Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage Read Free

think they liked me very much,’ said Fatty. ‘They all muttered something about classes and wandered off one by one. My teeth put them off, I suppose. They were jolly surprised when the real French master turned up!’
    ‘What was he like? Anything like you pretended to be?’ asked Larry.
    ‘Not a bit. He was little and rather bald, and had a beard and teeth you’d hardly notice!’ said Fatty. ‘It all caused quite a commotion. A scare went round that the first man must have been someone who wanted to get in and rob the Head’s safe - and the poor new man couldn’t think why people were so surprised to see him.’
    ‘I don’t know how you dare to do such things,’ said Pip. ‘I’d never dare - and if I did I’d be found out at once. I can’t think why you’re hardly ever spotted, Fatty. There must be something about you - you do carry things off so well!’
    Fatty looked pleased. ‘Oh well - I’ve got to practise a bit if I’m going to be a real detective some day. Have some more ginger-beer? Now - have you found any mystery? A mystery would be just about the best news I could hear.’
    ‘There’s not been a sniff of one,’ said Larry, drinking his ginger-beer. ‘Goon must have been thoroughly bored this Christmas - I don’t believe anything’s happened at all.’
    ‘Sad,’ said Fatty. ‘After two weeks of doing nothing but fall about in snow I did hope I could exercise my brains as soon as I got home.’
    ‘Tell us about Switzerland,’ said Bets. ‘Did you really fall down much?’
    It appeared that, far from falling down even once, Fatty had done extremely well in all forms of winter sport, and had carried off quite a few prizes. He tried to talk about them modestly, but, being Fatty, this was very difficult.
    ‘Still the same old Fatty,’ said Larry, after about twenty minutes of listening to Fatty’s exploits. ‘The Wonder Boy! Can’t put a foot wrong even on skis!’
    ‘Didn’t stand on his head once!’ said Pip, grinning. ‘My cousin Ronald said he was more often upside-down than the right way up, when he went to the winter sports. But not our Fatty!’
    ‘Don’t tease him!’ said Daisy. ‘You’ll stop his traveller’s tales. He’s got plenty more, haven’t you, Fatty?’
    ‘Well, I want to hear them, even if nobody else does!’ said Bets, who never minded Fatty’s boasting.
    Fatty sighed heavily. ‘Ah well - I don’t want to bore you!’ he said. ‘You tell me your news. How many Christmas cards did you have? Was your turkey done to a turn? Did the fairy doll look nice at the top of your Christmas trees?’
    ‘Shut up, Fatty,’ said Pip, and gave him a punch. That was the signal for a general scrimmage in which Buster joined in delight. They were all shrieking so loudly that nobody heard a knock at the shed door. Buster was almost barking his head off, and he didn’t hear it either.
    The shed door opened, and Fatty’s mother, Mrs. Trotteville, looked in. ‘Frederick!’ she called, in amazement. ‘FREDERICK! Whatever is going on here? You’ll have the oil-stove over. FREDERICK!’
    Buster heard her first, and stopped barking. He stood and stared at her, and then gave a yelp as if to say ‘Stop this fooling, everybody! Beware!’
    Pip suddenly caught sight of Mrs. Trotteville and extricated himself from the heap of bodies on the floor. Fatty’s was underneath, having been well and truly pummelled.
    ‘Fatty!’ said Pip, in Fatty’s ear. ‘Look out - danger!’
    With a great heave Fatty sat up and looked round. He saw the open door and his mother standing in astonishment there. He smoothed back his hair and grinned.
    ‘Oh - Mother! I didn’t hear you, I can’t think why!’ said Fatty, politely. ‘Do come in. Have a chocolate - or some lemonade? I think there’s a drop left.’
    ‘Don’t be foolish, Frederick,’ said his mother. ‘Really, to see you behaving like this - you must all have gone mad! You’ll certainly have that oil-stove over, and then the whole place will go up in flames.’
    ‘I’ve got a bucket of water ready over there,