Five On Kirrin Island Again Chapter Two BACK AT KIRRIN COTTAGE（在线收听）

Chapter Two BACK AT KIRRIN COTTAGE

JULIAN, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy went straightaway to have buns and ginger-beer at the station tearoom. It was good to be all together again. Timmy went nearly mad with joy at seeing the two boys. He kept trying to get on to their knees.

'Look here, Timmy, old  thing,  I love  you very much, and  I'm  jolly  glad to  see  you,' said  Dick,

'but  that's  twice  you've  upset  my  ginger-beer  all  over  me.  Has  he  behaved  himself  this  term, George?'

'Fairly well,' said George, considering. 'Hasn't he, Anne? I mean - he only got the joint out of the larder once - and he didn't do so much harm to that cushion he chewed - and if people will leave their  galoshes  all  over  the  place,  nobody  can  blame  Timmy  for  having  a  good  old  game  with them.'

'And that was the end of the galoshes, I suppose,' said Julian, with a grin. 'On the whole, Timmy, you have a rather poor  report.  I'm  afraid  our Uncle Quentin will not  award  you the usual  half-crown we get for good reports.'

At the mention of her father, George scowled.

'I see George has not lost her pretty scowl,' said Dick, in a teasing voice, 'Dear old George! We shouldn't know her unless she put on that fearsome scowl half a dozen times a day!'

6

'Oh, she's better than she was,' said Anne, hurrying to George's defense at once.

George was not so touchy as she had once been, when she was being teased. All the same, Anne knew  that  there  might  be  sparks  flying  over  her  father  taking  Kirrin  Island  these  holidays,  and she didn't want George to fly into a temper too soon!

Julian  looked  at  his  cousin.  'I  say,  old  thing,  you're  not  going  to  take  this  business  of  Kirrin Island  too  much  to  heart,  are  you?'  he  said.  'You've  just  got  to  realize  that  your  father's  a remarkably  clever  man,  one  of  the  finest  scientists  we've  got  -  and  I  think  that  those  kind  of fellows  ought  to  be  allowed  as  much  freedom  as  they  like,  for  their  work.  I  mean  -  if  Uncle Quentin wants to work on Kirrin Island for some peculiar reason of his own, then you ought to be pleased to say "Go ahead,' Father!"

George  looked  a  little  mutinous  after  this  rather  long  speech;  but  she  thought  a  great  deal  of Julian,  and  usually  went  by  what  he  said.  He  was  older  than  any  of  them,  a  tall,  good  looking boy,  with  determined  eyes  and  a  strong  chin.  George  scratched  Timmy's  head,  and  spoke  in  a low voice. 'All right. I won't go up in smoke about it, Julian. But I'm frightfully disappointed. I'd planned to go to Kirrin Island ourselves these holls.'

'Well,  we're  all  disappointed,'  said  Julian.  'Buck-up  with  your  bun,  old  thing.  We've  got  to  get across London and catch the train for Kirrin. We shall miss it if we don't look out.'

Soon they  were in  the train  for Kirrin.  Julian was  very  good at  getting porters and taxis.  Anne gazed admiringly at her big brother as he found them all corner-seat a carriage. Julian did know how to tackle things!

Do you think I've grown, Julian?' she asked him. 'I hope I'd be as tall as George by the end of this term too!'

Well  -  I should think  you might  be  a quarter of  an inch more than last  term,' said  Julian.  'You can't catch us up - you'll always be the smallest! But I like you small.'

'Look  at  Timmy,  putting  his  head  out  of  the  window  usual!'  said  Dick.  'Timmy,  you'll  get  a smoke-grit in your eye. Then George will go quite mad with grief and think you're going blind!'

Woof,' said Timmy, and wagged his tail. That was the nice part about Timmy. He always knew when he was being spoken to, even if his name was not mentioned he answered at once.

Aunt Fanny was at the station to meet them in the trap. The children flung themselves on her, for they were very fond of her. She was kind and gentle, and did best to keep her clever, impatient husband from find too much fault with the children.

7

'How is Uncle Quentin?' asked Julian, politely, when they were setting off in the trap.

'He's very well,' said his aunt. 'And terribly excited really, I've never known him to be so thrilled as he has been lately. His work has been coming along very successfully.'

'I suppose you don't know what's his latest experiment?' said Dick.

'Oh no! He never tells me a word,' said Aunt Fanny 'He never tells anyone except his colleagues, of course. I do know it's important and I know, of course that the last step the experiment has to be  made  in  air  with  water  all  around.  Don't  ask  me  'Look!  There's  Kirrin  Island!'  They  had rounded  a  corner,  and  had  come  in.  Guarding  the  entrance  of  it  was  the  curious  little  island topped by the old ruined castle. The sun shone down on the blue sea, and the island looked most enchanting.

George looked earnestly at it. She was looking for the building, whatever it was, that her father said he needed for his work. Everyone looked at the island, seeking the same thing. They saw it easily  enough!  Rising  from  castle,  probably  from  the  castle  yard,  was  a  tall,  thin  tower,  rather like a lighthouse. At the top was a glass-enclosed room, which glittered in the sun.

"Oh Mother!" I don't like it! It spoils Kirrin Island,' said George, in dismay.

'Darling, it can come down when your father has finished his work,' said her mother. 'It's a very flimsy, temporary thing. It can easily be pulled down. Father promised me he would scrap it  as soon  as  his  work was  done. He says  you  can  go  across  and see it, if  you  like.  It's really  rather interesting.'

