"Blyton, Enid - Adv 05 - Mountain of Adventure" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

Kiki couldn't understand this at all, and flew up into a tree. "She thinks they've gone mad," said Jack. "It's all right, Kiki, they're only feeling glad because their packs have gone!"

Kiki made a noise like a train screeching in a tunnel, and the two rolling donkeys leapt to their feet in alarm and raced some way down the hill. David also jumped violently, and then called to the donkeys.

"Kiki, if you do that again I'll tie your beak up!" threatened Jack. "Spoiling this lovely peaceful evening with that horrible screech!"

"Wipe your feet, wipe your feet!" screamed Kiki and danced from foot to foot on her branch.

The tents were soon put up, side by side. David did not want to sleep in one. He preferred to sleep outside. He had never slept in a tent, and he thought they were quite unnecessary.

"Well, I'd just as soon he slept outside," said Jack to Philip. "I don't believe he's ever had a bath in his life, do you?"

"Let's leave the tent-flaps open," said Lucy-Ann, coming up with the clean crockery. "Then we can look out down the mountainside. I wouldn't mind a bit sleeping in the open air, like David, as a matter of fact."

"Wind's too cold," said Jack. "You'll be glad to have a cosy sleeping-bag, Lucy-Ann! David must be very hardy — he's only got a thin rug to cover himself with, and he's apparently going to sleep on the bare ground!"

The sun had now disappeared completely. It had gone behind the mountains in a perfect blaze of colour, and all the summits had gleamed for a while, and then darkness had crept up to the very tops, leaving only a clear sky beyond. Stars were now winking here and there, and a cold wind was blowing up the mountain.

The donkeys were tied loosely to trees. Some of them were lying down. Dapple was looking out for Snowy, but the kid had gone to Philip, and was waiting for him to go into his tent.

They all washed at the spring — all, that is, but David, who seemed rather astonished to see the four children solemnly splashing themselves with the cold water. He had drawn his thin rug over him and was lying quite still, looking up to the starry sky.

"He's not what you might call a very cheerful companion, is he?" said Jack. "I expect he thinks we're all quite mad, the way we joke and laugh and fool about. Buck up, Philip, and get into the tent."

The girls were already in their tent. They had slid down into their sleeping-bags and tied them up loosely at the neck. Each bag had a big hood to come over the head. They were comfortable, quite roomy, and very warm.

Lucy-Ann could see out of the tent opening. Stars twinkled in the sky, looking very big and bright. There was no sound at all, except of the trickle-trickle of the spring, and the sound of the wind in the trees.

"We might be all alone in the world," said Lucy-Ann to Dinah. "Dinah, imagine that we are. It gives you an awfully queer feeling. It's wizard!"

But Dinah hadn't got Lucy-Ann's imagination and she yawned. "Go to sleep," she said. "Are the boys in their tent yet? I wish they were a bit further away. I've got an awful feeling that slow-worm will come slithering in here in the night."

"It won't hurt you if it does," said Lucy-Ann, snuggling down in her sleeping-bag. "Oh, this is super! I do think we have lovely holidays, don't you, Dinah?"

But Dinah was asleep already. Her eyes had shut and she was dreaming. Lucy-Ann stayed awake a little longer enjoying the sound of the running spring and the wind. She still felt rather as if she was on her donkey, jogging up and down. Then her eyes closed too.

The boys talked for a little while. They had thoroughly enjoyed their day. They gazed out of the open flap of the tent. "It's pretty wild and desolate here," said Jack sleepily. "It's surprising there's a track to follow, really. Decent of Bill and Aunt Allie to let us come by ourselves!"

"Mmmmmmm!" said Philip, listening, but too sleepy to answer.

"Mmmmmmm!" imitated Kiki from the top of the tent outside. It was too hot for her in it.

"There's Kiki," said Jack. "I wondered where she was. Philip, aren't you hot with Snowy on top of you?"

"Mmmmmmm!" said Philip, and again there came the echo from the tent-top. "Mmmmmmm!"

Snowy was almost on top of Philip. He had tried his hardest to squeeze into the boy's sleeping-bag with him, but Philip was quite firm about that.

"If you think you're going to stick your sharp little hooves into me all night long, you're wrong, Snowy," he said, and tied up his bag firmly at the neck, in case Snowy should try any tricks in the night. The slow-worm was somewhere about too. Philip was too sleepy to bother to think where. Sally slid about where she pleased. Philip was now quite used to the sudden slithering movement that occurred at times somewhere about his body, and which meant that Sally was on the move again.