The Hawkwood team worked hard all through the winter months. Nutty found the swimming difficult,
but she kept trying and Nails helped her. He was growing more friendly now, and with his help Nutty
began to get better quickly. 'If I can ride,' he said, 'you can swim!'
It was true that Nails could ride well now, but he still refused to change horses. 'It's Firelight I'm riding
in the competition,' he said. 'So why change?'
The shooting was a problem. They had no guns and the lessons were very expensive. Nutty didn't know
what they were going to do about it, but the competition wasn't until August, and they were getting
better at other things. Jazz and Hoomey had stopped taking the bus to school and ran there every day.
It was Nutty herself who found the running difficult.
So winter passed and spring came. More people started coming to the swimming pool and this meant
that it was always crowded. It was all right for Seb Smith and his team. The Smiths had a pool in their
garden, so the Greycoats team could swim there. Nutty saw their pool one night when she was riding
near the Smiths' house. It was down at the end of the garden, and there were trees between the pool and
the house. Nutty realized that they could swim there and no one could see them from the house!
When she arrived home, she told Gloria about it.
'Well,' Gloria said, 'Friday's your night. Mr and Mrs Smith go out and Seb takes me to a film. The place
is empty by seven.'
So, every Friday night, Nutty's team used the Smiths' pool. The weather was cold to begin with, and the
first time that Hoomey jumped into the water, he came up with a scream. 'It's like ice!' he cried, as he
tried to get out. But Nails caught him and held him round the neck. 'Get swimming!' he shouted.
But the days grew warmer, and one evening Nutty was sitting beside the pool with Nails, watching Jazz
and Hoomey swimming. She was feeling pleased. Jazz was a born swimmer, she decided. She stood
up and went to get a sweet from the pocket of her coat, which was over by the trees. Suddenly she heard
voices on the other side of the trees. She went cold with fear.
'Come and have a look at our pool,' said the voice. 'I thought Seb had gone out, but he seems to be
there.'
Nutty dropped her coat and ran back to Nails.
'Mrs Smith!' she said. 'She's coming! Get them out!'
Hoomey was just finishing. Nutty flew round the pool, got down and screamed at him, 'Hoomey! Get
out!'
He looked up with his mouth open, drank half the pool and went under the water. Nutty caught him by
a handful of skin and pulled him over to the side. 'The Smiths are here!' she cried. 'Quick!'
He jumped up towards her and she pulled him out. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. But Jazz
was still going up and down in the water, and did not hear Nail's cries to get out. Mrs Smith appeared
with another lady at her side, smiling.
'Hello, my dears!' she said.
They ran, leaving Jazz behind. The next minute they disappeared through a hole in the hedge. Nutty was
the last to go, and she saw the smiling lady look down into the pool and heard her say, 'Why, how
brown he is! Have you been to Spain for the holidays?'
They flew down the street, but came to a stop when an old man, who was taking his dog for its evening
walk, gave them a very strange look.
'What shall we do?' cried Nutty. 'We've left all our clothes there!'
They stood there with water running from them, not knowing what to do. Three older boys were coming
along the street towards them, and a group of children on bicycles started riding round and round them.
'Let's get home,' Nails said angrily.
'We can't leave Jazz!'
Nutty stopped and looked back, and just then Jazz appeared through the hole in the hedge. Usually, of
course, Jazz's long hair was hidden under his turban. Sikhs never cut their hair, and although Jazz
wanted to cut his, his parents wouldn't let him. Now, Jazz's swimming hat had fallen off, and he looked
really wild with his long wet hair falling half-way down his body and covering his face. He came flying
towards them, and cries of 'Stop! Stop!' came from the garden. Dogs in other gardens began to bark
loudly. 'Why didn't you tell me,' said Jazz unhappily.
A bus was coming slowly along the road. By now the boys had started to run towards them, and the
children on bicycles, still going round and round them, were shouting and laughing.
'Quick! Let's get out of here!' Nutty cried.
She raced along the road towards the bus stop with her arm up to stop the bus. The others ran with her.
The shouting behind them grew wilder, and Nutty saw the bus driver's surprised face as the bus
screamed to a stop. It was a double-decker bus, and Nutty and the others got on quickly through the
back doors and ran upstairs.
'We haven't bought tickets!' Hoomey said in a quiet, frightened voice.
'Let's just hope that no ticket inspector gets on,' Nutty answered.
The bus was full and everybody was looking at them. Nutty slid down in her seat, but, without clothes,
there was nothing to hide her. Jazz shook his hair, which fell down over his face, and he sat there
looking like some strange wild animal.
But a ticket inspector did get on at the next stop. He came up to Jazz's seat. 'Tickets, please!' he said.
Jazz began to speak very quickly in Punjabi, the language his parents used at home.
Nutty looked out of the window, hoping for more time, but the inspector came to her next.
'I've lost my handbag,' Nutty said, and she got down on the floor, looking for it.
'You never had a handbag, Madam,' the inspector said, not amused.
Hoomey was also pretending to look for his ticket under his seat, and the inspector went up to Nails
next. 'Tickets, please,' he shouted. Nails did not answer. The inspector tried again, but Nails still didn't
move.
'He can't hear,' Nutty explained. 'He's deaf.'
The inspector stopped the bus. 'Come on,' he said. 'Get off - the four of you. This is the sea front and
that's what you must be looking for.'
'But it's cold out there!'
'Then wear some clothes next time.'
There was a cold wind down by the sea, and they all lived on the other side of town. nail's house was
the nearest, so they decided to go there and get some clothes.
The run through the centre of town was something that they would never forget. The crowds shouted
with laughter when this saw this strange group, dressed only in swimming things, and Jazz with his long
black hair covering his face. But they finally reached the little house where Nails lived. Some minutes
later, three very strange figures left, wearing borrowed clothes which did not fit and which were years
out of date.
When Nutty arrived home, she had to tell her parents what had happened. They were very angry.
'Right,' said her father. 'You can just get changed. We're going round to the Smiths' and you can tell
them you're sorry about all this!'
It was all right for the others, thought Nutty miserably. They were in the factory with the horses while
she, the team captain, was left with all the problems.
Her father drove her up to the rich part of town to the Smiths' house. When they arrived, Nutty was
sorry to see that the lights were on. The Smiths were in - and there was no escape!
Mrs Smith opened the door. 'Well?' she said icily.
'My daughter has come to say she's sorry,' Nutty's father explained.
'Yes. Well. Come in and talk to my husband.'
Nutty did not want to go in. She hated this house. Everything showed that the Smiths had lots of money,
very different from Nail's poor little house. But Seb's father seemed more friendly than angry, and Nutty
said that she was sorry for using their pool secretly.
'That's all right,' said Mr Smith, 'but ask first next time.'
Then, to Nutty's surprise, he offered them a drink. He wanted to know why she and her friends were
using the pool, and Nutty told him all about the competition.
'Do you mean you're doing all this yourselves, with no help? Do your teachers know?'
Nutty didn't know and she didn't really care.
But Mr Smith laughed. 'I think that's wonderful, Mr McTavish,' he said to Nutty's father. 'We give
Sebastian too much,' he want on. 'I've had to work for what I've got, and your Deirdre's the same. She's
a worker, and she can use our pool when she wants to.' Then he asked Nutty about the shooting, and
when he heard that they had no money for lessons, he said, 'Well, I'll see what I can do for you. I'll have
a word with a policeman friend of mine.' He laughed again. 'It'll be good for Seb and his friends to work
a bit harder.'
And for a minute Nutty almost felt sorry for Seb.