Five Go to Mystery Moor (3 page)

What"s the matter? Why have you been crying?"

„My father hit me," said the boy. „He cuffed me and knocked me right over."

„Whatever for?" asked Anne.

„Because I left the horse," said the boy. „My father said all it wanted was a bit of ointment and a bandage. He has to start off with the other caravans today, you see."

„Well, you real y can"t have the horse yet," said Anne. „It isn"t fit to walk, let alone drag a caravan. You don"t want Captain Johnson to tell the police you"re working it when it"s not fit, do you? You know he means what he says?"

„Yes. But I must have the horse," said the small gypsy. „I daren"t go back without it. My father would half kil me."

„I suppose he doesn"t care to come himself, so he sends you instead," said Dick, in disgust.

The boy said nothing, and rubbed his dirty sleeve across his face. He sniffed.

„Get your hanky," said Dick. „Don"t you ever wash your face?"

„No," said the boy, looking quite surprised. „Let me have my horse. I tell you, I"l be half kil ed if I go back without him." He began to cry again.

The children felt sorry for him. He was such a thin, skinny misery of a boy, and goodness, how he sniffled al the time!

„What"s your name?" asked Anne.

„Sniffer," said the boy. „That"s what my father cal s me."

It was certainly a good name for him; but what a horrid father he must have!

Haven"t you got a proper name?" asked Anne.

„Yes. But I"ve forgotten it," said Sniffer. „Let me have my horse. I tell you, my father"s waiting."

Julian got up. „I"l come and see your father and put some sense into him. Where is he?"

„Over yonder," said Sniffer with a big sniff, and he pointed over the hedge. „I"l come too,"

said Dick. In the end everyone got up and went with Sniffer. They walked through the gate and saw a dark-faced, surly-looking man standing motionless not far off. His thick, oily hair was curly, and he wore enormous gold rings hanging from his ears. He looked up as the little company came near.

„Your horse isn"t fit to walk yet," said Julian. „You can have it tomorrow or the next day, the Captain says."

„I"l have it now," said the man, in a surly tone. „We"re starting off tonight or tomorrow over the moor. I can"t wait."

„But what"s the hurry?" said Julian. „The moor wil wait for you!"

The man scowled and shifted from one foot to another. „Can"t you stay for another night or two and then go after the others?" said Dick.

„Listen, Father! You go with the other caravans," said Sniffer, eagerly. „Go in Moses"

caravan and leave ours here. I can put our horse into the shafts tomorrow, or maybe the next day, and follow after!"

„But how would you know the way?" said George.

Sniffer made a scornful movement with his hand. „Easy! They"l leave me patrins to follow,"

he said.

„Oh yes," said Dick, remembering. He turned to the silent gypsy fel ow. „Well, what about it? It seems that Sniffer here has quite a good idea, and you most certainly can"t have the horse today anyway."

The man turned and said something angry and scornful to poor Sniffer, who shrank away from the words as if they were blows. The four children couldn"t understand a word, for it was all poured out in some gypsy talk that they could not follow. Then the man turned on his heel and without so much as a look at them, slouched away, his ear-rings gleaming as he went.

„What did he say?" asked Julian.

Sniffer gave one of his continual sniffs. „He was very angry. He said he"d go with the others, and I could come on with Clip the horse, and drive our caravan," he said. „I"l be all right there tonight with Liz."

„Who"s Liz?" asked Anne, hoping that it was someone who would be kind to this poor little wretch.

„My dog," said Sniffer, smiling for the first time. „I left her behind because she sometimes goes for hens, and Captain Johnson, he doesn"t like that."

„I bet he doesn"t," said Julian. „Al right, that"s settled then. You can come for Clip, or Clop, or whatever your horse is cal ed, tomorrow, and we"ll see if it"s fit to walk."

„I"m glad," said Sniffer, rubbing his nose. „I don"t want Clip to go lame, see? But my father, he"s fierce, he is."

„So we gather," said Julian, looking at a bruise on Sniffer"s face. „You come tomorrow and you can show us some of the patrins, the messages, that you gypsies use. We"d like to know some."

„I"l come," promised Sniffer, nodding his head vigorously. „And you wil come to see my caravan? I shall be all alone there, except for Liz."

„Well, I suppose it would be something to do," said Dick. „Yes, we"ll come. I hope it"s not too smelly."

