Five Go Off In A Caravan Chapter Nine AN UNPLEASANT MEETING（在线收听）

Chapter Nine AN UNPLEASANT MEETING

It  really was  fun settling into that cosy hollow. The two caravans  were backed in  side by side.

The horses were taken out and led to a big field where the farmer's horses were kept when they had done their day's work. Trotter and Dobby seemed very pleased with the green, sloping field.

It had a spring of its own that ran into a stone trough and out of it, keeping it always filled with fresh cold water. Both horses went to take a long drink.

'Well, that settles the two horses all right,' said Julian. 'We'll tell the farmer he can borrow them if he wants to - he'll be harvesting soon and may like to have Dobby and Trotter for a few days.

They will enjoy hobnobbing with other horses again.'

At the front of the hollow was a rocky ledge, hung with heathery tufts. This is the front seat for Lake View!' said Anne. 'Oh, it's warm from the sun! How lovely!'

'I vote we have all our meals on this ledge,' said George, sitting down too. 'It's comfortable and roomy - and flat enough to take our cups and plates without spilling anything - and honestly the view from here is too gorgeous for words. Can anyone see anything of the circus from up here?'

'There's a spire or two of smoke over yonder,' said Dick, pointing. 'I should think that's where the camp is. And look - there's a boat pushing out on the lake - doesn't it look tiny?'

'Perhaps Nobby is in it,' said Anne. 'Haven't we brought any field-glasses, Julian? I thought we had.'

'Yes  -  we  have,'  said  Julian,  remembering.  'I'll  get  them.'  He  went  to  the  green  caravan, rummaged about in the drawers, and came out with his field-glasses swinging on the end of their straps.

'Here we are!' he said, and set them to his eyes. 'Yes - I can see the boat clearly now - and it is Nobby in it - but who's with him? Golly, it's Pongo!'

Everyone had to  look  through the  glasses  to  see Nobby and Pongo in  the boat.  'You know, we could  always  get  Nobby to  signal  to  us  somehow from  his  boat  when he wanted to  tell  us  that Lou and his uncle were away,' said Dick. Then we should know it was safe, and we could pop down to the camp and see round it.'

'Yes. Good idea,' said George. 'Give me the glasses, Dick. Timmy wants to have a turn at seeing, too.'

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'He can't  see through  glasses like these, idiot,' said Dick, handing them to George. But  Timmy most  solemnly  glued  his  eyes  to  the  glasses,  and  appeared  to  be  looking  through  them  very earnestly indeed.

'Woof,' he remarked, when he took his eyes away at last.

'He  says  he's  seen  Nobby  and  Pongo,  too,'  said  George,  and  the  others  laughed.  Anne  half-believed  that  he  had.  Timmy  was  such  an  extraordinary  dog,  she  thought,  as  she  patted  his smooth head.

It was a terribly hot day. Too hot to do anything - even to walk down to the lake and bathe! The children were glad they were up in the hills, for at least there was a little breeze that fanned them now and again. They did not expect to see Nobby again that day, but they hoped he would come up the next day. If not they would go down and bathe in the lake and hope to see him somewhere about there.

Soon  the  rocky  ledge  got  too  hot  to  sit  on.  The  children  retreated  to  the  clump  of  birch  trees, which at least cast some shade. They took books with them, and Timmy came along, too, panting as if he had run for miles. He kept going off to the little spring to drink. Anne filled a big bowl with the cold water, and stood it in a breezy place near by, with a cup to dip into it. They were thirsty all day long, and it was pleasant to dip a cup into the bowl of spring-water and drink

The lake was unbelievably blue that day, and lay as still as a mirror. Nobby's boat was no longer in the water. He and Pongo had gone. There was not a single movement to be seen down by the lake.

'Shall we go down to the lake this evening, when it's cooler, and bathe there?' said Julian, at teatime. 'We haven't  had much exercise today, and  it would do us  good to walk  down and have a swim. We won't take Timmy in case we happen to come across Lou or Dan. He'd certainly fly at them  today.  We  can  always  keep  an  eye  open  for  those  two  and  avoid  them  ourselves  -  but Timmy would go for them as soon as he spotted them. We might be in the water and unable to stop him.'

'Anyway, he'll guard the caravans for us,' said Anne. 'Well, I'll just take these cups and plates and rinse them in the stream. Nobody wants any more to eat, do they?'

'Too hot,' said Dick, rolling over on to his back. 'I wish we were by the lake at this moment - I'd go straight into the water now!'

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At half-past six it was cooler, and the four children set off down the hill. Timmy was angry and hurt at being left behind.

'You're  to  be  on  guard,  Timmy,'  said  George  firmly.  'See?  Don't  let  anyone  come  near  our caravans. On guard, Timmy!'

'Woof,'  said  Timmy  dismally,  and  put  his  tail  down.  On  guard!  Didn't  George  know  that  the caravans wouldn't walk off by themselves, and that he wanted a good splash in the lake?

Still, he stayed behind, standing on the rocky ledge to see the last of the children, his ears cocked to  hear  their  voices  and  his  tail  still  down  in  disgust.  Then  he  went  and  lay  down  beneath George's caravan, and waited patiently for his friends to return.

