"Blyton, Enid - Famous Five 03 - Five Run Away Together" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

Julian pursed up his lips and whistled. There came a bump on the floor above. That was Timothy jumping off
George's bed! Then there came the pattering of feet down the stairs ,and up the. kitchen passage. Timmy was coming!
He smelt Mr. Stick in the doorway, put up his hackles, bared his teeth and growled. Mr. Stick hastily removed himself from the doorway and then neatly banged the door in the dog's face. He grinned at Julian.
"Now what are you going to do?" he said.
"Shall I tell you?" said Julian, his temper suddenly rising. "I'm going to hurl this nice juicy meat-pie straight into your grinning face!"
He raised his arm, and Mr. Stock ducked.
"Now don't you do that," he said. "I'm only pulling your leg, see? Don't you waste that nice meat-pie. You can go upstairs if you want to."
He moved away to the sofa. Julian opened the door and Timothy bounded in growling. Mr. Stick eyed him uncomfortably.
"Don't you let that nasty great dog come near me," he said. "I don't like dogs."
"Then I wonder you don't get rid of Stinker," said Julian. "Come here, Timmy! Leave him alone. He's not worth growling at."
Julian went upstairs with Timothy close at his heels. The others crowded round him, wondering what had happened, for they had heard the voices downstairs. They laughed when Julian told them how he had nearly thrown the meat-pie at Mr. Stick.
"It would have served him right," said Anne, "though it would have been a great pity, because we shouldn't have been able to eat it. Well, Mrs. Stick may be simply
horrible, but she can cook. This pie is gorgeous."
The children finished all the pie and the tarts, too. Julian told them all about Mr. Stick coming on leave from his ship.
"Three Sticks are a lot too much," said Dick thoughtfully. "Pity we can't get rid of them all and manage for ourselves. George, can't you possibly persuade your father tomorrow to let us get rid of the Sticks and look after ourselves?"
"I'll try," said George. "But you know what he isЧawfully difficult to argue with. But I'll try. Golly, I'm sleepy now. Come on, Timmy, let's get to bed! Lie on my feet. I'm hardly going to let you out of my sight now, in case those awful Sticks poison you!"
Soon the four children, now no longer hungry, were sleeping peacefully. They did not fear the Sticks coming up to their rooms, for they knew that Timmy would wake and warn them at once. Timmy was the best guard they could have.
In the morning Mrs. Stick actually produced some sort of breakfast, which surprised the children very much. "Guess she knows your father will telephone, George," said Julian, "and she wants to keep herself in the right. When did he say he would "phone? Nine o'clock, wasn't it? Well, it's half-past eight now. Let's go for a quick run down to the beach and back."
So off they went, the five of them, ignoring Edgar, who stood in the back garden ready to make some of his silly faces at them. The children couldn't help thinking he must be a bit mad. He didn't behave at all like a boy of Julian's age.
When they came back it was about ten minutes to nine. "We'll sit in the sitting-room till the telephone rings," said Julian. "We don't want Mrs. Stick to answer it first."
But to their great dismay, as they reached the house, they heard Mrs. Stick using the telephone in the hall!
"Yes, sir," they heard her say, "everything is quite all right. I can manage the children, sir, even if they do make things a bit difficult. Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Well, sir, it's lucky my husband is home on leave from his ship, sir, because he can help me round, like, and it makes things easier. Don't you worry about nothing, sir, and don't you bother to come back till you're ready. I'll manage everything."
George flew into the hall like a wild thing, and snatched the receiver out of Mrs. Stick's hand.
"Father! It's me, George! How's Mother? Tell me quick!"
"No worse, George," said her father's voice. "But we shan't know anything definite till tomorrow morning. I'm glad to hear from Mrs. Stick that everything is all right. I'm very upset and worried, and I'm glad to feel I can tell your Mother that you are all right, and everything is going smoothly at Kirrin Cottage."
"But it isn't," said George, wildly. "It isn't. It's all horrid. Can't the Sticks go and let us manage things by ourselves?"
"Good gracious me, of course not," said her father's voice, surprised and annoyed. "What can you be thinking of? I did hope, George, that you would be sensible and helpful. I must say..."
"You talk to him, Julian," said George, helplessly, and
thrust the receiver into Julian's hand. The boy put it to his ear and spoke into the telephone in his clear voice."
"Good morning, sir. This is Julian! I'm glad my aunt is no worse."
"Well, she will be if she thinks things are going wrong at Kirrin Cottage," said Uncle Quentin, in an exasperated voice. "Can't you manage George and make her see reason? Good gracious, can't she put up with the Sticks for a week or two? I tell you frankly, Julian, I am not going to sack the Sticks in my absenceЧI want the house ready for me to bring back your aunt. If you can't put up with them, you had better find out from your own parents if they can take you back for the rest of the holidays. But George is not to go with you. She is to stay at Kirrin Cottage. That's my last word on the subject."
"But, sir," began Julian, wondering how in the world he could deal properly with his hot-tempered uncle, "I must tell you that . . ."
There was a click at the other end of the "phone. Uncle Quentin had put down his receiver and gone. There was no more to be said. Blow! Julian pursed up his mouth and looked round at the others, frowning.
"He's gone!" he said. "Cut me off just as I was trying to reason with him."
"Serves you right!" said Mrs. Stick's harsh voice from the end of the hall. "Now you know where you stand. I'm here and I'm staying here, on your uncle's orders. And you're all going to behave yourselves, or it'll be the worse for you."
Chapter Six.
JULIAN DEFEATS THE STICKS.
THERE was a slam. The kitchen door shut, and Mrs. Stick could be heard telling the news triumphantly to Edgar and Mr. Stick. The children went into the sitting-room, sat down and stared at one another gloomily.
"Father's awful!" said George, furiously. "He never will listen to anything."
"Well, after all, he is very upset," said Dick, reasonably. "It was a great pity that he rang before nine, so that Mrs. Stick got her say in first."
"What did Father say to you?" said George. "Tell us exactly."
"He said that if we couldn't put up with the Sticks, Anne and Dick and I were to go back to our own parents," said Julian. "But you were to stay here."
George stared at Julian. "Well," she said at last, "you can't put up with the Sticks, so you'd better all go back. I can look after myself."
"Don't be an idiot!" said Julian, giving her arm a friendly shake, "You know we wouldn't desert you. I can't say I look forward to the idea of being under the thumb of the amiable Sticks for a week or two, but there are worse things than that. We'll "stick" it together."
But the feeble little joke didn't raise a smile, even from Anne. The idea of being under the Sticks" three thumbs
was a most unpleasant prospect. Timothy put his head on George's knee. She patted him and looked round.
"You go back home," she said to the others. "I've got a plan of my own, and you're not in it. I've got Timmy, and he'll look after me. Telephone to your parents and go home tomorrow."
George stared round defiantly. Her head was up, and there was no doubt but that she had made a plan of some sort.
Julian felt uneasy.
"Don't be silly," he said. "I tell you we all stand together in this. If you've got a plan, we'll come into it. But we're staying here with you, whatever happens."