„Smelly?" said Sniffer, surprised. „I don"t know. I wil show you patrins there and Liz wil show you her tricks. She is very very clever. Once she belonged to a circus."

„We must certainly take Timmy to see this clever dog," said Anne, patting Timmy, who had been hunting for rabbits and had only just come back. „Timmy, would you like to go and visit a very clever dog cal ed Liz?"

„Woof," said Timmy, wagging his tail politely.

„Right," said Dick. „I"m glad you approve, Tim. We"ll all try and come tomorrow, Sniffer, after you"ve been to see how Clip is getting on. I don"t somehow think you"l be able to have him then, though. We"ll see!"

The boys slept in one of the stables that night. Captain Johnson said they could either have mattresses sent out, or could sleep in the straw, with rugs.

„Oh, straw and rugs, please," said Julian. „That"s fine. We"ll be as snug as anything with those."

„I wish Anne and I could sleep in a stable too," said George, longingly. „We never have.

Can"t we, Captain Johnson?"

„No. You"ve got beds that you"re paying for," said the Captain. „Anyway, girls can"t do that sort of thing, not even girls who try to be boys, George!"

„I"ve often slept in a stable," said Henrietta. „At home when we"ve too many visitors, I always turn out and sleep in the straw."

„Bad luck on the horses!" said George.

„Why?" demanded Henry at once.

„Because you must keep them awake all night with your snoring!" said George.

Henry snorted crossly and went out. It was maddening that she should snore at night, but she simply couldn"t help it.

„Never mind!" George cal ed after her. „It"s a nice manly snore, Henrietta!"

„Shut up, George," said Dick, rather shocked at this sudden display of pettiness on George"s part.

„Don"t tell me to shut up," said George. „Tell Henrietta!"

„George, don"t be an ass," said Julian. But George didn"t like that either, and stalked out of the room in just the same stiff, offended way that Henry had done!

„Oh dear!" said Anne. „It"s been like this al the time. First Henry, then George, then George, then Henry! They real y are a couple of idiots!"

She went to see where the boys were to sleep. They had been told to use a smal stable, empty except for the gypsy"s horse that lay patiently down, its bandaged leg stretched out on the floor. Anne patted it and stroked it. It was an ugly little thing but its patient brown eyes were lovely.

The boys had heaps of straw to burrow into, and some old rugs. Anne thought it all looked lovely. „You can wash and everything at the house," she said. „Then just slip over here to sleep. Doesn"t it smell nice? Al straw and hay and horse! I hope that gypsy"s horse won"t disturb you. He may be a bit restless if his leg hurts him."

„Nothing wil disturb us tonight!" said Julian. „What with camp-life and open-air and wind-on-the-hil s and al that kind of thing, we"re sure to sleep like logs. I think we"re going to enjoy it here, Anne, very quiet and peaceful!"

George looked in at the door. „I"l lend you Timmy, if you like," she said, anxious to make up for her display of temper.

„Oh, hallo, George! No thanks. I don"t particularly want old Tim climbing over me all night long, trying to find the softest part of me to sleep on!" said Julian. „I say, look, he"s showing me how to make a good old burrow to sleep in! Hey, Tim, come out of my straw!"

Timmy had flung himself into the straw and was turning vigorously round and round in it as if he were making a bed for himself. He stood and looked up at them, his mouth open and his tongue hanging out at one side.

„He"s laughing," said Anne, and it did indeed look as if Timmy was having a good old laugh at them. Anne gave him a hug and he licked her lavishly, and then began to burrow round and round in the straw again.

Someone came up, whistling loudly, and put her head in at the door. „I"ve brought you a couple of old pillows. Mrs Johnson said you"d better have something for your heads."

„Oh thanks awful y, Henry," said Julian, taking them.

„How kind of you, Henrietta," said George.

„It"s a pleasure, Georgina," said Henry, and the boys burst out laughing. Fortunately the supper-bel went just then and they all went across the yard at once. Somehow everyone was always hungry at the stables!

The girls looked very different in the evening, because they had to change out of their dirty, smel y jodhpurs or breeches and put on dresses. Anne, Henry and George hurried to change before Mrs Johnson rang the supperbel again. She always gave them ten minutes" grace, knowing that they might sometimes have a job to finish with the horses, but everyone was supposed to be at the table when the second supper-bel had finished ringing.

