Five Have a Wonderful Time (2 page)

George listened impatiently. What
was
all this? But it

turned out to be something quite ordinary, really. When at

last her mother put down the receiver, she told George.

"Don't hop about like that, George. It's
quite
all right, you can go tomorrow. Julian was only ringing up to

make sure that your father wasn't one of the scientists who have suddenly disappeared. Apparently in tonight's paper there is a short report about two that have completely vanished — and dear old Julian wanted to make sure your father was here safely!"

"As if Father would vanish!'said George, scornfully. "Julian must be mad! It's just two more of those silly scientists who are disloyal to this country, and disappear to another country to sell our secrets!
I
could have told Julian that!"

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NEXT morning, on a dewy hillside a good distance from Kirrin, where George lived, two boys leapt down the steps of a caravan, and went to one nearby. They rapped on the door.

"Anne! Are you awake? It's a heavenly day!"

"Of course I'm awake!" cried a voice. "The door's unlocked. Come in. I'm getting breakfast."

Julian and Dick pushed open the blue-painted door. Anne was standing at a little stove at one end of her caravan, boiling eggs in a saucepan.

"I can't look round," she said. "I'm timing them by my watch. One minute more to go."

"The postman has just brought a card from George," said Julian. "She says her tail and Timmy's are both well up! I'm glad she's coming at last — and old Timmy too."

"We'll all go and meet her," said Anne, still with her eyes on her watch. "Twenty seconds more."

"We only came here ourselves three days ago," said Dick. "So she hasn't really missed much. Surely those eggs will be hard-boiled, Anne!"

Anne stopped looking at her watch. "No, they won't. They'll be just right." She scooped them out of the little saucepan with a big spoon. "Put them in the egg-cups, Dick. There they are—just under your nose."

Dick picked an egg up from the plate on which Anne had placed them. It was so hot that he dropped it with a yell, and it broke its shell. Yolk flowed out of it.

"DICK! You
saw
me take it out of boiling water!" said Anne "Now I've got to do another. It's a pity old Timmy isn't here. He'd soon have licked that broken egg up from the floor and saved me clearing up the mess."

"We'll eat our breakfast sitting on the steps of your caravan, Anne," said Julian. "The sun's so lovely."

So they all sat there, eating boiled eggs, well-buttered bread,

with chunky, home-made marmalade afterwards, and then juicy

apples. The sun shone down and Julian took off his coat.

Their two caravans were set on a sloping, grassy hillside. A tall hedge grew behind, and kept off the wind. Primroses ran in a pale gold streak under the hedge, and brilliant celandines shone in the sun, turning their polished faces towards it.

Not far off were three more caravans, but they were modern

ones. The people staying in those were not yet up, and the doors

were fast shut. The three children had had no chance of making

friends with them.

On the opposite hill rose an old, ruined castle, whose great walls still defied the gales that sometimes blew over the hills. It had four towers. Three were very much broken, but the fourth looked almost complete. The windows were slitholes, made centuries back when

archers shot their arrows from them.

A very steep pathway led up to the castle. At the top of it was a gateway, enormously strong, built of big white blocks of stone. The gateway was now filled by a great screen of wrought-iron to prevent anyone entering, and the only entrance was by a small tower in which was a narrow door. Here there was a turnstile through which visitors might go to see the old castle.

A high, strong wall ran all round the castle, still standing after so many years. Bits of the top of it had fallen down the hill and lay half-buried in grass and weeds. It had once been a magnificent old castle, built on the high, steep hill for safety, a place from which the castle guards might see the country easily for miles around.

As Julian said, anyone up in one of the towers, or even on the wall, would be able to see enemies approaching from seven counties. There would be plenty of time to shut the great gate, man the walls, and get ready to withstand quite a long siege if necessary.

The three of them sat on the steps, lazing in the sun, when they had finished their breakfast. They looked at the ruined old castle, and watched the jackdaws circling round the four towers.

"There must be about a thousand jackdaws there," said Dick. "I wish we had field-glasses so that we could watch them. It would be as good as a circus. I love the way they all fly up together, and circle round and round and yet never bump into one another."

"Do they nest in that old castle?" asked Anne.

"Oh, yes — they fill up the towers with big sticks," said Dick, "and put their nests on the top. I bet we'd find the ground beneath the towers strewn ankle-deep in sticks if we went to see."

"Well, let's go one day when George is here," said Anne. "It only costs five pence to go in. I like old castles.

I like the
feel
of old places."

"So do I," said Julian. "I hope George brings the field-glasses she had for her birthday. We could take them up into the castle with us and see all round the countryside for miles and miles. We could count the seven counties!"

"I must wash up," said Anne, getting up. "I must tidy the caravans too before George comes."

"You don't really think old George will notice if they're tidy or not, do you?" said Dick. "It will be a waste of your time, Anne!"

But Anne always enjoyed tidying things and putting them away in cupboards or on shelves. She liked having the two caravans to look after. She had just got used to them nicely and was looking forward to showing George round them.

She skipped over to the hedge and picked a great bunch of primroses. Back she went and divided them into two. She stuffed half into one little blue bowl, set their green crinkled leaves round them, and then put the other half into a second bowl.

"There — you go with the green and yellow curtains!" she said. She was soon very busy sweeping and dusting. She debated whether to send Dick to the stream to wash the breakfast things, and decided not to. Dick wasn't too good with crockery, and it was not theirs to break — it belonged to the owner of the caravans.

By the time it was half-past eleven the caravans were spick and span. George's sheets and blankets were on the shelf above her bunk, which, in the daytime, let down neatly against the wall to make more room. Anne had a bunk on the opposite side.

