Читать книгу The Secret Seven - Enid blyton - Страница 5

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The next morning five children made their way to Old Mill House, where Peter and Janet lived. It took its name from the ruined mill that stood up on the hill, some distance away, which had not been used for many years.

George came first. He walked down the garden and came to the shed. The first thing he saw was the sign on the door, S.S. There it was, bold and clear in bright green.

He knocked on the door. There was a silence. He knocked again. Still no reply, though he felt sure that Peter and Janet were there because he was certain he had seen Janet’s face at the little window of the shed.

He heard a snuffling under the door. That must be Scamper! He knocked again, impatiently.

‘Give the password, silly!’ said Peter’s voice.

‘Oh, I forgot,’ said George. ‘Wenceslas!’

The door opened at once. George grinned and went in. He looked round. ‘I say—this is jolly cosy. Is it to be our meeting-place these hols?’

‘Yes. It’s nice and warm here,’ said Peter. ‘Where’s your badge? Your button with S.S. on?’

‘Blow—I forgot it,’ said George. ‘I hope I haven’t lost it.’

‘You’re not a very good member,’ said Janet sternly. ‘Forgetting to say the password, and forgetting your badge as well.’

‘Sorry,’ said George. ‘To tell you the truth I’d almost forgotten about the Secret Society too!’

‘Well, you, don’t deserve to belong then,’ said Peter. ‘Just because we haven’t met for some time! I do think——’

There was another knock at the door. It was Pam and Barbara. There was silence in the shed. Everyone was listening for the password.

‘Wenceslas,’ hissed Barbara, in such a peculiar voice that everyone jumped.

‘Wenceslas,’ whispered Pam. The door opened, and in they went.

‘Good—you’re both wearing your badges,’ said Peter, pleased. ‘Now where are Colin and Jack? They’re late.’

Jack was waiting for Colin at the gate. He had forgotten the password! Oh dear, whatever could it be? He thought of all sorts of things—Nowell—Wise Men—what could it be? He felt sure it was something to do with Christmas carols.

He didn’t like to go to the meeting-place without knowing the password. Peter could be very strict. Jack didn’t like being ticked off in front of people, and he racked his brains to try and think of the word. He saw Colin away in the distance and decided to wait for him. Colin would be sure to know the word!

‘Hallo!’ said Colin, as he came up. ‘Seen the others yet?’

‘I saw Pam and Barbara going in,’ said Jack. ‘Do you know the password, Colin?’

‘Of course I do,’ said Colin.

‘I bet you don’t!’ said Jack.

‘Well, I do—it’s Wenceslas!’ said Colin. ‘Aha—sucks to you, Jack—you thought I didn’t know it!’

‘Thanks for telling me,’ grinned Jack. ‘I’d forgotten it. Don’t tell Peter. Come on down the path. I say—look at the S.S. for Secret Seven on the door.’

They knocked. ‘WENCESLAS,’ said Colin in a very loud voice.

The door opened quickly and Peter’s indignant face looked out. ‘Whatever are you shouting for? Do you want everyone in the village to know our password, you donkey?’

‘Sorry,’ said Colin, going in. ‘Anyway, there’s nobody but us to hear.’

‘Wenceslas,’ said Jack, seeing that Peter was not going to let him in without the password. The door shut and the seven settled down. Peter and Janet took the flower-pots for themselves. Everyone else sat on the boxes.

‘This is a jolly nice meeting-place,’ said George. ‘Warm and cosy, and right away from the house.’

‘Yes. I must say you and Janet have got it very comfortable,’ said Barbara. ‘Even a little curtain at the window.’

Peter looked round at the little company. ‘We’ll have our meeting first, and then we’ll have the eats and drinks,’ he said.

Everyone’s eyes went to the neat little shelf behind Janet. On it were arranged seven mugs, a plate of oatmeal biscuits, and a bottle of some dark-looking liquid. Whatever could it be?

‘First of all,’ went on Peter, ‘we must arrange a new password, because Wenceslas doesn’t seem right for after Christmas—besides, Colin yelled it out at the top of his voice, so everyone probably knows it now.’

‘Don’t be so——’ began Colin, but Peter frowned at him sternly.

‘Don’t interrupt. I’m the head of this society, and I say we will choose a new password. Also I see that two of you are not wearing your badges. George and Colin.’

‘I told you I forgot about mine,’ said George. ‘I’ll find it when I get home.’

‘And I think I must have lost mine,’ said Colin. ‘I didn’t forget it. I hunted all over the place. My mother says she’ll make me another to-night.’

‘Right,’ said Peter. ‘Now what about a new password?’

