The Rockingdown Mystery. Enid blyton
relations and they’re jolly decent to me. I’d hate to have no one—only just Loony.”
Diana couldn’t imagine what things would be like without her mother. She was sorry for Barney. “What do you do for a living, then?” she asked him.
“Oh, just scrounge around,” said the boy. “I can always go to a circus or a fair, you know, and earn some money there. There’s not much I can’t do. I’ve often been in the circus ring with Miranda here. I’ve just left the fair over at Northcotling. I’m at a loose end now, wandering about with Miranda. What I want to do is to get hold of some of Shakespeare’s plays and read them. I suppose you can’t lend me any?”
Snubby couldn’t imagine why anyone should want to borrow Shakespeare’s plays. Diana tumbled to it at once.
“You want to know the plays that your father acts in—or used to act in!” she said. “You want to know the things he liked and the parts he could play!”
“That’s right,” said Barney, pleased. “I’ve only read one of them—about a storm and a shipwreck, it was. It’s where I got Miranda’s name from.”
“Oh, yes—The Tempest,” said Roger. “That’s quite a good one to start off with. Do you really want to read the plays? They’ll be jolly difficult for you. If you really do, I’ll lend you some.”
“Thanks,” said the boy. “Where do you live?”
“Over at Rockingdown Cottage,” said Roger. “Do you know it?” Barney nodded.
“Where are you living just at present?” said Diana curiously. It seemed odd to think of somebody without a bed at night.
“Oh—this weather I can sleep anywhere,” said Barney. “Under a haystack—in a barn—even up a tree with Miranda so long as I tie myself on.”
Diana glanced at her watch and gave an exclamation. “Do you know what the time is, boys? It’s quarter of an hour past tea-time already. Miss Pepper will be all hot and bothered!”
They scrambled up. “If you come and whistle outside Rockingdown Cottage any time, we’ll hear you and come out,” said Roger. “I’ll look out those plays for you.”
“I’ll see you to-morrow,” said Barney, and stood watching them go, his blue eyes looking very far apart as he smiled and waved. Miranda waved a tiny paw too.
“I like him most awfully,” said Snubby. “Do you, Roger? And hasn’t he got queer eyes? Like somebody belonging to the Little Folk, not to us. That sounds silly—but you know what I mean.”
They did know. There was something strange about Barney, something lonely and lost—and yet he was gay and had a most uproarious laugh, and the most natural manners in the world. “I hope we see a lot of him,” said Roger.
He needn’t have worried about that—they were going to see far more of Barney than any of them guessed!
CHAPTER VI
MR. KING—AND AN EXCITING IDEA
The next thing that happened was that Miss Pepper found a tutor for the three of them. They were helping Mrs. Round to clear away breakfast when he arrived. He knocked and rang, and Mrs. Round scurried to open the door.
“Gentleman to see Miss Pepper,” she announced to the children. “Name of King.”
Diana hurried to fetch Miss Pepper, who took Mr. King into the study and remained there with him for some time. Then she opened the door and called the three children.
“Mr. King, these are the three I told you about—they are cousins—this is Roger, this is Diana, this is Peter.”
Roger and Diana looked surprised to hear Snubby called Peter. They had quite forgotten that that was really his name. Mr. King grinned at them all. He was a stocky, well-built man about thirty-five or forty, with hair going a little grey, and a mouth that looked distinctly firm.
“They don’t look too bad,” he told Miss Pepper. She smiled.
“Appearances don’t always tell the truth,” she said. “Children, this is Mr. King. Subject to final arrangements, he is going to come and give you the coaching your parents want you to have.”
This wasn’t so good. The children’s smiles faded away. They looked more carefully at Mr. King. He looked back. Did they like him—or didn’t they? Snubby decided that he didn’t. Diana wasn’t sure. Roger felt that he might like him when he knew him better. Their hearts all sank when they thought of lessons morning after morning, just when they had got used to nice free days.
“Mr. King will start with you on Monday next,” said Miss Pepper.
“Can Loony be in the room too?” said Snubby.
Mr. King looked a little startled. “Er—who is Loony?” he asked, wondering if it was another child, not quite so bright as these appeared.
“My spaniel,” said Snubby, and at that moment Loony made one of his usual hurricane-like appearances. He came in at the door like a rocket, and hurled himself at everyone as if he hadn’t seen them for a year. He even rolled over Mr. King’s feet, too, before he realised that they were the feet of a stranger, and then he leapt to his own feet and growled.
“Oh—so this is Loony,” said Mr. King. “Well—I don’t see why he shouldn’t be in the room, if he doesn’t disturb us.”
Snubby immediately decided that he liked Mr. King very much after all. Miss Pepper spoke hurriedly.
“I shouldn’t make any rash promises if I were you,” she said, trying to give Mr. King a warning look. He saw it.
“Ah—yes—I won’t promise,” he said, and then as Loony tore at his shoe and got his shoelaces undone, he firmly added a few more words. “In fact, we’ll put Loony on trial first.”
“I wish Miranda could come too,” said Snubby. “She’s a monkey, Mr. King—really a pet!”
Mr. King thought it was time to go before he was asked to put a monkey on trial too.
He went, and Miss Pepper spoke to the three children.
“He has the most excellent testimonials, and I think he should be a very fine coach. You’ll begin on Monday—and if I hear of you misbehaving, Snubby, I shall put Loony into a kennel at night instead of letting him sleep in the house.”
This was a very alarming threat, and one that Miss Pepper was quite capable of carrying out. Snubby slept with Loony on his bed all night long, and the spaniel would be broken-hearted if he had to sleep anywhere else. Snubby didn’t dare to argue with Miss Pepper about this. He sneezed violently, and then sneezed twice more, fishing for his handkerchief with a most concerned expression. “Whoooosh-oo! Oh dear—I’m so sorry—Whhoooooooooo... ”
“Have you got a cold, Snubby?” said Miss Pepper. “I told you to take your coat yesterday evening.”
“No—no cold, Miss Pepper,” said Snubby, finding an extremely dirty handkerchief and sneezing into that. “Just—whooosh-oo—sorry—just a little pepper up my nose. Whooooooo... ”
Miss Pepper made an impatient noise and went out. Diana and Roger roared with laughter. Loony joined in the excitement and tore round the table six times without stopping.
“Racehorse trick being performed,” said Snubby, putting away his hanky. “All right, Loony—you’ve passed the winning-post about three times. Woa!”
“What shall we do to-day?” asked Diana, as she stacked up the breakfast dishes to take out to Mrs. Round.
“Let’s go and peep in at the old mansion,” said Roger. “Ask Mrs. Round if there’s any way of getting in. I’d just love to poke round it, and imagine what it was like in the old days.”
Mrs.