Читать книгу The Rubadub Mystery - Enid blyton - Страница 5

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The next day was truly exciting. Usually the three children went off for their holidays by car, but they much preferred the train.

They found an empty carriage, and each bagged a corner. Loony shared everyone’s corner in turn, breathing down their necks in excitement.

It was a long way to Woodlingham, where they had to change trains. The journey was a cross-country one, involving many long stops at various stations at which bits and pieces of the train were added or subtracted.

Snubby, of course, was intensely interested in these stops, and talked to every engine-driver, guard and porter that he could see.

“Do you know,” he announced once, as he returned from a chat to the driver, “do you know that of all the fifteen carriages we started with, only two of the original ones are left now—ours and the next one? Such a lot have been shunted off. But some have been added, of course.”

“You make it sound like a maths problem,” said Diana. “So long as they leave our carriage on the train that’s all I care about.”

“Just like a girl,” said Roger scornfully. “No interest in railways at all. I call it all very thrilling. We start with fifteen—we shunted off six at Limming and added five. We left another three at Berklemere, and got two more added on at Fingerpit. Now let me see....”

“This sounds like a riddle now,” said Miss Pepper sleepily. “If we shunt off six and add two, and leave five somewhere, and forget to take on the rest, please tell me the name of the engine-driver!”

“Ha, ha, joke,” said Snubby politely. “I say, isn’t it time for lunch yet?”

They got to Woodlingham at last and woke up Miss Pepper, who had fallen sound asleep. “It’s a good thing we’re responsible people,” said Roger. “Somebody’s got to look out for the station we change at.”

“Don’t be idiotic, Roger,” said Miss Pepper. “I can’t imagine how I could have gone to sleep in this rattling, rumbling old train.”

The train to take them to Rockypool came in at last. Snubby went to talk to the engine-driver, having found out that there was a ten-minute wait before it drew out of the station again.

He didn’t notice that another engine came backing up to the end of the train. He didn’t notice it being hooked on. He suddenly heard the whistle of the guard and the voices of the others calling him frantically.

“Snubby, quick, we’re going. SNUBBY!”

Snubby leapt into the very last carriage, dragging poor Loony in by his collar. “Gosh!” he said to a surprised old country-woman there. “I nearly missed it! How was I to know the thing was going to go off the other way? Peculiar way trains behave here!”

“Ar,” said the old woman wisely.

“I mean—it came in with the engine at the front, just as usual—and it leaves the station with a perfectly fresh engine, at the back,” said Snubby, working himself up into a grievance because he felt so foolish. “It’s time somebody spoke about these things.”

“Ar,” said the old lady, nodding her head. Snubby looked at her. In his experience people who said nothing but “Ar” made extremely good listeners. So he aired his views at great length and enjoyed himself thoroughly. He didn’t even get out at the next station or the next, to find his way to the carriage where the others were. He was afraid they would tease him unmercifully about being so nearly left behind.

Two men got in at the third station. Snubby looked at them closely. They were naval men, he saw. Aha! Probably they belonged to the Secret Submarine Harbour. What a scoop for him if he could make friends with them and get news of the harbour to retell proudly to the others. The men opened newspapers and began to read.

“Excuse me, sir, but are we very far from Rockypool?” began Snubby. “I’ve got to get out there.”

“You’ll see the name of the station when we come to it,” said one of the men gruffly.

“I say, sir, I suppose you don’t belong to the Secret Submarine place, do you?” Snubby tried again. “I’ve always been interested in submarines. Used to sail them in my bath, and ...”

“You probably do still, I imagine,” said the other man. “Shut up!”

Snubby subsided, grieved. He examined the men carefully, pretending he was a detective. Both clean-shaven. One with a mole on his right cheek. One with crooked eyebrows. Actually he thought they looked nice men. It was a pity they wouldn’t talk. He sat and stared at them thoughtfully.

“Anything wrong with my face?” inquired one man at last. “What about looking out of the window for a change?”

Snubby scowled. He woke up Loony, who was sound asleep under the seat, bored with this long journey. He lugged him up on the seat and began to talk to him. He couldn’t very well talk to the old woman, because she was now snoring in her corner, her mouth wide open.

“Shut up!” said one of the men again. “What a babbler you are!”

