A review by aura_34
Five on a Hike Together by Enid Blyton

5.0

The five plan to go on a hike and pack things up and get food and they start to hike. They decide to stay in a inn for the the night which Julian knows. But Timmy goes down into a rabbit hole and hurts himself, forcing Julian and George to take him to the vet. The five split ways and go apart as Dick and Anne have to go to the inn alone. But they do not know how. Only Julian knows the way. Dick and Anne ask directions to the local folks which proves to be not helpful. All of a sudden some bells ring in the middle of the night. The village people say that the bells ring only when someone has escaped from the local prison. The duo lose their way and end up in a small house with a deaf old lady. The old lady says that no strangers are allowed in here for her son is very bad and he doesn't allow anybody. Julian begs her and somehow gets a place for Anne to sleep up in the attic. He sleeps outside in the barn. In the course of the night, Somebody calls his name out through the barn window and gives him a very queer message. "Two Trees, Gloomy Water, Saucy Jane and Maggie knows." And then the stranger gives him a paper and says the message is from Nailer. Dick very confused, believes that this is a dream and goes back to sleep. Soon somebody enters the barn, sits below Dick's feet and talks to himself and leaves the barn. Dick, still tired of the night decides to sleep on it. The next morning they talk to a small boy from the village who says that the old lady son is a bad guy and a bully and Dirty Dick they call him. Soon enough they meet George and Julian who were sick with worry and five are reunited again. Dick narrates his story to the four others and shows them the bit of paper. The paper looks like a scrap from a newspaper scattered with words but they decide to keep it. That's when Anne understands what really happened. She tells that the message was supposed to be for Dirty Dick not our Dick. And that's why Dirty Dick was also there a bit late to receive it. They go and inform this to the police who thinks that the kids are making things up. Angrily he tears the paper into four bits. But Dick collects them all four and leaves. The five decide to decipher the mystery on their own and they set out to Two Trees. But its not on the map. After inquiring the locals, they learn that its a burnt out place. They ask for directions and go to the place. They have to keep in mind that even some Maggie knows all this. They go to the burnt ruin and see that Gloomy water is a lake just beside it. They find a boathouse, get a boat and start looking for the next clue and that's when they meet Maggie and Dirty Dick. They both prove to be bullies after all. They realize that Saucy Jane is a boat. But its nowhere to be found in the boathouse. They go back to Two Trees as its cellar is where their camp is. They find that each corner of the paper has the name of a place. They keep trying to find Saucy Jane but in vain. Soon they realize that they have to row to a place where they can see all four places given on the paper at once and directly below them would be the boat and the loot inside it. They set out to find a place like that and they do and Julian anchors the boat there. They look directly below and find Saucy Jane and decide that the loot must be in it. Julian jumps into the freezing cold water and finds a bag in the boat but he is not able to lift the bag. He tried a lot but in vain. And right at that moment Dirty Dick was starring at them. They decided that Dirty Dick should not see them taking the treasure and they would come back at midnight. As decided they did come back at midnight. They found the loot and saw that it had the precious jewels stolen from a queen and a princess. They return it to the police who in turn drop them to school. And the jewels reach the hands of the queen and the princess. And Maggie and Dirty Dick go to prison.