chapter 10 getting ready for the show

julian and dick watched the light for a little longer, and then turned to go back to the farm. the windwas so strong and so cold that even on that summer's night they found themselves shivering.

'i'm glad you found us, yan,' said dick, putting an arm round the small, shivering boy. 'thanks foryour help. we're going to explore that old tower. would you like to show us the way to it?'

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yan shivered all the more, from fright as much as cold. 'no. i'm frit,' he said. 'i'm frit of that towernow.'

'what does he mean, frit?' said dick. 'short for frightened, i suppose! all right, yan. you needn'tcome. it is pretty peculiar, i must admit. now, go back to your hut.'

yan shot off in the dark like a scared rabbit. the boys made their way home, not very cautiously, forthey felt sure they were the only people out that night. but when they came to the farm-yard they sawsomething that made them stop suddenly.

'there's a light in the big barn!' whispered dick. 'it's gone, no, there it is again. it's somebody with atorch, flashing it on and off. who is it?'

'one of the barnies, perhaps,' whispered back julian. 'let's go and see. we know the barnies aresleeping in the near-by sheds tonight.'

they tiptoed to the barn and looked through a crack. they saw nothing at first. then a torch flashed,shedding its light on some of the properties of the barnies, stacked in a corner, scenery, dresses,coats, and other things.

'somebody's going through the pockets!' said julian, indignantly. 'look at that! a thief!'

'who is it?' said dick. 'one of the barnies pick-pocketing?'

for a moment or two the torch lighted up the back of the intruder's hand in the barn, and the boysstifled an exclamation. they knew that hand! it was covered with black hairs almost as thick as fur!

'mr. penruthlan!' whispered dick. 'yes, i see it's him now. look at his enormous shadow. what's hedoing? he must be mad, walking about at night on the hills, stealing into the barn, going throughpockets. look what he's doing now! looking in the drawers of that chest the barnies are going to usein one of their scenes. yes, he's mad!'

julian felt most uncomfortable. he didn't like spying on his host like this. what a strange man hewas! he told untruths, he crept about at night, he went through people's pockets. yes, he must bemad! did mrs. penruthlan know? she couldn't know, or she would be unhappy, and she reallyseemed the most cheerful, gay little person in the world!

'come on,' said julian, in dick's ear. 'he's going through everything! though what he expects to findin the barnies' stage clothes and properties, i don't know. he's got a kink! come on, i really don'twant to spot him taking something, stealing it. it would be so awkward if we had to say we saw himstealing.'

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they left the barn and went back to the farmhouse, creeping in once more at the back door. theylooked at the front door. it was shut, but no longer locked or bolted.

the boys went upstairs, puzzled. what a strange night! the howling wind, the flashing light, thefurtive man in the barn, they didn't know what to make of it at all!

'let's wake the girls and tell them,' said julian. 'i feel as if i can't wait till the morning.'

george was awake and so was timmy. timmy had heard them going out, and had lain awake waitingfor them to come back. he had stirred and had awakened george. she was quite prepared to hear awhisper at the door!

'anne! george! we've got some news!' whispered julian. timmy gave a little welcoming whine andleapt off the bed. soon anne was awake, too, and the girls were listening in amazement at the boys'

news.

they were almost as surprised to hear about mr. penruthlan in the barn as to hear about the lightactually flashing in the tower.

'so it was true what old grandad said, then?' whispered anne. 'he had seen the light again. i do thinkit's weird, all this. julian, you don't think we'll hear of a wreck tomorrow, do you? i couldn't bear it!'

'nor could i,' said george, listening to the wind howling outside. 'fancy being wrecked on a nightlike this, and being dashed on the rocks by those pounding waves. i feel as if we ought to rush off tothe caves here and now and see if we can do any rescuing!'

'we wouldn't be much use,' said dick. 'i doubt if we could even get near the cove on a night like this.

the waves would run right up to the road that leads down to it.'

they talked and talked about everything. then george yawned. 'we'd better stop,' she said.

'we'll never wake up tomorrow morning. we can't go and explore that tower tomorrow, julian.

the barnies will be here, and we've promised mrs. penruthlan to help her.'

'it'll have to be next day, then,' said julian. 'but i'm determined to go. yan said he wouldn't show usthe way. he said he was too 'frit'!'

'i feel pretty frit myself,' said george, settling down. 'i should have jumped out of my skin if i'd seenthat light tonight.'

the boys stole back to their room. soon they were in bed and asleep. the wind still howled round thehouse, but they didn't hear it. they were tired out with their long walk over the hills.

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next day was so busy that it was quite dificult to find time to remember the night's happenings!

they were reminded of it by one thing, though!

mrs. penruthlan was seeing to their breakfast, and making bright conversation as usual. she wasnever at a loss for words, and chattered all day long either to the children or to the dogs.

'did you sleep well with that howling gale blowing all night long?' she asked. 'i slept like a top.

so did mr. penruthlan! he told me he never moved all night, he was that tired!'

the children kicked each other under the table, but said nothing. they knew quite a lot more abouther husband's nights than she did!

after that they had very little time to think of anything but picking fruit, podding peas, rushing hereand there, carrying things for the barnies, helping them to put up benches, barrels, boxes and chairsfor the audience to sit on, and even mending tears in some of the stage clothes! anne had offered tosew on a button, and at once found herself overwhelmed with requests to mend this, that and theother!

it was an extremely busy day. yan appeared as usual and was greeted uproariously by timmy, ofcourse. all the dogs loved him, but timmy was quite silly with him. mrs. penruthlan sent yan onendless errands, which he ran quickly and willingly.

