The Mystery of Adventure Island (13 page)

The children quickly searched the rest of the men’s belongings, but it
didn’t
help. Leaving the cabin, Will shone the torch around. “Where shall we search next?”

“There were one or two caves over on the other side of the island that we didn’t search before as it was high tide,” Joe said, “but now that it is almost low tide, we should be able search them without getting wet.”

Everyone agreed that this was the best move, so
they
moved off and headed to the caves.

It took ten minutes to search the two caves and nothing
was found
. Disheartened, the children sat on the sand and discussed what to do.

“Well,” Joe said, “there’s only the lighthouse left. If they’re not in there, I don’t know where they would be.”

“With it being low tide, it’s the best time to get across.” Will stood up and walked away.

The others followed him, the lights from the torches bobbing
to and fro
as they walked.

~

The moon shone brightly as the children arrived at the rocks. Since it was almost a full moon, they could see even without using their torches that the rocks had no water over them. In fact, the water was so low that even some of the sand was visible.
 

Joe was the first one to step onto the rocks and the others followed him. The rocks probably
hadn’t
had water on them for over an hour so they weren’t slippery, but walking across them was still somewhat perilous as they were jagged in places.

When they arrived at the lighthouse, Joe went to the door and twisted the handle. Nothing happened. “I wonder why it’s locked.”

Sarah’s green eyes gleamed. “Goodness, the paintings must be in there!”

“Not necessarily,” Will
said
. “It could have been locked by whoever last operated it. If they let everyone in there, the place would be damaged in no time.”

“I still think the paintings are in there,” Sarah said.

“Well, we can’t prove it either way.” Joe gazed upwards at the railing that went around the little platform at the top of the lighthouse. “If we could somehow get up there we could get in.”

“What about using a rope?” Amy suggested.

Joe shook his head. “You couldn’t throw a rope that far up. Besides, it would need to support your weight as you climbed, so it would also need to grip onto something. No, I’m afraid that’s out of the question.”

Will
tried
to open the door himself. When that
didn’t
work, he pushed against it.
But
that didn’t work either.

The girls shivered as a big wave smashed against the rocks nearby, covering them in a stream of spray.

“Let’s move on,” Amy said. “There’s no use standing here if we can’t get in.”

“So what do you suggest we do?” Joe asked.

Amy shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’m getting tired of walking around.”

“Let’s head back to the campsite,” Will
suggested
. “I can’t think of anywhere else we can search for the paintings, and from there we can keep watch for the men.”

“If we follow the men when they return, they might lead us to where they’re hiding the paintings,” Joe said.

“Exactly,” Will
said
.

Chapter 19: Keeping Watch

 

It
didn’t
take as long to set up camp as it had the other night since they only had one tent and half of their belongings.

Joe suggested that
Will
take the first watch while he and the girls got some sleep. Will was happy to do that, so he took the binoculars and a torch and walked up the hill.

As the girls climbed into the tent, Joe decided to start a fire to keep warm. After warming his hands, an overwhelming tiredness came over him so he lay down.

After sleeping for a while, Joe
was shaken
awake by Will. He groggily stood up “Did you see anything?”

“Not a single thing.” Will handed the torch and binoculars to Joe and lay down beside the fire.

As Joe climbed up the hill, he was glad that it
wasn’t
too far away, though it still felt like a trek in the middle of the night. Reaching the top, he turned off his torch and sat down. Peering upwards, he saw that the moon had gone behind a cloud.

A cold breeze was blowing across the island and he stood up and paced back and forth to keep warm. He did this for ten minutes and sat down. Peering through the binoculars, he looked towards the inlet. Nothing out of the ordinary
could be seen
. He had no idea when the men would return. For all he knew, they could be gone for a day or even two days.

He put the binoculars down and thought about everything that had happened in the last two days. It had been an action packed time, but also scary. It
wasn’t
as though he was scared now, but when he had been searching for Sarah in the water, that had been scary. He was glad that they
weren’t
going to build another raft, for the same thing might happen again.

He thought about what his parents would say when they learnt about everything that had happened. They
wouldn’t
be happy but, if the men were caught, they would be proud of them.

He
didn’t
know how long he sat staring up at the stars but, as his eyelids began to close and he got sleepy, he thought that he would head back down the hill. He hurried down and found the fire almost out and Will fast asleep. He put some more wood on the fire and went to wake the girls.

Peering in the tent, he saw his sisters peacefully sleeping and decided that he would take the next shift. They were younger than
him
and, especially after the swimming drama, Sarah needed all the sleep that she could get. And if he woke Amy, Sarah
might also
wake.

After walking back to the fire, he decided to lie down and warm up for a few minutes before heading back to his post. He lay down, closed his eyes, and before he knew what hit him, he was fast asleep.

