Five Have a Mystery to Solve (4 page)

„Idiot!" she said. „Now you just go and get me some more water."

„Where"s that big dog?" demanded Wilfrid, looking al round. „I can"t see him. You can"t any of you stay here unless you have that dog. I like him. He"s a wonderful dog."

„He"s gone down to the vil age with the others," said Anne. „Now wil you please pick up that pail and get more water?"

„No, I won"t," said Wilfrid. „I"m not your servant! Get it yourself!"

„Very well, I wil . But I"l tell George, who owns Timmy, how rude you are - and you may be quite sure that Timmy won"t be friends with you," said Anne, picking up the pail.

„I"l get the water, I"l get the water!" shouted Wilfrid, and snatched the pail. „Don"t you dare to tel George or Timmy tales of me. Don"t you dare!"

And off he went to the well and fil ed the pail. Well! What a time they were all going to have with such a very peculiar boy! Anne didn"t like him at all!

Wilfrid brought back the pail to Anne, and dumped it down. „Like to see my pet beetles?"

he said.

„No thank you," said Anne. „I don"t like beetles very much."

„Well, you ought to!" said Wilfrid. „I"ve two very beautiful ones. You can hold them if you like. Their tiny feet feel very queer when they walk all over your hand."

„I don"t mind beetles, but I don"t WANT them walking over my hand," said poor Anne, who real y was a bit afraid of what she cal ed „creepy-crawly" things. „Do get out of my way, Wilfrid. If you had any manners, you"d carry that pail indoors for me."

„I haven"t any manners," said Wilfrid. „Everybody tells me that. Anyway, I don"t want to carry your pail, if you don"t want to see my beetles."

„Oh go away!" said Anne, exasperated, picking up the pail herself. Wilfrid went to a little thick bush and sat down by it. He put his face almost on the grass, and looked under the bush. Anne felt uncomfortable. Was he going to call his beetles out? She couldn"t help putting down her pail, and standing stil to watch.

No beetles came out from under the bush - but something else did. A very large, awkward-looking toad came crawling out, and sat there, looking up at Wilfrid with the greatest friendliness. Anne was amazed. How did Wilfrid know the toad was there? And why in the world should it come out to see him? She stood and stared - and shivered, because she real y did not like toads. „I know they have beautiful eyes, and are intel igent, and eat al kinds of harmful insects, but I just can"t go near one!" she thought. „Oh goodness - Wilfrid"s tickling its back - and it"s scratching where he"s tickled it - just like we would!"

„Come and say how do you do to my pet toad," called Wilfrid. „I"l carry your pail for you then."

Anne picked up her pail in a hurry, afraid that Wilfrid might whistle up a few snakes next.

What a boy! How she wished the others would come back! Why, Wilfrid might own a boa constrictor - or have a small crocodile somewhere - or... but no, she was being sil y! If only the others would come back!

To her horror the toad crawled right on to Wilfrid"s hand, and looked up at him out of its real y beautiful eyes. That was too much for Anne. She fied into the cottage, spil ing half the water as she went.

„I wish I was like George," she thought. „She wouldn"t really mind that toad. I"m sil y. I ought to try and like al creatures. Oh my goodness, look at that enormous spider in the corner of the sink! It"s sitting there, looking at me out of its eight eyes! Wilfrid, Wilfrid - PLEASE come and get this spider out of the sink for me!"

Wilfrid sauntered in, fortunately without the toad. He held his hand out to the spider and made a curious clicking, ticking noise. The spider perked up at once, waved two curious little antennae about, and crawled across the sink to Wilfrid"s hand. Anne shuddered. She simply couldn"t help it! She shut her eyes, and when she opened them, the spider had gone and so had Wilfrid.

„I suppose he"s now teaching it to dance, or something!" she thought, trying to make herself smile. „I can"t think how insects and animals and birds like him. I simply can"t bear him. If I were a rabbit or bird or beetle, I"d run miles away from him. What"s this curious attraction he has for creatures of al kinds?"

Wilfrid had completely disappeared, and Anne thankful y went on with her little jobs. „I"l tidy up the loft where the boys wil sleep," she thought. „I"l wash this living-room floor. I"l make a list of the things in the larder. I"l clean that dirty window over there. I"l ... good gracious, what"s that noise?"

