by Enid Blyton
‘Yes, but what reason could Eleanor possibly have for writing a note and putting it on the wall of Jack’s stable?’ said Bonnie, frowning.‘I say, June! You surely don’t think that she could be behind Jack’s disappearance, and all the horrible things that have happened to Bill and Clarissa?’
‘I think that her uncle could,’ answered June, gravely.‘And I think that Eleanor could be helping him. You see, Clarissa told me that Mr Banks would like to buy Five Oaks. So perhaps he is trying to drive the girls out.’
‘I believe that you could be right!’ said Bonnie excitedly.‘But what a pity that we can’t read what was written on that paper.’
‘We can,’ said June, grinning.‘If we make the room dark, and shine a torch on the paper, we should be able to make out the writing. Draw the curtains, Bonnie!’
Swiftly, Bonnie darted to the big windows at the end of the dormitory and pulled the curtains across, while June fetched a torch from her locker. Then the two girls sat side by side on Bonnie’s bed, and June shone the torch on the piece of paper.
The girls could hardly breathe as writing appeared, very faint, but readable.
‘To Bill and Clarissa,’ June read aloud.‘If you want Jack back, follow these instructions exactly. Both of you must come to the clearing in Bluebell Wood at midnight tonight. Don’t tell the police, and don’t inform anyone else of the contents of this note.’
The two girls stared at one another in consternation.
‘Midnight tonight,’ gasped Bonnie.‘June, what are we to do? Should we take the note to Miss Grayling? Someone must tell Bill and Clarissa! And Julie ought to be told, too.’
‘Hush a minute,’ said June, getting to her feet.‘I need to think!’
There was silence for a few moments, then at last June said, ‘We can’t take the note to Miss Grayling, for she is out. She and Miss Potts are going to the theatre tonight. And we can’t tell Julie, in case this turns out to be a hoax, or something goes wrong. She would have her hopes raised, only for them to be dashed again.’
‘Yes, that’s true,’ said Bonnie.‘June, do you think we should telephone the police?’
‘Absolutely not!’ said June, firmly.‘You saw what the note said, Bonnie. I think that we should sneak into the Head’s study, and telephone Bill and Clarissa.’
‘All right,’ said Bonnie, standing up.‘Let’s be quick then. You can telephone, and I’ll keep watch.’
So the two girls sped downstairs and made their way to Miss Grayling’s study. Fortunately they didn’t meet any mistresses on the way, but both of them felt very nervous as they opened the door to the Head’s neat, comfortable study. June walked over to the desk and lifted the telephone receiver, while Bonnie stood at the door, looking up and down the corridor. At last, Bill answered the telephone and June poured out her story. The conversation seemed to take simply ages, for, of course, the astonished Bill had a great many questions to ask. But it was finally over and the two girls left Miss Grayling’s study, shutting the door behind them.
‘What did Bill say?’ asked Bonnie.‘Are she and Clarissa going to the wood?’
‘Yes,’ answered June.‘But Bill’s brothers are going to go there about half an hour before them, and lie in wait. What a jolly good thing that they turned up today!’
‘Where is Bluebell Wood, anyway?’ asked Bonnie.
‘About a mile down the road from Five Oaks,’ said June.‘We sometimes have picnics there. It’s a beautiful spot during the day, but I should imagine that it’s a little creepy at night.’
Bonnie gave a shudder.‘I wonder who will be there to meet Bill and Clarissa?’ she said.‘Eleanor, or her uncle?’
‘I shouldn’t imagine that it will be either of them,’ said June. ‘Neither of them will want to come out into the open and admit that they are involved. It will probably be one of Mr Banks’s grooms, or someone else that he has paid to do his dirty work for him!’
‘Well, whoever he is, he’s in for quite a shock when he runs into Bill’s brothers,’ said Bonnie with grim satisfaction.‘They will make him talk, all right, then the game will be up for Mr Banks!’
‘Yes,’ said June, with a broad grin.‘And I intend to be there to see it!’
‘June!’ gasped Bonnie.‘You can’t sneak out of the school at midnight!’
