Читать книгу Five Fall into Adventure - Enid blyton - Страница 7

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George was most astonished at Dick. How very shocking to see who could spit damson stones out the farthest.

‘It’s all right,’ said Julian to her in a low voice. ‘You know how good Dick is at that sort of game. He’ll win—and we’ll send the girl scooting off, well and truly beaten.’

‘I think you’re horrible, Dick,’ said George, in a loud voice. ‘Horrible!’

‘Who used to spit cherry-stones out and try and beat me last year?’ said Dick at once. ‘Don’t be so high-and-mighty, George.’

Anne came slowly back from her pool, wondering why the others were up on the rocks. Damson stones began to rain round her. She stopped in astonishment. Surely—surely it couldn’t be the others doing that? A stone hit her on her bare arm, and she squealed.

The ragamuffin girl won handsomely. She managed to get her stones at least three feet farther than Dick. She lay back, laughing, her teeth gleaming very white indeed.

‘You owe me an ice-cream,’ she said, in her sing-song voice. Julian wondered if she was Welsh. Dick looked at her, marvelling that she managed to get her stones so far.

‘I’ll buy you the ice-cream, don’t worry,’ he said. ‘Nobody’s ever beaten me before like that, not even Stevens, a boy at school with a most enormous mouth.’

‘I do think you really are dreadful,’ said Anne. ‘Go and buy her the ice-cream and tell her to go home.’

‘I’m going to eat it here,’ said the girl, and she suddenly looked exactly as mulish and obstinate as George did when she wanted something she didn’t think she would get.

‘You look like George now!’ said Dick, and immediately wished he hadn’t. George glared at him, furious.

‘What! That nasty, rude tangly-haired girl like me!’ stormed George. ‘Pooh! I can’t bear to go near her.’

‘Shut up,’ said Dick, shortly. The girl looked surprised.

‘What does she mean?’ she asked Dick. ‘Am I nasty? You’re as rude as I am, anyway.’

‘There’s an ice-cream man,’ said Julian, afraid that the hot-tempered George would fly at the girl and slap her. He whistled to the man, who came to the edge of the rocks and handed out six ice-creams.

‘Here you are,’ said Julian, handing one to the girl. ‘You eat that up and go.’

They all sat and ate ice-creams, George still scowling. Timmy gulped his at once as usual. ‘Look—he’s had all his,’ marvelled the girl. ‘I call that a waste. Here, boy—have a bit of mine!’

To George’s annoyance, Timmy licked up the bit of ice-cream thrown to him by the girl. How could Timmy accept anything from her?

Dick couldn’t help being amused by this queer, bold little girl, with her tangled short hair and sharp darting eyes. He suddenly saw something that made him feel uncomfortable.

On her chin the girl had a big black bruise. ‘I say,’ said Dick, ‘I didn’t give you that bruise yesterday, did I?’

‘What bruise? Oh, this one on my chin?’ said the girl, touching it. ‘Yes, that’s where you hit me when you sent me flying. I don’t mind. I’ve had plenty worse ones from my Dad.’

‘I’m sorry I hit you,’ said Dick, awkwardly. ‘I honestly thought you were a boy. What’s your name?’

‘Jo,’ said the girl.

‘But that’s a boy’s name,’ said Dick.

‘So’s George. But you said she was a girl,’ said Jo, licking the last bits of ice-cream from her fingers.

‘Yes, but George is short for Georgina,’ said Anne. ‘What’s Jo short for?’

‘Don’t know,’ said Jo. ‘I never heard. All I know is I’m a girl and my name is Jo.’

‘It’s probably short for Josephine,’ said Julian. They all stared at the possible Josephine. The short name of Jo certainly suited her—but not the long and pretty name of Josephine.

‘It’s really queer,’ said Anne, at last, ‘but Jo is awfully like you, George—same short curly hair—only Jo’s is terribly messy and tangly—same freckles, dozens of them—same turned-up nose ...’

‘Same way of sticking her chin up in the air, same scowl, same glare!’ said Dick. George put on her fiercest glare at these remarks, which she didn’t like at all.

‘Well, all I can say I hope I haven’t her layers of dirt and her sm—’ she began, angrily. But Dick stopped her.

‘She’s probably not got any soap or hair-brush or anything. She’d be all right cleaned up. Don’t be unkind, George.’

George turned her back. How could Dick stick up for that awful girl? ‘Isn’t she ever going?’ she said. ‘Or is she going to park herself on us all day long?’

