So the two girls were left behind whflst the boys ran across the island to take down their flapping signal.
“I don’t know where in the world we should hide if we were discovered and hunted for,” said Andy, rolling up the sail. “There isn’t a single place here to hide away in—not a cave or anything.”
Tom felt rather uncomfortable. He didn’t want to be hunted for on that bare island! “I wish we could see how many men there are in that seaplane,” he said, “and what they are doing, and everything.”
“Where are your field-glasses?” asked Andy suddenly. “They would be just the thing to use. We could see everything as dearly as could be, then!”
“And my camera, too!” said Tom, jumping for joy. “What about my camera? We could take some photographs of the seaplane—then everyone would have to believe us when we get back—if ever we do get back!”
“That’s a fine idea!” said Andy, really pleased. “Golly! If we could take some pictures of that seaplane with thfr crooked cross showing up clearly, there wouldn’t be the least doubt of our story when we got home. Tom, let’s go and get your glasses and your camera straight away.”
They dumped the sail into a bush and ran to the shack. They took Tom’s field-glasses and picked up the camera to see if it needed a new film. No—there was a new one inside.
“Better not use up all the film on the seaplane,” said Andy. “There might be other interesting and extraordinary things to photograph—you never know!”
“Oh, I’ve got three or four films,” said Tom. “I brought plenty with me, thinking I was going to get some good bird pictures, you know. Come on—let’s go back to the girls and see what they have to report.”
The girls were very glad indeed to see the boys. They had a lot to tell.
“Andy! Tom! As soon as you had gone the men in the seaplane put out a funny little round sort of boat,” said Jill in excitement. “And they paddled to shore in it, and went to our cave. What a good thing the sea had washed away all our footprints!”
“It was, indeed,” said Andy. ‘Tom, give me the field-glasses. I want to have a look through them.”
Andy stared through the powerful glasses. They were so strong that they seemed to bring the seaplane near enough to touch! The boy saw the great crooked crosses boldly painted on the wings. He saw the little rubber boat left bobbing in the surf, whilst the men visited the cave—either to take something to it, or to bring something away, Andy did not know which.
“There seems to be someone in the seaplane,” said Andy. “And, look—there are some men coming from the cave!”
Andy could see them very clearly through his field-glasses—and the others could see them too, though not so well, of course. To them the men looked like faraway dolls.
“They’ve gone to get food from the cave,” said Andy in excitement. “And I guess there’s a store of petrol somewhere else for them to get when they want to. Food—and petrol—just what I thought! Using these islands saves enemy planes from having to go hundreds of miles to their own country’s stores. My word—we have stumbled on to something queer!”
The men entered their rubber boat and rowed back to the seaplane. Twice more they went to the cave and back. Then they climbed up into the plane and disappeared.
“I’m getting most awfully hungry,” said Tom at last. “Can’t we go and get something to eat?”
“I’ll stay here and keep watch, and you and the girls can go and get your dinner,” said Andy. “Don’t light a fire, whatever you do—the enemy will see the smoke. Use the stove if you want to cook anything. Bring me something to eat and drink later.”
“Right,” said Tom, and he and the girls wriggled off the high ledge. They stood upright as soon as they were out of sight of the seaplane and tore to their shack.
They ate a hurried meal, and did not cook anything at all. They made up a dinner-packet for Andy and set off to take it to him.
But halfway there they heard a noise. R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r! R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r! R-r-r-r-r-r-r! They stopped at once and listened.
“It’s the seaplane going off!” cried Tom—and then the sound came again, more loudly than ever. R-R-R-R-R-R-R.
“Look—it’s there!” cried Jill. “Drop flat to the ground or we’llbe seen!”
Jill had seen the seaplane just rising into the air over the cliff. The three children dropped flat to the ground and lay there perfectly still. The seaplane roared over their island, rose higher and higher, and at last was nothing but a speck in the sky.
“What a narrow escape!” said Tom, sitting up and wiping his forehead. “Golly! My heart did go bump I I’ve spilt the water I was carrying for Andy. I’ll have to get some more!”
“It was a shock to see that enormous plane coming!” said Jill. “Oh dear—if we have many more shocks, my hair will turn grey!”
CHAPTER 10
And Now for the Third Island!
THE children were very glad that the seaplane had gone. “It’s a jolly good thing our signal was taken down before it flew over the island,” said Andy, eating the food that the others had brought to him. “I couldn’t warn you. It started up its engine all of a sudden, taxied over the smooth water there, and then rose into the air.”
“Andy, do you think there’s anything to be seen over on the other islands?” asked Tom.
“There may be,” said Andy, “I think we ought to try and find out. That third island looks a peculiar shape to me—very long indeed, but very narrow. On the other side of it might be a fine natural harbour for seaplanes. There may be heaps there.”
“Well, we’ve only heard one so far,” said Tom. “It doesn’t seem as if they’re very busy, if there are lots over there.”
“No—you’re right, Tom,” said Andy. “Well, what about going to see what we can find? I don’t quite know how we’ll get to the third island—have to swim. I think. I don’t believe the girls could swim so far, though.”
“I don’t think I could,” said Jill, remembering the long stretch of sea between the second and third islands. “You boys would have to go without us. Mary and I will stay behind and be as patient as we can.”
“Shall we go tomorrow?” asked Tom eagerly. “We could cross to the second island at low tide in the morning and swim across to the third island. We could carry a little food with us, wrapped up in your oilskin.”
“Yes—we’lldo mat,” said Andy. A great feeling of excitement came over the children—a feeling as if some big unknown secret was going to be theirs. Jill shivered a little—it was almost too exciting.
“There’s one thing I’m worried about” said Andy. “Just suppose we are discovered, by any chance—we must find some hiding-place.”
“Well, there simply isn’t any on this island,” said Tom. “So we must hope we won’t be discovered.”
Nothing more happened that day. No seaplane came to the calm harbour in the waters of the second island. No sound but the seagulls came through the air. It was a lovely day and the children enjoyed themselves bathing and sunning their brown bodies.
Thanks to the store of food they had discovered on the second island they had plenty to eat. Andy caught some nice little fish, and Jill fried them in tine tinned butter. They were delicious. Now that they had tinned mule-powder they could make a milk-mixture and use it with their tea or cocoa, and could also sweeten their drinks with the sugar they had brought.
“We are really very well off now!” said Tom, who as usual was thoroughly enjoying his meal. “we’lltake another exciting lot of tins away from the Round Cave next time—I saw some baked beans in tomato sauce. I should like those.”
The children took turns at keeping watch on the second island from the rocky ledge. But nothing was to be seen at all. They went to bed early because the boys would have rather a hard and long day the next day.
“We shall have to clamber over that line of rocks first,” said Andy. “And then we must cross the island and swim to the third one. We shall have to be back on the second island in time to clamber over the rocks at the next low tide. You girls mustn’t worry about us. We shall be back all right.”
“I do wish we were going too,” said Jill. “Don’t you think Mary and I could climb over the rocks to the second island and wait for you there? It would be more fun for us to play about there than on this bare island. There are lots of bilberries there we could pick—they are lovely and sweet now.”