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Christmas present I made you!’
    ‘ERN!’ cried everyone. And sure enough it was Ern, plump as ever and red in the face. Good old Ern!
     
    THE SAME OLD ERN!
     
    Ern came right into the room, beaming, and holding rather a large parcel.
    ‘Still the same old Ern!’ said Fatty, and solemnly shook hands with him. Ern thereupon felt that he must shake hands with everyone, even Buster. Buster was very pleased indeed to see Ern, and leapt on him as if he were a long-lost friend.
    ‘This is an unexpected pleasure,’ said Fatty. ‘How are your twin brothers, Sid and Perce? We haven’t seen them since we all solved the Mystery of the Vanished Prince - do you remember?’
    ‘Coo, yes,’ said Ern. ‘That wasn’t half a do! I enjoyed that, I did. Perce is all right, as far as I know. I don’t seem to notice him much. Sid’s all right too.’
    Sid had been a great toffee-sucker, unable to speak at all at one time because of the toffee glueing up his mouth! Bets remembered and giggled.
    ‘Does he still suck toffee?’ she asked.
    ‘Well, he rationed himself up to Christmas, because he wanted to save money to buy presents,’ said Ern. ‘But then everyone went and gave him tins of toffee, of course, and he’s off again. Can’t get a word out of him now.’
    ‘Except “Ar”, I suppose?’ said Pip. ‘He used to say “Ar” quite a lot, I remember.’
    ‘Yes. Well, he still says it,’ said Ern. ‘He isn’t much of a talker, old Sid.’
    ‘Sit down and have a bun,’ said Daisy. ‘What’s in that parcel?’
    ‘Coo, I was almost forgetting,’ said Ern, beaming round again. ‘It’s something I made for you, Fatty. We did carpentry at school last term, and I said to myself - “Ah, Ern - this is where we do something for Fatty!” And I made this!’
    He pulled off the paper and showed Fatty a small table, plain and simple. He had polished it till it shone.
    Everyone exclaimed in surprise. ‘Why, Ern!’ said Bets, amazed, ‘did you really make it all yourself?’
    ‘Never let anyone touch it but meself!’ said Ern proudly.
    Fatty examined it from every side. ‘It’s a masterpiece,’ he said. ‘A beautiful piece of work. Thanks, Ern. I like it very much.’
    Ern was bright red with delight. ‘No kidding?’ he said. ‘You do like it?’
    ‘I tell you, it’s a masterpiece,’ said Fatty. ‘First-rate! We’ll have it in my shed at home so that we can all see it and use it as much as possible.’
    Ern was quite overcome. He swallowed once or twice, rubbed his sleeve over the table-top to make quite sure it was perfect, and then beamed at everyone again.
    ‘Nice to see you all again,’ he announced, sitting down. ‘Anything on? Any mysteries going? I heard about them people called Lorenzos. Proper set-up, that was! I bet my uncle Goon’s excited!’
    ‘Have you seen him yet?’ asked Daisy.
    ‘Oooh no!’ said Ern, in horror. ‘I’d run a mile if I saw him. I’m scared stiff of him - he’d box my ears as soon as look at me! I kept a good lookout for him this morning, I can tell you.’
    They discussed the Lorenzo case, and how maddening it was that the most important things concerned - the Lorenzos themselves and the picture - had both gone.
    ‘So, you see, there’s nothing much we can do, Ern,’ said Fatty. ‘I can’t see anything we can get hold of - no clues or suspects, like we usually do.’
    ‘Yes, it’s bad luck,’ said Ern sympathetically. ‘I was hoping I might be able to help a bit, if you really wanted me. I’m coming to stay in Peterswood. My Mum’s got to go to hospital for a bit - she’s got a bad leg, poor Mum - so us kids are going to relations and friends for a week.’
    ‘Good gracious - you’re not staying with Mr. Goon again, are you?’ said Bets.
    ‘You bet I’m not!’ said Ern. ‘When my Mum suggested it, I fell off my chair in fright. Straight I did. I got this bruise, see?’
    Ern proudly displayed a large bruise just on the point of going yellow and green.
    ‘What did your Mum say then?’ asked Pip. The Five were always interested in the doings of