"Blyton, Enid - Famous Five 14 - Five Have Plenty of Fun" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

‘Hallo - are these your kids?’ said one of the men, stopping.
‘They’ve just come in from the beach,’ said Aunt Fanny hurriedly. ‘I’m afraid they are not really fit to be seen. I...’
‘Great snakes!’ said the man, ‘don’t you dare to apologise for kids like these! I never saw such a fine lot in my life - they’re wunnerful!’
He spoke with an American accent, and beamed all over his face. The children warmed to him at once. He turned to George’s father. ‘These all yours?’ he asked. ‘I bet you’re proud of them! How did they get that tan - they look like Red Indians! My, my - wish my Berta looked like that!’
‘They’re not all mine,’ said Uncle Quentin, looking quite horrified at the thought. ‘Only this one is mine,’ and he put his hand on George’s shoulder. ‘The others are nephews and a niece.’
‘Well, I must say you’ve got a fine boy,’ said the American, ruffling George’s short curls. As a rule she hated people who did that, but because he mistook her for a boy, she grinned happily!
‘My girl’s going to your school,’ he said to Anne. ‘Give her a bit of help, will you? She’ll be scared stiff at first.’
‘Of course I will,’ said Anne, taking a liking to the huge loud-voiced American. He didn’t look a bit like a scientist. The other man did, though. He was round-shouldered and wore owl-like glasses, and, as Uncle Quentin often did, he stared into the distance as if he was not hearing a single word that anyone said.
Uncle Quentin thought this gossiping had lasted long enough. He waved the children away.
‘Come and have lunch,’ he said to the other men. The second man followed him at once, but the big American stayed behind. He thrust his hands into his pocket and brought out a pound note. He gave it to Anne.
‘Spend that on yourselves,’ he said. ‘And be kind to my Berta, won’t you?’
He disappeared into the dining-room and shut the door with a loud bang. ‘Goodness - what will Father say to a bang like that!’ said George, with a sudden giggle. ‘I like him, don’t you? That must be his car outside. I can’t imagine the other man even riding a bicycle, let alone driving a car!’
‘Children - take your picnic basket and go!’ said Aunt Fanny, urgently. ‘I must run and see that everything is all right!’
She thrust a big basket into Julian’s hands, and disappeared into the dining-room. Julian grinned as he felt the weight of the basket.
‘Come along,’ he said. ‘This feels good! Back to the beach, everyone!’


Chapter Two

A VISITOR IN THE NIGHT

The Five were on the beach in two minutes, and Julian undid the basket. It was full of neatly packed sandwiches, and packets of biscuits and chocolate. A bag contained ripe plums, and there were two bottles of lemonade.
‘Home-made!’ said Dick, taking it out. And icy-cold. And what’s this? A fruit cake - a whole fruit cake - we’re in luck.’
‘Woof,’ said Timmy, approvingly, and sniffled inside the basket.
Wrapped in brown paper were some biscuits and a bone, together with a small pot of paste. George undid the packet. ‘I packed these for you, Timmy,’ she said. ‘Say thank you!’
Timmy licked her so lavishly that she cried out for mercy. ‘Pass me the towel, Ju!’ she said. ‘Timmy’s made my face all wet. Get away now, Timmy - you’ve thanked me quite enough! Get away, I said. How can I spread paste on your biscuits if you stick your nose into the pot all the time?’
‘You spoil Timmy dreadfully,’ said Anne. ‘All right, all right - you needn’t scowl at me, George! I agree that he’s worth spoiling. Take your bone a bit farther away from me, Tim - it’s smelly!’
They were soon eating sardine sandwiches with tomatoes, and egg-and-lettuce sandwiches after that. Then they started on the fruit cake and the lemonade.
‘I can’t think why people ever have table-meals when they can have picnics,’ said Dick. ‘Think of Uncle and Aunt and those two men tucking into a hot meal indoors on a day like this. Phew!’
‘I liked that big American,’ said George.
‘Aha! We all know why,’ said Dick, annoyingly. ‘He thought you were a boy. Will you ever grow out of that, George?’
‘Timmy’s trying to get at the cake!’ said Anne. ‘Quick, George, stop him!’
They all lay back on the sand after their picnic, and Julian began a long story of some trick that he and Dick had played on their form-master at school. He was most annoyed because nobody laughed at the funny part, and sat up to see why.
‘All asleep!’ he said, in disgust. Then he cocked his head just as Timmy pricked up his ears. A loud roaring noise came to him.
‘Just the American revving up his car, do you think, Tim?’ said Julian. The boy stood up and saw the great car tearing down the sea road.
The day was too hot to do anything but laze. The Five were quite content to do that on their first day together again. Soon they would want to plan all kinds of things, but the first day at Kirrin was a day for picking up old threads, teasing Timmy, getting into the ‘feel’ of things again, as Dick said.
Dick and Julian had been abroad for four weeks, and Anne had been away to camp and had had a school friend to stay with her at home afterwards. George had been alone at Kirrin so it was wonderful to all the Five to meet together once more for three whole summer weeks. At Kirrin too, Kirrin by the sea, with its lovely beach, its fine boating - and its exciting little island across Kirrin Bay!
As usual the first day or two passed in a kind of dream, and then the children began to plan exciting things to do.
‘We’ll go to Kirrin Island again,’ said Dick. ‘We’ve not been there for ages.’
‘We’ll go fishing in Lobster Cove,’ said Julian.
‘We’ll go and explore some of the caves in the cliffs,’ said George. ‘I meant to do that these hols, but somehow it’s no fun going alone.’
On the third day, just as they were finishing making their beds, the telephone bell rang.
‘I’ll go!’ yelled Julian to his aunt, and went to answer it. An urgent voice spoke at the other end.
‘Who’s that? Oh, you, Julian - you’re Quentin’s nephew, aren’t you? Listen, tell your uncle I’m coming over tonight - yes, tonight. Latish, say. Tell him to wait up for me. It’s important.’
‘But, won’t you speak to him yourself?’ said Julian, surprised. ‘I’ll fetch him, if you’ll...’
But the line had gone dead. Julian was puzzled. The man hadn’t even given his name - but Julian had recognised the voice. It was the big, cheery American who had come to see his uncle two days before! What had happened? What was all the excitement about?
He went to find his uncle but he was not in his study. So he found his aunt instead.
‘Aunt Fanny,’ he said, ‘I think that was the big American on the phone - the one who came to lunch the other day. He said I was to tell Uncle Quentin that he was coming here tonight - late, he said - and that Uncle was to wait up for him, because it was important.’
‘Dear me!’ said his aunt, startled. ‘Is he going to stay the night then? We’ve no bedroom free now you and the others are here.’
‘He didn’t say, Aunt Fanny,’ said Julian. ‘I’m awfully sorry not to be able to tell you any details - but just as I was saying I’d fetch Uncle Quentin, he rang off - in the very middle of what I was saying.’