Five Get Into a Fix (3 page)

Timmy trotted about round the room, sniffing into every corner with much interest. Final y he went to the table, put his paws up and had a good look at the food there. Then he went to George and whined.

“He says he likes the look of the food there,” George said to the old woman. “I must say I agree with him! It looks good!”

“You go and wash and get yourselves a bit tidy, while I make some hot tea,” said Mrs.

Jones. “You look cold and hungry. Go through that door, look - and up the little flight of stairs. The rooms up there are al yours - no one wil disturb you.”

The Five went out of the door and found themselves in a little stone passage, lighted by a candle. A narrow flight of stone steps led upwards to a smal landing on which another candle burned. The steps were very steep, and the children stumbled up them, their legs stiff after their long drive.

Two bedrooms opened off the little landing, opposite to one another. They seemed exactly alike, and were furnished in the same way too. There were wash-stances with basins, and in each basin was a jug of hot water, wrapped around with a towel. Wood-fires burned in the little stone fireplaces, their flames lighting the rooms almost more than the single candles there.

“You"l have this room, girls, and Dick and I wil have the other,” said Julian. “Gosh - wood-fires in our bedrooms! What a treat!”

“I shall go to bed early, and lie and watch the flames,” said Anne. “I"m glad the rooms aren"t cold. I know I should cough if they were.”

“We haven"t coughed quite so much today,” said Dick, and immediately, of course, had a very bad fit of coughing! The old woman downstairs heard him, and cal ed up at once.

“You hurry up, now, and come down into the warm!”

They were soon downstairs, sitting in the warm living-room. Nobody was there except old Mrs. Jones, pouring out tea.

“Isn"t anyone else coming in to tea?” asked George, looking al round. “Surely all this food isn"t just for us?”

“Oh yes it is,” said the old woman, cutting some ham in long thin slices. “This is your own room - the room I let out to families for themselves. We"ve got our big kitchen yonder for ourselves. You can do what you like here - make as much noise as it pleases you - no one wil hear you - our stone walls are so thick!”

After she had served them, she went out of the room, nodding and smiling. The children looked at one another.

“I like her very much,” said Anne. “How old she must be, if she is Jenkins" aunt! But her eyes are so bright and young!”

“I feel better already,” said Dick, tucking into the ham. “George, give Timmy something, He keeps poking me with his paw, and I real y can"t spare him any of my ham.”

“He can have some of mine,” said George. “I thought I was hungry - but I"m not, after al . I suddenly feel tired.”

Julian looked at her. She did look tired, and her eyes were ringed with black shadows.

“Finish your meal, old thing,” said Julian, “and go up to bed. You can unpack tomorrow.

You"re tired out with the long drive! Anne doesn"t look nearly so tired as you do!”

Old Mrs. Jones came in again, and approved highly of Julian"s idea that they should al go up to bed when they had finished. “Get up tomorrow when you like,” she said. “And just come into my kitchen and tell me when you"re down. You can do just what you like here!”

But all they wanted to do at that moment was to get into bed and go to sleep by the light of the crackling wood-fires! What a relief it was to slip in between the rather rough sheets and shut their eyes! Al except Timmy. He kept guard by the door for a long long time before he crept on to George"s bed. Good old Timmy!

The four children slept like logs al night long. If they coughed they didn"t know it! They lay in their beds, hardly moving - and only Timmy opened an eye occasionally, as he always did on the first night in a strange place.

He jumped when a burning log fel to one side in the fireplace. He stared sternly at a big bright flame licking up the chimney, as the log burned fiercely. He cocked up an ear when an owl hooted outside the window.

But at last he too fel asleep, lying as usual on George"s feet - though old Mrs. Jones would not have approved of that at all!

Julian awoke first in the morning. He heard the sounds of the farm coming through the closed window. Shouts of one man to another - the lowing of cows - the barking of one dog after another, and then all together - and the peaceful sound of hens clucking and ducks quacking. It was nice to lie and hear it all, feeling warm and lazy.

He looked at his watch. Good gracious, it was almost nine o"clock! Whatever would Mrs.

Jones think of them? He leapt out of bed, and awoke Dick with the quick movement.

“It"s almost nine!” said Julian, and went to the washstand. This time there was only cold water in the big china jug, but he didn"t mind. The bedroom was stil warm with the burnt-out wood-fires. The sun shone outside, but in the night the snow must have fal en heavily, for everywhere was white.

