“I can easily make it as large as I like by-scraping at it,” said Andy. “Can you make your end large, too, do you think?”
Tom scraped at it with his hands. He could easily scrape the wall away, but not the roof. “I might perhaps be able to,” he said. “But I’d want something to do it with—I’ve nothing but my hands.”
“I’ve nothing but my hands either,” said Andy, “and they are bleeding already from scraping at the soil. Listen, Tom—I shall go back to the girls soon, when the rocks are uncovered, but I can’t wait till night. I musf go now whilst the tide is low. So I want you to call to the sentry and pretend that you want his help in undoing a tin of food or something. See? Then whilst he is in the cave with you, I’ll creep over the rocks safely without being seen, and get back.”
“All right,” said Tom. “What will you do then?”
“I’ll collect something for us to work at the soil with,” said Andy. “And I’ll bring it back tonight. Then maybe we can make the hole large enough for you to crawl up. I don’t think it’s more than about six feet long. Now, wait to hear my seagull call, Tom—then yell for the sentry, and I’ll make a dash for the rocks as soon as I see him go into the cave.”
Everything worked well. When Tom heard Andy’s seagull cry he shouted for the sentry, and the man went into the cave to see what was the matter.
He found that Tom had got a large tin of tongue, and seemed to have lost the tin-opener, The sentry hadn’t one either, and he spent a very long time trying to open the tin with his pocket-knife. He ended in cutting his thumb very badly, and Tom produced a handkerchief and spent a long time binding up the man’s thumb, glad to keep him in the cave so long.
Andy had plenty of time to escape back over the rocks. He knew them well now, and leapt from rock to rock easily. He was back in the shack in no time, it seemed!
The girls were thrilled to see him and he had to sit and tell them all he had done at least four or five times. When they heard about the hole leading down to the Round Cave the girls were tremendously excited.
“So you see,” finished Andy, “I plan to get Tom out that way tonight—and I must take back with me something to dig and scrape with.”
“Here’s an old bit of wood with some jolly big nails in it, all sticking out,” said Jill. “Would that do?”’
“Yes—that’s fine,” said Andy. “Is there a bit for Tom?”
They found an old bit that would do. And then Andy said such a funny thing.
“I’ll take the gramophone too! And the one record!”
The girls stared at him. “The gramophone!” said Jill at last. “Whatever for? Are you mad!”
“It does sound rather mad, I know,” said Andy. “But I want it for something. I’ll tell you afterwards. It won’t sound quite so mad then!”
Andy had a very good meal, for he was awfully hungry. Then he settled down to sleep, for, as he said, he would not have much of a night that night!
The next night, after midnight, the boy went over the rocks again, carrying the pieces of rough wood with nails in, and the gramophone slung carefully over his shoulder. He reached the shore safely and made his way cautiously up the cliff.
And very soon Tom, half asleep, heard the queer hollow voice rumbling round his cave once more. “Tom! Are you asteep?”
Tom climbed on the chest and put his head to the hole. “Hallo, Andy!” he said. “I’m not asleep. I’ve been waiting and waiting for you!”
“There’s a bit of wood with nails in coming down the hole,” said Andy. “Scrape at your end with it and try your best to make the hole larger. I’ve got one too. I’ll scrape my end. Look out that you don’t get your eyes full of bits falling down.”
The two boys set to work. Both of them scraped and dug for all they were worth. The soil was very dry and sandy, and was easy to move. Heaps of it fell down to Tom’s end and he had to dodge it every now and again.
At last Andy’s hole was quite big enough to get into. He called softly to Tom. “How are you getting on? My end is big enough for you to get out. IVe got a rope I can let down to you if you are ready.”
“I’m nearly ready,” answered Tom, scraping hard. “Just a minute or two more!”
And then, at last, his end was large enough to climb into! The boy put another chest on the top of the one he was standing on and knelt upon it. His head and shoulders were right in the hole—he stood up and almost disappeared in the long narrow funnel.
“Wait a minute, Tom,” said Andy. “I’ve got something I want to let down on the rope. It’s the gramophone.”
“The what?” asked Tom, in astonishment, thinking he couldn’t have heard aright.
“The gramophone,” said Andy. “I’m afraid, Tom, you may make rather a noise climbing down the cliff, and the sentry might think you had escaped—but if I set the gramophone going, singing that silly lullaby you sang yesterday, he will think it’s you still in the cave—and he won’t come and see what the matter is. So I’m going to let it down, and you must set it right, and tie a bit of string to it so that I can pull the switch and set the record going when I think it’s best to.”
“Golly!” said Tom. “You think of everything!” The gramophone came bumping down the hole, on the end of the rope. Tom put it carefully behind a big chest and set the needle ready on the outside edge of the record. He tied a long piece of string to the starting-switch, and then tied the other end to the rope that Andy had let down with the gramophone.
“Pull it up, Andy,” he said. “But carefully, please, because the string’s on the rope and we don’t want to break the needle by jerking the string too hard!”
Andy drew up the rope, untied the string on the end of it, and tied it to a heavy stone for safety. Then he called to Tom, “That’s done. Come along up now, Tom. Don’t brush against the gramophone string more than you can help. Here’s the rope. Tie it round your Waist and I’ll help you up the hole by pulling—and I say, don’t forget your camera!”
Tom stood up on the highest chest and began to scramble up the hole. There were plenty of rough ledges each side where he could put his feet. Andy hauled strongly on the rope, and Tom’s head suddenly appeared through the hole by Andy’s feet!
“Good!” said Andy. “Climb out!”
Tom climbed out. He sniffed the fresh breeze with delight, for it had been rather stuffy down in the cave. Andy undid the rope from round Tom’s waist. “Now you must get down the cliff as best you can without noise,” he said. “Wait for me at the edge of the rocks, won’t you. I’ll give you a hand over those because I know them better than you do now.”
Tom went to the cliff and began to climb down. Halfway down he slipped, and kicked out quickly to prevent himself’from falling. A whole shower of stones fell down the cliff. The sentry, half-dozing, shouted at once.
Andy knew it was time to pull the string that was tied to the gramophone! He jerked it. The switch slid to one side and the record began to go round on its disc. The needle ran over the record and the lullaby began to sound in the cave. “Hush! Hush! Hush!”
The sentry heard it and thought it was Tom singing. He felt satisfied that his prisoner was still in the cave, as the song went on, and settled himself down again in a comfortable position. It must have been a rabbit that sent stones down the cliff, he thought!
Andy slipped down the cliff after Tom, glad that the sentry had heard the lullaby and had thought it must be Tom. Tom was waiting for him by the line of rocks.
“Didn’t I make a row?” he whispered. “But I couldn’t help it.”
“It’s all right! I set the record going and the sentry thinks you are busy in the cave, singing yourself to sleep,” said Andy with a low chuckle. “Come on—we’ve no time to lose!”
CHAPTER 18
Heave-Ho! Heave-Ho!
OVER the line of rocks the boys slipped and climbed. Tom following Andy closely, for Andy now knew the best way very well indeed. Big waves wetted them, but they did not care. All they wanted was to get back to the girls safely.