GOOD OLD SECRET SEVEN by Enid Blyton

13 THE TELESCOPE AGAIN

Susieand Binkie were angry with Jack for hauling them away. 'We wanted to lookthrough the telescope again,' complained Susie.

'No, you didn't ... you were just being annoying,' said Jack, fiercely.

'Let go my arm,' said Susie. 'I want to walk bymyself.'

'Well, just behave yourself then,' said Jack,quite relieved to let such a wriggler go. The two girls darted off at once, andJack saw them racing up the road towards home. He heaved a sigh of relief. Whatcould anyone do with a sister like Susie?

But Susie and Binkie didn't go home. No ... Susie was quite determined to have her way and take out the telescopethat night. She didn't really want to ... it was just obstinacy. She had asked for it, had been refused ... andthat had made her determined to get her own way. Just like Susie!

So, instead of going round the corner and home,the two girls slipped into a gateway, waited till Jack had gone plodding past,and then raced back to Peter's again. They were puffing and panting so muchthat they hadn't enough breath left to giggle. But they were very thrilled tothink they had outwitted poor Jack, who would be almost home by now. Ha! Ha!

In a trice they were down at the shed. It was indarkness now, and well and truly locked. The girls found the key under thestone, and unlocked the wooden door.

They each had a torch, and it was not difficult toset up the telescope on the low garden wall as usual.

'We'll just have a quick look at the moon, so thatwe can say we saw it through the telescope,' said Susie. 'And then we'll put itaway. Won't the Secret Seven be wild to think we got our way after all!'

They were soon looking through the long tube ofthe big telescope. The moon was not at all obliging, and stayed behind clouds,so that the night was dark, instead of light.

'Swing the telescope round a bit and look at theold castle,' suggested Binkie. 'Then we can say we saw that too.'

So Susie trained the telescope on to the castle,far away on its steep hill. It was just a great dark shadow in the night, onlyvisible because of the light from the half-hidden moon.

'There,' said Susie, 'now we can...  oooh ...  I say ... Binkie, there's a light in the castle!'

'In the castle! What do you mean? Let me see!'said Binkie, and glued her eye to the bottom of the telescope. 'Yes! There is alight. It's somewhere on the ground floor ... is it shining out of the entrance?'

'I don't know. Might be one of the downstairswindows,' said Susie, pushing Binkie aside. 'Yes, there it is ... quite clear! What does that mean, do you suppose? That woman said shenever slept in the castle ... shewent down to her lodgings for tea and stayed there! It's a signal to someone, Ishould think. Yes ... that must be it. Perhaps there is something goingon, after all!'

'Good gracious! Let's go and tell Peter then,'said Binkie, excited. 'Or shall we keep it to ourselves?'

'No ...we'll tell Peter,' said Susie. 'He'll be furious to think we've discoveredsomething else! Come on!' So off they went to find Peter and Janet. They wereup in their playroom, doing jigsaws, and were really amazed to see Binkie andSusie again!

'Look here!' began Peter angrily, but Susiestopped him.

'We've got news!' she said. 'There's someone up atthe castle, signalling with a light! We saw it! We looked through thetelescope. Come and see.'

But Peter only laughed, and sat down to his jigsawagain. 'Another of your silly jokes,' he said. 'I wonder you're not tired ofthem. If you think we're going to be taken in again, you're mistaken. Now, ifyou don't clear out and keep out, I'll call Mother. We've had enough of youboth for tonight.'

'But Peter ... we looked through the...'began Binkie, and was promptly pushed out of the room by Peter and Janet, andSusie was hustled off too. The playroom door banged, and the two girls heardthe key being turned in the lock.

'All right! You'll be sorry!' shouted Susie.'You'll be very sorry tomorrow that you didn't listen to us!'

And down the stairs they went, almost crying withrage. There was someone signalling in that castle, there was!