But at twenty-eight minutes past four they understood that the greater trouble for them was Mrs Lumly: on the table there were a lot of plates and bottles for which they had to pay.
"Why doesn't Venables come!" exclaimed Darbishire for the fifth time in three minutes.
"If you ask me, he is a traitor," Jennings said angrily. "Wait till I see him again!"
They did not speak for some time, but looked at their watches.
"Have another doughnut, Jen? There's only one left," said Darbishire at last.
"No, I can't. I'll burst. I've had seven already and two bottles of lemonade."
"She is beginning to give us those strange looks again, Jen. Let's order some more doughnuts. We mustn't let her suspect anything, must we?"
"I know, I know!" said Jennings. "But I really will burst if we don't do something."
Mrs Lumly was really giving them strange looks. She was greatly surprised. "I've never seen boys who could eat so many doughnuts," she thought.
"Oh, she is coming back again. Try and look hungry!" Jennings whispered, when the kitchen door opened.
"I'm sorry, Jen, but I can't look hungry," Darbishire said sadly.
"Well, boys!" exclaimed Mrs Lumly when she saw only one doughnut on the plate. "You, boys, have an appetite! I don't think you must eat any more cakes, or you'll be ill. Let's see now, you've had fourteen cakes and doughnuts and five bottles of lemonade... that'll be nine-and-sixpence, please."
The time had come to explain and it was not easy.
"You see," Jennings began, "there was a... a... a mistake - by chance, of course. You see..."
"No, boys, there's no mistake," said Mrs Lumly. "It'll cost you nine shillings and sixpence, though where you've found room to put it all is more than I can understand..."
Suddenly Darbishire heard the click of the garden gate and he jumped from the chair. At last! Venables was coming back! Good old Venables! He leaned over the table and whispered the happy news in Jennings' ear. Good old Venables! He must be hungry: he must have something for the last sixpence of his uncle's present. Jennings turned to Mrs Lumly.
"Will you bring us a last plate of doughnuts for our friend, please?"
"But he has gone," said Mrs Lumly.
"Yes, but he has come back."
"All right," said Mrs Lumly and went to the kitchen.
The door opened and Jennings and Darbishire jumped to their feet to greet their friend.
But... in the doorway they saw a pleasant young lady of twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She put her suitcase on the floor, smiled and said:
"May I join you at your table? I don't see where else I can sit."
"Oh, yes, please; that'll be all right," said Jennings.
"Not Venables!" whispered Darbishire. "It isn't Venables! What shall we do?"
"Be quiet, Darbi," whispered Jennings. "It's not polite." He turned back to the young lady and took the cat from the chair.
"I see you have enjoyed all this," said the young lady and pointed to the empty plates and bottles.
"Yes," said Jennings, "we couldn't do anything else but to eat and drink all this; if you understand what I mean."
The lady looked at the boys with interest, but the boys looked at her with no interest at all. They wanted to see Venables with his ten-shilling note in her place. They noticed that she was young and beautiful. They also noticed the initials M. W. on her suitcase, but this certainly did not tell them anything, because there was very little resemblance between Margaret Wilkins and her brother Lancelot.
Though Jennings and Darbishire noticed nothing unusual about Miss Wilkins, she could see that something was very much the matter with them. When Mrs Lumly came with another plate of doughnuts Miss Wilkins ordered a cup of tea for herself.
"You don't look very happy," she said to the boys. "Aren't you going to eat these doughnuts she has brought?"
"No, thank you," answered Jennings. "If I see another doughnut I'll burst."
"Something has happened, hasn't it?" she asked.
"Yes," said Darbishire sadly.
"Tell me what the matter is. Maybe I" can help you."
"It's very nice of you," answered Jennings, "but I don't think you can help us. There is only one person who can help us, and he's not here. He invited us to a feast and when. we were finishing the first plate of doughnuts and cakes he had to go and think Gosh!'"
"He had to go and. do what?" asked Miss Wilkins.
"Oh, he didn't really have to go anywhere to think it. He sat there where you are sitting now and thought it. And after he thought 'Gosh!' once or twice, he slowly turned round and said, 'I've left the money in the other pocket.'"
"He didn't really turn round and tell us," said Darbishire, "because he was sitting in front of us all the time."
"Well, you know what I mean," said Jennings.
"Oh, yes, I do," answered Darbishire, "but maybe this lady doesn't. She may think that he looked out of the window and told us."
"I think I understand," said Miss Wilkins.
"Of course, it is not really all Venables' fault," said Jennings. "Because there is a detention class which we had to go to, and if Venables is there we shall have to eat these doughnuts for hours and hours - maybe all night."
"If you can't pay, maybe you'll let me pay for them," said Miss Wilkins.
"Oh, thank you very much," said Jennings. "But we can't take money from you. You are our guest: we invited you to sit at our table."
"When you come back to school and find your friend you can give me back the money," said Miss Wilkins.
"Well, all right, then; thank you very much. And we'll give back the money the minute we see Venables - if he is alive after Old Wilkie's detention class."
"Whose detention class?" asked Miss Wilkins in surprise.
"Old Wilkie's-Mr Wilkins'; he is one of our teachers; and when he is angry he is like a fire-breathing dragon."