Читать книгу Adventure of the Strange Ruby - Enid blyton - Страница 3

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It all began when Pat picked up the paper one morning and read a little paragraph tucked away in a corner.

He was first down for breakfast. Not even his father was down yet, so Pat was able to have a look at the paper first. That didn’t often happen.

The headlines weren’t interesting—something about wage-freezes, whatever that meant. Pat’s eyes slid down the page and came to four small paragraphs. They were headed The Strange Ruby.

He read the paragraphs and then read them again. He was just finishing when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and his sister Tessa burst into the room.

‘Goodness—I thought I was late,’ she said in relief. ‘Aren’t Mummy and Daddy down yet?’

‘No. I bet Daddy’s lost his stud again,’ said Pat. ‘I’ve heard a lot of scrambling going on upstairs. I say, Tessa—look here—at this piece in the paper.’

Tessa took the paper and read the paragraphs out loud.

THE STRANGE RUBY

This sinister ruby, the biggest in the world, is once more in the news. For centuries it gleamed in the forehead of a great idol in a temple on an Indian hillside, one of a pair of enormous ruby eyes.

During a tribal war both rubies were stolen. One has never been found. The other eventually found its way into the hands of a powerful Indian ruler, who, in return for the saving of his life, gave it to an Englishman, Major Ellis Gathergood.

He died suddenly and the ruby passed to another member of the family. But misfortune has continually followed the owners of the ruby, and one member of the Gathergood family let it be known that he had sold the strange ruby. It has certainly never been heard of to this day.

It was, however, always believed to be in the possession of Mrs Eleanor Gathergood, who has just died. If so, the sinister ruby will pass to her nearest relatives, twins of 12, Faith and David Gathergood. What will they do with it?

Tessa read the paragraphs and looked up in excitement at Pat.

‘Why—they must be the twins we met down at Swanage last year! They were good sports, weren’t they?’

‘Yes. They had a governess, do you remember?’ said Pat. ‘We were sorry for them because they hadn’t any parents—only a great-aunt or someone like that.’

‘And she must be the Mrs Eleanor Gathergood who has just died,’ said Tessa. ‘I say—have you kept the twins’ address, Pat? Let’s write and ask them if they really do own the strange ruby. They might show it to us.’

‘I bet they wouldn’t be allowed to have it on show,’ said Pat, scornfully. ‘But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to write.’

‘It says “Misfortune has continually followed the owners of the ruby”,’ said Tessa, looking at the paper again. ‘I hope bad luck doesn’t come to David and Faith—they’ve had quite enough already.’

‘Yes—having your mother and father killed in a car accident is enough bad luck to last you for the rest of your life,’ said Pat. ‘Hallo—here’s Dad at last.’

Their father came into the room and looked surprised to see Tessa and Pat down first.

‘Turning over a new leaf?’ he asked and picked up the paper. ‘Mother’s just coming. Didn’t you know the hall clock was fast?’

‘Goodness, no,’ said Pat. ‘I simply leapt out of bed when I heard it strike eight. I bet you put it fast on purpose, Dad, because we were so late yesterday.’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised,’ said his mother, coming in and sitting down behind the teapot. ‘Well—any news in the paper?’

Pat told her about the piece he had read, and she nodded. ‘Yes—those must be the twins we met last year. And now I come to think of it, their governess said she was upset because their great-aunt was ill, and she was afraid that, if she died, that strange ruby might be left to the twins. And I remember I was disgusted to hear her say that, if it did, she would leave them at once, because she was afraid she might share in any bad luck that came to them through the old ruby.’

‘What nonsense!’ said her husband.

‘I liked those twins,’ said Tessa. ‘I’m sure we still have their home address somewhere. We’re going to write and ask them if they own the ruby now, Mummy.’

‘They probably won’t be told,’ said her mother, pouring out the tea. ‘I was sorry for those children—they seemed so completely on their own—no parents, no aunts or uncles or cousins. I was glad you made friends with them.’

After breakfast Pat and Tessa went up to their playroom and rummaged about in their desks. As usual they were in a terrible muddle. It was a wonder they ever found anything they wanted.

Tessa at last found the address she was looking for. She pulled out an old notebook and flourished it.

‘Here’s my address book—haven’t seen it since last year. Now I’ll look for the twins’ address.’

She flipped over the pages and then came to a stop. ‘Here it is—David and Faith, Hailey House, Tipscombe, Wilts. Let’s write today.’

‘All right—you do the letter,’ said Pat, who never wrote to anyone if he could help it.

So Tessa wrote the letter—and that was how it was that she and Pat came to share in the extraordinary adventure of the Strange Ruby.