Free Five on a Hike Together by Enid Blyton

looked over the top of his glasses at the children.
    „Gloomy Water! Now what be you wanting that for? A real miserable place it is, for al it was so fine years ago."
    „What happened to it?" asked Dick,
    „It was burnt," said the old man. „The owner was away, and only a couple of servants were there. It flared up one night, no one knows how or why - and was burnt almost to a shel . Couldn"t get a fire-engine out there, you see. There was only a cart-track to the place."
    „And wasn"t it ever built up again?" asked Julian. The old man shook his head.
    „No. It wasn"t worth it, The owner just let it fall to rack and ruin. The jackdaws and the owls nest there now, and the wild animals snuggle in the ruins. It"s a queer place. I once went out to see it, hearing tales of lights being seen there. But there was nothing to see but the shel of the place, and the dark blue water. Ah, Gloomy Water"s a good name for that lake!"
    „Could you tel us the way? And how long would it take us to get there?" asked Julian.
    „What for do you want to go and gaze at a poor old ruin?" said the old man. „Or do you want to bathe in the lake? Well, don"t you do so - it"s freezing cold!"
    „We just thought we"d go and see Gloomy Water," said Julian. „Such a strange name.
    Which is the way, did you say?"
    „I didn"t say," said the old fel ow. „But I wil if so be you"re set on it. Where"s your map? Is that one in your hand?"
    Julian spread it out. The old fel ow took a pen from his waistcoat pocket and began to trace a path over the moor. He put crosses here and there.

    „See them crosses? They mark marshland. Don"t go treading there, or you"l be up to your knees in muddy water! You fol ow these paths I"ve inked in for you and you"l be all right.
    Keep your eyes open for deer - there"s plenty about those parts, and pretty things they are too."
    „Thank you very much," said Julian, folding up the map. „How long would it take us to get there from here?"
    „Matter of two hours or more," said the old man. „Don"t you try to go this afternoon. You"l find yourselves in darkness coming back, and with them dangerous marshy bits you"re in danger all the time!"
    „Right," said Julian. „Thanks very much. Er - we"re thinking of doing a bit of camping, as the weather is so beautiful. I suppose you couldn"t hire us a groundsheet or two and a few rugs?"
    The other three stared at him in astonishment. Camping out? Where? Why? What was Julian thinking of al of a sudden?
    Julian winked at them. The old man was ferreting about in a cupboard. He pul ed out two large rubber ground-sheets and four old rugs. „Thought I had them somewhere!" he said.
    „Well, better you camping out in October than me! Be careful you don"t catch your deaths of cold!"
    „Oh thanks - just what we want," said Julian, pleased. „Roll them up, you others. I"l settle up for them."
    Dick, Anne and George folded up the ground-sheets and the rugs in astonishment. Surely
    - surely Julian wasn"t thinking of camping out by Gloomy Water? He must think the message that Dick had been given was very important!
    „Julian!" said Dick, as soon as they got outside. „What"s up? What"s all this for?"
    Julian looked a little sheepish. „Well - something suddenly came over me in the store," he said. „I suddenly felt we ought to go to Gloomy Water and snoop round. I felt excited somehow. And as we"ve got so little time this week-end I thought if we took things and camped out in the ruin we might make more of our few days."
    „What an idea!" said George. „Not go on with our hiking, do you mean?"
    „Well," said Julian. „If we find nothing, we can go on with our hike, of course. But if there"s anything interesting, it"s up to us to unearth it. I"m quite sure there"s something up at Two-Trees."
    „We might meet Maggie there!" said Anne, with a giggle.
    „We might!" said Julian. „I feel quite free to go and investigate on our own seeing that we"ve made our report to the police,