the secret seven under cover

8/13/2019 The Secret Seven Under Cover

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The Secret Seven Under CoverBy Trevor J Bolton

CHAPTER 1: A HALF TERM MEETING"Do hurry up, Janet," said her impatient brother, Peter, clicking his tongue. "Theothers will be here soon and you still haven't brought the biscuits."

"There's nothing stopping you from fetching them," replied Janet scowling. " n anycase, didn't forget the biscuits. !ust didn't want to carry them as well as the !ug oflemonade in case dropped them coming down the garden to the shed."

" oof#" barked $camper, their silky haired golden spaniel. %e liked it when a biscuitwas dropped as he could always grab it before anyone could pick it up.

" 'm busy arranging these bo&es and flower pots for our meeting," declared Peter blowing dust off one of the pots. " t's the first day of half term so this is an important$ecret $even meeting. e really must try and find a problem we can get our teeth into

before we go back to school."

The members of the $ecret $even met in the shed at the bottom of Janet and Peter'sgarden at ld (ill %ouse. n the door were the letters $$ neatly cut from green cardand each member had to say the latest password before being allowed to enter theshed. $ince forming the $ecret $even $ociety, the children had solved many an

interesting problem and taken part in several adventures.hile Janet returned to the house to fetch the biscuits with $camper at her heels, Peter

arranged the bo&es and flower pots and turned the mugs on the shelf the right way upready for use. $oon, voices could be heard approaching the shed.

Peter immediately closed the door then called out) "Password#"

"(ystery," replied one voice in an urgent whisper.

"*ome in, +eorge," said Peter opening the door wide enough to let +eorge in. The

second boy tried to enter but had the door shut in his face. " ou know the rule, Jack.ou can't come in unless you say the password."

"Don't be so ridiculous, Peter," retorted Jack. " t's obvious know the password as 'mwith +eorge." %e paused for a moment then shouted, "( $T- #"

"That's right, let everybody hear#" e&claimed Peter angrily. " 'm always telling younot to shout the password. $uppose your sister, $usie, is nearby. $he'll know it noweven if she doesn't know it already. /nd your badge is crooked."

" ou are in a right mood this morning," declared Jack, ad!usting his badge as heentered the shed. "/nyway, $usie is with that frightful friend of hers, 0inkie."


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" ou know, the rabbity one," added +eorge with a grin. "1isten. %ere come the girls. can hear them giggling."

"/s usual," muttered Peter taking up his position by the door. " bet they've forgottenthe password. ou know what girls are. Password, please."

" t's too much of a mystery for 0arbara and me to remember," called back one of thegirls. They both burst into s2ueals of laughter while Peter gave a look of e&asperation.

" f you don't give the correct password you can't enter," he shouted.

"(ystery, mystery," uttered 0arbara.

" ne mystery is enough," said an irritated Peter.

"3o it isn't because there are two of us, Pam and me," replied 0arbara as she and Pamdissolved into laughter again. " ait. %ere comes Janet with some lemonade... oh, andhere's *olin as well."

"(ystery," said *olin running up to the shed and holding the door for Janet. " don'tsuppose you need to say the password, Janet, as you've obviously already been in theshed."

"Don't bet on it#" said Jack giving the glaring Peter a sly look. " ight, we're all herenow. 1et's start our first meeting of the half term."

"Just a minute, 'm in charge," declared Peter abruptly, still glaring at Jack. " conductthe meetings."

"*alm down, Peter, for goodness' sake," said Janet carefully placing the !ug on theshelf. "1et's pour ourselves some lemonade and have a couple of biscuits each beforewe start 4 if Peter doesn't ob!ect. 1et $camper in, please, *olin. can hear himscratching on the door."

$oon the seven were perched on their makeshift seats munching biscuits, pleased to be together again. Peter opened the meeting. "/s it's the first day of half term don'tsuppose there's anything to report as we've all been at school. $o let's have some

suggestions as to what we can do. e don't want to spend too much time in this shedand miss the June sunshine."

"*an't we do some e&ploring and see if we come across anything of interest5"suggested Pam looking round at the blank faces.

" e can't e&actly e&plore as we know the area so well," replied +eorge. " e need a better suggestion than that."

" e could go out in groups like we've done before," said 0arbara. "Then report backwith anything unusual."

"That's like my idea and +eorge s2uashed it," said Pam pulling a face.


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"1et's go on a picnic somewhere," suggested Jack. " e can go further afield if wetake our bikes and that's sort of e&ploring. /s Pam said, we might come acrosssomething of interest and be en!oying ourselves at the same time."

" es, an acceptable idea," agreed Peter nodding his head. "/ny more suggestions5"

"%ey, 've !ust remembered, my cousin's going camping," announced *olin, his eyeslighting up. "%ow about asking our parents if we can sleep outside for a couple ofnights5"

"6nder cover, hope," said +eorge.

" f course#" retorted *olin. " 've got a tent with room for two or three and 0arbara'sgot 2uite a large one in her garden. 've seen it."

" like the sound of that but doubt whether (other will let us go camping byourselves," said Janet.

" know my mother won't," said 0arbara shaking her head. "0ut like the idea ofsleeping in a tent as the weather's so nice. 've only used mine in the garden duringdaytime."

" t's a great idea so suggest we all ask our parents about camping out somewherelike indy oods," said Peter. "/greed5"

-veryone agreed although inwardly each child felt certain the answer would be no.

" t's getting stuffy in here," said Jack, wiping his brow. " vote we go to the park."

" es, let's do that now we've finished the lemonade and biscuits," said Peter. "/tlunch time we'll ask our parents about camping and report back here at two o'clock.*ome on, $camper."