The old woman woke up unexpectedly. She gave a little wheeze of laughter.

“That’s right, he is,” she said. “Babbles like a brook, he do. I couldn’t get a word in till you come along, misters.”

Snubby glared at her indignantly. He got out at the next station with much dignity, and made his way to the compartment where Roger and Diana were hanging out of the window.

“Why didn’t you come before?” demanded Roger. “Was there somebody interesting in that carriage?”

“Rather!” said Snubby, climbing in. “There were two men from the Secret Submarine place—and my word, the secrets they know!”

“As if they’d tell you any!” said Roger at once.

“All right. If you’re feeling like that I won’t tell you a word,” said Snubby exasperatingly. He sat down in the opposite corner. Roger stared at him. He couldn’t believe that any one would tell Snubby anything interesting in the way of secrets—but on the other hand Snubby was so friendly that people had been known to relate most amazing bits of information to him.

“Go on—tell me what you heard,” said Roger. “Who were the men? What were they like?”

“They wouldn’t tell me their names,” said Snubby. “So I didn’t press them. But I can tell you exactly what they were like. You just never know when it’ll pay you to be really observant.”

He described the men exactly, down to a mole, crooked eyebrows, two overlapping teeth, bitten nails on one man’s hands, and misshapen little finger on the other man’s.

“Jolly good,” said Roger, thinking for the hundredth time that his fat-headed little cousin could be quite sharp, for all his idiotic ways. “You ought to go into the police force!”

Snubby was about to air his views on how lucky the police force would be to get him, when the train slowed down at a station.

“Rockypool!” yelled a porter, and Miss Pepper stood up quickly.

“Ah—here we are. Roger, go and see if our trunks and cases are still in the luggage van. I can hardly believe we have the same luggage van as when we started, but still, you never know!”

Roger disappeared to find out. Snubby and Diana handed down the smaller cases and parcels, and they all got out of the carriage. Loony got his lead entangled round Snubby’s legs as usual, and made him cross.

Roger came back. “The luggage is all there,” he announced. “Safe as can be. What about a taxi, Miss Pepper? Shall I go and see if there’s one?”

“It’s already ordered,” said Miss Pepper. “I asked the innkeeper’s wife at Rubadub to order one for us. It should be waiting.”

It was. As they walked to it Snubby nudged Roger and nodded his head towards two men walking nearby. Roger looked at them and immediately recognised a good many of the big and small characteristics that Snubby had recited to him. He stared at the men with interest. Like Snubby he thought it must be thrilling to work on anything secret.

Their taxi was waiting. The driver got down to help the porter in with their things. He strapped on the trunk, and put the cases in front.

“Is it far to Rubadub?” asked Snubby. The man shook his head.

“Matter of three miles,” he said. “The railway don’t go any farther than this.”

They all got into the old musty-smelling taxi. Snubby stuck his head out of the window to take a look round. The country they passed through was rather wild and desolate—heath and moorland with pools of water shining here and there.

They rumbled along. Snubby looked at Loony anxiously.

“I think he’s going to be sick,” he said.

“Oh no!” said Miss Pepper, in despair.

“He’d better go in front with the driver,” said Snubby, and he knocked on the glass. “Hey—stop a minute, will you? I’m coming in front with you.”

The taxi stopped. Snubby got out, carrying Loony, who looked very surprised. The two of them were soon in front with the driver, sitting on a pile of cases.

“Now I can see fine,” said Snubby to the driver, and grinned happily.

“Well I never!” said Diana, who heard this. “I bet Loony wasn’t feeling sick after all. It was just that Snubby wanted to sit in front and see everything.”

“Well, never mind,” said Miss Pepper, who was feeling tired, and not very anxious to cope with the inexhaustible and irrepressible Snubby. “We’ll soon be there.”

It didn’t seem long before the taxi drove into a little town by the sea. It was set in a semi-circle of cliff, looking out to a small bay. There was a good promenade, a fine little pier, a stone jetty with boats and a sandy beach.

“It looks grand!” said Diana, pleased. “And oh, look—is this lovely old place the inn?”

“Yes—this is the Three Men in a Tub Inn, in the old town of Rubadub!” said Miss Pepper. “Out you get—we’re here at last!”