Mystery of Banshee Towers

Enid Blyton: The Mystery of Banshee Towers (Mystery #15)

“I do wish old Fatty would buck up and come back from wherever he’s staying,” said Bets. “We’ve had almost a week of the holidays without him already - such a waste!”

“He’s coming back today,” said Pip, passing a postcard across the breakfast-table to his young sister. “Here’s a card from him. Three cheers!”

Bets read the card out loud. “Back tomorrow by bus from Warling. Meet me at bus stop if you can. What about a nice juicy mystery? I feel just about ready for one. Fatty.”

“A nice juicy
what
?” said her mother, puzzled.

“
Mystery
,” said Bets, her eyes shining. “You know how something always seems to happen when Fatty’s about, Mother - there was the mystery of the Pantomime Cat - and the mystery of the Vanished Prince - and…”

Her father groaned. “Look, Bets - I’m tired of all these adventures and strange happenings that seem to pop up whenever your friend Frederick is about. Just try and steer clear of any trouble these holidays. I was hoping that Frederick was staying away for a nice long time.”

“I wish you wouldn’t call him Frederick, Daddy,” said Bets. “It does sound so silly.”

“I should have thought that Frederick was a much better name for a boy in his teens, than the absurd name of Fatty,” said her father. “I wonder Frederick allows people to call him by that old nickname now.”

“But Fatty
is
fat, and the name suits him,” said Pip. “Anyway I don’t think
my
nickname is very suitable for me now that I’m a bit older. Why can’t I be called by my proper name of Philip, instead of Pip?”

“Simply because you’re a bit of pip-squeak still and probably always will be,” said his father, disappearing behind his newspaper. Bets gave a sudden laugh, and then a groan as Pip kicked her under the table.

“Pip!” said his mother warningly. Bets changed the subject hurriedly. She didn’t want Pip to get into any trouble the very day that Fatty came home.

“Mother, where’s the bus time-table?” she said. “I’d like to find out what time old Fatty’s bus arrives.”

“Well, seeing that there are only two in the morning, and the bus from Warling takes two hours to get here, I should think he’ll be on the
first
bus,” said Pip, “otherwise he’d be jolly late!”

“It should be about a quarter to ten,” said his mother. “That means you’ll have plenty of time to clear up the fearful mess in your playroom first. I could hardly get into it yesterday.”

Pip groaned. “WHY do we always have to tidy the playroom when we plan to go out?” he demanded. “I really do think it’s…”

“Enough said,” said his father, from behind his newspaper, and Pip became silent at once. He looked across at Bets, and she grinned at him happily. Fatty was coming back! Fatty with his wide grin, his twinkling eyes, his mad jokes - and his extraordinary habit of suddenly finding himself in the middle of peculiar mysteries! Oh the time they had had with Fatty - the excitement - the adventures! Why was it that some people
always
found themselves in the middle of something thrilling?

“If Fatty was cast away on a lonely desert island something extraordinary would immediately happen,” thought Bets. “A mermaid would pop up and let him swim away on her back. Or a submarine might arrive and…”

“Bets, what are you dreaming about?” said her mother. “You’ve carefully buttered your bread on
both
sides!”

Pip and Bets tore upstairs as soon as breakfast was finished, only one thought in their minds - Fatty was coming back! “Let’s buck up and tidy the playroom,” said Pip. “I want to go round to Larry’s and see if he and Daisy know that Fatty’s coming back today.”

He began to throw everything into the big toy cupboard, higgledy, piggledy, bang, crash, wallop!

“Mother won’t like that,” began Bets, but Pip only laughed at her. “All right -
you
do it properly, old slowcoach. Goodbye - I’m off to Larry’s. See you later!”

But Bets couldn’t bear to be left behind, so she shoved in the last few things, flew to get her hat and raced down the stairs after Pip, falling over the cat sitting on the bottom stair.

“Sorry, Puss!” she panted, and raced down to the front gate. “Pip! WAIT for me!”

Soon they were at Larry’s house. The front door was open, and they could hear Daisy calling to her brother. “Aren’t you ready to meet Fatty? You’ll be late!”

