chapter 4 richard

anne was astonished to find three boys in the green pool instead of two. she stood by the water withher sponge and flannel, staring. who was the third boy?

the three came back to the side of the pool where anne stood. she looked at the strange boy shyly.

he was not much older than she was, and not as big as julian or dick, but he was sturdily made, andhad laughing blue eyes she liked. he smoothed back his dripping hair.

'this your sister?' he said to julian and dick. 'hallo there!'

'hallo,' said anne and smiled. 'what's your name?'

'richard,' he said. 'richard kent. what's yours?'

'anne,' said anne. 'we're on a biking tour.'

the boys had had no time to introduce themselves. they were still panting from their swim.

'i'm julian and he's dick, my brother,' said julian, out of breath. 'i say - i hope we're not trespassingon your land as well as on your water!'

richard grinned. 'well, you are as a matter of fact. but i give you free permission! you can borrowmy pool and my land as much as you like!'

'oh thanks,' said anne. 'i suppose it's your father's property? it didn't say "private" or anything, so wedidn't know. would you like to come and have breakfast with us? if you'll dress with the othersthey'll bring you to where we camped last night.'

she sponged her face and washed her hands in the pool, hearing the boys chattering behind thebushes where they had left their clothes. then she sped back to their sleeping-place, meaning to tidyup the bags they had slept in, and put out breakfast neatly. but george was still fast asleep in her bag,her head showing at the top with its mass of short curls that made her look like a boy.

'george! do wake up. somebody's coming to breakfast,' said anne, shaking her.

george shrugged away crossly, not believing her. it was just a trick to make her get up and help withthe breakfast! anne left her. all right - let her be found in her sleeping-bag if she liked!

she began to unpack the food and set it out neatly. what a good thing they had brought two extrabottles of lime-juice. now they could offer richard one.

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the three boys came up, their wet hair plastered down. richard spotted george in the bag as timmycame over to meet him. he fondled timmy who, smelling that other dogs had been round richard athome, sniffed him over with great interest.

'who's that still asleep?' asked richard.

'that's george,' said anne. 'too sleepy to wake up! come on - i've got breakfast ready. would youlike to start off with rolls and anchovy and lettuce? and there's lime-juice if you want it.'

george heard richard's voice, as he sat talking with the others and was astonished. who was that?

she sat up, blinking, her hair tousled and short. richard honestly thought she was a boy.

she looked like one and she was called george!

'top of the morning to you, george,' he said. 'hope i'm not eating your share of the breakfast.'

'who are you?' demanded george. the boys told her.

'i live about three miles away,' said the boy. 'i biked over here this morning for a swim. i say -that reminds me - i'd better bring my bike up here and put it where i can see it. i've had two stolenalready through not having them under my eye.'

he shot off to get his bike. george took the opportunity of getting out of her sleeping-bag and rushedoff to dress. she was back before richard was, eating her breakfast. he wheeled his bicycle as hecame.

'got it all right,' he said, and flung it down beside him. 'don't want to have to tell my father this one'sgone, like the others. he's pretty fierce.'

'my father's a bit fierce too,' said george.

'does he whip you?' asked richard, giving timmy a nice little tit bit of roll and anchovy paste.

'of course not,' said george. 'he's just got a temper, that's all.'

'mine's got tempers and rages and furies, and if anyone offends him or does him a wrong he's like anelephant - never forgets,' said richard. 'he's made plenty of enemies in his lifetime.

sometimes he's had his life threatened, and he's had to take a bodyguard about with him.'

this all sounded extremely thrilling. dick half-wished he had a father like that. i would be nice totalk to the other boys at school about his father's 'bodyguard'.

'what's his bodyguard like?' asked anne, full of curiosity.

'oh, they vary. but they're all big hefty fellows - they look like ruffians, and probably are,' saidrichard, enjoying the interest the others were taking in him. 'one he had last year was awful - he 16had the thickest lips you ever saw, and such a big nose that when you saw him sideways you reallythought he'd put a false one on just for fun.'

'gracious!' said anne. 'he sounds horrible. has your father still got him?'

