Читать книгу The Rubadub Mystery - Enid blyton - Страница 4

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Mr. and Mrs. Lynton were to set off in their car after the meal. Everything was ready. The cases were packed and labelled. Big Queen Elizabeth labels were tied on, or pasted on. The tickets were safely in Mr. Lynton’s wallet.

He was smiling as he said good-bye. He shook hands with Miss Pepper. “Don’t stand any nonsense,” he said to her. “And keep Snubby in his place. We’ll write from New York. You’ve got our hotel address, haven’t you?”

“Yes, thank you,” said Miss Pepper. “Have a good time, and don’t worry about the children. They’ll be quite safe with me down at Rubadub. I’ll see they don’t get into mischief.”

“No mysteries, please, and no adventures,” said Mrs. Lynton, kissing her old governess. “Keep an eye on that, won’t you—you know what extraordinary things can happen when these three are together.”

“Good-bye, Mother! Don’t forget to write!”

“Good-bye, Aunt Susan! I hope you don’t get a storm that wrecks you!”

“Good-bye—and we’ll be very good, so you needn’t worry.”

“Where’s Loony?” said Snubby suddenly. “He wants to say good-bye too. Where on earth is he? Loony, Loony, Loony!”

“He doesn’t want to say good-bye,” said Miss Pepper firmly. “I’ve shut him in my bedroom.”

The Lyntons got into the car. Snubby gave a yell and pointed up to Miss Pepper’s bedroom window. Loony was there, his head squeezed through the half-open window, trying his best to see what was happening. He gave a bark.

“He did want to say good-bye!” cried Snubby. “Bark, Loony, bark!”

By a great effort Loony managed to push up the window a little way, and out came his shoulders and one paw.

“That dog will jump out next!” cried Mr. Lynton and jammed down the accelerator. The car leapt forward and was off down the road. Mr. Lynton had no desire to see Loony leap out of a high window!

Snubby tore upstairs and was just in time to stop Loony from flinging himself out of the window. “That dog!” said Miss Pepper, as they all went back to the house. “I can’t imagine what the people at the inn will say about him. They said they didn’t mind dogs—but they don’t know Loony! Does he still go for brushes and mats?”

“Oh yes—and since he went to stay with your sister’s dog, Loopy, last May, when we all went away with you after ’flu, he’s taken to bringing down all the towels too,” said Diana. “He caught that from Loopy.”

“Well, we’ll simply have to stop him doing things like that at the inn,” said Miss Pepper, having a sudden vision of Loony piling all the visitors’ towels out in the inn’s garden, and then going back to fetch hair-brushes to put with them.

“I don’t see how we can stop him,” said Roger. “You simply can’t reason with Loony. He just sits and grins at you with his tongue out, and thumps his tail on the floor. But you do love him, don’t you, Miss Pepper?”

“I feel doubtful about that sometimes,” said Miss Pepper. “Very doubtful. Now we’ll all have to get very busy indeed, Roger and Diana, if we’re going to be ready to go to-morrow. You’ll have to help me to pack.”

Loony came trotting down the stairs looking very pleased with himself. For once he had no brush or towel with him. Snubby followed.

“We’re going for a walk,” he announced.

“Oh no you’re not,” said Roger at once. “Trust you to try and get out of fetching and carrying, Snubby—and lugging heavy cases about. You’re jolly well going to stay here and help.”

“I’d much rather Snubby took Loony for a walk,” said Miss Pepper hastily, thinking it would be marvellous to get both boy and dog out of the way together. “I’m sure Loony needs a walk.”

“Pah!” said Roger in disgust. “Snubby always gets out of everything.”

“Go along, Snubby—but be back by teatime,” said Miss Pepper firmly, and Snubby went, followed by his faithful and adoring Loony, his long black ears flopping as he went—pad-pad-pad-pad.

The others spent a busy afternoon. Everything was packed. Diana neatly wrote a dozen labels. Roger tied rope round the trunk.

“I’ll help you down the stairs with that,” said Miss Pepper. “I’ve just got to find Diana’s sandals to put into this last bag.”

Roger didn’t want any help. He prided himself on his strength, and while Miss Pepper was hunting for the missing sandals, he dragged the trunk to the top of the stairs.

He set it flat and gave it a push. It cascaded down the stairs with a thunderous noise, arriving in the hall at top speed. Sardine the cat got the fright of her life as the trunk rumbled past where she sat on the stairs, waiting to pounce on someone coming down. She leapt in the air, and then tore like a streak of lightning into Diana’s bedroom, as Miss Pepper was coming out in a hurry. Sardine shot between her ankles and landed on the bed, all her fur standing on end and her tail twice its usual size.

