The children packed up the food, and went to stand at the front gate to watch for the Inspector. Mr. Goon came riding down on his bicycle. He jumped off when he saw them.
"I'd like a word with you," he said in his pompous voice.
"Sorry," said Larry, "but we're on our way to a picnic. I bet you'd like to come — it's going to be a gorgeous one."
Mr. Goon looked in astonishment at all the food. "You going to eat all that yourselves?" he said suspiciously. Fatty guessed that he thought they were going to take some to Luke. He grinned.
"Oh, no," said Fatty. "The food is for somebody else besides ourselves, Mr. Goon. We shan't tell you who. That would be giving away a secret."
"Hmmmm!" said Mr. Goon, feeling more and more suspicious. "Where are you going for your picnic?"
"Down by the river," said Bets. Mr. Goon got on his bicycle and rode away, thinking hard. Fatty chuckled.
"He thinks we're taking this food to Luke in some hiding-place somewhere," he said. "He doesn't know we're having a picnic with the Inspector. I say, wouldn't it be perfectly marvellous if he tried to follow us and pounced on us to see if we really had got Luke with us — and all the time it was Inspector Jenks?"
"Yes, marvellous," said Daisy. "Oh, look, here's the Inspector!"
It was. He drove up in a very smart black police car, parked it in Pip's garage, and then shook hands solemnly all round. "Very, very pleased to meet you all again," he said, with his beaming smile.