‘Where’s the map?’ said Julian. ‘Is that it, George? Good! Now—where shall we spread it?’ ‘On the floor,’ said Anne. ‘A map is always easiest to read on the floor. I’ll push the table out of the way.’ ‘Well, be careful, for goodness’ sake,’ said George. ‘Father’s in his study, and you know what happened before when someone pushed the table right over!’ Everyone laughed. George’s father so often came pouncing out of his study if any sudden noise was made when he was working. The table was pushed out of the way and the big map unfolded and spread out over the floor. Timmy was surprised to see the four children kneeling down around it, and barked, imagining this was some kind of new game. ‘Be quiet, Timmy!’ said Dick. ‘You’ve got into trouble once this morning already for making a row. And stop brushing my face with your tail.’
