'It's very dark now,' said the Headmaster, 'and the boys may lose their way... if they knew it. But they have never known the way from Pottlewhistle Halt to the school.'
'I think if we have a search-party with torches and whistles, it will help us to find the boys,' said Mr Carter.
'You are right,' said the Headmaster.
Then the teachers decided that only the boys from the football team should be in the search-party.
'They are still in their outdoor shoes and raincoats,' said Mr Carter, 'and they know who we are looking for and they have already had their tea in Bracebridge School.'
Five minutes later the ten football players were standing in the school yard.
'We are going towards Pottlewhistle Halt,' Mr Carter said to them. 'Jennings and Darbishire are coming from Pottlewhistle Halt. You must all keep together. You must be able to hear each other's whistles and see each other's torches. Now, have you all got torches?'
'I told them to go and take them,' said Mr Wilkins, 'because... Oh, I say. Carter, I haven't got a torch myself. I quite forgot to go and take one.'
'If only Wilkins could stay at home!' thought Mr Carter. 'With his help we may lose some other boys before we find Jennings and Darbishire.'
But Mr Carter did not say so.
'Has any boy got a torch to give Mr Wilkins?' he asked.
'Yes, I have, sir,' said Temple. 'Here you are, sir; you can have this torch.'
'Thank you,' said Mr Wilkins. 'Are you sure you don't want it yourself?
'Oh, no, sir, that's all right. I don't want it, sir,- it hasn't got a battery.'
'I... I... But you, silly little boy, what can I do with it?'
'Let's go,' said Mr Carter. 'We have very little time. Let me count you.'
Mr Carter switched on his torch and counted; ten boys plus two teachers.
'Let's go,' he said and the search-party set out!
* * *
There was not one but many paths that lad to the road between Pottlewhistle Halt and Linbury. Jennings decided to take a short-ill, so the boys turned right, then left, then right again, and soon they understood that they were lost.
'How many miles do you think we have already walked?' asked Darbishire. 'I'm tired.'
'I don't really know. I think three or four,' answered Jennings.
'Are you sure we are going the right way?'
'No, maybe we are walking round and round in circles,' said Jennings. 'It's so dark that I can't see anything. I can't see my hand in front of my face... Oh, Darbi! I've 1ost my glove again!'
'You couldn't lose your glove again. You have never really lost it.'
Jennings turned and went back along the path. 'It can't be very far away from here, I remember I had them five minutes ago,' he thought.
Darbishire went after him. 'As we've lost our way, it doesn't matter which way we go,' he thought.
At that moment they heard a whistle - three long whistles.
'I say, Darbi, did you hear a whistle?'
'That wasn't a whistle: that was a bird,' Darbishire decided.
'But there were three of them!'
'All right then, there were three birds; or the same bird whistled three times.'
'Oh, don't talk! Listen, there it is again!'
The whistles were nearer now.
'It's Mr Carter's referee whistle,' said Jennings.
'How can it be?' exclaimed Darbishire. 'You are hearing things.'
'Of course I'm hearing things. I've heard Mr Carter's whistle.'
'No, I mean you're hearing things that aren't there. Maybe it's a mirage. But as it's too dark to see, you hear it,' explained Darbishire.
But some moments later the 'mirage' was nearer. The boys heard the shouts and saw the light of torches. Then they heard Venables' voice, then Atkinson's, then... Mr Wilkins'!
'All the team's there,' Jennings said in surprise. 'What are they doing miles away from Linbury? Maybe they are looking for something too. I wonder what it can be!'
'I think they were late for the bus and are walking back to school,' explained Darbishire.
'Maybe they also tried to take a short-cut and lost their way,' said Jennings.
'Let's go and join them,' said Darbishire happily.
'No, if we go and tell them our story Mr Wilkins will get very angry. Maybe they didn't notice that we were missing.'
'That's right, but what shall we do, then?' asked Darbishire.
'We'll just join them, one at a time, and not say much. They won't notice in the dark. And when they find the way, we'll all come back to school. They will think that we have been with them all the time,' Jennings explained his plan. 'Go and join them, and I'll go after you.'
Chapter Seventeen
Jennings finds his glove
When the search-party came to the hill Mr Wilkins cried, 'Keep together, you boys or you'll lose each other. And if any of you thinks that he hears something... Be quiet Venables, when I'm talking.'
'I was quiet, sir.'
'Well, don't be quiet so loudly. It's very difficult to keep together in the dark with-out... Now, where's Mr Carter?'
'He is coming behind us. I heard his whistle a moment ago,' said a voice in the dark-ness.
'Good! I'll give an answering whistle,' said Mr Wilkins. 'But... I think I've left my whistle at school.'
'I can give you my whistle, sir,' said an-other voice. 'But it's a toy whistle - my aunt gave it to me last Christmas.'
'Never mind who gave it to you, if it works,' said Mr Wilkins and took the whistle.
At this time Mr Wilkins heard Mr Carter's three long whistles. Mr Wilkins decided to answer. He put the toy whistle to his lips and blew with all his strength. The boys around Mr Wilkins heard a thin peep-peep and laughed loudly.
'Be quiet and listen to me,' Mr Wilkins said angrily. 'When we come to the top of this hill, half of you will go with Mr Carter to Haltpottle Whistle (he still could not remember the name) and the other half will come with me to... Who's that boy walking there? I've asked you to stand still.'
'I think it's Atkinson, sir,' said Temple.
But it wasn't Atkinson. It was Darbishire who was joining the search-party at that moment.
'No, it's not me; I'm here, sir,' Atkinson's voice said from the darkness.
Mr Wilkins tried to see who it was, but could not.
'I can't see who is here and who isn't. Stand still! I'm going to count you. 'When he counted he pointed to each boy.' One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven!'
Eleven!
'It can't be eleven. We had only ten when we left the school yard,' thought Mr Wilkins.
Mr Carter arrived at the moment. Jennings followed him, and joined the search-party as Mr Wilkins turned to Mr Carter for help.
'I can't do anything with these boys, Carter! I'm trying to count them and they don't stand still.'
'Another boy was lost?' asked Mr Carter.
