"Carey, M.V. - The Three Investigators 32 - The Mystery of the Blazing Cliffs" - читать интересную книгу автора (Carey M.V)

3

No Exit



"MRS BARRON LIKES BOYS," said Hank Detweiler. "She has two adopted sons and she misses them. One went off to be a drummer with a rock group, and the other lives in Big Sur now and makes wooden clogs that he sells to tourists. He writes poetry, too."

"Gee," said Pete. "How does Mr Barron feel about that?"

"Not a bit happy," said Elsie Spratt. "You boys go along and have your dinner and be nice to Mrs Barron, but watch out for him. When he's in a bad mood, he's cosy as a rattlesnake in a rainstorm."

Konrad looked upset. "I think I will not go," he announced. "I will stay here and wait." He glanced at Elsie. "It is okay if I stay here?" he asked.

"Why, sure," said Elsie. "You can have your dinner here while the boys are living it up over in the big house."

And so Jupiter, Pete, and Bob left the ranch house at five-thirty and walked across the drive to the Barron house. Mrs Barron opened the door for them and then led them into a parlour that was stiffly formal, with settees and chairs upholstered in velvet. Mr Barron was there, complaining loudly that there was something wrong with the television set. "Nothing but noise and snow!" he said. He shook hands with the boys in an absent-minded way. "You young fellows are in school, I suppose," he said. "Learning anything? Or are you just putting in your time?"

Before the boys could answer, a Mexican woman came to the doorway to announce that dinner was served. Mr Barron offered his arm to Mrs Barron, and the boys followed them to the dining room.

The Mexican woman had brought the dinner across from Elsie's kitchen, and it was delicious. Jupe ate slowly and listened to Mr Barron's lecture on the evils of plastic in almost any form. He learned that Mr Barron did not approve of vinyl that masqueraded as leather, or of polyester that pretended to be wool. Mr Barron also took time to condemn termite inspectors who did not understand termites and auto mechanics who could not fix cars properly.

Mrs Barron waited until her husband had finished his list of grievances. Then she began to talk quietly about her son in Big Sur who wrote poetry.

"Trash!" snapped Mr Barron. "The stuff doesn't even rhyme! That's the trouble with the world today. Poetry doesn't rhyme and people don't have to work to earn a living and children don't have to respect their parents and--"

"Charles, dear, I think you have a crumb on your chin," said Mrs Barron.

Mr Barron dabbed at himself with a napkin, and Mrs Barron told the boys about her other son who played drums for a musical group.

"He's going to be here in August," said Mrs Barron, "for the convention."

Mr Barron made a choking sound, and his face grew very red. "Mob of zanies!" he grumbled.

"Convention?" said Pete timidly.

"The annual meeting of the Blue Light Mission will take place here in August," said Mrs Barron. She smiled at Jupiter. "You know about that--you've read the book. So many members of our society have talked with the rescuers who come from the planet Omega. They'll share their experiences with the rest of us, and if we're lucky we'll have Vladimir Contreras for our speaker this year."

"Oh, yes," said Jupe. "The man who wrote They Walk Among Us."

Mr Barron leaned back in his chair. "Last year the convention of the Blue Light Mission was held in a cornfield in Iowa and a man came who believed that the earth is hollow and that a race of superbeings live inside it," he said. "There was also a woman who told fortunes with magnetized needles that floated on water, and a pimply youth who kept saying 'Om! Om!' until I wanted to hit him."

"You went to the convention?" said Pete to Barron.

"I had to!" snapped Barron. "My wife is a remarkable woman, but if I left her to herself, she would surely be victimized by those loonies. Even when I am with her, she becomes over-enthusiastic. I was unable to keep her from inviting that weird group here this summer."

"We should have a large turnout," said Mrs Barron happily. "Many people are keenly interested. They know that the rescuers are out there watching us."

"The only ones who are out there watching us are anarchists and criminals who want to take over," said Mr Barron. "Well, I'm ready for them!"