“Seethat’s the way they brought her in,” said Andy, pointing to a narrow little sea-path free of rocks. “The men must know these coasts like the palm of their hands! There are some jolly clever sailors among them.”
Slowly they made their way along the rocks that skirted the cliff, looking out for some bend that would mean the sudden fold that hid the Andy. But it really seemed as if it was impossible to find!
Then they found it! They rounded a steep rock, as tall as a churchand saw a narrow deep-blue runway of water running into a fold of the cliff.
“This is it!” said Andy in delight. “See? Quite hidden except from above, way up the cliff thereor here where we stand looking right in. What a blessing we spotted the boat from above. We’d never have found her any other way.”
They went up the little runway of water that lay quietly in a hollowed-out channel of rock. It twisted right into the fold of the cliffand there, at the end of it, lying quietly at anchor was the Andy! The boys stood still and stared at her in proud delight. What a darling of a boat she was!
“And not sunk after all!” said Tom. “Poor old Andyyou were awfully miserable about that, weren’t you?”
“Yesmore than I’d ever been in my life before,” said Andy. “Anywaythere she is, waiting for us. Is anyone about, do you think?”
There didn’t seem to be anyone at all. Not a sound was to be heard except the usual wind and sea and bird noises. No one whistled, no one shouted. It seemed quite safe to go and explore the Andy.
She hadn’t got her sail up, but it was there on the deck. Andy saw that the oars had been put back too. Good!
The boys made their way towards the boat. She was stripped of everything, of course, for the children had taken the things from her themselves, and put them in their cave in Smuggler’s Rock. Still, what did that matter? The boat herself was there, safe and sound!
They were soon on board her. Andy examined her lovingly from top to toe. Yes, she was all right. No harm had come to her at all.
It was getting rather dark. Andy looked up at the sky. “I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea if we set off now,” he said. “It will be dark long before we get homebut we must chance the journey, and hope we shan’t strike a rock. I know the way pretty well now.”
The boys thought they would row the Andy carefully out of the narrow little creek, and put up the sail as soon as they got out to sea. They began to make ready to pull up the anchor.
They were just about to haul it up when Andy’s sharp ears caught an unusual sound. He stopped and put his hand on Tom’s arm. “Listen,” he said. “Can you hear anything?”
Tom listened, trying to make out something besides the wind and the sea. At first he could hear nothing. Then he did hear something.
“Yes. I can hear the sound of some regular noise,” he said, “chug, chug, chug, chug. Oh, Andy, is it one of their motor-boats somewhere near?”
“Yes,” said Andy. “That’s just about what it is! Oh, I hope it’s not coming in here! Just as we were getting off too. The noise is louder, Tom. We’d better hide in case the motor-boat is coming in here!”
The boys climbed over the side of their boat and looked about for a hiding-place. There were plenty there! Rocks stuck up all over the place.
“Let’s climb up a bit, just over there,” said Andy, pointing. “See where I mean? There’s a good rock there we can hide behind, and see everything from. Hear everything too! Come on! The engine of that motor-boat is going more slowly. I believe it’s nosing its way in here this very minute,”
The boys climbed quickly up to the big rock, about six feet above the Andy. They crouched down there, waiting. Andy suddenly clutched Tom and pointed.
“There it is!” he whispered. “See, coming in down the little creek, up to the Andy. Pity it’s so dark now. I can hardly see who’s on the motor-boat.”
The motor-boat nosed its way up and came to rest beside the Andy. A man jumped out and called to someone else.
“It’s Bandy,” whispered Tom. “I think the other man is Stumpy, isn’t he? The man with the hairy legs. What are they going to do?”
A lamp was lighted on the motor-boat, and another one was placed on the fishing-boat nearby. Then Bandy and Stumpy got very busy. What they were doing the boys could hardly make out, in the deepening twilight.
“They seem to be carrying things from one boat to the other,” whispered Andy. “What are they doing? It’s a puzzle, isn’t it!”
To and fro went the men, carrying all kinds of things. Andy suddenly recognized something and he gave a low exclamation that quite startled Tom.
“Look! That’s our little cooking stove, isn’t it?” whispered Andy. “You can just see it in the light of that lamp. They are putting it into the cabin of the Andy.”
Then both boys were silent, for the same thought had come to them both. The stove had been in their snug cave up on the rocks of Smuggler’s Rock. Were all the things being put into the Andy, the things that had been taken from that cave? And if so, what was happening to the girls? The men must have climbed up to the cave, discovered that the boys were gone and that only the girls were thereand then what had happened? Where could the girls be? They must have been turned out of the cave if all the things were taken away.
Now the two boys were really worried. They couldn’t bear to think of Jill and Mary, frightened and alone, in the hands of those grim smugglers.
Everything seemed puzzling again. Why bring the things back to the Andy? What was the sense of it? Why not leave them where they wereand the girls too? And above all, where were the girls?
The two men worked hard for some time, and then, apparently, had transferred all the things they meant to, for they put out the light on the Andy. Both of them went back to the motor-boat, sat down and lighted cigarettes.
“Are they going to stay here all night?” whispered Tom in dismay. “We’ll never get away if they do!”
“Well, we can’t get off till they go, because they are blocking the way out for the Andy now,” said Andy in a gloomy whisper. “Pity we didn’t get off a few minutes sooner.”
“They’d have seen us and given chase,” said Tom. “It’s just as well we didn’t. I wish they’d go. It would be so nice to get back home with the Andy, everything complete in her again! If only we knew about the girls.”
When they had smoked their cigarettes, the two men got up. They had had very little to say to one another, and then only commonplace remarks. Andy wondered if Bandy was still angry with Stumpy for apparently stealing his food.
“We’ll go and have a word with the Chief,” said Bandy, throwing his glowing cigarette end into the water. “We’ll see if anyone has found those dratted boys. Good thing we’ve got the girls to bargain withnice little hostages they are!”
The men climbed on to a ledge, and made their way up the creek. Andy and Tom could not see where they went, because it was now almost dark.
“Must be some entrance into the Cliff of Birds up that way,” muttered Andy in Tom’s ear. “I wonder who the Chief is! Perhaps that fellow with the glasses you once saw in the store-cave with Bandy, Tom. Wonder how long they’re going to be? I’ve a good mind to take their motor-boat and chance the run home in it! I know how to drive one!”
Tom was cold with the evening wind, and with suspense. He shivered now with excitement.
“What! Take their boat, Andy?” he said. “Would you really dare?”
CHAPTER 23.
Who is in the Cabin?
IT was quite dark now. The sky was perfectly clear, and the stars shone out, giving so little light that in that shut-in creek there was none to see by. Only the lamp on the motor-boat gleamed out, showing the deck there.
Andy listened for the men’s voices. Nothere was no sound of them. They had gonebut for how long? What had to be done must be done now if they were to get away quickly.
The boys got down from their hiding-place and crept softly over the rocks to the waiting motor-boat. It was quite still on the narrow waters of the calm little creek. They climbed over the sides, and examined it.