“And we shall at least know what’s happening,” said Jack. “Won’t it be grand to show him the little carved ship — and the map — and tell him everything! Good old Bill!”
Lucian came up, with rather a solemn expression on his face. “I say! I’m awfully sorry about all this. I do hope your mother arrives safely, Philip, and that her aunt will get better. I hope all this won’t spoil the rest of the cruise for you. I am most awfully sorry.”
“Thanks,” said Philip. “We shall get over it.”
“Oh, I say, I quite forgot to give you this,” went on Lucian. “I’m so sorry. My uncle gave it to me before he left, and said I was to hand it to you. I can’t imagine what it is.”
Jack took it. He guessed what it was, and he was right. It was the piece of the plan that Mr. Eppy had “borrowed.” He had put it into a sealed envelope with a little note.
Thanks. Not very interesting after all.
P. EPPY.
Jack laughed. “Not very interesting, says he! I bet he’s got a careful tracing of it. Much good may it do him!”
He went off to put it into its safe place — in the lining of his shorts. He was glad that Mr. Eppy hadn’t seen all the other pieces of the plan. Still, probably he didn’t need to. He might guess where the treasure was, if he knew the island. If so, it wouldn’t be there long!
The day went by rather slowly. Mrs. Eppy was rather annoying, because she took very seriously her promise to look after the children. She hunted them out at mealtimes, and even told the table steward to seat them at her table.
But Jack was not having that. “No, Mrs. Eppy,” he said firmly, but politely. “We expect our friend, Bill Cunningham, tonight — or at the latest, tomorrow morning. We will keep our own table and eat with him. Thank you all the same.”
Lucian was disappointed, and sulked. He didn’t even smile when Kiki and Micky had a fight over a banana and ended by pulling it in half.
After the evening meal the children went up on deck, hoping against hope that Bill would arrive that night. The second officer had had no message, so thought he probably would arrive.
“He would surely have radioed me if he was coming tomorrow,” he said. “He knows we’re holding the ship here for him. All the same, I’d go to bed, if I were you, kids — he may come in the middle of the night!”
They wouldn’t hear of going to bed! They sat up on deck and watched the sun go down in a blaze of gold. They saw the clouds turn rosy-pink. Then they watched night creeping over the sea from the east, and saw the water turn more and more purple, till at last they could hardly tell it from the sky. Then the stars came out brilliantly, and the water sparkled again.
Lucy-Ann was almost asleep in her deck-chair when Jack nudged her. “Wake up! There’s a plane. It may be Bill’s!” She was awake at once, and went to the deck-rail with the others.
The plane went down to the airport landing ground. It must be Bill’s! After about half an hour they heard a motor-boat starting up its engine in the port.
“It’s Bill coming out now!” cried Lucy-Ann in excitement. “Dear old Bill!”
The motor-boat came nearer and nearer. It stopped by the ship, and a ladder was thrown down. Someone began to climb up. Lucy-Ann could contain herself no longer.
“Bill!” she cried. “Is it you, Bill! BILL!”
Up came a familiar voice. “Ahoy there! Bill it is!”
And Bill it was. He came climbing on to the deck, and the four children ran to him at once. They smothered him, hugged him, and were bear-hugged back.
“Dear Bill! Good old Bill! It’s grand to see you. Now everything’s fine.”
“Yes, everything’s fine!” said Bill, swinging Lucy-Ann right off her feet. “Gosh, it’s good to see you all! Now we’ll have some fun!”
Chapter 15
BILL HEARS THE TALE
BILL was hungry and thirsty. The children, excited and happy, took him down to the lounge, where he ordered chicken-and-ham sandwiches and a drink for himself, and, for a treat, the same for the children.
“Though, let me tell you, you’ll have awful dreams tonight, having a meal so late,” he warned them. “So if you are chased by bears, fall out of aeroplanes or get shipwrecked in your sleep, don’t blame me!”
“We shan’t,” said Lucy-Ann. “Anyway, now I know you’re here, I shan’t even mind having nightmares — you’ll turn up in them to rescue me!”
The steward brought the meal, smiling. He had also brought a banana each for Micky and Kiki, on two separate plates. Kiki was very much impressed with the plates — it wasn’t often she had a plate! She insisted on putting her banana back on her plate each time she had taken a bite, which amused the children immensely.
“Kiki’s gone all polite, I see,” said Bill, taking an enormous bite of his sandwich. “Gosh, this is good. I haven’t had anything to eat for hours. Well, kids, how’s things?”
“We’ve a lot to tell you, Bill,” said Jack. “Jolly interesting too. We’ve happened on something very exciting.”
“You would, of course,” said Bill. “But don’t think you’re dragging me into any hare-brained escapade this time! I’ve had enough of you and your adventures! I’ve come out for a nice quiet, restful trip.”
Kiki gave a tremendous squawk and made him jump.
“Micky! You’ve taken Kiki’s banana!” said Jack. “Philip, smack him. There’ll be a fight soon if you don’t. All right, Kiki, I’ll get you another. Poor old thing, that’s what your good manners brought you — you put your banana down politely on your plate after each bite — and Micky goes and takes it!”
“Nice little monkey,” said Bill, tickling Micky under the chin. “Yours, I suppose, Philip. It beats me how you collect your pets wherever you go. Let’s see — you’ve had a fox cub — a lizard — a slow-worm — a snowy-white kid — two puffins — white rats — and now a monkey. Well, well — so long as you don’t collect a hippopotamus or a flock of lions I don’t mind!”
The children were bursting to tell him about the treasure-plan, but they felt they ought to let him eat his sandwiches first. He told them how he had met Mrs. Mannering at the airport in England, and had seen her safely off to her aunt. Then he had taken his own private aeroplane and set off.
“Alone?” asked Jack.
“No. With a friend of mine — Tim Curling — don’t think you’ve met him,” said Bill. “Don’t you want all your sandwiches, Lucy-Ann? Right, I’ll help myself. Yes, Tim came too, and I’ve left him with the plane. He’s going to hire a motor-boat and do a bit of cruising.”
“Oh! I wish we could too,” said Dinah.
“Do you?” said Bill, in surprise. “But I thought you liked being on this big, comfortable ship. You’re used to rowing-boats and sailing-ships and motor-boats — this big ship must be a real change.”
“Yes, it is. But — well, shall we tell you our news, Bill?” asked Jack eagerly.
Bill ate the last vestige of the sandwiches and finished his drink. He yawned a vast yawn and Kiki immediately did the same. “I suppose it can’t wait till morning, can it?” he said. Then he saw the disappointed faces of the children and laughed. “Oh, all right. Out with it.”
“Fetch the little carved ship, Lucy-Ann,” ordered Jack. “I’ve got all the four bits of the map. Hurry. We’ll wait till you come back before we begin.”
Lucy-Ann sped off. She came back very quickly, panting, with the little ship in her hands. Bill took it. “What a beauty! This is valuable, you know. Where did you get it?”
Then out came the story of how Lucy-Ann had discovered the ship in the bottle with Lucian, and had bought it for Philip’s birthday. In low, excited tones, so that no one else could hear, the children told of the breaking of the bottle and the unexpected finding of the parchment inside the ship. Then Jack produced the parchment, still in its four quarters. Bill glanced at it with great interest. Then he stood up.
“Come on down to my cabin,” he said. “I think it would be wiser to talk there. This is all rather extraordinary.”
Very pleased with Bill’s reception of their tale, the children trooped down the stairs to the cabins. They all crowded into Bill’s. They knew it well because it had been their mother’s. They managed to squash themselves on the bed, with Bill in the middle.