Читать книгу The Put-Em-Rights - Enid blyton - Страница 5

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The children told the Preacher that evening at supper that they were going to start a band of their own. He looked at the serious faces and seemed pleased. Already he knew he had thousands of children working for him, carrying out his ideas, trying to make the world a better place for everyone.

‘Well, I wish you good luck,’ said the Preacher when he left. ‘I’ll be back again, I hope, and then you shall tell me how you’ve all got on. Watch and pray and work—those are the things to do.’

That night in bed many children of the village thought about the blue-eyed Preacher and his message for children. Six of them especially thought very deeply, for they were going to form a band. The Preacher had said that it wouldn’t do just to say you wanted to help to conquer wrong in the world, you had to do things as well. It was Deeds not Words that counted.

Bobby Jones lay in his narrow bed and felt pleased. If the other children kept their word and let him belong to their band, how proud he would be! He would be friends with the children from Four Towers then. Maybe he would be asked there to tea. How he could boast about that to the village children! ‘My friend, Claude Paget of Four Towers.’ That sounded very grand.

He wished Sally wasn’t going to be in the band. It was true that he had suggested her being head of it, but he had only said that because he wanted to please her and to make her say he could belong, too. Sally was bossy; she ordered people about so much. Still, never mind, it would be marvellous to belong to such a fine society or gang or band, whatever they were going to call it.

All the children were at the meeting-place the next evening, as arranged. Sally had a notebook in which she had written down her suggestions. No one else had written down anything.

‘Well, here we all are,’ said Sally, looking round. ‘Now first of all—what shall we call our band?’

Nobody knew. But Sally had several suggestions. ‘What about the Band of Service?’ she said.

‘Awful!’ said Podge at once. ‘How could you think of such a name?’

‘It’s not bad,’ said Bobby, anxious to please Sally.

‘It’s—it’s so sort of ordinary,’ Amanda said.

‘Well, you think of something then,’ said Sally, rather cross.

‘The Little Preachers,’ said Amanda after a pause. Micky laughed.

‘Quite good, only we don’t preach.’

Sally looked at her list again. ‘What about “Ministering Children”?’ she said.

‘You got that from the old book in Mother’s bookcase,’ said Micky at once. ‘Didn’t you?’

‘Yes, I did. And I read the book, and I think we’re setting out to be ministering children,’ said Sally, sticking up for herself.

‘Well, the idea’s right, but I simply won’t be called a ministering child,’ said Micky. ‘I’d rather not be in the band. Much rather.’

‘It’s frightful,’ said Podge. ‘Wouldn’t we be laughed at? Ministering Children! What you need is a sense of humour, Sally. How could you suggest a name like that?’

This time Sally was really offended. She shut her notebook with a snap. ‘Very well,’ she said, her rather tight lips getting tighter. ‘I won’t make any more suggestions. Perhaps you can make a really good one, Claude Paget.’

‘Gracious—she must be cross to call me that!’ said Podge, good-temperedly. He lay back on the grass and looked up at the blue July sky. ‘Well, let’s call ourselves something short and sensible. What about—the Put-Em-Rights?’

The others stared at him. Amanda broke into a peal of laughter. The Put-Em-Rights! How like Podge to think of a silly name like that! But it did just describe the band after all. Put-Em-Right—well, weren’t they going to try to put wrong things right?

‘I think it’s marvellous!’ said Amanda at once. Micky grinned too.

‘So do I. I’d rather a hundred times be a Put-Em-Right than a Ministering Child.’

Yolande didn’t mind which she was, but if the others liked Put-Em-Rights, well, she liked it too.

Bobby, seeing that everyone appeared to be voting for Podge’s choice, added his word too. ‘A jolly good name for us,’ he said. ‘Don’t you think so, Sally?’

‘No, I don’t,’ answered Sally. ‘I think it’s silly; it puts the whole thing on a lower plane, somehow.’

‘It doesn’t,’ said Podge. ‘It makes it more sensible, that’s all.’

‘Well, if you all like the name I must agree to it too,’ said Sally, opening her notebook again. ‘We will call ourselves “The Put-Em-Rights”. My goodness, it does look silly, written down.’

‘Let it,’ grinned Podge. ‘Better than us looking silly being called Little Preachers or Ministering Children. What about the rules, now?’

‘I’m coming to that,’ said Sally. ‘I think our motto and chief rule should be what the Preacher himself said to us just before he went.’

‘Watch—pray—and work,’ said Amanda. ‘Yes, that would be good.’

‘We can watch out for things to put right—and pray about them—and then work to set them right,’ Yolande said. ‘The watching and praying part won’t be difficult, but the other will.’

