Читать книгу Ring O' Bells Mystery - Enid blyton - Страница 3

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“I thought those three children were going off to school to-day,” said Mr. Lynton. “Why aren’t they down punctually to breakfast?”

“Oh, Richard—isn’t it tiresome—Snubby and Diana aren’t well,” said Mrs. Lynton. “They’ve both got temperatures—and I can’t send Roger back in case Snubby and Diana are going to have something infectious. The school would not take him back if so.”

“Good gracious!” said Mr. Lynton, exasperated. “After four long weeks of Easter holidays, when there has been nothing but noise and racing about, and that dog Loony under my feet all the time—now we get another two or three weeks of it, I suppose!”

“Oh, well, Richard, we can’t help it if they fall ill,” said his wife. “Snubby really must be feeling bad—he can’t eat even a sausage for his breakfast, and you know how fond he is of them.”

“It won’t hurt him to starve for a week,” said Mr. Lynton hard-heartedly. “I’m not wasting any pity on Snubby. I’ve never known anyone eat as he does. They can’t make a penny profit on Snubby at school, I’ll be bound!”

He gathered up his papers and went off to catch his train, looking rather gloomy. He had been looking forward to a little peace in the house, with the three children enjoying themselves away at school. Now it looked as if they wouldn’t be gone for another week or so, possibly longer.

Mrs. Lynton went up to see Snubby. He groaned when she came in. “I do feel bad, Aunt Susan. And do you think you could possibly take Loony out again? He keeps wanting me to play and I can’t bear it. He’s such a very scrapey dog this morning—scrapes the clothes off me, and scrapes the rugs off the floor, and——”

“I know, I know,” said his aunt soothingly, pulling the clothes straight. “There’s not much about Loony that I don’t know already. Now try to get a little sleep till the doctor comes. I’m going in to see Diana.”

Diana was feeling bad too. Mrs. Lynton felt her hot hands. “I think you’ve both got a touch of ‘flu,” she said. “What a pity, just at the end of the holidays!”

Roger still seemed all right, though he was in bed too, as he had just a slight temperature. He had been able to manage a little breakfast.

The doctor came at half-past ten, and tripped over Snoek, the cat, on the stairs. “I’m so sorry,” said Mrs. Lynton. “I should have warned you! Snoek, if you do that again, I’ll send Loony after you.”

“Dear me—who’s Loony?” asked the doctor, and knew immediately, as Loony came racing down the stairs after Snoek, nearly sending him to the bottom.

He was a nice, cheery doctor, and the children liked him, though Snubby and Diana could only raise rather feeble smiles when he made his jokes.

“Ha! I suppose this is all faked just to get out of going back to school!” he said, taking Diana’s hand to feel her pulse. “I know these tricks! I’ve half a mind to order you up and about!”

“I couldn’t possibly get up,” said Diana weakly. “I got up in the night to get a drink and I could hardly stand.”

“Well, don’t worry,” said the doctor cheerily. “You’ve only got a touch of this wretched ‘flu that’s going round. You’ll soon be all right.”

“Well, thank goodness it’s only ‘flu and not scarlet fever or anything like that,” said Mrs. Lynton, when the doctor went downstairs with her again.

“It’s a pretty nasty ‘flu, though,” said the doctor, looking for his gloves. “Now—where did I put my gloves?”

“Loony! You’ve got them!” said Mrs. Lynton sharply to the black spaniel. “Drop them! Bad dog!”

The doctor got back his gloves at last. “Well, as I was saying,” he said, “it’s a pretty nasty ‘flu. Keep them in bed till I say they can get up—and then, I’m afraid, they ought not to go back to school for another ten days or so. They’ll feel pretty washed out afterwards. Perhaps you could get them away somewhere.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” said Mrs. Lynton. “Well, thank you, Doctor. I’ll be seeing you to-morrow then.”

Roger was soon as bad as the others, and the amount of grumbling and groaning that went on was terrific. Perhaps the most miserable person in the house was Loony the spaniel. He wasn’t ill, of course—but he simply couldn’t understand why the three children kept in their beds and didn’t appear to want his company at all!

“He’s awful,” complained Diana. “If I let him in, he goes mad, and I simply can’t stand it, I’ve got such a headache—and if I don’t let him in, he scrapes at the door and whines till I do. Can’t Snubby have him in his room? He’s Snubby’s dog.”

“He doesn’t want him either,” said Mrs. Lynton. “I’ll send him out for a long walk with the baker’s boy this afternoon. He’s very fond of him, and would love to take him for a walk.”