CHAPTER : A GREAT I!EA

"(other, we've got something important to ask you," said Peter over lunch. "/s it's sohot, could we go camping overnight somewhere like indy oods or 1ittleThicket5"

" t's something we all want to do," pleaded Janet. "There are seven of us so we'd be allright."

"+oodness me, you can't !ust go overnight camping unsupervised in indy oods, oranywhere else for that matter," replied (other, taken aback. "Don't look sodisappointed. ou'll find that the other children's parents will give the same answer."

" h please, (other," begged Peter. " e've proved so many times we can look after

ourselves. Just for a couple of nights. P1-/$-#"


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" f camping appeals to you, and, believe me, can understand the attraction ofsleeping under cover outside, we'll think up something for the long summer holiday,"said (other firmly. "0ut will not !ust allow you to suddenly stay out for a couple ofnights because of an idea somebody's had. *amping out needs planning and a degreeof supervision. h, here's your father. ou see, he'll agree with me."

"$orry 'm late," said Daddy entering the dining room. " 've !ust been with (att the$hepherd. 3ow what's this about me agreeing with something5"

hile (other went to the kitchen, Peter e&plained that the $even wanted to gocamping overnight somewhere by themselves. Janet looked on hopefully.

" appreciate your enthusiasm," said Daddy sitting down, "but (other's right. oucan't !ust pitch tents in a wood and sleep there unsupervised. ou don't know whomight be around and you $even have a habit of getting mi&ed up with ratherunsavoury characters#"

The two children said nothing but picked at their meal feeling e&tremely disappointedeven though they both e&pected this sort of response. hy did grown7ups have to beso awkward and always find obstacles5

"1isten, 've an idea," said Daddy as (other brought his meal in. "%ow about pitchingyour tents somewhere on our own land5 That way you can be by yourselves, awayfrom the house, can stay out overnight, and we parents will know you're safe."

"3ow that's a sensible idea," agreed (other, sitting down. " ou can cook your own

meals over a campfire and you can always let yourself in the house if you're scared.""$cared#" e&claimed Peter scornfully. "$cared# hen are we scared5" %e looked atJanet before continuing. " suppose that's better than nothing. /t least we'll becamping overnight. e'll see what the others think about the idea when we meet thisafternoon."

" hy not phone them when you've finished your meal5" suggested Daddy. "That waythey'll have a chance to ask their parents before you even meet this afternoon."

" es, let's do that," agreed Peter, looking sideways at his father. " must admit that

grown ups do have good ideas sometimes."

The two children waited impatiently for the meal to be over, longing to speak to theother members of the $even. -ventually everyone had finished and Peter rushed to the

phone. %e called Jack first but, to his dismay, heard $usie's voice.

"Password, please," she said mockingly once she knew it was Peter.

"Don't be silly, $usie," retorted Peter. "Please let me speak to Jack."

" think he's gone camping so you'd better talk to 0inkie instead," said $usie,thoroughly en!oying herself. Then Peter heard her calling. "0inkie# Peter's on the

phone for you."


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/n angry Peter immediately slammed the receiver down. t was bad enough having tospeak to that annoying $usie but he shuddered to think of 0inkie on the phone. -venhe would never get a word in# /nd how dare $usie refer to camping# $he hadobviously overheard Jack's conversation with their parents. %e hurriedly dialled*olin's number before $usie or 0inkie phoned back.

" h hello, Peter," said *olin. " 'm afraid (um won't allow me to camp in a public place, not that 'm surprised. /nd the same goes for +eorge. %e phoned me a shortwhile ago."

" t's the same for Janet and me," moaned Peter. "0ut listen to my father's suggestion."%e then proceeded to tell *olin about camping on the farmland.

"That sounds great#" said *olin. " 'll phone +eorge if you like while you get in touchwith the girls. /nd good luck getting through to Jack#"

Peter grunted then phoned 0arbara and Pam. 0oth sets of parents had said no tocamping in the woods but actually suggested tents in somebody's garden.

"/t least we know 0arbara and Pam's parents agree to Daddy's suggestion," said Peterto Janet. "3ow for Jack. f $usie or 0inkie answer 'll put the receiver down."

%e dialled and waited. To his relief it was Jack who answered.

"$orry missed you earlier," said Jack, then he listened to Peter's suggestion. "Thatsounds fun. 'll ask my parents. They weren't happy about camping unsupervised in

indy oods but 'm sure they'll agree to pitching our tents on your land. 'll askthem straightaway and will let you know at the meeting. $usie and 0inkie have goneout, thank goodness#"

/t two o'clock, seven e&cited children met in the shed, talking nineteen to the do8en.Peter called for order then outlined his father's suggestion, asking each child e&ceptJanet what their parents had decided.

"(y parents said they would agree if Pam's parents agree," said 0arbara, "and knowPam's parents agree because she told me."

"(y mum and dad said yes," said *olin. " n fact they were 2uite pleased to know 'll be using the tent they bought me for my birthday. They were !ust uneasy aboutcamping overnight in a public place."

"$ame for me," added +eorge. " haven't got a tent but *olin said there's plenty ofroom in his. 've got a sleeping bag somewhere, though."

/s Jack's parents had also agreed to the idea, Peter looked round at everyone with a broad beam spread across his face. " ippee#" he yelled. " ell, we now need to decidewhere to pitch the tents and think know the very place#"

CHAPTER ": PREPARING THE CAMPSITE


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0efore anyone could say anything, Peter had opened the shed door and dashed offround the corner of the greenhouse. -verybody followed, e&cited at the thought offinding somewhere to camp. $ensing the e&citement, $camper ran around barkingmadly. /t first it looked as though Peter was making for the 2uarry but then he took a

path leading in the opposite direction.

" bet he's making for the clearing near the stream," said Janet. " t's nice there, almostentirely surrounded by bushes."