In a few moments all four children were on their way to the bus-stop. “What do you bet that old Fatty will play one of his tricks on us, and come in some kind of disguise?” said Pip.

“Well, I hope he does,” said Larry. “We’d soon see through it. Fatty can’t disguise his plumpness!”

“Look, we’re
just
in time,” said Bets. “Here comes the bus. Let’s run!”

The bus, a double-decker, came to a stop, and the four children ran to the exit at the back. People were crowding off, and the conductor was shouting loudly, “Hurry off, please, and mind the step!”

Larry suddenly nudged Pip. “Look, that’s Fatty - he’s disguised himself, just as we guessed he would. He’s carrying a dog-basket too, and I bet old dog Buster is in there. Stand back - don’t let him see us!”

The fellow who was carrying the dog-basket was stout, and wore a bulky overcoat, a yellow scarf round his neck and chin, and a cap with a large peak pulled down over his nose. He coughed hollowly as he stepped down from the bus, and held a large green cotton handkerchief to his mouth.

Bets giggled. “That’s Fatty all right!” she said in a low voice to Pip. “Let’s not say a word, but just follow him solemnly home!”

They set off, keeping just behind him. The fat fellow went off at quite a pace, limping slightly with his left foot.

“Yes, that’s Fatty!” said Larry. “Sort of thing he
would
do, in disguise - put on a limp or something! He can’t fool
us
, though!”

They followed the limping youth down the street, round a corner and up the hill. Then Larry shouted to him.

“Hey, Fatty! Stop! We know it’s you!”

The youth swung round and glared at them. “Don’t you dare to call after
me
!” he shouted. “Cheeky young brats!”

“Go on, Fatty - we can’t
help
knowing it’s you!” said Pip. “And we know you’ve got old Buster-dog in that basket, too. Let him out!”

“Buster? Who’s Buster?” said the fellow. “Are you mad? There’s a
cat
in here, not a dog! Have a look!”

He slipped the catch of the basket, and opened the lid. Out sprang a most enormous ginger cat, spitting and hissing!

The four children stared in the greatest astonishment. A CAT - not Buster! So this fellow
wasn’t
Fatty after all. Gosh - what an awful mistake!

“Er - we’re very sorry. It’s all a mistake,” stuttered poor Larry, his face scarlet. “We do beg your pardon.”

“Now you just listen to me,” said the fat fellow, angrily. “See that bobby over there? Well, I’m going to complain of you, see? Following me about! Whispering behind my back. Calling me names! I can’t help being fat, can I? Come here, Pussykins - that’s right, you hiss at these little varmints. Scratch them if you like!”

To the children’s horror, the fellow went across the road to a corner - and who should be standing there but Mr Goon, the village policeman. Mr GOON! He was no friend of theirs! What in the world could they do?

“Better get away quickly, before Mr Goon comes after us!” said Pip. “Gosh - what a mistake we made!”

He turned to run, and bumped hard into someone standing just behind him, grinning, a little Scottie dog in his arms.

“FATTY! It’s you! Fatty, we thought you were that fellow over there, with the dog-basket!” cried Pip, overjoyed to see his friend gain. “We followed him, and now he’s gone to complain about us to Goon!”

“And
I
followed
you
!” said Fatty. “I was on the top deck of the bus, and I saw you, though you didn’t see me! I carried Buster because I was afraid he’d go careering after you, and give the game away. Give your friends a lick, Buster!”

He held up the little Scottie, and Buster most ecstatically licked all his four friends, whining in joy. Then Fatty put him down on the pavement, and alas, Buster suddenly spotted Goon the policeman, who was staring angrily at the children from across the road.

Buster gave a yelp of delight and raced across the road at top speed. Ah, here was his old enemy! What about dancing round his ankles and pretending to nip him? Buster felt just like a little exercise after his long ride on the bus!

Mr Goon glared at the excited Buster in disgust. “Ha - you little pest of a dog! So you’re back with your master, are you? Get away, now! Clear-orf!”

