Read Online Mystery of the Spiteful Letters by Enid Blyton - Free Book Online Page A

because only a Peterswood person would know the people written to. What exactly does the post-mark say?’
    ‘It says, “Sheepsale, 11.45 a.m. April 3rd,” ’ said Daisy.
    ‘That was Monday,’ said Fatty. ‘What do the other post-marks say?’
    ‘They’re all different dates,’ said Daisy. ‘All of them except Gladys’s one are posted in March - but all from Sheepsale.’
    Fatty made a note of the dates and then took a small pocket calendar out. He looked up the dates and whistled.
    ‘Here’s a funny thing,’ he said. ‘They’re all a Monday! See - that one’s a Monday - and so is that - and that - and that. Whoever posted them must have written them on the Sunday, and posted them on Monday. Now - if the person lives in Peterswood, how can he get to Sheepsale to post them in time for the morning post on a Monday? There’s no railway to Sheepsale. Only a bus that doesn’t go very often.’
    ‘It’s market-day on Mondays at Sheepsale,’ said Pip, remembering. ‘There’s an early bus that goes then, to catch the market. Wait a bit - we can look it up. Where’s a bus time-table?’
    As usual, Fatty had one in his pocket. He looked up the Sheepsale bus.
    ‘Yes - here we are,’ he said. ‘There’s a bus that goes to Sheepsale from Peterswood each Monday - at a quarter-past ten - reaching there at one minute past eleven. There you are - I bet our letter-writing friend leaves Peterswood with a nasty letter in his pocket, catches the bus, gets out at Sheepsale, posts the letter - and then gets on with whatever business he has to do there!’
    It all sounded extremely likely, but somehow Larry thought it was too likely. ‘Couldn’t the person go on a bike?’ he said.
    ‘Well - he could - but think of that awful hill up to Sheepsale,’ said Fatty. ‘Nobody in their senses would bike there when a bus goes.’
    ‘No - I suppose not,’ said Larry. ‘Well - I don’t see that all this gets us much farther, Fatty. All we’ve found out is that more people than Gladys and Molly have had these letters - and that they all come from Sheepsale and are posted at or before 11.45 - and that possibly the letter-writer may catch the 10.15 bus from Peterswood.’
    ‘All we’ve found out!’ said Fatty. ‘Gosh, I think we’ve discovered an enormous lot. Don’t you realize that we’re really on the track now - the track of this beastly letter-writer. Why, if we want to, we can go and see him - or her - on Monday morning!’
    The others stared at Fatty, puzzled.
    ‘We’ve only got to catch that 10.15 bus!’ said Fatty. ‘See? The letter-writer is sure to be on it. Can’t we discover who it is just by looking at their faces? I bet I can!’
    ‘Oh, Fatty!’ said Bets, full of admiration. ‘Of course - we’ll catch that bus. But, oh dear, I should never be able to tell the right person, never. Will you really be able to spot who it is?’
    ‘Well, I’ll have a jolly good try,’ said Fatty, ‘And now I’d better take these letters back, I think. But first of all I want to make a tracing of some of these sentences - especially words like “PETERSWOOD” that occur in each address - in case I come across somebody who prints their words in just that way.’
    ‘People don’t print words, though - they write them,’ said Daisy. But Fatty took no notice. He carefully traced a few of the words, one of them being ‘PETERSWOOD.’ He put the slip into his wallet. Then he snapped the bit of elastic round the package and stood up.
    ‘How are you going to get the letters back without being seen?’ asked Larry.
    ‘Don’t know yet,’ said Fatty, with a grin. ‘Just chance my luck, I think. Wait about for Gladys, will you, and tell her I didn’t approve of her taking the letters like that in case Mr. Goon was angry with her - and tell her I’m returning him the letters, and hope he won’t know she took them at all.’
    ‘Right,’ said Larry. Fatty was about to go when he turned and came back. ‘I’ve an idea I’d better pop on my telegraph-boy’s uniform,’ he said. ‘Just in case old Goon