Five Go Off In A Caravan Chapter Twenty-Three GOOD-BYE, NOBBY - GOOD-BYE, CARAVANNERS!（在线收听）

Chapter Twenty-Three GOOD-BYE, NOBBY - GOOD-BYE, CARAVANNERS!

Before they had finished their breakfast the Inspector came roaring up the track in his powerful police car. There was one sharp-eyed policeman with him to take down notes.

'Hallo,  hallo!'  said  the  Inspector,  eyeing  the  good  things  set  out  on  the  ledge.  'You  seem  to  do yourselves well, I must say!'

'Have some new bread and honey?' said Anne in her best manner. 'Do! There's plenty!'

'Thanks,'  said  the  Inspector,  and  sat  down  with  the  children.  The  other  policeman  wandered round the caravans, examining everything. The Inspector munched away at honey and bread, and the children talked to him, telling him all about their extraordinary adventure.

'It  must  have  been  a  most  unpleasant  shock  for  those  two  fellows  when  they  found  that  your caravan was immediately over the entrance to the place where they hid their stolen goods,' said the Inspector. 'Most unpleasant.'

'Have you examined the goods?' asked Dick eagerly. 'Are they very valuable?'

'Priceless,' answered the Inspector, taking another bit of bread and dabbing it thickly with honey.

'Quite priceless. Those rogues  apparently stole  goods  they knew to  be of great  value, hid  them here for a year or two till the hue and cry had died down, then got them out and quietly disposed of them to friends in Holland and Belgium.'

'Tiger Dan used to act in circuses in Holland,' said Nobby. 'He often told me about them. He had friends all over Europe - people in the circus line, you know.'

'Yes. It was  easy for him to dispose of his goods abroad,' said the  Inspector. 'He planned to go across  to  Holland  today,  you  know  -  got  everything  ready  with  Lou  -  or,  to  give  him  the  right name, Lewis Allburg - and was going to sell most of those things. You just saved them in time!'

'What a bit of luck!' said George. They almost got away with it. If Dick hadn't managed to slip out when Pongo was attacking them, we'd still have been prisoners down in the hill, and Lou and Dan would have been half-way to Holland!'

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'Smart bit of work you children did,' said the Inspector approvingly, and looked longingly at the honey-pot. That's fine honey, I must buy some from Mrs Mackie.'

'Have some more,' said Anne, remembering her manners. 'Do. We've got another loaf.'

'Well,  I  will,'  said  the  Inspector,  and  took  another  slice  of  bread,  spreading  it  with  the  yellow honey. It looked as if there wouldn't even be enough left for Pongo to lick out! Anne thought it was nice to see a grown-up enjoying bread and honey as much as children did.

'You  know,  that  fellow  Lou  did  some  very  remarkable  burglaries,'  said  the  Inspector.  'Once  he got across from the third floor of one house to the third floor of another across the street  - and nobody knows how!'

'That would be easy for Lou,' said Nobby, suddenly losing his fear of the big Inspector. 'He'd just throw a wire rope across, lasso something with the end of it, top of a gutter-pipe, perhaps, draw tight, and walk across! He's wonderful on the tight-rope. There ain't nothing he can't do on the tight-rope.'

'Yes - that's probably what he did,' said the Inspector. 'Never thought of that! No, thanks, I really won't  have any more honey. That  chimpanzee will  eat  me if I don't  leave some for him to  lick out!'

Pongo  took  away  the  jar,  sat  himself  down  behind  one  of  the  caravans,  and  put  a  large  pink tongue  into  the  remains  of  the  honey.  When  Timmy  came  running  up  to  see  what  he  had  got, Pongo held the jar high above his head and chattered at him.

'Yarra-yarra-yarra-yarra!' he said. Timmy looked rather surprised and went back to George. She was  listening  with  great  interest  to  what  the  Inspector  had  to  tell  them  about  the  underground caves.

They're very old,' he said. The entrance to them used to be some way down the hill, but there was a  landslide  and  it  was  blocked  up.  Nobody  bothered  to  unblock  it  because  the  caves  were  not particularly interesting.'

'Oh, but they are,' said Anne, 'especially the one with the gleaming walls.'

