Secret Seven - Secret Seven Adventure Part 1

Secret Seven Adventure.

Blyton, Enid.

One.

A Secret Seven meeting.

THE Secret Seven Society was having its usual weekly meeting. Its meeting place was down in the old shed at the bottom of the garden belonging to Peter and Janet. On the door were the letters S.S. painted in green.

Peter and Janet were in the shed, waiting. Janet was squeezing lemons into a big jug, making lemonade for the meeting. On a plate lay seven ginger biscuits and one big dog biscuit.

That was for Scamper, their golden spaniel. He sat with his eyes on the plate, as if he was afraid his biscuit might jump off and disappear!

"Here come the others," said Peter, looking out of the window. "Yes-Colin-George-Barbara-Pam and Jack. And you and I make the Seven."

"Woof," said Scamper, feeling left out.

"Sorry, Scamper," said Peter. "But you're not a member-just a hanger-on-but a very nice one!"

Bang! Somebody knocked at the door.

"Pa.s.sword, please," called Peter. He never unlocked the door until the person outside said the pa.s.sword.

"Rabbits!" said Colin, and Peter unlocked the door. "Rabbits!" said Jack, and "Rabbits," said the others in turn. That was the very latest pa.s.sword. The Secret Seven altered the word every week, just in case anyone should get to hear of it.

Peter looked at everyone keenly as they came in and sat down. "Where's your badge, Jack?" he asked.

Jack looked uncomfortable. "I'm awfully sorry," he said, "but I think Susie's got it. I hid it in my drawer, and it was gone when I looked for it this morning. Susie's an awful pest when she likes."

Susie was Jack's sister. She badly wanted to belong to the Society, but as Jack kept patiently pointing out, as long as there were Seven in the Secret Seven, there couldn't possibly be any more.

"Susie wants smacking," said Peter. "You'll have to get back the badge somehow, Jack, and then in future don't hide it in a drawer or anywhere, but pin it on to your pyjamas at night and wear it. Then Susie can't get it."

"Right," said Jack. He looked round to see if everyone else was wearing a badge. Yes-each member had a little round b.u.t.ton with the letters S.S. neatly worked on it. He felt very annoyed with Susie.

"Has anyone anything exciting to report?" asked Peter, handing round the seven ginger biscuits. He tossed Scamper the big dog biscuit, and the spaniel caught it deftly in his mouth. Soon everyone was crunching and munching.

n.o.body had anything to report at all. Barbara looked at Peter.

"This is the fourth week we've had nothing to report, and nothing has happened," she said. "It's very dull. I don't see much point in having a Secret Society if it doesn't do something-solve some mystery or have an adventure."

"Well, think one up, then," said Peter, promptly. "You seem to think mysteries and adventures grow on trees, Barbara."

Janet poured out the lemonade. "I wish something exciting would happen, too," she said. "Can't we make up some kind of adventure, just to go on with?"

"What sort?" asked Colin. "Oooh, this lemonade's sour!"

"I'll put some more honey in," said Janet. "Well, I mean, couldn't we dress up as Red Indians or something, and go somewhere and stalk people without their knowing it? We've got some lovely Red Indian clothes, Peter and I."

They talked about it for a while. They discovered that between them they had six sets of Red Indian clothes.

"Well, I know what we'll do, then," said George. "We'll dress up, and go off to Little Thicket. We'll split into two parties, one at each end of the thicket-and we'll see which party can stalk and catch Colin-he's the only one without a Red Indian dress. That'll be fun."

"I don't much want to be stalked by all six of you," said Colin. "I hate being jumped on all at once."

"It's only a game!" said Janet. "Don't be silly."

"Listen-there's somebody coming!" said Peter. Footsteps came up the path right to the shed. There was a tremendously loud bang at the door, which made everyone jump.

"Pa.s.sword!" said Peter, forgetting that all the Secret Seven were there.

"Rabbits!" was the answer.

"It's Susie!" said Jack in a rage. He flung open the door, and there, sure enough, was his cheeky sister, wearing the S.S. b.u.t.ton, too!

