Читать книгу Hollow Tree House - Enid blyton - Страница 5

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Susan awoke feeling very excited. It was early, but she couldn’t go to sleep again. She wished she had a nice clean frock to wear. All the other children would be sent off looking nice by their mothers.

‘That’s just it,’ thought Susan. ‘Mothers do anything for their children. It’s awful if you haven’t got a mother. If I had a mother I’d love her every minute of the day, and she’d love me and be proud of me, the way Angela’s mother is of her. I do want a mother and proper home. I’ll have to keep on and on praying about it. Our Sunday School teacher said last time that God does answer prayers, and He does do miracles even now. I wish He would do one for me. Perhaps I don’t deserve one, though. Perhaps you have to be awfully good to have a miracle done for you.’

Aunt Margaret’s voice came in through the door. ‘It’s time to get up, Susan. Go down and lay the breakfast-table, and tell Peter to light the fire.’

The children certainly earned their keep at their aunt’s for they did a great many jobs for her. She would have kept Susan home all day long to work for her, if she hadn’t known that the school teacher would ask Peter where she was. Susan dressed quickly, and ran downstairs to lay the breakfast.

Peter lighted the fire, and both children looked in delight at the sunny day outside. ‘It’s going to be fine,’ said Peter. ‘Isn’t that good? The sea will be as blue as forget-me-nots.’

‘Sh! Here comes Aunt Margaret,’ whispered Susan.

They had breakfast. Their uncle was lost in his newspaper, and looked sulky. He glanced at the children, and wished he had two pounds to give to them. He was fond of them—but not fond enough to go out and work hard and keep his jobs.

Aunt Margaret made a few remarks to him about going off to look for work as soon as breakfast was finished. He scowled at her.

‘Nagging for breakfast, nagging for dinner, nagging for tea,’ he said. ‘I tell you, one of these days I’ll walk out and never come back!’

‘It’s a pity you don’t,’ said Aunt Margaret. ‘There’d be one mouth less for me to feed.’

The children said nothing. It was always safer to keep quite quiet when Aunt Margaret was cross. They were longing to get away to school. Peter could feel the precious two pounds almost burning a hole in his pocket. Aunt Margaret didn’t know about them, so she couldn’t take them away and stop them going to the sea for the day!

But Susan, who dreaded her aunt’s sharp, piercing eyes, almost felt as if she might be able to see through Peter’s shorts into his pockets, and spy the money there. She fidgeted to get up from the table and go.

‘For goodness’ sake, Susan, what’s the matter with you this morning?’ said Aunt Margaret at last. ‘Stop fidgeting. Be off to school before I slap you!’

Susan shot off at once, and pretended not to hear when her aunt shouted to her to come back and put her chair away. Peter came out soon after, his school bag on his back and a broad grin on his face.

‘Aunt can’t make out why we’re not moaning and groaning because we can’t go to the school treat!’ he said. ‘We ought to have looked sad and sorrowful. You nearly gave the game away, you looked so excited, Sue.’

‘I can’t help it,’ said Susan, and skipped off beside Peter. ‘I feel so happy. A whole day’s holiday by the sea! A train-ride first—and then the sea—and paddling. And we’ll find some shells and seaweed.’

Then a thought struck her, and she turned to Peter, looking scared.

‘What will Aunt Margaret say when we don’t go home to dinner?’

‘She’ll guess where we are all right,’ said Peter. ‘She’ll think our school teacher paid for us to go to the sea, I expect. We mustn’t tell her we got the money from Angela.’

‘It’s horrid not be able to be honest with Aunt Margaret,’ said Susan. ‘Oh, Peter, I wish we needn’t deceive her. But we can’t help it, can we?’

‘We’re not doing any harm,’ said Peter. ‘We shall be earning money by ourselves by making the baskets. We are not robbing Aunt Margaret of it. Still, it would be nice if we could trust her and tell her everything.’

The whole school was excited. Every child was going. They marched off to the station with the three teachers. Susan went with her class, and Peter went with his.

As they waited on the platform, who should come along but their Aunt Margaret with her shopping-basket! Susan saw her first and stared in horror. She pulled at Peter’s arm.

‘Quick! Hide somewhere! Aunt may see us as she passes the station.’

‘The train is just coming in—there’s no time to hide,’ said Peter. ‘Come on, get in before she sees us.’

Just as they were climbing into a carriage their aunt saw them. She stared in surprise, and then looked most annoyed. Who had paid for them? Where had they got the money? She hurried round to get to the platform and the children sat back in the carriage with beating hearts.

‘Oh, train, do go, oh, train, do go!’ cried Susan to herself. ‘Quick, before Aunt Margaret comes!’

Her aunt came on to the platform, and called loudly. ‘Peter! Susan!’

