island of Kirrin - what adventures they had had there in the summer!

[⁴⁷] The girls went into the house. 'Quentin!' called George's mother. 'Quentin! The girls are here.'

[⁴⁸] Uncle Quentin came out of his study at the other side of the house. Anne thought he looked taller and darker than ever. 'And frownier!' she said to herself. Uncle Quentin might be very clever, but Anne preferred someone jolly and smiling like her own father. She shook hands with her uncle politely, and watched George kiss him.

[⁴⁹] 'Well!' said Uncle Quentin to Anne. 'I hear I've got to get a tutor for you! At least, for the two boys. My word, you will have to behave yourself with a tutor I can tell you!'

[⁵⁰] This was meant to be a joke, but it didn't sound very nice to Anne and George. People you had to behave well with were usually very strict and tiresome. Both girls were glad when George's father had gone back into his study.

[⁵¹] 'Your father has been working far too hard lately,' said George's mother to her. 'He is tired out. Thank goodness his book is nearly finished. He had hoped to finish it by Christmas so that he could join in the fun and games - but now he says he can't.'

[⁵²] 'What a pity,' said Anne, politely, though secretly she thought it was a good thing. It wouldn't be much fun having Uncle Quentin to play charades and things like that! 'Oh, Aunt Fanny, I'm so looking forward to seeing Julian and Dick - and won't they be pleased to see Tim and George? Aunt Fanny, nobody calls George Georgina at school, not even our Form mistress. I was rather hoping they would, because I wanted to see what would happen when she refused to answer to Georgina! George, you liked school, didn't you."

[⁵³] 'Yes,' said George, -I did. I thought I'd hate being with a lot of others, but it's fun, after all. But Mother, you won't find my report very good, I'm afraid. There were such a lot of things I was bad at because I'd never done them before.'

[⁵⁴] 'Well, you'd never been to school before!' said her mother. I'll explain it to your father if he gets upset. Now go along and get ready for a late tea. You must be very hungry.'

[⁵⁵] The girls went upstairs to their little room. 'I'm glad I'm not spending my holls by myself,' said George. 'I've had much more fun since I've known you and the boys. Hi, Timothy, where have you gone?'

[⁵⁶] 'He's gone to smell all round the house to make sure it's his proper home!' said Anne, with a giggle. 'He wants to know if the kitchen smells the same - and the bathroom - and his basket. It must be just as exciting for him to come home for the holls as it is for us!'

[⁵⁷] Anne was right. Timothy was thrilled to be back again.

He ran round George's mother, sniffing at her legs in friendliness, pleased to see her again. He ran into the kitchen but soon came out again because someone new was there - Joanna the cook - a fat, panting person who eyed him with suspicion.

[⁵⁸] 'You can come into this kitchen once a day for your dinner,' said Joanna. 'And that's all. I'm not having meat and sausages and chicken disappearing under my nose if I can help it. I know what dogs are, I do!'

[⁵⁹] Timothy ran into the scullery and sniffed round there. He ran into the dining-room and the sitting-room, and was pleased to find they had the same old smell. He put his nose to the door of the study where George's father worked, and sniffed very cautiously. He didn't mean to go in. Timothy was just as wary of George's father as the others were!

[⁶⁰] He ran upstairs to the girls' bedroom again. Where was his basket? Ah, there it was by the window-seat. Good! That meant he was to sleep in the girls' bedroom once more. He curled himself up in his basket, and thumped loudly with his tail.

[⁶¹] 'Glad to be back,' said his tail, 'glad - to - be - back!'

[⁶²] Chapter Two ALL TOGETHER AGAIN

[⁶³] THE next day the boys came back. Anne and George went to meet them with Timothy. George drove the pony-trap, and Tim sat beside her. Anne could hardly wait for the train to stop at the station. She ran along the platform, looking for Julian and Dick in the carriages that passed.

[⁶⁴] Then she saw them. They were looking out of a window at the back of the train, waving and yelling.

[⁶⁵] 'Anne! Anne! Here we are! Hallo, George! Oh, there's Timothy!'

[⁶⁶] 'Julian! Dick!' yelled Anne. Timothy began to bark and leap about. It was most exciting.

[⁶⁷] 'Oh, Julian! It's lovely to see you both again!' cried Anne, giving her two brothers a hug each. Timothy leapt up and licked them both. He was beside himself with joy. Now he had all the children around him that he loved.

[⁶⁸] The three children and the dog stood happily together, all talking at once whilst the porter got the luggage out of the train. Anne suddenly remembered George. She looked round her. She was nowhere to be seen, although she had come on the station platform with Anne.

[⁶⁹] 'Where's old George?' said Julian. 'I saw her here when I waved out of the window.'

[⁷⁰] 'She must have gone back to the pony-trap,' said Anne. 'Tell the porter to bring your trunks out to the trap, Julian. Come along! We'll go and find George.'

[⁷¹] George was standing by the pony, holding his head. She looked rather gloomy, Anne thought. The boys went up to her.

[⁷²] 'Hallo, George, old thing!' cried Julian, and gave her a hug. Dick did the same.

[⁷³] 'What's up?' asked Anne, wondering at George's sudden silence.

[⁷⁴] 'I believe George felt left-cut!' said Julian with a grin. 'Funny old Georgina!'

