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

A sudden, very familiar noise made them all jump! "Woof! WOOF!"

"Golly - _that_ sounds like them!" said Ern in amazement. "Where are they? I can't see them anywhere!"

"Wuff - woof!"

"They're both about somewhere!" said Fatty, puzzled. "But their barks sound a bit muffled. BUSTER! BINGO! Where on earth are you? "

A scrabbling noise came from the big fireplace and the children went over to it at once. An old iron cauldron stood squarely in the middle of the wide hearth, and the barking seemed to come from under there. Fatty lifted up the heavy old thing, and gave a loud exclamation.

"OHO! What have we here? Look - a neat, round trap-door! The dogs seem to be under it somewhere. Bets, go and see if there's anyone about whose permission we can ask to pull up the trap-door."

Bets ran to the turnstile and looked all about. There was no one to be seen. She hurried back,

"No, Fatty, I can't see a soul. I expect the turnstile man is away having his dinner - and the artists haven't come back yet, though they've left their easels here."

"Right. Then we'll have to yank up the trap-door _without_ permission!" said Fatty. "Help me, Ern."

There was now such a loud and excited barking coming from beneath the trap-door that it seemed almost as if there might be half a dozen dogs below, not just two!

"How _did_ they get there?" said Larry, watching Fatty and Ern heaving up the trap-door. "They can't possibly have got down through the trap-door - so they must have found a way into the hill - and gone up an underground tunnel to Banshee Towers."

"Oooh - a Secret Passage!" said Bets, her eyes shining. "Can we go down it?"

"Here she comes!" said Fatty, panting hard as he and Ern heaved the trap-door out of its place. Immediately the two dogs hurled themselves out, and fell upon Ern and Fatty in rhapsodies of joy, barking, licking, pawing as if they had gone mad.

"Steady on, steady on," said Fatty, pushing Buster down. "Buster, will you kindly tell me how you got here?"

"Woof!" said Buster, dancing about happily.

"And how did _you_ get here, Bingo," demanded Ern, whose dog seemed intent on licking every single inch of his face. "Stop it, Bingo. I shall have to borrow a towel from somewhere soon. Keep your tongue in your mouth for a bit. Oh, goodness, there he goes again!"

Larry was looking down the hole where the trap-door had been. He took out a small torch from his pocket and switched it on. He gave a sudden exclamation.

"Look - there are steps cut down from the hearth - almost like ladder steps, going down and down. Where on earth do they go to?"

"We might have time to explore a bit," said Fatty, feeling thrilled to see the steps leading down into the darkness. "Bets - go and see if we're still the only ones here."

Bets ran off and then came back, her face rather frightened. "Fatty, the turnstile man is coming up the hill. He's nearly here. Put the trap-door back, quickly!"

Ern and Fatty lifted the trap-door into place and then put the heavy cauldron over it. They were still kneeling down by the fireplace when the turnstile man came in, munching an apple. He gave an angry shout when he saw them.

"Quick - pretend we've dropped a shilling," said Fatty, in a low, urgent voice. "Look for it, all of you - in the hearth and on the carpet too - quick!"

So, when the puzzled turnstile man ran up, they were all apparently hunting feverishly for a lost shilling!

"_Must_ find it!" Fatty was saying. "Simply must. A shilling is a shilling. Where on earth did it go? Is that it over there, Bets?"

"Oh, so you've dropped some money, have you?" said the man. "Sure that's all you're up to? Let _me_ have a look!" And down he dropped on hands and knees too. He gave a sudden shout, and picked something up.