6
　　Travelling far
　　Bill had told the children exactly where to wait for him at Euston Station, so, each carrying a bagand a mackintosh, they went to the spot.
　　They stood there waiting. ‘Suppose,’ said Philip, in a mysterious voice, ‘just suppose that one ofthe gang that Bill is after, knew Bill was going to meet us here – and came up and told us he wasBill – and took us all off with him, so that we were never heard of again!’
　　Poor Lucy-Ann stared at him in the greatest alarm. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
　　‘Oh, Philip – do you think that might happen? Gracious, I hope to goodness we recognise Billwhen we see him. I shall be scared stiff of going with him if we don’t.’
　　A very fat man approached them, smiling. He was big all over, big head, big body, big feet –and big teeth that showed when he smiled. Lucy-Ann felt her heart sink. This couldn’t be Bill!
　　Nobody could make himself as big as that, if he wasn’t fat to begin with. She clutched Philip’shand. Was it one of the gang?
　　‘Little girl,’ said the big man to Lucy-Ann, ‘you’ve dropped your mackintosh behind you.
　　You’ll lose it if you don’t pick it up.’
　　Lucy-Ann had gone pale when he first began to speak. Then she looked round and saw her macon the ground. She picked it up. Then, scarlet¹ in the face, she stammered² out a few words ofthanks.
　　The big man smiled again, showing all his fine teeth. ‘Don’t look so scared,’ he said. ‘I shan’teat you!’
　　‘He looks just as if he might,’ thought Lucy-Ann, retreating behind Jack³.
　　‘Pop goes the weasel,’ said Kiki, in a polite conversational⁴ tone. ‘Pop, pop, pop!’
　　‘What a remarkably⁵ clever bird!’ said the big man, and put out his hand to pat Kiki. She gavehim a vicious nip with her beak⁶, and then whistled like an engine.
　　The big man’s smile vanished and he

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