Five Go Off In A Caravan Chapter Twelve A LOVELY DAY - WITH A HORRID END（在线收听）

Chapter Twelve A LOVELY DAY - WITH A HORRID END

They soon saw Pongo. He was coming round one of the caravans, looking exceedingly pleased with himself. He went to Anne and held out his paw to her, making little affectionate noises.

Anne  took  what  he  held.  She  looked  at  it.  It's  a  hard-boiled  egg!  Oh,  Nobby,  he's  been  at  the picnic baskets!'

So  he  had!  Two  of  the  eggs  were  gone,  and  some  of  the  tomatoes!  Nobby  smacked  the chimpanzee  and  took  him  back  to  his  cage.  He  was  very  sad  and  made  a  noise  as  if  he  was crying, hiding his face in his paws. Anne was upset.

'Is he really crying? Oh, do forgive him, Nobby. He didn't mean to be naughty.'

'He's  not  crying.  He's  only  pretending,'  said  Nobby.  'And  he  did  mean  to  be  naughty.  I  know him!'

The  morning  soon  went  in  visiting  the  circus  animals.  It  was  dinner-time  before  they  had  had time to see the monkeys. 'We'll see them afterwards,' said Nobby. 'Let's have a meal now. Come on. We'll go and have it by the lake.'

The  children  hadn't  seen  Lou  or  Tiger  Dan  at  all,  much  to  their  joy.  'Where  are  they?'  asked Julian. 'Gone out for the day?'

'Yes, thank goodness,' said Nobby. 'Gone out on one of their mysterious jaunts. You know, when we're on the road, going from place to place, my uncle sometimes disappears at night. I wake up

- and he's not there.'

'Where does he go?' asked George.

'I wouldn't dare to ask,' said Nobby. 'Anyway, he and Lou are out of the way today. I don't expect they'll be back till night.'

They had their meal by the lake. It glittered at their feet, calm and blue, and looked very inviting.

'What about a swim?' asked Dick when they had eaten as much as they could. Julian looked at his watch.

'Can't swim directly after a good meal,' he said. 'You know that, Dick. We'll have to wait a bit.'

'Right,' said Dick, and lay down. 'I'll have a snooze - or shall we go and see the monkeys?'

They all had a short nap and then got up to go and see the monkeys. When they got back to the camp they found it alive with people, all excited and yelling.

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'What's up?' said Nobby. 'Jumping Jiminy, the monkeys are all loose!'

So they were. Wherever they looked the children saw a small brown monkey, chattering to itself, on the roof of a caravan or tent!

A brown-faced woman with sharp eyes came up to Nobby. She caught him by the shoulder and shook  him.  'See  what  that  chimp  of  yours  has  done!'  she  said.  'You  put  him  in  his  cage  and couldn't have locked it properly. He got out and let all the monkeys loose. Drat that chimp - I'll take a broomstick to him if ever I catch him!'

'Where's  Lucilla  then?'  asked  Nobby,  dragging  himself  away  from  the  cross  woman.  'Can't  she get them in?'

'Lucilla's gone to the town,' scolded the woman. 'And fine and pleased she'll be to hear this when she comes back!'

'Aw, let the monkeys be!' said Nobby. 'They won't come to any harm. They'll wait for Lucilla all right!'

'Who's Lucilla?' asked Anne, thinking that life in a circus camp was very exciting.

'She owns the monkeys,' said  Nobby.  'Hi, look  - there's  Lucilla coming back! Now we'll be all right!'

A  little  wizened  old  woman  was  hurrying  towards  the  camp.  She  really  looked  rather  like  a monkey herself, Anne thought. Her eyes were bright and sharp, and her tiny hands clutched a red shawl round her. They looked like brown paws.

'Your monkeys are out!' yelled the camp children. 'LUCILLA! Your monkeys are out.'

Lucilla  heard  and,  raising  her  voice,  she  scolded  everyone  in  sight  fully  and  shrilly.  Then  she stood  still  and  held  out  her  arms.  She  spoke  some  soft  words  in  a  language  the  children  didn't know - magic words, Anne said afterwards.

One  by  one  the  wandering  monkeys  came  scampering  over  to  her,  flinging  themselves  down from  the  caravan  roofs,  making  little  chattering  sounds  of  love  and  welcome.  They  leapt  on  to Lucilla's  shoulders  and  into  her  arms,  cuddling  against  her  like  tiny  brown  children.  Not  one monkey was left out - all went to Lucilla as if drawn by some enchantment.

She walked slowly towards their cage, murmuring her soft words as she went. Everyone watched in silence.

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'She's  a  queer  one,'  said  the  brown-faced  woman  to  Nobby.  'She  don't  love  nobody  but  her monkeys - and there's nobody loves her but them. You mind out she doesn't go for that chimp of yours, letting out her precious monkeys!'

'I'll take him and Old Lady down to bathe,' said Nobby, hastily. 'By the time we're back, Lucilla will have forgotten.'

They  fetched  Old  Lady  and  discovered  where  naughty  Pongo  was  hiding  under  a  caravan.  As quickly as possible they went back to the lake, Old Lady stepping out well, looking forward to her bathe.

'I suppose things like that are always happening in  a circus camp,' said Anne. 'It's not a bit like real life.'

'Isn't it?' said Nobby, surprised. 'It's real life all right to me!'

It  was  cool  in  the  lake  and  they  all  enjoyed  themselves  very  much,  swimming  and  splashing.

Pongo  wouldn't  go  in  very  far,  but  splashed  everyone  who  came  within  reach,  laughing  and cackling loudly. He gave Old Lady a shock by leaping up on to her back, and pulling one of her big ears.