‘I’ll go when I want to,’ said Jo, and put on a scowl, so exactly like George’s that Julian and Dick laughed in surprise. Jo laughed, too, but George clenched her fists furiously. Anne looked on in distress. She wished Jo would go, then everything would be all right again.

‘I like that dog,’ said Jo, suddenly, and she leaned over to where Timmy lay beside George. She patted him with a hand that was like a little brown paw. George swung round.

‘Don’t touch my dog!’ she said. ‘He doesn’t like you, either!’

‘Oh, but he does,’ said Jo, surprisingly. ‘All dogs like me. So do cats. I can make your dog come to me as easy as anything.’

‘Try!’ said George, scornfully. ‘He won’t go to you! Will you, Tim?’

Jo didn’t move. She began to make a queer little whining noise down in her throat, like a forlorn puppy. Timmy pricked up his ears at once. He looked inquiringly at Jo. Jo stopped making the noise and held out her hand.

Timmy looked at it and turned away—but when he heard the whining again he got up, listening. He stared intently at Jo. Was this a kind of dog-girl, that she could so well speak his language?

Jo flung herself on her face and went on with the small, whining noises that sounded as if she were a small dog in pain or sorrow. Timmy walked over to her and sat down, his head on one side, puzzled. Then he suddenly bent down and licked the girl’s half-hidden face. She sat up at once and put her arms round Timmy’s neck.

‘Come here, Timmy,’ said George, jealously. Timmy shook off the brown arms that held him and walked over to George at once.

Jo laughed.

‘See? I made him come to me and give me one of his best licks! I can do that to any dog.’

‘How can you?’ asked Dick, in wonder. He had never seen Timmy make friends before with anyone who was disliked by George.

‘I don’t know, really,’ said Jo, pushing back her hair again, as she sat up. ‘I reckon it’s in the family. My mother was in a circus, and she trained dogs for the ring. We had dozens—lovely they were. I loved them all.’

‘Where is your mother?’ asked Julian. ‘Is she still in the circus?’

‘No. She died,’ said Jo, ‘And I left the circus with my Dad. We’ve got a caravan. Dad was an acrobat till he hurt his foot.’

The four children remembered how the man had dragged his foot as he walked. They looked silently at dirty little Jo. What a strange life she must have led!

‘She’s dirty, she’s probably very good at telling lies and thieving, but she’s got pluck,’ thought Julian. ‘Still, I’ll be glad when she goes.’

‘I wish I hadn’t given her that awful bruise,’ thought Dick. ‘I wonder what she’d be like cleaned up and brushed? She looks as if a little kindness would do her good.’

‘I’m sorry for her, but I don’t much like her,’ thought Anne.

‘I don’t believe a word she says!’ thought George angrily. ‘Not one word! She’s a humbug. And I’m ashamed of Timmy for going to her. I feel very cross with him.’

‘Where’s your father?’ asked Julian at last.

‘Gone off somewhere to meet somebody,’ said Jo vaguely. ‘I’m glad. He was in one of his tempers this morning. I went and hid under the caravan.’

There was a silence. ‘Can I stay with you today till my Dad comes back?’ said Jo suddenly, in her sing-song voice. ‘I’ll wash myself if you like. I’m all alone today.’

‘No. We don’t want you,’ said George, feeling as if she really couldn’t bear Jo any longer. ‘Do we, Anne?’

Anne didn’t like hurting anyone. She hesitated. ‘Well,’ she said at last, ‘perhaps Jo had better go.’

‘Yes,’ said Julian. ‘It’s time you scooted off now, Jo. You’ve had a long time with us.’

Jo looked at Dick with mournful eyes, and touched the bruise on her chin as if it hurt her. Dick felt most uncomfortable again. He looked round at the others.

‘Don’t you think she could stay and share our picnic?’ he said. ‘After all—she can’t help being dirty and—and ...’

‘It’s all right,’ said Jo, suddenly scrambling up. ‘I’m going! There’s my Dad!’

They saw the man in the distance, dragging his foot as he walked. He caught sight of Jo and gave a shrill and piercing whistle. Jo made a face at them all, an impudent, ugly, insolent face.

‘I don’t like you!’ she said. Then she pointed at Dick. ‘I only like him—he’s nice. Yah to the rest of you!’

And off she went like a hare over the sand, her bare feet hardly touching the ground.

‘What an extraordinary girl!’ said Julian, ‘I don’t feel we’ve seen the last of her yet!’