"Charlie, the game's up. It's over," called Tom. "We have you surrounded, give yourself up." All the men had their guns pointing up at Charlie, but they didn't dare shoot for fear of hitting Bill.

"No," called back Charlie. "Now unless you want the famous Bill back again, you follow my orders."

"And what exactly are your orders?" asked Tom.

"Firstly, drop all your weapons and throw them over here." The men hesitated, looking to Tom for advice. "Now!" called Charlie pointing his gun at Bill's head. Reluctantly the men threw their guns onto the floor.

"Secondly," continued Charlie. "I want to use one of those cars and no one is to follow me."

"All right, that can be arranged, just let Bill go," called back Tom.

"No, I think Bill here would like to keep me company," called Charlie. "Him and I have a few things to talk about don't we Bill!" Bill didn't answer but remained still, where he was.

"Oh no," said Lucy-Ann nearly in tears. "I don't want Bill to be hurt."

"Hush Lucy-Ann," said Jack. "Listen."

"Move," commanded Charlie, but Bill stayed where he was. "I said MOVE," shouted Charlie and shoved Bill in the back so that he nearly toppled over the side of the rail. They all gasped as he just managed to save himself. Bill decided it would be best to obey and they walked slowly down the stairs and stopped at the bottom.

"Look, who's that behind the plane?" asked Philip. "See, just under the wing."

"It's Vince," said Jack. "I wonder what he's going to do."

"Now I want…" But Charlie never finished speaking for Bill decided to take action. He still had his hands in the air and he swung round and punched Charlie in the face. Charlie toppled sideways and fell onto the steps, dropping his gun in the process. It slid some way from them and Bill and Charlie both dived for it, but Charlie got there first. He pointed it Bill who dived out the way just as the shot went off making the children jump violently.

"He wasn't, was he?" asked Dinah in a panic.

"No," said Philip.

Kiki decided to add to the excitement, and prompted by the sound of the gunshot executed one of her best performances of the beginning of a race. "One, two, three, GO!" she yelled, followed by a most realistic imitation of a starter pistol. The children jumped, terrified that some unknown assailant was shooting at them from behind, but then realised it was only Kiki.

Meanwhile, Charlie raised his gun to fire again when he suddenly got a shock.

"Drop it," said a commanding voice. Charlie tried to turn round but someone put a gun against his back. "I said drop it!" cried Vince. Charlie knew the game was up. He threw he gun to the ground in annoyance and Tom and Jim rushed forward to put him in handcuffs. The children could stand it no longer and they rushed out across the airfield to Bill.

"Bill," cried Jack. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," said Bill, surprised, as Lucy-Ann gave him a hug. "What are you lot doing here?"

"We got brought here by Tom and Jim," said Dinah. "We were hiding in the trees. Bill, I was so scared for you." Bill told them to wait to one side and went to say a few words to his men before coming back to the children.

"What happened with Charlie, Bill?" asked Jack eagerly.

"I'll explain it all later," said Bill. "Right now my team need to get Charlie to headquarters and you lot need to get taken home."

"What about you?" asked Philip.

"I'm coming home too," said Bill with a smile. "My men will be round tomorrow to get a full statement from us, but for now, we can go."

"I can't wait to see Aunt Allie again," said Jack. "I hope she's been okay through all this. You know how she hates it when we get mixed up in adventures."

"Well we couldn't really help it this time could we," said Dinah.

They went and said goodbye to the rest of the team and thanked them for their help. Then they all clambered back into one of the cars and Bill drove them home. On the way they chatted for a while before falling asleep. Bill smiled at them and thought how plucky and brave they all were, even little Lucy-Ann. It was nearly sunset by the time they arrived back at their house. Everyone suddenly became wide awake and they all rushed to the door and rang the bell. A very tired looking Aunt Allie answered the door and they all rushed in a hugged her. She was quite overcome by them all and hugged them back.

"Where have you been? Are you all alright?" she asked in a panic. They assured her they were all fine. When Bill came in she let go of the children and went towards him.

"You promised me you wouldn't go and get mixed up in anything else," she said sounding quite hysterical. "You said you were only going to pick the children up from the station and then go off. Next thing I know there are police at the door and your car has been found in a wreck at the side of the road." She hugged Bill tight. "I've been so worried, what happened?"

"It's all right Allie," said Bill gently. "Let's all sit down, and I will explain." They made their way into the living room and sank down into chairs. Everyone felt tired but they couldn't possibly go to bed yet. There were still so many questions unanswered about the whole adventure.

Bill opened his mouth to speak but then the phone rang. He smiled wearily at them all. "I'd better answer that," he said. "Allie, why don't you make us all something to drink?"

"I'll help," said Dinah.

Bill picked up the phone in the hall. They could hear the soft murmur of his voice but not the words. Dinah and Aunt Allie came back with mugs of hot chocolate for them all, and they settled down to wait. It was half an hour before Bill came back in.

"Right," he said. "I had to get all that sorted out, I'm sorry. It should all be tied up soon."

"But what on earth happened, Bill?" asked Aunt Allie, eyeing the wound on his face and his blackened hair.