She dipped her trunk into the lake, sucked up a lot of water, turned her trunk over her back, and squirted the water all over the startled chimpanzee! The children yelled with laughter, and roared again to see Pongo falling in fright off Old Lady's back. Splash! He went right in and got himself wet from head to foot - a thing he hated doing.

'Serves you right, you scamp!' shouted Nobby. 'Hey, Old Lady, stop it! Don't squirt at me!'

The elephant, pleased with her little joke, didn't want to stop it. So the children had to keep well away from her, for her aim was very good.

'I've never had such a lovely time in my life!' said Anne, as she dried herself. 'I shall dream all night of monkeys and elephants, horses, dogs and chimpanzees!'

Nobby  turned  about  twenty  cart-wheels  by  the  edge  of  the  lake  from  sheer  good  spirits  -  and Pongo at once did the same. He was even better at it than Nobby. Anne tried and fell down flop immediately.

They went back to the camp. 'Sorry I can't offer you any tea,' said Nobby, 'but we never seem to have tea, you know - we circus folk, I mean. Anyway, I'm not hungry after that enormous lunch.

Are you?'

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Nobody was. They shared out Mrs Mackie's home-made toffees, and gave one to Pongo. It stuck his teeth together, and he looked so comically alarmed when he found that he couldn't open his mouth that the children roared at him.

He sat down, swayed from side to side, and began to groan dismally. But the toffee soon melted away,  and  he  found  that  he  could  open  his  mouth  after  all.  He  sucked  the  rest  of  the  sweet noisily, but wouldn't have another.

They wandered round the camp, looking at the different caravans. Nobody took much notice of them  now.  They  were  just  Nobby's  'posh'  friends  -  that  was  all.  Some  of  the  smaller  children peeped out and stuck out their little red tongues - but at Nobby's roar they vanished.

'Got no manners at all!' said Nobby. 'But they're all right really.'

They came to where big wagons stood, stored with all kinds of circus things. 'We don't bother to unpack these when we're resting in  camp  like this,' said  Nobby.  'Don't  need them here. One of my jobs is to help to unpack this stuff when we're camping to give a show. Have to get out all them benches and set them up in the big top - that's the circus tent, you know. We're pretty busy then, I can tell you!'

'What's  in  this  cart?'  asked  Anne,  coming  to  a  small  wagon  with  a  tightly-fitting  hood  of tarpaulin.

'Don't know,' said Nobby. That cart belongs to my uncle. He won't never let me unpack it. I don't know what he keeps there. I've wondered if it was things belonging to my Dad and Mum. I told you they were dead. Anyway, I thought I'd peep and see one day; but Uncle Dan caught me and half-killed me!'

'But if they belonged to your parents, they ought to be yours!' said George.

'Funny thing is, sometimes that cart's crammed full,' said Nobby. 'And sometimes it isn't. Maybe Lou puts some of his things there too.'

'Well, nobody could get anything else in there at the moment!' said Julian. 'It's full to bursting!'

They lost interest in the little wagon and wandered round to see the 'props' as Nobby called them.

Anne pictured these as clothes-props, but they turned out to be gilt chairs and tables, the shining poles  used  for  the  tight-rope,  gaily-painted  stools  for  the  performing  dogs  to  sit  on,  and  circus

'props' of that kind.

'Properties, Anne,' said Julian. 'Circus properties. Props for short. Look here, isn't it about time we went back? My watch has stopped. Whatever time is it?'

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'Golly,  it's  quite  late!'  said  Dick,  looking  at  his  watch.  'Seven  o'clock.  No  wonder  I  feel  jolly hungry. Time we went back. Coming with us, Nobby? You can have supper up there if you like.

I bet you could find your way back in the dark.'

'I'll take Pongo with  me, and Barker and  Growler,' said  Nobby, delighted at  the invitation.  'If  I lose the way back, they won't!'

So they all set off up the hill, tired with their long and exciting day. Anne began to plan what she would  give  the  little  company  for  supper.  Ham,  certainly  -  and  tomatoes  -  and  some  of  that raspberry syrup diluted with icy-cold spring-water.

They  all  heard  Timmy  barking  excitedly  as  soon  as  they  came  near  the  caravans.  He  barked without ceasing, loudly and determinedly.

'He sounds cross,' said Dick. 'Poor old Tim! He must think we've quite deserted him.'

They  came  to  the  caravans  and  Timmy  flung  himself  on  George  as  if  he  hadn't  seen  her  for  a year. He pawed her and licked her, then pawed her again.

Barker and Growler were pleased to see him too, and as for Pongo, he was delighted. He shook hands with Timmy's tail several times, and was disappointed that Timmy took no notice of him.

'Hallo! What's  Barker gnawing at?' suddenly said Dick. 'Raw meat! How did it come here? Do you suppose the farmer has been by and given Timmy some? Well, why didn't he eat it, then?'

They all looked at Barker, who was gnawing some meat on the ground. Growler ran to it too. But Timmy would not go near it. Nor would Pongo. Timmy put his tail down and Pongo hid his furry face behind his paws.

'Funny,' said the children, puzzled at the queer behaviour of the two animals. Then suddenly they understood  -  for  poor  Barker  suddenly  gave  a  terrible  whine,  shivered  from  head  to  foot,  and rolled over on his side.

'Jiminy  -  it's  poisoned!'  yelled  Nobby,  and  kicked  Growler  away  from  the  meat.  He  picked Barker up, and to the children's utter dismay they saw that Nobby was crying.

'He's done for,' said the boy, in a choking voice. 'Poor old Barker.'

Carrying Barker in his arms, with Growler and Pongo behind him, poor Nobby stumbled down the hill. No one liked to follow him. Poisoned meat! What a terrible thing.