Five Get Into Trouble by Enid Blyton

'Like to throw another?'

    'Oh don't,' said the woman, beseechingly. 'You don't know what he's like when he's in a real temper. Don't!'

    The door of the room that the men had gone into opened, and somebody went upstairs. 'To fetch Dick,' thought Julian at once. He stood and listened.

    Hunchy got another shoe-brush and went on polishing, muttering angrily under his breath. The woman went on preparing some food. The others listened with Julian. They too guessed that the man had gone to fetch Dick to show him to Rooky.

    Footsteps came down the stairs again — two lots this time. Yes — Dick must be with the man, they could hear his voice.

    'Let go my arm! I can come without being dragged!' they heard him say indignantly.
    Good old Dick! He wasn't going to be dragged about without making a strong protest.

    He was taken into the room where the other three men were waiting. Then a loud voice was heard.

    'He's not the boy! Fools — you've got the wrong boy!'

    Hunchy and the woman heard the words too. They gaped at one another. Something had gone wrong. They went to the door and stood there silently. The children just stood behind them. Julian edged Richard away very gradual y.

    'Rub some soot over your hair,' he whispered. 'Make it as black as you can, Richard. If the men come out here to see us, they're not likely to recognize you so easily if your hair's black. Go on, quick — while the others aren't paying attention.'

    Julian was pointing to the inside of the grate, where black soot hung. Richard put his trembling hands into it and covered them with it. Then he rubbed the soot over his yellow hair.

    'More,' whispered Julian. 'Much more! Go on. I'll stand in front of you so that the others can't see what you're doing.'

    Richard rubbed soot even more wildly over his hair. Julian nodded. Yes — it looked black enough now. Richard looked quite different. Julian hoped Anne and George would be sensible enough not to exclaim when they saw him.

    There was evidently some sharp argument going on in the room off the hall. Voices were raised, but not many words could be made out from where the children stood at the kitchen door. Dick's voice could be heard too. It suddenly sounded quite clearly.

    'I TOLD you you'd made a mistake. Now you just let me go, see!'

    Hunchy suddenly pushed everyone roughly away from the door — except poor Richard who was standing over in a dark corner, shaking with fright!

    'They're coming,' he hissed. 'Get away from the door.'

    Everyone obeyed. Hunchy took up a shoe-brush again, the woman went to peel potatoes, the children turned over the pages of some old magazines they had found.

    Footsteps came to the kitchen door. It was flung open. Mr Perton was there — and behind him another man. No mistaking who he was!

    Thick-lipped, with an enormous nose — yes, he was the ruffian Rooky, once bodyguard to Richard's father — the man who hated Richard because he had told tales of him and who had been sent off in disgrace by the boy's father.

    Richard cowered back in his corner, hiding behind the others. Anne and George had given him astonished stares when they had noticed his hair, but neither of them had said a word. Hunchy and the woman didn't seem to have noticed any change in him.

    Dick was with the two men. He waved to the others. Julian grinned. Good old Dick!

    Rooky glanced at al four children. His eye rested for a moment on Richard, and then glanced away. He hadn't recognized him!

    'Well, Mr Perton,' said Julian. 'I'm glad to see you've got my brother down from the room you locked him up in last night. I imagine that means he can come with us now. Why you brought him here as you did, and made him a prisoner last night I can't imagine.'

    'Now look here,' said Mr Perton, in quite a different voice from the one he had used to them before, 'now look here — quite frankly we made a mistake. You don't need to know why or how — that's none of your business. This isn't the boy we