Five Go to Mystery Moor (6 page)

„Well," said Sniffer, looking away from her, „we make pegs, and baskets, and..."

„I know that! Al gypsies make things to sel ," said George. „But you don"t need to go into the middle of a deserted moor to make them. You can do them just as well in a vil age, or sitting in a field near a farmhouse. Why go to such a lonely place as the moor?"

Sniffer said nothing, but bent over a queer little arrangement of sticks set on the path beside his caravan. George saw them and bent over them too, her question forgotten.

„Oh! Is that a patrin? A gypsy message! What does it mean?"

There were two sticks, one long and one short, neatly arranged in the shape of a cross. A little farther up on the path were a few single, straight sticks, all pointing in the same direction.

„Yes," said Sniffer, very glad to have the subject changed. „It"s our way of telling things to those who may come after us. See the sticks in the shape of the cross? That"s a patrin that says we"ve been along this way and we"re going in the direction that the long stick points."

„I see," said George. „How simple! But what about these four straight sticks, all pointing the same way too. What do they mean?"

„They mean that the travel ers went in caravans," said Sniffer, giving a sudden sniff. „See, four sticks, four caravans, going that way!"

„I see," said George, making up her mind that she herself would evolve quite a few

„patrins" for use at school when they went for walks. „Are there any more “patrins” Sniffer?"

„Plenty," said the boy. „Look, when I leave here, I shal put a patrin like this!" he picked a large leaf from a nearby tree, and then a small one. He placed them side by side, and weighted them down with smal stones.

„What in the world does that mean?" said George.

„Well, it"s a patrin, a message, to say that me and my little dog have gone in the caravan too," said Sniffer, picking up the leaves. „Suppose my father came back to find me, and he saw those leaves there, he"d know I"d gone on with my dog. It"s simple. Big leaf for me, little leaf for my dog!"

„Yes. I like it," said George, pleased. „Now let"s look at the caravan."

It was an old-fashioned kind of caravan, not very big, and with high wheels. The door and the steps down were in front. The shafts rested on the ground waiting for Clip to come back. The caravan was black, with red designs on it here and there.

George went up the steps. „I"ve been inside a few caravans," she said. „But never one quite like this."

She peeped in curiously. It certainly wasn"t very clean, but it wasn"t as dirty as she expected either.

„It"s not smel y, is it?" said Sniffer, quite anxiously. „I tidied it up today, seeing as how I thought you were al visiting me. That"s our bed at the back. We all sleep on it."

George stared at the big bunk-like bed stretched at the end of the caravan, covered with a bright quilt. She imagined the whole family sleeping there, close together. Well at least they would be warm in the winter.

„Don"t you get hot in the summer, sleeping in this smal caravan?" asked George.

„Oh no, only my grandma sleeps here then," said Sniffer, swal owing a sniff in a hurry, before George could hear it. „Me and the others sleep under the caravan. Then if it rains it don"t matter."

„Well, thanks for showing me so many things," said George, looking round at the cupboards, the little locker-seats, and the over-big chest of drawers. „How you all get in here is a miracle."

She didn"t go in. Even though Sniffer had tidied up, there was stil a distinctly peculiar smel hanging about!

„Come and see us tomorrow, Sniffer," she said, going down the steps. „Clip may be all right by then. And Sniffer, don"t you forget you"ve got a hanky now!"

„I won"t forget," said Sniffer, proudly. „I"l keep it as clean as can be, Master George!"

George was feeling very lonely by the time the evening came. How had the others got on without her? Had they missed her at all? Perhaps they hadn"t even thought of her!

„Anyway, they didn"t have you, Timmy!" said George. „You wouldn"t go off and leave me, would you?"

Timmy pressed against her, glad to see that she was happier again. He wondered where the others were, and where they had gone to all day.

There was suddenly a clattering of hooves in the stableyard and George flew to the door.

Yes, they were back! How should she behave? She felt cross and relieved and rather humble and glad al at once! She stood there, not knowing whether to frown or to smile.

The others made up her mind for her. „Hal o, George!" shouted Dick. „We did miss you!"

„How"s your head?" cal ed Anne. „I hope it"s better!"

