Kidnap Island (14 page)

But now what? Will
finally thought through what he
’
d achieved. The men
couldn
’
t get out of the cabin but they
wouldn
’
t want or need to come out until
they
’
d reached their destination, wherever that might
be
–
France or the Channel Islands, the boy assumed. Until then,
nothing had changed as far as his situation went. Will wondered if
there was any way he could take over the control of the boat from
the flying bridge, but from what he knew from being on
friends
’
motorboats, the two steering wheels were linked
together and, indeed, he could see the wheel by his head moving
from time to time as the helmsman below adjusted the course. If
Will attempted to change course, though, the man below would simply
pull the steering back, probably without even realising what was
happening, so that wouldn
’
t work. However, if
Will did nothing, he
’
d be stuck out in the
cold for hours and then there
’
d be a massive fuss
when they got close to port and the men couldn
’
t get out.
In fact, unless they were able to break the door down,
they
’
d be unable to dock the boat. And if they did manage
to get out, and there was a fair chance they would, the men would
soon discover Will. The situation seemed hopeless, and then he felt
a vibration on his leg.

Chapter
S
even
teen

The wind had dropped
almost to nothing and Jonny struggled to bring the dinghy back up
the harbour to Folney Island.
“
Why
doesn
’
t Will keep a paddle onboard?
”
he asked in
exasperation.

“
Look, I can use Will
’
s buoyancy aid as a
paddle,
”
said Louisa.
“It
’
s new and
stiff.
”
It wasn
’
t ideal but the girl
was able to push the boat through the water with the garment over
her hand. Jonny looked at her with admiration.

Eric wanted to be
useful so he paddled with his hand.
“Here,”
said Jonny,
passing him the lid from a sandwich box.
“
Try using
this.
”
it was hard going, but a combination of improvised paddling
and Jonny eking what he could from the sails, they finally got the
little boat to the gravelly shore of the island. It was almost dark
but Jonny insisted that they pull the boat up out of sight;
“
Otherwise
someone
’
s bound to spot it in the
morning.
”

The three children had
to use their phones to light the path through the woods to
Eric
’
s house – the house he was wishing
he
’
d never set eyes on. Once inside, they lit the camping
lantern.

“
Anyone fancy a Pot Noodle?
”
asked Eric.

“
Surely we
’
ve got something
else? We brought loads of food between us,
”
Louisa
replied.

“
Sure, but can you be bothered cooking
anything?
”

“
No,
fair point and I
’
m starving. Pot
Noodle it is then.
”

Eric went Into the kitchen to boil
some water for his favourite snack, while Jonny and Louisa flopped
onto the sleeping bags, exhausted mentally and physically from
their day.

“
Do
you reckon it
’
ll be ok to text
Will?
”
asked Louisa.

“
I
don’
t see why not. If
he
’
s not been discovered, no one will hear his phone over
the noise of the engines,
”
said Jonny.
“
And if the men have
found him, he
’
ll either still have
his phone or they
’
ll have taken it off
him. Just send a message asking if he
’s ok, don’
t say
anything else in case the men do read it.
”

Louisa quickly wrote
and sent a text to Will.
“I hope
he
’
s alright,
”
she said.
“He
’
s a great kid but he acts before he thinks
sometimes.
”

“
I
can imagine,
” grinned Jonny.
“
He seems smart though, he did
a great job finding out about the island.
”

“
You
’
re right, he
’
s mega clever at
school but just lacks a bit of common sense when it comes to
practical things.
”

“
Like
sailing,”
laughed Jonny as
Eric came in clutching three steaming Pot Noodles.
“
Let me get
some bread to go with these.
”

“
Beef and tomato; my favourite,
”
said a
man
’
s voice. Louisa and Eric screamed and all three
children jumped up, Jonny
’
s Pot Noodle flying
across the room.

“
Sorry, did I surprise you?
”
It was old Bert from the sailing
club, standing in the doorway calmly smiling, as if
he
’
d not done anything unusual in arriving unannounced on
the island.

