8

first night in camp

the girls washed the dirty crockery in the cold spring water whilst david and the boys unpackedthe tents from the donkey that carried them. they took off the whole of his pack, and alsounstrapped the heavy panniers from the other donkey. both were delighted to be rid of their loads.

they lay down on the ground and rolled, kicking their legs up into the air.

kiki couldn’t understand this at all, and flew up into a tree. ‘she thinks they’ve gone mad,’ saidjack. ‘it’s all right, kiki, they’re only feeling glad because their packs have gone!’

kiki made a noise like a train screeching in a tunnel, and the two rolling donkeys leapt to theirfeet in alarm and raced some way down the hill. david also jumped violently, and then called tothe donkeys.

‘kiki, if you do that again i’ll tie your beak up!’ threatened jack. ‘spoiling this lovely peacefulevening with that horrible screech!’

‘wipe your feet, wipe your feet!’ screamed kiki and danced from foot to foot on her branch.

the tents were soon put up, side by side. david did not want to sleep in one. he preferred tosleep outside. he had never slept in a tent, and he thought they were quite unnecessary.

‘well, i’d just as soon he slept outside,’ said jack to philip. ‘i don’t believe there’d be room forone more in here, do you?’

‘let’s leave the tent-flaps open,’ said lucy-ann, coming up with the clean crockery. ‘then wecan look out down the mountain-side. i wouldn’t mind a bit sleeping in the open air, like david, asa matter of fact.’

‘wind’s too cold,’ said jack. ‘you’ll be glad to have a cosy sleeping-bag, lucy-ann! davidmust be very hardy – he’s only got a thin rug to cover himself with, and he’s apparently going tosleep on the bare ground!’

the sun had now disappeared completely. it had gone behind the mountains in a perfect blazeof colour, and all the summits had gleamed for a while, and then darkness had crept up to the verytops, leaving only a clear sky beyond. stars were now winking here and there, and a cold windwas blowing up the mountain.

the donkeys were tied loosely to trees. some of them were lying down. dapple was looking outfor snowy, but the kid had gone to philip, and was waiting for him to go into his tent.

they all washed at the spring – but david seemed rather astonished to see the four childrensolemnly splashing themselves with the cold water. he had drawn his thin rug over him and waslying quite still, looking up to the starry sky.

‘he’s not what you might call a very cheerful companion, is he?’ said jack. ‘i expect he thinkswe’re all quite mad, the way we joke and laugh and fool about. buck up, philip, and get into thetent.’

the girls were already in their tent. they had slid down into their sleeping-bags and tied themup loosely at the neck. each bag had a big hood to come over the head. they were comfortable,quite roomy, and very warm.

lucy-ann could see out of the tent opening. stars twinkled in the sky, looking very big andbright. there was no sound at all, except of the trickle-trickle of the spring, and the sound of thewind in the trees.

‘we might be alone in the world,’ said lucy-ann to dinah. ‘dinah, imagine that we are. itgives you an awfully queer feeling. it’s wizard!’

but dinah hadn’t got lucy-ann’s imagination and she yawned. ‘go to sleep,’ she said. ‘are theboys in their tent yet? i wish they were a bit further away. i’ve got an awful feeling that slow-worm will come slithering here in the night.’

‘it won’t hurt you if it does,’ said lucy-ann, snuggling down in her sleeping-bag. ‘oh, this issuper! i do think we have lovely hols, don’t you, dinah?’

but dinah was asleep already. her eyes had shut and she was dreaming. lucy-ann stayedawake a little longer, enjoying the sound of the running spring and the wind. she still felt rather asif she was on her donkey, jogging up and down. then her eyes closed too.

the boys talked for a little while. they had thoroughly enjoyed their day. they gazed out of theopen flap of the tent. ‘it’s pretty wild and desolate, here,’ said jack sleepily. ‘it’s surprising there’sa track to follow, really. decent of bill and aunt allie to let us come by ourselves!’

‘mmmmmmm!’ said philip, listening, but too sleepy to answer.

‘mmmmmmm!’ imitated kiki from the top of the tent outside. it was too hot for her in it.

‘there’s kiki,’ said jack. ‘i wondered where she was. philip, aren’t you hot with snowy on topof you?’

‘mmmmmmm!’ said philip, and again there came the echo from the tent-top. ‘mmmmmmm!’

snowy was almost on top of philip. he had tried his hardest to squeeze into the boy’s sleeping-bag with him, but philip was quite firm about that.