"I'd better start at the beginning," Bill said. He explained to Aunt Allie about the surveillance work he had been doing on Big Charlie and his gang, and then how he had realised that Big Charlie was on to him, which was why he had been going to go away to work after picking up the children from the station. "I didn't want to put you all in danger," he said. "I was going to try to draw him away from me, and investigate more into what he did with his goods. We didn't realise at that point about the aerodrome on Windy Hill. But of course, I left it too late, and his gang caught up with us."

He described the car crash briefly to Aunt Allie, leaving out the full explanation as it would only shock her. Then he talked about how they had been taken to the old house in the middle of nowhere, how the children had rescued him, then how they had taken the car and followed Big Charlie, and ended up at the aerodrome. "I couldn't bring the children home," Bill explained, looking slightly apologetically towards Aunt Allie. "Big Charlie knew who we all were, us and my team. We would all have been in danger if he had been able to get away. He would have come after us at some point in the future. He's one to hold a grudge, is Big Charlie."

"I just can't believe how you always seem to get right into the thick of it when you are with the children," Aunt Allie said, shaking her head. But she smiled. "I'm just glad you are safe and well."

Jack and Philip told Bill what had happened to them while he was piloting the plane. He laughed when he heard how captivated Rob had been with Kiki. "Good old Kiki, always gets us out of tight spots, don't you?" he said.

Kiki swelled up her breast. "Pretty Polly, clever Polly, shut the door."

"Bill, you still haven't properly explained just what Big Charlie was doing," said Jack.

"Well, I wasn't entirely sure myself until this was all sorted out," Bill said. "But basically, he and his gang were making fake diamonds, and selling them abroad for lots of money. That piece of paper I found in the office in the aerodrome gave me lots of information about his contacts, and my team are right now working on finding these people. Big Charlie was making a lot of money."

"So what were Luke, Gavin and Ian involved for?" asked Philip.

"Well, they were doing his dirty work, as you saw," Bill said with a frown. "I believe that Charlie did as little work as possible. He provided those three with the materials, and they had a little workshop set up where they produced the diamonds. Charlie then picked them up later and took them to the aerodrome. And when he discovered that I knew about him, he asked them to sort me out. Thugs, the lot of them."

"Where was the workshop?" asked Philip.

"In the house they took us to, I think," Bill said. "I gave Jim, who rang earlier, details of the house. Hopefully they will be able to find it and the men will still be stranded there. In fact, I could give him a ring now and see how they're doing."

"Yes, do!" cried Dinah. "We must find out what's happened to them."

Bill grinned and left the room. They heard him dialling numbers on the telephone, then heard his voice, muffled through the wall. The children exchanged excited glances, despite their tiredness. Lucy-Ann went over to Aunt Allie and gave her a hug, as she looked rather bewildered with it all. Bill soon returned.

"Well," he said, sinking into an armchair, "they have been apprehended, all three of them. Jim and a group of five others surrounded the house and searched it from top to bottom. They found Ian and Luke subdued and feeling very sorry for themselves in the kitchen. Ian had a broken ankle," he winked at Dinah, who went red, feeling a little guilty for pushing him down the stairs, "and Luke had quite a bump on the head," Bill continued. "They seem quite willing to talk. It appears they are bitter about not being paid what they were promised by Big Charlie. They showed my men a room in the house that was locked, where they made up the diamonds."

"That must have been the locked door that I found when I explored," said Philip, sitting up. "I couldn't pick the lock."

"Yes, probably so," smiled Bill.

"What about Gavin?" asked Lucy-Ann.

"Well, he didn't want to be caught. He was trying to run away through the forest. They think he was outside when they approached, and heard the cars coming. But he didn't get far. Jim released a couple of dogs and they chased him into a tree."

The children laughed at the idea of Gavin scrabbling up a tree to escape.

"Anyway, they have all been arrested. Jim is still looking for Darren, the aerodrome manager who organised for the diamonds to be stowed onto flights abroad for Charlie. But we'll find him."

"What happened in the plane, Bill?" asked Jack. "It all seemed to be going okay until Charlie stepped onto the steps."

"It was, sort of," Bill said. "I mixed up coffee with the sleeping powder in it and offered it to Charlie. But he wouldn't take it. He was suspicious, especially as he knew we were on to him, and he didn't know this pilot sitting in front of him. Also, he could smell shoe polish. He was looking all around wondering where it came from. He soon realised it came from me, of course."

Lucy-Ann giggled.

Aunt Allie looked astonished. "Why did you smell of shoe polish?" she asked.

"Disguise," said Bill, tapping his nose and smiling at the children. "I tried telling a story of how I liked to keep my shoes well shined, and used lots of polish, but I don't think he bought it. So he was distrusting when we came to land.

"It was perhaps a mistake to let him exit the plane first, because as you saw he could run back and grab me as a hostage. But I thought if I went first he could easily shoot me in the back and take off in the plane again when he saw what was waiting for him. He may not be a pilot, but I'm sure he would have given it a go."

"Oh Bill!" cried Aunt Allie. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"All in a days work," Bill said, smiling fondly at her. Then he yawned widely, and everyone followed suit.

