‘Uncle Quentin – please do tell us where your workroom is,’ begged Dick, feeling that he could not wait a single moment more to solve the mystery.
‘Don’t keep bothering your uncle,’ said his aunt, annoyingly. ‘Let him eat his lunch. He can’t have had anything forages!’ ‘Yes, but Aunt Fanny, I’ began Dick, and was interrupted by his uncle.
‘You obey your aunt, young man. I don’t want to be pestered by any of you. What does it matter where I work?’ ‘Oh, it doesn’t really matter a bit, sir,’ said Dick, hurriedly. ‘It’s only that I’m awfully curious to know. You see, we looked for you simply everywhere.’ ‘Well, you’re not quite so clever as you thought you were then,’ said Uncle Quentin, and reached for a jammy bun. ‘George, take this dog of yours away from me. He keeps breathing down my neck, hoping I shall give him a tit-bit. I don’t approve of tit-bits at meal-times.’ George pulled Timmy away. Her mother watched her father gobbling up the rest of the food. Most of the sandwiches she had saved for tea-time had gone already. Poor Quentin! How very hungry he must be.
‘Quentin, you don’t think there’s any danger for you here, do you?’ she said. ‘I mean – you don’t think anyone would try to come spying on you, as they did once before?’ ‘No. How could they?’ said her husband. ‘No plane can land on this island. No boat can get through the rocks unless the way through is known, and the sea’s too rough round the rocks for any swimmer.’ ‘Julian, see if you can make him promise to signal to me night and morning,’ said Aunt Fanny, turning to her nephew. ‘I feel worried about him somehow.’ Julian tackled his uncle manfully. ‘Uncle, it wouldn’t be too much of a bother to you to signal to Aunt Fanny twice a day, would it?’ ‘If you don’t, Quentin, I shall come over every single day to see you,’ said his wife.
‘And we might come too,’ said Anne, mischievously. Her uncle looked most dismayed at the idea.
‘Well, I could signal in the morning and in the evening when I go up to the top of the tower,’ he said. ‘I have to go up once every twelve hours to re-adjust the wires. I’ll signal then. Half past ten in the morning, and half past ten at night.’ ‘How will you signal?’ asked Julian. ‘Will you flash with a mirror in the morning?’ ‘Yes – that would be quite a good idea,’ said his uncle. ‘I could do that easily. And I’ll use a lantern at night. I’ll shine it out six times at half past ten. Then perhaps you’ll all know I’m all right and will leave me alone! But don’t look for the signal tonight. I’ll start tomorrow morning.’ ‘Oh Quentin dear, you do sound cross,’ said his wile. ‘I don’t like you being all-alone here, that’s all. You look thin and tired. I’m sure you’re not…’ Uncle Quentin put on a scowl exactly like George sometimes put on. He looked at his wristwatch. ‘Well,’ I must go,’ he said. ‘Time to get to work again. I’ll see you to your boat.’ ‘We’re going to stay to tea here, Father,’ said George.
‘No, I’d rather you didn’t’ said her father getting up. ‘Come on — I’ll take you to your boat.’ ‘But Father – I haven’t been on my island for ages!’ said George, indignantly. ‘I want to stay here a bit longer. I don’t see why I shouldn’t.’ ‘Well, I’ve had enough interruption to my work,’ said her father. ‘I want to get on.’ ‘We shan’t disturb you, Uncle Quentin,’ said Dick, who was still terribly curious to know where his uncle had his workroom. Why wouldn’t he tell them? Was he just being annoying? Or didn’t he want them to know?
Uncle Quentin led them all firmly towards the little cove. It was plain that he meant them to go and to go quickly.
‘When shall we come over and see you again, Quentin?’ asked his wife.
‘Not till I say so,’ said her husband. ‘It won’t take me long now to finish what I’m on. My word, that dog’s got a rabbit at last!’ ‘Oh Timmy!’ yelled George, in distress. Timmy dropped the rabbit he had actually managed to grab. It scampered away unhurt. Timmy came to his mistress looking very sheepish.
