"Blyton, Enid - Famous Five 20 - Five Have a Mystery to Solve" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

‘Poor old Wilfrid!’ said Anne, tender-hearted as ever. ‘I wish he’d waited for me. I’d have gone with him. He’s awfully upset, isn’t he? Won’t he be able to call the wild animals to him any more?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ said Dick. ‘Er - I suppose old George doesn’t know anything about it? Perhaps that’s a mean thing to say - but George might have found it and kept it just for a joke.’
‘No. No, I don’t think she’d do that,’ said Anne; ‘It would be a very poor joke. Well - we’ll just have to hope Wilfrid finds it. What are you going to do this afternoon? Sleep, by the look of you!’
‘Yes - sleep out in the warm sun here, till three o’clock,’ said Julian. ‘Then I’m going for a walk - down to the harbour. I might even have a bathe.’
‘We’ll all go,’ said Dick, sleepily. ‘Oh how lovely it is to feel lazy - and warm - and well-fed - and sleeeeeeeepy! So long, everyone! I’m asleep!’


Chapter Nine
OFF TO WHISPERING ISLAND

The two boys, and Anne and George, slept soundly in the sun until just past three o’clock. Then a large fly buzzed around Anne’s head, and awoke her. She sat up and looked at her watch.
‘Gracious! It’s ten past three!’ she said, in surprise. ‘Wake up, Julian! Dick, stir yourself! Don’t you want to go and bathe?’
Yawning loudly the two boys sat up, and looked all round. George was still asleep. Wilfrid hadn’t yet come back.
‘Still hunting for his precious pipe, I suppose,’ said Anne. ‘Get up, you two boys. Dick, you’re not to lie down, you’ll only go to sleep again. Where are your bathing-things? I’ll get them. And does anyone know where our bathing towels are? We’ll probably have to dress and undress with them round us!’
‘They’re up in our room, chucked into a corner,’ said Dick, sleepily. ‘Gosh, I was sound asleep. I really thought I was in my bed, when I awoke!’
Anne went to fetch the bath-towels and the bathing things. She called back to the boys. ‘I’ve got everything. Buck up, Julian, don’t go to sleep again!’
‘Right!’ said Julian, sitting up and stretching himself. ‘Oh this sun - it’s GLORIOUS!’
He poked Dick with his toe. ‘Get up! We’ll leave you behind if you snore again. George, good-bye - we’re going!’
George sat up, yawning, and Timmy stood over her and licked her cheek. She patted him. ‘All right, Timmy, I’m ready. It’s so warm that I’m LONGING for a dip - and you’ll love it too, Tim!’
Carrying their bathing-things they made their way down the hill, and across a stretch of moorland to the edge of the sea, Timmy running joyously behind them. Beyond lay Whispering Island, a great tree-clad mass, and all around and about little boats plied, and yachts sailed in the wind, enjoying themselves in the great harbour which stretched far beyond the island to a big seaside town on the opposite coast.
The four went behind some rocks, and stripped off their clothes, emerging three minutes later in their scanty bathing things. Anne raced to the edge of the water, and let it lap over her toes. ‘Lovely!’ she said ‘It’s not a bit cold! I shall enjoy my swim!’
‘Woof!’ said Timmy and plunged into the water. He loved the sea too, and was a fine swimmer! He waited for George to come in and then swam to her. She put her arms round his neck and let him drag her along with him. Dear Timmy! How strong he was, thought George.
They had a wonderful time in the water. Further out the waves were big, and curled over like miniature waterfalls, sweeping the children along with them. They yelled in joy, and choked when the water splashed into their mouths. It was an ideal day for bathing.
When they came out, they lay on the sand in the sun, Timmy beside George, keeping guard as usual. It was really warm. George sat up and looked longingly out to sea, where the wind was whipping up the waves tremendously.
‘Wish we had a boat!’ she said. ‘If we were back home, I could get out my own boat, and we could go out in the cool breeze and get dry.’
Julian pointed lazily to a big notice not far off. It said ‘BOATS FOR HIRE. INQUIRE AT HUT.’