The train gave a jolt, and began to move. Aunt Margaret ran alongside, trying to find the carriage with the children in it. But the train went too fast for her. Before she came to their carriage the children were well beyond the platform, and were safe!

‘We’re really off!’ said Peter, thankfully. ‘She can’t catch us now, Sue.’

It was a lovely day. The sea was far far bigger than Susan had thought it could be, and was as blue as the sky. She loved the little white-edged waves that seemed to spill foamy white lace round her feet. Everything was lovely.

The two children were so hungry at dinner-time that their two cheese sandwiches disappeared in a trice. Their teacher saw what a poor lunch they had brought, and asked them to help with hers.

‘I seem to have brought too much,’ she said, and the children believed her, gobbling up more sandwiches and cake in delight. Then off they wandered again to paddle and hunt for shells and seaweed.

Peter found some lovely shells, and Susan pulled a long frond of brown, shiny seaweed from a rock. ‘It’s like a brown ribbon,’ she said. ‘I shall take it home and hang it up. I shall feel it every morning. If it’s wet, I shall know we shall have wet weather. If it’s dry, then the weather will be fine.’

Tea was lovely, and there was plenty of it. Then, after one hour of wandering along the edge of the waves, it was time to take the train for home.

Then the lovely day began to be spoilt for Susan and Peter, because they couldn’t help wondering what their aunt would have to say to them.

‘Let’s say our teacher paid for us,’ said Susan.

‘That’s a lie,’ said Peter. ‘You know we shouldn’t tell lies, Susan. We can’t possibly say that. We’ll just say we earned the money ourselves. That’s quite true.’

They were very silent as the train sped homewards. It was horrid to be going home to someone they were so afraid of.

‘I’ll give Aunt Margaret some of my shells,’ said Peter. ‘Perhaps that will please her.’

‘Well—I can’t give her my seaweed,’ said Susan, who had tied it round her waist. ‘I want it too much myself. Anyway I’m sure she wouldn’t like it.’

There were many mothers at the station to meet their children. Susan looked round at them. There was Tom’s nice fat mother, smiling all over her face as usual. And Jack’s little mother, not much bigger than he was, waving to him as the train came in. And Ronnie’s mother, looking anxiously for her boy, hoping he hadn’t got lost.

There was no one to meet Susan and Peter. They thanked their teacher for a lovely day, and then walked slowly home. Their feet got slower and slower as they came near to their aunt’s cottage. They stood in the garden, hardly daring to go in.

Then door flew open and Aunt Margaret stood there, her eyes angry and sharp, and her thin-lipped mouth set in a straight line.

‘So you’ve come home at last! And where did you get the money from to go with, I should like to know? You got it out of your uncle, didn’t you? Ah, I’ve told him what I thought of him, giving you money that he keeps from me! You bad children, deceiving me, and making him deceive me too, and tell me lies!’

‘Uncle didn’t give us any money,’ said Peter, in surprise. ‘We did ask him, but he said he only had a few pence. Oh, I hope you didn’t nag at him, Aunt, because he really didn’t give us the money. He didn’t tell you a lie when he told you he hadn’t given us the money.’

‘Well, where did you get it from then?’ cried his aunt. ‘You just tell me, before I go to your teacher and find out!’

‘Please don’t go and make a fuss at school,’ begged Susan. ‘We earned the money, Aunt Margaret. We earned it ourselves, we really did.’

‘You earned two whole pounds and didn’t give it to me!’ said her aunt, speaking as if she was immensely astonished. ‘When you know your uncle is out of work and I’ve hardly any money left! You earn two pounds and don’t tell me a word about it! Ungrateful, mean children! I’ve a good mind to say I won’t keep you a week more! I’ve a good mind to pack you off to a children’s home somewhere and be rid of you. Go up to bed, before I whip you!’

The children ran upstairs, each getting a good slap as they passed their angry aunt. Susan whispered in fear to Peter.

‘She won’t really send us to a children’s home, will she? She won’t really get rid of us? Oh, Peter, it was such a lovely day we had—and now it’s all spoilt!’

‘No it isn’t. We’ll never forget the yellow sands and the blueness of the sea, and the feel of the water on our feet,’ said Peter. ‘Nothing can spoil that. Hurry up and wash and clean your teeth and say your prayers, Sue. You’re tired, and you look half asleep already!’

They were soon both in bed. Susan fell asleep almost at once, but Peter lay awake for some time. He heard his uncle come in. He heard his aunt’s complaining voice and guessed she was telling his uncle about their ingratitude in daring to keep for themselves money they had earned.

‘We must remember to finish making all those baskets for Angela,’ thought Peter, closing his eyes. I’ll make some tomorrow. Goodness, what a lovely day we’ve had!’

He fell asleep, while his aunt’s voice below went on and on and on. It seemed to change into the sound of the sea, and Peter dreamt peacefully of the waves breaking on the shore. What fun they had had, what fun!