chapter 1 a letter from julian

'anne!' shouted george, running after her cousin as she went along to her classroom. 'anne! i've justbeen down to the letter board and there's a letter from your brother julian, i've brought it for you.'

anne stopped. 'oh thanks,' she said. 'what can julian want? he only wrote a few days ago - it's mostextraordinary for him to write again so soon. it must be something important.'

'well, open it and see,' said george. 'hurry up - i've got a maths class to go to.'

anne ripped open the envelope. she pulled out a sheet of notepaper and read it quickly. she lookedup at george, her eyes shining.

'george! julian and dick have got a few days off at our half-term week-end! somebody's won awonderful scholarship or something, and the boys have got two days tacked on to a week-end tocelebrate! they want us to join them in a hike, and all go off together.'

'what a glorious idea!' said george, 'good old julian. i bet he thought of that. let's read the letter,anne.'

but before she could read it a mistress came along. 'georgina! you should be in class - and you too,anne.'

george scowled. she hated to be called by her full name. she went off without a word. anne tuckedthe letter into her pocket and rushed off joyfully. half-term with her brothers, julian and dick - andwith george and timmy the dog. could anything be better?

she and george talked about it again after morning school. 'we get from friday morning tilltuesday,' said george. 'the boys are getting the same. what luck! they don't usually have a half-term in the winter term.'

'they can't go home because the painters are in our house,' said anne. 'that's why i was going homewith you, of course. but i'm sure your mother won't mind if we go off with the boys. your fathernever likes us in the middle of the term.'

'no, he doesn't,' said george, 'he's always deep in the middle of some wonderful idea, and he hates tobe disturbed. it will suit everyone if we go off on a hike.'

'julian says he will telephone to us tonight and arrange everything,' said anne. 'i hope it will be a nicefine week-end. it will still be october, so there's a chance of a bit of warm sunshine.'

2

'the woods will be beautiful,' said george. 'and won't timmy enjoy himself, let's go and tell himthe news.'

the boarding-school that the two girls were at was one that allowed the children to bring their ownpets to school. there were kennels down in the yard for various dogs, and timmy lived there duringterm-time. the two girls went to get him.

he heard their footsteps at once and began to bark excitedly. he scraped at the gate of the kennelyard, wishing for the thousandth time that he could find out how to open it.

he flung himself on the two girls, licking and pawing and barking.

'silly dog. mad dog!' said george, and thumped his back affectionately. 'listen, tim - we're going offfor the week-end with julian and dick! what do you think of that? we're going on a hike, so you'lllove it. all through the woods and up the hills and goodness knows where!'

timmy seemed to understand every word. he cocked up his ears, put his head on one side andlistened intently while george was speaking.

'woof,' he said, at the end, as if he approved thoroughly. then off he went with the girls for his walk,his plumy tail wagging happily. he didn't like term-time nearly as much as the holidays -but he was quite prepared to put up with kennel life so long as he could be near his beloved george.

julian rang up that night as he had promised. he had got everything planned already. anne listened,thrilled.

'it sounds super,' she said. 'yes - we can meet where you say, and we'll be there as near as we can ontime. anyway, we can wait about if you others aren't there. yes - we'll bring the things you say. ohjulian, won't it be fun?'

'what's he say?' asked george impatiently when at last anne put the receiver down. 'you might havelet me have a word with julian. i wanted to tell him all about timmy.'

'he doesn't want to waste an expensive telephone call listening to you raving about timmy,' saidanne. 'he asked how he was and i said ''fine'', and that's all he wanted to know about tim. he's madeall the arrangements. i'll tell you what they are.'

the girls went off to a corner of their common-room and sat down. timmy was there too. he wasallowed in at certain times, and so were three other dogs belonging to the girls. each dog behavedwell - he knew that if he didn't he would be taken back to the kennels at once!

'julian says that he and dick can get off immediately after breakfast,' said anne. 'so can we, so 3that's all right. he says we've got to take very little with us - just night-things, tooth-brush, hairbrushand flannel and a rolled-up mac. and any biscuits or chocolate we can buy. have you any moneyleft?'

