Chapter 6 A LITTLE EXCITEMENT FOR BREAKFAST!
It was fun to sleep in the barn. Dick tried to keep awake for a while, and enjoy the barn-smell, and thesight of the stars in the sky seen through the open door, where a cool little night- breeze camewandering in.
Julian fell asleep at once, and did not even hear the crashing of the knocker at the front door of thefarmhouse when the Hennings came in, or the loud voices. He awoke with a start at about one o'clockin the morning, and sat straight up in bed, his heart beating fast. What on earth was that noise he hadheard?
He heard it again and laughed. 'What an ass² I am! It's only an owl³. Or maybe more than one. Andgosh, what was that high little scream? A mouse - or a rat? Perhaps the owls⁴ are hunting in here?'
He lay still and listened. He suddenly felt a rush of cool air over his face, and stiffened⁵. That musthave been an owl's soft-feathered wings! Owls' wings made no noise, he knew. The feathers were sosoft that not even a quick-eared mouse could hear an owl swooping⁶ silently down!
There came another little high-pitched squeak⁷. 'The owl's doing his job well,' thought Julian.
'What a fine hunting-place for him - a barn where food-stuffs are stored - over-run with mice and rats,of course. I bet this owl is worth his weight in gold to the farmer. Well, owl, do your job -but for goodness' sake don't mistake my nose for a mouse! Ah - there you go again - just over myhead. I saw you then - a shadow passing by!'
He fell asleep once more and didn't wake until the sun streamed into the barn, lighting⁸ up hundreds oftiny motes⁹ floating in the air. Julian looked at his watch.
'Half past seven! And I meant to be up at seven. Dick! Wake up!'
Dick was so sound asleep that he didn't wake even when Julian shook him. He merely rolled over andsettled down again. Julian glanced across the barn, and saw that the twins' camp-beds were empty.

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