Mystery of the Secret Room by Enid Blyton Page A

Buster nearly spoilt things by running back to the note and sniffing at it.
    “Buster! Idiot! Come here and leave that alone,” said Fatty, in a low voice. “Don’t you dare to pick it up and bring it!”
    Buster, though surprised, had the sense to leave the note where it was. Limping badly, he went after the others, feeling rather hurt that Fatty should have scolded him.
    “Can we manage to see if old Clear-Orf picks it up?” said Larry excitedly. “I do hope he does.”
    “I’ll go into the sweet-shop and watch, whilst you others go on,” said Fatty.
    So Fatty watched from the sweet-shop, whilst he was buying chocolate, and to his great delight he saw Mr. Goon pick up the note!
    “I bet he’ll read it!” thought Fatty, pleased. “He’s so jolly snoopy.”
    Mr. Goon put the note in his pocket. He certainly meant to read it! He pondered whether to go on following the children or to slip home and read the note. It might tell him something he wanted to know!
    He went home. He opened the note and gave a snort. “Ho! Didn’t I know they were up to something? On the track of some thief now. I suppose it’s the Sparling Robbery they’ve heard about. Well, who would have thought the thief would have come in this direction? Felling Hill, they say. Well, I’ll be along there sometime or other, and if I don’t sniff something out, my name’s not Theophilus Goon!”
    Mr. Goon felt very pleased. “Those children think they’re clever - but they go and drop a note like this and give their game away,” thought the policeman. “Now I know what they’re after. I knew they were interfering in something again. Can’t keep them children out of meddling!”
    He sat and thought for a moment. “Now wait a bit - this boy Larry says the thief put the things on Felling Hill and took them away again. Where did he take them to? Why are those kids so interested in Milton House? Ah - now I’ve got it - the thief has hidden the jewels somewhere in that empty house!”
    This wasn’t at all what Larry had wanted Mr. Goon to think. But Mr. Goon felt very pleased with himself. He thought he could see everything clearly now. Somehow those kids had got on the Sparling Robbery mystery, and somehow they had got on the track of the thief, and had found out where he had first hidden his booty. Now they were on the track of the booty again - and maybe Milton House was the key to the mystery!
    “Ah! - I’ll keep a good watch on that there house now,” he thought. “If there’s any jewels hidden there, I’ll be the one to find them and not that fat boy. Got brains, has he - but mine are better than his. Ho! I’ll pay him out for saying mine want oiling!”
    Meanwhile, not knowing that Mr. Goon was thinking all these tiresome things, the children were on their way to Milton House, keeping a sharp look-out in case Mr. Goon was still following them.
    “I don’t think he is,” said Fatty. “He’s probably on his way to Felling Hill by now!”
    They came to Milton House - and almost at once Fatty gave a low exclamation.
    “Look there!’ What do you think of that? Footprints to the front door!”
    The children stared at them. They saw a line of prints, very big prints too, leading down the drive, right to the front door. And they saw another line, criss-crossing the others, leading back!
    “Some one’s been here,” said Fatty, excited.
    “Yes - I bet you did put John Henry Smith on his guard, and he came down here in the night!” said Larry.
    “How did he come?” said Pip.
    “By car, I bet!” said Daisy. “I saw some car-prints outside, but I didn’t take much notice of them. Come and see.”
    They all went to see - and sure enough, a car had been down Chestnut Lane the night before, and had stopped outside Milton House! And it had turned round there too and gone back up the lane again, for there were the same wheel-prints on opposite sides of the road.
    “Now we’re getting somewhere!” said Pip. “We know that whoever you phoned to knew about Milton House, and was worried to know