‘Julian! Father flashed eighteen times instead of six!’ ‘Did you count them, Ju?’ ‘Why did he do that? Is he in danger of some sort?’ ‘No. If he was he’d flash the S.O.S. signal,’ said Julian.
‘He doesn’t know Morse!’ said George.
‘Well, I expect he just wants to let us know that he needs something,’ said Julian. ‘We must go over today and find out what it is. More food perhaps.’ So, when Aunt Fanny came home they suggested they should all go over to the island. Aunt Fanny was pleased.
‘Oh yes! That would be nice. I expect your uncle wants a message sent off somewhere. We’ll go this morning.’ George flew off to tell James she wanted her boat. Aunt Fanny packed up plenty of food with Joanna’s help. Then they set off to Kirrin Island in George’s boat.
As they rounded the low wall of rocks and came into the little cove, they saw Uncle Quentin waiting for them. He waved his hand, and helped to pull in the boat when it ran gently on to the sand.
‘We saw your treble signal,’ said Aunt Fanny. ‘Did you want something, dear?’ ‘Yes, I did,’ said Uncle Quentin. ‘What’s in your basket, Fanny? More of those delicious sandviches. I’ll have some!’ ‘Oh Quentin haven’t you been having your meals properly again?’ said Aunt Fanny. ‘What about that lovely soup?’ ‘What soup?’ said Uncle Quentin, looking surprised. I wish I’d known about it. I could have done with some last night.’ ‘But Quentin! I told you about it before,’ said Aunt Fanny. ‘It will be bad by now. You must pour it away.
Now don’t forget pour it away! Where is it? Perhaps I had better pour it away myself.’ ‘No. I’ll do it,’ said Uncle Quentin. ‘Let’s sit down and have our lunch.’ It was much too early for lunch, but Aunt Fanny at once sat down and began to unpack the food. The children were always ready for a meal at any time, so they didn’t in the least mind lunch being so early.
‘Well, dear – how is your work getting on?’ asked Aunt Fanny, watching her husband devour sandwich after sandwich. She began to wonder if he had had anything at all to eat since she had left him two days ago ‘Oh very well indeed,’ said her husband. ‘Couldn’t be better. Just got to a most tricky and interesting point. I’ll have another sandwich, please.’ ‘Why did you signal eighteen times, Uncle Quentin?’ asked Anne.
‘Ah well it’s difficult to explain, really,’ said her uncle ‘The fact is – I can’t help feeling there’s somebody else on this island besides myself!’ ‘Quentin! What in the world do you mean?’ cried Aunt Fanny, in alarm. She looked over her shoulder as if she half expected to see somebody there. All the children stared in amazement at Uncle Quentin.
He took another sandwich. ‘Yes, I know it sounds mad. Nobody else could possibly have got here. But I know there is someone!’ ‘Oh don’t Uncle!’ said Anne, with a shiver. ‘It sounds horrid. And you’re all alone at night too!’ ‘Ah, that’s just it! I wouldn’t mind a bit if I was all alone at night!’ said her uncle. ‘What worries me is that I don’t think I shall be all alone.’ ‘Uncle, what makes you think there’s somebody here?’ asked Julian.
‘Well, when I had finished the experiment I was doing last night – about half past three in the early morning it would be – but pitch dark, of course,’ said Uncle Quentin, ‘I came into the open for a breath of fresh air. And I could swear I heard somebody cough – yes, cough twice!’ ‘Good gracious!’ said Aunt Fanny, startled. ‘But Quentin – you might have been mistaken. You do imagine things sometimes, you know, when you’re tired.’ ‘Yes, I know,’ said her husband. ‘But I couldn’t imagine this, could I?’ He put his hand into his pocket and took something out. He showed it to the others. It was a cigarette end, quite crisp and fresh.
