A group of first year pupils including Justin, Alan, Andrew, Doyle, Penny and Susi are going on a school trip to a Roman fort of archeological significance at Little Dudley near
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A group of first year pupils including Justin, Alan, Andrew, Doyle, Penny and Susi are going on a school trip to a Roman fort of archeological significance at Little Dudley near Beckensfield. Teachers on the trip are Mitchell, Clarke and Sutcliffe. The bus is ready to leave but Doyle has not arrived. His mother is walking him to the bus but he runs off, forgetting his wellington boots. Doyle throws Justin off the back seat of the bus. The bus sets off. Doyle slyly puts a fake spider next to Penny as a joke. She sees it and screams. Justin tells Mitchell that Doyle is responsible. Doyle vows revenge. Later on the trip the bus has to stop so that Justin can be sick. The group arrive at the centre they will be staying in. The warden lays down the ground rules. The nearby Forest is out of bound to unaccompanied pupils as they could get lost easily. In their dormitory Justin and Doyle have a pillow fight, Mitchell comes in and tells them to “Get up!” and says that from now on he will be watching the boys like hawks. Susi admits to Penny that she is not really interested in archeology, she only came on the trip because her mother told her to. The next day, after helping to assist with the dig, Penny and Susi have a “free period”. They ask Clarke if they can go and see the “long barrows” in a field next to the centre. She says yes they can, as she believes the two girls are trustworthy. The boys have a free period also but have to go for a walk in the forest with Sutcliffe. Doyle tells Alan, Justin and Andrew of “Dick Turpin’s Cave” which he says is in the forest and that they should escape from Sutlciffe’s walking party and go and see it. When the chance comes the four boys dodge away. Penny and Susi are in a field, they have been unable to find the long barrows but they do find a donkey, which Susi climbs upon. They see a man on a horse and run off into the forest a panic, thinking he is going to give them a telling off. The four boys see the two girl
