A cycling tour of South Cornwall
Blyton seems to have moved a bit from her standard formula in this book in that it is not that the Five go off on some holiday by themselves to discover some crooks concocting some nefarious deed hidden away in a lonely part of the country, but rather that the crooks mistake poor Dick for the child of a wealthy industrialist (it is not mentioned what made him wealthy but I always like the term wealthy industrialist) and kidnaps him. While it is a case of mistaken identity, we do know that they had met this child, who is quite deceitful and selfish, and it is because of his lies that the Five find themselves in trouble. Obviously, being the adventurous heroes that they are, they simply had to go and rescue Dick.
Basically it is holidays again and this time they can't stay at Kirrin Cottage because Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny are going off to a conference, so they agree to let them the Five go off on a cycling tour. It is funny because we wonder if such a thing would be allowed today, though we must remember that Julian, Dick, and George are teenagers, and even with this concern, we suspect that at their age, even today, they would be able to go off by themselves. However, trying to work out their ages around this time is all but impossible (at least for me) because Julian and Dick go to the same school, and George and Anne also go to the same school. Now, I don't know how boarding schools work in England, but I suspect that if they are anything like the private school I went to when I was a teenager, the school catered for everybody from reception to year 12 (using modern Australian terminology).
This book is different, and I guess that is why I liked it and gave it a higher score (though it seems that I have been giving these books pretty decent scores anyway). As they are travelling along, they meet young Richard who lies about being allowed to join them, and when he departs, and then run into an enemy of his father's (and while it is suggested that Richard lied to his father about this guy, I suspect that Richard was probably being honest because it does turn out that this guy is mixed up with some rather crooked individuals). After Dick gets captured, they manage to locate the house where he is being held, and sneak in to attempt to rescue him only to discover that they are trapped inside the grounds and that there is no way out.
Julian takes most of the credit for this adventure because he is the one sneaking around, listening in to the conversations that are going on, and finding out the secrets that the crooks are trying to keep hidden so that when the police arrive everything is brought out into the open. It is even suggested (though remember that the Five never actually grow up) that Julian, and possibly the others, will no doubt join the police force when they have finished school. This, though, is probably a no brainer because one does not go around catching as many crooks as these children do and not be brought to the attention of the powers that be.
Another interesting thing I noticed is how one good turn brings out an ally. Even though the children are suspicious of the inhabitants of the house, Julian does manage to speak to the maid that works there, and further shows her kindness. When the crooks decide to let them go (before changing their minds when they discover that Richard is actually with them) they give them a heap of hush money, which Julian then turns around and gives to the maid. No doubt this act of kindness creates a valuable ally which allows them to survive. I guess the further moral of this story is that we shouldn't always judge a person by the company that they keep. Sometimes, as in Aggie's case, they simply have no choice. A little kindness does indeed go a long way.