$he was right. They skirted the oat field with its grinning scarecrow and foundthemselves in a small, flat, grassy clearing with bushes around the edge. / littlestream gurgled happily to one side as it wended its merry way towards the duck pondwhile, not far away was the boundary fence with a mysterious little copse beyond.

"%ow's this5" asked Peter looking round smiling. " t's level, it's sheltered and we'reaway from the animals and crops so we can safely make a camp fire. There's evenrunning water for an early morning wash. (ind you, it'll be rather cold but it willwake us up#"

" like the spot but one problem is that we're fairly close to that fence over there," pointed out Jack. " t won't be very private. e'll be seen or heard by anyone walkingin the wood."

"There isn't a path there," replied Janet. " t's a sort of dead end. 3obody goes there.The path is much further over so it's unlikely we'll be disturbed."

"There's certainly ample space for our tents," agreed *olin, glancing around. "(inewill take two and yours will as well, won't it, Peter5 hat about your tent, 0arbara5 sthere room for three in it5"

"There's enough room for three sleeping bags," said 0arbara nodding. "0ut not muchelse."

"That's good enough," said Janet with a broad grin. "/fter all, we're not going to bringour wardrobes."

"/ny food we have can be placed under that rocky outcrop over there," indicated

+eorge. " t's like a little cupboard without a door and will act as shelter from the sun./nd we mustn't forget to bring a tin opener."

" e can place lemonade bottles in the stream to keep them cool," said Pam. Then sheadded with a giggle, "/s long as we remember to keep the tops on tightly."

"$o when do start5" asked *olin. " ou decide, Peter. ou're our chief."

"/s soon as possible in case the weather breaks," replied Peter at once. "%ow about putting up the tents tomorrow afternoon and cooking our first meal once we'vefinished5"


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"$ounds great," said Jack. " 'm sure our parents will agree. oll on, tomorrowafternoon. bet it'll take ages coming."

The rest of the day certainly dragged as did the following morning but, during theafternoon, the $even gathered in the clearing with the three tents and their sleeping

bags. /ll the parents had agreed to their children camping as they were on farm landand could seek immediate help should there be any problems.

"That annoying sister of mine said she wanted to camp out so my parents have had toallow her and 0inkie to put up our tent in the garden," moaned Jack. "Trust her tocopy us# That means 'll need to share with you, Peter."

"That's .9. as Janet'll be with 0arbara. /s long as $usie's in your garden she's awayfrom us," said Peter sounding relieved. "*ome on. 1et's put the tents up."

0arbara's tent was the largest so there was ade2uate room for the girls' sleeping bags.+eorge was to share *olin's tent while Jack placed his sleeping bag in Peter's. t tookmuch longer than e&pected to have all three tents upright as the children had not

positioned the pegs very well but, eventually, there they were, ready for occupation.

-veryone had brought a bag containing food or drink plus a mug, a plate, a knife anda fork. Peter had brought a large frying pan and two saucepans. %is father suddenlyappeared to inspect the site carrying a couple of stoves, some oil and a bo& ofmatches.

"/ll looks 2uite snug," said Daddy approvingly, after peering into each tent. "(ind

you, you're a bit close to the boundary fence but nobody seems to go into the copse."" t's all right to have a camp fire, isn't it, Daddy5" asked Janet an&iously.

" es, but light it so that the smoke doesn't blow into your tents and well away fromany bracken," warned Daddy. "1ook, there's a pile of stones over there. (ake a circleof them and build your fire inside. Do make certain it's completely out before you goto bed. To be on the safe side, douse it with water from the stream. ho'sremembered to bring a torch5"

Jack and *olin were the only ones with torches so Peter said he would return to the

farmhouse to fetch a couple more later on.

" hat do we use as fuel for the fire5" asked Pam looking all round after Peter's fatherhad left. "The oil's for the stoves, isn't it5"

" e gather twigs and sticks, silly#" replied *olin. " hat do you think we use5 *oal5"

"/ctually, it would be a good idea to gather some fuel now," decided Peter. " betthere are plenty of twigs in that copse over there. know where there's a gap in thefence."

They found the narrow gap and !ust managed to s2uee8e through, holding their breathwhile $camper barked e&citedly thinking this was some sort of a game. The ground


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beneath the trees was littered with twigs of all si8es so it was not long before eachchild gathered as much as he or she could carry and returned to the fence.

"(y dad would never s2uee8e through here, he's too plump," laughed Pam. "/s it is,'ll probably drop my armful of wood s2uee8ing back through."

"Don't s2uee8e through, !ust throw the twigs over the fence," said +eorge scornfully." e haven't got nearly enough yet. e'll need a lot more than an armful each asthey'll soon burn."

"/nd look for some bigger sticks," added Peter. "They'll burn more slowly."

hile the $even gathered more twigs and sticks, $camper went among the trees and bushes sniffing. 0eing this side of the fence was fairly new to him. %e could certainlysmell rabbits and fo&es then another smell attracted his attention, making him barkwildly.

"0e 2uiet, $camper#" shouted Janet thrusting an armful of small branches over thefence.

0ut $camper would not keep 2uiet so Janet went to see what he was barking at. %ewas half under a bush with !ust his tail showing. Janet bent down to !oin him and wasama8ed at what she saw.

":uick# ver here#" she called to the others. "$ee what's hidden in this bush#"

CHAPTER #: AN E$ENTFUL TIME-veryone hurled their armfuls of sticks and twigs over the fence before rushing to seewhat the noise was about.

"Do come out of the way, $camper," shouted Peter. "*ome away, said# hat's thatyou're dragging from under the bush5"

" t's one of two hidden cardboard bo&es tied up with string," said Janet trying to takehold of the carton. "They can't have been there long as they look too new. *ardboardsoon rots. 1et's see what's inside."

