, I don’t think anyone has seen us come.” said Jack. “And we won’t light a fire, so nobody will see smoke from our chimney. We won’t have any lights on to-night, either. We’ll all sleep together in the top room of the tower, and lock the door and pile furniture against it. Then we’ll be safe!”

“Things are getting a bit too exciting again,” said Nora, who was really beginning to long for a little peace. “I wish Mr. Diaz hadn’t discovered our secret island - we should have been so happy and peaceful there. I don’t like Peep-Hole without Dimmy.”

“I’ll slip out down to the beach and see if George is anywhere about,” said Jack, thinking hard. “If he is he’ll come back with me, I’m sure - and he could tell me what’s happened to Dimmy - and I could tell him what has happened to Mr. Diaz and Luiz!”

The others laughed. They liked to think of Mr. Diaz and Luiz, prisoners on the secret island, not knowing when they were to be taken off!

Jack slipped out of the back door and the others bolted it after him. They decided to keep a watch from the windows, to see if anyone came near. So Peggy and Paul kept watch from the front windows, and Mike and Nora from the back. But nobody came near. Not even a dog barked anywhere. It was all very still and peaceful.

The children talked to one another. Peggy found her knitting, and knitted and chatted to Paul. Mike did a jig-saw puzzle with Nora, looking up every other minute to make sure that nobody was coming in through the back garden.

A loud thumping on the back door startled everybody dreadfully. Mike jumped and dropped the jig-saw on the floor. He had seen nobody come into the back garden. Paul and Peggy ran in from the front room, looking quite scared.

“Who do you suppose it is?” whispered Nora.

“Can’t imagine,” whispered back Mike. “Anyway, we’d better all keep as quiet as possible, then maybe they’ll go away.”

So they all kept very quiet. The thumping came again - somebody banging on the back door with his bare fists. “Bang all you like,” said Mike in a low voice. “You won’t get in!”

“Let me in!” cried a voice - and how they all jumped with joy! For it was Jack’s voice! It was he who was thumping on the door!

“What idiots we are!” cried Mike, leaping to his feet. “We might have guessed it was Jack - but I never thought he’d be back so soon!”

They all tore downstairs to open the door to Jack. He came in, quite cross with them:

“Whatever did you keep me waiting all that time for?” he asked indignantly. “I thought you must have gone to sleep!”

“Sorry, Jack,” grinned Mike. “We didn’t see you come, and we didn’t expect you back so soon. We thought you might be the enemy. How did you get through the back garden without being seen?”

“Crawled under the currant bushes,” said Jack, with a grin. “I thought I’d give you a surprise - but I seem to have given you a good fright instead.”