Five Get Into a Fix (6 page)

Jones brought in at the end!

“My goodness - I forgot that an apple pie was coming,” said Anne, in dismay, as the old woman walked in with a tray on which was a big apple pie and a jug of cream.

“Mrs. Jones - when we were up at the hut, we saw such a funny little creature,” said Dick.

“She said her name was Aily and she had a lamb and a...”

“Oh, Aily! That mad little thing!” said Mrs. Jones, picking up the dirty plates. “She"s the shepherd"s daughter - a little truant she is, runs off from school, and hides away in the hil s with her dog and her lamb. She always has a lamb each year - it fol ows her about everywhere. They say there isn"t a rabbit hole or a blackberry bush or a bird"s nest that child doesn"t know!”

“She was singing when we first saw her,” said Julian. “Singing like a bird.”

“Ah, yes - it"s a lovely voice she has,” said Mrs. Jones. “She"s wild as a bird - there"s nothing to be done with her. If she"s scolded she goes off for weeks, no one knows where. Don"t you let her come round that hut now, when you"re there - she"l maybe steal from you!”

“Oh, yes - the hut! Have you spoken to Morgan about it?” said Dick, eagerly.

“Yes, I have indeed,” said Mrs. Jones. “And he says yes, to let you go. He doesn"t want trouble with the dogs either. He says snow is coming for sure, but you"l be safe up there and you can take al your toboggans for there"ll be a chance to use them! He"l help you up with your things.”

“Oh good! Thanks!” said Julian, and the others smiled and looked at one another joyful y.

“Thanks most awful y, Mrs. Jones. We"ll go tomorrow after breakfast!”

Tomorrow! After breakfast! Up to that lonely hut on the mountainside, just the Five of them together. What could be better than that?

Julian and Dick were so sleepy after their long day in the cold air, and their enormous meal, that they could not keep their eyes open for long.

“Go to bed, both of you!” said Anne, seeing them lying tired out in their chairs, when Mrs.

Jones had cleared away everything.

“Yes. I think we"d better,” said Julian, staggering up. “Oh, my legs! They"re as stiff as sticks!

Good night, you two girls, and Timmy. See you tomorrow - if we wake up!”

The two boys stumbled up the stone stairs to bed. George and Anne stayed downstairs, talking and reading. Timmy lay on the hearthrug, listening, his ears twitching towards Anne when she spoke, and then towards George as she answered. This little habit of his always made them laugh.

“It"s exactly as if he was listening, but too lazy to join in our conversation!” said Anne. “Oh, George - I really am glad you"re not going home tomorrow. It would be the first time you"d ever done a thing like that! I"d just have had to come with you!”

“Don"t let"s talk about it,” said George. “I feel rather ashamed of making such a fuss now.

Al the same I shall be terrified if I see any of those dogs again when I"m with Timmy. What a bit of luck the boys went up to that hut today, Anne - we"d never have known about it if they hadn"t.”

“Yes. It sounds fun,” said Anne. “Don"t let"s be too late to bed, George. It wil be quite a pul up the mountainside tomorrow, with all our things!”

George went to the window.

“It"s snowing hard,” she said. “Just as Morgan said it would. I don"t like him, do you?”

“Oh - I think he"s al right,” said Anne. “And what a voice he"s got! He nearly made me jump out of my skin when he cal ed his three dogs. He must have the loudest voice in the world!”

“Timmy - you"re yawning!” said George, as Timmy opened his mouth widely and made a yawning noise. “How"s your neck?”

Timmy was getting rather tired of having his neck examined. He lay stil while George had another look at it.

“Healing beautiful y!” she said. “You"l be quite all right tomorrow. Wil you like going off to that hut all by ourselves, Tim?”

Timmy gave her a loving lick and yawned again. Then he got up and trotted over to the door that led to the stone stairs, looking back enquiringly at George.

“Right. We"re coming,” said George, laughing, and she and Anne blew out the lamp on the table, and followed Timmy up the stairs. They peeped in at the boys" room - and saw Julian and Dick absolutely sound asleep, dead to the world!

“A thunderstorm wouldn"t wake them tonight!” said Anne. “Come on - let"s buck up and get into bed ourselves. We"ve a nice wood-fire again, and I shal undress in front of it.

Move over, Timmy, I want to stand on the rug.”