The  children  went  down  the  hill  with  their  bathing-things,  taking  short  cuts,  and  leaping  like goats over the steep bits. It had seemed quite a long way up when they had gone so slowly in the caravans with Dobby and Trotter - but it wasn't  nearly so far when they could go on their own legs, and take rabbit-paths and short cuts whenever they liked.

There was one steep bit that forced them back on to the track. They went along it to where the track turned a sharp corner round a cliff-like bend - and to their surprise and dismay they walked almost straight into Lou and Tiger Dan!

'Take  no  notice,'  said  Julian,  in  a  low  voice.  'Keep  together  and  walk  straight  on.  Pretend  that Timmy is somewhere just behind us.'

'Tim, Tim!' called George, at once.

Lou and Dan seemed just as surprised to see the children, as they had been to see the two men.

They stopped and looked hard at them, but Julian hurried the others on.

'Hey, wait a minute!' called Dan. 'I thought you had gone off - over the hill-top!'

'Sorry we can't stop!' called back Julian. 'We're in rather a hurry!'

Lou looked round for Timmy. He wasn't going to lose his temper and start shouting in case that mad  dog  came  at  him  again.  He  spoke  to  the  children  loudly,  forcing  himself  to  appear  good-tempered.

'Where are your caravans? Are you camping up here anywhere?'

But the children still walked on, and the men had to go after them to make them hear.

'Hey! What's the matter? We shan't hurt you! We only want to know if you're camping here. It's better down below, you know.'

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'Keep on  walking,' muttered Julian. 'Don't  tell  them anything. Why do they tell us  it's  better to camp down below when they were so anxious for us to clear out yesterday? They're mad!'

'Timmy, Timmy!' called George, again, hoping that the men would stop following them if they heard her calling for her dog.

It did stop them. They gave up going after the children, and didn't shout any more. They turned angrily and went on up the track.

'Well,  we've  thrown  them  off  all  right,'  said  Dick,  with  relief.  'Don't  look  so  scared,  Anne.  I wonder  what  they  want  up  in  the  hills.  They  don't  look  the  sort  that  would  go  walking  for pleasure.'

'Dick  -  we're  not  going  to  have  another  adventure,  are  we?'  said  Anne  suddenly,  looking  very woebegone. 'I don't want one. I just want a nice ordinary, peaceful holiday.'

''Course we're not going to have an adventure!' said Dick, scornfully. 'Just because we meet two bad-tempered fellows from a circus camp you think we're in for an adventure, Anne! Well, I jolly well wish we were! Every hols we've been together so far we've had adventures - and you must admit that you love talking about them and remembering them.'

'Yes, I do. But I don't like it much when I'm in the middle of one,' said Anne. 'I don't think I'm a very adventurous person, really.'

'No,  you're  not,'  said  Julian,  pulling  Anne  over  a  very  steep  bit.  'But  you're  a  very  nice  little person, Anne, so don't worry about it. And, anyway, you wouldn't like to be left out of any of our adventures, would you?'

'Oh no,' said Anne. 'I couldn't bear it. Oh, look - we're at the bottom of the hill - and there's the lake, looking icy-cold!'

It wasn't long before they were all in the water - and suddenly there was Nobby too, waving and yelling. 'I'm coming in! Lou and my uncle have gone off somewhere. Hurray!'

Barker  and  Growler  were  with  Nobby,  but  not  Pongo  the  chimpanzee.  Nobby  was  soon  in  the water, swimming like a dog, and splashing George as soon as he got up to her.

'We met Lou and your uncle as we came down,' called George. 'Shut up, Nobby, and let me talk to you. I said, we met Lou and your uncle just now - going up into the hills.'

'Up into the hills?' said Nobby, astonished. 'Whatever for? They don't  go and fetch things from the farm. The women do that, early each morning.'

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'Well, we met those two,' said Dick swimming up. They seemed jolly surprised to see us. I hope they aren't going to bother us any more.'

'I've had a bad day,' said Nobby, and he showed black bruises on his arms. 'My uncle hit me like anything for making friends with you. He says I'm not to go talking to strangers no more.'

'Why ever not?' said Dick. 'What a surly, selfish fellow he is! Well, you don't seem to be taking much notice of him now!'

''Course not!' said Nobby. 'He's safe up in the hills, isn't he? I'll have to be careful he doesn't see me with  you, that's all. Nobody else at the camp will split on me  - they all hate Lou and Tiger Dan.'

'We saw you out in your boat with Pongo,' said Julian, swimming up to join in the conversation.

'We thought that if ever  you wanted to signal to us you could easily do it by going out in  your boat,  and  waving  a  handkerchief  or  something.  We've  got  field-glasses,  and  we  can  easily  see you. We could come along down if you signalled. We'd know it would be safe.'

'Right,' said Nobby. 'Come on, let's have a race. Bet you I'm on the shore first!'

He  wasn't,  of  course,  because  he  didn't  swim  properly.  Even  Anne  could  race  him.  Soon  they were all drying themselves vigorously.

'Golly, I'm hungry!' said Julian. 'Come on up the hill with us, Nobby, and share our supper!'