Mystery of Banshee Towers (4 page)

“Pleased? I feel like a tail with two dogs,” said Ern, looking down at Buster and Bingo trotting amicably together. “No, I mean a dog with two tails. Coo luvaduck - wasn’t poor old Uncle in a temper - all because he fell over Bingo! To think I’m going to stay in your workroom. Fatty - I feel honoured, straight I do! You’re a friend - and I can’t say more than that, can I?”

“No, that’s about the best thing anyone can say about anyone else,” said Fatty, with one of his grins. He gave Ern a little punch in the back. “I bet I’ll say that about
you
someday, Ern!”

Ern glowed. He looked round gratefully at the little bunch of friends walking with him. Yes, that was about the best thing that could happen to anyone - to Have Friends, whether they were two-legged or four-legged.

“And to BE a friend to someone is just as good,” thought Ern. “Well - maybe it’s even better. I’ll have to ask Fatty about it sometime. He’s sure to know!”

The little company went in at the back gate of Fatty’s garden, and trooped down to the shed - Fatty’s cosy little workroom. The two dogs trotted along amicably together, Bingo occasionally giving Buster a friendly lick. Bingo’s tail never stopped wagging or waving.

“You’ll wear it out if you’re not careful, Bingo.” said Ern, as they went in close file down the path, Bingo’s tail slapping against the nearest legs. Bets laughed. She didn’t feel scared any longer - just pleased and excited. She was glad that Ern had got away from unkind Mr Goon. It would be nice to have him at their meetings.

The workroom felt warm when they opened the door, and was full of a golden light from the sinking sun.

“Well, here we are once more,” said Fatty. “Get out the toffees, Bets - they’re in that cupboard. I’ll just go up to the house and see if I can find a camp-bed - or a spare mattress, if not.”

He disappeared, and Bets went to find the toffees. Trust Fatty to have something to chew or suck or drink! Good old Fatty to think about rescuing poor Ern!

Fatty was in the middle of hunting about for a camp-bed when bis mother appeared. She was astonished to see him in the lumber-room. “What in the world do you want, Fatty?” she said.

“Er - well, I just wondered if there was a camp-bed to spare,” said Fatty.

“A
camp
-bed? Whatever for?” said his mother. “Fatty, I will NOT allow you to sleep out in the garden yet! You’d catch your death of cold!”

“Mother dear, I’m not
thinking
of such a thing!” said Fatty. “I like my own warm bed much too much to want to shiver outside, with beetles and frogs and ants all over me. I just wondered if we
had
a camp-bed to spare, that’s all.”

“Fatty, why are you so mysterious about it?” asked his mother. “Look at me! Why this sudden idea of a camp-bed?”

“Darling Mother, you are always so
curious
,” said Fatty, taking her hand. “Can’t you trust me? I don’t want to steep on it. I don’t want to sell it. I don’t even want to take it off the premises. I just want to
borrow
it. I’m afraid if I told you
why
I want it, someone might ask you questions and then you’d answer - and someone else might suffer. Please trust me. Mother, and believe that, like the Boy Scouts, I am about to do a Good Deed!”

“I never in my life knew anyone who could wheedle things out of me like you, Frederick,” said his mother, beginning to laugh. “All right - I won’t ask you any questions. I’ll trust you - as I always do, dear! There’s a spare camp-bed in the cupboard under the stairs.”

“Bless you, Mother, you’re a pet,” said Fatty, and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. He went to the cupboard and found the camp-bed. In no time at all he had carried it down the garden, unseen, and Larry was helping him to take it through the door of the shed.

“Did you have any bother getting it?” asked Larry. “I always have to go into long, long explanations when
I
want to borrow anything like a camp-bed.”

“No. Fortunately my mother trusts me as much as I trust
her
,” said Fatty, putting up the camp-bed with Ern. “Nothing like trust in a family! I can recommend it thoroughly.”

Ern stared at Fatty. What queer things Fatty sometimes said - but they were worth remembering. Ern thought. “Nothing like trust in a family.” That meant trusting one another. There was quite a lot in that idea. Ern decided to think about it when he was in bed. He felt excited when he saw the camp-bed neatly made up in a corner of the workroom.

“Luvaduck!” he said. “It’s a miracle, this! Me sleeping here, all on my own, safe as houses, and my uncle not knowing a thing about it. I don’t know how to thank you enough, Fatty, that I don’t.”

“Well, don’t try,” said Fatty. “Bets, did you find the toffees - ah yes, I see a lump in your cheek, and one in Pip’s.”