He woke as the first rays of sunshine appeared over the horizon. Stumbling to his feet, he realised he had been asleep for hours.
But
before he could be annoyed with himself, he heard a noise in the sky.

Looking towards the sound, he spotted a seaplane as it flew over the island. He shook
Will
awake before calling to the girls who were still sleeping inside the tent.

As the girls scrambled out, Joe looked up at the sky again, but the seaplane had vanished from view. He could still hear it though, so it was somewhere close by.

“What is it?” Amy said.

“A seaplane.
If we climb to the top of the hill we might be able to see it land.” Joe hurried towards the hill, the others racing after him. Puffing and panting, they arrived at the top of the hill in time to see the seaplane in the inlet as it taxied across the water.

“They must have a big operation,” Will
stated
.

“Why do you say that?” Amy asked.

“Because it would cost a ton of money to buy that machine, not counting the petrol that they would use—” Will said.

“But aren’t some paintings worth a lot of money?” Sarah interrupted.

“Yes, but what I’m saying,” Will said, “is that this isn’t something which these men do from time to time. They must be getting a whole lot of money to keep this operation going, which means that we have to be extra careful. I hate to think what would happen to us if they caught us.”

“Let’s get a closer look,” Amy suggested as she saw the men lowering a dinghy into the water. Without waiting for a response, she hurried down the hill.

By the time the children arrived at the beach, the dinghy
was beached
on the sand and the men had disappeared from sight.

“Where do you think they’ve gone?” Sarah asked.

“I don’t know, but the only reason someone would land here would be to deliver information, bring something, or take something,” Joe said. “And since we know paintings are being taken, it would seem most logical if they came here to take the paintings away to sell them.”

From the shelter of the bushes, the children watched as the pilot emerged from the trees. He was carrying a number of rolled-up objects.

“They must be the paintings,” Will
said
.

Reaching the dingy, the man took the oars and rowed. When he got to the seaplane, he climbed out and disappeared inside with the objects. A few moments later, he stepped back into the dinghy and rowed back to the shore. After pulling the dinghy up against the sand, he headed in the direction of the wood.

Will waited
till
he was sure that the man had disappeared into the trees before he spoke. “I just thought of something.”

“What?” Sarah asked.

“One of us could hide aboard that seaplane and, when it lands, tell the police about what is happening on this island,” Will
said
.

Joe nodded. “That could work.”

“But we don’t have any idea of where the machine will fly to,” Amy said.

“Anywhere is better than here. We
haven’t
seen any boats pass close by, except for that sole police boat and, with the Lazy Lucy sunk, we have to take a chance. But we have to make a decision fast.” Will
looked
at the others. “Can anyone think of a better suggestion?”

Joe thought for a moment. “No, but who would go?”

“It should be me or you,” Will
said
. “And, since I thought of the plan, I’ll go.” He stood up and looked at Joe. “I’ll need you to come with me so you can row the dinghy back.”

“What can I do?” Amy asked.

“I’ll need you and Sarah to head for the cabin and keep watch. Let us know the moment you see someone coming,” Will said.

As the girls raced off, the boys headed for the dinghy. Climbing in, Will took the oars and rowed as hard as he could. The seaplane
wasn’t
a great distance away, so it didn’t take too long to get there.

“Good luck,” Joe said as Will stepped onto the machine.

“Thanks, I’ll need it,” Will
replied
. “Oh, it might be helpful if you listen to the men from time to time. If I do get captured, the pilot is likely to contact them somehow.”

Joe nodded. “Let’s hope that
nev
er happens.”

Will turned and disappeared inside the machine. Joe grabbed the oars and rowed back. Glancing back towards the beach, he spotted the girls racing in his direction.

As the dinghy touched the sand, Amy yelled out.
“Hurry!”

Joe followed the girls towards the nearest bush and lay down just seconds before the pilots emerged from the wood and walked across the sand.

As the men rowed towards the seaplane, Joe looked at the girls. “That was close.”

“I hope
Will
found a good place to hide,” Sarah said.

“We’ll soon find out,” Amy said. “If they start the engines and fly away, we’ll know they didn’t see him.”

The children waited anxiously as the men got ready to depart. The engines started and the propellers spun around. A moment later, the seaplane taxied across the water,
gath
ering speed as it did so. It rose above the water, climbed, and banked to the right.

Chapter 20: Destination Unknown

 

Will felt a bump as the machine hit the water.
It taxied for a minute or so before it stopped and the engines
were switched off
.

Not daring to move, Will listened carefully. With any luck, the men would leave and come back for the paintings later. That way, he could take the paintings and show them to the police.

While he was thinking, the men’s voices suddenly got louder. Will held his breath. He could hear them close by and he heard objects
being moved
. Then, he heard the footsteps move away and, a moment later, the plane tipped slightly. He assumed it was the men stepping off and, as the voices got quieter, he realised he was right.