‘Oh no,’ said June blithely.‘I shall have to leave much earlier than that, if I’m to get a good seat. There’s a nice big apple tree in the wood. I think I shall climb up there to watch. No one will be able to see me, but I shall have a splendid view!’
‘You’ll get into the most frightful row if you’re caught!’ said Bonnie, quite horrified.
‘Well, I shan’t be,’ said June confidently.‘I shall slip out of the side door that leads into the garden, and leave it unlocked so that I can sneak back in again. And I’ll borrow a bicycle from the shed, so that I can get there and back quickly. No one will be any the wiser—except you, of course, and I know that you won’t say anything!’
‘I shan’t, of course, but I do wish that you would change your mind, June,’ said Bonnie, looking rather unhappy. She couldn’t think of anything more frightening than being alone in the wood at midnight, and simply couldn’t understand why June was willing to risk a terrible punishment to be there.
‘I won’t change my mind,’ said June.‘I wouldn’t miss this for the world!’
15
A thrilling night
June didn’t dare let herself fall asleep, in case she didn’t wake up in time to join the fray at Bluebell Wood. She couldn’t set her alarm clock, of course, in case the others heard it. Felicity would have a fit if she knew what June meant to do!
Bonnie was awake, too. Not from choice, but because she felt so uneasy about June’s plan that she simply couldn’t sleep.
The others, however, slept soundly, and when eleven o’clock struck, only Bonnie saw June slip from her bed and quietly get dressed. Then the girl put her bolster and pillow down the middle of the bed, pulling the covers over so that it looked as if someone was asleep there. If Miss Peters should happen to look in, that would fool her nicely!
June almost jumped out of her skin when Bonnie whispered her name as she walked past her bed.
‘What is it?’ June whispered back.
‘Do be careful!’ said Bonnie in a low voice.‘I shan’t be able to sleep until I know that you’re back safely.’
‘Don’t worry about me,’ said June, smiling into the darkness.‘I shall have a fine night’s entertainment and I’ll be back before you know it!’
Miss Peters did look in, about ten minutes after June had left, but she didn’t put the light on and went away again quickly, quite satisfied that nothing was amiss. After she had gone, Bonnie decided that it was pointless even trying to sleep, and sat up in bed, hugging her knees. Perhaps she should borrow June’s torch, then she could read her book under the covers. But June had probably taken it with her. What a shame, for a diversion was just what Bonnie needed, to take her mind off things.
A diversion! The word seemed to trigger something in Bonnie’s head, and suddenly she turned pale, as a thought occurred to her. A shocking, horrible thought! She sprang out of bed and went to Felicity, shaking her.
‘Felicity!’ she hissed in her ear.‘Felicity, do wake up!’
Startled, Felicity opened her eyes and sat up sharply.
‘Bonnie!’ she whispered, none too pleased.‘What on earth do you mean by waking me like this?’
‘I need to talk to you,’ murmured Bonnie urgently.‘Come into the bathroom, so that we don’t wake the others.’
Tired, cross and bewildered, Felicity got out of bed, and reluctantly followed Bonnie into the bathroom at the end of the dormitory.
‘What is it, Bonnie?’ asked Felicity with a yawn, as she shut the bathroom door behind her.
As quickly as she could, Bonnie told Felicity of how she and June had discovered the note to Clarissa and Bill, of how they had alerted the two girls and, finally, of how June had go
ne off alone to Bluebell Wood, to watch the drama unfold. Wide awake now, Felicity listened open-mouthed. ‘You and June have done very well,’ she said at last.‘But what an idiot June is, to sneak off to the woods like that! It’s bad enough being caught out of bed at night, but if she’s caught outside the school she could be expelled! Just wait until I see her!’
‘Yes, but do listen, Felicity!’ said Bonnie, impatiently.‘On the night Jack was stolen, someone started a fire behind the house to create a diversion, remember?’
‘Of course I remember,’ said Felicity.‘But I really don’t—’
‘Don’t you see?’ cried Bonnie.‘Suppose that this note to Bill and Clarissa is a diversion too? To get them away from Five Oaks, so that Mr Banks—if he is the one who is behind all this—can do something else? Why, he might be planning on setting fire to the house, or stealing the rest of the horses, or—or anything!’
