The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat tffabtd-2

by Энид Блайтон

  "In here," said Pip, when they reached his gate. They went up the drive and into the garden. Then Pip stopped and looked at the Inspector.

  "Should I just go up and explain to Luke that you say he's to come out and go back to his job?" he said. "You can't think how scared he is."

  "I think that's a good idea," said Inspector Jenks, "but I think the one to see him and talk to him should be me. Now, don't you worry. I know how to treat boys like Luke."

  Inspector Jenks went with Pip up the garden to the summer-house. But Luke was not there.

  "Oh, there he is, look," said Pip, pointing to where Luke was busy hoeing the kitchen-garden. "He says he just can't sit and do nothing, Inspector, and he thinks if he does a bit of weeding for us, it is a small way of returning a kindness."

  "A nice thought, if I may say so," murmured the Inspector, watching Luke at his work, taking in the boy from head to foot. He turned to Pip.

  "Just give him a call, tell him I'm a friend, and then leave us, please," he said.

  "Hey, Luke!" yelled Pip. "I've brought a good friend of ours to see you. Come and talk to him."

  Luke turned — and saw the big Inspector in his blue uniform. He went white, and seemed as if he was rooted to the ground.

  "I didn't steal no cat," he said at last, staring at me Inspector.

  "Well, suppose you tell me all about it," said Inspector Jenks. "We'll go and sit in the summer-house."

  He took Luke firmly by the arm and led him to the summer-house where the children had so often talked over the mystery of Dark Queen's disappearance. Luke was trembling. Pip gave him a comforting grin, and then ran back down the garden to the others.

  The children all wondered how Luke was getting on with the Inspector. They seemed to be a very long time together. But at last footsteps were heard coming down the gravel path.

  All the children looked to see if Luke was with the Inspector.

  He was, and he looked quite cheerful too! The Inspector was smiling his usual twinkling smile. Bets ran to him.

  "Is Luke going to come out of hiding? What is he going to do?"

  "Well, I am pleased to say that Luke agrees with me that it would be better to go back to his job than to hide here any longer," said the Inspector.

  "But what about his unkind stepfather?" said Daisy, who couldn't bear the thought of Luke being beaten any more.

  "Ah!" said the Inspector, "I must arrange about that. I had meant to have a word with him myself — but the time is getting on." He looked at his watch. "Hm, yes, I must be getting back. Goon, you must go down to Luke's stepfather at once, and inform him that the boy is not to be ill-treated. You must also go to Mr. Tupping, who, I understand, is the gardener next door, and inform him that Luke is to be taken back, with Lady Candling's permission, and is to be given a chance in the garden again."

  Mr. Goon looked very taken aback. After encouraging both the boy's stepfather and Mr. Tupping to treat the boy sternly and hardly, it was scarcely a pleasant job for him to do. Fatty looked sharply at the Inspector.

  "I bet he's making Goon do that to punish him for frightening a young boy," thought Fatty. Inspector Jenks fastened his eyes on Mr. Goon.

  "You have understood my orders, Goon?" he said in a voice that sounded quite pleasant and yet had a very hard note in it. Mr. Goon nodded hastily.

  "Yes, sir, perfectly, sir," he said. "I'll go to the boy's stepfather now, sir. Name of Brown. And I'll make it my business to see Mr. Tupping too, sir."

  "Naturally, if any complaints are made to me of ill-treatment, I shall hold you responsible, Goon," said Inspector Jenks. "But I imagine you will impress it carefully on these two men that the orders are mine, and that one of your duties is to see that my orders are carefully carried out. I am sure you agree with me in this, Goon?"

  "Oh yes, sir, of course, sir," said Mr. Goon. "And — er — about the stolen cat, sir. About the case, I mean. Are we to drop the case, sir — not make any more inquiries, I mean."

  "Well, you might study those clues of yours and see if they shed any light on the case," said the Inspector gravely, with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

  Mr. Goon did not answer. The Inspector turned to the children, and gravely shook hands with them all.

  "It's been splendid to see the Five Find-Outers — and Dog — again," he said. "Good-bye — and thanks for a wonderful tea — the nicest I've had for weeks, if I may say so."

  The Inspector got out his shiny black car. He roared down the drive, waving to the children. He was gone.

  "I'm going to see Mr. Tupping," said Mr. Goon, with a scowl at the children and Luke. "But don't you think this case is all dosed and forgotten. It isn't I'm still working on it, even if the Inspector don't pay much attention to it. And I'll get the thief all right in the end — you see if I don't!"

  He gave Luke such a nasty look that the boy knew quite well he was still suspected. He watched Mr. Goon go down the drive on his way to see Tupping.

  The children crowded round him. "Luke, did you like our Inspector? Luke, what did he say to you? Tell us everything!"

  "He was mighty nice," said Luke. "Not a bit like that Mr. Goon — all threats and shouts. But how did I ever come to promise I would go back to my job — and go back to live with my stepfather, too? I wish I hadn't promised that. I'm frit."