'no. he did something that annoyed dad - i don't know what - and after a perfectly furious row myfather chucked him out,' said richard. that was the end of him. jolly good thing too. i hated him. heused to kick the dogs around terribly.'

'oh! what a beast!' said george, horrified. she put her arm round timmy as if she was afraidsomebody might suddenly kick him around too.

julian and dick wondered whether to believe all this. they came to the conclusion that the talesrichard told were very much exaggerated, and they listened with amusement, but not with suchhorror as the two girls, who hung on every word that richard said.

'where's your father now?' said anne. 'has he got a special bodyguard this very moment?'

'rather! he's in america this week, but he's flying home soon - plus bodyguard,' said richard,drinking the last of his lime-juice from the bottle. 'ummm, that's good. i say, aren't you lucky to beallowed to go off alone like this on your bikes - and sleep where you like. my mother never will letme - she's always afraid something will happen to me.'

'perhaps you'd better have a bodyguard too,' suggested julian, slyly.

'i'd soon give him the slip,' said richard. 'as a matter of fact i have got a kind of a bodyguard.'

'who? where?' asked anne, looking all round as if she expected some enormous ruffian suddenly toappear.

'well - he's supposed to be my holiday tutor,' said richard, tickling timmy round the ears. 'he'scalled lomax and he's pretty awful. i'm supposed to tell him every time i go out - just as if i was akid like anne here.'

anne was indignant. 'i don't have to tell anybody when i want to go off on my own,' she said.

'actually i don't think we'd be allowed to rush off completely on our own unless we had old timmy,'

said dick, honestly. 'he's better than any ruffianly bodyguard or holiday tutor. i wonder you don'thave a dog.'

'oh, i've got about five,' said richard, airily.

'what are their names?' asked george, disbelievingly.

'er - bunter, biscuit, brownie, bones - and er - bonzo,' said richard, with a grin.

'silly names,' said george, scornfully. 'fancy calling a dog biscuit. you must be cracked.'

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'you shut up,' said richard, with a sudden scowl. 'i don't stand people telling me i'm cracked.'

'well, you'll have to stand me telling you,' said george. 'i do think it's cracked to call a dog, a nice,decent dog, by a name like biscuit!'

'i'll fight you then,' said richard, surprisingly, and stood up. 'come on - you stand up.'

george leapt to her feet. julian shot out a hand and pulled her down again.

'none of that,' he said to richard. 'you ought to be ashamed of yourself.'

'why?' flared out richard, whose face had gone very red. evidently he and his father shared the samefierceness of temper!

'well, you don't fight girls,' said julian, scornfully. 'or do you? correct me if i'm wrong.'

richard stared at him in amazement. 'what do you mean?' he said. 'girls? of course i don't fightgirls. no decent boy hits a girl - but it's this boy here i want to fight - what do you call him? -george.'

to his great surprise julian, dick and anne roared with laughter. timmy barked madly too, pleasedat the sudden ending of the quarrel. only george looked mutinous and cross.

'what's up now?' asked richard, aggressively. 'what's all the fun and games about?'

'richard, george isn't a boy - she's a girl,' explained dick at last. 'my goodness - she was just about toaccept your challenge and fight you, too - two fierce little fox-terriers having a scrap!'

richard's mouth fell open in an even greater astonishment. he blushed redder than ever. he lookedsheepishly at george.

'are you really a girl?' he said. 'you behave so like a boy - and you look like one too. sorry, george.

is your name really george?'

'no - georgina,' said george, thawing a little at richard's awkward apology, and pleased that he hadhonestly thought her a boy. she did so badly want to be a boy and not a girl.

'good thing i didn't fight you,' said richard, fervently. 'i should have knocked you flat!'

'well, i like that,' said george, flaring up all over again. julian pushed her back with his hand.

'now shut up, you two, and don't behave like idiots. where's the map? it's time we had a squint at itand decided what we are going to do for today - how far we're going to ride, and where we're makingfor by the evening.'

fortunately george and richard both gave in with a good grace. soon all six heads - timmy's too -were bent over the map. julian made his decision.

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'we'll make for middlecombe woods - see, there they are on the map. that's decided then - it'll be ajolly nice ride.'

it might be a nice ride - but it was going to be something very much more than that!