Five Go to Billycock Hill by Enid Blyton Read Free Book Online

glad it wasn"t alive!
    George couldn"t resist looking up, pretending to be quite unmoved - but when she saw the enormous creature just above her she shot straight out of her place and landed on Toby"s legs, making him spill his strawberries and cream.
    „Now, now, Georgina," said the annoying Toby, picking up his strawberries. „You said you didn"t mind spiders. I"l remove it for you, and you can go back to your place."
    „No, no - don"t touch it - ugh!" cried Anne. But Toby, putting on a very brave face, leaned over and neatly took the spider off the gorse-bush, stil swinging by its thread. He swung it near to Anne, who scrambled up at once,
    Then he made it „walk" over Dick"s knee, and Timmy came to investigate at once. Binky came too, and snapped at it, breaking the nylon thread that held it.
    „Ass!" said Toby, giving him a smack. „My beautiful spider - my spinner of webs - my tame catcher of flies!"
    „What - is it a tame one?" said Anne in horror.
    „More or less," said Toby, and put it careful y into his pocket, grinning all over his round face.
    „That"s enough, Toby," said Julian. „Joke"s finished."
    George stared at Toby, her face growing crimson. „A joke? A JOKE! You wait til I pay you out, Toby! I don"t call that a joke. I cal it a mean trick. You knew Anne hated spiders."
    „Let"s change the subject," said Dick hastily. „What are we going to do this afternoon?"
    „I know what I"d like to do," said Julian longingly. „I"d like a bathe. It"s so jolly hot. If we were at Kirrin I"d be in the sea al the afternoon."

    „I wish we were at Kirrin," said George sulkily.
    „Well - if you really do want a bathe, I can take you to a pool," said Toby, anxious to get into everyone"s good books again.
    „A pool? Where?" said Dick eagerly.
    „Well - see that airfield down there?" said Toby, pointing. „And see this spring here, where you get your water? It goes on and on running down the hil , joins two or three more little rivulets, and ends in a smashing pool not far from the airfield. Cold as ice it is, too. I"ve often bathed there."
    „It sounds jol y good," said Julian, pleased. 'Well, we can"t bathe immediately after a meal. The girls wil want to do their bit of washing-up, and put the rest of the food away.
    We"ll sit here and wait til they"ve finished, have a bit of a rest, and then go and find this pool."
    Everyone agreed to this, and the girls hurried off to the little spring.
    „If Toby has any more idiotic tricks like that I"l play a few on him!" said George. „In fact I"ve a good mind to pul him under in the pool."
    „He"s all right, George," said Anne. „He"s just like that at school, Dick says. He must drive the masters mad!"
    They soon joined the boys and had a short rest, while Timmy and Binky went off amiably together to do a little hunting - sniping down holes and under bushes, looking very serious indeed. They came back immediately George whistled.
    „We"re going, Timmy," said George. „Here"s your swim-suit, Dick, and yours, Julian. Good thing we brought them with us!"
    „What about you, Toby? You haven"t a swim-suit with you," said Julian.
    „We have to pass fairly near the farm," said Toby. „I"l leave you when we"re near there and get mine - it won"t take more than five minutes if I run all the way back."
    They set off down the hil towards the airfield. Except for the planes they had heard that morning, they had heard and seen none. It seemed a very quiet airfield.
    „Wait til they start experimenting with the new fighter planes my cousin told me about!"
    said Toby. „You"l hear a noise then - they"re so fast they break the sound-barrier every time they go up!"
    „Would your cousin let us look over the airfield one day?" asked Julian. „I"d like to do that.
    It wouldn"t interest the girls, but Dick and I would love it."
    „I should certainly like to go," said George at once. „It would interest me as much as you!"
    „But you"re a girl," said Toby. „Girls don"t