"Blyton, Enid - Famous Five 10 - Five On a Hike Together" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

Dick shook his head. Then he pointed out to the dark rainy night, then pointed to AnneТs wet shoes and clothes. The old woman knew what he meant.
СYouТve lost your way, youТre wet and tired, and you donТt want me to turn you out,Т she said. СBut thereТs my son, you see. He donТt like strangers here.Т
Dick pointed to Anne, and then to a sofa in a corner of the room. Then he pointed to himself, and then outside, Again the old woman understood at once.
СYou want me to give your sister shelter, but youТll go out into the night?Т she said. Dick nodded. He thought he could easily find some shed or barn for himself. But Anne really must be indoors.
СMy son mustnТt see either of you,Т said the old woman, and she pulled Anne to what the girl thought was a cupboard. But when the door opened, she saw a very small, steep wooden staircase leading upwards into the roof.
СYou go up there,Т said the old woman to Anne. СAnd donТt you come down till I call you in the morning. IТll get into trouble if my son knows youТre here.Т
СGo up, Anne,Т said Dick, rather troubled. СI donТt know what youТll find there. If itТs too bad, come down. See if thereТs a window or something you can call out from, and then IТll know if youТre all right.Т
СYes,Т said Anne, in rather a trembling voice, and she went up the steep, dirty wooden stairs. They led straight into a little loft. There was a mattress there, fairly clean, and a chair. A rug was folded up on the chair and a jug of water stood on a shelf, Otherwise the room was bare.
A tiny window opened out of one side. Anne went to it and called out. СDick! Are you there? Dick!Т
СYes, IТm here,Т said Dick. СWhatТs it like, Anne? Is it all right? Listen, IТll find somewhere nearby to shelter in - and you can always call me if you want me!Т