[⁷⁵] 'Don't call me Georgina!' said the little girl fiercely. The boys laughed.

[⁷⁶] 'Ah, it's the same fierce old George, all right,' said Dick, and he gave the girl a friendly slap on the shoulder. 'Oh, George - it's good to see you again. Do you remember our marvellous adventures in the summer?'

[⁷⁷] George felt her awkwardness slipping away from her. She had felt left-out when she had seen the great welcome that the two boys gave to their small sister -' but no one could sulk for long with Julian and Dick. They just wouldn't let anyone feel left-out or awkward or sulky.

[⁷⁸] The four children climbed into the trap. The porter heaved in the two trunks. There was only just room for them. Timothy sat on top of the trunks, his tail wagging nineteen to the dozen, and his tongue hanging out because he was panting with delight.

[⁷⁹] 'You two girls were lucky to be able to take Tim to school with you,' said Dick, patting the big dog lovingly.

'No pets are allowed at our school. Awfully hard on those fellows who like live things.'

[⁸⁰] 'Thompson Minor kept white mice,' said Julian. 'And one day they escaped and met Matron round a corner of the passage. She squealed the place down.'

[⁸¹] The girls laughed. The boys always had funny tales to tell when they got home.

[⁸²] 'And Kennedy keeps snails,' said Dick. 'You know, snails sleep for the winter - but Kennedy kept his in far too warm a place, and they all crawled out of their box and went up the walls. You should have heard how we laughed when the geography master asked Thompson to point out Cape Town on the map - and there was one of the snails in the very place!'

[⁸³] Everyone laughed again. It was so good to be all together once more. They were very much of an age -Julian was twelve, George and Dick were eleven, and Anne was ten. Holidays and Christmas time were in front of them. No wonder they laughed at everything, even the silliest little joke!

[⁸⁴] 'It's good that Mummy is getting on all right, isn't it?' said Dick, as the pony went along the road at a spanking trot. T was disappointed not to go home, I must say - I did want to go to see Aladdin and the Lamp, and the Circus - but still, it's good to be back at Kirrin Cottage again. I wish we could have some more exciting adventures. Not a hope of that this time, though.'

[⁸⁵] 'There's one snag about these holls,' said Julian. 'And that's the tutor. I hear we've got to have one because Dick and I missed so much school this term, and we've got to take scholarship exams next summer.'

[⁸⁶] 'Yes,' said Anne. 'I wonder what he'll be like. I do hope he will be a sport. Uncle Quentin is going to choose one today.'

[⁸⁷] Julian and Dick made faces at one another. They felt sure that any tutor chosen by Uncle Quentin would be anything but a sport. Uncle Quentin's idea of a tutor would be somebody strict and gloomy and forbidding.

Never mind! He wouldn't come for a day or two. And he might be fun. The boys cheered up and pulled Timothy's thick coat. The dog pretended to growl and bite. He wasn't worried about tutors. Lucky Timothy!

[⁸⁸] They all arrived at Kirrin Cottage. The boys were really pleased to see their aunt, and rather relieved when she said that their uncle had not yet come back.

[⁸⁹] 'He's gone to see two or three men who have answered the advertisement for a tutor,' she said. 'He won't be long before he's back.'

[⁹⁰] 'Mother, I haven't got to do lessons in the holls too, have I?' asked George. Nothing had yet been said to her about this, and she longed to know.

[⁹¹] 'Oh yes, George,' said her mother. 'Your father has seen your report, and although it isn't really a bad one, and we certainly didn't expect a marvellous one, still it does show that you are behind your age in some things. A little extra coaching will soon help you along.'

[⁹²] George looked gloomy. She had expected this but it was tiresome all the same. 'Anne's the only one who won't have to do lessons,' she said.

[⁹³] I'll do some too,' promised Anne. 'Perhaps not always, George, if it's a very fine day, for instance - but sometimes, just to keep you company.'

[⁹⁴] 'Thanks,' said George. 'But you needn't. I shall have Timmy.'

[⁹⁵] George's mother looked doubtful about this. 'We'll have to see what the tutor says about that, she said.

[⁹⁶] 'Mother! If the tutor says I can't have Timothy in the room, I jolly well won't do holiday lessons!’ began George, fiercely.

[⁹⁷] Her mother laughed. 'Well, well - here's our fierce, hot-tempered George again!’ she said. 'Go along, you two boys, and wash your hands and do your hair. You seem to have collected all the smuts on the railway.'

[⁹⁸] The children and Timothy went upstairs. It was such fun to be five again. They always counted Tim as one of themselves. He went everywhere with them, and really seemed to understand every single word they said.

[⁹⁹] 'I wonder what sort of a tutor Uncle Quentin will choose,' said Dick, as he scrubbed his nails. 'If only he would choose the right kind - someone jolly and full of fun, who knows that holiday lessons are sickening to have, and tries to make up for them by being a sport out of lesson-time. I suppose we'll have to work every morning.'

[¹⁰⁰] 'Hurry up. I want my tea,' said Julian. 'Come on down, Dick. We'll know about the tutor soon enough P

[¹⁰¹] They all went down together, and sat round the table. Joanna the cook had made a lovely lot of buns and a great big cake. There was not much left of either by the " time the four children had finished!

[¹⁰²] Uncle Quentin returned just as they were finishing. He seemed rather pleased with himself. He shook hands with the two boys and