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THE HALLOWEEN MAN continued.

They rose from their cramped position and walked back up the path. Catherine was still crouched inside the gate, but Sally had gone home.

"You go home, too," instructed Caroline. "This is dangerous."

Catherine just stared at them and when they went on, she followed. Caroline was vexed, but it was hardly the place or the time for a noisy scene.

"You'll have to be quiet," she said warningly. "And do what you're told."

Catherine nodded and they walked on cautiously, keeping a careful watch ahead, in case the pumpkin-man might have stopped and was lying in wait for them. But there was no sign of him and they reached the old house without any trouble. Catherine kept close beside her sister. The dark out here was darker than she had expected.

They could see the window was lit up, but they realised when they got nearer that the pumpkin was no longer on the windowsill. They crept towards the oblong of light, as silently as they could manage. Catherine found Caroline's hand and held on tightly. Carefully they looked through the window.

The man was sitting as they had seen him before, but now the table before him was spread with all sorts of objects, necklaces, bracelets, small statuettes, ear studs and finger rings, and a whole heap of coins and banknotes. The money had been moved to one side and the man was examining the other objects, one by one. Some he put into his duffel-bag, a few he carelessly tossed on to the floor.

They watched him for a long time. It was just like watching a film. It was Caroline who came to herself first. She nudged Sinead and the three of them moved away until they were a safe distance from the house.

"We'll keep watch," Caroline told Catherine, "in case he tries to get away. You go and tell Mam and get her to phone for the guards. Hurry! As quick as you can!"

And she said it so urgently that Catherine didn't think to argue, but turned at once and ran away towards the town. Her legs soon began to feel like jelly and her throat dry rand sore, but she never stopped running once. She had almost no breath left when she burst into the kitchen and stood before her astonished mother, and for a time she couldn't talk, only gasp. At last she got some of her wind back.

"Call the guards, quick! Caroline and Sinead have got a burglar at the haunted house!"

"What are you talking about?" asked her mother, half laughing, but half fearful.

Catherine took several deep breaths and told her everything.

"You stay here and don't move," her mother instructed her when she had finished. "I'm going across to Mary's to phone."

But she had no sooner gone out the door than Catherine slipped out after her and started for the old house again. Caroline and Sinead weren't going to have all the glory to themselves.

Meanwhile the two detectives were watching through the window as the pumpkin-man put the last of the jewelry into his duffel-bag, drew the string tight and started to gather the money together.

"He'll get away," whispered Caroline in agony. "We've got to do something about it."

"But how're we going to stop him?"

Caroline thought furiously.

"You go and hide and I'll try to get him to run after me. As soon as he comes out, you go in and take his bag and run back to town with it."

Sinead tried to think of objections, but none would come.

"All right," she agreed reluctantly. "But don't let him catch you."

"He won't!" said Caroline confidently. "Now, go on!"

She gave Sinead a push. After a quick search, Sinead found a large enough bush and hid herself behind it.

Caroline didn't give herself time to be nervous. She banged her hand against the window. The man inside froze for a second, then swung around quickly. Caroline didn't have to pretend to be terrified when she met his eyes. It was like looking at a savage dog. The man pushed his chair over with a clatter and sprang for the door. Not waiting to make sure he was coming, Caroline sprinted away, only remembering at the last moment to run away from the direction of the town.

Once she was started, she knew he couldn't catch her and that gave her confidence to run even faster. But that was a mistake. The man also realized he couldn't catch her and stopped and turned back before he had gone thirty metres. He was just in time to see Sinead emerging from the doorway with his duffel-bag.

With a roar, he gave chase. Sinead, the bag bumping heavily against her knees, knew she could never escape him on the long empty road, so she headed instead into the wild scrub of the field, looking desperately for somewhere to hide. But the bag slowed her and he was gaining at every step.

Running between two bushes, she was just about to throw the bag away in despair, when she heard the man behind her fall heavily to the ground. Next moment, she found Catherine beside her, limping.

"I tripped him. He hurt my leg. Where's Caroline?"

"Here!" said Caroline, appearing suddenly. "Quick, quick! To the road! We can carry the bag between us."

With Catherine hopping impatiently around them, they ran back to the road, as well as they were able, Caroline holding one side of the bag, Sinead holding the other. Catherine would have liked to help, too, but there really wasn't room. Instead she kept a look out behind, in case the pumpkin-man should recover and follow them.

She saw him get to his feet and hold his head. Then he looked in their direction and for a moment it seemed he was going to come after them. But he stopped suddenly, hesitated for several seconds, then turned and ran in the opposite direction across the fields.

"He's running away," Catherine told her sister happily.

And then they all saw why.

A bright light swept over them and there was a long screech of brakes. They turned to see a squad car grinding to a halt at the side of the road, its tires grating on the loose gravel. Doors opened and slammed shut and three huge guards surrounded them.

"He went that way," said Caroline, dropping her side of the bag to point. "He's getting away. We got his bag."

Two of the guards ran off in the direction the man had taken, the third said, "Let's see."

He opened the bag and looked inside.

"He stole it from the old people's houses," Sinead explained.

"We knew he was going to do it and we watched him," said Caroline.

"Quite the little detectives, aren't you?" said the guard. "I'll take care of this. You'd better get along home, now."

The three walked back to town, feeling somehow deflated after all the excitement of the past hour.

"They let him get away," said Caroline. "After all we did, they let him get away."

"You don't suppose he'll come back and murder us?" asked Sinead. "He must be mad."

"I hope he tries," said Caroline darkly. "He won't get away next time."

Their mothers were very cross when they reached home. The Wallace and Reilly Detective Agency was banned on the spot and they were told that if they couldn't be more responsible, they'd have to stay where eyes could be kept on them.

"You'd think we'd done something wrong," complained Caroline the next day, as they both sat on the wall outside her house, swinging their legs idly. "Well, if that's all the thanks we get, they can catch their own crooks next time."

"There's old Mrs Sullivan," said Sinead suddenly. Mrs Sullivan was one of those living in the old people's houses. "I hope we're not in more trouble."

But Mrs Sullivan was smiling. She came up to where they were sitting and rested her arms on the wall.

"We all want to thank you for getting our valuables back," she explained. "And we want you to have these as a reward. There's one for your little sister, too."

From the pocket of her cardigan she took three tiny ballerina figures, beautiful and perfect.

Neither Caroline nor Sinead knew what to say, except, "Thanks!"

But as they watched the old woman walk away, Caroline said: "Now all we got to do is find a new case!"

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