Free Mystery Of The Burnt Cottage by Enid Blyton

are saying he started the fire. But he didn’t, he didn’t. I know he didn’t! You post the letter, will you?”
    There was a shout from the kitchen. “Lily! Where are you?”
    Lily disappeared at once. The children ran out of the gate, excited and surprised. They stopped behind a hedge when they had gone a little way, and examined Lily’s envelope. It had no stamp on. The girl had forgotten it in her hurry.
    “Golly!” said Larry, “here we’ve been all the afternoon trying to get Horace Peek’s address and couldn’t - and now, suddenly, it’s just been presented to us, given into our hands!”
    “What a bit of luck!” said Daisy, thrilled. “I am pleased.”
    “The thing is - do we want Peeks to be warned?” said Larry. “You see - if he is warned beforehand that people are suspecting him., he might run away. Then we shouldn’t solve the mystery.”
    They all stared at one another. Then Pip had an idea, “I know! We’ll go and find Peeks after tea today3 instead of wailing for tomorrow. We’ll see him and try to make up our minds if he did it or not If we think he didn’t do it, we’ll give him Lily’s letter!”
    “Good idea!” said the others, pleased. “After all, we can’t post a letter without a stamp - but we can deliver it by hand.” They looked at the address.
    Mr. H. Peeks. Ivy Cottage.
    Wilmer Green.
    “We’ll go on our bikes,” said Larry. “Come on - we must tell the others!”
    Interviewing Mr. Horace Peeks.
    The three of them went back to Fatty and Bets. Buster greeted them uproariously.
    “Hallo,” said Fatty, “how did you get on?”
    “Awfully badly at first,” said Larry, “and then, right at the end, we had a slice of good luck.”
    He told Bets and Fatty about the afternoon and they listened with the greatest interest. They all examined Peek’s address, and were thrilled.
    “So now Pip and Daisy and I are going on our bikes to Wilmer Green,” said Larry. “It’s only about five miles. At least, we’ll have tea first and then go.”
    “I want to go too,” said Bets at once.
    “I’d like to go, but I believe I’m too stiff,” said Fatty.
    “You stay with Bets,” said Pip. “We don’t want to appear in a crowd. It might put Peeks on His guard.”
    “You keep leaving me out,” said Bets sadly.
    “No, we don’t,” said Larry. “Do you really want a job? Well, find out Mr. Smellie’s address, see? Fatty will help you. It may be in the telephone book, or somebody may know it. We shall want His address tomorrow, because we must go and see him too. All the Suspects must be interviewed!”
    “Two of them are crossed off now,” said Pip. “Mrs. Minns didn’t do it - and I’m sure the tramp didn’t either. That only leaves Mr. Smellie and Mr. Peeks. I do wish we could find some one wearing rubber-soled shoes with those markings. It would be such a help!”
    “I’ll find out Mr. Smellie’s address!” said Bets joyfully, pleased at having something real to do. “I’ll bring the telephone book out here to Fatty.”
    The tea-bell rang. The children ran indoors to wash,, and were soon sitting down eating bread and butter and jam. Larry and Daisy stayed to tea, but Fatty had to go back to the hotel, as his mother was expecting him.
    After tea Fatty came back and joined Bets. Larry and Pip and Daisy got out bicycles and cycled off. They knew the way to Wilmer Green quite well.
    “What excuse shall we make for asking to see Horace Peeks?” said Larry, as they cycled quickly along.
    Nobody could think of a good excuse. Then Pip had an idea. “Let’s go to the house and just ask for a drink of water,” he said. “If Peeks’s mother is there I expect she’ll talk nineteen to the dozen, and we may find out what we want to know - which is - where was Horace Peeks on the evening of the lire? If his mother says he was at home with her all the evening we can cross him off.”
    “Good idea!” said Larry. “And I’ll tell you what I’ll do, too;