$camper thought this was part of a game so was reluctant to let go. -ventually Janetmanaged to remove the carton from the spaniel and, with fumbling fingers, untied thestring. To everyone's astonishment, what should be inside but three pairs of glovesand three wigs# Jack reached for the second bo& which he 2uickly opened. nside thisone, were plimsolls and three small torches. %e switched the torches on. -ach oneworked.

"Perhaps this is somebody's camp," suggested 0arbara looking uneasy. "(aybe theysleep under the bush."


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" hy on earth would anyone want gloves and wigs if they're camping5" laughed*olin bending down and parting the lower branches to take a closer look. "%ey, !ust aminute. There's something else in here. They look like bicycles but... surely not."

%e crawled into the middle of the leafy bush and called back to the others. "+osh,

there really are three bikes in here. hat's more there's a sort of tarpaulin spread outon the ground."

"$ee, was right, they are camping," said 0arbara smugly.

" ell think we ought to replace these cartons at once," said +eorge. "Their ownerscould return at any moment and won't be very pleased to find us rummaging throughtheir possessions. 0ut fancy camping in the bush. %ow weird#"

"1et's be undercover agents and spy on whoever comes here," said Pam e&citedly,rubbing her hands together. " e wanted something for the $ecret $even to do."

" don't fancy wasting time keeping watch on a bush," retorted Janet. "/nyway, thecampers may not return tonight. 0ut +eorge is right. e should replace these itemshere and now."

"$tay where you are, *olin," called Peter. " e'll retie the cartons and pass them toyou."

3o sooner were the cardboard bo&es back under the bush than $camper tried to dragthem out again and had to be reprimanded by Peter. Then, as the $even returned to the

fence, the little spaniel bounded through the gap and began to sniff at the tents."%e's wondering which tent is his," said Janet with a laugh. " ou'll be on guard youwill, $camper, old chap."

hile the others tidied up the pile of twigs and branches they had collected, Peter ran back to the house to fetch a couple of torches. They soon forgot about the strange packets and the bicycles in the bush as they sorted out what they were going to eat fortheir meal.

"1et's boil potatoes in the large saucepan and fry some sausages in the pan,"

suggested Janet. "/nd we can open a couple of tins of beans. They don't take long toheat up. There's plenty of fruit for dessert."

"/nd 've brought some home7made tarts with different !ammy centres," added *olinwho had a weakness for !am tarts.

Jack lit one of the stoves and waited impatiently for the water containing the potatoesto boil. " t'll be ages before we eat," he moaned, glaring at the saucepan. "The waterisn't even beginning to boil."

" t's still 2uite early for our meal so it doesn't matter if the potatoes take ages as we've bags of time," pointed out *olin. " e won't start cooking the sausages !ust yet orthey'll burn before the potatoes are ready."


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"/nyway, like my sausages burnt," said +eorge licking his lips. "(um alwaysleaves mine in the pan till last so the outside is lovely and black and crisp."

"6gh# That sounds horrible#" declared Pam shrugging her shoulders and pulling aface. Then she put a finger to her lips. "1isten. $omeone's coming."

t was only Peter with the torches. %e looked approvingly at the food waiting to becooked and suggested they open a bottle of lemonade. " nce we've eaten, we'll find asuitable spot for our camp fire," he said.

t did, indeed, take ages for the potatoes to cook by which time the sausages werereally well done. The beans were soon hot and the $even thoroughly en!oyed theirevening meal. Pam's mother had packed some crusty rolls which went down well withthe home7made butter provided by Peter's mother.

t took much less time to eat their high tea than to cook it and soon they were ready tolight the fire. *arefully they made a wigwam of small twigs then placed larger oneson top. Peter eagerly applied a match and, in no time, the dry twigs were burningsending up plenty of sparks accompanied by cheerful, crackling sounds.

"+ood !ob there's no wind or we'd have to keep an eye on those sparks," said Jack."1uckily they're not going far."

They chatted away nineteen to the do8en then, suddenly, Janet called for silence. %ersharp ears had heard a sound seemingly coming from the other side of the fence."9eep 2uiet#" she ordered. "$omeone's approaching. t's probably the owners of the

bikes returning. Don't let them know we're here.""There's a good chance they will have heard us and they will have certainly beenaware of our fire," laughed *olin ga8ing round a bush at the fence. " vote we creepup to the fence and see who they are."

" ight, we'll pretend we're playing ed ndians and make our way to the fence insilence," decided Peter. "There's enough light to see by."

"/nd to be seen by," warned +eorge.

Janet made certain $camper was by her side and not barking as she and the otherscrouched and crawled towards the boundary fence. $even pairs of eyes peeredthrough gaps in the fence but there was nobody to be seen. t had all gone very, very2uiet.

They huddled together wondering what to do ne&t when they received a terribleshock. Three horrible looking monsters on hind legs appeared from their own side ofthe fence and began to make weird growling sounds while slowly moving their arms.$camper !oined in the growling, his fur standing up on end. The creatures slowlyapproached the $even who could only look on aghast. hoever were they, and whatwere they going to do5


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CHAPTER %: THAT ANN&'ING SUSIE ( AN!$&ICES IN THE NIGHT)

The $even looked in alarm at the weird, menacing figures with their hideous masks

advancing upon them. $uddenly, the monsters broke into a sort of a noisy war dance.To the children's further ama8ement, $camper stopped growling and began to prancearound in delight with the strange creatures. Then Jack recognised a pair of shoessticking out from the bottom of a sheet draped around one of the figures.

" t's you, $usie, you nasty, horrible girl#" he yelled in annoyance. "/nd supposethat's 0inkie and Jeff with you. hat do you think you're playing at coming hereuninvited5"

";ooled you, fooled you#" came $usie's voice, followed by cackles of laughter. " oudidn't know who we were."

