Читать книгу The Rat-a-Tat Mystery - Enid blyton - Страница 4

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The three children raced upstairs to find Mrs. Lynton. Loony went with them, almost tripping them up, he was so anxious to get to the top of the stairs first. He barked as he went, sensing the children’s excitement and wanting to join in.

Mr. Lynton, trying to write letters in his room, groaned loudly. “That dog! I really will have him kept out of doors if he goes on like this!”

“Mother! We’ve got such a good idea!” said Diana, finding her mother putting clean towels into the bathroom.

“Have you, dear?” said her mother. “Snubby, could you tell me HOW you get your towel as black as this? You haven’t been climbing chimneys by any chance, have you?”

“Ha-ha! Funny joke!” said Snubby, politely.

“Oh, Mother, do listen. We’ve got a splendid idea!” said Diana again.

“Yes! Can we have Barney to stay for a few days, Mother?” said Roger, going straight to the point. “Do say yes! You like Barney, don’t you?”

“And we haven’t seen him since the summer holidays,” said Diana. “Not since he found his father and all his new family, and went to live with them.”

“And we simply MUST see him,” said Snubby, snatching the bathmat away from Loony, who was shaking it as if it were a rat.

“Well, dears,” began Mrs. Lynton, looking most uncertain. “Well ... I really don’t know what to say.”

“Oh, why? Why can’t we ask Barney—and Miranda too, of course?” said Diana, astonished. “You always liked him, Mother, you know you did.”

“Yes, dear, and I do still,” said her mother. “But I don’t feel that Daddy will welcome anyone else here while you are all three turning the house upside-down, and——”

“Oh, we don’t turn it upside-down!” cried Diana. “Haven’t I been tidying things all the morning? Oh, Mother, we’ll be as quiet and tidy as anything if you’ll let Barney come. We simply must hear his news before we go back to school again.”

“Well, you must ask Daddy, Diana,” said her mother. “If he says yes, Barney shall certainly come. I’ll leave it entirely to him.”

“Oh,” said Diana, looking gloomy. “Can’t you ask him, Mother?”

“No,” said her mother. “Stop turning on the taps, Snubby. I said stop. And take Loony out of the bathroom please. He’ll have that sponge next, out of the bath-rack.”

“Come on, Loony,” said Snubby, in a sorrowful voice. “We’re not wanted here. We’ll go and have a game together in the garage.”

“No, you won’t,” said Roger firmly. “You’ll come and back us up when we ask Daddy if we can have Barney.”

“I can’t,” said Snubby. “Uncle said he didn’t want to set eyes on me again this morning. Or Loony either.”

“Oh, well—you come, Di, and we’ll tackle Dad together,” said Roger. “And for goodness’ sake, Snubby, don’t start playing your mouth-organ outside the study door just when we’re inside.”

Loony shot down the stairs at top speed as usual, followed by Snubby three steps at a time. Mrs. Lynton shook her head and smiled to herself—nobody, NOBODY would ever teach Snubby and Loony not to hurl themselves downstairs.

Mr. Lynton heard a discreet knock on his study door and raised his head from his letters. “Come in!” he said, and in came Diana and Roger.

“What is it?” asked their father. “Surely you don’t want any pocket-money yet, after all the money you had given to you at Christmas?”

“No, Dad, no,” said Roger hurriedly. “We shouldn’t dream of asking you for any yet. Er—we just wondered if—er—well, we thought it would be nice if——”

“Nice, and kind too,” said Diana. “If we—er—if Barney could——”

“What is all this?” said her father impatiently. “Can’t you ask a straight question?”

“Well, we wondered if Barney could come to stay for a few days,” said Diana, bringing it all out in a rush. “You remember Barney, don’t you, Dad? The circus-boy we got to know so well.”

“Yes, I remember him,” said Mr. Lynton. “Nice boy—very blue eyes—and didn’t he have a monkey?”

“Yes, Dad!” said Roger eagerly. “Miranda—a perfect darling. Could we have them to stay?”

“Ask your mother,” said her father.

“We have,” said Roger, “and she says we’re to ask you.”

“Then I say No,” said Mr. Lynton firmly. “And I’m pretty certain your mother really wants to say No as well—you’re all wearing her out these holidays! Also, I’ve got your Great-Uncle Robert coming for three days, and I’ve really been wondering if I can’t send Snubby and Loony off to Aunt Agatha while Great-Uncle is here—I don’t feel that the old gentleman will be able to cope with the three of you—and that mad dog Loony too.”

