"Blyton, Enid - Famous Five 13 - Five Go to Mystery Moor" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

‘Those gypsies again!’ said Captain Johnson. ‘All right, I’ll come.’
He went out and Anne went with him, not wanting to be left alone with the angry Henrietta. She found George outside with a small dirty gypsy boy and a patient little skewbald horse, its brown and white coat looking very flea-bitten.
‘What have you done to your horse this time?’ said Captain Johnson, looking at its leg. ‘You’ll have to leave it here, and I’ll see to it.’
‘Can’t do that, sir,’ said the boy. ‘We’re off to Mystery Moor again.’
‘Well, you’ll have to,’ said Captain Johnson. ‘It’s not fit to walk. Your caravan can’t go with the others, this horse isn’t fit to pull it. I’ll get the police to your father if you try to work this horse before it’s better.’
‘Don’t do that!’ said the boy. ‘It’s just that my Dad says we’ve got to go on tomorrow.’
‘What’s the hurry?’ said Captain Johnson. ‘Can’t your caravan wait a day or two? Mystery Moor will still be there in two days time! It beats me why you go there, a desolate place like that, not even a farm or a cottage for miles!’
‘I’ll leave the horse,’ said the boy, and stroked the skewbald’s nose. It was clear that he loved the ugly little horse. ‘My father will be angry, but the other caravans can go on without us. We’ll have to catch them up.’
He gave a kind of half-salute to the captain and disappeared from the stable-yard, a skinny little sunburnt figure. The skewbald stood patiently.
‘Take it round to the small stable,’ said Captain Johnson to George and Anne. ‘I’ll come and see to it in a minute.’
The girls led the little horse away. ‘Mystery Moor!’ said George. ‘What a queer name! The boys would like that, they’d be exploring it at once, wouldn’t they?’
‘Yes. I do wish they were coming here,’ said Anne. ‘Still, I expect they’ll like the chance of staying on in camp. Come on, you funny little creature, here’s the stable!’
The girls shut the door on the gypsy’s pony and turned to go back. William, the boy who had brought the message about the horse, yelled to them.
‘Hey, George and Anne! There’s another telegram for you!’
The two hurried into the house at once. ‘Oh, I hope Father is better and we can go home and join the boys at Kirrin!’ said George. She tore open the envelope and then gave a yell that made Anne jump.
‘Look, see what it says. They’re coming here!’ Anne snatched the telegram and read it.
‘Joining you tomorrow. We’ll camp out if no room. Hope you’ve got a nice juicy adventure ready for us! Julian and Dick.’
‘They’re coming! They’re coming!’ said Anne, as excited as George. ‘Now we’ll have some fun!’
‘It’s a pity we’ve no adventure to offer them,’ said George. ‘Still, you simply never know!’


Chapter Two

JULIAN, DICK - AND HENRY

George was quite a different person now that she knew her two cousins were coming the next day. She was even polite to Henrietta!
Captain Johnson scratched his head when he heard that the boys were arriving. ‘We can’t have them in the house, except for meals,’ he said. ‘We’re full up. They can either sleep in the stables or have a tent. I don’t care which.’
‘There will be ten altogether then,’ said his wife. ‘Julian, Dick, Anne, George, Henry - and John, Susan, Alice, Rita and William. Henry may have to camp out too.’
‘Not with us,’ said George, at once.
‘I think you’re rather unkind to Henry,’ said Mrs Johnson. ‘After all, you and she are very alike, George. You both think you ought to have been boys, and...’
‘I’m not a bit like Henrietta!’ said George, indignantly. ‘You wait till my cousins come, Mrs Johnson. They won’t think she’s like me. I don’t expect they’ll want anything to do with her.’
‘Oh well, you’ll just have to shake down together somehow, if you want to stay here,’ said Mrs Johnson. ‘Let me see, I’d better get some rugs out. The boys will want them, whether they sleep in the stables or in a tent. Come and help me to look for them, Anne.’
Anne, George and Henry were a good bit older than the other five children staying at the stables, but all of them, small or big, were excited to hear about the coming of Julian and Dick. For one thing George and Anne had related so many of the adventures they had had with them, that everyone was inclined to think of them as heroes.
Henrietta disappeared after tea that day and could not be found. ‘Wherever have you been?’ demanded Mrs Johnson when she at last turned up.
‘Up in my room,’ said Henrietta. ‘Cleaning my shoes and my jods, and mending my riding-jacket. You keep telling me to, and now I’ve done it!’
‘Aha! Preparing for the heroes!’ said Captain Johnson, and Henry immediately put on a scowl very like the one George often wore.
‘Nothing of the sort!’ she said. ‘I’ve been meaning to do it for a long time. If Georgina’s cousins are anything like her I shan’t be very interested in them.’
‘But you might like my brothers,’ said Anne, with a laugh. ‘If you don’t there’ll be something wrong with you.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ said Henrietta. ‘Georgina’s cousins and your brothers are the same people!’
‘How clever of you to work that out,’ said George. But she felt too happy to keep up the silly bickering for long. She went out with Timmy, whistling softly.
‘They’re coming tomorrow, Tim,’ she said. ‘Julian and Dick. We’ll all go off together, like we always do, the five of us. You’ll like that, won’t you, Timmy?’
‘Woof,’ said Timmy approvingly and waved his plumy tail. He knew quite well what she meant.
Next morning George and Anne looked up the trains that arrived at the station two miles away. ‘This is the one they’ll come by,’ said George, her finger on the timetable. ‘It’s the only one this morning. It arrives at half past twelve. We’ll go and meet them.’
‘Right,’ said Anne. ‘We’ll start at ten minutes to twelve - we’ll be in plenty of time then. We can help them with their things. They won’t bring much.’
‘Take the ponies up to Hawthorn Field, will you?’ called Captain Johnson. ‘Gan you manage all four of them?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Anne pleased. She loved the walk to Hawthorn Field, up a little narrow lane set with celandines, violets and primroses, and the fresh green of the budding hawthorn bushes. ‘Come on, George, let’s catch the ponies and take them now. It’s a heavenly morning.’
They set off with the four frisky ponies, Timmy at their heels. He was quite a help with the horses at the stable, especially when any had to be caught.
No sooner had they left the stables and gone on their way to Hawthorn Field than the telephone rang. It was for Anne.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, she’s not here,’ said Mrs Johnson, answering it. ‘Who is it speaking? Oh, Julian her brother? Can I give her a message?’
‘Yes, please,’ said Julian’s voice. ‘Tell her we are arriving at the bus-stop at Milling Green at half past eleven, and is there a little hand-cart she and George could bring, because we’ve got our tent with us and other odds and ends?’