Chapter Six

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

СItТs not bad,Т said Anne. СThereТs a fairly clean mattress and a rug. IТll be all right. But what about if the others come, Dick? Will you look out for them? I almost think George will have to sleep in a barn with you and Julian if she comes. That old woman wonТt let anyone else in, IТm sure!Т
СIТll look out for them and arrange something,Т said Dick. СYou eat the rest of your sandwiches and your cake, and see if you can dry your wet feet and make yourself really comfortable. ThereТs a shed or something out here. I shall be quite all right. Yell for me if you want me.Т
Anne went back into the room. She felt wet and tired, hungry and thirsty. She ate all her food, and had a drink from the jug. Then she felt sleepy and lay down on the mattress, throwing the rug over her. She meant to listen for the others to come, but she was too tired. She fell fast asleep!
Dick was prowling about down below. He was careful because he didnТt want to run into the old womanТs son. He didnТt like the sound of him somehow! He came to a small barn with piles of straw in one corner. He flashed his torch cautiously round.
СThis will do for me,Т he thought. СI can be quite comfortable here in that straw. Poor Anne! I wish old George was with her. IТd better wait about and watch for the other two, or IТll fall asleep and miss them, once I bed down in that straw! ItТs only about six oТclock too - but weТve had a long day. I wonder how Timmy is. I wish he was here!Т
Dick thought that probably George and Julian would come in through the same gate as he and Anne had used. He found a broken-down shed near the gate and sat down on a box there, waiting for them to come.
He ate his sandwiches while he waited. They were very comforting! He ate every one and then the cake. He yawned. He felt very sleepy indeed, and his feet were wet and tired.
No one arrived at all - not even the old womanТs son. She could still be seen sewing under the lamp. But after about two hours, when it was almost eight oТclock, and Dick was beginning to be very worried about George and Julian, the old woman got up and put away her work-basket.
She disappeared out of DickТs sight, and didnТt come back But the light was still there, shining out of the window. Left for her son, probably, thought Dick.
He tiptoed to the window. The rain had stopped now and the night was much clearer. The stars were out and a moon was coming up. DickТs spirits rose.
He peered in at the lighted room. Then he saw the old woman lying on a broken-down sofa in a corner. A blanket was pulled right up to her chin and she seemed to be asleep. Dick went back to his shed, but now he felt there was no use in watching for George and Julian. They must have lost their way completely! Or else Mr. Gaston, or whatever his name was, must have had to do something to TimmyТs leg, and Julian had decided to stay at the inn in Beacons Village for the night.
He yawned again. СIТm too sleepy to watch any more,Т he decided СI shall fall off this box with sleep if I donТt go and lie down in that straw. Anyway I think IТd hear if the others came.Т
Using his torch cautiously again, he made his way to the barn. He shut the door behind him and bolted it roughly from the inside by running a stick through two hasps. He didnТt know why he did that - perhaps because he was still thinking of the old womanТs bad-tempered son!
He flung himself down on the straw, and immediately fell asleep. Outside the sky became clearer and clearer. The moon came up, not fully, but large enough to give some light. It shone down on the desolate little stone house and ill-kept out-buildings.
Dick slept soundly. He lay in the soft straw and dreamed of Timmy and George and Blue Ponds and bells. Especially bells.
He awoke suddenly, and lay for a moment wondering where he was. What was this prickly stuff round him? Then he remembered - of course, it was straw and he was in a barn! He was about to cuddle down again when he heard a noise.
lt was only a small noise - a scratching on the wooden walls of the barn perhaps. Dick sat up. Were there rats there? He hoped not!
He listened. The scratching seemed to come from outside the barn, not inside. Then it stopped. After an interval it began again. Then there came a gentle tapping at the broken window just above DickТs head.
He felt very startled. Rats scratched and scrabbled about - but they didnТt tap on windows. Who was tapping so very very cautiously on the little window? He held his breath and listened, straining his ears.
And then he heard a voice - a hoarse whisper.
СDick! Dick!Т
Dick was amazed. Could it be Julian? If so, how in the world did he know that he, Dick, was in the barn? He sat listening, stiff with surprise.
The tapping came again, and then the voice, a little louder. СDick! I know youТre there. I saw you go in. Come here to the window - quiet, now!Т
Dick didnТt know the voice. It wasnТt JulianТs, and it certainly wasnТt either GeorgeТs or AnneТs. Then how did the owner know his name and that he was there? It was astounding. Dick didnТt know what to do!
СBuck up!Т said the voice. СIТve got to go in half a tick. IТve got that message for you.Т
Dick decided to go nearer to the window. He was quite certain that he didnТt want whoever it was outside to come into the barn. He cautiously knelt up in the straw and spoke just underneath the window.
СIТm here,Т he said, trying to make his voice deep and grown-up.
СYouТve been long enough coming,Т grumbled the one outside, and then Dick saw him through the window - just a face, dim and wild-eyed, with a round bullet-like head. He crouched back, thankful that the face couldnТt see him in the darkness of the barn.
СHereТs the message from Nailer,Т said the voice. СTwo-Trees. Gloomy Water. Saucy Jane. And he says Maggie knows. He sent you this. MaggieТs got one too.Т
A bit of paper fluttered in at the broken pane. Dick picked it up in a daze. What was all this? Was he dreaming?
The voice came again, insistent and urgent. СYou heard all that, Dick? Two-Trees. Gloomy Water. Saucy Jane. And Maggie knows too. Now IТm going.Т
There came the sound of someone cautiously creeping round the barn - and then there was silence. Dick sat amazed and bewildered. Who was this wild-eyed fellow, who called him by his name in the middle of the night and gave him extraordinary messages that meant nothing at all to a sleepy boy? But Dick was wide awake now. He stood up and looked out of the window. There was nothing and no one to be seen except the lonely house and the sky.
Dick sat down again and thought. He put his torch on cautiously and looked at the piece of paper he had picked up. It was a dirty half sheet, with pencil marks on it that meant nothing to Dick at all. Words were printed here and there, but they were all nonsense to him. He simply couldnТt make head or tail of his visitor, his message or the bit of paper!
СIТm sure I must be dreaming,Т thought Dick, and put the paper into his pocket. He lay back in his straw, cuddling in deep, because he had got cold by the window. He lay and thought for a while, puzzling over the curious happenings, and then he felt his eyes closing.