Chapter 19 BACK TO KIRRIN COTTAGE
Julian ran after the others. 'What were you doing?' said George. 'Calling rude names down to themen?'
'No. I hope they'll go and dig for hours if they want to!' said Julian. 'They'll soon find that whenthey've got through it, that roof-fall is nothing much, and they'll go on till they come to the little room- and what they'll say when they find that the bag is gone, I really don't know!'
'I wish I could be there!' said Dick.
'What are we going to do about Guy?' asked Harry¹. 'He really can't walk very far on that bad foot.'
'If he can walk as far as the gorse-bush where we've left our things, I've got a bike there,' said George.
'He could pedal with one foot, I should think.'
'Oh yes - I could easily do that,' said Guy, pleased. He had dreaded² the thought of having to walk allthe way to Kirrin - but neither did he want to be left behind!
He limped along, helped by Harry, who couldn't do enough for him. Jet ran along beside them,excited and happy at being with so many people. Timmy sometimes wuffed a little bark to him,which made Jet as proud as punch. He thought the big Timmy was wonderful!
They came to the gorse-bush, and found their things all safe. The bicycle was there, with its packagesstrapped to it. George unstrapped them, meaning to carry them herself, so that Guy would not havetoo heavy a weight to pedal with his one foot. They all started off together, Guy riding ahead on thebicycle.
'We will go to Kirrin, dump our things at the cottage, and get Aunt Fanny to ring the police and askthem if they'll come along and collect this bag from us,' said Julian. 'I don't want to leave it at thepolice station - I want to see it opened in front of us!'
'I do hope it won't be empty,' said Anne. 'It does feel terribly light!'
'Yes. It does,' said Julian, swinging it to and fro. 'I can't help fearing that Paul, who drew the plan thatthe men found so difficult to understand, may have double-crossed his friends - drawn³ a deliberatelydifficult plan - and then left the bag quite empty in the place he marked on the plan!
It would be the kind of hoax⁴ that a trickster loves to play - and would give him time to get away insafety.'
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'But they said he was ill,' said Dick. 'Still - perhaps he might have been pretending that too! It's amystery!'
'How are you getting on, Guy?' called Anne, as they overtook the boy. He kept riding on by himselffor a little way, and then resting, waiting for them to catch up with him before he pedalled on againwith his one good foot.

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