The Secret Series - Complete Collection. Enid blyton
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supper here. It’s lovely!”
There was the sound of a boat being pulled a little way up the beach. Then the trippers got out.
“I’ll bring the gramophone,” said someone. “You bring the supper things, Eddie.”
“Do you suppose anyone has ever been on this little island before?” said a man’s voice.
“No!” said someone else. “The countryside round about is quite deserted - no one ever comes here, I should think.”
The three children crouched down in the bracken and listened. The trippers were setting out their supper. One of the hens in the cave began to cluck loudly. Nora thought it must have laid an egg.
“Do you hear that noise?” said one of the trippers. “Sounds like a hen to me!”
“Don’t be silly, Eddie,” said a woman’s voice scornfully. “How could a hen be on an island like this i That must have been a blackbird or something.”
Jack giggled. It seemed very funny to him that a hen’s cluck should be thought like a blackbird’s clear song.
"Pass the salt,” said someone. “Thanks. I say! Isn’t this a fine little island! Sort of secret and mysterious. What about exploring it after supper?”
“That’s a good idea,” said Eddie’s voice. “We will!”
The children looked at one another in dismay. Just the one thing they had hoped the trippers wouldn’t do!
“Where’s Mike, do you suppose?” said Peggy, in a low voice. “Do you think he’s hiding in our boat?”
“I expect so,” whispered Jack. “Don’t worry about him. He can look after himself all right.”
“Oh, my goodness! There’s Daisy beginning to moo!” groaned Peggy, as a dismal moo reached her ears. “She knows it is time she was milked.”
“And just wouldn’t I like a cup of milk!” said Jack, who was feeling very thirsty.
“Can you hear that cow mooing somewhere?” said one of the trippers, in surprise.
“I expect it’s a cow in a field on the mainland,” said another lazily. “You don’t suppose there is a cow wandering loose on this tiny island, do you, Eddie?”
“Well, I don’t know,” said Eddie, in a puzzled voice. “Look over there. Doesn’t that look like a footprint in the sand to you?”
The children held their breath. Could it be true that they had left a footprint on the sand?
“And see here,” went on the tripper, holding up something. “Here’s a piece of string I found on this beach. String doesn’t grow, you know.”
“You are making a great mystery about nothing,” said one of the women crossly.
“Other trippers have been here, that’s all.”
“Perhaps you are right,” said Eddie. “But all the same, I’m going to explore the island after supper!”
“Oh, put on the gramophone, Eddie.” said someone. “I’m tired of hearing you talk so much.”
Soon the gramophone blared through the air, and the children were glad, for they knew it would drown any sound of Daisy’s mooing or the hens’ clucking. They sat in the bracken, looking scared and miserable. They did not like anyone else sharing their secret island. And what would happen if the trippers did explore the island and found the children?
Nora began to cry softly. Tears ran down her cheeks and fell on her hands. Jack looked at her and then crept silently up. He slipped his arm round her.
“Don’t cry, Nora,” he said. “Perhaps they won’t have time to explore. It is getting a bit dark now. Do you see that big black cloud coming up? It will make the night come quickly, and perhaps the trippers will think there’s a storm coming and row off.”
Nora dried her eyes and looked up. There certainly was a big black cloud.
“It looks like a thunderstorm,” said Peggy, creeping up to join them.
“Oooh!” said Nora suddenly, almost squealing out loud. “Look! Someone’s coming up the hill! I can see the bracken moving! It must be one of the trippers creeping up to find us!”
The children went pale. They looked to where Nora pointed - and sure enough they could see first one frond of bracken moving, and then another and another. Someone was certainly creeping up the hill hidden under the fronds.
Nora clutched hold of Jack. “Don’t make a sound,” he whispered. “No one can possibly know we’re here. Keep quiet, Nora. We’ll slip inside the cave if he comes much nearer.”
They sat silently watching the swaying of the tall bracken as the newcomer crept through it. It was a horrid moment. Was someone going to spring out on them?
“Get inside the cave, you two girls,” whispered Jack. “I think you’ll be safe there.
I’m going to slip round the hill and come up behind this person, whoever he is.”
The girls crept just inside the cave and parted the bracken that grew around it to see what Jack was going to do. He was just slipping away when the person creeping up the hillside stopped his crawling. The bracken kept still. This was worse than seeing it move! Oh dear!
Then a head popped out of the bracken, and Nora gave a loud squeal.
“Mike!” she said. "Mike!”
“Sh, you silly chump!” hissed Peggy, shaking her. “You’ll be heard by the trippers!”
Fortunately the gramophone was going loudly, so Nora’s squeal was not heard. The three children stared in delight at Mike. It was he who had been creeping up through the bracken after all! What a relief! He grinned at them and put his head down again. Once more the bracken fronds began to move slightly as Mike made his way through them up to the cave.
“Oh, Mike,” said Nora, when he came up to them. “You did give us such a fright. We thought you were a tripper coming after us!”
“I got a good view of them,” said Mike, sitting down beside the others. “There are three men and two women. They are tucking into an enormous supper.”
“Do you think they’ll explore the island as they said?” asked Peggy anxiously.
“Perhaps this thunderstorm will put them off,” said Mike, looking up at the black sky. “My word, it’s brought the bats out early! Look at them!”
Certainly the little black bats were out in their hundreds. The hot, thundery evening had brought out thousands of insects, and the bats were having a great feast, catching the flies and beetles that flew through the air.
It was the bats that sent the trippers away. One of the women caught sight of two or three bats darting round under the trees, and she gave a shriek.
“Ooh! Bats! Ooh! I can’t bear bats! I’m frightened of them. Let’s pack up and go quickly!”
“I can’t bear bats either!” squealed the other woman. “Horrid little creatures!”
“They won’t hurt you,” said a man’s voice. “Don’t be silly.”
“I can’t help it; I’m frightened of them,” said a woman. “I’m going!”
“But I wanted to explore the island,” said Eddie.
“Well, you’ll have to explore it another day,” said the woman. “Just look at the sky, too - there’s going to be a dreadful storm.”
“All right, all right,” said Eddie, in a sulky voice. “We’ll go. Fancy being frightened of a few bats!”