"Blyton, Enid - Adv 04 - Sea of Adventure" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

Kiki stopped. She put her head on one side and looked cheekily at Miss Lawson. "Wipe your feet!" she commanded. "Shut the door! Where's your handkerchief? How many times have I told you to . . ."

"Take Kiki out, Jack," said Mrs. Mannering, red with annoyance. "I'm so sorry, Miss Lawson. Kiki belongs to Jack, and she isn't usually so badly-behaved."

"I see," said Miss Lawson, looking very doubtful. "I'm not very much used to parrots, Mrs. Mannering. I suppose, of course, that this bird will not come away with us? I could not be responsible for pets of that kind Ч and I don't think that a boarding-house . . ."

"Well, we can discuss that later," said Mrs. Mannering hastily. "Jack, did you hear what I said? Take Kiki out."

"Polly, put the kettle on," said Kiki to Miss Lawson, who took absolutely no notice at all. Kiki growled like a very fierce dog, and Miss Lawson looked startled. Jack caught the parrot, winked at the others and took Kiki out of the room.

"What a pity, what a pity!" mourned Kiki as the door shut behind them. Mrs. Mannering gave a sigh of relief.

"Jack and Lucy-Ann Trent are not my own children," she said to Miss Lawson. "Lucy-Ann, shake hands with Miss Lawson. Lucy-Ann and her brother are great friends of my own children, and they live with us, and all go off to boarding-school together," she explained.

Miss Lawson looked at the green-eyed, red-haired little girl and liked her. She was very like her brother, she thought. Then she looked at Philip and Dinah, each dark-eyed and dark-haired, with a queer tuft that stuck up in front. She would make them brush it down properly, thought Miss Lawson.

Dinah came forward politely and shook hands. She thought that Miss Lawson would be very proper, very strict and very dull Ч but oh, so safe!

Then Philip came forward, but before he could shake hands, he clutched at his neck. Then he clutched at one leg of his shorts. Then he clapped a hand over his middle. Miss Lawson stared at him in amazement.

"Excuse me Ч it's only my rats," explained Philip, and to Miss Lawson's enormous horror she saw Squeaker running round his collar, Nosey making a lump here and there over his tummy, and Woffles coming out of his sleeve. Goodness, how many more had the awful boy got!

"I'm sorry," said Miss Lawson faintly. "I'm very sorry Ч but I can't take this post, Mrs. Mannering. I really can't."





Chapter 2

A GLORIOUS IDEA



AFTER Miss Lawson had hurriedly said good-bye to Mrs. Mannering, and the front door had shut after her, Mrs. Mannering came back into the children's playroom looking very cross.

"That was too bad of you, really! I feel very annoyed and angry. How could you let Kiki behave like that, Jack! Ч and Philip, there was no need at all for you to make those rats all appear at once."

"But, Mother," argued Philip, "I can't go away without my rats, so it was only fair to let Miss Lawson know what she was in for Ч I mean, I was really being very honest and . . ."

"You were being most obstructive," said Mrs. Mannering crossly. "And you know you were. I consider you are all being really unhelpful. You know you can't go back to school yet Ч you all look thin and pale, and you really must pick up first Ч and I'm doing my best to give you a good holiday in the care of somebody responsible."

"Sorry, Aunt Allie," said Jack, seeing that Mrs. Mannering really was upset. "You see Ч it's the kind of holiday we'd hate. We're too big to be chivvied about by Miss Lawson. Now Ч if it was old Bill . . ."

Old Bill! Everyone brightened up at the thought of old Bill Smugs. His real name was Cunningham, but as he had introduced himself as Bill Smugs in their very first adventure, Bill Smugs he remained. What adventures they had had with him!

"Golly, yes! Ч if we could go away with Bill," said Philip, rubbing Squeaker's nose affectionately.

"Yes Ч and dive into the middle of another dreadful adventure," said Mrs. Mannering. "I know Bill!"