The Secret Series - Complete Collection. Enid blyton

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СКАЧАТЬ begin Robinson Crusoe first, then,” said Jack. “That seems sort of suitable.

      By the way, Nora, can you read yourself?”

      “Well, I wasn’t very good at it,” said Nora.

      “I think it would be a good idea if we all took a night each to read out loud,” said Jack. “It’s no good forgetting what we learnt. I’ll read to-night - and you shall read to-morrow night, Nora.”

      So, by the light of the two candles, Jack began reading the tale of Robinson Crusoe to the others. They lay on the heather, listening, happy to be together, enjoying the tale. When Jack shut up the book they sighed.

      “That was lovely,” said Peggy. “My goodness, Jack, I guess we could write an exciting book if we wrote down all our adventures on the island!”

      “Nobody would believe them!” laughed Peggy. “Yet it’s all true - here we are, living by ourselves, feeding ourselves, having a glorious time on a secret island that nobody knows!”

      The next day Jack and Mike rigged up some shelves on which to keep some of their new stores. It was fun arranging everything. The children soon began to make out their next list of things for Jack to buy when he went to market.

      “We shall have to keep the days pretty carefully in future,” said Jack. “I don’t want to miss Wednesdays now because Wednesday is market-day at the village. I shall get better prices then.”

      So, the next Wednesday, once again there was a great stir just about dawn, and the four children hurried to their tasks of picking mushrooms and strawberries. They had made plenty of baskets again, and Jack and Mike set off two or three hours later with the boat, taking the full baskets with them.

      For three or four weeks Jack went to market, sold all his goods, and bought a great many stores for the winter. He and Mike decided to store the bags and sacks of goods in the inner cave of the hillside, as there they would be quite dry - and, as the children would probably have to live in the caves in the winter, the stores would be quite handy there.

      As the weeks went by there were not so many wild strawberries to be found. Mushrooms stopped growing in the field, and other market goods had to take their place. The children went nutting in the hazel trees and struck down great clusters of ripe nuts, lovely in their ragged green coats and brown shells. The girls picked baskets of big ripe blackberries, and Jack took these to the market instead of mushrooms and strawberries. People soon grew to know him at the market. They wondered where he came from, but Jack never told them anything about himself.

      “I just live by the lakeside,” he said, when people asked him where he lived. They thought be meant somewhere by the lake - they did not know he meant by the lakeside on the secret island - and certainly Jack was not going to tell them!

      One day, for the first time, Jack saw a policeman in the village. This struck him as strange, for he had never seen one there before, and he knew that the village was too small to have a policeman of its own. It shared one with the village five miles away. Jack’s heart sank - could the policeman have been told that a strange boy was about - and could he be wondering if the boy was one of the lost children! Jack began to edge away, though his baskets of nuts and blackberries were only half sold.

      “Hi, you!” called the policeman suddenly. “Where do you come from, boy?”

      “From the lakeside, where I’ve been gathering blackberries and nuts to sell,” said Jack, not coming near the policeman.

      “Is your name Mike?” said the policeman.

      And then Jack knew for certain that the policeman had been told that maybe he, Jack, was one of the four runaway children - and he had come to find out.

      “No, that’s not my name,” said Jack, looking very innocent. “Buy some nuts, Mister Policeman?”

      “No,” said the policeman, getting a strip of paper out of his pocket, and looking at a photograph there. “Come you here, my lad. I think you’re one of the runaway children - let’s have a look at you.”

      Jack turned pale. If the policeman had a picture of him, he was caught! Quick as lightning the boy flung down the two sticks on which he had a dozen or so baskets strung, and darted off through the crowd that had gathered. Hands were put out to stop him, but he struggled away, tearing his jacket, but not caring for anything but to escape.

      He slipped round a corner and into a garden. He darted round the cottage there and peered into the back garden. There was no one there - but there was a little henhouse at the side. Jack made up his mind quickly. He opened the door of the henhouse, slipped inside, and crouched down in the straw there, hardly daring to breathe. There were no hens there - they were scratching about in the little run outside.

      Jack heard the sound of shouting and running feet, and he knew that people were looking for him. He crouched lower, hoping that no one had seen him dart into the cottage garden.

      The running feet went by. The shouting died down. No one had seen him! Jack let out a big breath, and his heart thumped loudly. He was really frightened.

      He stayed in the henhouse all day long. He did not dare to move out. He was hungry and thirsty and very cramped, but he knew quite well that if he slipped out he might be seen. He must stay there till night. He wondered what Mike would think. The girls would be anxious, too.

      A hen came in, sat on a nesting-box and laid an egg. She cackled and went out again.

      Another came in and laid an egg. Jack hoped that no one would see him if they came looking for eggs that afternoon!

      Someone did come for the eggs - but it was after tea and the henhouse was very dark.

      The door was opened and a head came round. A hand was stretched out and felt in all the boxes. The eggs were lifted out - the door was shut again! Jack hadn’t been seen! He was crouching against the other side of the house, well away from the nesting-boxes!

      The henhouse did not smell nice. Jack felt miserable as he sat there on the floor.

      He knew that by running away he had as good as told the policeman that he was one of the runaways. And now the whole countryside would be searched again, and the secret island would probably be explored, too.

      “But if I hadn’t run away the policeman would have caught me and made me tell where the others were,” thought the boy. “If only I can get to where Mike is waiting with the boat, and get back safely to the island, we can make preparations to hide everything.”

      When it was dark, and the hens were roosting in the house beside him, Jack opened the door and slipped out. He stood listening. Not a sound was to be heard except the thump-thump of someone ironing in the kitchen of the cottage near by.

      He ran quietly down the path to the gate. He slipped out into the road - and then ran for his life to the road that led to the wood by the lakeside where Mike was waiting.

      But would Mike be waiting there? Suppose people had begun to hunt already for the four children - and had found Mike and the boat! What then? How would he get back to the girls on the island?

      Jack forgot his hunger and thirst as he padded along at top speed to where he had left Mike. No one saw him. It was a dark night, for the moon was СКАЧАТЬ