Read Online Mystery of the Disappearing Cat by Enid Blyton - Free Book Online Page B

to?”
    “Perhaps he is,” said Fatty. “Well, we simply must talk to him, and tell him about the whistle we found in the cats’ cage, and all the clues we put there ourselves. I’ll go and whistle awfully loudly.”
    But not even Fatty’s loudest and most vigorous whistling brought any answer. So the children decided to wait at the gate about one o’clock. That was the time when Luke went home to his dinner.
    So they waited at the gate. But no Luke appeared. The children waited until ten minutes past one, and then had to rush off to their own meal.
    “Perhaps he’s got the sack,” said Fatty, the idea occuring to him for the first time. “Perhaps he won’t come next door any more.”
    “Oh,” said Bets in dismay, “poor Luke! Do you think Lady Candling gave him notice then, and said he wasn’t to come any more?”
    “How shall we find out?” said Larry.
    “We could ask Tupping,” said Daisy doubtfully. The others looked at her scornfully.
    “As if we’d go and ask Tupping anything!” said Larry. They all stood and thought for a moment.
    “I know,” said Pip. “Lady Candling said I could take Bets in to see her. So I will, this afternoon. And I could ask Lady Candling herself about Luke, couldn’t I?”
    “Good idea, Pip,” said Fatty. “I was just thinking the same thing myself. And also you could take the chance of finding out where Lady Candling was between four and five o’clock perhaps. I mean, find out whether she had any chance of slipping off down to the cats herself, to steal her own Dark Queen away.”
    “Well, I’m sure she didn’t,” said Pip at once. “You’ve only got to look at her to know she couldn’t even think of doing such a thing! Anyway, I thought we had decided that it wasn’t worth while questioning our Suspects, seeing that Luke was by the cat-house all the time during that hour and would have seen anyone there.”
    “Well, I suppose it isn’t really,” said Fatty. “I don’t see that it’s any way possible for the thief to have stolen the cat right under old Luke’s nose. He said that he hadn’t left the spot for even half a minute.”
    “There’s our dinner-bell again,” said Bets. “Come on, Pip, we shall get into an awful row. Come back afterwards, ~with others, and we’ll tell you how Pip and I get on this afternoon.”
    At half-past three Pip and Bets thought they would go and see Lady Candling.
    “I think it would be more polite to Lady Candling if you went looking clean,” said Daisy. So poor Pip and Bets went into the house to wash and put on clean clothes.
    Soon they were walking sedately down the drive, out of the gate, and up Lady Candling’s drive. They passed Tupping on the way. He was cutting the hedges there. He scowled at them as they passed.
    “Good afternoon, Tupping, what a beautiful day it is!” said Pip, in an imitation of his mother’s politeness. “I really think we shall have a little rain before long, though, don’t you? Still, the vegetable garden needs it, I’m sure!”
    Tupping gave a growl, and snipped viciously at the hedge. Pip felt sure he would like to have snipped at him and Bets. He grinned and went on his way.
    The two children went to the front door and rang the bell. A trim little maid came to the door and smiled at the children.
    “Please, is Lady Candling in?” asked Pip.
    “I think she’s in the garden,” said the maid. “I’ll take you out to the verandah, and you can go and look for her if you like. She may be picking roses.”
    “Have they found the cat yet?” asked Pip as he and Bets followed the maid out to a sunny verandah.
    “No,” said the maid. “Miss Harmer’s in a great state about her. It’s a funny business, isn’t it? I’m afraid it must have been Luke. After all, he was the only one near the cats between four and five o’clock.”
    “Didn’t you hear or see anyone strange at all yesterday afternoon?” asked Pip, thinking that he might as well ask a few