Читать книгу Shock for the Secret Seven - Enid blyton - Страница 6

Table of Contents

The next evening, which was Sunday, Janet and Peter went down to the shed again. Peter was a little subdued, and quite determined to be as good-tempered as Janet always was. They set the shed in order, and Janet put some little chocolate buns on a plate—a present from her mother.

‘Mother doesn’t know a thing about the quarrel,’ she said, ‘and I hope no one ever tells her. She’s rather surprised we’re holding another meeting so soon, though!’

‘Scamper, sit down,’ said Peter. ‘You seem very restless tonight.’

‘I think he’s remembering how you and Jack shouted at one another yesterday,’ said Janet. ‘He’s not used to us quarrelling. I think he was quite scared.’

‘Silly old Scamper,’ said Peter, and patted the soft, silky head. ‘Dear old Scamper—what should we do without you?’

Bang-bang! That was someone at the door already—yes, Pam and Barbara together. They whispered the password through the door. ‘Toad-in-the-Hole.’

The door opened and they went in, beaming. ‘Aren’t we nice and early? Hasn’t Jack come yet?’

‘No. Not yet,’ said Janet. ‘Perhaps he’ll come next!’

But no—George and Colin came next—knocking loudly at the door, and saying the password together. Peter opened it.

‘Oh—I hoped Jack would be with you,’ he said. ‘He’s not here yet. Well—it’s not quite six o’clock. He’ll be along in a minute. Find a box and sit down.’

Somehow they all felt rather nervous of facing Jack. They patted Scamper and talked about Christmas, and all of them listened for Jack’s footsteps.

‘Ah—there he is!’ said Peter, as the patter of feet was heard at last. ‘Toad-in-the-Hole’ said a voice outside the door. Peter swung it open, beaming.

But it wasn’t Jack! It was Susie! Her voice and Jack’s were very much alike! She stood there, stern-faced, and thrust a note at Peter.

‘Here you are,’ she said. ‘Read this. You deserve all it says!’

She pushed the note into Peter’s hand and disappeared at once into the darkness. Peter shut the door, feeling a little dazed. ‘I’ll open it,’ he said, and slit the envelope.

‘Read it out,’ said Colin. And Peter, his voice shaking a little, read it to the others.

‘Dear Secret Six,

‘Thank you for your note and apology from Peter. Sorry, but there’s nothing doing. I’ve finished with you. I’m forming a club with Susie, Binkie, Bony and three others—we’ll be the Secret Seven—and you’ll be the Secret Six.

‘jack.’

There was absolute silence after Peter had finished reading the note. Nobody knew what to say. Nobody particularly wanted to say anything. They sat staring at one another in such a peculiar silence that Scamper became scared.

He crept over to Janet and put his nose into her hand. She broke the silence with a sudden sob. ‘Oh, Scamper—do you feel miserable, too, like us?’

‘Peter! Peter! Jack can’t mean it!’ said George, finding his voice. ‘He can’t want to make a Secret Seven club with Susie and Binkie and Bony—and—who else? What shall we do?’

‘Get someone else in so that our club is still the Secret Seven!’ said Peter. He crumpled up Jack’s letter. ‘Jack doesn’t care tuppence about us. I bet he’s glad to leave us and make a new Secret Seven. But why did he have to call it the Secret Seven? He knows—he knows that’s our special name!’

‘Well—we can’t have two Secret Seven clubs going,’ said George. ‘We’d better be the Secret Six—what’s it matter if we’re Seven or Six? And the letters S.S. will do for Secret Six badges just as well as for Secret Seven. We shan’t need to alter them.’

‘Put it to the vote,’ said Colin. ‘We’ve got to do something about it, or else break up the club altogether.’

The idea of breaking up was too much for anyone. ‘We’ll vote!’ said the girls, and the boys agreed. So very solemnly they voted and agreed that their club was now the Secret Six.

‘Let’s not go on with this meeting tonight,’ said Janet. ‘It doesn’t seem right without old Jack. Let’s break it up, and meet again some other time.’

Some other time? When would that be? Nobody said anything about another meeting, and day after day went by, and the Secret Six did not meet at all. Peter’s mother was surprised.

‘Aren’t the Secret Seven meeting again soon?’ she asked. ‘I hope you haven’t quarrelled!’

‘Oh, I expect we’ll meet again after Christmas, Mother,’ said Peter, going very red. ‘You see—well—we’re all pretty busy now!’

Susie was busy too! She had told her friend Binkie all that had happened, and how Jack had left the Secret Seven. So we’ll be the Secret Seven!’ she said. ‘You and I and Jack—that’s three—and Bony, his French friend—that’s four—and we’ll choose three others. Don’t look so miserable, Jack—we’ll back you up. You shall be the leader!’

At first, Jack, feeling bitter about the quarrel, agreed with everything they said—but when he found that the extra three were all to be girls, he shook his head.

‘No,’ he said. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to belong to any more clubs. The Secret Seven was a fine club, and there couldn’t ever be a better one. I don’t want to be in another club. Don’t worry about it, Susie.’

‘Well!’ said Susie, in a fine rage. ‘After all our sympathy, and all we’ve done for you, you just turn round and say “No thank you; I’ve changed my mind.” All right then—we jolly well won’t have you in our club! You can just be on your own!’