“
Bert! What are you doing here?
”
Jonny was shocked and
relieved at the sight of his old friend.
“
Did you know we were
here?
”

“
I
’
ll tell you in good time,
”
said the softly spoken
man with a smile.
“
First of all, any chance of a Pot Noodle? My missus
never let
’
s me have them at home, and it looks like you
need a refill, Jonny.
”

“
Er
ye
a
, hang on.
”
Jonny went into the kitchen, not sure
if he was more surprised at the sight of Bert or the fact that an
adult liked Pot Noodles.

Eric followed him
in.
“
Can we trust this guy?
”
he whispered as he pulled the lids
off two more Pot Noodles from the seemingly endless
supply.

“
Of
course, Bert
’
s sound and, besides,
he knew your granddad, remember?
”

“
Well maybe, but it seems a bit odd he
’
s arrived
on the island at night. He can
’
t have known we were
here.
”

“
I
trust him, so let
’
s find out what he
has to say. We don
’
t need to say too
much about what we
’
ve been up
to.
”

The boys returned to
the living room, and Bert eagerly tucked into his Pot Noodle, the
children following suit. It was obvious that the man
wasn
’
t going to say anything until he
’
d
eaten.

Finally, he soaked up
the last drop of juice with some bread and licked his lips.
“
That was
delicious, thank you,
”
he smiled.
“
This is a nice little
camp you have here, shame you made it so obvious that you were
here.
”

“
What do you mean?
”
asked Jonny
indignantly.

“
Oh
come on lad, I wasn
’
t born yesterday.
There are no tents in the field behind the club where
you
’
re meant to be and I watched you sail off around the
island and not reappear the other side, so it was quite obvious
you
’
d landed here. I
’
ve plenty of time to
sit and watch the comings and goings in the
harbour.
”

Jonny smiled as he
thought of all the times he
’
d seen Bert sitting
on his favourite
bench
overlooking the water, pipe in mouth.
Not much got past old Bert but the children were about to find out
that the quiet man know rather more about their adventure than they
could have imagined.

“
So
why are you here now, apart from to eat Pot
Noodles?
”
asked Louisa.

“
That not a good
enough reason for you? grinned Bert.

“
Er
no,
”
smiled Louisa, warming to this gentle man with his
twinkling eyes and ready smile.

“
I
wouldn
’
t normally pry into others
’
coming and
goings,
”
admitted Bert,
“
but it was this boy
’
s accent and
appearance that got me worried. You
’
re a Goldsmith,
aren
’
t you lad?
”

“
I
sure am,
” grinned Eric.
“
And you are
granddad
’
s
gardener
’s
son.
”

Now it was
Bert
’
s turn to be surprised.
“I
am indeed, I was a
teenager when your family left for America and my father, and then
me after he died, kept an eye on this island ever since, just as
your grandfather asked us to. I rarely heard from him after he
left, but I followed his success in the newspapers and, more
recently, on the internet. I was sad to hear that
he
’
d died but he must have been a good
age.
”

“
He
was 98,
”
said Eric proudly.

“
That adds up. He was a young man when he left England and
he
’
d recently inherited his father
’
s fortune. He
wrote to me some twelve years ago to say he had a baby grandson and
that one day he, or rather you, would inherit Folney and all that
it contains.
”

“’
All that it contains
’
–
that
’
s what
grandad
’
s will says. What does it
mean?
”

“
Ah,
well I
’
m sure you are Mr Goldsmith
’
s grandson but I
think I really should ask for proof before telling you any more,
because I suspect that others are trying to get in on the
act.
”

“
Here
’
s a copy of granddad
’
s will and I can show
you my passport.
”
Eric passed over the folded sheet of paper
he
’
d previously shown his friends and rummaged around in
a rucksack.
“Here
’
s my passport,
it
’
s an old photo though.
”

Bert looked at the
passport and smiled.
“
Yes, you
’
re definitely a
Goldsmith. I could tell when I first saw you; you have your
granddad
’
s black hair and green eyes, and then I heard
your friends here call you Eric, your granddad
’
s
name.
”