In the morning the world was very white indeed! As Morgan had prophesied, the snow had fal en thickly in the night, and everywhere was covered in a thick white blanket, that gleamed and sparkled in the weak January sun.

“This is something like!” said Dick, as he looked out of his bedroom window. “Get up, Ju -

it"s a marvel ous morning! Remember, we"ve got to take all our things up to that hut today! Do stir yourself!”

Mrs. Jones gave them a fine breakfast - eggs, bacon and sausages.

“It"s the last hot meal you"l have, if you"re going up to that hut,” she said. “Though you"l be able to cook eggs in the little saucepan up there, if you set it on top of the oil-stove.

And mind you don"t get playing about round that stove when it"s alight, or the whole place might go up in flames!”

“We"ll be very careful,” promised Julian. “I"l send anyone back if they upset the stove -

yes, I wil , so just look out, Timmy!”

“Woof!” said Tim, amiably. He was pleasantly excited with al the preparations for going, and ran sniffing from one parcel to another.

The children were not taking al their things, of course, but Mrs. Jones had made them pack a complete change of clothes each, besides their warmest night-clothes and dressing-gowns. They had torches too, and plenty of rope for hauling things up and down the hil s. And also they had six loaves of new-baked bread, a large cheese, about three dozen eggs and a ham. So they were truly well provided for.

“And there"s plenty of butter packed in with the loaves,” said Mrs. Jones, “and a large pot of cream. I"l try and send up some milk if the shepherd comes down. He"l pass the hut when he goes up again. There"s only a quart in that bottle there - but you"l find plenty of orangeade and lemonade in the hut - and you can boil snow if you want to make cocoa or tea!”

It was quite clear that Mrs. Jones had no idea how many times the Five had gone off on their own! They smiled and winked at one another, and took all her advice in good part.

She really was so kind, so very concerned about them all. She even packed some bones and dog biscuits for Timmy!

“Here"s my Morgan now,” said Mrs. Jones, when every single thing had been put in a pile outside the front door, toboggans and skis as well. “He"s brought his snow-slide with him, to take all your goods.”

The snow-slide was like a long, flat cart with runners instead of wheels - an elongated sleigh. The children piled on to it all the parcels, and two suit-cases. They were al going to walk up as the snow was not yet too thick. Timmy danced round in great excitement -

though both he and George kept a wary eye out for the other dogs, and Timmy did not venture very far from George.

The giantlike Morgan arrived, his breath puffing before him like a smoke-cloud! He nodded at the children.

“Morning,” he said, and that was all. He took hold of the ropes at the front of the snow-slide and ran them over his shoulders.

“I"l take one,” said Julian. “It"s much too heavy for one person to pul !”

“Ha!” said Morgan, scornful y, and walked off with the two ropes over his shoulder. The snow-slide fol owed easily.

“Strong as a horse, my Morgan is,” said old Mrs. Jones, proudly.

“Strong as ten horses!” said Julian, wishing he was as big and as strong as the broad-shouldered farmer.

George said nothing. She hadn"t yet forgiven the farmer for being scornful about Timmy"s bite the day before. She followed the others, carrying her skis, and waved to kind old Mrs.

Jones as she stood anxiously watching them leave.

It seemed a long trek up the mountainside, when things had to be pulled or carried!

Morgan went first, pul ing the big snow-slide easily. Julian went next, pul ing a toboggan and carrying his skis. Dick was next with another toboggan and skis, and the girls came last with their skis only. Timmy ran at the front or the back as he liked, enjoying everything.

Morgan said nothing at all. Julian addressed a few polite remarks to him, and received a grunt in reply, but that was all. He looked curinusly at the great, strong fel ow, wondering about him and his silence. He looked intelligent and even kindly - but he seemed so dour and rough in his manners and behaviour! Oh well - they would soon say good-bye to him and be on their own!

They came at last to the little hut. The girls ran ahead to it, exclaiming in delight. George looked through the windows.

“Oh - it"s a proper little house inside! Oh, look at those bunks on the walls! And there"s even a carpet on the floor! Quick, Julian, where"s the key?”

“Morgan"s got it,” said Julian, and they all stood by and waited while Morgan unlocked the door for them.

“Thanks so much for helping to bring up our things,” said Julian, politely. “Awfully good of you.”

Morgan grunted, but looked pleased.