"I'm a member!" she cried. "I know the pa.s.sword and I've got the badge!"

Everyone got up in anger, and Susie fled, giggling as she went. Jack was scarlet with rage.

"I'm going after her," he said. "And now we'll have to think of a new pa.s.sword, too!"

"The pa.s.sword can be Indians!" Peter called after him. "Meet here at half-past two!"

Two.

A Red Indian afternoon.

AT half-past two the Seven Society arrived by ones and twos. Jack arrived first, wearing his badge again. He had chased and caught Susie, and taken it from her.

"I'll come and bang at the door again and shout the pa.s.sword," threatened Susie.

"That won't be any good," said Jack. "We've got a new one!"

Everyone said the new pa.s.sword cautiously, just in case that tiresome Susie was anywhere about.

"Indians!"

"Indians!" The pa.s.sword was whispered time after time till all seven were gathered together. Everyone had brought Red Indian suits and head-dresses. Soon they were all dressing, except Colin, who hadn't one.

"Now off we go to Little Thicket," said Peter, prancing about with a most terrifying-looking hatchet. Fortunately, it was only made of wood. "I'll take Janet and Jack for my two men, and George can have Barbara and Pam. Colin's to be the one we both try to stalk and capture."

"No tying me to trees and shooting off arrows at me," said Colin, firmly. "That's fun for you, but not for me. See?"

They had all painted their faces in weird patterns, except Colin. Jack had a rubber knife which he kept pretending to plunge into Scamper. They really did look a very fierce collection of Indians indeed.

They set off for Little Thicket, which was about half a mile away, across the fields. It lay beside a big mansion called Milton Manor, which had high walls all round it.

"Now, what we'll do is to start out at opposite ends of Little Thicket," said Peter. "My three can take this end, and your three can take the other end, George. Colin can go to the middle. We'll all shut our eyes and count one hundred-and then we'll begin to hunt for Colin and stalk him."

"And if I spot any of you and call your name, you have to get up and show yourselves," said Colin. "You'll be out of the game then."

"And if any one of us manages to get right up to you and pounce on you, then you're his prisoner," said Peter. "Little Thicket is just the right kind of place for this!"

It certainly was. It was a mixture of heather and bushes and trees. Big, heathery tufts grew there, and patches of wiry gra.s.s, small bushes, and big and little trees. There were plenty of places to hide, and anyone could stalk a person from one end of the thicket to the other without being seen, if he crawled carefully along on his tummy.

The two parties separated, and went to each end of Little Thicket. A fence bounded one side and on the other the walls of Milton Manor grounds rose strong and high. If Colin could manage to get out of either end of Little Thicket uncaptured, he would be clever!

He went to stand in the middle, waiting for the others to count their hundred with their eyes shut. As soon as Peter waved a handkerchief to show that the counting had begun, Colin ran to a tree. He climbed quickly up into the thick branches, and sat himself on a broad bough. He grinned.

"They can stalk me all they like, from one end of the thicket to the other, but they won't find me!" he thought. "And when they're all tired of looking and give up, I'll s.h.i.+n down and stroll up to them!"

The counting was up. Six Red Indians began to spread out and worm their way silently through heather and thick undergrowth and long gra.s.s.

Colin could see where some of them were by the movement of the undergrowth. He kept peeping between the boughs of his tree, chuckling to himself. This was fun!

And then something very surprising caught his eye. He glanced over to the high wall that surrounded the grounds of Milton Manor, and saw that somebody was astride the top! Even as he looked the man jumped down and disappeared from view, and Colin heard the crackling of undergrowth. Then everything was still. Colin couldn't see him at all. He was most astonished. What had the man been doing, climbing over the wall?

Colin couldn't for the life of him think what was best to do. He couldn't start yelling to the others from the tree. Then he suddenly saw that Peter, or one of the others, was very near where the man had gone to ground!

It was Peter. He had thought he had heard somebody not far from him, and he had felt sure it was Colin, squirming his way along. So he squirmed in that direction too.