‘if you think you’re going to stick your sharp little hooves into me all night long, you’re wrong,snowy,’ he said, and tied up his bag firmly at the neck, in case snowy should try any tricks in thenight. the slow-worm was somewhere about too. philip was too sleepy to bother to think where.

sally slid about where she pleased. philip was now quite used to the sudden slithering movementthat occurred at times somewhere about his body, which meant that sally was on the move again.

there were a few more quiet remarks from kiki, who was apparently talking to herself. thensilence. the little camp slept under the stars. the night-wind nosed into the tent, but could not getinto the cosy sleeping-bags. snowy felt too hot, walked over philip, trod on jack and went to lie inthe tent opening. he gave a tiny bleat and kiki bleated in answer.

david was up and about before the children the next day. he was looking at his donkeys whenphilip put a tousled head out of the tent opening to sniff at the morning. ‘lovely!’ he said. ‘stopbutting me, snowy! your little head is jolly hard! jack! stir yourself. it’s a gorgeous morning.’

soon all the campers were out of their sleeping-bags and running about. they splashed at thespring, laughing at nothing. snowy bounded everywhere, quite mad too. kiki hooted like a car,and startled the donkeys. even david smiled to see such early-morning antics!

they had breakfast – tongue, cream cheese and rather stale bread, with a tomato each. therewas no lemonade left because they had been so lavish with it the day before, so they drank thecold spring water and vowed it was just as nice as lemonade.

‘david! shall we get to the vale of butterflies today?’ asked jack, and then repeated it againslowly, flapping his arms to show david that he was talking about butterflies. it took david aminute or two to realize this. then he shook his head.

‘tomorrow?’ asked philip, and david nodded. he went to strap the packs on the donkeys againand to put on the big pannier baskets. all the little grey creatures were waiting impatiently to setoff. already the sun was getting well above the mountains, and, for david and the donkeys at anyrate, it was late!

they set off at last, though jack had to gallop back to get his field-glasses which he had leftbehind, hanging from a tree-branch. then they were all in a line, one donkey behind the other,ambling over the mountains with the wind in their hair.

jack felt sure he saw a couple of buzzards that day and rode most of the time with his field-glasses in his hand, ready to clap them to his eyes at the first sight of specks in the sky. the otherssaw red squirrels among the trees they passed, shy but tame. one shared the children’s lunch,darting up for tit-bits, but keeping a wary eye for kiki and snowy.

‘it wants to come with you, philip,’ said lucy-ann, amused when the red squirrel put a paw onphilip’s knee.

philip stroked the pretty little thing gently. it quivered, half frightened, but did not bound away.

then kiki swooped down and the squirrel fled.

‘you would spoil things, you jealous bird!’ said philip. ‘go away, i don’t want you. go to jack,and let the squirrels come to me.’

swallows flew round them once again, not attracted by the food, but by the flies that pesteredthe donkeys. the children could hear the snapping of their beaks as they caught the flies.

‘we ought to get jack to tame a few swallows and take them with us to catch the flies,’ saidlucy-ann, slapping at a big one on her leg. ‘horrid things! i’ve been bitten by something already.

you wouldn’t think there’d be any as high up as this, would you?’

sally the slow-worm came out to eat the fly that lucy-ann had killed. she was getting much tootame for dinah’s liking. she lay in the sun, gleaming like silver, and then slid under philip assnowy came up enquiringly.

‘keep your nose out of things,’ said philip, pushing the kid away as it tried to nose under him tofind the slow-worm. snowy butted him hard and then tried to get on his lap.

‘too hot, too hot,’ said philip. ‘why did we ever bring a little pest like you, snowy? youbreathed down my neck all night!’

lucy-ann giggled. she loved snowy. they all did. the kid was mischievous, given to butting,and didn’t mind treading on anyone – but he was so lively, so full of spring and bounce, soaffectionate that it was impossible to be cross with him for long.

‘come on,’ said philip at last. ‘david’s clearing his throat as if he’s going to tell us we’re toolazy for words.’

david had a habit of clearing his throat about a dozen times before he spoke. it was a nervoushabit which kiki copied to perfection. she would sit near him, and make a noise as if she wasclearing her throat every time he did the same thing. then she would go off into a cackle oflaughter. david always stared at her solemnly when she did this.

they travelled well that second day, and went a long way. when the time came to camp again,david looked earnestly over the mountains as if he was searching for something.

‘lost your handkerchief, old chap?’ said jack, and everyone laughed. david looked solemnly athim, not understanding. then he suddenly began to flap his arms like wings, and to say a fewwords in welsh.

he looked comical standing there, flapping like that. the children had to turn away, trying notto laugh. ‘he says tomorrow we shall see the butterfly valley,’ said jack. ‘good! it ought to be areal sight, if it’s anything like i imagine it to be!’

they had a meal and prepared to camp out again. the evening was not so fine as the day. it hadclouded over and there was no sunset to watch, and no stars to come gleaming out, one by one.

‘if it rains, you’ll get wet, david,’ said jack. david shrugged his shoulders and said somethingin his welsh voice, then wrapped himself in his rug on the bare ground.

‘it won’t rain,’ said philip, looking at the sky. ‘but it’s much colder. brrrrr! i’ll be glad of mysleeping-bag tonight.’

‘good night!’ called the girls. ‘sleep well.’

‘good night! it will be a lovely day again tomorrow! you just see!’ called back philip, whothought himself a good weather forecaster.

but he was wrong. when they awoke the next morning, they looked out on a completelydifferent world!