"This is the kind of holiday I
like
," said Anne to herself. "Somewhere small to live, fields and hills just outside, picnicky meals — and not too much adventure!"

"What are you murmuring about, Anne?" said Dick, peeping in at the window. "Did I hear something about adventure? Are you looking for one already?"

"Good gracious no!" said Anne. "It's the last thing I want! And the last thing we'll get too, in this quiet little place, thank goodness."

Dick grinned. "Well, you never know," he said. "Are you ready to come and meet George, Anne? It's about time we went."

Anne went down the steps and joined Dick and Julian. "Better lock the door," said Dick. "We've locked ours." He locked Anne's door and the three set off down the grassy hillside to the stile that led into the lane below. The old castle on the opposite hill seemed to tower up higher and higher as they went down and down towards the village.

"It will be lovely to see Timmy again," said Anne. "And I'll be jolly glad to have George too, in my caravan.

I didn't really
mind
being alone at night — but it's always nice to have George near me, and Timmy grunting in his sleep."

"You want to sleep with Dick if you like grunts and snorts and moans," said Julian. "What
do
you dream about, Dick? You must have more nightmares than anyone else in the kingdom!"

"I
never
grunt or snort or moan," said Dick indignantly. "You want to hear yourself! Why…"

"Look — isn't that the train coming in — isn't that it curving round the line in the distance?" said Anne. "It must be! There's only one train in the morning here! We'd better run!"

They ran at top speed. The train drew in at the station just as they raced on to the platform. A head of short curly hair looked out from a window—and then another dark brown head just below it.

"George — and Timmy!" yelled Anne.

"Hallo!" shouted George, almost falling out of the door.

"WOOF!" barked Timmy, and leapt down to the platform almost on top of Dick. Down jumped George, her eyes shining. She hugged Anne, and gave Julian and Dick a punch each. "I'm here!" she said. "I felt awful knowing you were away camping without me. I gave poor old Mother a dreadful time."

"I bet you did," said Julian, and linked his arm in hers. "Let me take that suit-case. We'll just slip into the village first and have a few ice-creams to celebrate. There's a shop here that has some jolly decent ones."

"Good. I feel exactly like ice-creams," said George, happily. "Look, Timmy knows what you said. His tongue is hanging out for an ice-cream already. Timmy, aren't you pleased we're all together again?"

"Woof," said Timmy, and licked Anne's hand for the twentieth time.

"I really ought to bring a towel with me when I meet Timmy," said Anne. "His licks are so very wet. Oh no, not
again
, Timmy — go and use your tongue on Julian!"

"I say, look — George
has
brought her field-glasses with her!" said Dick, suddenly noticing that the brown strap over George's shoulder did not belong to a camera but to a very fine leather case that held the new field-glasses. "Good! We wanted to watch the jackdaws with them and there are some herons down on the marsh too."

"Well, I thought I
must
bring them," said George. "It's the first hols I've had a chance to use them. Mother wouldn't let me take them to school. I say—how much further is this ice-cream shop?"

"In the dairy here," said Julian, marching her in. "And I advise you to start off with vanilla, go on to strawberry and finish up with chocolate."

"You do have good ideas!" said George. "I hope you've got some money as well, if we're going to eat icecreams at this rate. Mother didn't give me very much to spend."

They sat down and ordered ice-creams. The plump little shop-woman smiled at them. She knew them by now. "This is very good weather for you," she said. "Are there many caravanners up on Faynights Field?"

"No, not many," said Julian, beginning his ice.

"Well, you're going to have a few more," said the little plump lady. "I hear there's some fair-folk coming —

they usually camp up in your field. You'll have some fun if so."

"Oh, good!" said Dick. "We'll really be able to make a few friends then. We like fair-folk, don't we, Timmy?"

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"IS there going to be a fair near here then?" asked George, starting on her strawberry ice. "What sort of a fair? A circus or something?"

"No. Just a mixed-up show," said the shop-woman. "There's to be a fire-eater, and that'll bring the villagers to the show faster than anything. A fire-eater! Did you ever hear of such a thing? I wonder that anyone cares to make a living at that!"

"What else is there to be?" asked Anne. She didn't somehow fancy watching anyone eating fire!

"Well, there's a man who can get himself free in under two minutes, no matter how tightly he's tied up with rope," said the woman. "Fair miracle he must be! And there's a man called Mr. India-rubber, because he can bend himself anywhere, and wriggle through drain-pipes and get in at a window if it's left open just a crack!"

"Gracious! He'd make a good burglar!" said George. "I wish I was like india-rubber! Can this man bounce when he falls down?"

Everyone laughed. "What else?" said Anne. "This sounds very exciting."

"There's a man with snakes," said the plump little lady with a shudder. "Snakes! Just fancy! I'd be afraid they would bite me. I'd run a mile if I saw a snake coming at me."

"Are they poisonous snakes that he has, I wonder?" said Dick. "I don't somehow fancy having a caravan next to ours with lashings of poisonous snakes crawling round."

"Don't!" said Anne. "I should go home at once."

Another customer came in and the shop-woman had to leave the children and go to serve her. The four felt rather thrilled. What a bit of luck to have such exciting people in the same field as they were!

"A fire-eater!" said Dick. "I've always wanted to see one. I bet he doesn't
really
eat fire! He'd burn the whole of his mouth and throat."

"Has everyone finished?" asked Julian, getting some money out of his pocket. "If so, we'll take George up to the field and show her our gay caravans. They aren't a bit like the ones we once went caravanning in, George —