‘Oh good!’ said George. ‘I’ll go and inquire. I’d love a good row!’
She slipped on her sandals, and went to the hut to which the sign pointed. A boy of about fifteen sat there, staring out to sea. He looked round as George came along.
‘Want a boat?’ he said.
‘Yes, please. How much?’ asked George. ‘For four of us - and a dog.’
‘Fifty pence an hour,’ said the boy. ‘Or a pound a day. Or three pounds a week. Better to take it by the week if you’re staying here. It works out very cheap then.’
George went back to the boys and Anne. ‘Shall we take the boat by the week?’ she said. ‘It’ll cost three pounds. We could do lots of rowing about, and it would be fun.’
‘Right,’ said Dick. ‘Anyone got any money?’
‘There’s some in my pocket, but not enough, I’m afraid,’ said Julian. ‘I’ll go and fix up the boat for us to have tomorrow - we’ll take it for a whole week. I can easily bring the money with me in the morning.’
The boat-boy was very obliging. ‘You can have the boat today and onwards, if you like, you needn’t wait till tomorrow,’ he said. ‘I know you’ll bring me the money all right! So, if you’d like to have it this afternoon, it’s up to you. Choose which boat you like. They’re all the same. If you want to take it out at night too, and do some fishing, you can - but tie it up safe, won’t you?’
‘Of course,’ said Julian, going to look at the boats. He beckoned to the others, and they all came over.
‘Any boat we like, day or night!’ said Julian. ‘Which do you fancy? Starfish - Splasho - Adventure - Sea-gull - Rock-a-bye? They all look good, sound little boats to me!’
‘I’d like “Adventure”, I think,’ said George, thinking that that particular little boat looked sturdy, deari and sound. ‘Nice name - and nice little boat!’
So Adventure it was! ‘And a jolly good name for any boat of ours!’ said Dick, pushing it down to the sea with Julian. ‘Whooooosh! There she goes! Steady my beauty - we want to get in! Chuck in all our clothes, George! We can dress when we feel cold.’
Soon they were all in the boat, bobbing about on the waves. Julian took the oars and pulled out to sea. Now they were in the full breeze - and a spanking one it was too! ‘I’m certainly not hot any more!’ said George, pulling her bathing-towel round her shoulders.
The tide was running out, and pulled the boat strongly out to sea. Whispering Island suddenly seemed very much nearer! ‘Better look out!’ said George, suddenly. ‘We don’t know if a keeper’s on guard somewhere on the shore of the island. We’re getting pretty near.’
But the out-going tide swept the boat on and on towards the island, so that very soon they could see a sandy shore. Dick then took one oar, and Julian the other, and they tried to row against the tide and take the boat back into calmer water.
It was no good. The tide was far too strong. Very soon the boat was quite near the shore of the island and then an enormous wave flung them right up the sand, and left the boat grounded as it went back again. It slid over to one side, and they all promptly fell out!
‘Whew!’ said Julian. ‘What a tide! I’d no idea it ran so strongly, or I’d never have brought the boat out so far.’
‘What shall we do!’ said Anne, rather scared. She kept looking all round for a keeper with a gun. Suppose they got into real trouble through coming right on to the island?
‘I think we’ll have to stay on the island till the tide turns, and we can row back on it,’ said Julian. ‘I can’t think why that boat-boy didn’t warn us about the tide. I suppose he thought we knew.’
They pulled the boat a little further up on the firm sand, took out their bundle of clothes, and hid them under a bush. They walked up the beach towards a wood, thick with great trees. As they neared them, they heard a strange, mysterious sound.
‘Whispering!’ said George, stopping. ‘The trees are really whispering. Listen! It’s just as if they were talking to one another under their breath! No wonder it’s called Whispering Island!’
‘I don’t like it much,’ said Anne. ‘It almost sounds as if they’re saying nasty things about us!’
‘Shooey, shooey, shooey, shooey!’ said the trees, nodding towards one another as the wind shook them. ‘Shooey, shooey!’