Chapter Five IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
　　MRS. STICK was in such a bad temper that evening that there was no supper at all. Julian went toask about some, but he found the kitchen door locked.
　　He went back to the others with a gloomy face, for they were all hungry. "She's locked the door,"he said. "She really is a dreadful creature. I don't believe we'll get any supper tonight.""We'll have to wait till she goes to bed," said George. "We'll go down and hunt in the larder¹ then, andsee what we can find."
　　They went to bed hungry. Julian listened for Mrs. Stick and Edgar to go to bed, too. When he heardthem going upstairs, and was sure their doors had shut, he slipped down into the kitchen. It was darkthere, and Julian was just about to put on the light when he heard the sound of someone breathingheavily. He wondered who it could be. Was it Stinker? No - it couldn't be the dog. It sounded like ahuman being.
　　Julian stood there, his hand over the light switch, puzzled and a little scared. It couldn't be a burglar,because burglars don't go to sleep in the house they have come to rob. It couldn't be Mrs.
　　Stick or Edgar. Then who was it?
　　He snapped on the light. The kitchen was flooded with radiance, and Julian's eyes fastened on thefigure of a small man lying on the sofa. He was fast asleep, his mouth wide open.
　　He was not a very pleasant sight. He had not shaved for some days, and his cheeks and chin werebluish-black. He didn't seem to have washed for even longer than that, for his hands were black, andso were his finger-nails. He had untidy hair and a nose exactly like Edgar's.
　　"Must be dear Edgar's father," thought Julian to himself. "What a sight! Well, poor Edgar hadn'tmuch chance to be decent with a father and mother like his."The man snored. Julian wondered what to do. He badly wanted to go to the larder, but on the otherhand he didn't particularly want to wake up the man and have a row. He didn't see how he could turnhim out - for all he knew his aunt and uncle might have agreed to Mrs. Stick's husband coming therenow and again, though he hardly thought so.
　　Julian was very hungry. The thought of the good things in the larder made him snap off the lightagain and creep towards the larder door in the dark. He opened the door. He felt along the 21shelves. Good! - that felt like a pie of some sort. He lifted it up and sniffed². It smelt³ of meat. A meat-pie - good!
　　He felt along the shelf again and came to a plate on which were what he thought must be jam-

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