"Hurrah, next stop… Bogtown-on-Sea." Said Dick excitedly as the train chuffed it's way through the countryside of south west England.
"Yes and it's jolly nice weather too." Said Julian.
"Will Uncle Quentin meet us at the station?" asked Anne.
"Oh, absolutely." Said George, "I told Mother that there was no need, we're quite able to look after ourselves."
"Yes." Said Dick, "Especially when he's so busy in Bogtown working with military intelligence…"
"Shhh." Said Julian, whispering, "Uncle Quentin's work is..." he lowered his voice even more, "…top secret. Don't go blabbing about it on trains."
"I wasn't blabbing." blustered Dick, though he knew full well he was.
"Oh look, lambs." Said Anne pointing to a field.
At Bogtown, however, there was no sign of Uncle Quentin, but not to worry, you know how forgetful he is, so the five friends set off, backpacks et al, to find somewhere to camp. The Bogtown station-master points out some land behind the station which is ideal.
However, disaster strikes the five when they realise they have come without tent-pegs.
"Bother!" says George "I took the pegs in to the outhouse to varnish them and they're still there. I'm really sorry."
"Not so much varnished as vanished." Quips Dick… they really are very cheerful aren't they.
Julian outlines the plan… tomorrow, they will get the train in to the nearest big town – Taunton – where there is bound to be a camping shop where they can buy tent-pegs. For tonight, they will have to find a guest-house or bed-and-breakfast.
"That will cost money." Says Anne.
"Don't worry." Says Julian, unbuttoning his shirt pocket and bringing out some 10 shilling notes – "Mother always gives me some money when we go camping, just for emergencies like this."
"Hurrah!" say the others.
"What was that?" says George reacting to a loud bang. A motor-car has crashed in to the side of the railway station building. The driver, thankfully, is unhurt but the car engine seems to have exploded as the bonnet has been blown clean off.
Fifteen minutes later, the Famous Five have got two upstairs rooms in local hostelry, 'The Ginger Beer Bottle' a cosy little inn just off Bogtown Main Street. The owners are a nice couple called Mr and Mrs Rooper who are even pleased to allow Timmy to stay indoors.
The four friends and Timmy go out to do some shopping. Ice-creams all round, of course, those 10 shilling notes are really burning a hole in Julian's pocket. Then as Julian, Dick and Anne set off to walk in to the countryside for the afternoon, George goes in to a shop to buy a newspaper and promises to catch them up.
In the shop, George buys the local paper and some crisps but, at the door, she is stopped by a shifty looking man in a suit and carrying a briefcase.
"Hey, are you George Kirrin?" he asks.
"Yes, I am," says George, taking a wary step backwards, "what's it to you?"
"No need to be frightened." The man says, "I'm a friend of your father, Quentin, he told me all about you, though I thought he said you were his daughter not his son."
George felt a thrill run through her body at being mistaken for a boy.
"Anyway." continues the man, "Has your Mum had any contact with Quentin recently."
"Well, not for a few days." Says George.
"As I thought. He's vanished off the face of the Earth." Says the man looking around, "I don't think it's safe for you and your friends to stay here. I want you on the next train home, come with me." He takes George by the arm and leads her outside.
"Just a minute." Says George, pulling herself free though the man lets go quite easily.
"Oh don't worry lad, I'm not trying to kidnap you. Call your friends over." He leans in to his car and toots the horn to attract Julian, Dick, Anne and Timmy who, 100 yards away, turn round and start walking back. "I work with your Dad," says the man, "Top Secret stuff, of course, we're investigating an epidemic of exploding motor car engines around here." As he speaks, he gets in to the car. "Now, I'll drop you off at the station and you can get going, it isn't safe around here…" and it certainly isn't safe, as he speaks, the car explodes in a huge fireball blowing the man and George 20 feet across the ground. They both lie on the pavement quite still and all burnt up one side from the blast, their clothes smouldering.
Julian, Dick, Anne and Timmy run up to the scene, a policeman arrives and calls for an ambulance. George and the man (still clutching his briefcase) seem to be unconscious but as Julian kneels by George, the plucky lass mutters… "Uncle Quentin, investigating exploding cars, it's top sec…"
That evening, back at the 'Ginger Beer Bottle' Julian, Dick and Anne 'phone the cottage hospital to ask how George is, she and her mysterious friend are recovering. When Julian puts the 'phone down, Mrs Rooper asks "Did you say George Kirrin, I thought your name was Barnard."
"Oh yes," says Julian and explains that though he and his brother and sister are called Barnard, George's surname is Kirrin. Mrs Rooper walks away… how odd.