„Hal o!" cal ed Henry. „You ought to have come. We"ve had a super day!"

„Come and help us stable the horses, George," shouted Julian. „Tell us what you"ve been doing!"

Timmy had sped over to them, barking in delight. George found her legs running towards them too, a welcoming smile on her face.

„Hal o!" she called. „Let me help! Did you real y miss me? I missed you too."

The boys were very relieved to see that George was herself again. Nothing more was said about her headache! She busied herself unsaddling the horses and listening to their story of the day. Then she told them about Sniffer and his patrins, and how she had given him a brand-new handkerchief.

„But I"m sure he thinks he"s got to keep it spotlessly clean!" she said. „He never used it once when I was with him. There"s the supper-bel , we"ll only just be in time! Are you hungry?"

„You bet we are!" said Dick. „Though after Mrs Johnson"s sandwiches I never thought I"d be able to eat any supper at al . How"s Clip?"

„Never mind now. I"l tel you everything at supper," said George. „Do you want any help, Henry?"

Henry was surprised to hear George cal her Henry instead of Henrietta. „No thanks - er -

George," she said. „I can manage."

It was a very jol y supper-time that evening. The youngsters were set at a table by themselves, so the older ones talked to their hearts" content.

Captain Johnson was very interested to hear about the old railway they had found. „I never knew there was anything like that on the moors," he said. „Though, of course, we"ve only been here about fifteen years, so we don"t know a great deal of the local history.

You want to go and ask old Ben the blacksmith about that. He"s lived here al his life, and a long life it is, for he"s over eighty!"

„Well, we"ve got to take some of the horses to be shod tomorrow, haven"t we?" said Henry, eagerly. „We could ask him then! Why, he might even have helped to make the rails!"

„We saw the caravans, George, when we had got pretty far out on the moor," said Julian.

„Goodness knows where they were heading for, towards the coast, I should think. What"s the coast like beyond the moor, Captain Johnson?"

„Wild," said the Captain. „Great, unclimbable cliffs, and reefs or rocks stretching out to sea. Only the birds live there. There"s no bathing, no boating, no beach."

„Well, it beats me where those caravans are going," said Dick. „It"s a mystery. They go every three months, don"t they?"

„About that," said Captain Johnson. „I"ve no idea what the attraction of the moor is for the gypsies. It just beats me! Usual y they won"t go anywhere where there are not a few farms, or at least a small vil age where they can sell their goods."

„I"d like to go after them and see where they are and what they"re doing," said Julian, eating his third hard-boiled egg.

„Al right. Let"s," said George.

„But how? We don"t know where they"ve gone," said Henry.

„Well, Sniffer"s going to join them tomorrow, or as soon as Clip is all right for walking," said George. „And he"s got to follow the patrins left on the way by the others. He says that he looks at the places where fires have been made on the way, and beside them somewhere he wil see the patrins, the sticks that point in the direction he must follow."

„He"s sure to destroy them," said Dick. „We couldn"t follow them!"

„We"ll ask him to leave his own patrins," said George. „I think he wil . He"s not a bad little boy, real y. I could ask him to leave plenty of patrins, so that we could easily find the way."

„Well, it might be fun to see if we could read the right road to go, just as easily as the gypsies do," said Julian. „We could make it a day"s ride. It would be interesting!"

Henry gave a most enormous yawn, and that made Anne yawn too, though hers was a very polite one.

„Henry!" said Mrs Johnson.

„Sorry," said Henry. „It just came almost like a sneeze does. I don"t know why, but I feel almost asleep."

„Go to bed then," said Mrs Johnson. „You"ve had such a day of air and sunshine! You al look very brown too. The April sun has been as hot as June today."

The five of them, and Timmy, went out for a last look at the horses, and to do one or two small jobs. Henry yawned again, and that set everyone else off, even George.

„Me for the straw!" said Julian, with a laugh. „Oh, the thought of that warm, comfy straw bed is too good for words! You girls are welcome to the beds!"

„I hope Sniffer"s Pa doesn"t come in the middle of the night again," said Dick.

„I shall tie up the latch," said Julian. „Well, let"s go and say goodnight to Mrs Johnson."