“Buster’s only telling you how pleased he is to see you,” said Fatty, as the burly policeman tried to skip away from Buster’s attentions. “My word, Mr Goon, you ought to learn dancing! You’re really nippy with your feet - almost as nippy as Buster is with his teeth! Heel, Buster! The Dancing Lesson is over!”

Goon went purple in the face. That boy! That toad of a boy! What wonderful peace and quiet there had been in the village for at least a week, with That Boy away! Now he was back, and something would turn up to make things uncomfortable, Goon was sure. That fat boy was always in the middle of Peculiar Happenings of some sort!

Fatty joined the others, who, feeling sure that the fellow with the cat had complained about them to Mr Goon, were keeping well away from the angry policeman.

“I must say that I think you were all a bit fatheaded - following a chap-with-a-cat instead of a boy-with-a-dog!” said Fatty.

“All right - don’t rub it in,” said Larry. “I’ll stand us all ice-creams to make up for our mistake.”

“Sorry - but I think I
must
get home first.” said Fatty. “Mother will be looking out for me. But let’s have a Meeting this afternoon - A Meeting of the Famous Find-Outers and Dog! Come to my workroom about half-past two. Come on. Buster old thing! To heel! and DO remember to be polite and shake paws with my father and mother as SOON as you see them!”

Larry and Daisy went off together and so did Pip and Bets. Bets’ mother was amused to see the little girl’s happy face. “I can see that you met Frederick all right!” she said.

“We’re having a Meeting at Fatty’s this afternoon,” said Bets, her face glowing. “It’s the first Meeting the Find-Outers have had for ages!”

“Find-Outers?” said her mother. “Let me see now, that’s…”

“Oh,
Mother
! You
know
we’re the Five Find-Outers - and Dog!” said Pip. “Don’t you remember all the mysteries we’ve solved? I daresay we’ll find out another and solve it
these
hols!”

“
If
one turns up!” said Bets.

Don’t worry, Bets. Things always happen when Fatty is around. I don’t expect you will have to wait
very
long before a nice “juicy” mystery looms up for every one of you!

Bets felt excited when at last the time came to go to the first Meeting of the holidays. Her mother had not allowed her to race off immediately after dinner, but had sent both her and Pip up to their playroom.

“I don’t know if you think that what you did this morning to tidy up the room was anything
like
enough,” she said. “Throwing things higgledy-piggledy into corners and cupboards isn’t
my
idea of clearing up. Please do the job properly before you go!”

“Oh
blow
!” said Pip, exasperated. “Now we shall be late. Come on. Bets, you do your share.”

It was soon done, and they raced off down the garden path, happy to be on their way to Fatty’s house. They joined up with Larry and Daisy, and were soon in Fatty’s workroom at the bottom of his garden, well away from everyone, and
almost
out of range of any shout from the house!

“Grown-ups want an awful lot of things done if you’re within shouting distance, you know,” Fatty said. “But if they have to go and
fetch
you, they’re sure to decide it’s too much bother - so they do the things themselves!”

The shed was certainly well tucked away, and very, very comfortable. An oil-stove gave quite enough warmth and on the floor was an old tiger-skin, complete with its head. Bets had been scared at first of its open mouth, showing such fierce teeth, and of its glassy eyes - but now she didn’t mind it a bit, and often sat on the great head itself.

“This tiger is getting a bit moth-eaten,” she said. “We ought to powder him - that’s what Mother does to
our
fur-rugs. Oh, Fatty - you’ve still got the old crocodile skin stretched on the wall too. I do think this is a most exciting shed. It’s lovely to be back again, after so long at school.”

“Nice to have you here, little Bets,” said Fatty, in the “special” voice he sometimes kept for the little girl. “Be careful the old tiger doesn’t nip you!”

“Woof,” said Buster at once, and showed his teeth.

“He says
he’d
nip the tiger if he did a thing like that!” said Bets, and cuddled Buster round the neck.

“Got anything to eat, Fatty?” asked Larry. “I had quite a good dinner, but somehow I always feel hungry when we meet down here.”