‘You’re a very bad dog. Just because I took my eye off you for half a second! No, it’s no good licking my hand like that. I’m cross.’ They all came to the boat. ‘I’ll push her off,’ said Julian. ‘Get in, all of you. Well, good-bye, Uncle Quentin. I hope your work goes well.’ Everyone got into the boat. Timmy tried to put his head on George’s knee, but she pushed it away.
‘Oh, be kind to him and forgive him,’ begged Anne. ‘He looks as if he’s going to cry.’ ‘Are you ready?’ cried Julian. ‘Got the oars, George? Dick, take the other pair.” He shoved the boat off and leapt in himself. He cupped his hands round his mouth. ‘Don’t forget to signal, sir! We’ll be watching out morning and evening!’ ‘And if you forget, I shall come over the very next day!’ called his wife.
The boat slid away down the little inlet of water, and Uncle Quentin was lost to sight. Then round the low wall of rocks went the boat, and was soon on the open sea.
‘Ju, watch and see if you can make out where Uncle Quentin is, when we’re round these rocks,’ said Dick.
‘See what direction he goes in.
Julian tried to see his uncle, but the rocks just there hid the cove from sight, and there was no sign of him at all.
‘Why didn’t he want us to stay? Because he didn’t want us to know his hiding-place!’ said Dick ‘And why doesn’t he want us to know? Because it’s somewhere we don’t know, either!’ ‘But I thought we knew every single corner of my island,’ said George. ‘I think it’s mean of Father not to tell me, if it’s somewhere I don’t know. I can’t think where it can be!’ Timmy put his head on her knee again. George was so absorbed in trying to think where her father’s hiding-place could be that she absent-mindedly stroked Timmy’s head. He was almost beside himself with delight. He licked her knees lovingly.
‘Oh Timmy – I didn’t mean to pet you for ages,’ said George. ‘Stop licking my knees. You make them feel wet and horrid. Dick, it’s very mysterious, isn’t it – where can Father be hiding?’ ‘I can’t imagine,’ said Dick. He looked back at the island. A cloud of jackdaws rose up into the air calling loudly, ‘Chack, chack, chack!’ The boy watched them. What had disturbed them? Was it Uncle Quentin? Perhaps his hiding-place was somewhere about that old tower then’, the one the jackdaws nested in? On the other hand, the jackdaws often rose into the air together for no reason at all.
‘Those jackdaws are making a bit of fuss,’ he said. ‘Perhaps Uncle’s hiding-place is not far from where they roost together, by that tower.’ ‘Can’t be,’ said Julian. ‘We went all round there today.’ ‘Well, it’s a mystery,’ said George, gloomily, ‘and I think it’s horrible having a mystery about my very own island – and to be forbidden to go to it, and solve it. It’s really too bad!’ �
Chapter Six
UP ON THE CLIFF
THE next day was rainy. The four children put on their macintoshes and sou’-westers and went out for a walk with Timmy. They never minded the weather. In fact Julian said that he really liked the feel of the wind and rain buffeting against his face.
‘We forgot that Uncle Quentin couldn’t flash to us if the weather wasn’t sunny!’ said Dick. ‘Do you suppose he’ll find some way to signal instead?’ ‘No,’ said George. ‘He just won’t bother. He thinks we’re awful fussers anyway, I’m sure. We’ll have to watch at half past ten tonight to see if he signals.’ ‘I say! Shall I be able to stay up till then?’ said Anne, pleased.
‘I shouldn’t think so,’ said Dick. ‘I expect Julian and I will stay up – but you kids will have to buzz off to bed!’ George gave him a punch. ‘Don’t call us “kids”! I’m almost as tall as you are now.’ ‘It’s not much use waiting about till half past ten now to see if Uncle signals to us in any way, is it?’ said Anne. ‘Let’s go up on the cliff – it’ll be lovely and blowy. Timmy will like that. I love to see him racing along in the wind, with his ears blown back straight!’ ‘Woof,’ said Timmy.
‘He says he likes to see you with yours blown back too,’ said Julian, gravely. Anne gave a squeal of laughter.