" ou were scaredy, scaredy, frightened of us#" shouted another of the figures,removing the mask to reveal 0inkie's toothy grin.

" ou're not so clever after all, $ecret $even#" yelled the third voice which did, indeed, belong to Jeff. %e also removed his mask and gave a triumphant look at the furious$even. "The Tiresome Three have scored again#"

" hat are you doing here5" spluttered Peter, his face red with anger. "This is 6camp and 6 field so go home. +o on. $* /(# % PP T#"

" e came here !ust to annoy you," admitted 0inkie. "/nd we've succeeded# 3ow, tomake up for frightening you, how would you like to hear my latest poem5"

"3 #" yelled all $even in unison. They knew only too well what 0inkie's poems werelike, especially rude ones about the $ecret $even themselves.

0inkie pursed her lips into a strange grin making her look more rabbity than usual before, to the utter annoyance of the $even, beginning to loudly recite)

" hat fun we're having camping out,

how great it is to see,the $ecret $even fooled again by the brilliant Tiresome Three.

e crept up on them in disguise,in fact we got 2uite near.

e danced and yelled while they !ust stared,their faces white with fear.

/nd now... "


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This was too much for *olin. %e ran over to the stream, gathered up some cold waterin his cupped hands, and threw it over 0inkie who at once s2uealed and stoppedreciting.

"That was horribly, horribly, horribly mean of you#" shouted $usie, glaring. "$ome of

that water splashed me and it's very cold. %ow dare you do that to my friend !ust because she cleverly made up a poem. e're going but you haven't heard the last ofthis. *ome along, 0inkie and Jeff. 1et's leave this nasty mean lot and go and en!oyourselves."

/s 2uickly as they had arrived, $usie, 0inkie and Jeff departed, annoyed at thethrowing of water but, nevertheless, pleased at having startled the $even. The $evennow returned to their campfire, inwardly feeling somewhat ashamed that they had

been taken in so easily.

" hy does that sister of yours always seem to get the better of us5" demanded *olinglaring at Jack.

"0ecause she's rather clever, suppose," admitted Jack reluctantly.

"/nd we have to admit that, although we laugh at 0inkie, she is rather skilful atmaking up poems on the spur of the moment," added +eorge.

" h, for goodness' sake let's forget them and en!oy being around our fire," said Peter." f we keep talking about them, they'll have won. *ome on, suggest we make a hotdrink."

-veryone agreed and soon they were sitting around the fire en!oying biscuits andmugs of hot cocoa heated up on the stove. $camper began to gnaw on an old andrather smelly bone he had brought with him. /s it grew darker, bright sparks flew upinto the still night air looking like miniature fireworks.

"This is smashing," said Janet helping herself to another biscuit. " reckon we couldstay up half the night."

0ut they didn't, of course. They all gradually felt tired and began to look forward tosleeping under cover. -ventually, Peter and Jack reluctantly poured water on the fire

to make sure it was out. t hissed loudly like an angry snake but the last spark wase&tinguished while the moonlight cast weird shadows around the little campsite.

" t's a bit ghostly," said 0arbara looking around. "That shrub over there has theoutline of a person and !ust look at the moving shadows of the swaying trees. Theylook as though they are creeping up on us."

"$top, 0arbara, please," begged Pam feeling a tingle down her spine. " ou're makingus all nervous."

" ubbish#" laughed Jack. "$he's not making me nervous. like to see things bymoonlight. They're sort of, well, different# ;amiliar shapes seem to change."


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" ell, 'm too tired to notice things changing," admitted +eorge, yawning andrubbing his eyes. " really think 'm ready for my sleeping bag."

$o were the others. $oon there was !ust the sound of 2uiet chattering as the $evenmade themselves comfortable in their snug sleeping bags in the three tents. $camper

tried to enter each tent in turn but was shooed away. /s soon as Peter and Jack were2uiet, he curled up inside their tent, pu88led by this strange and tiny bedroom.

t was not long before the only sound was the soothing babbling of the little stream. /hedgehog or two ran sniffing at the intruders and a couple of toads came crawling by.Then a fo& appeared but, smelling $camper, soon retreated into the safety of thedarkness. verhead flew some owls in search of their ne&t meal and swiftly andsilently swooped down on detecting the slightest movement in the undergrowth.

The distant church clock struck midnight but the children did not hear it. -ven$camper slept soundly until something awoke him. %e put his head on one side as helistened. hat he could hear was the muffled sound of voices. %e peered round at thetents to see if any of the children were talking. 3o, the voices were coming from theother side of the fence. $camper was not happy and now began to sit up growling.

The sound of growling woke Peter who wondered where on earth he was. "0e 2uiet,"he moaned, realising it was $camper. " hat are you growling at5 There's nobody outthere." %e turned over then, to his astonishment, he heard somebody laughing anddistant voices, making him sit up at once. %e decided to wake Jack so began to shakehim.

" hat is it5 hat's the matter5" mumbled Jack. " s it time for school5"

"3o, it's half term, stupid#" e&claimed Peter. "Do wake up Jack. think $usie is backwith her friends. 1isten."

This made Jack reach for his torch, ready to shine it on his sister. "They'll think we'reasleep so let's give them a real shock," he said.

The boys crept out of their tent, torches at the ready. ne voice was louder and clearerthan the others which made Jack grab hold of Peter's arm. "$top and listen, Peter," hewhispered fearfully. "That's not $usie or 0inkie. They're men's voices. hatever can

they be doing in the middle of the night5"

CHAPTER *: AN&THER M'STER' F&R THESE$EN

1ooking and feeling alarmed, Peter listened for a moment before replying. "+osh,you're right, Jack. People in the wood at dead of night. Jolly weird. :uick, let's put onour plimsolls and go to the fence. There's sufficient light from the moon. e mightsee something interesting."

