The Secret Seven have a fantastic new hiding place but someone else is using it at night and it's Jack's little sister Susie who helps them catch the intruder.
Nobody said any more about Jack's idea that someone had slipped into the cave. Jack began to think he really must have imagined it. Perhaps it was a shadow from a cloud or something? They all played the game of hide-and-seek again and again, and nobody saw mysterious people slipping into the cave any more!
'It's time to tidy up and go home,' said Peter, at last. 'What a mess we seem to make when we've been in the cave for even a short time!'
The girls shook up the cushions, and the boys gathered up the rubbish and put it into a bag to take home. Then Janet put the rest of the food back on the shelves, and tidied up Colin's set of 'Five' books.
'There!' she said. 'Everything tidy! If our mothers came and looked in they would be most astonished.'
They all laughed. They went out of the cave, and Peter pulled the green curtain carefully across. Then off they went home.
'Same time to-morrow!' called Peter, when they all said good-bye to him and Janet and Scamper at his front gate.
'No! You've forgotten, we're all going to bike over to Penton and see the circus come through,' said Colin. 'We're meeting at eleven at my house.'
'Oh, yes, how could I forget!' said Peter. 'We'll go to the cave after dinner to-morrow afternoon.'
Next day they had a good morning, watching the long circus procession passing through the little town of Penton. Then they biked back for their dinners, and, at various times, set off to the cave.
Pam and Barbara arrived first, Pam very pleased because her granny had given her a tin of peppermints for the Secret Seven to enjoy.
Til put them beside the other tins,' she said. 'Hallo... look, Barbara, there's a tin on the floor of the cave. Who do you suppose knocked that down? We're the first here to-day!'
'Perhaps it overbalanced,' said Barbara.
'And I say, look, we left a whole bar of chocolate, a very big one, just here," said Pam. 'I put it there myself. That's gone!'
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'It's probably somewhere else,' said Barbara. Then she herself noticed something. 'Goodness, look, three of our cushions are missing! Has somebody been here?'
'It's Susie,' said Pam frowning. 'That's who it is. She didn't come with us to Penton today, so she must have come here instead! She has followed Jack sometime or other, and found out our meeting-place. Blow Susie!'
'Here are the others,' said Barbara. 'Let's tell them.'
They heard the password murmured outside the cave. 'Easter-egg' then the curtain was pushed aside and in came Colin and George.
'Susie's been here!' said Pam angrily. 'Look, there are cushions missing, and our big bar of chocolate is gone, and a tin was on the ground.'
'And look, those currant buns we were saving for to-day are nearly all gone!' said Barbara, opening a tin. 'Would you believe it!'