  This was a new word to the children. Bets stared at Luke.

  "What's 'frit'?" she asked.

  "He means he's frightened," said Fatty. "What a lovely word — frit! I shall aways say that now. Frit!"

  "I'm often frit," said Bets. "I was frit the other night when I had a bad dream. I was frit today when old Clear-Orf stopped to speak to us."

  "And poor Luke is frit, too," said Daisy, looking at the big boy, with his untidy hair hanging over his brown forehead. "What are we to do about it?"

  "If only we could find that cat," said Pip. There came a sound from the bushes nearby. Buster pricked up his ears, gave a loud bark and flung himself into the bushes. There was a terrific scrimmage, and then something leapt wildly up a tree. The children went to see what the matter was.

  They all had a tremendous surprise. Staring down at them from the tree was a beautiful Siamese cat! But it was Luke who gave them the biggest surprise of all.

  "It's Dark Queen!" he shouted. "Can't you see the ting of creamy hairs in her tail? I tell you, it's Dark Queen come back! Oh, what a queer thing!"

  All the children at once saw the ring of light hairs in Dark Queen's swinging tail. The lovely Siamese swung it to and fro in anger as she watched Buster jumping up and down below.

  "Take Buster away, Fatty," said Larry in excitement "He'll scare Dark Queen and she'll run away."

  Buster was shut up in a shed, much to his indignation. He nearly tore the door down in his eagerness to escape. Dark Queen quietened down when Fatty led the dog away. She sat up there in the tree, purring.

  "She's thin," said Daisy.

  "And look how muddy she is," said Larry. "Her coat is dirty and tangled. Let's take her to Miss Harmer. What a surprise she will have!"

  Luke has a Better Time

  Dark Queen allowed Daisy to lift her gently down from the tree. Then the five of them made their way with Luke down the drive, and into the garden next door.

  They went to the cat-house, and on the way they met Lady Candling. She cried out in surprise when she saw a cat in Daisy's arms.

  "You mustn't take my cats out of their house! Did Miss Harmer let you?"

  "It's Dark Queen!" said Larry. "She suddenly appeared in Pip's garden just now, Lady Candling!"

  "Good gracious!" said Lady Candling, most astonished. She glanced at Dark Queen's tail and saw the little ring of light hairs that grew there. "Yes — it's my beautiful Dark Queen. Wherever has she been? She looks thin and half-starved."

  "Isn't it a pity she can't talk, then she could tell us," said Bets, stroking the purring cat. "Lady Candling, here's Luke, too. We've been hiding him, because we were sorry for him. You'll take hi
m back, won't you?"

  "Of course," said Lady Candling. "Inspector Jenks has just been telephoning to me. Well, Luke, you can certainly come back freely now, can't you — for here is Dark Queen, returned in safety!"

  "We're just taking her to Miss Harmer," said Larry. "Won't she be pleased?"

  "I'll come with you," said Lady Candling. "Oh, there is Miss Trimble. Miss Trimble, what do you think has happened? Dark Queen has come back!"

  "Good gracious me!" said Miss Trimble, trotting up in excitement, her glasses falling off at once. "Where did she come from? Who brought her?"

  The children told her, and Miss Trimble listened in surprise, putting on her glasses again.

  They all went to the cat-house. Miss Harmer was there, petting one or two of the cats, for she was very fond of them. When she saw Dark Queen in Daisy's arms she was so astonished that she couldn't say a word. She held out her arms and Dark Queen, with one graceful bound, was into them. The cat snuggled up to Miss Harmer, butting her with its head, and purring deeply and loudly.

  "Well!" said Miss Harmer in delight. "Where did you come from, Dark Queen? Oh, how glad I am to have you back!"

  Everyone told her at once how Dark Queen had suddenly appeared. Miss Harmer took a good look at the cat.

  "I think she must have escaped from whoever had her, and made her way home — for miles probably — through the fields and woods."

  At that moment Mr. Tupping came into sight with Mr. Goon. The policeman had evidently been telling him about the Inspector and his orders, and Topping's voice was very sour. He gave Luke a scowl, and then saw Dark Queen.

  Mr. Tupping seemed as if he could not believe his eyes. He kept looking at Dark Queen in amazement, and he twisted her tail round to make sure she had the little ring of creamy hairs there. As for Goon, his mouth fell open, and his eyes bulged more than ever.

  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!

  The Second Disappearance

  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!"

  "Don't be silly!" said Daisy. "It's just an accident that some of the things are the same."

  "All right," said Fatty. "But look here, if I do find one of Luke's whistles in the cage, we've got to realize that that won't be an accident. That will be put there on purpose! Well — I'll go and see."

  Everyone wanted to come, of course. So they all clambered over the wall, Luke too. Only Buster was left on the wrong side of the wall, tied up to a tree.

  The five children came to the cat-house. No one was mere. Tupping and Miss Harmer had gone to report the matter to Lady Candling. Only the cats looked at the children, their blue eyes gleaming. Bets counted them. There were seven.