Читать книгу The Boy Next Door - Enid blyton - Страница 5

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Robin, Betty and Lucy discussed the happenings next door as they stripped off their Red Indian suits. “We had better not tell anyone,” said Robin. “Perhaps we oughtn’t to have slipped into the garden next door like that without permission. I say, wasn’t Kit smart to capture us all? I can’t say I liked being tied up like that—but he did come along to set us free when that fierce woman was near.”

“I liked him,” said Betty. “I wish he’d teach me that war-dance. We could go right down to the bottom of the garden to learn it. Mummy would have a fit if we all started yelling like that.”

“Are we going in to see that boy again?” said Lucy. “I’d be rather afraid to, after seeing that fierce dragon-woman. And why did she say there wasn’t a boy there? I suppose she didn’t know we’d seen him. She must be silly if she thought we’d tied ourselves up to trees!”

“I vote we go in again to-morrow,” said Robin. “Not to-day, because we’ve got to go out with Mummy—and, anyway, that woman might be on the watch. But to-morrow we might.”

“I don’t want to,” said Lucy.

“Nor do I,” said Betty.

“Pooh—cowards!” said Robin scornfully. “That is just like girls—always afraid when anything happens. All right, I’ll go by myself!”

Before he went the next day, Robin climbed up the tree to see if the dragon-woman was anywhere about. He couldn’t see anyone on the lawn at all. As he slid down the tree to the ground, Lucy came running up.

“That fierce woman has just gone out!” she panted. “I went out after Sandy, who ran out of the front gate, and I saw her going down the lane. Why don’t you squeeze into the next-door garden now and find Kit?”

“I’m going to,” said Robin, and he went to the hedge to find the thin part through which they had all squeezed the day before.

But a great surprise awaited him! It was quite impossible to get through into the next-door garden now—because somebody had erected strong, chain-link fencing all the way down the other side of the hedge!

“Look at that!” said Robin, in surprise. “That must have been done yesterday whilst we were out with Mummy. It’s no good squeezing through the hedge now—we couldn’t get past that fencing. It’s a kind of extra-strong wire-netting—the kind they use to keep cattle in, I should think! Golly! Fancy doing all that to keep us out!”

“It makes me think there really is a mystery next door,” said Lucy, feeling excited. “We can’t get over the top of the fencing either—it’s much too high. The boy next door is a sort of prisoner, it seems to me.”

As the children stood looking through the hedge at the strange and unexpected fence, they heard the sound of distant voices. One was Kit’s—and the other was a man’s.

“Let’s do a bit of shouting to one another,” said Robin, “then Kit will know we are playing here, and perhaps come to the hedge to talk to us. We’d better not shout to him. For some reason or other the people next door plainly don’t want us to know Kit lives there. Come—shout to me and I’ll shout back.”

So the three began to shout loudly to one another, hoping Kit would hear them and know they were there. But although they waited some time the boy did not come to the hedge.

“I’ll climb the tree again and see if he’s still there,” said Robin at last. So he climbed high and looked down into the garden below. Kit was there—but a man was with him this time, not the fierce-looking woman. The man looked stern and rather old, from what Robin could see of him. He appeared to be teaching Kit.

As Robin looked, the man shut the book they were studying, and leaned back in his chair. Robin could not hear what he said, but he imagined that he was telling Kit he was free to play. Now perhaps the boy would come to talk to the others!

But he didn’t, for the man still sat there. Kit went into the summer-house and brought out a ball. He threw it up into the air and caught it. The man bent his head and read his book.

Kit went on and on throwing the ball high, and higher—and then suddenly he threw the ball with all his force towards the next-door garden! It curved high over the tree and then disappeared into Robin’s own garden, landing with a thud!

“How peculiar!” thought Robin, and watched to see what the boy did next. He produced another ball and began throwing that about, too. Then he sat down, took out his pocket-knife and began to whittle at a stick.

“I’ll find his ball,” thought Robin, and slid down the tree. “Perhaps he has thrown it over to give us an excuse to take it back to the house and ask for him.”

The boy told Betty and Lucy what had happened, and they all hunted for the ball. Sandy came along and hunted, too, his tail quivering with excitement, for he had no idea what everyone was looking for, but he couldn’t help hoping it was a rabbit.

The ball seemed to have disappeared completely. It was most tiresome. Everyone scraped about for it, in the most unlikely places. And then Sandy found it! He gave a whine and put his paw on it. He rolled it out from under a bush and then sat down to receive praise and pats, very sorry to find that it was only a ball that was lost, and not a rabbit.