/lthough feeling sleepy, the two boys managed to find their way to the fence withouttripping over anything. Peter kept telling $camper to be 2uiet but the little spaniel


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carried on growling softly while, all the time, the voices continued to be heard. hat'smore, they were obviously not very far away.

"%ey, stop. 1ook, there's a lantern being used," said Jack, pulling Peter back. " betthose voices are coming from the bush where we found the bo&es and bikes."

The diffused light of a lantern was shining not far away on the other side of the fence./t first, there was no sign of the speakers, then two shadowy figures emerged fromthe bush. The light from the lantern lit up two men who were wearing gloves and, tothe boys' ama8ement, attempting to put on wigs.

Then a third and rather plump man appeared, awkwardly ad!usting a wig. The threespoke 2uietly so it was impossible to make out what was being said until one of themen gave a raucous laugh and raised his voice. "1ook at %arry. ou wouldn't knowhe was bald. /nd that red wig improves your appearance, *harlie. hy don't youwear it permanently5"

" h shut up, ;red," retorted *harlie loudly. "1et's get a move on. t's already oneo'clock. e've got to find . . ." 6nfortunately the rest of the sentence could not beheard as the men lowered their voices. /fter e&tinguishing the lantern, they switchedon their torches and disappeared among the trees.

" hat do you make of that5" asked Jack ama8ed. "/re they off to a fancy dress partyor something like that5"

" n the middle of the night#" replied Peter scornfully. " suspect they're up to no good

but we can't do anything about it because we don't know where they've gone and wedon't really know what they look like because of the wigs. wonder why they didn'tuse their bikes."

"3o idea," muttered Jack. "*ome on, let's get back to the tent. 'm tired."

The boys returned to their sleeping bags and it was not long before they once againdropped off to sleep. Peter was so tired that he did not realise $camper had dared tocomfortably curl up on the bottom of his sleeping bag.

*olin and +eorge were first up ne&t morning. They had a 2uick wash in the stream

with $camper at their sides then went to wake the others. 0y now, the girls werealready awake having heard the boys' voices. They, too, had a wash and wonderedwhy Peter and Jack had not stirred.

"Just look at them#" said Janet, peering into their tent. "$leepyheads# They're not evenstirring. akey, wakey, rise and shine#"

%earing Janet's voice made the two boys open their eyes. They blinked in ama8ementon finding the other members of the $even already up and about and hurriedly went towash, the cold water really waking them up. ver an eggs and bacon breakfast, Petertold the others about the three strangers who were up and about in the middle of thenight wearing gloves and wigs.


15/41

" ell, you might have woken us up#" moaned *olin. "%ow mean# e're all membersof the $ecret $even. e share adventures, remember."

"There was no time to wake anyone else up because it all happened so 2uickly,"e&plained Jack. " say, this breakfast is smashing. /ny more bacon5"

"$omething has occurred to me," said 0arbara putting another rasher on Jack's plate." f those three men are back, they're bound to hear us."

"That's a thought#" replied Peter, his head on one side. Then he shrugged hisshoulders. "3ot that it matters. e're on our own property and we're not interferingwith them."

"They might even have returned during the night and gone off somewhere again,"suggested Jack. "$hall we have another look inside the bush and see if their bikeshave gone5"

" e'd have to be !olly careful," warned +eorge. ";rom what you say, they're probablyup to no good."

" e'll say we're playing at ed ndians if we're caught," said Peter. " nce breakfast isover we'll have a $ecret $even meeting."

"3ot back at the shed, hope," said Pam with a giggle.

" f course not. e'll have it here, silly#" said Peter scornfully.

" t won't be much of a meeting," replied +eorge pulling a face. " ou've !ust reportedall there is to know."

0ut a meeting they had, mainly discussing whether to ignore the bush and its strangecontents or to investigate further. There was plenty of talk about keeping watch butthere was no agreement about what to do if the men were spotted.

" ell think one of us should have a look to see if the bo&es and bikes are still thereand leave it at that," said *olin. " hy waste time watching for people who might notcome5"

" agree," nodded Jack. "/nd *olin ought to be the one to look inside the bush as he'sseen it before."

" 'm the leader of the $ecret $even, Jack, so 'll decide who does what," reprimandedPeter, glaring. " e'll put it to the vote. %ands up those who think *olin should lookinside the bush."

" oof, woof#" barked $camper, prancing around as all hands were raised.

"$camper agrees with everyone," said Janet with a laugh. "%ey, you haven't had yourmorning groom yet, $camper."


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"That's agreed," declared Peter. " e'll all creep up to the gap in the fence e&cept you,Janet. ou stay here with $camper. e don't want him growling or dragging out the

bo&es again in case he leaves giveaway teeth marks. %e probably left some yesterday.+ood thing it was dark when the men opened the bo&es."

The children stealthily crept up to the fence where *olin eased himself through. Theywatched him make his way over to the bush, slowly part the branches and disappearunderneath.

0ut oh dear# Just at that moment, the watching children were horrified to hear voicesapproaching. 0efore they could warn *olin, two men appeared pushing bicycles. /ndit was clear that the men were making directly for the bush#

CHAPTER +: ,HAT ARE THE MEN UP T&-

;or a moment, the horrified children looked on aghast. Then Peter ordered everyone back to the campsite. " e mustn't be seen spying," he whispered urgently. "%opefully*olin will hear the men and run away."

" hat a nuisance they chose that moment to appear," moaned Jack.

" f only we'd let $camper come with us," sighed Pam, trundling along. "%e'd haveheard the men coming and warned us."