Ah! He was sure there was somebody hiding in the middle of that bus.h.!.+ It was a great gorse bush, in full bloom. It must be Colin hiding there.

Cautiously Peter wriggled on his tummy right up to the bush. He parted the brown stems, and gazed in amazement at the man there. It wasn't Colin, after all!

As for the man, he was horrified. He suddenly saw a dreadful, painted face looking at Mm through the bush, and saw what he thought was a real hatchet aimed at him. He had no idea it was only wood!

He got up at once and fled-and for a moment Peter was so amazed that he didn't even follow!

Three.

A shock for Colin.

BY the time Peter had stood up to see where the horrified man had gone, he had completely disappeared. There wasn't a sign of him anywhere.

"Blow!" said Peter, vexed. "Fat lot of good I am as a Red Indian. Can't even stalk somebody right under my nose. Where in the world has the fellow gone?"

He began to hunt here and there, and soon the others, seeing him standing up, knew that something had happened. They called to him.

"Peter-what is it? Why are you showing yourself?"

"There was a man hiding under one of the bushes," said Peter. "I just wondered why. But he got up and shot away. Anyone see where he went?"

No one had seen him at all. They cl.u.s.tered round Peter, puzzled. "Fancy-seven of us crawling hidden in this field-and not one saw the man run off, " said Pam. "We haven't even seen Colin!"

"The game's finished for this afternoon," said Peter. He didn't want the girls to corne suddenly on the man in hiding-it would give them such a fright. "We'll call Colin. "

So they yelled for him. "Colin! Come out, wherever you are! The game's finished."

They waited for him suddenly to stand up and appear. But he didn't. There was no answer to their call, and no Colin suddenly appeared.

"Colin!" yelled everyone. "Come on out."

Still he didn't come. He didn't even shout back. It was queer.

"Don't be funny!" shouted George. "The game's over! Where are you?"

Colin was where he had been all the time-hidden up in his tree. Why didn't he shout back? Why didn't he s.h.i.+n down the tree and race over to the others, pleased that he hadn't been caught?

He didn''t show himself for a very good reason. He was much too frightened to!

He had had a shock when he saw the man drop down from the wall, and run to the thicket and hide-and he had an even greater shock when he saw him suddenly appear from a nearby bush, and run to the foot of the tree that he himself was hiding in.

Then he heard the sounds of someone clambering up at top speed-good gracious, the man was climbing the very tree that Colin himself had chosen for a hiding place!

Colin's heart beat fast. He didn't like this at all. What would the man say if he suddenly climbed up on top of him? He would certainly be very much annoyed.

The man came steadily up. But when he was almost up to the branch on which Colin sat, he stopped. The branch wasn't strong enough to hold a man, though it was quite strong enough for a boy.

The man curled himself up in a fork of the tree just below Colin. He was panting hard, but trying to keep his breathing as quiet as possible. Peter was not so very far away and might hear it.

Colin sat as if he was turned to stone. Who was this man? Why had he come over the wall? Why had he hidden in Little Thicket? He would never have done that if he had known it was full of the Secret Seven playing at Red Indians!

And now here he was up Colin's tree, still in hiding-and at any moment he might look up and see Colin. It was very unpleasant indeed.

Then Colin heard the others shouting for him. "Colin! Come out, wherever you are-the game's finished!"

But poor Colin didn't dare to come out, and certainly didn't dare to shout back. He hardly dared to breathe, and hoped desperately that he wouldn't have to sneeze or cough. He sat there as still as a mouse, waiting to see what would happen.

The man also sat there as still as a mouse, watching the six children below, peering at them through the leaves of the tree. Colin wished they had brought old Scamper with them. He would have sniffed the man's tracks and gone to the foot of the tree!

But Scamper had been left behind. He always got much too excited when they were playing Red Indians, and by his barking gave away where everyone was hiding!

After the others had hunted for Colin and called him, they began to walk off. "He must have escaped us and gone home," said Peter. "Well, we'll go too. We can't find that man, and I don't know that I want to, either. He looked a nasty bit of work to me."