“Good,” said Julian, looking out. “We shall be able to use our toboggans soon. Wake the girls, Dick.”

But the girls were already awake, for Timmy had heard the boys stirring, and had gone whining to the door. George stretched herself, feeling quite different from the night before.

“Anne - how do you feel? I feel real y fine!” said George, pleased. “Do you know it"s nine o"clock? We"ve slept for more than twelve hours. No wonder we feel better!”

“Yes. I certainly do too,” said Anne, with an enormous yawn. “Oh look, I"ve made Timmy yawn too! Timmy, did you sleep wel ?”

“Woof!” said Timmy, and pawed impatiently at the door. “He wants his breakfast,” said George. “I wonder what there is. I feel rather like bacon and egg - goodness, I thought I"d never feel like eating that again. Brrrr - this water"s cold to wash in.”

They all went downstairs together and found their living-room warm with a great wood-fire. Breakfast was laid, but only a big crusty loaf, butter and home-made marmalade were there, with an enormous jug of cold, creamy milk.

Mrs. Jones came in almost at once, beaming at them. “Well, good morning to you now,”

she said, “and a nice morning it is too, for all the snow we had in the night. What would you be wanting for breakfast now? Ham and eggs - or home-made pork sausages - or meat patties - or...”

“I"d like ham and eggs,” said Julian, at once, and the others said the same. Mrs. Jones went out of the room, and the children rubbed their hands.

“I feared we were only going to have bread and butter and marmalade,” said Dick. “I say, look at the cream on the top of this milk! Me for a farm life when I grow up!”

“Woof!” said Timmy, approvingly. He kept hearing the other dogs barking, and going to the window to look out. George laughed at him. “You"l have to remember you"re just a visitor, when you meet those dogs,” she said. “No throwing your weight about, and barking your head off!”

“They look pretty big dogs,” said Dick, joining Timmy at the window. “Welsh collies, I should think - they"re so good with the sheep. I say - I wonder what that dog was that barked at us so fiercely last night, behind that gate at Old Towers? Do you remember?”

“Yes. I didn"t much like it,” said Anne. “It was rather like a nasty dream - losing our way -

going up that steep hill - only to find that horrid notice on the gates - and nobody to ask the way - and then that hidden dog barking ferociously just the other side of the gates!

And then the car crawling down the hil in that strange way.”

“Yes. It was a bit queer,” said Dick. “Ah - here comes our breakfast. Mrs. Jones, you"ve brought in enough for eight people, not four!”

She was fol owed by an enormous man, with a mass of black hair, bright blue eyes, and a stern mouth.

“This is my son Morgan,” she said. The four children looked at the giantlike man in awe.

“Good morning,” said Julian and Dick together, and Morgan nodded his head, after giving them one quick look. The girls gave him polite smiles, and he nodded at them too, but didn"t speak a word. He went out at once.

“He"s not much of a one for talking,” said the old woman. “Not my Morgan. But the voice he"s got when he"s angry! I"m tel ing the truth when I say you could hear him a mile away!

Sends the sheep skittering off for miles when he shouts!”

Julian felt that he could quite believe it. “Those are his dogs you can hear barking,” said the old woman. “Three of them. They go about with my Morgan everywhere. He"s al for dogs, he is. Doesn"t care much about people! He"s got four more dogs on the hil s with the sheep - and, believe you me, if Morgan went out in the yard there, and shouted, those four dogs away with the sheep on the hil s far yonder would hear him and come tearing down here like a flash of lightning!”

The children felt as if they could well believe this of the giantlike Morgan. They rather wished he would cal his dogs. His voice would certainly be worth hearing!

They set to work on their breakfast, and although they couldn"t eat quite all that Mrs.

Jones had brought, they managed to do very well indeed! So did Timmy. They especial y liked the bread, which was home-made and very good.

“I could really make a meal just of this home-made bread and fresh butter,” said Anne.

“Our bread at home doesn"t taste a bit the same. I say - wouldn"t Mother be amazed to see the breakfast we"ve eaten today?”

“She certainly would - considering that we haven"t felt like eating even a boiled egg for days,” said Dick. “I say - oughtn"t we to telephone home, Julian, and say we"re safely here?”

