Page 76 of Summer Showers at Elder Fell Farm

‘Jane? I don’t know any Janes on the campsite. That other little boy was called Ty, and he’s gone,’ Matt said.

‘Jen. It was Jen, wasn’t it?’

‘It might have been.’

‘That explains it. They’ve gone to find Jen the dog. Peter Thompson said they were allowed to take her for a walk today. They must have nipped up the lane to the farmhouse to collect her.’

‘Then we must fetch them back, instantly!’ Laurie declared, melodramatically. ‘They might have fallen down an old mineshaft! Or been attacked by wild animals, and you don’t know who might be out there hiding in those hills …’

‘Laurie, it’s okay,’ James said.

‘Jen’s a gentle old dog, and Mrs. Thompson says they’ll be fine with her,’ Amy added.

‘I wasn’t thinking about the dog. I was thinking about Harry and his friend, out there on their own without a grown up!’ Laurie said.

‘They won’t go far. They’ll probably bring the dog down here any minute,’ Matt said calmly. ‘Don’t worry.’

Matt didn’t seem unduly concerned, but Amy knew the kind of trouble Harry could get into in an empty room, so she worried about what he might get up to with the whole of a Lake District valley at his mercy, not to mention his friend and a dog as allies. Perhaps some of Laurie’s fears weren’t so foolish after all.

‘Let’s go and ask Mrs. Thompson if she knows where they went. Laurie, would you like to borrow a more suitable pair of shoes?’ Amy said.

They all set off for the farm, Laurie wearing Amy’s wellies, her cream linen trousers incongruously tucked into the top of pink-and-green flowery boots about two sizes too big for her.

Amy knocked on the farmhouse door and she could hear Mrs. Thompson coming along the corridor, slowly, slowly.

‘Oh, hello there dear. What can I do for you?’

‘Did the boys come up here to take Jen for a walk?’

‘Ay, they did. A little while ago, asked very nicely, they did.’

‘You don’t happen to know which way they went, do you?’

‘Up to the tarn, I think. Jen won’t go much further than that, these days.’

‘Up to the tarn?’ Laurie looked worried. ‘Isn’t it rather dangerous up there? Deep water?’

‘Don’t you worry. They’re good lads, I’m sure,’ Mrs. Thompson said.

‘We’ll head up there and see if we can find them,’ Matt said, ‘and we’ll return Jen home as soon as we do.’

‘See you in a while then,’ Mrs. Thompson said, closing the door.

They followed the track up the valley, past the old cottage, the sheep watching them curiously from the fields on either side of the track. Even the high crags seemed to be peering down, observing silently and passively.

‘Here’s the tarn,’ Matt announced, as they rounded the final corner and the dark waters of the little lake came into view, the mountains reflected in the still, mirror-like surface of the water. There was no sign of the boys.