"It's his mystery!" said Daisy. "He's as pleased as a dog with two tails because he's got a real crime to solve."
"Well, we'll keep out of Clear-Orf s way," said Larry. "Won't he look silly when we tell him who really did do it! Because I'm sure we shall find out, you know, if we all work together and try hard."
"What shall we do for a beginning?" asked Pip, who was longing to do something.
"We must look for clues. We must find out more about the tramp in the torn mackintosh and old hat that Fatty saw," said Larry. "We must find out if anyone has a spite against Mr. Hick. We must find out if anyone had the chance of getting into the workroom that day, to fire it."
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to talk to Mrs. Minns, the cook," said Daisy. "She would know if anyone had been about that day. And hasn't Mr. Hick got another manservant besides his chauffeur?"
"Yes, he's got a valet, but I don't know his name," said Larry. "We'll find out about him too. Golly., we've got a lot to do."
"Let's all go and look for glues first," said Bets, who quite thought she would find all kinds of things round and about the burnt cottage, which would tell at once who the wrong-doer might be.
"Right," said Larry, who rather wanted to hunt for clues himself. "Now, listen - we may be turned off if anyone sees us poking about at the bottom of Mr. Hick's garden. So I shall drop a shilling somewhere, and if we are questioned I shall say I've dropped a shilling, and then they'll think we are looking for it. It'll be quite true - I shall drop a shilling!"
"All right," said Pip, getting up. "Come on. Let's go now - and after that I should think the next thing to do is for one of us to go and have a talk with Mrs. Minns. I bet she'll be glad enough to jabber about everything. We might learn a lot of useful things from her."
Buster leapt down from Larry's knee, his tail wagging. "I believe he understood every word!" said Bets. "He's just as keen to look for glues as we are!"