Robin picked up the ball. “Good dog!” he said to Sandy. “You’re worth a hundred cats! Tiger would just sit on a wall and turn her nose up at us if we lost anything.”

“Do you think we dare to take the ball back next door?” said Betty. “I don’t dare!”

“I’ll take it,” said Robin. “It’s a pretty awful ball, anyway—it’s got a tear in it. It wouldn’t be any good for bouncing.”

Lucy took it and put her fingers inquisitively into the hole. She was just about to take them out again when her eyes widened in excitement.

“What’s up?” said Robin.

“There’s something inside,” said Lucy. “Wait—let me get it out!”

She wriggled her finger and thumb about inside the old ball, and heard the crackle of paper. She got hold of it at last and pulled it out.

“It’s a note!” she said. “Golly, what a clever way of sending us a message!”

“Right under the nose of that man, too,” said Robin. “I think Master Kit is very clever. I’d just love to have him for a friend! Give me the note, Lucy. What does it say?”

Lucy handed over the note and Robin unfolded it. It was quite short, written in a strong, bold handwriting.

“To My Three Prisoners—

“Don’t believe the Dragon when she says I’m not here! She has a Reason. I’m very lonely and bored, and I should like to know you. But you mustn’t be seen here. They’ve put a chain-link fence all round the garden now to keep you out. But holes can be dug underneath! What about it? Chuck this ball back with an answer when you get a chance!

“K.A.A.”

This was really a very thrilling note indeed to get. The three children stared at one another in excitement. There certainly was a Mystery—and only Kit could explain it. They must—they really must—get into the garden next door again, somehow. But they would have to be very careful not to be caught.

They all read the note again. It seemed even stranger and more exciting the second time. “We’ll write an answer,” said Robin. “And of course, we’ll dig a hole underneath a bit of the fencing and get through that way. It’s an awfully good idea. But we’d better do it away at the bottom of the garden in case anyone sees us.”

“We’ll have to take turns at it,” said Betty. “We’ll have to keep guard. O-o-oh, it will be fun! I say—won’t it be thrilling if we get into the next-door garden again and have to keep a lookout for the Dragon? It makes me shiver to think of it!”

“Shall we answer the note?” asked Lucy. “What shall we say?”

They went indoors to get paper and pencil, and Robin wrote an answer

To Our Captor—

“We’re going to dig a hole. Can you get out at night? It would be best to meet then. Say, to-night at midnight, by the summer-house, if possible. Send the ball back with an answer.

“Robin, Lucy and Betty.”

The ball was thrown back. Robin threw it, as he could throw really well. Betty sat at the top of the chestnut tree to watch if it fell on the lawn. She came down in such a state of giggles that the other two couldn’t get a word out of her for sometime.

“Oh, Robin—the ball fell right on that man’s book!” giggled Betty. “It gave him such a jump! And then he turned round and began to scold Kit for throwing it at him. Kit took the ball and went into the summer-house with it.”

“Golly, that must have been a funny sight to see,” said Robin, with a chuckle. “I expect Kit’s read the note by now. Come on—let’s see where would be the best place to dig a hole. We could be starting that now, really. Where’s Sandy? He can come, too, and scrape about with his paws. He would be quite a help.”

So all four went off down the garden, carrying spades—at least, Sandy didn’t carry one, though he would dearly have liked to. He felt very important following the children about.

They examined the hedge thoroughly, and found just the place to dig a hole.

“Between these two hawthorn trees would be best,” said Robin. “We can cut away the lower branches so that they won’t scratch us while we work. We can dig deep down here because the ground is nice and soft. I guess it will take us some time to burrow right under the fencing the other side.”

“Well, we don’t need a very big hole,” said Betty. “We can wriggle down the passage like Red Indians do. I say, won’t it be fun! Sandy, you go and begin the hole—just there, look!”

So Sandy obligingly went down between the hawthorn trees and began to scrape so violently that the earth flew up in the children’s faces.

“Lucy, you keep guard,” said Robin. “Betty, you and I will start digging. Come on. Get away now, Sandy. You’ve made a fine beginning!”

So the hole was begun, and the three children worked very hard indeed to make it big enough to wriggle down at night. What an adventure! Through the hole at midnight! They were all longing for twelve o’clock to come.

“I shall feel a bit frightened!” said Betty. “But that will be part of the fun!”