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

7 - INSIDE BANSHEE TOWERS


"How much to go in, please?" asked Fatty.

"One shilling each," said the dour-looking man behind the turnstiles.

"Whew - that's rather a lot for us children to pay," said Pip. "Don't we go in for half-price?"

"You do not," said the man, looking at them severely over the top of his spectacles.

"Do you charge for dogs?" asked Fatty.

"No. They are NOT allowed in here," said the man. "Anyway, you haven't any dogs with you."

"We seem to have lost them," said Fatty. "Er - do you charge for cats? I can see one sitting in your office."

"And what about horses?" said Larry, joining in. "Any objection to horses or a sheep or two?"

"No horses and no sheep," said the man. "And no silly asses, either, so be careful if _you_ want to go in, see?"

"He's smarter than he looks," said Fatty to the others when they were safely inside. "Let's buy a catalogue shall we? I say - what a place!"

"And what a VIEW!" said Daisy, going to one of the great windows that looked down over the countryside. "Glorious! You can see everything for miles around!"

"Fatty! Come and look at this picture!" called Bets. "It's so real you can almost hear the swish of the waves!"

They all went across the stone floor, their feet clattering, to a wall where a great picture was displayed - a stormy sea, the waves rising high, the spray flying.

"I feel as if my face is getting wet with spray when I look at that," said Bets, in awe. "Isn't it magnificent! Do buy a catalogue, Fatty. I want to see what it says about this picture."

Fatty went back to the man at the turnstiles, took a catalogue and put down a shilling, the man didn't even look up. "Surly fellow!" thought Fatty and went back to the others, leafing through the catalogue to find a description of the picture that Bets liked.

"It's called 'Fury of the Storm'," he said. "It says the artist is one of the most famous of sea-artists - and would you believe it, that picture was painted more than a hundred years ago! And yet it looks as fresh and clear as if it had been finished yesterday."

Someone clattered over the stone-floor, set down a stool and put an easel in front of a picture on the opposite wall. He proceeded to set up a large canvas on the easel. The children went over, in curiosity.

"Hallo, kids," said the man, a shock-haired fellow in a loose black painting overall. "Come to worship at the shrine of sea-art? Mind you don't bump into the banshee. It wails one day a week, you know, so you _may_ hear it."

"I don't want to," said Bets, at once. "Anyway, there isn't a banshee. It's just imaginary."

There was further clattering, and three more artists came in, carrying easels. They set themselves down in front of various pictures. Fatty stared in surprise.

"Are you _copying_ the pictures?" he asked the man beside him, who was now sitting on a stool, mixing colours on a palette.

"Yes. We all belong to a School of Art," said the man. "Those who are good enough are sent here to copy these pictures for practice - we can sell them all right afterwards, you know."