"Blyton, Enid - Famous Five 12 - Five Go Down to The Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

Julian stepped right into the room and looked round. Nothing was there - nobody was there! The place was absolutely empty and quiet. Julian went through a doorway into another room. That was empty, too. The old house only had four rooms altogether, two of them very tiny, and every one of them was empty. Timmy didnТt seem disturbed at all, either, nor did he bark as he certainly would have done if there had been any intruder there.
СWell, Timmy, itТs a false alarm,Т said Julian, relieved. СMust have been a rabbit, or even a bit of wall crumbling and falling. What are you sniffing at there?Т
Timmy was sniffing with interest at a corner near the doorway. He stood and looked at Julian as if he would like to tell him something. Julian went over to see what it was.
There was nothing there except for some rather flattened weeds, growing through the floor. Julian couldnТt think why Timmy should be interested. However, Timmy soon wandered away and went all round the place, wondering why they had come to such a peculiar house.
СDick! Bring the girls down!Т shouted Julian up the stone stairway. СThere doesnТt seem to be anyone here, after all. It must have been some small animal that Anne heard.Т
The others clattered down in relief. СIТm sorry I gave you all a shock,Т said Anne. СBut it did sound like somebody down there! However, IТm sure Timmy would have barked if so! He didnТt seem at all disturbed.Т
СNo. I think we can safely say that it was a false alarm,Т said Dick. СWhat do we do next? Have our lunch? Or hunt about to see if we can find the entrance to the passage that leads from here down to the coves?Т
Julian looked at his watch. СItТs not really time for lunch yet, unless youТre all frightfully hungry,Т he said.
СWell, IТm beginning to feel jolly hungry,Т said Dick. СBut, on the other hand, I feel I canТt wait to find that passage! Where on earth is the entrance?Т
СIТve been in all four rooms,Т said Julian. СNone of them seems to have anything but weeds in, no old door leading out of the walls, no trapdoor. ItТs a puzzle.Т
СWell, weТll all have a jolly good hunt,Т said George. СThis is the sort of thing I like. Timmy, you hunt, too!Т
They began to explore the four rooms of the old house. As weeds grew more or less all over the floor they felt that there could be no trapdoor. If there had been, and the man with the lamp used it, the weeds would surely have shown signs of it. But they grew quite undisturbed.
СListen,Т said Julian at last. СIТve got an idea. WeТll make Timmy find the entrance.Т
СHow?Т said George at once.
СWell, weТll make him smell the oil drips on the steps, and follow with his nose any others that have dripped in the weeds,Т said Julian. СI donТt suppose the lamp dripped only on the steps. It must have dripped all the way from the passage entrance, wherever it is, to the top of the tower. CouldnТt Timmy sniff them out? They would lead us to the entrance weТre trying to find!Т
СAll right. But IТm beginning to believe there is no entrance,Т said George, getting hold of TimmyТs collar. СWeТve looked over every single inch of this house. Come on, Tim, youТve got to perform a miracle!Т
TimmyТs nose was firmly placed over the oil-drip on the bottom stair. СSniff it, Timmy, and follow,Т said George.
Timmy knew perfectly well what she meant. George had trained him well! He sniffed hard at the oil and then started up the stone steps for the next oil patch. But George pulled him back.
СNo, Tim. Not that way. This way. There must be other oil drips on the floor of the house.Т
Timmy amiably turned the other way. He found an oil drip at once, on a patch of weeds growing on the floor. He sniffed it and went on to another and another.
СGood old Timmy,Т said George, delighted. СIsnТt he clever, Ju? HeТs following where the man walked when he carried that lamp! Go on, Timmy, whereТs the next drip?Т
It was an easy, strong-smelling trail for Timmy to follow! He followed it, sniffing, out of one room into another, smaller one. Then into a third, bigger one, which must have been the main room, for it had a very big fire-place. Timmy went straight to the fireplace, his nose to the ground. In fact, he went right into the hearth, and there came to a stop. He looked round at George and barked.
