“Simply given our secret away,” said Dinah. “We’re losing our grip!”
“Anyway — I don’t really see what we could have done about the treasure,” said Lucy-Ann suddenly. “I mean — we can’t possibly go hunting for it, even if we knew exactly where it was. So we might as well give it up, and if Mr. Eppy wants to go hunting after it, let him!”
“Well, I must say you’re very generous, giving up what might have been our treasure — and just saying Mr. Eppy can have it!” said Jack, exasperated. “All because you don’t want an adventure again!”
“Oh, I say!” cried Kiki, and the children stopped talking at once. Kiki had given her usual signal for the approach of Lucian. Up he came, grinning amiably. He appeared completely to have forgotten his last meeting with them in his cabin, when he had been in tears. His face still looked a bit blotched, but otherwise he seemed very cheery.
“Hallo!” he cried. “Where on earth have you been the last half-hour? I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I say, look what Uncle’s given me!”
He showed the children some pieces of Greek money. “I expect he was sorry for going for me like that, don’t you?” he chattered on. “Anyway, he’s in a very good temper now. Aunt can’t understand it!”
The children could understand Mr. Eppy’s sudden good spirits very well indeed. They grinned wryly at one another. Mr. Eppy had got what he wanted — or some part of what he wanted — and he was pleased. It struck Jack that Mr. Eppy probably always got what he wanted, in one way or another. He wouldn’t much care which way. He thought uneasily that they ought to find safer hiding-places than the ones in the cabins, for the remaining pieces of paper.
He felt very gloomy. What was the use of bothering? They would never be able to do much about the treasure! How could they? Aunt Allie wouldn’t hear of it, he knew. And there would have to be some grown-up in charge. If only Bill had come on the trip with them!
An idea came into his head. “I’m going off by myself for a little while,” he announced. “See you later.” Off he went with Kiki. He had had an idea. What about looking up the island Thamis or Themis, whichever it was, on a modern map, and seeing if it was shown there? It would be interesting to see whereabouts it was. Why, it might be quite near where they were cruising!
He went down to the ship’s little library with Kiki and asked for a good map of the islands. The librarian gave him one and looked disapprovingly at Kiki. He didn’t like parrots in his quiet library.
“Blow your nose,” Kiki advised him. “Wipe your feet! How many times have I told you to shut the door? Pooh. Gah!”
The librarian said nothing at all, but looked down his nose. He had never in his life been spoken to like that before — and by a parrot too! He was most irritated.
“One, two, three, GO!” said Kiki, and made the noise of a pistol going off. The librarian almost jumped out of his seat.
“Sorry about that,” said Jack hastily, afraid that the librarian would turn him out. He tapped Kiki on the beak. “Manners, Kiki, manners. Shocking!”
“Shocking,” repeated Kiki, in a mournful voice, and began to sniff in exactly the same way the librarian did.
Jack pored over the map of the islands, forgetting all about Kiki in his interest. For a long time he couldn’t see Thamis — and then there it was, under his eyes! It was not a large island, and was marked with what seemed to be a city or town, just on the coast. One or two small marks seemed to indicate villages — but there was only the one town.
So that was where the legendary fleet of treasure ships went, years and years ago! They put in at that city by the sea, sailing into the port at dead of night. How did they unload the treasure? Were there people there in the secret? Where was it put? It must have been hidden remarkably well if no one had ever found it in all the years that had gone by.
Jack pored over the map, his imagination giving him picture after picture, and making him stirred and excited. He gave a deep sigh, which Kiki immediately echoed. If only he could go to Thamis — to that city by the sea — if only he could just have a look at it!
But it would be Mr. Eppy who would do that — Mr. Eppy who knew all the islands by heart, and who could afford to hire ships to go from one to the other, exploring each one as he pleased. Jack folded up the map with another sigh. He put the whole idea away from him, once and for all. You couldn’t go on treasure-hunts unless you were grown-up — his common sense told him that all the plans he and the others had made were just crazy dreams — lovely dreams, but quite impossible.
Jack strolled out of the library and up on deck. They were heading for another island. They were to go close by it, so that the passengers might see the romantic coastline, but they were not calling there.
At least, so Jack had thought. As they came near, he saw that he must have been wrong. The ship was either going into the port there, or people were going off in a motor-boat that had come out to meet the ship. The ship’s engines stopped at that moment, and Jack leaned over the side to watch the motor-boat nose its way near.
It soon lay alongside the big ship, rising and falling gently on the waves. A ladder was shaken down the side of the Viking Star. Someone began to climb down, someone who waved back to others on the boat, and called out in a foreign language.
And then Jack got a shock. The someone was Mr. Eppy! He was calling good-bye to his wife and nephew. He climbed right down to the motor-boat and jumped deftly on the deck. His big suitcase was lowered down on a rope, and swung down on the deck beside him. He looked up and waved again, his dark glasses showing clearly.
Jack scowled down angrily and miserably. Blow Mr. Eppy, blow him! Jack felt sure he knew why he was leaving the boat. Mr. Eppy knew enough to set things in motion for the grand Andra treasure-hunt. He was going to Thamis. He would smell out the treasure that Jack and the others had happened on, in that old map. It would be his.
And probably Jack would never even know what happened about it — never know if it was found, or what it was, or anything. It was like reading a tremendously exciting book half-way through, and then having the book taken away and not knowing the end of the story.
The motor-boat chugged away from the ship. Mr. Eppy and his sun-glasses disappeared. Jack turned from the deck-rail and went to find the others. He wondered if they knew about Mr. Eppy.
He found them in the cabin. Micky had eaten something that disagreed with him, and had been sick. They were looking after him anxiously. They hadn’t even noticed that the engines of the ship had stopped, and were now starting again.
“There!” Dinah was saying as Jack came into the cabin. “He’s all right now — aren’t you, Micky? You shouldn’t be so greedy.”
Jack came in looking so gloomy that everyone was startled. “What’s up?” said Philip at once.
“It’s all up,” said Jack, sitting down on the nearest bed. “Who do you think’s gone off in a motor-boat — suitcase and all?”
“Who?” asked everyone.
“Mr. Eppy!” said Jack. “Hot-foot after our treasure! He knows the island, he’s guessed the Andra treasure may be there — and he’s gone to set things going. At least, that’s how I see it!”
“That’s a blow,” said Philip. “We’ve messed everything up properly. He certainly doesn’t let grass grow under his feet.”
“We may as well give up all our grand ideas,” said Dinah. “What a shame! I did feel so terribly thrilled.”
“I bet he had just been sending a radio message for a motor-boat to take him off here, when I met him coming out of the radio office,” said Philip, remembering. “Just that first bit of paper must have got him going. Now he’s seen the second and he’s certain!”
“It’s bad luck,” said Lucy-Ann. “We don’t usually mess up things like this. Hallo — who’s that?”
“Oh, I say!” said Kiki, at once — and sure enough the door opened, and in came Lucian with his everlasting cry. “Oh, I say! What do you think’s happened?”