“Oh, Dad! You didn’t ask Great-Uncle in the Christmas holidays, surely!” cried Diana. “He talks and talks and talks, and we daren’t say a word, and——”

“Perhaps that’s why I asked him!” said her father, a sudden twinkle in his eye. “No—actually the old fellow asked himself. He hasn’t been well—which is why I’m sure he can’t cope with Snubby and Loony—and the mouth-organ.”

“Oh,” said Diana sadly. “Well, it’s no good asking Barney then—there wouldn’t be room, for one thing. Oh, and I did so want to see him these hols—and now we shan’t see him for ages. Couldn’t you possibly put Great-Uncle off, Dad?”

“No, I couldn’t,” said her father. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t have Barney here—one more to add to the madhouse! And you might warn Snubby he may have to go to his Aunt Agatha’s soon.”

Snubby was horrified at this news. “But I don’t like being there!” he said. “Loony has to live in a kennel—and I have to wash at least twenty times a day! I say, I won’t play my mouth-organ any more. And I’ll stop whistling. And I’ll tiptoe down the stairs, and——”

“Ass!” said Roger. “That would only make Mother think you were ill, or sickening for something! Blow! All our plans made for nothing!”

“And we shan’t see Barney now,” said Diana. “Or that darling little Miranda.”

“I say,” said Snubby suddenly, “look—it’s snowing!”

They ran to the window and looked out. Yes, big snowflakes were falling steadily down. Diana looked up at the sky, but the snowflakes were already so thick that they hid it completely.

“If it goes on like this, we’ll have some fun,” said Roger, feeling more cheerful. “And when Great-Uncle comes to stay we can keep out of his way all day long—we’ll be out in the snow, tobogganing!”

“And skating, if there’s any ice,” said Diana, thrilled.

“But I shan’t be here!” said Snubby, in such a desperate voice that the others laughed. “I shall be with my Aunt Agatha and Uncle Horace, with poor old Loony howling by himself out in his kennel.”

“Poor Snubby. Never mind. Perhaps Great-Uncle won’t come,” said Diana.

But the next day there was a letter from Great-Uncle announcing that he was arriving in two days’ time. Snubby looked at his aunt in despair. Would he be sent away? He was ready to promise anything rather than that. Especially as the snow was now beautifully thick and deep, and the ponds had begun to freeze. There would be no tobogganing or skating at his Aunt Agatha’s, he knew that.

But Mrs. Lynton was quite firm. If Great-Uncle Robert was not very well, then the worst thing in the world for him would be a dose of Snubby and Loony. He might even have a heart-attack at some of the things Loony did.

“I must telephone to your Aunt Agatha at once,” she said. “Don’t look like that, Snubby—the world isn’t coming to an end.”

She went into the hall to telephone—and almost as she touched the receiver, the shrill bell rang out. Ring-ring! Ring-ring! Ring-ring!

“I hope it’s to say Great-Uncle can’t come!” cried Snubby. But it wasn’t. Mrs. Lynton turned round, smiling. “Who do you think wants to speak to you?” she said. “It’s Barney!”

“Barney!” cried everyone, and they all rushed to the telephone. Roger grabbed the receiver first. “Barney! Is it really you! Did you have a good Christmas?”

Then he listened to Barney’s reply—and suddenly a look of utter delight came over his face. “Oh, BARNEY! What a wonderful idea! Yes, I’ll ask Mother—hold on. I’ll ask her straight away!”

Snubby and Diana could hardly wait for him to ask his mother whatever it was that Barney wanted to know.

“Mother!” said Roger, “Barney and one of his cousins are going to stay at a house his grandmother owns, by a little lake surrounded by hills—the lake is frozen and the hills are covered with snow—so there will be tobogganing and skating. And he says, can we go too?”

There were shrieks of delight from Diana and Snubby. “Of course we’ll go, of course!”

“Barney says, if you say yes, his grandmother will telephone all the arrangements to you,” said Roger, his eyes shining. “Oh, Mother—it’s all right, isn’t it? We can go to stay with Barney, instead of him coming here—and Snubby won’t have to go to his Aunt Agatha’s—and Great-Uncle Robert can come here in peace, without any of us to worry him. Oh, Mother—we can go, can’t we?”