‘Now, I don’t smoke cigarettes. Nor do any of you! Well then who smoked that cigarette? And how did he come here? No one would bring him by boat and that’s the only way here.’ There was a silence. Anne felt scared. George stared at her father, puzzled. Who could be here? And why? And how had they got there?
‘Well, Quentin – what are you going to do?’ said his wife. ‘What would be best?’ ‘I’ll be all right if George will give her consent to something,’ said Uncle Quentin. ‘I want Timmy here, George! Will you leave him behind with me?’
Chapter Eleven
GEORGE MAKES A HARD CHOICE
THERE was a horrified silence. George stared at her father in complete dismay. Everyone waited to see what she would say.
‘But Father Timmy and I have never been separated once,’ she said at last, in a pleading voice. ‘I do see you want him to guard you and you can have him but I’ll have to stay here too!’ ‘Oh no!’ said her father at once. ‘You can’t possibly stay, George. That’s out of the question. As for never being separated from Timmy, well surely you wouldn’t mind that for once? If it was to ensure my safety?’ George swallowed hard. This was the most difficult decision she had ever had to make in her life. Leave Timmy behind on the island where there was some unknown hidden enemy, likely to harm him if he possibly could! And yet there was Father too he might be in danger if there was no one to guard him.
‘I shall just have to stay here, Father,’ she said. ‘I can’t leave Timmy behind unless I stay too. It’s no good.’ Her father began to lose his temper. He was like George he wanted his own way, and if he didn’t have it he was going to make a fuss! ‘If I’d asked Julian or Dick or Anne this same thing, and they’d had a dog, they would all have said yes, at once!’ he raged. ‘But you, George, you must always make things difficult if you can! You and that dog anyone would think he was worth a thousand pounds!’ ‘He’s worth much more than that to me,’ said George, in a trembling voice. Timmy crept nearer to her and pushed his nose into her hand. She held his collar as if she would not let him go for a moment. ‘Yes. That dog’s worth more to you than your father or mother or anyone,’ said her father, in disgust.
‘No, Quentin, I can’t have you saying things like that,’ said his wife, firmly. ‘That’s just silly. A mother and father are quite different from a dog – they’re loved in different ways. But you are perfectly right, of course -Timmy must stay behind with you and I shall certainly not allow George to stay with him. I’m not going to have both of you exposed to danger. It’s bad enough to worry about you, as it is.’ George looked at her mother in dismay.
‘Mother! Do tell Father I must stay here with Timmy.’ ‘Certainly not,’ said her mother. ‘Now George, be unselfish. If it were left to Tim to decide, you know perfectly well that he would stay here – and stay without you. He would say to himself, “I’m needed here my eyes are needed to spy out enemies, my ears to hear a quiet footfall and maybe my teeth to protect my master. I shall be parted from George for a few days – but she, like me, is big enough to put .up with that!” That’s what Timmy would say, George, if it were left to him.’ Everyone had been listening to this unexpected speech with great attention. It was about the only one that could persuade George to give in willingly! She looked at Timmy. He looked back at her, wagging his tail. Then he did an extraordinary thing he got up, walked over to George’s father, and lay down beside him, looking at George as if to say ‘There you are! Now you know what I think is right!’ ‘You see?’ said her mother. ‘He agrees with me. You’ve always said that Timmy was a good dog, and this proves it. He knows what his duty is. You ought to be proud of him.’ ‘I am,’ said George, in a choky voice. She got up and walked off. ‘All right,’ she said over her shoulder. ‘I’ll leave him on the island with Father. I’ll come back in a minute.’ Anne got up to go after poor George, but Julian pulled her down again. ‘Leave her alone! She’ll be all right. Good old Timmy you know what’s right and what’s wrong, don’t you? Good dog, splendid dog!’ Timmy wagged his tail. He did not attempt to follow George. No – he meant to stay by her father now, even though he would much rather be with his mistress. He was sorry that George was unhappy – but sometimes it was better to do a hard thing and be unhappy about it, than try to be happy without doing it.