Chapter 2 SETTING OFF
　　Julian and Dick were also on their way, very pleased to have such an unexpectedly long weekend.
　　'I never liked Willis or Johnson much,' said Dick, as they walked out of the school grounds.
　　'Awful swotters they were - never had any time for games or fun. But I take my hat off to them today!
　　Because of their swotting they've won medals and scholarships and goodness knows what- and we've got a week-end off in celebration! Good old Willis and Johnson!'
　　'Hear hear,' said Dick. 'But I bet they'll sit in a corner with their books all the week-end - they won'tknow if it's a brilliant day like this, or pouring with rain like yesterday! Poor mutts!'
　　'They'd hate to go off on a hike,' said Julian. 'It would be utter misery¹ to them. Do you remember howawful Johnson was at rugger? He never knew which goal he was playing against - always ran thewrong way!'
　　'Yes. But he must have got terrific brains,' said Dick. 'Why are we talking about Willis and Johnson?
　　I can think of plenty of more interesting things. Anne and George, for instance - and old Tim. I hopethey'll manage to get off in time all right.'
　　Julian had carefully looked up a large-scale map of the moors³ that lay between the two schools thathe and the girls went to. They were vast stretches of lonely heathery land, dotted with farms here andthere, with a few small cottages, and some inns.
　　'We'll keep right off the main roads, and the second-and third-grades,' he said. 'We'll take the littlelanes and paths. I wonder what Timmy will say if we see deer. He'll wonder what in the world theyare!'
　　'He'll only be interested in rabbits,' said Dick. 'I hope he's not as fat as he was last hols. I think wemust have given him too many ice-creams and too much chocolate!'
　　'Well, he won't get that in term-time!' said Julian. 'The girls don't get as much pocket money as wedo. Buck⁴ up - there's the bus!'
　　They ran for the little country bus that rumbled⁵ along the country lanes, taking people to market, or tothe tiny villages that lay here and there tucked away in the moor². It stopped most obligingly for them,and they leapt in.
　　'Ha! Running away from school?' said the conductor. 'Have to report you, you know!'

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