The Famous Five Reunited with Friends

Chapter 14: A little night-time exploring

"Let's just say that Skippy and I were having a... bit of a barney. And I may have been laid-back under pressure when I was a young man, but as I've aged... it didn't last. So I'm very sorry for what I said, Julian, Richard, Anne and George." Bufflo nodded at each as he said their names. "And Timothy here too, of course."
"Apology accepted." Julian said tersely. Richard was prepared to be more forgiving. At risk of re-igniting the giant fireball that was Bufflo's temper, he attempted to butt in.
"About you and Skippy... anything I can help you with, mate?" he said gently. "I trained to be a marriage councillor, you know."
Bufflo bristled. "No thanks, actually. We ain't married. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm already in the doghouse-" and he paused to hide a snigger, "so I'd best be off."
And with that, he strode off, taking the steps leading to the street two at a time.
"Well done, Richard. We were just getting through to him." George said sarcastically. Timothy ruffled his brow in true dog-like fashion.
"Something still isn't right." Julian decided after they'd tramped up to their room silently. "And I, for one, want to find out what it is. Who's up for one last night-time adventure?"
A chorus of three 'yeses' and one sigh met his words. Anne looked a little down in the dumps.
"You can stay here if you want, Anne." Julian said kindly. "Adventuring was never your forté, was it? And a woman's place is in the home..."
"Excuse me?!" Anne spat "I was a tremendous help over the years! Of course I'm coming!"
"Good on you, girl!" George grinned.
A few hours later....
"Torches?"
"Check."
"Coats and general warm stuff?"
"Check."
"Ourselves?"
"Check."
"Tip-top, then. Let's go." Julian announced.
Richard went down first. It was his job to use some of his 'charisma' to charm the receptionist into thinking that they were simply going for a night-time stroll. She agreed, blushing a little.
They leapt on their bikes, checked that their lights were working and set off slowly, hoping to avoid many fast-moving headlights. They knew that what they were doing was incredibly dangerous, therefore Timothy was somehow squashed into George's small front basket, looking fairly furious to say the least.
Careful to avoid making much noise, they parked up their bikes and made their way towards the camp. All the lights were out in the caravans, except for Bufflo's. But what was more astonishing was that a figure was walking a dog round in a fair-sized circle. Approaching very slowly and leaving Timothy tied to the gate, they tried to see who it was. Only the mystery-person had a torch, as they had turned their own torches off.
When they were within about ten feet of the mystery-man, he swung his torch a little and caught a glimpse of Anne. They all froze as the mystery-man shone his torch around, resting on each of them in turn.
Now that they had been discovered, Julian switched on his torch and shone it right on the mystery-man. As they saw his face, everyone gasped loudly.