Читать книгу Smuggler Ben - Enid blyton - Страница 4

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They reached the beach. It was wet from the tide and gleamed brightly as they walked on it. Their feet made little prints on it that faded almost as soon as they were made. Gleaming shells lay here and there, as pink as sunset.

There were big rocks sticking up everywhere, and around them were deep and shallow pools. The children loved paddling in them because they were so warm. They ran down to the edge of the sea and let the white edges of the waves curl over their toes. It was all lovely.

“The fishing-boats are out,” said Alec, shading his eyes as he saw the boats setting out on the tide, their white sails gleaming in the sun. “And listen—is that a motor boat?”

It was. One came shooting by at a great pace, and then another. They came from the big seaside town not far off where many trippers went. The children watched them fly past, the white spray flying into the air.

They wandered along by the sea, exploring all the rock pools, picking up shells and splashing in the edge of the water. They saw nobody at all until they rounded a rocky corner of the beach and came to a small cove, well hidden between two jutting-out arms of the cliff.

They heard the sound of whistling, and stopped. Sitting beside a small boat, doing something to it, was the fisher-boy they had seen before tea.

He now had on his sea-boots, a red fisherman’s cap with a tassel hanging down, and a bright red scarf tied round his trousers.

“That’s the same boy we saw before,” said Alec.

The boy heard the sound of voices on the breeze and looked up. He scowled, and his dark face looked savage. He stood up and looked threateningly towards the three children.

“Well, he looks fiercer than ever,” said Hilary at last. “What’s the matter with him, I wonder? He doesn’t look at all pleased to see us.”

“Let’s go on and take no notice of him,” said Alec. “He’s no right to glare at us like that. We’re doing no harm!”

So the three children walked into the hidden cove, not looking at the fisher-boy at all. But as soon as they had taken three or four steps, the boy shouted at them loudly.

“Hey, you there! Keep out of this cove!”

The children stopped. “Why should we?” said Alec.

“Because it belongs to me,” said the boy. “You keep out of this. It’s been my cove for years, and no one’s come here. I won’t have you trippers coming into it and spoiling it.”

“We’re not trippers!” cried Hilary indignantly. “We’re staying at Sea Cottage for a whole month.”

“Well, you’re trippers for a month then instead of for a day!” said the boy sulkily. “Clear off! I tell you. This is my own place here. I don’t want anyone else in it. If you come here I’ll set on you and beat you off.”

The boy really looked so fierce that the children felt quite frightened. Then out of his belt he took a gleaming knife. That settled things for the two girls. They weren’t going to have any quarrel with a savage boy who held such a sharp knife.

But Alec was furious. “How dare you threaten us with a knife!” he shouted. “You’re a coward. I haven’t a knife or I’d fight you.”

“Alec! Come away!” begged Frances, clutching hold of her brother. “Do come away. I think that boy’s mad. He looks it anyway.”

The boy stood watching them, feeling the sharp edge of his knife with his thumb. His sullen face looked as black as thunder.

Frances and Hilary dragged Alec off round the rocky corner. He struggled with them to get free, and they tore his flannel shirt.

“Now look what you’ve done!” he cried angrily. “Let me go!”

“Alec, it’s seven o’clock already and Mother said we were to be back by then,” said Hilary, looking at her watch. “Let’s go back. We can settle with that horrid boy another day.”

Alec shook himself free and set off home with the girls rather sulkily. He felt that the evening had been spoilt. It had all been so lovely—and now that nasty boy had spoilt everything.

The girls told their mother about the boy, and she was astonished. “Well, he certainly does sound rather mad,” she said. “For goodness’ sake don’t start quarrelling with him. Leave him alone.”

“But, Mother, if he won’t let us go into the little coves, it’s not fair,” said Hilary.

Mother laughed. “Don’t worry about that!” she said. “There will be plenty of times when he’s busy elsewhere, and the places you want to go to will be empty. Sometimes the people who live in a place do resent others coming to stay in it for a while.”

“Mother, could we have a boat, do you think?” asked Alec. “It would be such fun.”

“I’ll go and see about one for you to-morrow,” said Mother. “Now it’s time you all went to bed. Hilary is yawning so widely that I can almost count her teeth!”

They were all tired. They fell into bed and went to sleep at once, although Hilary badly wanted to lie awake for a time and listen to the lovely noise the sea made outside her window. But she simply couldn’t keep her eyes open, and in about half a minute she was as sound asleep as the other two.

It was lovely to wake up in the morning and remember everything. Frances woke first and sat up. She saw the blue sea shining in the distance and she gave Hilary a sharp dig.

“Hilary! Wake up! We’re at the seaside!”

Hilary woke with a jump. She sat up, too, and gazed out to the sea, over which white gulls were soaring. She felt so happy that she could hardly speak. Then Alec appeared at the door in his bathing-trunks. He had nothing else on at all, and his face was excited.

“I’m going for a dip,” he said in a low voice. “Are you coming? Don’t wake Mother. It’s early.”

The girls almost fell out of bed in their excitement. They pulled on bathing-dresses, and then crept out of the cottage with Alec.

