12
　　Bill goes off on his own
　　Bill went off down the valley to the cove¹ where the motor-boat was moored². His feet sank deeplyinto the soft earth. The children stared after him.
　　Lucy looked solemn – as solemn as Huffin and Puffin, who were leaning against Philip, standingupright, their big beaks⁴ looking heavy and clumsy.
　　‘Oh dear – what does Bill mean? Surely we’re not going to tumble into an adventure again! Uphere, where there’s nothing but the sea, the wind and the birds! What could happen, I wonder?’
　　‘Well, Bill isn’t likely to tell us much,’ said Philip. ‘So don’t bother him with questions. I’mgoing to turn in. Brrrrr! It’s getting a bit cold now. Me for that big pile of rugs! Huffin and Puffin,you’d better keep outside for the night. There’ll be little enough room in this tent for you, as wellas us three, Kiki and the rats.’
　　Huffin and Puffin looked at one another. Then, with one accord, they began to scrape the earthjust outside the tent, sending the soil up behind them. Lucy-Ann giggled⁵.
　　‘They’re going to make a burrow⁶ as near you as possible, Philip. Oh, aren’t they funny?’
　　Kiki walked round to examine what the two puffins were doing. She got a shower of earth allover her and was very indignant.
　　‘Arrrrrrr!’ she growled⁷, and the two puffins agreed politely. ‘Arrrrrrrr!’
　　Bill came back in about half an hour. All the children were cuddled up in their rugs, and Lucy-Ann was asleep. Dinah called out to him.
　　‘Everything all right, Bill?’
　　‘Yes. I got a message from London, to tell me that your mother is getting on as well as can beexpected,’ said Bill. ‘But she’s got measles⁸ pretty badly,

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