"Blyton, Enid - The Five Find-Outers 15 - The Mystery of Banshee Towers 1.1" - читать интересную книгу автора (Blyton Enid)

"Fatty, can we do anything to help Ern?" asked Bets. "I mean - bring food, or something like that. Cook will always give us bits and pieces."

"Well, I vote we all bring what we can, without arousing any _suspicions_," said Fatty. "Ern had better send a post-card to his mother, saying 'Getting on fine, quite happy', or something like that - in case Goon tells her that he's sent Ern off. But I don't somehow think he will! He'll imagine that Ern has rushed back home, with awful tales about him!"

"I'm going to enjoy myself," said Ern, bouncing up and down on the camp-bed. "Wish _I_ could do something for somebody - you, Bets, for instance. I'd do anything, reely I would!"

"I've no doubt your chance will come someday," said Fatty. "Now, what about a game? Or shall we first of all decide what expeditions we are going to make this week?"

"It sounds as if we were explorers or something." said Pip. "How nice to be able to say 'What about exploring the Sahara, old man?' Or 'I think we should row down the Nile and count the number of crocodiles there, dear fellow'!"

The others chuckled. "Well, let's take a vote on where we should go first," said Fatty, taking two sheets of paper from a shelf. "Here are the lists made out by Pip's father and Larry's - together with a few notes of my own. I think we'll take a vote as to which two places we would prefer to visit. We can always go and see the others afterwards, if we want to."

He read out the list of places. "Well, there you are. Now just choose two of those, each of you, and scribble them down, fold your papers in half and give them to me. I'll open them and see which places the majority of us want to visit."

Soon they were all busy. Bets asked how to spell "Banshee" so everyone at once knew _one_ of her choices! The notes were handed to Fatty and he opened them.

"Well, the two places that the majority of you want to see are: the old Water-Caves at Chillerbing - and Banshee Towers on Banshee Hill. Bets, I'm surprised _you_ put down Banshee Towers. I thought you'd be scared of any places connected with banshees wailing in the night!"

"Fatty, I only chose Banshee Towers because you said there were magnificent sea-pictures there," said Bets. "I won't go if there are _still_ banshees, though - unkind fairies wailing and foretelling horrible things! I'd hate that."

"Dear Bets, banshees only belong to fairy tales," said Fatty, seeing that Bets looked rather scared. "We shan't see or hear a single banshee - but we _shall_ see a magnificent set of sea-pictures. I believe some of them reach from floor to ceiling. We shall feel quite seasick if we gaze at them too long."

"I shall take some seasick medicine with me, then," said Bets solemnly. "I've some left - a few pills."

Everyone roared with laughter. "I'm only teasing you, Bets," said Fatty. "I say - _do_ look at those two dogs!"

They all turned to look - and there were Buster and Bingo, _both_ squeezed into Buster's basket, fast asleep, so entangled that, as Larry said, "T'other couldn't be told from which!" Pip glanced at Fatty and Ern. Both had such pleased, admiring looks on their faces that Pip laughed.

"Look at Fatty and Ern," he said. "Did you ever see such dippy looks on any faces except dog-lovers?"

"Yes, I did - on yours on your birthday when Granny gave you two white rabbits!" said Bets at once. "You looked at them just like Auntie Sue looks when she goes to see if her twins are asleep! _Quite_ dippy!"

That made Pip go red, and everyone laughed. "You're getting quite smart, young Bets," said Fatty. "Well, to come back to Banshee Towers. I see that four out of five have voted for that, so we'll go there. And three out of five have voted for the Water-Caves. So those are our first two expeditions."

"_I_ voted for Banshee Towers, too," said Ern, to Bets. "I'm mad on sea-pictures. You see, I want to go into the Navy when I'm old enough, so I _had_ to vote for the sea-picture place. And don't you worry about banshees. Bets. The moment I see one, I'll whistle like this, see, and I'll make them so scared they'll fly out of the window and never come back!" And Ern suddenly put two fingers into his mouth, screwed up his face, and gave a very sudden, very long and extremely piercing whistle. It made everyone jump violently, and the two dogs in the basket leapt straight up into the air as if they had been shot.

Buster barked and Bingo howled, and both dogs tore round and round the room after imaginary enemies. Ern was quite overcome at the commotion he had caused.

Fatty glared at him. "ERN! Do you want to bring all the policemen in the neighbourhood here? That whistling of yours is EXACTLY like a police-whistle. You'll have my father and my mother down here if you don't lookout."

"Luvaduck!" muttered Ern, trying to catch Bingo as he tore past him for the third time, really scared.

Fatty heard a shout from somewhere outside, and groaned. "Somebody _is_ coming!" he said. "Switch off the light, Bets, quick - the switch is just behind you. Shut up barking, Buster, you ass. Now - no noise, anyone. We'll sit here in the dark and hope nobody comes to find out what on earth we are doing here. SHHHHHHH!"

Not a sound was to be heard in the darkened room except some rather heavy breathing from a scared Ern. Suppose he was found here by his uncle or somebody and sent home? Ern wished and wished that he hadn't shown Bets how he proposed to frighten a banshee.

After five minutes had ticked by, Fatty judged it safe to put on the lights again. As he did so, there came the sound of a gong from his house, away up the garden. He groaned.

"That's my supper bell. Where _has_ the evening gone to? I'll have to go. You and Pip ought to go too, Bets."