“But, I say — you’ll go on the rocks!” protested Lucian, at once. “You can’t come to these islands without a boatman who knows them. You’ll be wrecked!”
This was a problem to be faced. Bill considered again. “Well — we’ll have to make up our minds about that when the time comes. In the meantime, off you go. Lucian, lead the way.”
Lucian, looking rather doubtful, went to the sloping city street. He set off down it, and turned off to the left half-way down.
“You seem to know the way all right,” said Jack approvingly. Lucian looked at him uneasily.
“I don’t,” he said. “I’m absolutely no good at this kind of thing. I never can find my way anywhere. I’ve no bump of locality at all. I shall never find the boats!”
Chapter 27
UNEXPECTED VISITORS
LUCIAN was perfectly right. He didn’t know the way, and he couldn’t find the boats. He was completely hopeless. He simply wandered here and there, making towards the sea, but arriving at a rocky beach where no boats could possibly lie.
“You’re a mutt,” said Jack, in disgust.
“Mutt!” said Kiki, pleased with the word. “Mutty! Send for the doctor.”
Nobody smiled even at this. They were all too disappointed and disgusted with poor Lucian. He looked ready to cry.
“It’s not my fault,” he said with a sniff. “If I’d known it was going to be so important I’d have taken careful note of the way. But I didn’t know.”
“Now look here — if you start to blub again I’ll park you down a rabbit-hole, and stuff it up with seaweed,” said Jack, in disgust. Lucian looked alarmed.
“I would remember if I could,” he said dismally. “But I do tell you this — nobody can come or go from these islands in a boat without a seaman who knows, the way. There are hundreds of rocks just below the surface of the sea. Even an experienced seaman finds it difficult. I know, because I’ve so often visited them with my uncle.”
Jack looked at him. “Well — I believe you about that,” he said. “I shouldn’t care to navigate a boat myself without a sailor who knew the way. Gosh — we’re really beaten now — no boats — and if we had them we’d probably wreck ourselves. A very poor outlook indeed!”
Lucy-Ann immediately had a vision of themselves and Mr. Eppy and his friends remaining on Thamis Island for years and years! She sighed.
“I wish I’d never bought that ship in a bottle for Philip,” she said. “If I’d known it was going to bring us such an adventure I’d have thrown it away!”
They began to make their way back to the city. As they went, Jack stopped and looked up at the sky. “What’s that noise?” he said. “Sounds like an aeroplane!”
They all stopped then, and listened, looking for the plane. Soon it came in sight, a small speck coming in from the north.
“Pity we can’t make a signal of distress,” said Dinah. “Anyway I’m going to wave my hanky!”
She took out a small hanky, and, much to the others’ amusement, waved it wildly in the air.
“Do you really suppose for one moment that the plane can see your dirty little hanky, and would come down here if it did?” demanded Philip.
“You never know,” said Dinah, still waving vigorously.
“You’re daft,” said Philip, and Dinah gave him one of her best scowls. Leaving her waving madly, the others went on, still keeping an eye on the plane, which by now was over the island. It flew over it — and then made a wide circuit and flew back!
“It’s seen my hanky!” shrieked Dinah. “It’s coming back!”
“Don’t be an ass,” said Philip. But the plane certainly had come back — and what was more it was coming down low, too, making another circuit of the whole island as it flew.
“There’s a flat space over there, look, look,” screamed Dinah to the plane, as if she really thought it could hear her. “Come down there! Oh, don’t pass it!”
The plane swooped down still lower and came round again. It seemed to see the flat place that Dinah had yelled about, and it came down neatly, as slowly as it could. Its wheels touched the ground, and for one awful moment it looked as if the rough ground was going to tip the plane over on its nose. But it righted itself and came to a stop.
Dinah looked at the others with flushed cheeks. “There you are! It saw my hanky — and it heard my yell!”
The others were staring in delight at the plane. “It can’t be friends of Mr. Eppy’s!” cried Philip. “It must be someone sent to look for us. Come on!”
Their feet flew along over the rough paths. They saw two men getting out of the plane. They waved to the children and went to meet them.
Lucy-Ann’s sharp eyes recognized them first. “It’s TIM!” she squealed. “Tim, Bill’s friend. And isn’t that Andros the boatman with him?”
She was right. It was Tim, and beside him was a rather shame-faced Andros. Tim hailed them.
“Hallo, hallo! Where’s Bill? Are you all safe? Andros here came to me with such a wild story I had to come along and investigate!”
“Yes, Bill’s all right!” cried Jack, and he pumped Tim’s arm up and down in sheer delight at seeing him. “I say, it’s good to see you. Did Andros really come and tell you about us?”
“He told me a most extraordinary tale,” said Tim. “He apparently chewed it over for a day or so, and then decided he’d better tell someone. When he saw me down at the quayside, trying to spot you all, he recognized me and came up. He said that he took you to Thamis and dropped you there. Then he fell asleep waiting for you.”
“That’s right,” said Jack.
“And then someone came and woke him up in a hurry, and told him he’d no right to be there, and threatened him with prison,” said Tim. “Andros replied that he’d left a party there, a man, and four children, a parrot and a monkey — and this fellow raved at him, said it was his own island, and if Andros didn’t clear out then and there he’d have him arrested straight away.
“Mr. Eppy in a rage, evidently,” said Jack.
“Andros then pointed out that he hadn’t been paid and this fellow poured money into his hands and then pointed a revolver at him. So Andros fled, comforting himself by thinking that as the fellow had a boat somewhere he could at least bring you all off in his own good time. That right, Andros?”
“I not understand all, Mister, sir,” said Andros. “Bad man here. Very bad. Andros very sorry, Mister, sir.”
“Well, now you tell your tale,” said Tim to Jack. So between them the children poured out their story — and it was such an astonishing one that Tim listened open-mouthed. Good gracious — what a tale! He had never heard anything like it in his life.
He soon grasped everything, and grinned to think of old Bill standing patiently by the broken column, waiting for Mr. Eppy or his men to come out and be dealt with.
“I wouldn’t mind dealing with them myself,” said the young man cheerfully. “Biff, thud, ker-plonk — very nice too!”
“Oh, Tim — you do make me laugh!” said Lucy-Ann, with a giggle. “I wonder if Bill has been doing any biffing.”
“Well, if he has, I hope it’s Mr. Eppy that’s getting the biffs, to say nothing of the ker-plonks,” said Tim cheerfully. “Well, now — what’s our plan to be?”
“We’ve got to find the other creek and the boats,” said Jack. “That’s the first thing to do. Then we’ve got to get the two men out of the way — the ones who are with the boats. Then somehow we’ve got to get the boats going and sail off safely without being wrecked on the rocks.”
“Well, Andros will know where the creek is — in fact, I know myself,” said Tim. “I saw it from the plane — and saw the boats there too. And Andros and I will account for the two men all right.”
“No. We know a better way than that to get them out of the way,” said Philip, and he told Tim his plan to send Lucian to them with a fake message. Tim nodded.
“Yes, that’s better, really. Saves a lot of rough stuff. Not that I mind that, but I’m not sure about our friend here. He’s not made of such stern stuff as he might be.”
“I think we’d better get back and see Bill before we do anything,” said Jack. “And anyway we don’t want to get the two boatmen out of the way yet, and turn them on to old Bill. That wouldn’t be a very good plan. Come on — let’s get back to Bill.”