"Blyton, Enid - Adventure 01 - The Island of Adventure" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

Thank goodness we're in the right tunnel, said Philip, pausing to listen. He could hear nothing but the boom of the sea far above their heads. He swung his torch around. Yes they were on the right road. Good!
Can we have a little rest? panted Lucy-Ann.
No, said Philip. Those men will be after us almost at once as soon as they get another lamp. They will guess we are making for the shaft. Come on. There's no time to be lost.
The children hurried on again but after a time, to their great dismay, they heard shouts behind them. That meant that the men were after them and what was more, were catching them up. Lucy-Ann felt so alarmed that she could hardly run.
They came at last to the big shaft-hole. It was so deep that the children could not see the entrance to it, far above. The daylight was not to be seen.
Up you go, said Philip anxiously. You first, Lucy-Ann. Be as quick as you can.
Lucy-Ann began to climb. Dinah followed her. Philip came last. He could hear the men's voices even more clearly now. And then quite suddenly, they stopped, and Philip could hear them no more. What had happened?
An extraordinary thing had happened. Kiki the parrot, hearing the tumult in the distance, had become excited and was shouting. She and Jack were still wandering about, quite lost, in the maze of passages and galleries. Kiki's sharp ears heard the men and she began to screech and yell.
Wipe your feet! Shut the door! Hi, hi, hi, Polly put the kettle on!
The men heard the shouting voice and thought it belonged to the children. They've lost themselves, said Jake, stopping. They don't know the way back to the shaft. They're lost and are shouting for help.
Let them shout, said Olly sourly. They'll never find the way to the shaft. I told you they wouldn't. Let them get lost and starve.
No, said Jake. We can't do that. We don't want to have to explain half-starving children to search-parties, do we? We'd better go and get them. They are over in that direction.
They went off the main passage, meaning to try and find the children where the shouts had come from. Kiki's voice came again to them. Wipe your feet, idiot, wipe your feet!
This astonished the two men. They went on towards the voice, but even as they went, Jack and Kiki wandered into a passage that the two men missed. Kiki fell silent, and the men paused.
Can't hear them any more, said Jake. Better go to the shaft. They may have found their way there after all. We can't afford to let them escape till we've decided what to do about all this.
So they retraced their steps to the shaft, and looked up it. A shower of tiny stones came down and hit them.
Gosh! The children are up there! cried Jake, and started up the ladder at once.
The children were almost at the top. Lucy-Ann felt as if her arms and legs could not climb one more rung but they held out, and at last the tired girl reached the top, climbed out, and rolled over on the ground, exhausted. Dinah came next, and sat down with a long sigh. And then Philip, tired too, but determined not to rest for one moment.
I'm sure those men will come up the shaft after us, he said. We haven't a minute to lose. Do come on, girls. We must get to the boat and be off before anyone stops us.
It was getting dark. What a long time they must have been underground! Philip dragged the girls to their feet and they set off to the shore. The boat was there, thank goodness.
I don't want to go without Jack, said Lucy-Ann obstinately, her heart wrung with anxiety for her beloved brother.
But Philip bundled her into the boat at once.
No time to lose, he said. Come on. We'll send help back for Jack as soon as ever we can. I can't bear leaving him behind either but I've got to get you girls away safely.
Dinah took one pair of oars and Philip the other. Soon the two were rowing the boat away quickly, across the calm channel of water to where, in the distance, the waves thundered over the reef of rocks. Philip felt anxious. It was one thing to get through the gap safely when he could see where he was going, but quite another when it was almost dark.
He heard shouting, but he was too far away from the shore to see the men there. Jake and Olly had climbed up the shaft, raced over the island to the shore, and were looking for a boat. But there was none. The tide was coming in and there was not even a mark on the sand to show where the boat had rested. In fact, it had been almost afloat when the children had got in, and it was lucky that it had not floated away.
No boat here, said Olly. How did those kids come? It's queer. They must have escaped by boat. They can't still be underground. We'd better signal tonight and get someone over here. We must warn them that kids have found us underground.
