Daisy tried to hide a giggle. Bets was most amazed, and looked at the drawing, trying to discover the tail, ears and hands that Larry and Pip were so unaccountably chatting about. Fatty went purple with rage.
"I suppose you think you're being funny again," he said, snatching the drawing out of Larry's hand. "You know quite well this is a copy of the footprints."
"Golly! So that's what it is!" said Pip, in an amazed voice. "Of course! Larry, how could we have thought they were anything else?"
Daisy went off into a squeal of laughter. Fatty folded up the paper and looked thoroughly offended. Buster jumped up on to his knees and licked his master's nose.
Bets put everything right in her simple manner. "Well!" she said, astonished, "it was all a joke, wasn't it, Larry? I looked at that drawing and I could quite well see it was a really marvellous copy of those footprints we saw. I couldn't imagine what you and Pip were talking about. Fatty, I wish I could draw as well as you can!"
Fatty had got up to go, but now he sat down again. The others grinned. It was a shame to tease poor old Fatty, but
really he did have such a very good opinion of himself!
"I've just shortly written down a few notes about yesterday," said Larry, drawing a small notebook out of his pocket. He opened it and read quickly the list of clues they already had. He held out his hand for Fatty's drawing.
"I think it had better go with the notes.," he said. "I'll keep both the notes and the drawings and the scrap of grey cloth somewhere carefully together, because they may soon become important. Where shall we keep them?"
"There's a loose board just behind you in the wall of the summer-house," said Pip eagerly. "I used to hide things there when I was little like Bets. It would be a fine place to put anything now - no one would ever think of looking there."