Chapter 9 THE LIGHT IN THE TOWER
　　By the end of the day the big barn was quite transformed! It had been cleared of all straw, sacks ofcorn, bags of fertilizer and odd machines that had been stored in it. It looked enormous now, and theBarnies were very pleased with it.
　　'We've been here plenty of times,' they told the children. 'It's the best barn in the district. We don't getthe best audience, though, because it's rather a lonely spot here, and there are only two villages nearenough to send people to see us. Still, we have a good time, and Mrs. Penruthlan gives us amarvellous supper afterwards!'
　　'I bet she does!' said Dick, grinning. 'I bet that's why you come to this lonely spot, too, to taste Mrs.
　　Penruthlan's cooking. I don't blame you. I'd come a good few miles myself!'
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　　A stage had been set up, made of long boards, supported on barrels. A back-cloth had been unrolledand hung over the wooden wall of the barn at the back of the stage. It showed a country scene, andhad been painted by the company themselves, bit by bit.
　　'That's my bit,' said Sid, showing Dick a horse standing¹ in one of the fields painted on the back-cloth.
　　'I had to put old Clopper in! See him?'
　　The Barnies had plenty of home-made scenery, which they were used to changing several timesduring their performance. This was all home-made too, and they were very proud of it, especiallysome that represented a castle with a tower.
　　The tower reminded the boys of the one Yan had said he had seen flashing a light the night before.
　　They looked at one another secretly, and Julian nodded slightly. They would certainly watch to seethat light themselves. Then they would know for certain whether Grandad and Yan were telling thetruth.
　　Julian wondered if they would have to look out for Mr. Penruthlan again that night. Jenny the horsewas quite better now, if she had ever been ill, and was out in the fields again. So Mr.
　　Penruthlan had no excuse for creeping about the countryside at night again!
　　Neither of the boys could imagine what had taken him out the night before, on such a wild night too!
　　Was he meeting somebody? He hadn't had time to go up to see the shepherd about anything, andthere wouldn't have been much point in that anyway. He had seen Grandad in the morning already.
　　Mrs. Penruthlan came to see the barn now that it was almost ready for the show the next night.
　　She looked red and excited. This was a grand time for her, the Barnies in her barn, the villagers allcoming up the next night, a grand supper to be held afterwards. What an excitement!
　　She was very busy in her kitchen, cooking, cooking, cooking! Her enormous

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