'he may be a bit simple, but he's quick enough when he thinks there's some good food he's going toshare!' she said. so it was 'fetch this, yan!' 'do that, yan!' all day long.

the barnies worked hard, too. they had a quick rehearsal in which every single thing went wrong;the guv'nor raved and raged and stamped, making anne wonder why they didn't all run away andstay away!

first there was to be a kind of concert party such as pierrots give on the beaches. then there was tobe a play, most heart-rending and melodramatic, with villains and heroes and a heroine who was veryhardly used. but everything came right for her in the end, anne was relieved to find!

clopper the horse was to have no definite performance of his own. he just wandered on and off thestage to get laughs and to please everyone, or to fill awkward gaps. there was no doubt he would dothis to perfection!

julian and dick watched mr. binks and sid doing a small rehearsal on their own in a corner of thefarmyard. how well those back legs and front legs worked together! how that horse danced, trotted,galloped, marched, fell over, tied itself into knots, sat down, got up, went to sleep, and, in 52fact, did every comical thing that sid and mr. binks could think of. they really were very, veryfunny.

'let me try the head on, mr. binks,' begged julian. 'do let me. just to feel what it's like.'

but it was no good. sid wouldn't let him. mr. binks had no say in the matter at all. 'orders areorders,' said sid, picking up the head as soon as mr. binks took it off. 'i don't want to lose my job.

the guv'nor says if this horse's head is mislaid again, i'll be mislaid, too! so hands off clopper!'

'do you sleep with clopper?' asked dick, curiously. 'having to take charge of a horse's head all thetime must be a bore!'

'you get used to it,' said sid. 'yes, i sleep with old clopper. him and me have our heads on thepillow together. he sleeps sound, does old clopper!'

'he's the best part of the show,' grinned julian. 'you'll bring the barn down with clopper tonight!'

'we always do,' said mr. binks. 'he's the most important member of the barnies, and he gets paid theworst. shame.'

'yes, back-legs and front-legs are badly paid,' said sid. 'they only count as one player, see, so we gethalf pay. still, we like the life, so there you are!'

they went off together, sid carrying the horse's head as usual under his arm. he really was a funnylittle man, cheery and silly and gay.

julian suddenly remembered something at dinner time. 'mrs. penruthlan,' he said. 'i suppose thatawful wind didn't cause any wrecks last night, did it?'

the farmer's wife looked surprised. 'no, julian. why should it? ships keep right out to sea roundthese coasts now. the lighthouse warns them, you know. the only way any ship could come in nowwould be to nose into one of the caves at full tide, and then she'd have to be very careful of rocks.

the fishermen know the rocks as well as they know the backs of their hands, and they come into thecoves at times. but no other craft come now.'

everyone heaved a sigh of relief. the flashing light hadn't caused a wreck last night, then. that was amercy! they went on with their meal. mr. penruthlan was there, eating away as usual, and sayingnothing at all. his jaws worked vigorously up and down, and it was impossible to think he had noteeth to chew with. julian glanced at his hands, covered with black hairs. yes, he had seen thosehands last night, no doubt about that! not wielding a knife and fork, but sliding into pockets.

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the evening came at last. everything was ready. a big table was placed in the kitchen, made ofstrong trestles and boards. mrs. penruthlan gave the two girls a most enormous white cloth to layover it. it was bigger than any cloth they had ever seen!

'it's the one i use at harvest-time,' said the farmer's wife, proudly. 'we have a wonderful harvestsupper then, on that same table, but we put it out in the big barn because there's not enough roomhere in the kitchen for all the farm workers. and we clear the table away afterwards and have adance.'

'what fun!' said anne. 'i do think people are lucky to live on a farm. there's always something goingon!'

'town folk wouldn't say that!' said mrs. penruthlan. 'they think the country is a dead-and-alive place,but, my word, there's more life about a farm than anywhere else in the world. farm life's the realthing i always say!'

'it is,' agreed anne, and george nodded, too. they had now spread out the snowy-white cloth and itlooked lovely.

'that cloth's the real thing, too,' said mrs. penruthlan. 'it belonged to my great- great- great-grandmother, and it's nearly two hundred years old! as white as ever and not a darn in it! it's seenmore harvest suppers than any cloth made, and that's the truth!'

the table was laid with plates and knives and forks, cruets and glasses. all the barnies had beeninvited, and there were the children, too, of course. one or two of the villagers were staying as well,to help. what a feast they would all have!

the larder was so crammed with food that it was difficult to get into it. meat pies, fruit pies, hams, agreat round tongue, pickles, sauces, jam tarts, stewed and fresh fruit, jellies, a great trifle, jugs ofcream - there was no end to the things mrs. penruthlan had got ready. she laughed when she saw thechildren peeping there and marvelling.

'you won't get any high tea today,' she told them. 'you'll get nothing from dinner till supper, so thatyou can get up a good appetite and really eat well!'

nobody minded missing high tea with that wonderful supper to come. the excitement grew as thetime came near for the show. 'here come the first villagers!' cried julian, who was at the barn door tohelp to sell the tickets. 'hurrah! it will soon begin! walk up, everyone! finest show in the world.

come along in your hundreds! come along!'