Chapter 15 A HAPPY DAY - AND A SHOCK FOR JULIAN
Tinker and the Five were two minutes late for their dinner. Jenny was just taking it in, looking a littlegrim, as she had not been able to find the children anywhere. 'Ah - here you are at last!' she said. 'Ilooked down the garden but you were nowhere to be seen. It's a good thing you came in when youdid - five minutes more, and I'd have taken the dinner back again.'
'Dear Jenny, you know you wouldn't,' said Tinker, giving her a sudden squeeze that made her squeal¹.
'Oh, how good it smells! Mmmmm-Mmmmm!'
'You and your Mmmmms!' said Jenny, pushing Tinker away. 'And I've told you before, that I don'tmind a gentle hug, but those squeezes of yours take all my breath away. No, Tinker, keep away fromme - another squeeze like that and I'll feel like a lemon!'
Everyone laughed at that. Jenny did say the most amusing things. Anne felt sorry that she hadn'toffered to stay and help her with the dinner. Oh dear - the time went so tremendously quickly, oncethey were all out together.
The talk at dinner-time was very lively. So was Mischief² the monkey! He took bits from everyone'splate and handed some of them down to Timmy, who was lying under the table as usual. Timmyappreciated these titbits very much!
'Well! I didn't see a single ladder in the circus camp that was tall enough to reach up to the towerroom,' said George.
'No. If there was one, it was jolly well hidden,' said Dick. 'Pass the mustard, someone!'
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'In front of you, ass,' said Julian. 'I must say I'm beginning to wonder if Mr. Wooh had anything to dowith the stealing of your father's papers, Tinker. I can't somehow see him climbing high ladders - he'sso - so...'
'Polite and proper,' said Anne. 'Actually, I can't think of anyone in the circus who would either wantthe papers, or is nasty enough to steal them. They're all so nice.'
'I still think Mr. Wooh is the most likely one,' said Julian. 'He's interested in complicated figures andclever inventions. But all the same, I'm beginning to think I'm wrong. He could NOT have got up tothe tower room, as there is no ladder long enough - and I really doubt if he'd dare to take a ladder intothe courtyard, and risk putting it up to the tower. He might so easily be caught.'
'Right. We'll rule him out,' said Tinker. 'But if nobody went up the spiral stairway, because all thedoors were locked, and nobody used a ladder, I don't see how those papers disappeared.'
'Wind took them out of the window, perhaps?' suggested Anne. 'Would that be possible?'
'No. For two reasons,' said Julian. 'One is that the window wasn't wide enough open for the wind toblow in with enough strength to blow papers out. And

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