Miss Pepper rushed out on the landing. “Oh, who’s fallen downstairs! Are you hurt? Whatever’s happened?”

The cook was standing in the hall, brought out of her kitchen by the noise. She looked in disgust at the trunk, which had slid along the polished floor to the front door.

“Starting to throw trunks at one another now, I suppose,” she said, and stalked back to her kitchen.

“What’s the matter?” asked Roger, surprised. “I just shot the trunk downstairs, that’s all. Jolly good idea—no lifting or carrying. I thought it would save us trouble, Miss Pepper.”

Miss Pepper gave him such a glare that he disappeared into his room. Without a word she walked back to Diana’s room, and picked up some socks.

“For two pins I’d leave them to themselves!” she thought, her heart still beating in fright. “Really, if Roger starts doing things like this my life won’t be worth living. Snubby’s bad enough.”

Roger came humbly into the room. “I’m sorry, Miss Pepper,” he said. “I didn’t know it would crash down like that. Let me take those cases. I can carry them down for you one by one. You have a rest now, do.”

“It’s all right,” said Miss Pepper thinking that the three children had their nice ways after all. “But I do wish you’d remember that you’re in your teens, Roger, and be a bit more responsible.”

“You sound like my form-master,” said Roger gloomily. “Don’t preach, Miss Pepper. You’re too nice to preach.”

Miss Pepper laughed and pretended to box Roger’s ears. He ducked, grinning. He was very fond of her, as they all were, and hated it when she was vexed.

At last everything was finished. It was teatime and Snubby arrived back punctually with a tired Loony and an enormous appetite. He went straight into the kitchen to find the plump, good-natured cook.

“Cookie! Have you made any of your gingerbread for me? Don’t say you haven’t! I’ve been thinking of it all the term.”

“Go on with you,” said the cook. She opened the larder door and took out a tin. She lifted the lid and showed Snubby a great flat slab of sticky-looking home-made gingerbread. He gave her a hug round her waist.

“You’re my very best friend,” he said. “You don’t mind if we eat it all, do you? I mean—it’s a real compliment, really, if we eat up every single crumb. Isn’t it, Cookie dear?”

“Go on with you!” said the cook again. “You’d talk the hind leg off a donkey, you would!”

“Why, is one of your legs coming loose?” inquired Snubby at once, and dodged out of the way as the cook took up a frying-pan and threatened him with it. Snubby’s silly jokes usually went down very well with the good-tempered cook, and Mrs. Lynton always said that they had more and better cakes when Snubby was with them than at any other time.

“It’s a wonder I did any work at all this afternoon,” said the cook, taking the gingerbread carefully out of the tin. “That cousin of yours threw trunks down the stairs, and my word, they made a noise. I nearly had a heart attack!”

“Oh I say—good old Roger!” said Snubby, breaking a bit off the end of the gingerbread. “Strong man he’s getting, isn’t he? Wish I’d been there to see him throwing trunks all over the place.”

“Now take your fingers away from the gingerbread,” said the cook. “And take that dog out of my kitchen. I never in my life knew any animal that could slink into the larder when the door’s shut, like that dog of yours can. He’s a living miracle!”

“He is. You’re right,” said Snubby, wholeheartedly. “I’m glad you appreciate him. Oh golly, here’s Sardine. We’d better go.”

They left hurriedly. Sardine considered that the kitchen belonged to her, and hissed and spat spitefully if Loony stayed too long!

Tea time passed very pleasantly, because there were hot scones and honey, and gingerbread and some coconut buns. After that they all tidied up their rooms and put away everything. Loony helped by gathering together all the loose mats and putting them in a pile on the landing for people to fall over.

“I really think it’s about time for Loony to grow up a bit,” said Diana, picking herself up after stumbling over the mats in the darkness of the landing. “He’s nearly two years old, and reckoning that in human years, it means he’s in his teens. He ought to be more responsible.”

Roger grinned at Miss Pepper nearby. “Another preacher!” he said. “Loony, do you hear what Di says?”

“What’s the time?” said Miss Pepper, looking at her watch. “It’s gone eight. I think you’d all better go to bed now. We’ve got a long day before us to-morrow. I want a bit of peace and quiet, too, to write letters.”

“All right—we’ll go,” said Diana. “I always think it’s thrilling, the night before we go away. Thinking about the sea and bathing and prawning, and walks....”

“Woof!” said Loony, at once. He always joined in the conversation when he heard that word.

“Clever dog!” said Diana. “Come on—let’s all go to bed.”