“I don’t mind Snoek so much,” said Diana. “She doesn’t stamp about like Loony. But I don’t like it when she sits on my tummy and kneads me carefully with her claws as if I were a bit of dough. Oh, Mummy—I do feel bad!”

“Poor old girl,” said her mother. “You’ll soon feel all right again. Don’t worry!”

Mrs. Lynton had put Roger in a room by himself when Snubby had fallen ill, hoping that perhaps he wouldn’t catch it. But now that it was certain he was in for the ‘flu as well, she moved him back into his own room with his cousin Snubby. They both felt so miserable that she was sure they wouldn’t get up to any tricks together just yet!

The illness ran its course, and in a few days all three were feeling decidedly better. “If only my legs weren’t so wobbly!” said Snubby. “They feel as if they were made of jelly. Will they ever get all right again, Aunt Susan?”

“Of course. Don’t be silly,” said his aunt. “Anyway, I know you’re much better because you asked for a sausage for breakfast this morning. To-morrow you’ll probably ask for three.”

“Woof,” said Loony, who always knew the word “sausage” when he heard it. He put a big black paw on Snubby’s bed, and looked mournfully at his master. He hadn’t understood Snubby at all for the last few days. Snubby hadn’t been pleased to see him—he hadn’t yelled and laughed as usual—he hadn’t even been pleased when Loony brought him a half-chewed and very smelly bone.

Snubby patted Loony’s smooth, silky head, and fondled the black, drooping ears. “I’m feeling better now, Loony,” he said. “We’ll soon be out for walkies again.”

“Woof!” said Loony excitedly, and leapt with one bound on to Snubby’s middle. But that was more than Snubby could yet stand, and soon Loony was being taken sternly out of the room by Mrs. Lynton.

“I think the children had better go away for a change of air,” Mrs. Lynton said to her husband that night. “They are all much better, but I feel rather tired myself now. I could get Miss Pepper, my old governess, to look after them for a bit, I know. She’s very fond of them all.”

“Good idea,” said Mr. Lynton warmly. “I know what Snubby was like, after he’d had a chill once—do you remember? He appeared to be twice as full of beans, and three times as full of cheek. I don’t feel I could stand that after four or five weeks of him here.”

“Yes—that was the time when he managed to get up on the roof, wasn’t it—and emptied a can of water down the dining-room chimney,” said Mrs. Lynton. “I remember how startled I was. Well—I think I’ll ring up Miss Pepper and see what she thinks about it. She’s very good at handling the three. She doesn’t stand any nonsense.”

Miss Pepper said yes—she would take the three children off Mrs. Lynton’s hands with pleasure. It was a long time since she had seen them—not since they had all stayed at Rockingdown with her, and plunged into peculiar adventures!

“You’ll see that they don’t get up to mischief at all, won’t you?” said Mrs. Lynton anxiously. “You know what they are—so headstrong and lively and daring. They want firm handling.”

“You needn’t worry,” said Miss Pepper. “Now where did you think of sending them? By the sea?”

“Well, no,” said Mrs. Lynton. “The doctor says somewhere inland, but not too low—and somewhere fairly warm. He doesn’t want them paddling or bathing or doing anything like that just yet. Can you suggest anywhere?”

There was a pause. Then Miss Pepper spoke doubtfully. “Well—I do know a place. It’s got a lovely name but it’s not as pretty a village as it sounds. Have you heard of Ring O’ Bells Village?”

“Yes—isn’t it that very old place, near the town of Lillinghame?” said Mrs. Lynton.

“That’s right,” said Miss Pepper. “I’ve a cousin who keeps a little boarding-house there—I’m sure she would be pleased to have the children.”

They talked about the idea for a little while. Ring O’ Bells sounded just right to Mrs. Lynton. There were riding stables nearby, where the three children could hire horses and hack round the countryside. There were walks up the hills and through the woods. Miss Pepper was sure the air would do them good.

“Right,” said Mrs. Lynton, thankful to have settled everything so easily. “Will you telephone your cousin, Miss Pepper, and arrange everything? The children can travel this week, the doctor says—so I could pack them in the car, and drive over to you—and then drive down to Ring O’ Bells. It really is a lovely name, and sounds so peaceful somehow.”

“Yes,” said Miss Pepper, wondering if it would be quite so peaceful when Loony and the three children got down there. Thank goodness there wouldn’t be that queer circus friend of theirs there too—the boy Barney and his monkey, Miranda!