“Gosh, yes,” said Julian. “I meant to last night. I"l do that now, if Mrs. Jones wil let me.

Hal o, look - isn"t that our last night"s driver going off? He must have spent the night here.”

The driver was about to get into his car when he heard Julian knocking at the window. He came over to the farmhouse, and walked in at the front door, and soon found the children"s living-room.

“I"m just off,” he announced. “The old lady gave me a bed in the barn last night - never been so cosy in my life! And I say - I"ve found out why the car crawled so slowly up and down that hil to Old Towers last night!”

“Oh, have you? Why was it then?” asked Julian, with interest.

“Well, it wasn"t anything to do with the car,” said the driver, “and wasn"t I thankful to know that! It was to do with the hil itself.”

“Whatever do you mean?” said Dick, puzzled.

“Well, the shepherd"s wife told me they think there must be something magnetic down under that hil ,” said the driver. “Because when the postman goes up on his bicycle, the same thing happens. His bicycle feels like lead, so heavy that he can"t even cycle up -

and if he pushes his bike, it feels just as heavy too. So now he leaves his bike at the bottom and just walks up!”

“I see - so the magnetic whatever-it-is got hold of the car last night, and pul ed so much that it made it go slow too,” said Julian. “Queer! There must be some deposit of powerful metal in that hil . Does it affect al cars like that?”

“Oh yes - no one goes up there in a car if they can help it,” said the driver. “Funny thing, isn"t it? Queer hil altogether, if you ask me - that notice on the gate and all!”

“I wonder who lives there?” said Dick.

“Only an old dame,” said the driver. “She"s off her head, so they say - won"t let anyone in!

Well - we know that all right. Sorry I lost my way last night - but you"re all right now. You"re in clover here!”

He moved to the door, raised his hand in salute, and went out. They saw him through the window getting into his car and driving away, waving a leather-gloved hand out of the window.

“Is the snow thick enough to toboggan on?” wondered George. “It doesn"t look like it.

Let"s go out and see. Better wrap up wel , though - I bet the wind"s cold out on this hil , and I don"t want to start sniffing again. I"ve had enough of that.”

Soon they were al clad in heavy coats, scarves and wool en hats. Mrs. Jones nodded her head when she saw them, and smiled. “Sensible children you are,” she said. “Cold it is today, with a biting wind, but healthy weather! Be careful of that dog of yours, my boy -

don"t you let him loose til you"re well away from the farm, in case he goes for one of my Morgan"s dogs.”

George smiled, pleased to be addressed as a boy. They began to wander round the farm, Timmy cross because he was on the lead. He pul ed at it, wanting to run round and explore on his own. But George wouldn"t let him. “Not til you"ve made friends with all the other dogs,” she said. “I wonder where they are?”

“Must have gone out with Morgan,” said Dick. “Come on - let"s go and look at the cows in the sheds. I do love the smel of cows.”

They wandered round the farm, enjoying the pale sun, the keen wind, and the feeling that their legs belonged to them at last, and were not likely to give way at any moment.

They hardly coughed at all, and felt quite aggrieved when one or other suddenly began.

“I shall let old Timmy off the lead a bit now,” said George. “I can"t see a dog about anywhere.” So she slipped the lead off his collar and he ran off joyfully at once, sniffing here, there and everywhere. He disappeared round a corner, his tongue hanging out happily.

And then the most appal ing barking began! The children stopped as if they had been shot. It wasn"t one dog, or even two - it sounded like a dozen! The four rushed round the corner of a barn at once - and there was poor Timmy, standing with his back to the barn, growling and barking and snarling at three fierce dogs!

“No, George, no, don"t go to Timmy,” shouted Julian, seeing that George was going to rescue Tim, whatever happened. “Those dogs are savage!”

But what did George care for that? She raced to Timmy, stood in front of him, and yelled at the three surprised dogs snarling there. “HOW DARE YOU! GET AWAY! GO HOME! I SAID

GO HOME!”

The three snarling dogs took no notice of George. It was Timmy they wanted. Who was this strange dog who dared to come wandering round their home? They tried to get at him, but George stood there, swinging the leather lead, and giving first one dog and then another a sharp flick. Julian rushed to help her - and then Timmy gave a sharp yelp. He had been bitten!