Five Go Off In A Caravan Chapter Twenty-Two THE END OF THE ADVENTURE（在线收听）

Chapter Twenty-Two THE END OF THE ADVENTURE

No, Timmy wasn't hurt. The bullet zipped past his head and struck the wall of the cave. Timmy went for Lou's legs. Down went the man with a crash and a yell, and the revolver flew out of his hand. Julian heard it slithering across the floor of the cave, and he was very thankful.

'Put on your torch, George, quickly!' he yelled. 'We must see what we're doing. Goodness, here's Pongo now!'

Tiger  Dan  gave  a  yell  of  fright  when  the  torch  flashed  on  and  he  saw  the  chimpanzee  making straight for him. He dealt the ape a smashing blow on the face that knocked him down, and then turned to run. Lou was trying to keep Timmy off his throat, kicking frantically at the excited dog.

Dan  ran  to  the  tunnel  -  and  then  stopped  in  astonishment.  Four  burly  policemen  were  pushing their way out of the tunnel, led by Dick! One of them carried a revolver in his hand. Dan put his hands up at once.

'Timmy!  Come  off!'  commanded  George,  seeing  that  there  was  now  no  need  for  the  dog's delighted  help.  Timmy  gave  her  a  reproachful  glance  that  said:  'Mistress!  I'm  really  enjoying myself! Let me eat him all up!'

Then the dog caught sight of the four policemen and yelped furiously. More enemies! He would eat the lot.

'What's all this going on?' said the first man, who was an Inspector. 'Get up, you on the floor. Go on, get up!'

Lou got up with great difficulty. Timmy had nipped him in various places. His hair was over his eyes, his  clothes  were torn. He stared at  the policemen, his  mouth open in the utmost  surprise.

How had they come here? Then he saw Dick.

'So  one  of  you  kids  slipped  out  -  and  shut  the  boards  on  us!'  he  said,  savagely.  'I  might  have guessed. You . . .'

'Hold  your  tongue,  Lewis  Allburg,'  rapped  out  the  Inspector.  'You  can  talk  when  we  tell  you.

You'll have quite a lot of talking to do, to explain some of the things we've heard about you.'

'Dick! How did you get here so soon?' cried Julian, going over to his brother. 'I didn't expect you for hours! Surely you didn't go all the way to the town and back?'

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'No. I shot off to the farm, woke up the Mackies, used their telephone and got the police up here double-quick in their car,' said Dick, grinning. 'Everyone all right? Where's Anne? And Nobby?'

'There they are - just coming out of the tunnel, upstream,' said Julian, and swung his torch round.

Dick saw Anne's white, scared face, and went over to her.

'It's all right,' he said. 'The adventure is over, Anne! You can smile again!'

Anne gave a watery sort of smile. Pongo took her hand and made little affectionate noises, and that made her smile a little more. George called Timmy to her, afraid that he might take a last nip at Lou.

Lou swung round and stared at her. Then he looked at Dick and Julian. Then at Anne.

'So there was only one girl!' he said. 'What did you want to tell me there were two boys and two girls for?' he said to Nobby

'Because there were,' answered Nobby. He pointed to George. 'She's a girl, though she looks like a boy. And she's as good as a boy any day.'

George felt proud. She stared defiantly at Lou. He was now in the grip of a stout policeman, and Tiger Dan was being hustled off by two more.

'I  think  we'll  leave  this  rather  gloomy  place,'  said  the  Inspector,  putting  away  the  notebook  he had been hastily scribbling in. 'Quick march!'

Julian  led  the  way  down  the  tunnel.  He  pointed  out  the  shelf  where  the  men  had  stored  their things, and the  Inspector collected the few things that were still left.  Then  on they went,  Tiger Dan muttering and growling to himself.

'Will they go to prison?' whispered Anne to Dick.

'You bet,' said Dick. That's where they ought to have gone long ago. Their burglaries have been worrying the police for four years!'

Out of the tunnel and into the cave with gleaming walls. Then down the hole and into the small cave and along the narrow passage to the entrance-hole. Stars glittered over the black hole, and the children were very thankful to see them. They were tired of being underground!

Lou and Dan did not have a very comfortable journey along the tunnels and passages, for their guards had a very firm hold of them indeed. Once out in the open they were handcuffed and put into the large police car that stood a little way down the track.

'What are you children going to do?' asked the big Inspector, who was now at the wheel of the car. 'Hadn't you better come down into the town with us after this disturbing adventure?'

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'Oh,  no,  thanks,'  said  Julian  politely.  'We're  quite  used  to  adventures.  We've  had  plenty,  you know. We shall be all right here with Timmy and Pongo.'