СHe says the trail ends here,Т said George, in excitement. СSo the entrance to the secret passage must be in this big fire-place!Т
The others crowded to the hearth. Julian produced his torch and shone it up the chimney. It was an enormous one, though part of the top of it had now fallen away. СNothing there,Т said Julian. СBut - hallo - whatТs this?Т
He now shone his torch to the side of the big fireplace and saw a small, dark cavity there, barely big enough for a man to get into. СLook!Т he said, excited, СI believe weТve found it. See that small hole? Well, I bet if we crawl through that weТll find itТs the way to the secret passage! Good old Timmy!Т
СWe shall get absolutely filthy,Т said Anne.
СYou would say that!Т said George, scornfully. СWho cares? This may be very important, maynТt it, Ju?Т
СRather!Т said Julian. СIf weТre on to what we think we are, and thatТs Smuggling with a big S, it is important. Well, what about it? Lunch first, or exploring that hole?Т
СExploring, of course,Т said Dick. СWhat about letting old Tim go first? IТll give him a leg-up.Т
Timmy was hoisted up to the black hole, and disappeared into it with delight. Rabbits? Rats? What were the children after? This was a fine game!
СNow IТll go,Т said Julian, and clambered up. СItТs a bit difficult to squeeze into. Dick, you help Anne and George up next, and then you come.Т
He disappeared, and one by one the others also hoisted themselves to the hole and crawled in, too. Anne wished she had shorts on, like George. Even a short skirt was a nuisance in performances of this kind!
The hole was merely an entrance to a narrow standing-place at the side of the chimney. Julian got down from the hole, and stood still for a moment, wondering if this was just an old hiding-place, and not an entrance to anywhere, after all. But then, just to the right of his feet, he saw another hole that dropped sharply downwards.
He flashed his torch down, and saw iron hand-grips at one side. He called back and told the others. Then he descended into the hole, at first using the grips for his feet and then for his hands as well.
The hole went down as straight as a well. It came to a sudden end, and Julian found himself standing on solid ground. He turned round, flashing his torch.
There was the passage, in front of him! It must be the one that led down to the coves, the one that the man with the lamp must have used long ago, when he went to gloat over the groaning ships on the rocks.
Julian could hear the others coming down the shaft. He suddenly thought of Timmy. Where was he? He must have fallen headlong down the hole and found himself suddenly at the bottom. Poor Tim! Julian hoped he hadnТt hurt himself, but as he hadnТt yelped, perhaps he had fallen like a cat, on his feet!
He called up to the others. СIТve found the passage. It starts at the bottom of the shaft. IТll go along it a little way and wait for you all to come. Then we can keep together in a line.Т
Soon everyone was safely down the shaft. George began to worry about Timmy. СHe must have hurt himself, Ju! Falling all that way; Oh, dear, where is he?Т
СWeТll soon come across him, I expect,Т said Julian. СNow, keep close together, everybody. The path goes downwards pretty steeply, as you might expect.Т
It certainly did. In places the four children almost slithered along. Then Julian discovered iron staples fixed here and there in the steepest places, and after that they held on to them in the most slippery spots.
СThese iron staples would be jolly useful to anyone coming up,Т said Julian. СIt would be almost impossible to climb up this passage without something to help the climber to pull himself up. Ah, hereТs a more level stretch.Т
The level part soon became much wider. And then, quite suddenly, it became a cave! The four came out into it in surprise. It was rather low-roofed, and the walls were made of black rock, that glistened in the light of the torch.
СI wish I could find Timmy,Т said George, uneasily. СI canТt even hear him anywhere!Т
СWeТll go on till we come to the cove,Т said Julian. СThis must lead us right down to the shore, probably to the very cove where the ships were wrecked. Look, thereТs a kind of rocky arch leading out of this cave.Т
They went through the archway and into yet another passage that wound between jutting rocks, which made it rather dificult to get through at times. Then suddenly the passage divided into two. One fork went meandering off towards the seaward side, the other into the cliff.
СBetter take the seaward side,Т said Julian. They were just going to take the right-hand passage when George stopped and clutched at Julian. СListen!Т she said.СI can hear Timmy!Т
They all stopped and listened. George had the sharpest ears of the lot, and she could hear him barking. So could the others after a few moments. Bark-bark-bark! Bark-bark-bark! Yes, it was Timmy all right!
СTimmy!Т yelled George, making the others jump almost out of their skins. СTIMMY!Т
СHe canТt hear you all this way away,Т said Dick. СGosh, you made me jump. Come on, weТll have to take the cliff passage. TimmyТs barking comes from that direction, not this.Т