"Bed time," said Aunt Allie firmly. "I just hope that the rest of your holiday can be peaceful and quiet."

"It's been great fun though, hasn't it?" said Jack.

"It's been a bit more dangerous than other adventures we've had," Lucy-Ann said. "I'm glad it's over."

"Oh, but it was so exciting," said Philip enthusiastically. "Especially when we had to climb from the roof to the ground. And when we were climbing through the vent. And…"

"Enough!" said Aunt Allie. "You all look exhausted."

They all awoke late the next morning. They dressed quickly and hurried downstairs. In all the excitement they had forgotten their hunger, but of course they hadn't eaten properly for the last few days, and after a good sleep their stomachs were rumbling fiercely.

"Oh wonderful, bacon and eggs!" cried Dinah, rushing to take a seat. Everyone piled food onto their plates, and Lucy-Ann was sent into the kitchen to make extra toast.

Little was said as they ate, and they were finally feeling full and finishing off the last mouthfuls when Bill jumped suddenly and gave an exclamation. Everyone looked up at him and stopped chewing.

"What's the matter?" asked Jack.

"My goodness, do you know I'd completely forgotten about that chest that Big Charlie buried in the woods," Bill said, thinking hard.

The others exchanged quick glances. "Had you told any of your team about it?" asked Philip.

"No," said Bill slowly. "It completely slipped my mind. I think I remember where it is. I'll go and have a look I think. I'll fetch a spade from the shed." He stood up, and immediately all four of the children spoke.

"Can we come?"

"Please let us come!"

"We have to see what happens!"

"You can't leave us out of it now!"

"Wipe the door and shut your feet!"

Bill looked astonished at the outburst. Then he laughed. "Well, I don't see why not. There's no danger, and I'll probably need some help locating the exact spot. As long as Allie doesn't mind." He turned to look at her questioningly.

She sighed. "Well," she said, but with a trace of a smile in her voice, "I don't suppose you would ever forgive me if I deprived you of this trip."

"Oh thanks mother!" cried Dinah. "Do you want to come too?"

"No, thank you," said Aunt Allie. "I'll stay here and clear up breakfast. But hurry back, I don't want you going missing again."

The children ran to put on coats and shoes, then helped Bill gather spades and line the boot of the car ready to put the dirty chest in. Then they piled into the car and set off.

It was quite a journey back to the spot where Charlie had buried the red chest he had taken from the house on his way to the aerodrome, but no one was bored. They chattered eagerly about their adventure and how they had beaten the crooks. Finally, Bill slowed the car, and the talking stopped. Everyone looked out of the windows. "It all looks the same," said Lucy-Ann. "Trees on all sides."

"Yes, it looks familiar but then the whole road does," said Bill, with a sinking feeling.

"Stop!" cried Jack suddenly. Bill stepped on the brakes and brought the car to a halt. "I saw tire tracks in the grass verge," Jack explained. "That was where he stopped."

"Well spotted," said Bill, and he reversed the car back up the road a few yards. They climbed out of the car and looked around.

"Yes, there seems to be a rough track here, for someone who was on foot," said Bill. He handed out the spades and they set off down the track. "I remember now," said Bill, and he strode forwards. He had followed Charlie into the woods to see what he was doing, and this time he quickly found the spot where Charlie had buried the chest. It was a spot of freshly dug earth, a couple of minutes in from the road, covered with a handful of leaves but not that well disguised.

"I don't suppose he thought anyone would come by this way," Bill said, lifting a spade. "Jack and Philip, you take turns with the other spade. We'll soon have the box out."

They began to dig. The earth was loose and easy to remove. Soon they struck the box, as it wasn't buried very deeply. It took about fifteen minutes before they had cleared all of the earth away from the chest. Its painted red exterior was dirty from the wet earth, and slightly scratched where the spades had hit it.

"Right," said Bill. He grinned at them all, and they grinned back, feeling excited. "Let's open it."

He leant down and tried to open the catch on the front of the box, but it was locked. "No bother," said Bill, and he raised the spade and brought the edge down sharply on the lock. It splintered off, and Bill reached down again and lifted the lid.

The children gasped. Inside the chest, neatly stacked and rowed, sat hundreds of wads of money. It was in ten pound notes, and Philip quickly estimated that there must be several thousands of pounds sitting in front of him.

"Well!" said Bill at last. "Charlie must have buried this here for safekeeping, in the eventuality he was caught. No doubt he was hoping to return and get it later. I never dreamed he had made this much money from his little scam."

"How much is in one packet?" asked Dinah.

Bill picked up a wad and counted fifty notes. "That's five hundred just here," he said.

Dinah took it from him, and picked up a second wad. She stared at it awestruck. "I want to be able to say that I have held one thousand pounds," she said. "I bet not many people can say that!"

The others also then wanted a turn at holding so much money, and then Bill put it back into the chest and closed the lid. "Right, let's take this to headquarters," he said. "I think that just about wraps up this adventure."

"And what an adventure it's been!" said Jack.

"Rather!" said Kiki, who wanted the last word, as usual.