‘My goodness!’ gasped Felicity, pressing her hands to her cheeks. ‘You could be right! And, if you are right, we must telephone the police at once. There’s not a moment to lose!’
So, for the second time that evening, Bonnie found herself on the way to Miss Grayling’s study to use the telephone.
She came to a halt outside the door and turned to Felicity, whispering, ‘Suppose that the Head is in there? She must be back from the theatre by now.’
‘Yes, but surely she will have gone to bed,’ said Felicity.‘Besides, the chances are that we will have to wake her and tell her what has happened anyway! I shouldn’t be at all surprised if the police turn up here, once they have finished at Five Oaks.’
So Bonnie tapped timidly at the door, but the Head’s voice did not call out, so she pushed it open and went in. This time Felicity kept a look-out, while Bonnie called the police. Then she telephoned Five Oaks, to see if she could warn Bill and Clarissa of her suspicions, but there was no reply.
‘They must have left for Bluebell Wood already,’ said Bonnie.‘But the policeman that I spoke to said that he is going to send someone over to Five Oaks at once.’
‘It’s ten minutes to midnight,’ said Felicity, coming further into the room and glancing at the clock on the wall.‘If Mr Banks is planning something, he won’t act until midnight, when he knows that Bill and Clarissa will be out of the way.’
‘Do you think that we ought to go and wake Miss Grayling, or Miss Peters?’ asked Bonnie.‘I’d really rather not, but if you think that the police will turn up, perhaps we had better.’
And then the two girls got the shock of their lives, for a familiar voice spoke behind them.
‘There is no need to wake me, girls,’ it said.‘For I am already awake.’
Felicity and Bonnie had been standing with their backs to the door, and they turned sharply to see Miss Grayling standing there, in her dressing-gown.
‘I thought that I heard a noise, and came to investigate,’ she said, looking rather stern.‘I trust that the two of you have a good explanation for being in my study at this hour.’
‘We do, Miss Grayling,’ said Felicity, realising that there was nothing for it but to tell the Head everything now. Though she would try to keep the fact that June had sneaked away from the school out of it, of course!
Miss Grayling went and sat behind her desk, indicating that the two girls should sit opposite her. Bonnie had grown quite tired of recounting the events of the evening, so she let Felicity do the talking, interpolating a word here and there.
The Head was very shocked, of course, particularly when the name of Eleanor Banks was mentioned.
‘If it is proved that Eleanor has been involved in this terrible business, her future at Malory Towers will be in serious doubt,’ said Miss Grayling very gravely.
‘Well, if it hadn’t been for that note, written in invisible ink, we wouldn’t have suspected that she, and her uncle, were involved at all,’ said Bonnie.
Miss Grayling smiled, and said, ‘You and June are to be congratulated, Bonnie. That was a very neat piece of detective work. Where is June, by the way?’
Felicity hesitated for a moment, not quite liking to lie to the Head. Bonnie, however, had no such scruples, and said at once, ‘Why, asleep in bed, of course, Miss Grayling.’
‘It’s not like June to be asleep when there’s excitement afoot,’ said Miss Grayling, raising her eyebrows.‘Didn’t you think to wake her, Bonnie, when you realised that the note might have been a ruse to get Bill and Clarissa out of the way?’
‘No, for she seemed so tired earlier,’ said Bonnie, glibly.‘And I thought that Felicity was the proper person to consult, as she is head of the form.’
‘Well, you both acted very sensibly in calling the police,’ said the Head.‘Of course, you should have come to me first, or to Miss Potts, but I realise that time was of the essence.’
Then she noticed that Felicity was shivering slightly. Both girls had come downstairs without their dressing-gowns on, and although the days were hot, the nights were a little chilly.
‘Let me go and find Matron,’ said Miss Grayling, getting to her feet. ‘I’ll ask her to make us all some nice, hot cocoa.’
‘Phew, that was close!’ said Felicity, as the door closed behind the Head.‘For a moment, I was afraid that Miss Grayling was going to suggest that we wake June.’
‘So was I,’ said Bonnie, with a nervous giggle.‘I do hope that she comes back soon, and manages to get in without being seen!’
Soon Miss Grayling was back, followed by Matron, bearing a tray with three mugs of steaming cocoa on it.
