“The sentry won’t look in at me tonight, I’m sure,” said Tom, as they at last reached the sandy shore of the beach. “And the one that comes in the morning may not go into the cave to see me at all—he is a surly fellow.”
“Well—that gives us a little time to think what to do next,” said Andy. “Though I’m blessed if I know what will be best to do!”
They made their way to the shack, which was in darkness, for Andy had forbidden the girls to show a light of any sort in case the enemy saw it. Mary and Jill were lying together on their heather bed in the darkness, fast asleep.
Mary heard the boys come in and she sat upright in bed at once. “Is. that you, Andy?”
“Yes—and Tom tool” said Andy. Jill awoke then, and the four of them sat on one bed, hugging one another for joy. Now they were all together again! It was lovely.
“I was an awful idiot to try and get my camera back,” said Tom. “I never thought of being caught. Now our boat is gone and it’s going to be difficult to know what to do.”
There’s only one thing to do,” said Andy. “And flat is to get our fishing-boat off the rocks early tomorrow morning somehow—and refloat her. I’ve noticed she seems to have moved a bit, and it may be that the tides have loosened her. Perhaps the two rocks that held her are not holding her quite so fast now. Anyway, it’s our only chance.”
“Yes—we’ll try and do that,” said Jill. “Tom’s escape is sure to be discovered sometime tomorrow, and this time such a search will be made mat I know we’ll all be found.”
“Well, let’s sleep for an hour or two till dawn,” said Andy. “We can’t do anything at the moment.”
So they all lay down on their beds and slept until Andy awakened them two hours later, Now dawn was in the sky and soon the sun would rise.
The children slipped across the island and came to the beach where they had first landed, after their wreck. They looked at their poor fishing-boat, still jammed between the rocks. Certainly it had moved a little—it was not leaning so much to one side.
They stood and looked at it. The tide was not very high yet, and it was possible to reach the boat without too much difficulty.
It was not long before all the children had reached their boat, and were clambering up the wet and slippery deck. Seaweed lay across it now, thrown there by the waves. The boat looked old and miserable—not at all like the smart Jittle ship in which they had started out so gaily.
The boys went down into the little cabin. It had water lying at the bottom. Andy ripped up the planks and examined the boat underneath the floor of the cabin.
Then he came out and let himself down the side of the ship, disappearing under the water to feel the bottom of the boat. The girls and Tom watched him anxiously.
“We must mend the boat somehow,” said Tom. “It’s our only chance!”
When Andy joined them on the slanting deck he looked very cheerful.
“Do you know, there’s not much wrong!” he said. “I do believe I could patch her up fairly quickly. The waves have shifted her a bit so that I can get at the damaged part—the part where she struck the rocks and damaged a few planks.”
“Oh, good, Andy!” cried the girls, and Tom slapped the fisher-boy on the shoulder for joy. How marvellous, that they could perhaps make the ship seaworthy again! What luck that the waves had shifted her enough to make it possible to examine the damaged part! Tom had no idea at all how Andy meant to patch op the ship, but he meant to help with all his might, to make up for losing the stolen boat.
Tom and Andy went back over the rocks to fetch a rope. Andy felt sure that if they all tugged at the boat at high tide, they could get her off the rocks and float her to the beach, where it wouldtiot be difficult to patch her up.
“You see, Tom, she’s not jammed very tightly now,” said Andy. “And I reckon if we wait tin the tide is at its very highest, and big waves are trying to lift the boat up, we could pull her right off the rocks! Then we’ll get her into shore somehow, and see what we can do.”
“If only we can do it all before the enemy come again,” said Tom. “I wonder if they’ve discovered that I’ve gone!”
“Don’t let’s think about that,” said Andy.
The boys found all the rope they had and wound it firmly round their waists. They went back to the shore. The girls were still on the ship, but the tide was rising high and they would soon have to leave, as the sea covered the boat at high tide.
The children fastened strong double strands of rope to the front of the ship. Then, holding firmly to the rope, they clambered over the rocks back to the sandy beach, wet through. The tide came up higher and higher and the children had to stand up to their waists in the water, for the rope would not reach right to the shore.
“Look! There’s an enormous wave coming!” shouted Andy. “Pull on the rope, all of you, as soon as the wave strikes the ship! Heave-ho!”
They all pulled—and every child felt the ship give a little as the wave fined her and the rope pulled her. “Now here’s another one!” yelled Andy. “Heave-ho!”
They all heaved at the rope with all their might Again they felt the ship move a little. The two big waves ran up the shore and wetted the children to their chins!
“Hang on to the rope, girls,” cried Andy. “If we get many waves Kke that you may be swept off your feet. But as long as you’ve got hold of the rope you’ll be all right.”
The waves were smaller after that—and then the wind began to blow stiffly again, and the waves grew bigger. An enormous one reared its green Jiead far out to sea.
“There’s a monster coming!” shouted Tom. “Look-at it! It will sweep us off our feet!”
“But we’ll pull at the boat first!” yelled Andy, who was tremendously excited. He really felt that they could get the boat off the rocks. “Now—heave-ho, heave-ho!”
The wave struck the boat and the rope dragged at her at the same moment She shivered and groaned as she tried to escape from the rocks that held her. She slipped a few feet forward.
The giant wave struck the children next, and all of them went down under it, even Andy. They floundered in the foaming waves, and Jill swallowed about a pint of salt water. Mary was very angry because Tom put his foot into her neck, but Tom didn’t mean to. The wave struck him so hard that he was flung right off his feet, and had to strike out to get himself upright again.
None of them let go the rope. They all held on for dear life, as Andy had ordered. So it was not long before they were standing up again, gasping and spluttering, salt iti their mouths and noses, but all of them determined to heave again as soon as the next big wave came.
“Look how the boat has moved!” yelled Andy, in the greatest delight. “She’s almost off the rocks! Golly! Isn’t this exciting?”
The boat had moved a good deal. Andy was sure that they could pull her in now. He waited patiently for the next big wave to come—and my goodness, it was a monster! The tide was at its height now, and the wind blew very strongly. A green wave put up its head, and the children gave a yell.
“Look at that one!”
“It will knock us all over again,” said Mary, afraid. But she didn’t let go the rope. Whether she was knocked over or not she meant to do her bit.
The wave grew bigger and higher as it came nearer to the rocks on which the boat lay It began to curl over a little—and then it struck the rocks, and the boat too.
“HEAVE-HO!” yelled Andy, in a voice as enormous as the wave! And they all heaved. My goodness, what a heave that was!
The great wave blotted the boat from their sight and came raging towards them. Jill gave a shout of fear.
“Hold on!” shouted Andy, half-afraid himself. The wave swept them all off their feet—and alas, swept them all from the rope too, except Andy, who held on with all his might.
The other three children were taken like corks, rolled over and over, and flung roughly on the sand at the edge of the sea. Then the great wave ran back down the beach, gurgling and foaming.