The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat - Blyton Enid - Страница 21

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His notebook came out, and the policeman began to write slowly in it "Have to make a report of this here reappearance to the Inspector," he said importantly. "I'd like some details. Were you here, Lady Candling, when the cat returned?"

Once more the children retold the story of Dark Queen's re-appearance, and Goon wrote busily in his black notebook. Tupping was the only person who showed no signs at all of being pleased about the cat coming back. He glared at the cat as if it had thoroughly displeased him.

"Oh, Tupping, before you go, I want to say that Inspector Jenks and I have had a talk about Luke," said Lady Candling in her low, clear voice. "And he is to start work here again tomorrow. Those are my wishes as, no doubt, Mr. Goon too has told you. I hope that I shall have no fault to find with your treatment of Luke."

Lady Candling walked off, and Miss Trimble followed her.

"Now, you clear orf," said Mr. Goon.

The children clambered over the wall and dropped down to the other side. Fatty went to let a very angry Buster out of the shed.

Then Bets' bed-time bell rang. The little girl gave a groan. "Oh, blow! That bell always rings just when I don't want it to. Haven't we had an exciting time today?"

"Well, we still don't know who did steal Dark Queen," said Larry. "I wonder if she could have escaped by herself, somehow — and Luke didn't notice that she slipped off. Maybe the cage-door wasn't locked, and she pushed it open — or something like that."

"I don't think that's at all possible," said Fatty. "But we may as well think that. Anyway, we've been a failure at solving the mystery, so we'll pretend there wasn't one!

Luke went back to his stepfather that night. He was not beaten, nor was he grumbled at.

The next morning he went back to his work. He still felt very much afraid of Mr. Tupping, but that gentleman did not go for him as he usually did. Plainly, what the Inspector said had to be taken notice of! Lady Candling's orders could not lightly be disobeyed either.

The children climbed over the wall to see him as he worked.

"Hallo, Luke," said Bets. "Is it nice to be back at work?"

Luke nodded. "It is that," he said. "I'm not one for lazing around. Well, I never thanked you children properly for hiding me and feeding me like you did; but you know I'm grateful, though I can't talk easily, like you do."

"That's all right, Luke," said Larry. "We were glad to help you."

"I'll make you all whistles, if you like," said Luke. "Fine ones. Not tiddley little ones like I made for Bets. Proper big ones, and I'll paint them up for you, see?"

"Oh, thanks very much," said Pip, pleased. "I think your whistles are lovely. You will be busy if you make us each one!"

Luke was busy, and very happy too. Sometimes Lady Candling gave him a kind word, and the children were always ready to talk to him, or go out with him when he was off-duty.

Things went on very peacefully and happily. The days slipped by.

"It seems quite a time ago now since we thought we had another mystery to solve," said Fatty one day. "We were silly to think it was a mystery, I suppose — just a cat that disappeared, and we didn't know how. There was probably quite a simple explanation of it really."

"All the same, I wish we could solve a mystery these hols," said Bets. "It's not much good being a Find-Outer if you don't find out something. I wish something else would happen."

"Things never do, when you wish them to," said Fatty wisely.

But for once he was wrong. Something did happen, something that made the Five Find-Outers sit up and take notice at once. Dark Queen disappeared all over again!

It was Luke who told the children. He came over the wall about half-past five in the afternoon, looking so white and scared that the children thought he must have had a beating from Tupping or something.

"What's the matter?" said Daisy.

"Dark Queen's gone again," said Luke. "Yes; and gone under my very nose too, just like the last time!"

"Whatever do you mean?" said Fatty, surprised. "Sit down. Tell us properly. This is extraordinary."

"Well," said Luke, sitting down on the grass beside the children, "just listen to this. I was rolling the paths round and about the cat-house this afternoon, and whilst I was doing that someone stole Dark Queen. And I never saw no one!"

"How do you know she's gone?" said Larry.

"Well, Miss Harmer had the day off," said Luke. "She went at ten, and she came back about ten minutes ago. And as soon as she went into the cage she gave a squeal, and said Dark Queen wasn't there!"

"Gracious!" said everyone. "Did you look and see too, Luke?"

"That I did," said Luke. "But there were only the other cats. No Dark Queen."

"How do you know she went whilst you were at work on the paths nearby?" said Fatty. "She might have gone before."

"No, she didn't," said Luke. "You see, Lady Candling always visits the cages now, just before three o'clock, and she and Miss Harmer talk about the cats together. Well, Lady Candling saw the cats as usual at three o'clock, and Dark Queen was there.

"Tupping took her ladyship to the cats today. He always does when Miss Harmer is out now, and she gives him any orders to pass on to Miss Harmer. I was there when Lady Candling and Tupping were looking at the cats, and I heard Tupping say, 'There's Dark Queen at the back, your ladyship — you can see the light hairs in her tail.' So she was there, then, at three o'clock."

"And do you mean to say that since three o'clock you have been near the cages, and never left them — till Miss Harmer came back just now and found Dark Queen gone?" said Larry. Luke nodded.

"And you know what's going to be said," he muttered. "I'll be accused again. I was the only one there last time, and I was the only one there this time. But I didn't touch Dark Queen."

"How did Miss Harmer find out that Dark Queen was gone?" asked Fatty, who was taking a very close interest in all that Luke said.

"Well, she came back, and Tupping met her and said he thought one of the cats wasn't very well," said Luke. "So, under my very eyes, he went into the cage, whilst Miss Harmer was coming along, and got the cat he said wasn't well, and then Miss Harmer joined him, and almost at once squealed out that Dark Queen was gone."

"Could Tupping have let her loose just in that moment?" asked Larry.

"No," said Luke. "I couldn't see Tupping in the cage, but I could see the door quite well, and nothing came out In fact, it was shut tight."

Everyone was silent. It did seem a most extraordinary thing that Dark Queen should have gone again, under Luke's very nose.

"Was it your own idea to roll the paths near the cat-house?" asked Fatty.

"Oh no," said Luke. "I don't do things on my own. Tupping gives me his orders every day. And he told me to spend the afternoon rolling the paths there."

"Last time you were on the spot all the time," said Pip. "And this time you were too. And last time Miss Harmer was out for the day. And this time she was too. And last time it was Tupping who went into the cage with the cats, and this time it was too — when it was found that Dark Queen had disappeared, I mean. Last time he went in with Goon — this time he went in with Miss Harmer. There are a lot of things exactly the same. It's all very, very odd."

"Well, I didn't take the cat last time, and I didn't this time either," said Luke. "I know I didn't."

"This is more of a mystery than ever," said Fatty, and he got up. "I'm off over the wall to snoop round a bit Do you remember what we found in the cage last time? One of Luke's whistles. Well, as everything seems to be more or less the same this time, I bet there'll be one of Luke's whistles there again!"

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