" ell he wasn't with us, so there#" snapped Peter. " !ust hope *olin isn't actuallycaught."

hat was happening to *olin5 %e was creeping into the middle of the bush when heheard a very peculiar noise. -ager to discover the cause of it, he continued to moveforwards, parting a leafy branch, then fro8e. There, on the tarpaulin, lay a plump, baldheaded man, fast asleep and snoring loudly. $lowly the boy eased himself back thennearly !umped out of his skin. $omeone had grabbed hold of his ankles#

"$o, why are you snooping around our camp, boy5" asked a very unpleasant voice.

*olin swung round and sat up. +laring down at him was an unshaven thin7lipped manwith a mop of red hair. 3e&t to him was an e2ually unsavoury looking individual withdishevelled black hair. Two bicycles and a carrier bag were on the ground nearby.

"-&plain yourself," said this second man, scowling. "/re you hoping to stealsomething5"

"3o, of course not," said *olin, not liking the threatening looks on the men's faces." 'm having a game of hide and seek with my friends and thought one of them might

be hiding in this bush. %ow was to know this was your camp5"

"/nd what did you see, e&actly5" snarled the first man, now taking hold of *olin's

arm and pulling him up on his feet. "/nswer me, boy."


17/41

" ou grabbed hold of me before could see anything," replied *olin, beginning tofeel afraid. "/nyway, what is there to see in a bush5 (y friends obviously aren'thiding there. Please let me go. 'm not doing any harm and you're hurting my arm."

" ou mentioned a game of hide and seek but, strangely, can't hear anyone," said the

black7haired man pretending to be listening. " t's a very 2uiet game. here are theothers5"

" e were playing on our farm on the other side of that fence," replied *olin. "That's probably where the others are all the time. They didn't come through the fence."

The men looked towards the fence, then at each other. " ou go back and, this time,we won't tell your parents that you were snooping around our campsite while we wereaway," said the dark7haired man, trying to sound pleasant. "The two of us !ust want tocamp in peace. 1et him go, *harlie... . this time#"

eluctantly *harlie slowly released his grip. nce free, *olin darted across the longgrass to the gap in the fence where he eased himself through. /s he approached thetents, he startled everyone by yelling. "$o there you are# thought you were in thewood."

The others looked at him in ama8ement while he told them in a 2uieter voice that theyshould pretend to be playing hide and seek. Janet, at once summing up the situation,called out, "*ouldn't find us. e've won#"

-veryone !oined in as *olin flopped down on the grass, $camper dashing around,

conveniently barking."3ow what happened5 bviously the men caught you. hat did they say5" demandedPeter, perching on a large stone.

" told them was playing hide and seek, that's why began shouting !ust now,"e&plained *olin, sitting up. +lancing back towards the fence he repeated the briefconversation between himself and the men.

"There you are, then, everything's .9.," said 0arbara when *olin had finished. $hefolded her arms before continuing. " 'm not surprised the men were annoyed. Just

think how annoyed we were when $usie, 0inkie and Jeff appeared at our camp. t'snot a mystery after all."

"Just a minute, it doesn't 2uite add up," remarked Jack, his head on one side. "/re yousure the men said the two of them were camping5"

"Definitely," replied *olin. Then he realised what Jack was thinking. " f course,there were three men, not two."

"That's probably why they asked you what you'd seen," remarked +eorge. "Theywanted to know if you'd spotted the third man. 0ut why5"


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" f they were the men Jack and Peter saw, they must have been out all night as theywere dirty and unshaven and smelly," said *olin screwing up his nose.

" f they're camping, they can't e&actly wash or shave because there's no water in thewood," said Peter at once. "They do sound like the men we saw putting on red and

black wigs and one was definitely called *harlie, wasn't he, Jack5 0ut hang on, themen we saw didn't take their bikes."

"$orry Peter, but don't accept your e&cuse for the men not washing," said Jackshaking his head and looking bewildered. " hy camp where there's no water5 That's

plain daft."

"/nd why go out at night if you're camping5" added Pam.

"Put like that, suppose you're right," agreed 0arbara. " es, they are behavingstrangely. Perhaps we have got a mystery after all. know, let's be undercover agentsand keep a watch on them5"

" e sleep in tents so we're already under cover," added Pam, with a grin.

" hat on earth are we going to see, pray5" laughed Janet, stroking $camper who wasfed up with everyone !ust sitting around. %e wanted to play.

" ait, there might be something in 0arbara's suggestion," said Peter thoughtfully." e agree those men are acting strangely so it might be a good idea to see if they goout again and where they go. t only needs one of us to keep watch while the others

en!oy themselves.""$urely we needn't waste time keeping watch !ust yet," said +eorge. "Two of the menhave !ust returned and are bound to want to snatch some sleep."

"+eorge is right," agreed *olin. "The third man was snoring so he's obviously tiredand not likely to get up to much by himself, and the others did look sleepy."

"$o we could begin keeping watch later on," said 0arbara. " hat do you think,Peter5"

" t makes sense." said Peter nodding. " 'll make a lookout rota for early evening. 3owlet's get on with our camping and have a game."

"+ood idea," said Jack standing up. ";un and games, outdoor meals, and then... the$ecret $even +o 6ndercover#"

CHAPTER .: G&ING UN!ERC&$ER

t was fun having another meal in the open air. There was a ham salad with !uicytomatoes, hard boiled eggs and farmhouse cheese. Peter and Janet's father paid a

surprise visit during the afternoon while a rather noisy game was in progress.


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" ell you're certainly en!oying yourselves," he said beaming. "Don't worry, 'm notstaying. (ummy did some baking this morning and thought you'd appreciate somecakes and an apple pie. e'd hate you to starve. h, and here's a !ug of fresh cream."

"$mashing, Daddy#" said Janet taking the food from her father. "Thank (ummy for

us. e'll have the apple pie and cream with our meal and the cakes during theevening. ippee# e're having a super time."