“Fatty, can we do anything to help Ern?” asked Bets. “I mean - bring food, or something like that. Cook will always give us bits and pieces.”

“Well, I vote we all bring what we can, without arousing any
suspicions
,” said Fatty. “Ern had better send a postcard to his mother, saying ‘Getting on fine, quite happy’, or something like that - in case Goon tells her that he’s sent Ern off. But I don’t somehow think he will! He’ll imagine that Ern has rushed back home, with awful tales about him!”

“I’m going to enjoy myself,” said Ern, bouncing up and down on the camp-bed. “Wish
I
could do something for somebody - you, Bets, for instance. I’d do anything, reely I would!”

“I’ve no doubt your chance will come someday,” said Fatty. “Now, what about a game? Or shall we first of all decide what expeditions we are going to make this week?”

“It sounds as if we were explorers or something.” said Pip. “How nice to be able to say ‘What about exploring the Sahara, old man?’ Or ‘I think we should row down the Nile and count the number of crocodiles there, dear fellow’!”

The others chuckled. “Well, let’s take a vote on where we should go first,” said Fatty, taking two sheets of paper from a shelf. “Here are the lists made out by Pip’s father and Larry’s - together with a few notes of my own. I think we’ll take a vote as to which two places we would prefer to visit. We can always go and see the others afterwards, if we want to.”

He read out the list of places. “Well, there you are. Now just choose two of those, each of you, and scribble them down, fold your papers in half and give them to me. I’ll open them and see which places the majority of us want to visit.”

Soon they were all busy. Bets asked how to spell “Banshee” so everyone at once knew
one
of her choices! The notes were handed to Fatty and he opened them.

“Well, the two places that the majority of you want to see are: the old Water-Caves at Chillerbing - and Banshee Towers on Banshee Hill. Bets, I’m surprised
you
put down Banshee Towers. I thought you’d be scared of any places connected with banshees wailing in the night!”

“Fatty, I only chose Banshee Towers because you said there were magnificent sea-pictures there,” said Bets. “I won’t go if there are
still
banshees, though - unkind fairies wailing and foretelling horrible things! I’d hate that.”

“Dear Bets, banshees only belong to fairy tales,” said Fatty, seeing that Bets looked rather scared. “We shan’t see or hear a single banshee - but we
shall
see a magnificent set of sea-pictures. I believe some of them reach from floor to ceiling. We shall feel quite seasick if we gaze at them too long.”

“I shall take some seasick medicine with me, then,” said Bets solemnly. “I’ve some left - a few pills.”

Everyone roared with laughter. “I’m only teasing you, Bets,” said Fatty. “I say -
do
look at those two dogs!”

They all turned to look - and there were Buster and Bingo,
both
squeezed into Buster’s basket, fast asleep, so entangled that, as Larry said, “T’other couldn’t be told from which!” Pip glanced at Fatty and Ern. Both had such pleased, admiring looks on their faces that Pip laughed.

“Look at Fatty and Ern,” he said. “Did you ever see such dippy looks on any faces except dog-lovers?”

“Yes, I did - on yours on your birthday when Granny gave you two white rabbits!” said Bets at once. “You looked at them just like Auntie Sue looks when she goes to see if her twins are asleep!
Quite
dippy!”

That made Pip go red, and everyone laughed. “You’re getting quite smart, young Bets,” said Fatty. “Well, to come back to Banshee Towers. I see that four out of five have voted for that, so we’ll go there. And three out of five have voted for the Water-Caves. So those are our first two expeditions.”

“
I
voted for Banshee Towers, too,” said Ern, to Bets. “I’m mad on sea-pictures. You see, I want to go into the Navy when I’m old enough, so I
had
to vote for the sea-picture place. And don’t you worry about banshees. Bets. The moment I see one, I’ll whistle like this, see, and I’ll make them so scared they’ll fly out of the window and never come back!” And Ern suddenly put two fingers into his mouth, screwed up his face, and gave a very sudden, very long and extremely piercing whistle. It made everyone jump violently, and the two dogs in the basket leapt straight up into the air as if they had been shot.

Buster barked and Bingo howled, and both dogs tore round and round the room after imaginary enemies. Ern was quite overcome at the commotion he had caused.

Fatty glared at him. “ERN! Do you want to bring all the policemen in the neighbourhood here? That whistling of yours is EXACTLY like a police-whistle. You’ll have my father and my mother down here if you don’t lookout.”

