Free Five Go to Mystery Moor by Enid Blyton

smal leaf, weighted with tiny stones.
    „What did those leaves show now, oh yes, Sniffer and his dog!" said Dick. „Well, we"re on the right way, though we"d know that anyhow, by the fire!"
    They mounted again and went on. It proved quite easy to find and follow the patrins.
    Only once did they find any difficulty and that was when they came to a place, marked by two trees, where there was no apparent sign in the heather of any caravan marks.
    „The heather"s so jol y thick here that it"s taken the caravans as if it were a feather-bed, springing up when they had gone, and giving no sign of where they had passed," said Julian. He dismounted and had a good look round. No, there was no sign.
    „We"ll go on a little way," he said. „We may come to a camping place, then we"ll know."
    But they came to no old camping place, and stopped at last in bewilderment. „We"ve lost the trail," said Dick. „We"re not such good gypsies after al !"
    „Let"s go back to those two trees," said George. „We can stil just see them. If it"s so easy to lose the way there, there might be a patrin, although there are no camp-marks. After all, a patrin is left to show the way, in case the ones following take the wrong route."
    So back they rode to the two trees, and there, sure enough, was Sniffer"s patrin! Henry found it set careful y between the trees, so that nothing could disturb it.
    „Here"s the cross, and the single sticks, and the leaves!" she said. „But look, the long stick of the cross points to the east and we went off to the north. No wonder we found no signs of the caravans!"
    They set off to the east this time, across the thick, springy heather, and almost at once found signs of the passing of caravans, twigs broken off the bushes, a wheel rut on a soft piece of ground.
    „We"re right now," said Julian, pleased. „I was beginning to think it was all too easy for words! But it isn"t!"
    They rode for two hours, and then decided to have tea. They sat down in a little glade of silver birches, with an unexpected copse of pale primroses behind. Timmy had to make up his mind which to choose, a rabbit-chase, or titbits from the children"s tea!
    He chose both, racing after an imaginary rabbit, and then coming back for a sandwich!"
    „You know, it"s a lot better for us when Mrs Johnson makes sandwiches of tomato or lettuce or something like that," said Henry. „We do get them all then, but when we have meat or sardine or egg sandwiches Timmy gets as much as we do!"
    „Well, surely you don"t mind that, Henrietta," said George at once. „You make Timmy sound very greedy. After all, you don"t need to give him any of your sandwiches!"
    „Now, Georgina!" murmured Dick, in her ear,
    „Sorry, Georgina," said Henry, with a grin. „I just can"t help giving him a sandwich or two when he comes and sits down and looks at me so longingly."
    „Woof," said Timmy, and at once sat down in front of Henry, his tongue out, and his eyes fixed unblinkingly on her.
    „He sort of hypnotizes me," complained Henry. „Make him go away, George, I shan"t be able to keep a single sandwich or bit of cake for myself. Go and stare at someone else, Timmy, for goodness" sake!"
    Julian looked at his watch. „I don"t think we ought to spend too long over tea," he said. „I know we"ve got summertime now, and the evenings are nice and light, but we haven"t reached the gypsy camp yet, and after that we"ve got to go all the way back. What about starting off again?"
    „Right," said everyone and remounted their horses. They set off through the heather. Soon they found it unexpectedly easy to follow the caravan route, because the soil became sandy, and there were many bare patches on which the marks of the wheels could plainly be seen.
    „Goodness, if we go to the east much more, we"ll come to the sea!" said Dick.
    „No, it"s stil some miles away," said Julian. „Hal o, there"s a little hil or something in the distance. First time we"ve seen anything but complete