'Well,  I  imagine  that  quite  by  accident  one  day  Dan  and  Lou  found  another  way  in,'  said  the Inspector. The way you know - a hole going down into the hill. They must have thought what a fine  hiding-place  it  would  make  for  any  stolen  goods  -  perfectly  safe,  perfectly  dry,  and  quite near the camping-place here each year. What could be better?'

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'And I suppose they would have gone on burgling for years and hiding the stuff if we hadn't just happened to put our caravan over the very spot!' said Julian. 'What a bit of bad luck for them!'

'And what  a bit of  good luck for us!' said  the  Inspector.  'We did  suspect  those two,  you know, and once or twice we raided the circus to try and find the goods - but they must always have got warning of our coming and got them away in time - up here!'

'Have you been down to the camp, mister?' asked Nobby suddenly.

The  Inspector  nodded.  'Oh,  yes.  We've  been  down  already  this  morning  -  seen  everyone  and questioned them. We created quite a stir.'

Nobby looked gloomy.

'What's the matter, Nobby?' said Anne.

'I  shan't  half  cop  it  when  I  get  back  to  the  camp,'  said  Nobby.  They'll  say  it's  all  my  fault  the coppers  going  there.  We  don't  like  the  bobbies  round  the  camp.  I  shall  get  into  a  whole  lot  of trouble when I go back. I don't want to go back.'

Nobody said anything. They all wondered what would happen to poor Nobby now his Uncle Dan was in prison.

Then Anne asked him: 'Who will you live with now in the camp. Nobby?'

'Oh,  somebody  will  take  me  in  and  work  me  hard,'  said  Nobby.  'I  wouldn't  mind  if  I  could  be with the horses - but Rossy won't let me.  I know that. If I could be with  horses  I'd be happy. I love them and they understand me all right.'

'How old are you, Nobby?' asked the Inspector, joining in the talk. 'Oughtn't you to be going to school?'

'Never been in my life, mister,' said Nobby. 'I'm just over fourteen, so  I reckon  I never will go now!'

He  grinned.  He  didn't  look  fourteen.  He  seemed  more  like  twelve  by  his  size.  Then  he  looked solemn again.

'Reckon I won't go down to the camp today,' he said. 'I'll be proper set on by them all - about you going  there  and  snooping  round  like.  And  Mr  Gorgio,  he  won't  like  losing  his  best  clown  and best acrobat!'

'You can stay with us as long as you like,' said Julian. 'We'll be here a bit longer, anyway.'

But he was wrong. Just after the Inspector had left, taking his policeman with him, Mrs Mackie came hurrying up to them with a little orange envelope in her hand.

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'The  telegraph  boy's  just  been  up,'  she  said.  'He  was  looking  for  you.  He  left  this  telegram  for you. I hope it's not bad news.'

Julian tore the envelope open and read the telegram out loud.

'AMAZED TO GET YOUR LETTER ABOUT THE EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENINGS YOU

DESCRIBE. THEY SOUND DANGEROUS. COME HOME AT ONCE. DADDY.'

'Oh dear,' said Anne. 'Now we shall have to leave. What a pity!'

'I'd better go down to the town and telephone Daddy and tell him we're all right,' said Julian.

'You can 'phone from my house,' said Mrs Mackie, so Julian thought he would. They talked as they went along and suddenly a bright idea struck Julian.

'I say - I suppose Farmer Mackie doesn't want anyone to help him with his horses, does he?' he asked. 'He wouldn't want a boy who really loves and understands them and would work hard and well?'

'Well, now, I dare say he would,' said Mrs Mackie. 'He's a bit short-handed now. He was saying the other day he could do with a good lad, just leaving school.'

'Oh,  do  you  think  he'd  try  our  friend  Nobby  from  the  circus  camp?'  said  Julian.  'He's  mad  on horses. He can do anything with them. And he's been used to working very hard. I'm sure he'd do well.'

Before Julian had left the farmhouse after telephoning to his amazed parents, he had had a long talk with Farmer Mackie - and now he was running back with the good news to the caravans.

'Nobby!'  he  shouted  as  he  got  near.  'Nobby!  How  would  you  like  to  go  and  work  for  Farmer Mackie  and  help  with  the  horses?  He  says  you  can  start  tomorrow  if  you  like  -  and  live  at  the farm!'