‘We shan’t mind difficulties,’ said Podge. ‘That will make it more fun.’

‘Fun?’ said Sally, raising her eyebrows. ‘This is going to be serious work, Podge.’

‘For goodness’ sake, don’t spoil it all by getting pious and preachy and solemn,’ cried Podge, annoyed. ‘I tell you, it will be fun to do this if we do it properly. But it won’t if we go all prim and priggish.’

Sally flushed and frowned. Amanda made the peace.

‘It won’t help things along if we get across one another,’ she said, slipping her arm through Sally’s arm. ‘Come on, let’s get on with it. We’ve got two things settled, our name and our motto. Now for the rules.’

‘We must all watch out and report to the Put-Em-Rights whenever we see anything wrong,’ said Micky.

‘Yes,’ said Sally, and wrote it down.

‘Then we must hold a meeting and decide how to put it right,’ said Bobby. ‘Everything must be discussed together. We mustn’t decide things on our own.’

‘That’s a good rule,’ Podge agreed. ‘The whole band must bear the responsibility. Write it down, Sally.’

‘And we must each take it in turn to put the things right,’ said Sally. ‘We can’t all go off and tackle somebody—though there may be times when we’ll all have to pull together at something.’

‘Oh,’ sighed Yolande, startled to find that she might have to do something difficult on her own. ‘Oh, Sally, I couldn’t possibly keep that rule. I’d never be able to do anything properly on my own. I’m not old enough.’

‘Well, don’t you want to belong, then?’ demanded Sally. ‘Shall I cross your name out, if you don’t feel old enough?’

‘She’s old enough!’ said Podge, putting his arm round the scared Yolande. ‘Of course she can do things by herself—anyway, I shan’t mind helping her, even if it isn’t my turn.’

The small Yolande smiled gratefully at her big cousin. She was not a very brave little person. All the same, she couldn’t bear the idea of being left out of the band now.

‘We may find that we have to do difficult and awkward and unpleasant things,’ said Sally, shutting her notebook. ‘But we mustn’t shirk anything at all. Wherever we find wrong, we must put it right.’

Now that the band was formed and they had a name, everyone was very eager to begin work. But how were they to begin? There didn’t really seem anything they could straightaway set to work to put right.

‘We’ll all keep a watch out now,’ Sally said, getting up. ‘And if anyone has anything to report, they must call a meeting of the Put-Em-Rights at once. I say—what about a badge of some sort? It would be nice to have a button or something.’

‘I’ll make six,’ Yolande said eagerly. ‘Or perhaps Amanda could make half and I’ll make half. They would be done quickly then. I’ve got some wooden buttons at home I can cover. I’ll embroider the three letters P.E.R. on the buttons, and sew a tiny pin at the back. Then we can each wear one.’

Podge was not very thrilled about this, but the others thought it a good idea. ‘And we won’t tell a soul what P.E.R. means,’ said Amanda. ‘We’ll keep it a secret. Yes, I’ll help you, Yolande. You bring the stuff in to me now, if you like. Or shall I come with you and make the badges at your home?’

‘You come with me,’ said Yolande. So Amanda, Micky and Podge got up to go with Yolande. Sally followed, too, and, after a moment’s hesitation, Bobby went with them. He hadn’t been asked to go, but he didn’t think the others would tell him not to. And how thrilled his mother would be to know he had actually been to Four Towers! Yolande disappeared upstairs with Amanda and Sally. Podge, not knowing quite what to do with Bobby, let him wander round with Micky and himself. Bobby’s eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw the beautiful garden, the ripening fruit on the trees, the well-kept greenhouses. My, what tales he would have to tell his schoolfellows now!

Upstairs Yolande got out the wooden buttons and little green pieces of material to cover them. Sally set to work to write out the rules of the band in her best handwriting. Amanda settled down to help Yolande make the badges. But she soon tired of it and went to the window. She looked down into the garden and saw the boys playing with the dogs. ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ she said, and disappeared. She didn’t come back, so Yolande worked valiantly on by herself. ‘Jolly mean of Amanda to leave you to do them all yourself after she said she’d help,’ said Sally. ‘Gosh, it’s late. I must go. Shall I tell Amanda to come back and do her bit, Yolande?’

But it was too late. Amanda and Micky had to go too. ‘What a shame there wasn’t time to come back and help you, Yo,’ said Amanda, appearing in the schoolroom to say goodbye.

‘You mean you were too jolly lazy to sit and help,’ said Podge, giving her a push. ‘Now poor old Yolande will sit up and finish the lot. You are doing the badges beautifully, Yo!’