‘Well!’ said Matron, putting the tray on the desk.‘Miss Grayling tells me that you girls have had quite an adventure this evening. Now, you drink this cocoa and it will warm you up. I don’t know what you’re thinking of, wandering around without your dressing-gowns on.’
The two girls hoped fervently that Matron wouldn’t take it into her head to go up to the dormitory and fetch their dressing-gowns herself. Her sharp eyes would soon spot that June’s bed was empty if she did that!
Luckily, though, it seemed that Matron was far too busy, for she said, ‘I must dash, for I have young Jenny from the second form in bed with a stomach upset, and I don’t want to leave her for too long.’
Heaving a sigh of relief, Felicity and Bonnie sipped their cocoa, and hoped that June would not be long. Both girls were beginning to feel most peculiar. They felt very tired, but at the same time very excited. And there was more excitement to come, for as the girls drank the last of their cocoa, they heard the sound of cars outside. Miss Grayling went to the window and pulled aside the curtain.
‘The police are here,’ she said, turning back to the girls.‘Now, perhaps, we shall find out if this mysterious note really was a ruse, after all. And no doubt they will want to interview you, Bonnie, and June.’
Felicity and Bonnie exchanged glances of horror, and the Head said, ‘I hate to disturb June, but I really think that you had better go and fetch her, Bonnie.’
June, meanwhile, was not enjoying herself at all. She had borrowed a bicycle from the shed and ridden to Blueberry Wood, hiding it in a hedge before shinning up the big apple tree. Then she had settled herself as comfortably as possible on a large branch, her back against the trunk, and waited for events to unfold. Bill’s brothers had arrived a few moments later, and June watched as the two of them hid in the bushes, snatches of their conversation floating up to her on the still night air.
‘I hope this fellow isn’t going to keep us waiting for too long,’ said John, in a menacing tone.‘I’ve a thing or two that I want to say to him!’
‘Yes, he might be a little more careful about who he picks on next, when we’ve finished with him,’ growled Harry.
‘We’d better keep quiet now,’ said John.‘If we frighten him off before the girls turn up, the whole thing will have been a waste of time.’
Then, a little later, Bill and Clarissa themselves turned up on horseback, both of them looking pale and nervous.
The two girls
caught a glimpse of John and Harry in their hiding place, but ignored them, in case anyone else was watching.
However, the only person watching was June, and she soon grew heartily bored. There was no sign of anyone else, no sound of footsteps, no snapping of twigs. She was also becoming very uncomfortable, perched on her branch, with the trunk of the tree digging into her back. The minutes ticked by, and the people in the wood heard the sound of a car in the distance. Everyone waited with bated breath, but the sound died away, and all was silent again.
‘Well!’ said Bill, at last.‘It doesn’t look as if anyone is coming, does it?’
‘No,’ agreed Clarissa, sounding rather crestfallen.‘Blow! I really did hope that we would have some good news for Julie tomorrow.’
The two boys came out from the bushes and dusted themselves down.
‘Might as well go home,’ June heard Harry saying.‘Either that note that the girls found was a hoax, or the writer has got cold feet.’
And with that, the four of them departed, and a very disgruntled June climbed down from the tree. What a waste of a perfectly good night! To think that she could have been tucked up in her cosy bed, instead of sitting up a tree! And, worst of all, Jack was still missing. Thank goodness that they hadn’t let Julie in on the secret, and built her hopes up, for her disappointment would have been hard to bear.
The thought of her bed was a very welcome one indeed, and June yawned as she mounted her bicycle. Soon she was cycling along the lane towards Malory Towers, but, alas, with the school in sight, she came to grief. A rabbit darted across the lane in front of her, and June swerved to avoid it, falling off the bicycle and landing in an undignified heap. June was more shocked than hurt—or so she thought, until she tried to stand up and discovered that she had painfully twisted her ankle. With a little groan of pain, she righted the bicycle and gingerly climbed back on. But it was far more painful to pedal than to walk, so, clinging to the handlebars for support, the girl hobbled the last few yards to the school, and through the gates. And then what a shock she got! Two police cars were parked on the drive, and lights were blazing all over the school. What was going on?