Chapter 12 A SHOCK FOR TINKER
Tinker was horrified¹ when Jenny told him the next morning what had happened. 'Your father's in arare old state,' she said. 'He came down early this morning, because he wanted to finish some work upin the tower - and as soon as he unlocked the top door into the tower room, he saw the whole roomupside down and some of his precious papers gone, and...'
'JENNY! How awful!' said Tinker. 'Dad kept his most precious papers there - with all the figures forthat new electric thing of his. It's a wonderful thing, too marvellous for words, Jenny, it's for...'
'Now don't you give away any of your father's plans, not even to me,' said Jenny. 'You've been toldthat before. Maybe you've been talking too much already, and somebody's ears took it all in!'
Tinker suddenly felt quite sick. Was it because of something he had been silly enough to say inpublic? In the bus, perhaps? Or in the circus-field? What would the others say - especially Julian- when they heard that someone had come in the night and stolen precious papers, containing figuresand diagrams for some of his father's inventions? Julian would be sure to say that it was his fault fornot keeping his mouth shut! Oh dear - would this be in the papers - and would hordes² of people comevisiting the place again, staring and whispering and exclaiming in awe³ at his father's curious tower,with its waving tentacles⁴?
He dressed quickly and ran downstairs. Jenny had told him that she was sure she had heardwhispering down in the courtyard the night before, and had seen someone climbing up the tower.
'Your father says nobody could have brought a long ladder into that courtyard,' she said. 'Not withoutus seeing it, anyway, or hearing some kind of noise when it was dragged in. But it might have been asliding ladder, mightn't it? That would be a smallish thing, with ropes to pull out the sliding part.'
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'Yes. Like the window-cleaner uses,' said Tinker. 'I say - could it have been the window-cleaner, doyou think?'
'No. He's a real decent fellow,' said Jenny. 'I've known him for twenty years. So put that out of yourhead. But the ladder could certainly have been the sort that window-cleaners use. We'll go out intothe courtyard as soon as I've finished washing-up, and see if we can find the marks where the ladderwas dragged over the courtyard. Though I must say I didn't hear any dragging noises. I heardwhispering - and a kind of slithery noise - but that's all.'

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