'Ooooh  -  I'd  love  to  go  and  see  it,'  said  Anne,  at  once.  'It  looks  so  queer.  Is  Uncle  Quentin  all alone on Kirrin Island, Aunt Fanny?'

'Yes.  I  don't  like  him  to  be  alone,'  said  her  aunt.  'For  -  one  thing  I  am  sure  he  doesn't  get  his meals  properly,  and  for  another,  I'm  always  afraid  some  harm  might  come  to  him  when  he's experimenting - and if he's alone, how would I know if anything happened to him?'

'Well, Aunt Fanny,  you could always arrange for him to signal to  you each morning and night, couldn't  you?'  said  Julian,  sensibly.  'He  could  use  that  tower  easily.  He  could  flash  a  signal  to you  in  the  morning,  using  a  mirror,  you  know  --  heliographing  that  he  was  all  right  --  and  at night he could signal with a lamp. Easy!'

'Yes. I did suggest that sort of thing,' said his aunt. 'I said I'd go over with you all tomorrow, to see him and perhaps, Julian dear, you could arrange something of the sort with your uncle? He seems to listen to you now.'

8

'Gracious! Do you mean to say Father wants us to invade his secret lair, and actually to see his strange  tower?'  asked  George,  surprised.  'Well  --  'I  don't  think  I  want  to  go.  After  all,  it's  my island and it's horrid to see someone else taking possession of it.'

'Oh, George, don't begin all that again,' said Anne, with a sigh. 'You and your island! Can't you even  lend  it  to  your  own  father!  Aunt  Fanny,  you  should  have  seen  George  when  your  letter came. She looked so fierce that I was quite scared!'

Everyone laughed except George and Aunt Fanny. She looked distressed. George was always so difficult!  She  found  fault  with  her  father,  and  got  up  against  him  time  after  time  but  dear  me, how very, very like him she was, with her scowls, her sudden temper, and her fierceness! If only George was as sweet-tempered and as easy going as these three cousins of hers!

George looked at her mother's troubled face, and felt ashamed of herself. She put her hand on her knee, and said - 'It's all right, Mother! I won't make a fuss. I'll try and keep my feelings to myself, really I will. I know. Father's work is important. I'll go with you to the island tomorrow.'

Julian gave George a gentle clap on the back. 'Good old George! She's actually learned, not only to give in, but to give in gracefully! George, you're more like a boy than ever when you act like that.'

George glowed. She liked Julian to say she was like a boy. She didn't want to be petty and catty and bear malice as so many girls did. But Anne looked a little indignant.

'It isn't only boys that can learn to give in decently, and things like that,' she said. Heaps of girls do. Well, I jolly well hope I do myself!'

'My goodness, here's another fire-brand!' said Aunt Fanny, smiling. 'Stop arguing now, all of you

-  here's  Kirrin  Cottage.  Doesn't  it  look  sweet  with  all  the  primroses  in  the  garden,  and  the wallflowers coming out, and daffodils peeping everywhere?'

It certainly did. The four children and Timmy tore in the front gate, delighted to be back. They clattered  into  the  house,  and,  to  their  great  delight,  found  Joanna,  the  old  cook  there.  She  had come  back  to  help  for  the  holidays.  She  beamed  at  the  children,  and  fondled  Timmy  when  he leapt round her, barking.

'Well, there now! Haven't you all grown again? How big you are, Master Julian taller than I am, I declare. And little Miss Anne, why, she's getting quite big.'

That pleased Anne, of course. Julian went back to the front door to help his aunt with the small bags in the trap. The trunks were coming later. Julian and Dick took everything upstairs.

9

Anne  joined  them,  eager  to  see  her  old  bedroom  again.  Oh,  how  good  it  was  to  be  in  Kirrin Cottage once more! She looked out of her windows. One looked on to the moor at the back. The other looked sideways on to the sea. Lovely! Lovely! She began to sing a little song as she undid her bag.

'You know,' she said to Dick, when he brought George's bag in, 'you know, Dick, I'm really quite pleased  that  Uncle  Quentin  has  gone  to  Kirrin  Island,  even  if  it  means  we  won't  be  able  to  go there much! I feel much freer in the house when he's away. He's a very clever man and he can be awfully nice but I always feel a bit afraid of him.'

Dick laughed. 'I'm not afraid of him - but he's a bit of a wet blanket in a house, I must say, when we're here for the holidays. Funny to think of him on Kirrin Island all alone.'

A voice came up the stairs. 'Come down to tea, children, because there are hot scones for  you, just out of the oven.'

'Coming, Aunt Fanny!' called Dick. 'Hurry, Anne. I'm awfully hungry. Julian, did you hear Aunt Fanny calling?'

George came up the stairs to fetch Anne. She was pleased to be home, and as for Timmy, he was engaged in going round every single corner of the house, sniffing vigorously.

'He always  does  that!' said  George. 'As if he  thought  that there might  be a chair or a table that didn't smell the same as it always did. Come on, Tim. Tea-time!'

'Mother, as Father isn't here, can Timmy sit beside me on the floor? He's awfully well-behaved now,' asked George to her mother.

'Very well,' said her mother, and tea began.

What a tea! It looked as if it was a spread for a party of twenty. Good old Joanna! She must have baked all day. Well, there wouldn't be much left when the Five had finished!