It was the sound of magpies chattering noisily - a harsh but pleasant noise. Anne peered out of the little cottage window. Well, what a sight! There stood Wilfrid in front of the window, a magpie on each outstretched hand - and one on the top of his head! It stood there, chattering loudly, and then turned round and round, getting its feet mixed up in the boy"s thick hair.

„Come out here and I"l tell one of my magpies to sit on your head too!" shouted Wilfrid.

„It"s such a nice feeling. Or would you like a young rabbit to cuddle? I can cal one for you with my little pipe!"

„I don"t want a magpie on my head," said Anne, desperately. „For goodness sake get a nice little baby rabbit. I"d like that."

Wilfrid jerked the magpies off his hands and shook his head violently so that the third one flew up, squawking cheerfully. He then sat down and pul ed out his queer little whistle-pipe, as Anne called it. She watched, fascinated, as the strange little dirgelike tune came to her ears. She found her feet walking to the door. Good gracious - could there be some peculiar kind of magic in that pipe that made her go to Wilfrid, just as the other creatures did?

She stopped at the door, just as a baby rabbit came lol opping round a tall clump of grass. It was the funniest, roundest, dearest little thing, with a tiny bobtail and big ears.

It went straight to Wilfrid and nestled against him. The boy stroked it and murmured to it.

Then he cal ed to Anne softly.

„Well - here"s the baby rabbit you asked for. Like to come and stroke it?"

Anne went softly over the grass, expecting the rabbit to bolt at once. Wilfrid continued to fondle it, and the little thing looked at him with big, unwinking eyes. Anne bent down to stroke it - but immediately it leapt in fright and fled into the grass.

„Oh dear - why did it do that?" said Anne, disappointed. „It was quite all right with you!

Wilfrid, how do you get all these creatures to come to you?"

„Shan"t tell you," said Wilfrid, getting up. „Is there anything to eat in the cottage? I"m hungry."

He pushed Anne aside and went into the cottage. He opened the larder door, and took down a tin. There was a cake inside and he cut off a huge piece. He didn"t offer Anne any.

„Couldn"t you have cut me a piece too?" said Anne. „You real y are a rude boy!"

„I like being rude," said Wilfrid, munching his cake. „Especially to people who come to my cottage when I don"t want them."

„Oh don"t be so sil y!" said Anne, exasperated. „It isn"t your cottage - it belongs to your grandmother. She told us so. Anyway, you said we could stay if Timmy stayed too."

„I"l soon make Timmy my dog," said Wilfrid, taking another bite. „You"l see! Soon he won"t want that girl George any more - and he"l fol ow at my heels al day and night. You"l see!"

Anne laughed scornful y. Timmy following at this boy"s heels? That could never happen!

Timmy loved George with all his doggy heart. He would never desert her for Wilfrid no matter how much he whistled on pipes, or put on his special croony voice. Anne was absolutely certain of that!

„If you laugh at me, I"l cal up my grass snake and my adder!" said Wilfrid, fiercely. „Then you"l run for miles!"

„Oh no I won"t!" said Anne, hurrying into the cottage. „Just watch yourself run!"

She picked up the pail of water, went out with it, and threw it all over the astonished Wilfrid! Somebody else was most astonished too - and that was Julian, who had arrived back before the others, anxious not to leave Anne alone in the cottage for too long.

He came just in time to see Anne drenching Wilfrid, and stared in the utmost amazement.

Anne behaving like that? Anne looking really fierce - quiet, peaceful Anne! What in the world had happened?

„Anne!" he called. „What"s the matter? What"s Wilfrid been doing?"

„Oh - Julian!" said Anne, glad to see him, but horrified that he had come just then. Wilfrid was drenched from head to foot. He stood there, gasping, taken-aback, bewildered.

Why, Anne had seemed such a quiet, frightened little thing - scared even of a spider!

„That girl!" said Wilfrid, half-choking, shaking the water off himself. „That bad, wicked girl!

She"s like a tiger! She sprang at me, and threw the water all over me! I won"t let her stay in my cottage!"

The boy was so angry, so wet, so taken-aback, that Julian had to laugh! He roared in delight, and clapped Anne on the back. „The mouse has turned into a tiger! Well, you said you might one day, Anne - and you haven"t lost much time! Let me see if you"ve grown claws!"

He took Anne"s hands and pretended to examine her nails. Anne was half-laughing, half-crying now, and pul ed her hand away. „Oh Julian! I shouldn"t have soaked Wilfrid - but he was SO IRRITATING I lost my temper, and..."

