“Now we’re getting somewhere!” said Pip. “We know that whoever you phoned to knew about Milton House, and was worried to know some one had mentioned it, and came down to inspect. Who was it? John Henry Smith? And who is Mr. Smith, anyhow? I wish I knew.”
“Let’s shin up the tree and see if anything is different in the room,” said Larry.
So they all climbed the tree and one by one looked in at the window. And they saw several things that interested them!
“Some one’s put a kettle on top of the electric stove,” said Daisy.
“And some one’s put tins of food on that shelf opposite,” said Pip.
“And there are some books on the window-sill that weren’t there before - books in a foreign language I don’t know,” said Larry.
“And the room’s been dusted,” said Bets. “It looks quite clean. And there are two thick rugs on the sofa. What does it all mean?”
“It means that the room has been got ready for a visitor!” said Fatty. “Yes - it can only mean that. Who’s the visitor? Not Mr. John Henry Smith, I bet! Some one who uses the room at intervals when he wants to be well hidden. It’s jolly queer.”
“I wish we could get in and explore the whole house,” said Pip. “But there’s no way in at all.”
“Wait a minute,” said Fatty, thinking hard. “There may be a way. I’ve just thought. That is, if there’s an outside coal-hole.”