‘Hey-diddle-diddle,’ said Pam, with a giggle.

‘Be sensible,’ said Peter. ‘This society is a serious one, not a silly one.’

‘I thought of one last night,’ said Jack. ‘Would “Week-days” do?’

‘What’s the sense of that?’ asked Peter.

‘Well—there are seven week-days, aren’t there—and we’re the Seven Society,’ said Jack. ‘I thought it was rather good.’

‘Oh, I see. Yes—it is rather good,’ said Peter. ‘Hands up those who think it’s good.’

Everybody’s hand went up. Yes, ‘Week-days’ was a good idea for a password for the Seven! Jack looked pleased.

‘Actually I forgot our password to-day,’ he confessed. ‘I got it out of Colin. So I’m glad I’ve thought of a new one for us.’

‘Well, nobody must forget this one,’ said Peter. ‘It might be very important. Now what about some grub?’

‘Delumptious,’ said Barbara, and everyone laughed.

‘Do you mean “delicious” or “scrumptious”?’ asked Janet.

‘Both, of course,’ said Barbara. ‘What’s that peculiar-looking stuff in the bottle, Janet?’

Janet was shaking it vigorously. It was a dark purple and had little black things bobbing about in it.

‘Mummy hadn’t any lemonade to give us, and we didn’t particularly want milk because we’d had lots for breakfast,’ she said. ‘So we suddenly thought of a pot of blackcurrant jam we had! This is blackcurrant tea!’

‘We mixed it with boiling water and put some more sugar into it,’ explained Peter. ‘It’s awfully good—in fact, it’s scrumplicious!’

‘Oh—that’s a mixture of scrumptious and delicious, too!’ said Barbara with a squeal of laughter. ‘Delumptious and scrumplicious—that just describes everything nicely.’

The blackcurrant tea really was good, and went very well with the oatmeal biscuits. ‘It’s good for colds too,’ said Janet, crunching up the skinny blackcurrants from her mug. ‘So if anyone’s getting a cold they probably won’t.’

Everyone understood this peculiar statement and nodded. They set down their mugs and smacked their lips.

‘It’s a pity there’s no more,’ said Janet. ‘But there wasn’t an awful lot of jam left in the pot, or else we could have made heaps to drink.’

‘Now, we have a little more business to discuss,’ said Peter, giving Scamper a few crumbs to lick. ‘It’s no good having a Society unless we have some plan to follow—something to do.’

‘Like we did in the summer,’ said Pam. ‘You know—when we collected money to send Lame Luke away to the sea.’

‘Yes. Well, has anyone any ideas?’ said Peter.

Nobody had. ‘It’s not really a good time to try and help people after Christmas,’ said Pam. ‘I mean—everyone’s had presents and been looked after, even the very poorest, oldest people in the village.’

‘Can’t we solve a mystery, or something like that?’ suggested George. ‘If we can’t find something wrong to put right, we might be able to find a mystery to clear up.’

‘What kind of a mystery do you mean?’ asked Barbara, puzzled.

‘I don’t really know,’ said George. ‘We’d have to be on the look-out for one—you know, watch for something strange or peculiar or queer—and solve it.’

‘It sounds exciting,’ said Colin. ‘But I don’t believe we’d find anything like that—and if we did the police would have found it first!’

‘Oh, well,’ said Peter, ‘we’ll just have to keep our eyes open and wait and see. If anyone hears of any good deed we can do, or of any mystery that wants solving, they must at once call a meeting of the Secret Seven. Is that understood?’

Everyone said yes. ‘And if we have anything to report we can come here to this Secret Seven shed and leave a note, can’t we?’ said George.

‘That would be the best thing to do,’ agreed Peter. ‘Janet and I will be here each morning, and we’ll look and see if any of you have left a note. I hope somebody does!’

‘So do I. It’s not much fun having a Secret Society that doesn’t do anything,’ said Colin. ‘I’ll keep a jolly good look-out. You never know when something might turn up.’

‘Let’s go and build snowmen in the field opposite the old house down by the stream,’ said George, getting up. ‘The snow’s thick there. It would be fun. We could build quite an army of snowmen. They’d look funny standing in the field by themselves.’

‘Oh, yes. Let’s do that,’ said Janet, who was tired of sitting still. ‘I’ll take this old shabby cap to put on one of the snowmen! It’s been hanging in this shed for ages.’

‘And I’ll take this coat!’ said Peter, dragging down a dirty, ragged coat from a nail. ‘Goodness knows who it ever belonged to!’

And off they all went to the field by the stream to build an army of snowmen!