"Blyton, Enid - Famous Five 17 - Five Get Into a Fix" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

“My legs are still a bit funny,” said Anne, walking back to the car. “But they’re beginning to feel as if they belong to me, thank goodness!”
They set off again. They were in Wales now, and mountains were beginning to loom up in the distance. It was a very clear evening, and although the mountains were white with snow, the countryside they passed was not nearly as snowy as their own home had been when they left.
“I hope to goodness the snow doesn’t begin to melt, just as we’ve arrived,” said Dick. “It seems all right up on the mountains at present - but down here in the valleys there’s hardly any.”
They passed a sign-post, and Julian looked to see what it said. He made out a word that looked like Cymryhlli, and called to the driver.
“Did you see that sign-post? Should we look out for Magga Glen now?”
“Yes. We must be getting on that way,” said the driver. “I’ve been looking out for it myself. I wonder I haven’t seen it yet.”
“Goodness! I hope we haven’t lost our way,” said Anne. “It will soon be dark.”
The car went on and on. “Better look out for a village,” said Julian. But they didn’t come to one - nor did they see any other sign-posts. The night was now coming on, but there was already a small moon, which gave a little light.
“Are you sure we’re right?” Dick asked the driver. “The road seems to be getting a bit rough - and we haven’t passed even a farmhouse for ages.”
“Well - maybe we are on the wrong road,” admitted the driver, slowing down. “Though where we took the wrong turning I simply don’t know! I reckon we’re near the sea now.”
“Look - there’s a turning up to the right!” shouted George, as they went slowly on. “It’s got a sign-post, too!”
They stopped by the sign-post, which was only a small one. “It doesn’t say Magga Glen,” said Dick, disappointed. “It says Old Towers - just that. Would it be the name of a place, do you think - or a building? Where’s a map?”
The driver hadn’t one. “I don’t usually need a map,” he said. “But this here countryside isn’t sign-posted as it should be, and I wish I’d brought my route with me. I guess we’d better turn right and go up to see this Old Towers. Maybe they can put us on our road!”
So they swung up to the right, and the car went slowly, crawling up a long, steep, winding road.
“It’s quite a mountain,” said Anne, peering out of the window. “Oh - I can see something - a building on the side of the hill, look - with towers. This must be it.”
They came to stout wooden gates. On them was a large notice, with just two words on it in large black letters:

KEEP OUT

“Well - that’s nice and polite!” said the driver, angrily. “Keep out! Why should we? Wait a bit - there’s a little lodge here. I’ll go and ask our way.”
But the lodge was no more helpful than the big gate. It was in complete darkness, and when the driver banged on the door, there was no answer at all. Now what could they do?


Chapter Three

THE END OF THE JOURNEY

“Well - we’d better turn round and go back down the hill,” said Dick, as the driver came back to the car.
“No, wait, I’ll just hop out and see if there are any lights anywhere,” said Julian, and jumped out of the car. “I could go up the drive a little way and see if I can spot the house itself. It can’t be very far. After all, we spotted it just now as we came up the winding road.”
He went to the gates, and looked at them in the light from the car’s headlamps. “They’re padlocked,” he called. “But I think I can climb over. There’s certainly a light somewhere beyond - though how far, I don’t know.”
But before he could climb over the gate there came the sound of running footsteps behind it - and then a loud and savage howl came on the night air, and some animal hurled itself against the other side of the gate.
The driver got back hurriedly into the car and slammed the door. Julian also ran to the car, finding his legs could go quickly if he wanted them to, for all their feebleness!
Timmy began to bark fiercely, and tried to leap through the closed car-window. The howling and barking behind the gates went on and on, and the dog there, which must have been a very big one, continually hurled itself against the gates, shaking them from top to bottom.
“Better turn round and go,” said the driver, scared.
“Whew! I’m glad I’m this side of those gates. What a din! That dog of yours is almost as bad, too!”
Timmy was certainly furious. Why wasn’t he allowed to get out and tell the other dog what he thought of him? George tried to pacify him, but he wouldn’t stop barking. The driver began to turn the car round, cautiously backing a little and then going forward, and backing again. The road was fairly wide, but there was a very steep slope to the right of the car. Old Towers was certainly built on a mountainside!
“The people there must be jolly scared of burglars to have a dog like that,” said Dick. “Yet it’s such a lonely place you wouldn’t think many people would come near it. What’s up, driver?”
“There’s something wrong,” said the driver, who now had the car facing back down the road again. “The car seems very heavy to drive, all of a sudden. As if I’d got my brakes on.”
“Perhaps you have,” said Julian.
“Well, I haven’t,” said the driver, shortly. “That is, only just a little, to make sure the car doesn’t shoot off down the hill - you can see it’s pretty steep here, and there’s almost a cliff, your side. Don’t want to drive down there in the dark! What can be the matter with the car? It will only crawl.”
“I thought it came up the hill terribly slowly, too,” said Dick. “I know the road was steep and winding - but didn’t it seem to you as if the car was making heavy work of it?”
“Well, yes, it did,” admitted the driver. “But I just thought the hill must be steeper than I imagined. What is the matter with the car? I’ve got no brake on at all, and I’m pushing the accelerator down hard - and still she crawls! As if she’d got a ton weight to pull!”
It really was a puzzle. Julian felt worried. He didn’t want them to have to spend the night in the car, lost in a cold countryside - especially as now it was beginning to snow lightly! The moon had disappeared behind heavy clouds, and everything looked very dark indeed.
They reached the bottom of the hill at last, and came on to the level road again. The driver heaved a sigh of relief - and then gave a sudden exclamation.
“What’s happened? The car’s all right again! She’s going like a bird! Whew - that’s a load off my mind! I thought she was going to pack up, and leave us to spend the night here.”
The car sped along well now, and everyone was most relieved. “Must have been something wrong with her works somewhere,” said the driver. “But I’m blessed if I know what it was! Now - look out for a house or a signpost.”
They actually came to a sign-post not long after that, and George yelled out at once. “Stop! Here’s a signpost. STOP!”
The car slid to a stop beside it, and everyone looked at it and gave a shout of delight. “Magga Glen! Hurrah!”
“Up to the left,” said the driver, and swung his car into the lane. It was rather rough, and obviously only a farm-road - but there, right up the hill they were now climbing, was a house, with lights shining in the windows. That must be old Mrs. Jones’ farmhouse.
“Thank goodness!” said Julian. “This must be it. I’m glad we got here before the snow set in properly. It’s quite difficult to see through the windscreen now.”