Five Go to Mystery Moor Read Online Free PDF Page A

otherwise she kept everyone awake! But even so, Anne and George could hear her, snoring away - rrrumph - rrrumph! rrrumph - RRRRUMPH!
    „Blow Henrietta!" said George, sleepily. „What a row she makes. Anne, she"s not to come with us when we go riding tomorrow. Do you hear, Anne?"
    „Not very well," murmured Anne, trying to open her eyes. „G" night, George!"
    Timmy was on George"s feet as usual. He lay snuggled there, eyes shut and ears asleep too. He got as tired as everyone else, running over the hil s all day, scrabbling at scores of rabbit-holes, chasing dozens of remarkably fleet-footed rabbits. But at night he too slept like a log.
    Out in the stable the two boys slept peaceful y, covered by the old rug. Nearby the little skewbald horse moved restlessly, but they heard nothing. An owl came swooping over the stable, looking for mice down below. It screeched loudly, hoping to scare a mouse into sudden flight. Then it would swoop down and take it into its talons.
    Not even the screech awakened the boys. They slept dreamlessly, tired out.
    The door of the stable was shut and latched. Clip, the horse, suddenly stirred and looked round at the door. The latch was moving! Someone was lifting it from the outside. Clip"s pricked ears heard the sound of a little shuffle.
    He watched the door. Who was coming? He hoped it was Sniffer, the boy he liked so much. Sniffer was always kind to him. He didn"t like being away from Sniffer. He listened for the sniff-sniff that always went with the little gypsy boy, but he didn"t hear it.
    The door opened very slowly indeed. It gave no creak. Clip saw the night sky outside, set with stars. He made out a figure outlined against the darkness of the starry night, a black shadow.
    Someone came into the stable, and whispered „Clip!"
    The horse gave a little whinny. It wasn"t Sniffer"s voice. It was his father"s. Clip did not like him, he was too free with cuffs and kicks, and slashes with the whip. He lay stil , wondering why the gypsy had come.
    The man had no idea that Dick and Julian were sleeping in the stable. He had come in quietly because he had thought there might be other horses there, and he did not want to startle them and make them stamp about in fright. He had no torch, but his keen gypsy"s eyes made out Clip at once, lying in his straw.
    He tiptoed across to him and fel over Julian"s feet, sticking out from the straw bed he was lying on. He fel with a thud, and Julian sat up very suddenly indeed, awake at once.
    „Who"s there! What is it?"
    The gypsy shrank down beside Clip, keeping silent. Julian began to wonder if he had been dreaming. But his foot distinctly hurt him. Surely somebody had trodden on it, or fallen over it? He woke Dick.
    „Where"s the torch? Hello, look, the stable door is open! Quick, Dick, where on earth is the torch?"
    They found it at last and Julian clicked it on. At first he saw nothing, for the gypsy was in Clip"s stall, lying down behind the horse. Then the torch picked him out.
    „Hal o! Look there - it"s that gypsy, Sniffer"s father!" said Julian. „Get up, you! What on earth are you doing here, in the middle of the night?"

Chapter Five
GEORGE GETS A HEADACHE!

    The man got up sul enly. His ear-rings shone in the light of the torch. „I came to get Clip,"
    he said. „He"s my horse, isn"t he?"
    „You were told he wasn"t fit to walk yet," said Julian. „Do you want him to go lame for life?
    You ought to know enough about horses to know when one can be worked or not!"
    „I"ve got my orders," said the man. „I"ve got to take my caravan with the others."
    „Who said so?" said Dick, scornful y.
    „Barney Boswel ," said the man. „He"s boss of our lot here. We"ve got to start off together tomorrow."
    „But why?" said Julian, puzzled. „What"s so urgent about al this? What"s the mystery?"
    „There ain"t no mystery," said the man, stil sullen. „We"re just going to the moor."
    „What are you going to do there?" asked Dick, curiously. „It