"Blyton, Enid - Famous Five 12 - Five Go Down to The Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

He put his head suddenly out of the window, and a scared face, quite close to his, stared in fright.
‘Yan! What do you think you’re doing?’ said Julian, fiercely. ‘I’ll spank you if you go on like this, staring and peeping! What’s so queer about us?’
Yan was terrified. He suddenly slithered down the ivy like a cat, landed with a slight thud on the ground and then ran off into the twilight at top speed.
‘I hope he’s not going to follow us around all the time,’ thought Julian, getting into bed again. ‘I’ll teach him a lesson if he does. Blow him! Now he’s made me wide awake!’
Rut it wasn’t long before Julian was sleeping as soundly as Dick. Neither of them stirred until a cock outside their window decided that it was time the whole world woke up, and crowed at the top of his voice.
‘Cock-a-doodle-DOO!’
The boys woke with a jump. The early sun streamed into the room, and Julian glanced at his watch. How early it was! And yet he could hear movements downstairs that told him Mrs Penruthlan was up and about, and so was her giant of a husband.
He fell asleep again, and was awakened by a loud knock at his door, and Mrs Penruthlan’s voice. ‘It’s half past seven, and breakfast will be on the table for you at eight. Wake up!’
How lovely to wake in a strange place at the beginning of a holiday, to think of bathing and biking and picnicking and eating and drinking, forgetting all about exams and rules and punishments! The four children and Timmy stretched themselves and stared at the sunshine outside. What a day!
Downstairs breakfast awaited them. ‘Super!’ said Dick, eyeing the bacon and fried eggs, the cold ham, and the home-made jam and marmalade. ‘Mrs Penruthlan, your seven children must have been very sorry to marry and leave home. I feel, if I’d been one of them, I’d have stayed with you for the rest of my life!’


