The red-haired woman pulled a towel from her knapsack and marched toward the tunnel. Unfortunately, the man didn’t seem inclined to follow her. Resigned to settling in, Nancy shifted her legs.
Suddenly she felt herself sliding. Panic cut through her like a sharp knife. Pebbles and dirt scattered to the ground as Nancy grappled to keep her balance. But it was too late. Alerted by the falling pebbles, the woman looked up—right at Nancy and Mick.
Gritting her teeth, Nancy dropped to the ground. She landed just a few feet from the surprised woman. Any hope of a friendly reception was immediately dashed when the woman assumed a fighting stance. With a fierce cry she squared off and aimed a karate chop right at Nancy’s face!
Thinking fast, Nancy dodged the blow, wheeled, and landed a kick to the woman’s chest, knocking her to the ground.
The man was scrambling near the knapsack, probably looking for a weapon, Nancy thought.
Before he could act, Mick leapt to the ground beside Nancy. “Out we go!” he shouted, pulling her toward the tunnel. Not daring to look back, Mick and Nancy raced through the narrow passageway as quickly as they could.
When they reached the cave’s entrance, Nancy turned away from the flat, sandy beach and darted behind a jagged boulder lodged in the sand.
“Are they following us?” she whispered breathlessly to Mick.
“They will,” he answered, “but I think we’ve got a good lead.” He nodded toward a rocky incline that formed a point on the south end of the beach. “We’ll have to climb up that hill and hide behind boulders. It’s our only chance of losing them.”
Without hesitating, they tore off and scrambled up the hill. Glancing back, Nancy saw that Mick was right: The man and woman had chased them onto the beach. She darted behind a boulder, but not before she spotted the glint of a knife in the man’s hand.
Nancy’s stomach churned as the weight of the situation hit her. These people were armed and dangerous!
Fortunately, she and Mick had enough of a lead to give them an advantage. After a few minutes they managed to lose their pursuers in the rambling, twisted rocks.
As she and Mick continued to put distance between them and the cave, Nancy’s mind raced. They had left the picnic basket and her tote bag under the olive tree on the beach, and she knew it wouldn’t be safe to return there. Luckily nothing in the bag would help the man and woman track her down.
On the other hand, now she and Mick wouldn’t be able to hook up with Nikos, either, and he was their only way home. Unless they could flag down a boat of snorkelers, she and Mick would be stuck on Dragonisi, at least for the night.
Nancy was mulling over the situation when she and Mick reached a low cliff overlooking the water. The sea was a short drop, maybe fifteen feet below them. Nancy sat down to rest. Looking out over the water, she noticed a boat on the horizon, speeding along the islet’s shoreline.
“That boat’s heading our way. Think we can hitch a ride?” she asked, grabbing Mick’s arm.
He shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”
Nancy took off her bright orange cap and tried to flag down the boat. She was waving frantically when she recognized the boat’s yellow hull and distinctive star. It was the Sea Star. “Theo!” she shouted.
“Well, fancy that,” Mick said. He stood up as the boat swerved toward them and slowed down.
Theo seemed surprised to see Nancy and Mick stranded on the low cliff. Within minutes he had taxied ashore on an inflated dinghy and brought them aboard the Sea Star. When Nancy and Mick warned Theo that they were in danger, he sped away immediately, without asking questions.
Nancy waited until the boat was a safe distance from Dragonisi before she filled him in on their close brush in the cave.
“That is amazing!” Theo exclaimed, the wind rippling his hair. “Those caves you were exploring have drop-offs and hidden passages. Did you notice a pond in one of the caves?”