'Well, I can't say I'd like a chimpanzee for company myself,' said the Inspector. 'We'll be up here in  the  morning,  looking  round  and  asking  a  few  questions,  which  I'm  sure  you'll  be  pleased  to answer. And many thanks for your help in capturing two dangerous thieves!'

'What about the wagon of goods?' asked Dick. 'Are you going to leave it up here? It's got lots of valuables in it.'

'Oh,  one  of  the  men  is  driving  it  down,'  said  the  Inspector,  nodding  towards  a  policeman,  who stood  near  by.  'He'll  follow  us.  He  can  drive  a  horse  all  right.  Well,  look  after  yourselves.  See you tomorrow!'

The car started up suddenly. The Inspector put her into gear, took off the brake and the car  slid quietly  down  the  hill,  following  the  winding  track.  The  policeman  with  the  wagon  followed slowly, clicking to the horse, which didn't seem at all surprised to have a new driver.

'Well, that's that!' said Julian thankfully. 'I must say we were well out of that. Gosh, Dick, I was glad to see you back with those bobbies so quickly. That was a brain wave of yours to telephone from the farm.'

Dick suddenly  yawned. 'It must be frightfully late!' he said.  'Long past the middle of the night.

But I'm so fearfully hungry that I simply must have something to eat before I fall into my bunk!'

'Got anything, Anne?' asked Julian.

Anne brightened up at once. 'I'll see,' she said. 'I can find something, I'm sure!'

And she did, of course. She opened two tins of sardines and made sandwiches, and she opened two tins of peaches, so they had a very nice meal in the middle of the night! They ate it sitting on the floor of George's caravan. Pongo had as good a meal as anyone, and Timmy crunched at one of his bones.

It didn't take them long to go to sleep that night. In fact they were all so sleepy when they had finished their meal that nobody undressed! They clambered into the bunks just as they were and fell  asleep  at  once.  Nobby  curled  up  with  Pongo,  and  Timmy,  as  usual,  was  on  George's  feet.

Peace reigned in the caravans - and tonight no one came to disturb them!

All  the  children  slept  very  late  the  next  morning.  They  were  awakened  by  a  loud  knocking  on Julian's caravan. He woke up with a jump and yelled out:

'Yes! Who is it?'

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'It's  us,'  said  a  familiar  voice,  and  the  door  opened.  Farmer  Mackie  and  his  wife  peeped  in, looking rather anxious.

'We wondered what had happened,' said the farmer. 'You rushed out of the farmhouse when you had used the phone last night and didn't come back.'

'I ought to have slipped back and told you,' said Dick, sitting up with his hair over his eyes. He pushed it back. 'But I forgot. The police went down into the hills with us and got the two men.

They're  well-known  burglars.  The  police  got  all  the  goods,  too.  It  was  a  very  thrilling  night.

Thanks most awfully for letting me use the 'phone.'

'You're very welcome,' said Mrs Mackie. 'And look - I've brought you some food.'

She had two baskets stacked with good things. Dick felt wide awake and very  hungry when he saw them. 'Oh, thanks,' he said gratefully. 'You are a good sort!'

Nobby and Pongo suddenly uncurled themselves from their pile of rugs, and Mrs Mackie gave a squeal.

'Land-snakes, what's that? A monkey?'

'No,  an  ape,  Mam,'  said  Nobby  politely.  'He  won't  hurt  you.  Hi,  take  your  hand  out  of  that basket!'

Pongo, who had been hoping to find a little titbit unnoticed, covered his face with his hairy paw and looked through his fingers at Mrs Mackie.

'Look at that now - he's like a naughty child!' said Mrs Mackie. 'Isn't he, Ted?'

'He is that,' said the farmer. 'Queer sort of bedfellow, I must say!'

'Well, I must be getting along,' said Mrs Mackie, nodding and smiling at George and Anne, who had now come out of their caravan with Timmy to see who the visitors were. 'You come along to the farm if you want anything. We'll be right pleased to see you.'

'Aren't  they  nice?'  said  Anne  as  the  two  farm-folk  went  down  the  cart-track.  'And  oh,  my goodness - what a breakfast we're going to have! Cold bacon - tomatoes - fresh radishes - curly lettuces - and who wants new honey?'

'Marvellous!' said Julian. 'Come on - let us have it now, before we clean up.'

But Anne made them wash and tidy themselves first! 'You'll enjoy it much more if you're clean,'

she  said.  'We  all  look  as  black  as  sweeps!  I'll  give  you  five  minutes  -  then  you  can  come  to  a perfectly wonderful breakfast!'

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'All right, Ma!' grinned Nobby, and he went off with the others to wash at the spring. Then back they all went to the sunny ledge to feast on the good things kind Mrs Mackie had provided.