They went back to the shaft and climbed down it, not knowing that one of the children was still wandering about in the mines. Poor Jack was still making his way down a maze of tunnels, all looking exactly alike to him.
In the meantime Philip, Lucy-Ann and Dinah had, by great good luck, just struck the gap in the rocks. It was really because of Lucy-Ann's sharp ears that they had been so lucky. She had listened to the pounding of the water over the rocks, and her ears had noticed a softening of the thunder. That's where the gap must be, she thought. The noise dies away a little there. So, sitting at the tiller, she tried to guide the boat to where she guessed the gap to be, and by good chance she found it. The boat slipped through, scraping its keel once more on the rock just below the surface and then it was in the open sea, rocking up and down.
How Philip put up the sail in the half darkness, and sailed the boat home, he never quite knew. He was desperate; the girls must be got back in safety, so with great courage he went about his task. When at last he reached the mooring-place, under the cliff, he could not get out of the boat. Quite suddenly his knees seemed to give way, and he could not walk.
I'll have to wait a minute or two, he said to Dinah. My legs have gone funny. I'll be all right soon.
You've been awfully clever, said Dinah, and from her those words meant a lot.
They tied up the boat at last and went up to the house. Aunt Polly met them at the door, in a great state of alarm.
Wherever have you been? I've been so worried about you. I've been nearly off my head with anxiety. I really feel queer.
She looked very white and ill. Even as she spoke, she tottered a little, and Philip bounded forward and caught her as she fell.
Poor Aunt Polly, he said, dragging her indoors as gently as he could and putting her on the sofa. We're so sorry we upset you. I'll get some water no, Dinah, you get some.
Soon Aunt Polly said she felt a little better, but it was quite plain that she was ill. She never could stand any worry of this sort, Dinah said to Lucy-Ann. Once when Philip nearly fell down the cliff, she was ill for days. It seems to make her heart bad. I'll get her to bed.
Don't say a word about Jack being missing, Philip warned Dinah in a low voice. That really will give her a heart attack.
Dinah went off upstairs with her aunt, supporting her as firmly as she could. Philip went to look for Jo-Jo. He wasn't back yet. Good! Then he wouldn't have missed the boat. He looked at Lucy-Ann's white little face, its green tired eyes and worried expression. He felt sorry for her.
What are we going to do about Jack? said Lucy-Ann, with a gulp. We've got to rescue him, Philip.
I know, said Philip. Well we can't tell Aunt Polly and Uncle Jocelyn wouldn't be any good and we'd be idiots to tell Jo-Jo. So there is no-one left but old Bill, I'm afraid.
But you said we'd better not tell Bill we knew his secret, said Lucy-Ann.
I know. But we've got to, now that Jack is alone on the island, said Philip. Bill will have to go and tell those fierce friends of his that Jack is a pal, and he'll find him and bring him back safely. So don't you worry, Lucy-Ann.
Will you go and tell him now, straight away? asked Lucy-Ann tearfully.
I'll go just as soon as ever I've had something to eat, said Philip, suddenly feeling so hungry that he felt he could eat a whole loaf, a pound of butter and a jar of jam. You'd better have something too, Lucy-Ann you look as white as a sheet. Cheer up! Jack will soon be safe here, and we'll all be laughing and talking like anything.
Dinah came down then, and set about getting some food. They were all very hungry, even Lucy-Ann. Dinah agreed that the only thing to do was to go to Bill Smugs and get him to go and rescue Jack before the men found him.
They'll be so wild that we've escaped that they may be really tough with Jack, said Dinah, and then wished she hadn't spoken the words, for Lucy-Ann looked scared to death.
Please go, Philip, begged the little girl. Go now. If you don't, I shall.
Don't be silly, said Philip, getting up. You couldn't make your way across the cliff on a dark night. You'd fall over the edge. Well so long! I'll be back.
Off went the boy, climbing the steep path to the top of the cliff. Then he set off to find Bill. He saw the lights of Jo-Jo's car in the distance, coming home, and heard the noise of the engine. He hurried so that he would not be seen.
Bill will be surprised to see me, he thought. He'll wonder whoever it is, knocking at his door in the middle of the night.