"/nd not solving some problem for once," said Daddy looking pleased. "Thankgoodness#"

The $even e&changed glances but said nothing about the strange men in the woodnearby.

" ell, carry on having fun," said Daddy. "$ee you tomorrow."

During the afternoon the $even en!oyed a game of hide and seek, well away from thefence. There were plenty of hiding places as the farm covered a vast area. $camperwas very good at finding those hiding, usually to their disgust.

"This was a smashing hiding place till you came along barking and giving it away#"e&claimed Jack crouching in a cart.

" oof, woof#" replied $camper, trotting off to find someone else.

t was late afternoon when Peter reminded everyone about the mysterious men. " e'll

start keeping watch as soon as we've had our meal," he stated producing a rota." wonder what food they've got," said Jack. "Did you see any, *olin5"

"3o, but there was a carrier bag on the ground which could have contained food,"replied *olin.

"Perhaps they'll !oin us when they smell our cooking," laughed Pam. " ouldn't that be a surprise5"

" es, but a very unpleasant one," retorted Janet. " say, let's light the camp fire, Peter,

and cook potatoes in their !ackets."

" oh, yes," agreed 0arbara, rubbing her hands together. " love !acket potatoes."

nce the camp fire was burning merrily, the $even speared potatoes and cookedthem, trying not to burn themselves. ;ortunately there was no wind so any sparkssimply rose aimlessly up. They had cheese and beans with their potatoes followed bydelicious apple pie and cream. $even very contented children then sat around the firedrinking ginger beer.

"Time to start keeping lookout," announced Peter suddenly. "The list is in alphabeticalorder. ou're first, 0arbara. ou go undercover for twenty minutes and, if the men go


20/41

anywhere, the ne&t two on the list stalk them. This applies each time someone keepswatch."

0arbara found a comfortable spot ne&t to the fence where she could watch the bush.$he tried to make her ginger beer last but, it was a warm evening, so she drank it all

long before *olin appeared.

"3othing to report," she whispered. "Those men must be tired."

*olin settled down and was also surprised to see no movement. " 'd have e&pectedthem to've come out of the bush even if they didn't go anywhere," he thought tohimself. " hat a weird way of camping."

/s he watched, he heard whoops and howls coming from his side of the fence andsmiled. / game of ed ndians was obviously under way. Then he stiffened. /bovethe children's voices he could hear another sound 4 men's voices. $oon three menemerged from between the trees. "3o wonder there was no movement from the bush,"*olin muttered angrily, recognising the men. "They weren't there. 3ow what are theydoing5"

%e hurried to towards the main field where a strange but lively dance was taking place. $eeing him coming, Peter raised his hand for silence.

" 've something to report but keep making noises," said *olin urgently. %e 2uicklydescribed what he had seen. /t once, +eorge and Jack were told to be prepared tofollow the men.

"The rest of us will go to the lookout place with *olin," decided Peter. "*ome here,$camper."

+eorge and Jack trotted off to the gap in the fence. There, they cautiously peeredthrough in time to see two men removing bicycles from the bush. To the boys'ama8ement, the men began pushing two each. -ven more peculiar was the fact thattwo of the bikes were small and obviously made for children.

" t's safe to follow them," whispered Jack once the men disappeared among the trees." hy have so many bikes5"

"Did you notice the smaller bikes5" asked +eorge as they s2uee8ed through the fence." 'm sure one was a girl's bike."

" es, it was without a crossbar, like $usie's," replied Jack hurrying into the wood./fter a few moments he stopped. "9eep still, +eorge. They're not far ahead."

*rouching low, the boys inched their way towards the sound of voices untilsomething made them !ump and hold their breath. t was a bellow of rage from behindthem. Turning round, they saw the red7haired man, *harlie, pushing two more

bicycles.


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"9ids prying on us again#" he yelled, a look of fury spread across his unpleasant face.%e called out loudly to the other men who were not far away. " e're being spied onagain. *ome and teach these kids a lesson."

6nable to return to the fence, the two frightened boys darted sideways among the

trees and bushes. They heard the bikes fall to the ground as *harlie followed in hot pursuit. *onfronted by a stout oak tree the boys swerved to the left before having todive beneath the drooping branches of a willow which now blocked their way.

To their horror they found themselves near the main path through the wood andrealised they were going in the wrong direction. Two more men were actually on the

path. $potting the boys, they sped towards them, shouting loudly.

"This way#" yelled one. "Don't let them reach the road, %arry. nterfering brats#"

The boys ran back into the undergrowth then had to veer to the right as they heard*harlie nearby. They dashed round several bushes before making another sharp turnas they again reached the path.

" e're going round in circles#" e&claimed a very alarmed Jack. " here is the fence5"

" 'm completely lost," moaned +eorge looking around fearfully. " h, no. %ere theycome. +et moving Jack."

Trying not to panic, Jack set off again. unning alongside a bush, he peered beneathit. *ould they hide there5 3o, they'd be seen. %e paused but was roughly pushed on

by +eorge who could hear voices !ust behind him. Then, to his delight, Jack saw thefence and ran towards it but, before he could reach it, he spotted one of the menapproaching, and the man immediately saw him.

" ver here#" he bellowed while the frightened boys again dodged into theundergrowth, cursing the roots that seemed to be purposely trying to trip them up.;eeling they were in a nightmare where their legs wouldn't carry them fast enough,they again found themselves confronted by the old oak. They looked around terrified.;rom every direction came sounds of people approaching. They were trapped#

CHAPTER /: AN E0CITING E$ENING ( AN! ASURPRISING $ISIT

;or a moment, the terrified boys fro8e, unable to move. There was no place to hide

the secret seven under cover

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