“Luvaduck!” muttered Ern, trying to catch Bingo as he tore past him for the third time, really scared.

Fatty heard a shout from somewhere outside, and groaned. “Somebody
is
coming!” he said. “Switch off the light, Bets, quick - the switch is just behind you. Shut up barking, Buster, you ass. Now - no noise, anyone. We’ll sit here in the dark and hope nobody comes to find out what on earth we are doing here. SHHHHHHH!”

Not a sound was to be heard in the darkened room except some rather heavy breathing from a scared Ern. Suppose he was found here by his uncle or somebody and sent home? Ern wished and wished that he hadn’t shown Bets how he proposed to frighten a banshee.

After five minutes had ticked by, Fatty judged it safe to put on the lights again. As he did so, there came the sound of a gong from his house, away up the garden. He groaned.

“That’s my supper bell. Where
has
the evening gone to? I’ll have to go. You and Pip ought to go too, Bets.”

“Gosh, and so had we!” said Larry, pulling Daisy to her feet. “Good thing our father and mother are out tonight, and there’s only Cookie to see to us. Goodnight everyone. Sleep well, Ern. So long, Bingo-dog. Be good!”

“Wuff,” said Bingo, pleased to hear his name. He accompanied everyone to the door, his tail wagging nineteen to the dozen. The two dogs gave each other a quick lick, and Buster trotted up the garden with Fatty.

Ern was left alone in the shed. He was astonished to hear Bingo growling softly twenty minutes later, and horrified to hear soft footsteps coming to the door. His heart sank. Was it his uncle, coming to fetch him? But how could he
possibly
know where he, Ern, was? The door opened and a torch shone in, lighting up the darkness in which Ern sat. Ern trembled and shook, feeling most alarmed.

“Ern! It’s me, Fatty. I’ve come to bring you some supper - and to tell you there’s a torch in the table drawer, if you want to see to eat or to read. I shan’t be able to come down again to the shed tonight, so goodnight, and sleep well. I’ll bring you some breakfast in the morning.”

“Coo, thanks, you’re a wonder, Fatty,” said the grateful Ern, and took the tray that Fatty handed in.

“There’s a bone for old Bingo, from Buster,” said Fatty, giving him a paper bag. “So long, Ern. See you tomorrow!”

“So long,” said Ern, gratefully, and sat down to eat a nice piece of fried fish, mashed potatoes and greens. He gave the bone to Bingo, who was thrilled. He made such a noise gnawing it that Ern felt sure it could be heard for miles around!

“Bingo, old dog - are you enjoying this?” said Ern when at last he had undressed and slipped under the rug that Fatty had left for the camp-bed. “Come on under the rug with me - we’ll keep each other warm. That’s right. Snuggle down. Goodnight!”

Goodnight, Ern and Bingo. You’re quite safe, though Somebody has peeped in at the window, and knows you are there! Don’t worry: it was only the black cat next door - and she fled as soon as she saw Bingo! Sleep tight!

Ern had a happy, but very restless night. Bingo kept imagining that he heard rats running round outside the shed, trying to get in, and leapt on and off the camp-bed every few minutes, rushing to sniff round the corners of the shed, his long tail waving in excitement.

“Bingo! I’d much rather have rats nibbling my toes than you jumping off and on my tummy all night long,” said Ern at last. “For goodness sake come and lie down.”

Tired out at last, Bingo cuddled under the rug and fell asleep. Era put an arm round him and went to sleep too, dead to the world until morning.

He awoke to hear a stealthy knocking on the door and flew out of bed to open it. Fatty was there - good old Fatty - his pockets bulging. Buster was with him, and immediately went to rub noses with Bingo.

“Hallo, Ern,” said Fatty, pushing his way in quickly to prevent the excited Bingo from rushing out. “Got to be a bit careful - Gardener’s here this morning, and he’d better not see you in the shed. He might tell Goon!”

“I’ll be very careful, then,” said Ern, as Fatty pulled a hastily-wrapped packet from one pocket, and some apples from another.

“Here you are, Ern,” he said. “Best I could do for the moment. I didn’t dare to take too much from the larder, but there were plenty of eggs, so that was something. How’s old Bingo? Was he good last night?”

“Well, he seemed to be hunting round for rats for
hours
,” said Ern, unwrapping the packet Fatty gave him. “Coo - hard-boiled egg sandwiches - smashing! And two buttered rolls - with honey inside! You’re a brick, Fatty, straight you are.”