It wasn"t long before the three girls were in bed and the two boys cuddled down in the straw of the stable. Clip was there stil , but he no longer fidgeted. He lay down quietly, and did not once move his bad leg. It was getting much better. He would certainly be able to go after the others the next day!

Julian and Dick fel asleep at once. No one came creeping in at the stable door that night. Nothing disturbed them until the morning, when a cock got into the stable through a window, sat on a rafter just above them, and crowed loudly enough to wake both boys with a jump.

„What"s that!" said Dick. „That awful screeching in my ear! Was it you, Ju?"

The cock crowed again and the boys laughed. „Blow him!" said Julian, settling down again. „I could do with another couple of hours sleep!"

That morning Sniffer came slipping in at the gate again. He never came boldly in, he slid through the hedge, or crept in at the gate, or appeared round a corner. He saw George and went over to her.

„Master George," he called, much to Julian"s amusement. „Is Clip better?"

„Yes!" cal ed back George. „Captain Johnson says you can take him today. But wait a bit, Sniffer, I want to ask you something before you go."

Sniffer was pleased. He liked this girl who had presented him with such a magnificent handkerchief. He took it carefully out of his pocket, hoping to please her.

„See," he said. „How clean it is! I have kept it very careful y." He sniffed loudly.

„You"re a fathead," said George, exasperated. „I gave it to you to use, not to keep clean in your pocket. It"s to stop your sniffing. Honestly, you"re a bit of a mutt, Sniffer. I shall take that hanky away if you don"t use it!"

Sniffer looked alarmed. He shook it out careful y and then lightly touched his nose with it.

He then folded it up conscientiously in the right creases and put it back into his pocket again.

„Now, NO sniffing!" commanded George, trying not to laugh. „Listen, Sniffer, you know those patrins you showed me yesterday?"

„Yes, Master George," said Sniffer.

„Well, wil the other gypsies who have gone in front, leave you patrins to follow, so that you wil know the way?" said George.

Sniffer nodded. „Yes, but not many, because I have been that way twice before. They wil only leave them in places where I might go wrong."

„I see," said George. „Now Sniffer, we want to have a sort of game. We want to see which of us can fol ow patrins, and we want you to lay patrins for us quite often, on your way to your family today. Wil you?"

„Oh yes, I wil ," said Sniffer, quite proud to have a favour asked of him. „I wil lay the ones I showed you, the cross, the long sticks, and the big and little leaf."

„Yes, do," said George. „That wil mean that you have passed in a certain direction and you are a boy and a dog. That"s right, isn"t it?"

„Yes," said Sniffer, nodding his head. „You have remembered!"

„Right. And we"re going to have a kind of game, trying to pretend we are travel ing gypsies following others who have passed," said George.

„You must not show yourselves when you come up to our caravans," said Sniffer, looking suddenly alarmed. „I should get into trouble for laying patrins for you."

„Al right. We"ll be careful," said George. „Now let"s go and get Clip."

They fetched the patient little skewbald who came out gladly. He no longer limped, and his rest seemed to have done him good. He went off at a good pace with Sniffer. The last George heard of them was a very loud sniff indeed!

„Sniffer!" she shouted, warningly. He put his hand in his pocket and pul ed out the hanky.

He waved it gaily in the air, a sudden grin lighting up his face.

George went to find the others. „Sniffer has taken Clip," she said. „What about going down to the blacksmith, and taking those horses that want shoeing?"

„Good idea," said Julian. „We can ask him al about Mystery Moor then, and the strange little railway line, or whatever it is! Come on."

They took the horses that needed shoeing. There were six of them, so they each rode one, and Julian led the sixth. Timmy ran happily along beside them. He loved the horses, and they regarded him as a real friend, bending their long noses down to sniff at him, whenever he came near.

They went slowly down the long lane to the blacksmith"s. „There it is!" said George. „A proper old smithy with a lovely fire! And there"s the smith!"

Old Ben was a mighty figure of a man, even though he was over eighty. He didn"t shoe many horses now, but sat in the sun, watching all that was going on. He had a great mane of white hair, and eyes that were as black as the coal he had so many times heated to a fiery flame.

„Good morning, young masters and Miss," he said and Julian grinned. That would please George and Henry!