'a bit,' said george. 'not much. enough to buy a few bars of chocolate, i think. anyway, you've gotall the biscuits your mother sent last week. we can take some of those.'

'yes. and the barley sugar one of my aunts sent,' said anne. 'but julian says we're not to take muchbecause this is to be a proper hike, and we'll get tired if we have to carry a heavy load. oh, he saidput in two pairs of extra socks.'

'right,' said george, and she patted timmy who was lying close beside her. 'there's going to be along walky-walk, tim. won't you love that!'

timmy grunted comfortably. he wondered if there would be any rabbits on the walk. a walk wasn'treally exciting unless there were rabbits all over the place. timmy thought it was a pity that rabbitswere allowed to live down holes. they always disappeared most unfairly just when he had nearlycaught one!

anne and george went to see their house-mistress to tell her that they were not going to kirrincottage after all, but were going walking.

'my brother says he has written to you,' said anne. 'so you'll know all about it tomorrow, misspeters. and george's mother will be writing too. we can go, can't we?'

'oh, yes - it will be a lovely half-term for you!' said miss peters. 'especially if this sunny weatherlasts. where are you going?'

'over the moors,' said anne. 'in the very loneliest, most deserted parts that julian can find! we mightsee deer and wild ponies and perhaps even a few badgers. we shall walk and walk.'

'but where will you sleep if the parts you are going to are so very lonely?' asked miss peters.

'oh julian is arranging all that,' said george. 'he's been looking up little inns and farm- houses on themap, and we shall make for those at night. it will be too cold to sleep out of doors.'

'it certainly will!' said miss peters. 'well don't get into trouble, that's all i know what you five arewhen you get together. i imagine timmy is going with you too?'

'of course!' said george. 'i wouldn't go if he didn't go! i couldn't leave him here alone.'

the two girls got their things ready as friday came near. the biscuits were taken out of the tin andput into paper bags. the barley sugar was put into a bag too, and the bars of chocolate.

both girls had rucksacks with straps for their shoulders. they packed and repacked them several 4times. one by one more and more things were added. anne felt she must take a book to read.

george said they must each take a torch with a new battery.

'and what about biscuits for timmy?' she said. 'i simply must take something for him. he'd like abone too - a big one that he can chew and chew and that i can put back into the bag for another time.'

'well, let me carry all the biscuits and chocolate then if you're going to put a smelly old bone intoyour bag,' said anne. 'i don't see why you want to take anything for timmy - he can always havesomething to eat when we do - wherever we have a meal.'

george decided not to take the bone. she had fetched one from his kennel, and it certainly was bigand heavy, and equally certainly it was smelly. she took it back to the kennel again, timmyfollowing her rather puzzled. why keep carrying his bone here and there? he didn't approve at all.

it seemed a long time till friday, but at last it came. both girls woke up very early indeed.

george was out in the kennels before breakfast, brushing and combing timmy to make him lookspruce and tidy for julian and dick. he knew it was the day they were to set off and he was as excitedas the two girls.

'we'd better eat a good breakfast,' said anne. 'we might have to wait some time before our next meal.

let's slip off immediately after breakfast. it's lovely to feel free of school and bells and timetables -but i shan't feel really free till i'm outside the school grounds!'

they ate an enormous breakfast though really they were too excited to want much. then they gottheir rucksacks, ready- packed the night before, said goodbye to miss peters, and went to fetchtimmy.

he was waiting impatiently for them, and barked madly when they came near. in a trice he was out ofhis kennel-yard and capering round them, almost tripping them up.

'good-bye, anne and george!' yelled one of their friends. 'have a good time on your hike - and it'sno good coming back on tuesday and telling us you've had one of your usual hair-raising adventures,because we just shan't believe it!'

'woof,' said timmy, 'woof, woof!' which meant that he was going to have adventures with hundredsof rabbits, anyway!