Famous Five – Five on a Secret Trail Summary

Characters- Julian, Dick, Anne, Georgina (George), Timmy the Dog, Uncle Quentin (George’s Dad), Fanny
Kirrin, Inspector, Brian, Mack, Jess, Harry Lawdler, Guy Lawdler

At the start, the boy-George or the girl-Georgina, is alone with her dog — Timmy. She leaves Kirrin Cottage
and goes to stay on the common because Timmy has to wear a cardboard collar to protect one of his ears
which was accidentally cut by some barbed wire. The collar of card is quite a good idea if a dog has some
damage around the head area because it prevents the animal from scratching at stitches or ripping bandages
off. I first read about this medical ploy in a book called Shadow the Sheepdog by the same author and a very
similar accident happened to Shadow. Like Timmy, he jumped over a ditch and was injured by a stray piece
of barbed wire which did severe damage — not to his ear, but to his eyes. The trouble with Timmy's collar is
that people are laughing and commenting about it. The postman thinks it's cruel and the local children find
it amusing as does the cook and the milkman and even George's father (Quentin) reacts to it! George can't
stand the embarrassment for poor Timmy and if the collar is so comical that it brings guffaws from her
normally dour father then it's time to clear out so she makes herself comfortable a few miles away and
awaits any cousin that feels like joining her. Anne is the first. She arrives at Kirrin Cottage and goes to stay
with George at her camp. Anne's brothers — Dick and Julian, are currently spending a little time in France.

Exploring around, George and Anne discover an abandoned cottage and they also become friendly with a boy
who's about thirteen or so and who owns a small mongrel dog named Jet. At first, he and his pet are hiding
in the bushes and the boy makes his presence felt when he scares the girls with some bird and animal
impressions that seem to come from nowhere. A few of Enid Blyton's characters were quite adept at
imitating the creatures of the forest and this lad is yet another. He can imitate cats and horses and hens and
ducks and, like George, he is possibly a little unsure of his true gender because Timmy disappears briefly and
returns with a blue ribbon tied to his tale. Where do you find a blue hair-ribbon at a moment's notice? The
girls eventually find the boy under a gorse bush and learn that he is interested in archaeology and has been
digging around in what's left of an old Roman camp across the way. Maybe the ribbon is used for marking
things. The boy doesn't want them to visit the area where he's working because he likes to be alone when
involved with his hobby and he seems rather strange because later on when they meet up with him on the
common, he acts as if he isn't the boy with whom the girls originally became acquainted. George and Anne
consider that he might be a little batty!

When Anne gets up for a drink of water in the night, she spots a strange light flashing inside the derelict
cottage. She rushes back and tells George, who doesn't believe her and says it was probably a dream. The
following evening a storm blows up and the girls opt to take their stuff into the little cottage and spend the
night there. At one stage when they look out of the window a lightning flash shows up some figures standing
out there in the rain which would be rather scary to anyone bedded down in a dark and lonely dwelling away
from the brightness of civilization. Anne wants to go back to Kirrin Cottage but the boys arrive on the scene
next morning having finished their spell on the continent and all thoughts of leaving are forestalled.

Dick and Julian don't make an appearance until chapter eight and I doubt if any other heroes have been so
late making an entrance into the story but it adds a little variety and one needs to remember that some
variance in the plot is desirable although the options are becoming quite scarce. Despite the familiarity of
the story- line, the diehard Famous Five fans can still enjoy themselves by associating with the Kirrins again
and sitting with them as they consume boiled ham and other delicious food, play with Timmy, joke with
each other and generally get on with their current investigations. Enid Blyton was able to involve the reader
so well in her tales that when things became a little slow the company of her more famous characters could
be sufficiently interesting in itself to those with reasonably developed imaginations.

The Five visit the archaeological site and the boys are introduced to their batty Neighbour who's digging
away and finding old coins and various artefacts. He still seems to be pretending that he's a different chap
each time the Five come across him! Curious ... but solvable with a little intelligent analysis.

One night when sleeping in the cottage the children's senses are assaulted with mysterious lights and a loud
wailing noise which presumably is an attempt to frighten them away. It's not easy to scare such people as
the Famous Five from a potential adventure and they stay put although, outwardly, they give the impression
of moving out in order to lull any intruders' suspicions. A rather spooky country woman who is portrayed as
such in the Soper illustration and who is wearing a shawl and carrying a basket accosts the children at one
stage and later on Julian, George and Dick demonstrate a Find-Outers' skill having noticed things about her
that seem worthy of comment. The Five keep a watch on the cottage and confirm that there are individuals
who are on some kind of a mission and the boys, who hide themselves nearby, witness them probing around
for a secret passage. The archaeologist-lad who is camped nearby is then spirited away somewhere and more
drama arises. The children search for and find a secret way where an object of great importance is
discovered but it's not all plain sailing because in this adventure there are as many as four crooks involved
which is almost one for each of the Five.