Later that evening, Timmy runs around the garden while, in the bedroom, Julian, Dick and Anne look closely at the local newspaper and find out about the epidemic of exploding car engines. Using a map, they connect together all the explosions plus the two latest ones that they have witnessed today… when they are all joined together, the lines intersect right on the 'Ginger Beer Bottle' inn itself… a mystery developing methinks. The three friends decide on an early start tomorrow to visit George in the hospital.
Julian and Dick decide that it would be better for all three of them to sleep in the same room (without George, Anne would be alone in her room all night.) As they begin getting ready for bed, Julian makes a shocking discovery…
"Keep back everyone," he says, "there's a cobra in my bed." And sure enough, a deadly snake is squirming about under the sheets.
"Try and catch it in this chamber pot." Says Dick collecting the object from under the bed… "Aargh! There's a tarantula in the potty!"
"You deal with that, I'll see to the snake." Says Julian, "Anne, open the window quickly."
"I can't." says Anne, "A scorpion just fell out of the light shade on to my head, help!"
Unflappingly, the three heroes work together and one by one, the snake, the spider and the scorpion are thrown out of the window. Luckily, the window faces the front, not the back, so the venomous creatures do not land on Timmy.
"Dick." Says Julian, "You and I are going to search this room from top to bottom. Anne, could you go downstairs and get some sandwiches. Not a word about those deadly reptiles, ok."
"Yes." Says Anne, leaving the room.
At the hospital, George and her friend (he's called Mr Graham) are working out exactly the same kind of triangulation trick with a map as Julian did and they arrive at the same answer…'The Ginger Beer Bottle' inn.
"Let's go." Says Mr Graham.
Back at the 'Ginger Beer Bottle' Julian and Dick are searching the room when suddenly Dick says…
"I say Jules, the ceiling is moving." Sure enough, the ceiling is descending, Julian pulls at the door handle… "It's stuck…no, it's locked." He says. The ceiling continues down relentlessly, the wardrobe buckles and shatters in to matchwood, the two lads tip up the metal bed but it bends and folds under the pressure… they are doomed…
Downstairs, Anne goes through a door beside the bar and comes face to face with an incredible sight… Mr and Mrs Rooper, a mysterious looking laser gun on a tripod and handcuffed to a water pipe… Uncle Quentin !
"Anne." He says.
"What the…" says Mrs Rooper, "But how… the snake, the…" There is a crash of breaking glass and barking outside, Mr Rooper opens the door and strides out then back in pulling Julian and Dick by the arms.
"How did you escape the ceiling?" demands Mrs Rooper.
"We used our pyjama cords as ropes." Says Dick…
"And climbed out of the window," adds Julian, "straight in to the greenhouse as it happens… Uncle Quentin…what are you doing here.
Uncle Quentin pulls a face as if to say that an explanation would take too long.
"We've had it now, darling." Says Mr Rooper to his wife, "We'll need to make a run for it."
"What on earth does that ray-gun thing do?" asks Julian.
Uncle Quentin answers… "It blows up motor car engines at a range of up to 10 miles."
"Good grief." Says Dick, "Probably to blackmail car companies in to paying a fortune in ransom demands, eh?"
"Or maybe to blow up aircraft in mid-air," says Julian, "Is that it, to sell to military regimes all over the world."
"Not at all," says Mrs Rooper, "we never meant any harm. This got out of hand when he started snooping around with other secret agents." She points towards Uncle Quentin, "All we wanted to do was bring the motor car industry to a standstill and stop the grisly toll of badgers killed on British roads."
"That's right." Says Mr Rooper, " We're great lovers of badgers and it's terrible seeing them killed by irresponsible drivers all over the place."
"Aww." Says Anne, "I like badgers."
"Well," says Uncle Quentin,"Maybe we can turn a blind eye to…"
The door bursts open and silhouetted in the frame are George, Mr Graham and Timmy…
"That's them." says Mr Graham charging in to the room but Mr Rooper karate chops him to the floor and he, and his wife, rush out the door, pushing George out of the way and jump in to their car.
"Come back." Says Uncle Quentin, "The British government want to buy your ray gun and you can start a badger sanctuary…" but too late, the Roopers are just driving away, Timmy barks, George gets up off the ground. "I'll stop them with their own ray gun." Says Julian, pointing the weapon out the window.
"Go on Jules." Says Dick.
"Careful you don't hurt them." Says Anne. "They aren't really bad people after all."
Julian fires the ray gun but instead of immobilising the car, the shot misses and hits the church across the road, the steeple collapses on top of the car, crushing it flat… the Roopers climb out covered in dust.
"Right, let's try and sort this out before the police arrive." Says Uncle Quentin… the cunning old 1950's type cover-up conspiracist that he is.
THE END