Free Five Are Together Again by Enid Blyton Page A

clever father, my boy," he said in his deep, foreign-sounding voice. „We would have much, so much to talk about. I have heard about his wonderful tower. A monument to his genius! Ah, you see, even we foreigners know of your father"s great work. Surely he is afraid of having his secrets stolen?"
    „Oh, I don"t think so," said Tinker. „The tower is a pretty good hiding-place, and..." He stopped suddenly, and went red again as he received an even harder kick from Julian.
    How could he be such an ass as to give away the fact that his father"s secret plans and models were hidden in the tower?
    Julian thought it was time to take Tinker firmly away from Mr Wooh and give him a good lecture on keeping his mouth shut. He looked at his watch, and pretended to be horrified at the time. „Good gracious-do you know what the time is? Jenny wil be ringing up the police if we don"t get back straight away. Come on, Tinker, and you others, we must go.
    Thanks most awful y, Grandad, for letting us share your supper."
    „But we haven"t yet finished!" said Grandad. „You haven"t had enough to eat."
    „We real y couldn"t eat any more," said Dick, following Julian"s determined lead. „See you tomorrow, Grandad. Good night, Grandma. Thanks very much indeed."
    „We"ve stil got bananas and apples to eat," said Tinker, feeling obstinate.
    „Oh, we brought those for Charlie the Chimp," said Dick, not quite truthfully. He could have boxed Tinker"s ears! Sil y little fathead, couldn"t he realize that Julian wanted to get him away from this cunning Mr Wooh? Wait til he got Tinker by himself!
    Tinker found himself hustled on all sides, and felt a bit scared. Julian sounded rather fierce, he thought. Old Grandad was most astonished at the sudden departure of his guests - but Charlie the Chimp didn"t mind! The guests had left behind a most generous supply of fruit!
    Over the fence they all went, with Julian hustling Tinker in front of him. Once over the fence and out of Mr Wooh"s hearing, Julian and George rounded on the boy angrily.
    „Are you mad, Tinker?" demanded Julian. „Didn"t you guess that that foreign fel ow was trying to pump you about your father"s hush-hush job?"
    „He wasn"t," said Tinker, almost in tears. „You"re just exaggerating!"
    „Well, I hope I never try to give away my father"s secret work!" said George, in a tone of such disgust that Tinker could have howled.
    „I wasn"t trying to!" he said. „Mr Wooh"s all right. Why should you think he isn"t?"

    „I don"t like him and I don"t trust him," said Julian, sounding suddenly very grown up. „But there you sat lapping up everything he said, ready to pour out all he wanted to know. I"m ashamed of you. You"d get a jolly good thrashing if your father had heard you. I only hope you haven"t already said too much. You know how angry your father was when a report of his latest ideas got into the papers, and swarms of people came prying round the house..."
    Tinker could stand it no longer. He gave a forlorn howl that made Mischief jump, and fled up the garden to the house, the little monkey running swiftly behind him. He wanted to comfort Tinker. What was the matter? Poor little Mischief felt bewildered, and tried his best to catch up the sobbing Tinker. He caught him up at last, leapt to the boy"s shoulder and put his little furry arms round Tinker"s neck, making a queer comforting noise.
    „Oh, Mischief," said Tinker. „I"m glad you"re stil my friend. The others won"t be now, I know.
    Aren"t I an idiot, Mischief? But I was only being proud of my father, I was, real y!"
    Mischief clung to Tinker, puzzled and upset. Tinker stopped outside the tall tower. There was a light at the top. His father must stil be working there. A faint humming noise came to his ears. He wondered if it was those queer, spindly tentacles right at the very top of the tower, that made the noise. Suddenly the light at the top of the tower went out.
    „Dad must have finished his work for tonight," thought