„Al right, al right - it"s quite a good thing to do sometimes," said Julian. „And I bet young Wilfrid deserved al he got. I only hope the water was icy cold! Have you a change of clothes here, Wilfrid? Go and get into them, then."

The boy stood there, dripping wet, and made no effort to obey. Julian spoke again. „You heard what I said, Wilfrid. Jump to it! Go and change!"

The boy looked so wet and miserable that Anne felt suddenly sorry for what she had done. She ran to him and felt his wet shoulders. „Oh, I"m sorry!" she said. „I truly am. I don"t know why I turned into a tiger so suddenly!"

Wilfrid gave a little half-laugh, half-sob. „I"m sorry too," he mumbled. „You"re nice - and your nose is like that baby rabbit"s - it"s - it"s a bit woffly!"

He ran into the cottage and slammed the door. „Let him be for a while," said Julian, seeing that Anne made a move to go after him. „This wil do him good. Nothing like having a pail of cold water flung over you to make you see things as they real y are! He was real y touched when you said you were sorry. He"s probably never apologized to anyone in his life!"

„Is my nose like a rabbit"s?" said Anne, worried.

„Well, yes - just a bit," said Julian, giving his sister an affectionate pat. „But a rabbit"s nose is very nice, you know - very nice indeed. I don"t think you"l have much trouble with Wilfrid after this little episode. He didn"t know that you had the heart of a tiger, as wel as a nose like a rabbit"s!"

Wilfrid came out of the cottage in about ten minutes, dressed in dry clothes, carrying his wet ones in a bundle. „I"l hang those out on the bushes for you, to dry in the sun," said Anne, and took them from him, smiling. He suddenly smiled back.

„Thanks," he said. „I don"t know how they got so wet! Must have been pouring with rain!"

Julian chuckled and smacked him gently on the back. „Rain can do an awful lot of good at times!" he said. „Well, Anne, we"ve brought you back a whole lot of goods for your larder. Here come the others. We"ll carry everything in for you - with Wilfrid"s help too!"

It was fun storing al the shopping away. Anne enjoyed it more than anyone, for she really was a most domesticated little person.

„A real home-maker!" said Dick, appreciatively, when he saw how neat and comfortable she had made the loft, where the three boys were to sleep. „Just about room for the three of us, plus all the baggage in the corner! And how good the larder looks!"

Anne looked at her wel -stored larder, and smiled. Now she could give her little „family"

real y nice meals. Al those tins! She read the names on them. „Fruit salad. Tinned pears.

Tinned peaches. Sardines. Ham. Tongue." A new cake in that round tin, big enough to last for at least three days. Biscuits. Chocolate wafers - good old Julian - he knew how much she loved those - and George did, too!

Anne felt very happy, as she arranged all her goods. She no longer felt guilty at drenching poor Wilfrid. Indeed she couldn"t help feeling a little thril when she remembered how she had suddenly turned into a tiger for a minute or two! It was fun to be a tiger for once. „I might even be one again, if the chance arose," thought Anne. „How surprised Wilfrid was -

and Julian too. Oh dear - poor Wilfrid. Stil , he"s much nicer now."

And indeed he was! He was most polite to both the girls, and, as Dick said, he didn"t

„throw his weight" about nearly so much. They all settled down very well together in the little cottage.

They had most of their meals out-of-doors, sitting on the warm grass. It was rather a squeeze indoors, for the cottage really was very smal . Anne enjoyed herself preparing the meals, with sometimes a little help from George - and the boys carried everything out.

Wilfrid did his share, and was pleased when he had a clap on the back from Julian.

It was glorious sitting out in the sun, high up on their hil . They could look down on the harbour, watch the yachts and the busy little boats, and enjoy the wonderful views al round.

George was very curious about the island that lay in the middle of the harbour. „What"s it cal ed?" she asked Wilfrid. But he didn"t know. He did know, however, that there was a queer story about it. „It belonged to a lonely old man," he said. „He lived in a big house in the very middle of the wood. The island was given to his family by a king - James the Second, I think. This old man was the very very last one of his family. People kept wanting to buy his island, and he had some kind of watchmen to keep people from landing on it.

These watchmen were pretty fierce - they had guns."

„Gosh - did they shoot people who tried to land, then?" asked Dick.

„Well - they shot just to frighten them off, not to hurt them, I suppose," said Wilfrid.