It was about half-past six. The world looked clean and new. “Just as if it has been freshly washed,” said Hilary, sniffing the sharp, salt breeze. “Look at those pink clouds over there! And did you ever see such a clear blue as the sea is this morning. Ooooh—it’s cold!”

It was cold. The children ran into the water a little way and then stopped and shivered. Alec plunged right under and came up, shaking the drops from his hair. “Come on!” he yelled. “It’s gorgeous once you’re in!”

The girls were soon right under, and the three of them spent twenty minutes swimming out and back, diving under the water and catching each other’s legs, then floating happily on their backs, looking up into the clear morning sky.

“Time to come out,” said Alec at last. “Come on. Race you up the cliff!”

But they had to go slowly up the cliff, for the steps really were very steep. They burst into the cottage to find Mother up and bustling round to get breakfast ready.

At half-past seven they were all having breakfast. Afterwards Mother said she would tidy round the house and then do the shopping. The girls and Alec must make their own beds, just as they did at home.

“When we are down in the village I’ll make inquiries about a boat for you,” promised Mother, when at last the beds were made, the kitchen and sitting-room tidied and set in order. “Now, are we ready? Bring that big basket, Alec. I shall want that.”

“Mother, we must buy spades,” said Alec. “That sand would be gorgeous to dig in.”

“Gracious! Aren’t you too big to dig?” said Mother. The children laughed.

“Mother, you’re not too big either! Don’t you remember how you helped us to dig that simply enormous castle last year, with the big moat round it? It had steps all the way up it and was simply lovely.”

They set off joyously, Alec swinging the basket. They did a lot of shopping at the little general store, and the little old lady beamed at them.

“Do you know where I can arrange about hiring a boat for my children?” Mother asked her.

“Well,” said the old lady, whose name was Mrs. Polsett, “I really don’t know. We use all our boats hereabouts, you know. You could ask Samuel. He lives in the cottage over yonder. He’s got a small boat as well as a fishing-boat. Maybe he’d let the children have it.”

So Mother went across to where Samuel was sitting mending a great fishing-net. He was an old man with bright blue eyes and a wrinkled face like a shrivelled brown apple. He touched his forehead when Mother spoke to him.

“Have you a boat I could hire for my children?” Mother asked.

Samuel shook his head. “No, Mum,” he said. “I have got one, it’s true—but I’m not hiring it out any more. Some boys had it last year, and they lost the oars and made a great hole in the bottom. I lost more money on that there boat than I made.”

“Well, I’m sure my three children would be very careful indeed,” said Mother, seeing the disappointed faces around her. “Won’t you lend it to them for a week and see how they get on? I will pay you well.”

“No, thank you kindly, Mum,” said Samuel firmly.

“Is there anyone else who has a boat to spare?” said Alec, feeling rather desperate, for he had really set his heart on a boat.

“No one that I know of,” said Samuel. “Some of us lost our small boats in a big storm this year, when the sea came right over the cliffs, the waves were so big. Maybe I’ll take the children out in my fishing-boat if they’re well behaved.”

“Thank you,” said Hilary. But they all looked very disappointed, because going out in somebody else’s boat wasn’t a bit the same as having their own.

“We’ll just go back to old Mrs. Polsett’s shop and see if she knows of anyone else with a boat,” said Mother. So back they went.

But the old lady shook her head.

“The only other person who has a boat—and it’s not much of a boat, all patched and mended,” she said, “is Smuggler Ben.”

“Smuggler Ben!” said Alec. “Is there a smuggler here? Where does he live?”

“Oh, he’s not a real smuggler!” said Mrs. Polsett, with a laugh. “He’s my grandson. But he’s just mad on tales of the old-time smugglers, and he likes to pretend he’s one. There were smugglers’ caves here, you know, somewhere about the beach. I dare say Ben knows them. Nobody else does now.”

The children felt terribly excited. Smugglers—and caves! And who was Smuggler Ben? They felt that they would very much like to know him. And he had a boat, too. He would be a fine person to know!

“Is Smuggler Ben grown-up?” asked Alec.

“Bless you, no!” said Mrs. Polsett. “He’s much about the same age as you. Look—there he goes—down the street there!”

The children turned to look. And as soon as they saw the boy, their hearts sank.

“It’s the nasty boy with the knife!” said Hilary sadly. “He won’t lend us his boat.”

“Don’t you worry about his knife,” said old Mrs. Polsett. “It’s all pretence with him. He’s just play-acting most of the time. He always wishes he could have been a smuggler, and he’s for ever pretending he is one. There’s no harm in him. He’s a good boy for work—and when he wants to play, well, let him play as he likes, I say! He doesn’t get into mischief like most boys do. He goes off exploring the cliffs, and rows in his boat half the time. But he does keep himself to himself. Shall I ask him if he’ll lend you his boat sometimes?”

“No, thank you,” said Alec politely. He was sure the boy would refuse rudely, and Alec wasn’t going to give him the chance to do that.

They walked back to Sea Cottage. They felt sad about the boat—but their spirits rose as they saw their bathing-costumes lying on the grass, bone-dry.

“What about another bathe before lunch?” cried Alec. “Come on, Mother. You must come, too!”

So down to the sea they all went again, and by the squeals, shrieks and shouts, four people had a really wonderful time!