For some time the men stood talking and smoking. Then they turned to go up the cliff again. One walked so near Andy that the boy could feel the thud of his footfall close by.
Up the cliff climbed the men and disappeared over the top. Andy cautiously lifted his head after a while and looked around. There was no one to be seen.
The boy felt that it would be safer if they all stayed where they were for some time longer—but he felt cold and damp, and he was afraid that the girls would catch a dreadful chill.
“Mary! Jill!” he called, in a low voice. “I flunk the men are gone, but we must still be careful. Slowly and carefully take off the weed and shake yourselves free of the sand. Be ready to lie still at once if I say so.”
But there was no need to say so—the men did not come back to the beach. The three children shook off the damp sand, threw the seaweed over the places where they had been lying and ran quickly to the shelter of the cliff, where no one could see them, if they looked over.
The gulls flew off in the greatest surprise and alarm. They could not understand rocks turning into children so suddenly. The young gull made up its mind that it would never land on. a rock again—just suppose it changed into a person!
“Golly!” said Andy, as they stood shivering under the cliff. “That was a narrow escape! One man very nearly trod on my hand under the sand!”
“What have you done to your knee, Andy?” asked Jill, pointing to where Andy’s knee was bleeding.
“A gull pecked me there,” said Andy, mopping his knee. “It’s nothing much. I say, wasn’t it funny when the gulls thought we were rocks and came and stood on us! They were a great help!”
“One gull stood nearly on my face,” said Jill. “I didn’t like it very much.”
“I do feel cold,” said Mary, shivering and shaking. “It was horrid to be covered with damp sand for so long.”
She sneezed. Andy looked at her anxiously. It would never do for any of them to be ill just now. He made up his mind quickly.
“The men may be off the island now,” he said. “I’ll go and see. If they are we’llall tear across to the hut, light the stove inside and dry ourselves. we’llmake some hot cocoa and get really warm.”
The girls thought that was a splendid idea. Andy set off up the cliff. “Stay here till you hear my seagull cry,” he said. “Then come as quickly as you can.”
He came to the top of the cliff. Then, keeping to the thick bracken, he made his way to the other side of the island, looking out for any signs of the men. He went right across the island, and came to the hollow where the old buildings were—and he saw the motor-boat putting off from the shore! The men had given up the hunt and were going back to the third island. They had already searched the second one and had found nobody but Tom.
Andy tore back to the girls. He screeched like a gull. The girls at once climbed the cliff and ran across the island, feeling a little wanner as they ran. Andy was in the shack, and the stove was lighted. It gave out a welcome heat.
“Take off your damp things and wrap yourself in the rugs,” said Andy, who was already walking about in a rug himself and looked like a Red Indian. “I’m making some cocoa.”
In ten minutes’ time all the children felt warm and lively. The stove dried their things, and the hot cocoa wanned them well. Nobody sneezed again and Andy began to hope that their long stay under the damp sand wouldn’t give anyone a chill after all.
“Andy, what are you going to do now?” asked Jill, sipping her cocoa. “We’ve got plenty of food, luckily, because we buried it all in the sand at the top of the beach out there—but we can’t get away, because our boat’s gone and we’ve lost Tom. Have we got to stay here for the rest of our lives?”
“Don’t be silly, Jill,” said Andy. “Let’s tackle one thing at a time, for goodness’ sake. We’ve done tHe most important thing so far—hidden ourselves so well that we weren’t found—and now we’lldo the next most important thing—we’llrescue Tom! After that we’ll think how to escape—but one thing at a time, please, and no worrying about what’s going to happen. If we get worried, we’llget frightened, and nobody is any use when they’re frightened. We’ve all got plenty of courage and we’ll use it!”
Jill and Mary cheered up at Andy’s brave words. “I would like to rescue poor Tom,” said Jill. “He will be so lonely and upset. Where do you suppose he is?”
“In the cave where he left his camera, I expect,” said Andy, pouring himself out another cup of cocoa. “And I’m pretty certain there’ll be a guard somewhere at the entrance, for if there were not, Tom would soon escape—so we won’t run into trouble—we’ll see if there isn’t tome other way of rescuing Tom.”
“But how can there be?” asked Jill.
“I don’t know yet,” said Andy. “But I do know this—we thought it was impossible to bide safely on this bare little island—yet we did it! And so, though it sounds impossible to rescue Tom, there may.be a way if we think hard enough. So now—let’s all think hard!”
CHAPTER 16
An Exciting Discovery
NOBODY could think how to rescue Tom. After all, if there was someone guarding the cave-entrance, how could Andy possibly get in without being seen?
The boy gave it up after a time, and for a change he set the gramophone going. There was only one record that was not broken, and that was the one with the lullaby on one side and the nursery rhymes on the other. The girls listened, rather bored, for they had heard that record scores of times since they had come to the island.
“Turn it off, Andy,” said Jill. “If I hear that voice crooning that lullaby any more I shall go to sleep!”
Andy switched off the gramophone and went to the doorway of the shack. He was not afraid of the men coming back again for he was sure they thought there was no one on this island, at any rate.
A thought came into Andy’s bead. He went back to the girls.
“I think it would be a good thing if I crossed to the second island tonight, when it’s dark,” he said. “I might be able to get into touch with Tom somehow and hear what has happened, even if I can’t rescue him.”
“Oh, Andy—we shall be left all alone,” said Mary in dismay.
“We don’t mind that, if Andy can help Tom,” said Jill. “We’ll stay here in the hut, Andy, and try to sleep whilst you go. But do be careful, won’t you?”
“I’ll be careful,” said Andy. “I don’t want to be made a prisoner, too—but you needn’t be afraid of that! No enemy can catch me!”
So that night, when he had only the starlight to guide him, for the moon was not up, Andy crossed the line of rocks to the second island. He went very cautiously, for he did not want a single sound to come to the ears of anyone on the cave-beach.
He waded through the shallow water to the sand at the nearer end of the beach. He stood there, listening—and not very far off, close against the cliff where the cave-entrance was, he heard a cough!
“Oho!” said Andy to himself. “Thanks for that cough, dear sentry! I now know exactly where you are. You are behind the big rock at the cave opening. Well. I shall not go near you!”
The boy stood quite still for a while, listening. The sentry most obligingly cleared his throat and coughed again very loudly. Andy grinned. He made his way carefully round the end of the cliff and then began to climb up, feeling his way cautiously. The cliff there was not very steep, and Andy was soon at the top. He had not made a single sound.
He found a little hollow where heather and gorse grew thickly. He crept under an overhanging piece ot bush, piled the heather beneath him, and slept peacefully. He knew he could do nothing till morning came, and he could see where he was.
The sun rose and Andy awoke. He was stiff and he stretched himself and yawned. He was hungry, but there was nothing for him to eat but bilberries.
He wriggled carefully to the edge of the cliff and looked over. Almost below him was the sentry he had heard last night, behind a rock at the cave-entrance. As Andy looked down he saw a boat coming to the shore, and a man stepped off, and walked up the beach to change places with the sentry. They stood talking for a while and then the first sentry went to the boat, yawning, and the new one settled down to his task of waiting and watching.