The door was pushed open once more, and the three conspirators tumbled into the room. Their ties and collars were in much the same condition as the Doctor’s, but they seemed none the worse for that. Indeed, they looked rather cheerful over it than otherwise, until they saw the Doctor sitting there, holding Barbara’s hand; and then they stopped short and hesitated.
‘Do, do tell me,’ implored Babs. ‘How did Dr. Hurst rescue Jill?’
‘I’ll tell you, Babs dear,’ cried Robin, suddenly dancing up to the Doctor, and climbing on his knee in quite a friendly manner. ‘He came walking with big long steps up to the door of the barn, where we was keeping guard over Jill; and he said, “Who can wrestle, out of you young scamps?” ’Course I said I could, but he just swinged me up in the apple tree an’ left me there, which was horrid, but I didn’t mind much, ’cause I saw all the fun. An’ the others said they could, if he liked; an’ the Doctor said whoever won was to have Jill, an’ Peter said “Yes,” ’cos he’s lots bigger’n the Doctor and he thought he’d win. But he didn’t win, nobody did, ’cept only Dr. Hurst; so he got Jill and brought her back here; an’ I climbed down from the apple tree all by myself, an’ the others shook hands with the Doctor and stopped behind, lookin’ scared!’
‘I beg to state,’ said Jill, severely, from the other side of the room, where she was preparing tea, ‘that nobody has got me, as you call it. And the sooner you all go out of this room and leave me alone with my patient, the better.’
‘So he got Jill’
‘I say,’ began Wilfred, who was standing first on one leg and then on the other, and trying not to laugh, ‘you’re not really wild with us, are you, Jill?’
‘I’m simply furious with you,’ said Jill, and she began cutting bread and butter with vigour.
‘We really did it for your good,’ added Peter, putting on an air of mock penitence. ‘How were we to know you didn’t want to be saved from the Doctor?’