'Jumping  Jiminy!'  said  Nobby,  looking  startled  and  disbelieving.  'At  the  farm?  Work  with  the horses? Coo - I wouldn't half like that. But Farmer Mackie wouldn't have the likes of me.'

'He will. He says he'll try you,' said Julian. 'We've got to start back home tomorrow, and you can be with us till then. You don't need to go back to the camp at all.'

'Well  -  but  what  about  Growler?'  said  Nobby.  'I'd  have  to  have  him  with  me.  He's  my  dog.  I expect poor old Barker's dead. Would the farmer mind me having a dog?'

'I shouldn't think so,' said Julian. 'Well, you'll have to go down to the camp, I suppose, to collect your few things - and to get Growler. Better go now, Nobby, and then you'll have the rest of the day with us.'

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Nobby went off, his face shining with delight. 'Well, I never!' he kept saying to himself. 'Well, I never did! Dan and  Lou gone, so  they'll never hurt me again  -  and me not  going to  live in  the camp any more - and going to have charge of them fine farm horses. Well, I never!'

The children had said good-bye to Pongo because he had to go back with Nobby to the camp. He belonged  to  Mr  Gorgio,  and  Nobby  could  not  possibly  keep  him.  Anyway,  it  was  certain  that even if he could have kept him, Mrs Mackie wouldn't have let him live at the farm.

Pongo shook hands gravely with each one of them, even with Timmy. He seemed to know it was good-bye.  The  children  were  really  sorry  to  see  the  comical  chimpanzee  go.  He  had  shared  in their adventure with them and seemed much more like a human being than an animal.

When he had gone down the hill a little way he ran back to Anne. He put his arms round her and gave her a gentle squeeze, as if to say: 'You're all nice, the lot of you, but little Anne's the nicest!'

'Oh, Pongo, you're really a dear!' said Anne, and gave him a tomato. He ran off with it, leaping high for joy.

The  children  cleared  up  everything,  put  the  breakfast  things  away,  and  cleaned  the  caravans, ready for starting off the next day. At dinner-time they looked out for Nobby. Surely he should be back soon?

They heard him whistling as he came up the track. He carried a bundle on his back. Round his feet ran two dogs. Two!

'Why - one of them is Barker!' shouted George in delight. 'He must have got better! How simply marvellous!'

Nobby came up, grinning. They all crowded round him, asking about Barker.

'Yes, it's fine, isn't it?' said Nobby, putting down his bundle of belongings. 'Lucilla dosed him all right. He almost died - then he started to wriggle a bit, she said, and the next she knew he was as lively as could be - bit weak on his legs at first - but he's fine this morning.'

Certainly there didn't seem anything wrong with Barker. He and Growler sniffed round Timmy, their tails wagging fast. Timmy stood towering above them, but his tail wagged, too, so Barker and Growler knew he was friendly.

'I was lucky,' said Nobby. 'I only spoke to Lucilla and Larry. Mr Gorgio has gone off to answer some questions at the police station, and so have some of the others. So I just told Larry to tell Mr Gorgio I was leaving, and I got my things and hopped it.'

'Well, now we can really enjoy our last day,' said Julian. 'Everybody's happy!'

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And  they  did  enjoy  that  last  day.  They  went  down  to  the  lake  and  bathed.  They  had  a  fine farmhouse  tea  at  Mrs  Mackie's,  by  special  invitation.  They  had  a  picnic  supper  on  the  rocky ledge, with the three dogs rolling over and over in play. Nobby felt sad to think he would so soon say good-bye to his 'posh' friends - but he couldn't help feeling proud and pleased to have a fine job of his own on the farm - with the horses he loved so much.

Nobby, Barker, Growler, Farmer Mackie and his wife all stood on the cart-track to wave goodbye to the two caravans the next morning.

'Good-bye!' yelled Nobby. 'Good luck! See you again some time!'

'Good-bye!' shouted the others. 'Give our love to Pongo when you see him.'

'Woof!  woof!'  barked  Timmy,  but  only  Barker  and  Growler  knew  what  that  meant.  It  meant,

'Shake paws with Pongo for me!'

Good-bye, five caravanners . . . till your next exciting adventure!

THE END