Chapter Four

DOWN IN THE COVE

The first three days at Tremannon Farm were lazy, uneventful days, full of sunshine, good food, dogs - and of little Yan.
He really was a perfect nuisance. The four children seemed to have a real fascination for him, and he trailed them everywhere, following them bare-footed. He turned up behind hedges, along lanes, at their picnicking places, his dark eyes watching them intently.
‘What’s the good of telling him to go?’ groaned Julian. ‘He disappears behind one hedge and appears out of another. You’d think he’d get bored, doing this shadowing business all the time. What’s the point of it, anyway?’
‘No point,’ said George. ‘Just curiosity. What I can’t understand is why Timmy puts up with him. You’d think he’d bark or growl or something, but he’s quite silly with Yan, lets him play with him, and roll him over as if he was a mad puppy.’
‘Well, I’m going to find this Great-Grandad of his tomorrow, and tell him to keep Yan with him,’ said Julian. ‘He’s maddening. I feel I want to swot him like a gnat, always buzzing round us. Gosh, there he is again!’
So he was. A pair of dark eyes were gazing round a tree-trunk, half hidden by a sheaf of leaves. Timmy bounded up to him in glee, and made such a fuss of Yan that George was quite disgusted.
‘Timmy! Come here!’ she called, imperiously. ‘Don’t you understand that you ought to chase Yan away when he comes and not encourage him? I’m ashamed of you!’
Timmy put his tail down and went to her. He sat down beside her with a bump. Dick laughed.
‘He’s sulking! He won’t look at you, George! He’s turning his head away on purpose!’
Julian chased Yan away, threatening him with all sorts of things if he caught him, but the boy was as fast as a hare, and seemed suddenly to disappear into thin air. He had a wonderful way of vanishing, and an equally remarkable way of appearing again.
‘I don’t like that kid,’ said Julian. ‘He makes me shiver down my back whenever I see him suddenly peeping somewhere.’
‘He can’t be a bad kid, though, because Timmy likes him so much,’ said Anne, who had great faith in Timmy’s judgment. ‘Timmy never likes anyone horrid.’
‘Well, he’s made a mistake this time, then,’ said George, who was cross with Timmy. ‘He’s being very stupid. I’m not pleased with you, Timmy!’
‘Let’s go down to the sea and bathe,’ said Dick. ‘We’ll go on our bikes and Yan won’t be able to pop up and watch us there.’
They took their bicycles and rode off to the coast. Mrs Penruthlan made them sandwiches and gave them fruit cake and drinks to take with them. They saw Yan watching them from behind a hedge as they went.
They took the road to the sea. It was no more than a narrow lane, and wound about like a stream, twisting and turning so that they couldn’t get up any speed at all.
‘Look - the sea!’ cried Dick, as they rounded one last bend. The lane had run down between two high, rocky cliffs, and in front of them was a cove into which raced enormous breakers, throwing spray high into the air.
They left their bicycles at the top of the cove, and went behind some big rocks to change into bathing things. When they came out, Julian looked at the sea. It was calm beyond the rocks, but over these the waters raged fiercely and it was impossible to venture in.
They walked a little way round the cliffs, and came to a great pool lying in a rocky hollow. ‘Just the thing!’ cried George and plunged in. ‘Gosh, it’s cold!’
It should have been hot from the sun, but every now and again an extra large wave broke right into the pool itself, bringing in cooler water. It was fun when that happened. The four of them swam to their hearts’ content, and Timmy had a fine time too.
They picnicked on the rocks, with spray flying round them, and then went to explore round the foot of the cliffs.
‘This is exciting,’ said George. ‘Caves, and more caves, and yet more caves! And cove after cove, all as lovely as the one before. I suppose when the tide’s in, all these coves are shoulder-high in water.’
‘My word, yes,’ said Julian, who was keeping a very sharp eye indeed on the tide. ‘And a good many of these caves would be flooded too. No wonder Mrs Penruthlan warned us so solemnly about the tides here! I wouldn’t want to try and climb up these cliffs if we were caught!’
Anne looked up and shivered. They were so very steep and high. They frowned down at her as if to say ‘We stand no nonsense from anyone! So look after yourself!’
‘Well, I’m blessed! Look there, isn’t that that tiresome little wretch of a Yan?’ said Dick, suddenly. He pointed to a rock covered with seaweed. Peeping from behind it was Yan!
‘He must have run all the way here, and found us,’ said Julian, in disgust. ‘Well, we’ll leave him here. It’s time we went. The tide’s coming in. It’ll serve him right to find us gone as soon as he arrives. He must be mad!’
‘Do you think he knows about the tide?’ said Anne, looking worried. ‘I mean, knows that it’s coming in and might catch him?’
‘Of course he knows!’ said Julian. ‘Don’t be silly. But we’ll wait and have our tea at the top part of the cove, if you like. That’s the only way back, if he wants to escape the tide, short of climbing the cliff, which no one would be mad enough to try!’
They had put aside some cake and biscuits for their tea, and they found a good picnicking place at the top of the cove where they had left their bicycles. They settled down to munch the solid fruit cake that Mrs Penruthlan had given them. There was no doubt about it, she was a wonderful cook!
The tide swept in at a great rate, and soon the noise of enormous waves pounding on the rocks grew louder. ‘Yan hasn’t appeared yet,’ said Anne. ‘Do you think he’s all right?’
‘He must be having a good old wetting if he’s still there,’ said Dick. ‘I think we’d better go and see. Much as I dislike him I don’t want him to be drowned.’
The two boys went down the cove as far as they could, peering round the cliff to where they had seen Yan hiding. But how different it all looked now!
‘Gosh, the beach is gone already!’ said Julian, startled. ‘I can see how easily anyone could get caught by the tide now, see that last wave, it swept right into that cave we explored!’
‘What’s happened to Yan?’ said Dick. ‘He’s nowhere to be seen. He didn’t come out of the cove; we’ve been sitting there all the time. Where is he?’