"Blyton, Enid - The Five Find-Outers 11 - The Mystery of Holly Lane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

"Look Ч there's old Buster!" said Pip, suddenly. "Would you believe it! Sitting under that seat Ч look Ч all by himself, watching."
Sure enough, there was the little Scottie, patiently waiting there. "How did he know that Fatty's train was due now?" said Bets, in wonder. "However DID he know! So that's where he ran off to Ч the station! He was on time too, and we weren't. Clever old Buster!"
"Where's Fatty?" said Daisy, as the crowd of passengers came up to the door where the ticket-collector stood. "I can't see him yet."
"He may be in disguise Ч just to test us and see how bright we are," said Pip. "Look at every one very carefully Ч especially people with glasses."
They stood silently behind the collector as every one surged past, giving up tickets. A big, bustling woman Ч a pair of schoolgirls Ч a man with a bag Ч two young soldiers in khaki, each with enormous kit-bags on their shoulders Ч two men bundled up in thick overcoats, both wearing glasses. Was one Fatty? They were both about his build. One said something in a foreign language as he passed by.
The four children stared after him doubtfully. He could be Fatty. They turned to watch the rest of the passengers, but there was no one who could possibly be Fatty.
At the end came Buster, all alone. Bets patted him, thinking that he looked sad. "So you missed him too, did you?" she said. "Buster, was he one of those bundled-up men?"
There was now no one left on the platform except a porter. "Come on," said Larry, making up his mind. "Fatty must have been one of those men. We'll follow them. We can't have old Fatty tricking us as easily as this!"


A Little Bit of Help!

The four children went out of the station and looked up the road. Where had the men gone?
"There they are," said Larry. "Look Ч just at the corner!"
"But who's the man with Fatty?" said Pip, puzzled. "He never said anything about coming back with somebody."
"Look Ч they've shaken hands," said Daisy. "I expect ok! Fatty just fell into conversation with him to trick us a bit more. Come on Ч I'm sure the man who's gone off to the right is Fatty. He's got his walk, somehow."
"And he's going in the right direction," said Pip. "It's Fatty all right"
They hurried after him. When they got to the corner they paused. Now, where was he?"
"There he is Ч talking to that woman," said Larry. "Hurry!"
They hurried. The man, his coat-collar turned up, wearing thick glasses over his eyes, was saying something very earnestly to a thin little woman with a shopping-basket
The four came up behind him and listened with amusement. Oh Fatty, Fatty!
"I seek my sistair's house. You will tell me, pliss? The house, it is called Grintriss."
"Never heard of it," said the woman, looking most suspiciously at the bundled-up man.
"Pardon? Where is zis house?" asked the man anxiously.
"I said, 'NEVER HEARD OF IT,' " said the woman. "There's no house called Grintriss that I know of. What's your sister's name?"
"Her name is Francoise Emilie Harris," said the man, going suddenly very French.
"Never heard of her either," said the thin little woman, looking more suspicious than ever. "Why don't you ask at the post-office?"
"Pliss? What is zis postoffis?" began the man, but the woman walked off impatiently, leaving him standing there with his bag.
Pip nudged Larry. "This is where we come in," he said, in a low voice. "We'll tell old Fatty we know where his sister lives, and that we'll take him there Ч and we'll lead him straight to his own house. That'll show him we've seen through him! Come on."
"Where's his school trunk?" said Bets, pulling Pip back as he started off after the man. "Are you sure it's Fatty?"
"He's sent his trunk carriage forward, of course," said Pip. "Come on Ч look at that walk Ч it's exactly like old Fatty's."
They set off after the man. Daisy suddenly thought of something. Where was Buster? She looked round but he wasn't there.
"What happened to Buster?" she said. "Surely he didn't stay behind? I was just wondering why he didn't know it was Fatty, and dash round his legs."
"He would have, if he'd been with us," said Pip. "He didn't recognize him in that crowd at the station and he's probably patiently sitting under the seat again, waiting!"
"Oh, poor Buster!" said Bets. "Look Ч Fatty has stopped another woman. What a scream he is!"
The second woman had no patience. She just shook her head and hurried off. Larry put his fingers to his mouth and let off a piercing whistle, making the others jump.
"Don't," said Daisy. "You know you're not allowed to do that. It's a horrible noise and makes people awfully angry."
"It's stopped old Fatty, anyway," said Larry, pleased. "Look, he's turned round."
"He's gone on again," said Bets, with a giggle. "Let's catch him up. He's going the wrong way home now."
They hurried after the man. "We'll pretend we don't know it's Fatty," said Pip. "We'll make him think he's deceiving us Ч but we'll have the laugh all right, when we take him to his own house instead of to his mythical 'sistair's' house."
They caught up the man, and he stopped, peering at them through thick glasses. He had a small black moustache. His coat-collar was turned up, and not much could be seen of his face.
"Ah! Some children! You will help me, yes?" said the man. "I look for my sistair's house."
"Vous cherchez la maison de votre soeur?" said Pip, in his best French. The man beamed at him.
"Oui, oui! It is called Grintriss."
"Grintriss! Oh, yes, we know where that is," said Larry, most untruthfully, playing up to Fatty for all he was worth. "This way, please. Everybody knows Grintriss. A very nice house. Big one, too."
"Beeg? No, my sistair's house is leetle," said the man. "Vairy, vairy leetle. Grintriss it is called."
"Oh, yes. Grintriss. Vairy leetle," said Pip. "Er Ч do you feel the cold, Monsieur? You are well wrapped up."
"I have had the bad cold," said the man, and he sniffed, and gave a hollow cough. "I come to my sistair for a leetle holyday."
"Holiday, you mean?" said Daisy, and the four of them began to laugh. "That's a nasty little cough you've got. Very nasty."
The man coughed again, and Bets began to giggle. Didn't Fatty know they were pulling his leg? How often had she heard Fatty cough like that when he was disguised as some poor old man?