FIVE RUN AWAY TOGETHER - by Enid Blyton

17 A SHOCK FOR EDGAR

THE children slept well that night, and as Timothy did not growl at all, they were sure that nothing important could have happened. They had a fine breakfast of tongue, tinned peaches, bread and butter, golden syrup and ginger-beer.

"That's the end of the ginger-beer, I'm afraid," said Julian, regretfully. "I must say ginger-beer is a gorgeous drink, seems to go with simply everything."

"That was the nicest meal I've ever had," said Anne. "It really was. We do have lovely meals on Kirrin Island. I wonder if the Sticks are having nice meals too."

"You bet they are!" said Dick. "I expect they have ransacked Aunt Fanny's cupboards and taken the best they can find."

"Oh, the beasts!" said George, her eyes flashing. "I never thought of that, they may have robbed the house and taken all kinds of things."

"They probably have," said Julian, and he frowned. "I say, I never thought of that, somehow. How awful, George, if your mother came back, feeling ill and weak, and found half her belongings gone!"

"Oh dear!" said Anne, dismayed. "George, wouldn't that be dreadful?"

"Yes," said George, looking very angry. "I would believe anything of those Sticks! If they have the cheek to come to our island and live here, they've the cheek to steal from my mother's house. I wish we could find out."

They could have brought quite a lot of things away in their boat," said Julian. "They must have come here by boat. If they did bring stolen goods, they must have put them somewhere down in the dungeons, I suppose."

"We might have a look round and see if we can spy anything, without the Sticks seeing us," suggested Dick.

"Let's have a look round now," said George, who always liked doing things at once. "Anne, you do the washing up and tidy our cave-house for us, will you?"

Anne was torn between wanting to go with the others, and longing to play "house" again. She did so love arranging everything and making the beds and tidying up the cave. In the end she said she would stay and the others could go.

So up the rope they went. Timothy stayed with Anne, because they were afraid he might bark. Anne tied him up, and he whined a little, but did not make a terrible noise.

The other three lay flat on the cliff-top, looking down on the ruined castle. There seemed to be no one about, but, even as they watched, the three Sticks appeared, apparently coming up from the dungeons. They seemed glad to be in the sunshine, and the children were not surprised, for the dungeons were so cold and dark.

The Sticks looked all round. Stinker kept close to Mrs. Stick, his tail well down.

"They're looking for the cows and sheep and-horses they heard down in the dungeons last night!" whispered Dick to Julian.

The Sticks spoke together for a minute or two, and then went off in the direction of the shore that faced the wreck. Edgar went to the room in which the children had first planned to sleep, the one whose roof had fallen in.

"I'm going to stalk the two Sticks," whispered Julian to the others. "You two see what Edgar is up to."

Julian disappeared, keeping behind bushes as he watched where the Sticks went, and followed them. George and Dick went cautiously and quietly over the cliff to the castle in the middle of the little island. They could hear Edgar whistling. Stinker was running about the courtyard of the castle.

Edgar appeared out of the ruined room, carrying a pile of cushions, which had evidently been stored there. George went red with rage and clutched Dick's arm fiercely.