The children listened breathlessly. They were getting the truth at last!
Lily went on, twisting her handkerchief round and round all the time. "So when we'd had a cup of tea, we rode off here, and we left our bikes behind the hedge up the lane. Nobody saw us. We walked down, behind the hedge, till we got to Mr. Hick's. Then we both slipped into lie bushes and waited a bit to see if any one was about."
The children nodded. The tramp had said that he had heard Peeks whispering to some one and that some one must have been Lily!
"I soon found out that Mrs. Mirhis had got her sister talking to her," went on Lily, "and I knew they'd sit there for ages. I said to Horace that I'd get his things for him if he liked, but he wanted to get them himself. Sol kept watch whilst he slipped into the house by an open window, got his things and came out into the bushes again. Then we went off on our bikes, without seeing a soul."
"And Horace didn't slip down the garden to the workroom?" asked Larry. Lily looked indignant.
"That he didn't!" she said. "For one thing I'd have seen him. For another thing, he wasn't gone more than three minutes. And for another thing, my Horace wouldn't do a thing like that!"
"Well that lets Horace out," said Larry, saying aloud what every one else was thinking. "He couldn't have done it. I'm glad you told us all this, Lily. Golly I do wonder who did it then?"
"It only leaves Mr. Smellie," said Bets, without thinking.
Bets's words had an astonishing result. Lily let out a squeal, and stared at Bets as if she couldn't believe her ears. She opened and shut her mouth like a fish, and didn't seem able to say a word.
"Whatever's the matter?" asked Larry, in surprise.
"What did she say that for?" asked Lily, almost in a whisper. "How does she know that Mr. Smellie was here that night?"
Now it was the children's turn to look surprised. "Well," and Larry, "we don't know for certain. We only just wondered. But why are you so astonished, Lily? What do you know about it, anyway? You didn't see Mr. Smellie, did you? You said that no one saw you and Horace."
"That's right," said Lily. "But Horace saw some one! When he got in through the window, and went upstairs to get his things, he saw some one creeping in through the garden door. And it was Mr. Smellie!"
"Golly!" said Larry and Pip. They all stared at one another. "So Mr. Smellie did go down here that night!" said Larry.
"No wonder he was so startled when you asked him if he went anywhere near Mr. Hick's on the evening of the fire," said Daisy.
"He did it!" said Bets
triumphantly. "Now we know. H e did it! He's a wicked old man."
"Do you think he did it?" Fatty asked Lily. She looked puzzled and perplexed.
"/ don't know," she said. "He's a nice, quiet old gentleman, / think, and always had a kind word for me. It's not like him to do such a violent thing as set something on fire. But what I do know is it wasn't Horace."
"No it doesn't look as if it could have been Horace," agreed Larry. "I see now why you didn't say anything before, Lily you were afraid. Well we shan't tell any one. It see his to me that we must now turn more of our attention to Mr. Smellie!"
"No doubt about that!" said Fatty. "Well we've certainly found out a few things this afternoon!"
Clear-Orf turns up at an Awkward Moment
They were all having tea at Pip's, which was nice because they could talk everything over. They were very excited indeed.
"Things are moving!" said Pip, rubbing His hands together. "They certainly are moving! I don't believe Horace Peeks had anything to do with it at all. Not a thing. I think it was Mr. Smellie. Look how scared he was when you and Daisy spoke to him about his walk that evening. Why should he be scared if he hadn't done anything wrong?"
"And we know His shoes are the right size, even if the rubber-soles don't match the drawing," said Daisy.
"Maybe he has got a pair that do match," said Fatty, "but he's hidden them somewhere in case he did leave footprints behind. He might have thought of that".
"Yes, that's so," said Larry. "If only we could find some one with a torn grey flannel suit that really would settle matters!"
"We really ought to search and see if we can find those shoes," said Daisy. "I should think they are in His study somewhere. You know he told us that Miss Miggie isn't allowed to tidy up in there. He could easily pop them into a cupboard there, or behind those rows of books or somewhere."
"Daisy, that's a clever idea of yours," said Larry, pleased. "I believe you're right. Shall I creep in tonight and have a hunt?"
"Are we allowed to get into people's houses and hunt for their shoes?" said Pip doubtfully.
"Well, we can't ask anybody that," said Larry. "We'll just have to do it. We're not doing anything wrong. We're only trying to find out something."
"I know. But grown-ups are funny," said Pip. "I'm sure most of them wouldn't like children creeping about their houses looking for clues."
"Well, I don't see what else to do," said Larry. "I really don't. Anyway, silly, we've got to put back the shoe that Daisy took, haven't we?"