They slept rather late the next morning, for not one of them had gone to sleep before midnight—and they were awakened by the throbbing noise that they had heard two nights before!
“The seaplane again!” said Andy, waking up at once and leaping to his feet. He ran to the open doorway of the hut, and was just in time to see the plane soar overhead. Then it went round in great circles ready to land on the smooth water outside the second island.
“That means we can’t get away to-day,” said Tom at once. “We simply must get food into the boat—and we can’t if that plane is there.”
“No—we can’t,” said Andy. “But I tell yoo what we might do, Tom. We might row to the third island, tie our boat up in a hidden place, creep to the top of that cliff, and try to take a few photographs of the submarine bay! We meant to take some photos, you know.”
“Yes—we could do that.” said Tom. “we’llhave to be pretty careful, though.”
“We will be,” said Andy. “Jill, what is there for breakfast?”
There were tinned sausages and baked beans and tomato sauce. Jill proudly produced some little rolls of bread she had made, too. They all ate in silence, thinking over everything that had happened.
“That seaplane may not stay long,” said Andy. “It didn’t last time. I expect k has come to add to the stores—or maybe take away from them. It will be busy that side of the island—so we will row round the after side, where we wont be seen, go across to the third one. and tie up there. You girls must stay here.”
“Oh, you always have the exciting things to do.” sighed Mary. “Can’t we really come with you? I dont see why we can’t.”
“Well, if you promise to do exactly what you’re told, you can come,” said Andy, after a minute’s thought. He didn’t really like the idea of leaving the girls all alone again. Perhaps it would be better if they came.
The girls were thrilled. They cleared away the breakfast-things and washed up. They prepared a meal to take with them. It was a very good thing they had discovered that store cave—they now had plenty of food of all kinds. They did hope the seaplane wouldn’t take everything away!
They all got into the boat. The boys rowed off, and were careful to keep to the side opposite the cave when they came to the second island. They rowed quickly over the space of water separating that island from the third one, and came to the farthest tip of ft. Here there was a tiny beach with steep, overhanging cliffs—so overhanging that it almost seemed as if a big piece was about to fall off!
“Just the place.” said Andy, pulling into the tiny beach. “Jump out girls. Take the food with you.‘Give a hand with the boat. Tom. we’ll run it up the beach and put it right under that dangerous piece of cliff. It will be well hidden there.”
They put the boat there and looked at it. The end of It jutted out and could be seen. Jill ran,to a seaweed-covered rock and pulled off handfuls of the weed.
“Let’s make the boat into a rock!” she said, with a laugh. “Cover it with seaweed!”
“Jolly good idea!” said Andy. “I didn’t know girls could have such good ideas!”
“You wait and see what fine ideas we have!” said Mary. They an pulled at the seaweed, and soon the boat was nicely draped and looked so exactly like a seaweed-covered rock that no one could possibly guess it wasn’t, even as they passed quite near it.
“That’s good.” said Andy. “Now we’ll make our way very carefully across this end of the island till we come to the little cove where we took our boat from. We’ll just peep over the cttff and see if there’s anyone there looking as though they have missed the boat! Then we’ll crawl to the top of the next cliff that overlooks the submarine bay, and Tom shall take a few pictures.”
Everything went well. Keeping close to tall bushes of gone and bramble, the four children crept over the tip of the island and soon came to the cliff below which was the boat-cove. Cautiously Andy parted some bramble sprays and peeped down to the beach below.
There were the rest of the little boats, still upturned. Nobody was about at all. As far as Andy could see, the stolen boat had not been missed. Good!
Andy let the rest of the children look down to the beach. Tom was pleased. “As long as our boat isnt missed we are all right,” he said. “I should think the enemy feel they are so safe here that it just doesn’t enter their heads that a boat might be taken. I don’t believe they’ll ever miss it.”
“I hope you’re right,” said Andy. “But it doesn’t do to think the enemy is careless or stupid. We must think they are smart and clever, and try to be the same ourselves. Now let’s wriggle along to the next bit of cliff—and you girls can see the submarines. That will be a sight for you!”
Going very slowly and cautiously indeed the four of them made their way under bushes and bracken to the top of the next cliff. They all lay on their tummies and peeped between the tall bracken. The girls drew a long breath of surprise.
“Golly!” said Jill. “One—two—three–four—five-six—seven—however many submarines are there! And all of them marked with the crooked cross.”
“An enemy submarine base so near our own land!” said Mary. “And nobody knows it!”
“Where’s your camera, Tom?” whispered Andy, Tom had it round his shoulder. Carefully he took it out of its waterproof case and set it for taking distant pictures.
“It’s got the seaplane on the first two negatives,” said the boy in a low tone. “I’ll fill up the rest of the film with photos of the submarines. The pictures can easily be made larger when we get home. Then nobody can disbelieve us, or say we made it all up!”
Click! went the camera. “Qne picture taken,” said Tom. “I got in those two big submarines together, just over there.”
Click! Click! Click! Click! Tom was as careful as he could be to take good photographs. Soon the whole film was used. “I’ll wait till I get back to the hut and then in wind off the film in a dark comer,” said the boy. “That’s a spot of good work done!”
He put the camera back into its case and strapped it op. The four children lay and looked at the nest of submarines in the water below. Another came slipping in as they watched. Two slipped out.
“Gone to sink some more of our ships, I suppose,” said Andy angrily. “If only I could stop them! But we will clean up the whole lot once we get the news back home. I guess we’ll have a battleship or two sent out here.”
“Where will it be safe to have something to eat?” asked Tom. “I do feel hungry.”
“I wish I had a shilling for every time I’ve heard Tom say that,” said Jill, with a giggle.
“Well, I only say what the rest of you are thinking!” said Tom. “I bet you’re all hungry!”
They were! Andy found a little bracken dell not far from the top of the cliff. Here the bracken was taller than the children, and once they had settled themselves down below the tall fronds nobody could possibly see them either from above or passing by.
They ate a good meal and enjoyed it. They lay on fceir backs and looked between the fronds at the blue sky. It was marvellous that the weather was still so good. It would have been miserable if it had rained all the time.
“Now we’d better get back,” said Andy.
“Oh, why?” asked Jill, lazily. “I was almost asleep.”
“I’ll tell you why!” said Andy. “Supposing that stolen boat is missed—well, the first place searched would be this island! And we’d be found. No—the best thing Tor us to do is to get back now, wait till the seaplane has left and then go straight to the store-cave and fill our boat with food. Then we’ll start off tonight.”
“All right. We’ll come along now then,” said Jill, getting up. They took one last peep at the submarine bay and another at the boat-cove. Then they made their way very cautiously back to the tiny beach where they had hidden their boat.
It was still there, beautifully draped with seaweed. Nobody had discovered it! The children dragged it down to the waves and jumped into it. Andy pushed it out.
They took turns at rowing. They were halfway round the second island, on the coast opposite to the one where the store-cave was, when a dreadful thing happened.