He took it out. It was the little red pearl button he had found on the floor of one of the caves. He showed it to Mary.
“Look,” he said. “I forgot about this. I found it on the floor of the cave behind the waterfall. That’s what made me feel certain the hairy-legged man must hide somewhere in the cliff. After all, a button means a shirt or a vest, doesn’t it?”
“Did he wear a red shirt when you saw him in the hidden cave far below?” asked Mary, turning the red button over in her hand.
“No. I don’t think so,” said Tom, trying to remember. “I don’t think the other fellow did, either. He was dressed like a fisherman. I didn’t much like the look of either of them.”
He put the button back into his pocket, and the two fell silent, enjoying the soft motion of the little boat and the wisha-wisha noise that the water made against her. Mary thought it was such a lovely sound. She bent over the side and dabbled her hand in the water.
“Awfully cold,” she said, and yawned. “Have you finished your chocolate? I think I’ll go back now. I feel sleepy. I don’t think anything will happen tonight, Tom. We’re quite safe here.”
She went below, taking her rug with her. Tom had no fear of falling asleep now. He felt wide awake. He looked at Smuggler’s Rock. What a tall, steep, rocky place it was! He felt sure that there would be heaps of sea-birds nesting there too. He hoped Andy wouldn’t rush them all away in the morning, without letting them land on the island and have a look at it.
The moon went behind a cloud. At once Smuggler’s Rock became dark and black. Tom glanced idly at the top of itand then he straightened himself up suddenly, and looked very sharply at something.
“There’s a light of some sort up there!” he said under his breath. “Yesthere it is againflash, flash, flash! Somebody’s signalling from there. Gracious, are there people here too?”
The light went on flashing. Tom woke Andy by shaking him roughly. The fisherboy awoke at once and sat up in alarm, expecting he knew not what.
“Look, Andy, lookthere’s a light flashing at the very top of Smuggler’s Rock!” said Tom. “Up there, see. Can you see it? It’s a signal of some sort, I should think.”
Andy looked. He soon spotted the light. He watched it intently. It went on for some time and then stopped.
“What do you make of that?” said Tom.
“I don’t know,” said Andy. “One more puzzle added to the other puzzles! Anyway, I’m determined to get away home as soon as possible tomorrow. We ought to report all these queer doingsand we’d better not be mixed up in them more than we can help. I don’t like this kind of puzzle!”
The light did not flash any more. Andy looked at his watch, and then curled himself up. “I’ve got another hour of sleep,” he said. “Keep a sharp look-out, Tom, and wake me if you see anything else going on.”
But nothing else happened in the rest of Tom’s watch, much to his disappointment. He woke Andy up at the right time, and then curled up again in the rugs himself. “I don’t feel a bit sleepy,” he said. “I could sit up all night now.”
But he was asleep almost before Andy had walked across the deck and back. Below, in the cabin, Jill and Mary were asleep too. It was all very peaceful.
At dawn Andy woke them all. “You girls get a quick breakfast going,” he ordered. “Take these rugs down, Tom. We’ll start off as soon as we can.”
“Which way are we going back?” asked Tom, dragging the rugs to the hatch, to drop them down to the girls.
“I’m not sure,” said Andy. “If I were certain that that motor-boat had gone, I’d risk the way we know. I’ve no idea if we can get out to sea from hereor what is the best course to take, if we can. I wish I dared climb up to a high bit of Smuggler’s Rock, and have a look-see. I can’t see anything from here.”
“Well, why shouldn’t you climb up Smuggler’s Rock, and have a look round the sea?” said Tom. “You might spot the motor-boat. You might see clearly how we could best make our way home from here.”
“Have you forgotten those lights we saw flashing last night?” said Andy. “There’s somebody on the island. We don’t want to get caught by them. It seems as if there is a perfect network of people in this desolate part of the coast!”
“But it’s so early in the morning,” said Tom. “No one will be about now. Let’s all have a quick breakfast, Andy, and then hop across to Smuggler’s Rock quickly, climb up to that high point up theresee where I meanand have a look-out from there. We could see for miles. I bet you’d spot the motor-boat if it was lying in wait for us anywhere about here.”
“Wellperhaps I’d better try and spy out the way,” said Andy. “Maybe no one will be about yet, as you say. We won’t talk or laugh as we go. We’ll be absolutely quiet.”
They sat down on the deck to have a good breakfast. This time it was hot soup out of tins, with bread, and plenty of biscuits spread with marmalade. There was hot cocoa to drink too, sweetened with -condensed milk. Everybody enjoyed their queer breakfast very much indeed.
“Hot soup was a jolly good idea,” said Andy to Jill, who looked pleased at his praise. “It’s so jolly cold this morning. But then, it’s very earlythe sun is only just coming up. Look!”
They finished their breakfast watching the blue water in the cove turn to dancing gold as the sun came up. Everything looked clean and beautiful and washed, Mary said. So it did! Even the rocks gleamed in the early sun as if somebody had been along and given them a good cleaning!
Andy glanced up the steep rocks of the island nearby. “I think that high point that Tom thought would be a good one is about the best to choose,” he said. “I don’t quite like you girls coming, but I’d rather we were all together. We’ll be as quick as we can.”
They left all the breakfast things as they were, and leapt across to a nearby rock. Soon they were clambering over the shining rocks, going up as fast as they could. There were no steep cliffs as there were in the bay they had anchored in beforejust masses of rocks, covered with seaweed as far as the spray reached, but dry and black beyond.
They went right up to the high point that Tom had chosen. Certainly there was a wonderful view from there. They looked all round the sea as far as they could. It was rough that morning, and white horses galloped everywhere.
There was no sign of the motor-boat to be seen. Andy looked everywhere, his hawk-like eyes ranging for miles! He had the fine sight of the fisherman, and could often see things out to sea that neither Tom nor the girls could see.
“Nothing to be seen,” said Andy, pleased. “Good thing too, because I can’t for the life of me see how we would escape any other way than the one we know. I’d be afraid to sail out to sea, with all those rocks about.”
“Welllet’s get back home as quick as we can,” said Jill, and began to leap from rock to rock downwards. Andy yelled a warningbut he was too late.
Jill slipped and fell. She tried to get up and couldn’t Andy hurried to her in great alarm. Whatever had she done?
CHAPTER 12.
A Horrid Shock.
JILL was sitting on a rock, looking very white indeed. She nursed one of her ankles and moaned a little. Tears ran down her cheeks.
“What’s up? Have you hurt your ankle?” asked Andy, kneeling down beside her. “Oh, Jillhow foolish to skip down those steep rocks like that!”
“I know. Oh, Andy, my ankle does hurt so. Oh, what shall I do?” wailed poor Jill. “I’m a baby to cry, but I can’t help it.”
Mary was almost crying too as she bent down by her twin. She took off Jill’s rubber shoe. The ankle was already swollen.
Andy felt it tenderly. “I don’t think it’s a real sprain,” he said. “You’ve just given it an awful twist. It will be all right soon. Don’t walk on it just yet.”
“Pull her near this pool,” said Tom, seeing a big, clear pool of rain-water in the hollow of a rock. “She can put her foot into it That will be as good as bathing it, I should think.”
Jill’s foot did reel better in the cold water. Soon the colour came back to her face and she rubbed away the tears. “I simply couldn’t help crying,” she said. “You can’t think how awful the pain was just for the moment. But it’s much better now.”