George looked nice, because her curly hair went with a skirt and blouse quite wel , but Henry looked quite wrong, somehow, in her fril y dress.

„You look like a boy dressed up!" said Anne, and this pleased Henry, but not George. The talk at the suppertable was mainly about al the wonderful things that Henry had done in her life. Apparently she had three brothers and did everything with them, and according to her own tales, she was considerably better than they were!

They had sailed a ship up to Norway. They had hiked from London to York.

„Was Dick Turpin with you?" inquired George, sarcastical y. „On his horse, Black Bess? I expect you got there long before him, didn"t you?"

Henry took no notice. She went on with wonderful tales of her family"s exploits, swimming across wide rivers, climbing Snowdon to the top, goodness, there wasn"t a single thing she didn"t seem to have done!

„You certainly ought to have been a boy, Henry," said Mrs Johnson, which was exactly what Henry wanted everyone to say!

„Henry, when you"ve told us the story of how you climbed Mount Everest and got there before anyone else, perhaps you would finish your plateful," said Captain Johnson, who got very tired of Henry"s tongue.

George roared with laughter, not that she thought it was very funny, but because she loved any chance to laugh at Henry. Henry tackled the rest of her food at top speed.

How she did love to hold everyone spel bound with her extraordinary tales! George didn"t believe a word, but Dick and Julian thought it quite likely that this tal , wiry girl could do things just as well as her brothers.

There were a few jobs to be done after supper, and Henry kept well away from George, knowing quite wel that she would have a few cutting things to say. Well, she didn"t care!

Everyone else thought she was marvel ous! She tore off her fril y dress and put on jodhpurs again, although it would only be a short time before they all went to bed.

George and Anne went with the boys to their stable. They were in pyjamas and dressing-gowns, both yawning as they went. „Got your torches?" said George. „We"re not allowed to have candles in the stables, because of the straw, you know. Good night! Sleep well!

And I hope that that fathead of a Henry doesn"t come along early in the morning, whistling like a paper-boy, and wake you up!"

„Nothing wil wake me up tonight, nothing at all!" said Julian, with a huge yawn. He lay down in the straw and pul ed an old rug over him. „Oh, what a bed! Give me stable straw every time to sleep in!"

The girls laughed. The boys really did look very comfortable. „Sleep tight," said Anne, and walked off with George to the house.

Soon all the lights were out everywhere. Henry was asleep and snoring as usual. She had to have a separate room, otherwise she kept everyone awake! But even so, Anne and George could hear her, snoring away - rrrumph - rrrumph! rrrumph - RRRRUMPH!

„Blow Henrietta!" said George, sleepily. „What a row she makes. Anne, she"s not to come with us when we go riding tomorrow. Do you hear, Anne?"

„Not very well," murmured Anne, trying to open her eyes. „G" night, George!"

Timmy was on George"s feet as usual. He lay snuggled there, eyes shut and ears asleep too. He got as tired as everyone else, running over the hil s all day, scrabbling at scores of rabbit-holes, chasing dozens of remarkably fleet-footed rabbits. But at night he too slept like a log.

Out in the stable the two boys slept peaceful y, covered by the old rug. Nearby the little skewbald horse moved restlessly, but they heard nothing. An owl came swooping over the stable, looking for mice down below. It screeched loudly, hoping to scare a mouse into sudden flight. Then it would swoop down and take it into its talons.

Not even the screech awakened the boys. They slept dreamlessly, tired out.

The door of the stable was shut and latched. Clip, the horse, suddenly stirred and looked round at the door. The latch was moving! Someone was lifting it from the outside. Clip"s pricked ears heard the sound of a little shuffle.

He watched the door. Who was coming? He hoped it was Sniffer, the boy he liked so much. Sniffer was always kind to him. He didn"t like being away from Sniffer. He listened for the sniff-sniff that always went with the little gypsy boy, but he didn"t hear it.

The door opened very slowly indeed. It gave no creak. Clip saw the night sky outside, set with stars. He made out a figure outlined against the darkness of the starry night, a black shadow.

Someone came into the stable, and whispered „Clip!"

The horse gave a little whinny. It wasn"t Sniffer"s voice. It was his father"s. Clip did not like him, he was too free with cuffs and kicks, and slashes with the whip. He lay stil , wondering why the gypsy had come.