Timmy barked again very joyfully. Mr Lenoir faced the children, in a very bad temper indeed now.
'Can't you hear that? Tell me what that noise is!'
The children all put their heads on one side, and pretended to listen very carefully. 'I can't hear anything,' said Dick. 'Not a thing.'
'I can hear the wind,' said Anne.
'I can hear the gulls again,' said Julian, putting his hand behind one ear.
'I can hear a door banging. Perhaps that's the noise you mean, sir!' said Sooty, with a most innocent expression. His stepfather gave him a poisonous look. He could really be very unpleasant.
'And there's a window rattling,' said Marybelle, eager to do her bit too, though she felt very frightened of her father, for she knew his sudden rages very well.
'I tell you, it's a dog, and you know it!' snapped Mr Lenoir, the tip of his nose so white now that it looked very queer indeed. 'Where's the dog? Whose is he?'
'What dog, sir?' began Julian, frowning as if he were very puzzled indeed. 'There's no dog here that I can see.'
Mr Lenoir glared at him, and clenched his fingers. It was quite clear that he would have liked to box Julian's ears. 'Then listen!' he hissed. 'Listen and say what you think could make that barking, if not a dog?'
They were all forced to listen, for by now they felt scared of the angry man. But fortunately Timmy made no sound at all. Either he had let the rat escape, or was now gobbling it up. Anyway, there was not a single sound from him!
'Sorry, sir but really I can't hear a dog barking,' said Julian, in rather an injured tone.
'Nor can I!' said Dick, and the others joined in, saying the same. Mr Lenoir knew that this time they were speaking the truth, for he too could not hear anything.
'When I catch that dog I will have him poisoned,' he said, very slowly and clearly. 'I will not have dogs in my house.'
He turned on his heel and went out quickly, which was a very good thing, for George was quite ready to fly into one of her rages, and then there would have been a real battle! Anne put her hand on George's arm to stop her shouting after Mr Lenoir.
'Don't give the game away!' she whispered. 'Don't say anything, George!'
George bit her lip. She had gone first red with rage and then white. She stamped her foot.
'How dare he, how dare he?' she burst out.
'Shut up, silly,' said Julian. 'Block will be back in a minute. We must all pretend to be awfully surprised that Mr Lenoir thought there was a dog, because, if Block can read our lips, he mustn't know the truth.'
Block came in with the pudding at that moment, his face as blank as ever. It was the most curious face the children had ever seen, for there was never any change of expression on it at all. As Anne said, it might have been a wax mask!
'Funny how Mr Lenoir thought there was a dog barking!' began Julian, and the others backed him up valiantly. If Block could indeed read their lips he would be puzzled to know whether there had been a dog barking or not!
The children escaped to Sooty's room afterwards, and held a council of war. 'What are we to do about Timmy?' said George. 'Does your stepfather know the secret way behind the walls of Smuggler's Top, Sooty? Could he possibly get in and find Timmy? Timmy might fly at him, you know.'
'Yes, he might,' said Sooty, thoughtfully. I don't know if Father does know about the secret passages. I mean, I expect he knows, but I don't know if he guessed where the entrances are. I found them out quite by accident.'
'I'm going home,' said George, suddenly. 'I'm not going to risk Timmy being poisoned.'
'You can't go home alone,' said Julian. 'It would look funny. If you do, we'd all have to, and then we won't have a chance to solve this mystery with Sooty.'
'No, for goodness sake don't go and leave me just now,' said Sooty, looking quite alarmed. 'It would make my father furious, simply furious.'
George hesitated. She didn't want to make trouble for Sooty, whom she liked very much. But, on the other hand, she certainly was not going to risk danger to Timmy.
'Well — I'll telephone my father and say I'm homesick and want to go back,' said George. 'I'll say I miss Mother. It's quite true, I do miss her. You others can stay on here and solve the mystery. It wouldn't be fair of you to try and keep me and Timmy here when you know I'd worry every moment in case someone got into the secret passage and put down poisoned meat for him to eat.'
The others hadn't thought of this. That would be terrible. Julian sighed. He would have to let George have her own way after all.
'All right. You telephone to your father,' he said. 'There's a phone downstairs. Do it now if you like. There won't be anyone about now, I don't suppose.'
George slipped down the passage, out of the door there, and down the stairs to where the telephone was enclosed in a dark little cupboard. She asked for the number she wanted.
There was a long wait. Then she heard the buzzing noise — brr — brr — brr — brr — that told her that the telephone bell at Kirrin Cottage was ringing. She began to plan what she should say to her father. She must, she really must go home with Timmy. She didn't know how she was going to explain about Timmy — perhaps she needn't explain at all. But she meant to go home that day or the next!
'Brr — brr — brr — brr' said the bell at the other end. It went on and on, and nobody answered it. She did not hear her father's familiar voice — only the bell that went on ringing. Why did nobody answer?
The operator at the exchange spoke to her. 'I'm sorry. There's no reply.'
George put down the receiver miserably. Perhaps her parents were out? She would have to try again later on.
Poor George tried three times, but each time there was the same result. No reply. As she was coming out of the telephone cupboard for the third time, Mrs Lenoir saw her.
'Have you been trying to telephone to your home?' she said. 'Haven't you heard any news?'
'I haven't had a letter yet,' said George. 'I've tried three times to telephone Kirrin Cottage but each time there is no reply.'
'Well, we heard this morning that it is impossible to live in Kirrin Cottage while the men are hammering and knocking everywhere,' said Mrs Lenoir, in her gentle voice. 'We heard from your mother. She said that the noise was driving your father mad, and they were going away for a week or so, till things were better. But Mr Lenoir at once wrote and asked them here. We shall know tomorrow, because we have asked them to telephone a reply. We could not get them on the telephone today, of course, any more than you could, because they have gone away already.'
'Oh,' said George, surprised at all this news and wondering why her mother had not written to tell her too.
'Your mother said she had written to you,' said Mrs Lenoir. 'Maybe the letter will come by the next post. The posts are often most peculiar here. It will be a pleasure to have your parents if they can come. Mr Lenoir particularly wants to meet your clever father. He thinks he is quite a genius.'
George said no more but went back to the others, her face serious. She opened Sooty's door, and the others saw at once that she had had news of some sort.
'I can't go home with Timothy,' said George. 'Mother and Father can't stand the noise the workmen make, and they have both gone away!'
'Bad luck!' said Sooty. 'All the same, I'm glad you'll have to stay here, George. I should hate to lose you or Timmy.'
'Your mother has written to ask my mother and father to come and stay here too,' said George. 'What I shall do about Timmy I don't know! And they are sure to ask questions about him too. I can't tell a downright lie and say I left him with Alf the fisher-boy, or anything like that. I can't think what to do!'
'We'll think of something,' promised Sooty. 'Perhaps I can get one of the villagers to look after him for us. That would be a very good idea.'