“Shepherd comes by at times,” he said, in his great deep voice, and the Five felt quite surprised to hear him saying even a short sentence to them! “He"ll take messages for you if you so want.”

And with that he set off down the hil back to the farm, with enormous, swinging steps, like a giant from an old-time tale.

“He"s queer,” said Anne, looking after him. “I don"t know if I like him or not.”

“What does it matter?” said Dick. “Come on, Anne, old girl, give a hand. There"s plenty to do. What about you and George seeing what blankets and things are in those cupboards, and making up some beds for tonight.”

Anne loved that kind of thing, though George didn"t. She would much rather have carried in the things as the boys were doing. But she went to the cupboards with Anne, and examined al their contents with much interest.

“Plenty of rugs and blankets and pil ows,” said Anne. “And enough china and cutlery for half a dozen families too! I suppose old Mrs. Jones has dozens of people here in the summer! George, I"l put the food away, if you"l see to the beds.”

“Right,” said George, and went to make up four of the bunk-beds. There were six of these altogether, in rows of three - three on one wall, three on another, one above the other.

George was soon struggling with blankets and pillows, while Anne set out the food they had brought with them, arranging it neatly on the cupboard shelves. Then she went to look at the stove to see if it had oil in it, for it would be very cold that night.

“Yes, it"s full,” she said. “I"l light it tonight, because I expect we"ll be out as long as it"s daylight, won"t we, Dick?”

“Rather!” said Dick, unpacking some of the things out of his suit-case. “By the way, there"s a little wooden bunker outside, with a can of extra oil and an enamel jug. I suppose the jug"s for fetching water from some spring or other in the summer-time - but we can easily melt snow for water. Wil you two girls be long, Anne?”

“No. We"ve almost finished,” said Anne. “Do you want something to eat before we go?

Or shal we take some bread and ham with us, and have a good meal when we come back?”

“Oh, take some sandwiches,” said Julian. “I don"t want to stop for a meal. Besides, we can"t be hungry yet. Make sandwiches, Anne - and we"ll take some of those apples with us too!”

The sandwiches were quickly made, and the boys fil ed their pockets with apples. Timmy danced round in delight.

“You won"t be quite so pleased, Tim, when you find yourself in deep snow!” said Dick. “I wonder if he"ll like travelling down the hil on a toboggan, George!”

“Oh, he"ll love it!” said George. “Won"t you, Tim? Are we ready? Well, lock the door, Ju, and off we"ll go!”

The children did not bother about their skis that first day. For one thing the snow was not quite thick or smooth enough for ski ng, and for another thing they longed for the swift excitement of tobogganing. Dick took George on his toboggan and Julian took Anne on his. Timmy wouldn"t come on either of them.

“Race you to the bottom!” Julian shouted. “One, two, three, go!” And away they went, swishing over the clean white snow at top speed, shouting with laughter.

Julian won easily, because Dick"s toboggan caught on a root or small bush under the snow, which upset it very suddenly. Dick and George were flung headlong into the snow, and sat up, blinking, and spitting out the cold snow from their mouths.

Timmy was terribly excited. He came plunging down the hil side after the toboggans, annoyed at the way his legs went into the snow, barking madly. He was most astonished to see Dick and George fly into the air when their toboggan upset, and pranced round them, licking them and leaping on them in a most aggravating way.

“Oh, get away, Timmy!” said Dick, trying to get up, and being knocked down again by the excited dog. “Go and knock George over, not me! Cal him, George!”

Pulling the toboggans back up the hil was a tiring job - but the swift flight down over the snow was worth all the pul ings-up! The four children soon had glowing faces and tingling limbs, and wished they could throw off their coats and scarves!

“I can"t pul up our toboggan one more time!” said Anne, at last. “I real y can"t. You"l have to pul it up yourself, Julian, if you want to toboggan any more.”

“Well, I do want to - but my legs wil hardly walk up the hil now,” said Julian, panting.

“Hey, Dick - Anne and I have had enough. We"ll go up and eat our sandwiches at the top of the slope, where we can watch you.”

The other two soon joined them, and Timmy was glad to sit down too. His long pink tongue hung out of his mouth, and he puffed his white breath out like rol ing mist! At first he had been puzzled by what he thought was “smoke” coming out of his mouth so continual y, but now, seeing that everyone was apparently puffing it out too, he didn"t worry!