Oh, Dinah is that you? The ink-pot here is empty, he said, in a peevish voice. Why doesn’t somebody fill it?
I’ll get the ink-bottle for you, said Dinah, and went to get it from her aunt’s cupboard. She took it to the study and filled her uncle’s ink-pot. As she turned to go, she noticed a map on a chair near by. It was the one that her uncle could not find before the large one of the Isle of Gloom. The little girl looked at it with interest.
Oh, Uncle here’s that map you told us about. Uncle, do tell me used there to be mines on the island?
Now, where did you hear that? said her uncle, astonished. That’s old history. Yes, there used to be mines, hundreds of years ago. Copper-mines rich ones too. But they were all worked out ages ago. There’s no copper there now.
Dinah pored over the map. To her delight it showed where the shafts were, that ran deep down into the earth. How the boys would like to see that map!
Her uncle turned to his work, forgetting all about Dinah. She picked up the map and slipped out of the room very quietly. How pleased Philip would be with the map!
She had forgotten all her anger. That was the best part about Dinah she bore no malice, and her furies were soon over. She ran down the passage to the room where she had left the others. She flung open the door and burst in.
The others were amazed to see her smiling and excited face. Lucy-Ann could never get used to the quick changes in Dinah’s moods. Philip looked at her doubtfully, not smiling.
Dinah remembered the quarrel. Oh, she said, I’m sorry I boxed your ears, Philip. Look here I’ve got that old map of the island. What do you think of that? And Uncle Jocelyn told me there were mines there, once copper ones very rich. But they are all worked out now. So those shafts must once have led down to the mines.
Golly! said Philip, taking the map from Dinah’s hands and spreading it out. What a map! Oh, Dinah, you are clever!
He gave his sister a squeeze and Dinah glowed. She quarrelled with her brother continually, but she loved getting a word of praise from him. The four children bent over the map.
There’s the gap in the rocks as plain as anything, said Dinah. The boys nodded.
It must always have been there, said Jack. I suppose that’s the only way the old miners could use to go to and from the island. How thrilling to think of their boats going and coming taking food there, bringing back copper! Golly, I’d like to go down and see what they are like.
Look, all the old shafts are marked, said Philip, and he placed his fingers on them. There’s the one we must have found those tins near, Freckles, look! and here’s the stream. And now I know why it’s red. It’s coloured by the copper deposits still in the hills, I bet.
Well, perhaps there is still copper there then, said Dinah, in great excitement. Copper nuggets! Oooh, I wish we could find some.
Copper is found in veins, said Philip, but I think it’s found whole, in nuggets too. They might be valuable. I say shall we, just for a lark, go across to the island, go down to the mines, and hunt about a bit? Who knows, we might find nuggets of copper.
There won’t be any, said Jack. No-one would leave a mine if there was still copper to be worked. It’s been deserted for hundreds of years.
There’s something stuck on to the back of the map, said Lucy-Ann suddenly. The children turned it over, and saw a smaller map fastened to the larger one. They smoothed it out to look at it. At first they could not make head or tail of it and then Philip gave an exclamation.
Of course! It’s an underground map of the island a map of the mines. Look at these passages and galleries and these draining-channels to take away water. Golly, part of these mines are below the level of the sea.
It was weird to look at a map that showed the maze of tunnels under the surface of the island. There had evidently been a vast area mined, some of it under the sea itself.
This section is right under the bed of the sea, said Jack, pointing. How queer to work there, and know that all the time the sea is heaving above the rocky ceiling over your head!
I shouldn’t like it, said Lucy-Ann, shivering. I’d be afraid it would break through and flood where I was working.
Look here, we simply must go over to the island again, said Philip excitedly. Do you know what I think? I think that people are working in those mines now.
Whatever makes you think that? said Dinah.
Well, those food tins, said Philip. Someone eats food there, out of tins. And we couldn’t see them anywhere, could we? So it must be that they were down in the mines, working. I bet you that’s the solution of the mystery.
Let’s go over to Bill and tell him all about it tomorrow, and take this map to show him, said Dinah, thrilled. He will tell us what to do. I don’t feel like exploring the mines by ourselves. I somehow feel I’d like Bill with us.
No, said Jack suddenly. We won’t tell Bill.
The others looked at him in surprise.
Why ever not? demanded Dinah.
Well because I’ve suddenly got an idea, said Jack. I believe it’s a friend of Bill’s or friends working in those mines. I believe Bill’s come here to be near them to take food over and that sort of thing. I bet he uses his boat for that. It must be a secret, I should think. Well he wouldn’t be too pleased if we knew his secret. He’d never let us go out in his boat again.
But, Jack you’re exaggerating. Bill’s only come for a holiday. He’s bird-watching, said Philip.
He doesn’t really do much bird-watching, said Jack. And though he listens to me when I rave about the birds here, he doesn’t talk much about them himself not like I would if someone gave me the chance. And we don’t know what his business is. He’s never told us. I bet you anything you like that he and his friends are trying to work a copper-mine over on the island. I don’t know who the mines belong to if they do belong to anyone but I guess if it was suspected that there was still copper there the people who made the discovery would keep it secret on the chance of mining some good copper nuggets themselves.
Jack paused, quite out of breath. Kiki murmured the new word she had heard.
Copper, copper, copper. Spare a copper, copper, copper.
Isn’t she clever? said Lucy-Ann.
But no-one paid any attention to Kiki. The matters being discussed were far too important to be interrupted by a parrot.
Let’s ask Bill Smugs straight out, suggested Dinah, who always liked to get things clear. She disliked mysteries that couldn’t be solved.
Don’t be an ass, said Philip. Jack’s already told you why it would be best not to let Bill know we know his secret. Maybe he’ll tell us himself one day and won’t he be surprised to know that we guessed it!
We’ll go over in Jo-Jo’s boat again soon, said Jack. We’ll go down that big shaft and explore a bit. We’ll soon find out if anyone is there. We’ll take this map with us so that we don’t lose our way. It shows the underground passages and galleries very clearly.
It was exciting to talk over these secrets. When could they go off to the island again? Should they take the girls this time or not?
Well, I think we shall manage even better this time, said Philip. There wasn’t much danger really last time, once we found the passage through the ring of rocks. I’m pretty certain we shall get to the island easily next time. We may as well take the girls.
Dinah and Lucy-Ann were thrilled. They longed for a chance to go at once, but Jo-Jo did not leave Craggy-Tops long enough for them to take his boat. However, he went out in it himself two or three times.
Are you going fishing? asked Philip. Why don’t you take us with you?
Not going to bother myself with children like you, said the black man, in his surly way, and set off in his boat. He sailed out such a long way that his boat disappeared into the haze that always seemed to hang about the western horizon.
He may have gone to the island, for all we can see, said Jack. He just disappears. I hope he brings some fish back for supper tonight.