The Sea of Adventure (10 page)

"Bill's up to something," said Philip. "And I bet it's got to do with those aeroplanes. I wish he'd tell us. But he never will talk."

"I hope he comes back safely," said Lucy-Ann anxiously. "It would be awful to be stranded here on a bird-island, and nobody knowing where we were."

"Gosh, so it would," said Jack. "I never thought of that. Cheer up, Lucy-Ann — Bill isn't likely to run into danger. He's got his head screwed on all right."

The day passed happily. The children went to the cliffs and watched the great companies of sea-birds there. They sat down in the midst of the puffin colony and watched the queer, big-beaked birds going about their daily business. Lucy-Ann wore a hanky tied round her nose. She couldn't bear the smell of the colony, but the others soon got used to the heavy sourness of the air, and anyway, the wind blew strongly.

Huffin and Puffin did not leave them. They walked or ran with the children. They flew round them, and they went to bathe with them. Kiki was half jealous, but having had one hard jab from Huffin's multi-coloured beak, she kept at a safe distance, and contented herself with making rude remarks.

"Blow your nose! How many times have I told you to wipe your feet? You bad boy! Huffin and puffin all the time. Pop goes huffin!"

The children sat in Sleepy Hollow after their tea and watched for Bill to come back. The sun began to set. Lucy-Ann looked pale and worried. Where was Bill?

"He'll be along soon, don't worry," said Philip. "We'll hear his boat presently."

But the sun went down into the sea, and still there was no Bill, Then darkness closed down on the island, and there was no longer any point in sitting up and waiting. It was four anxious children who went into their tents and lay down to sleep. But none of them could sleep a wink.

In the end the girls went into the boys' tent and sat there, talking. Then suddenly they heard a welcome sound — rr-rr-rr-rr-rr! They all leapt up at once and rushed from the tent.

"That's Bill! It must be! Where's a torch? Come on down to the cove."

They stumbled through the puffin colony, waking up many a furious bird. They got to the beach just as Bill came walking up. They flung themselves on him in delight.

"Bill! Dear Bill! What happened to you? We honestly thought you'd got lost!"

"Oh, Bill — we shan't let you go off alone again!"

"Sorry to have worried you so," said Bill. "But I didn't want to return in the daylight in case I was spotted by an aeroplane. I had to wait till it was dark, though I knew you'd be worried. Still — here I am."

"But Bill — aren't you going to tell us anything?" cried Dinah. "Why didn't you want to come back in daylight? Who would see you? And why would it matter?"

"Well," said Bill slowly, "there's something queer going on up here in these lonely waters. I don't know quite what. I'd like to find out. I didn't see a soul today, anywhere, though I nosed round umpteen islands. Not that I really expected to, because nobody would be fool enough to come up here for something secret, and let anything of it be seen. Still, I thought I might find some sign."

"I suppose that bit of orange peel was a sign that someone's here besides ourselves, on some other island?" said Lucy-Ann, remembering the piece that had bobbed against her fingers. "But what are they doing? Surely they can't do much in this desolate stretch of waters — with nothing but islands of birds around."

"That's what I'm puzzled about," said Bill. "Can't be smuggling, because the coasts of the mainland are very well patrolled at the moment, and nothing could get through. Then what is it?"

"Bill, you're sure nobody saw you?" asked Dinah anxiously. "There might be hidden watchers on one of the islands, you know — and one might see you, without you seeing him."

"That's true," said Bill, "but I had to risk that. It's not very likely, though. The risk of anyone coming to these islands and disturbing whatever secret game is going on, is very remote, and I don't think there would be sentinels posted anywhere."

"Still — you might have been seen — or heard," persisted Dinah. "Oh, Bill — and you were supposed to be disappearing completely! Now perhaps your enemies have spotted you!"

"They would hardly be the same enemies that I've disappeared from," said Bill with a laugh. "I don't think anyone else would recognise me here, seen at a distance in a motor-boat. In any case they would just think I was a bird-man or a naturalist of some kind, who likes the solitude of these seas."

They were soon back in their tents again, happy to have Bill with them in safety. The stars shone down from a clear sky. Huffin and Puffin shuffled down their burrow, glad that their new family had gone to rest. They did not approve of these night walks.

Lucy-Ann lay and worried. "I can feel an adventure coming. It's on the way. Oh dear — and I did think this would be the very very last place for one."

Lucy-Ann was quite right. An adventure was on the way — and had very nearly arrived.

Chapter 13

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE NIGHT?

THE next morning everything seemed all right. The children had forgotten their fears of the night before, and Bill joked and laughed as merrily as the others.

But all the same he was worried — and when an aeroplane appeared and flew two or three times over the islands, he made the children lie down flat, in the middle of the puffin colony, where they happened to be at that moment.

"I don't think our tents can be seen," he said. "I hope not, anyway."

"Don't you want anyone to know we're here, Bill?" asked Jack.

"No," said Bill shortly. "Not at present, anyway. If you hear a plane, bob down. And we won't light a fire to boil a kettle. We'll have ginger-beer or lemonade instead."

The day passed happily enough. It was very hot again, and the children went to bathe half a dozen times, lying in the sun to dry afterwards. Kiki was jealous of Huffin and Puffin because they could go into the water with the children. She stood on the sandy beach, her toes sinking in, shouting loudly.

"Polly's got a cold, send for the doctor! A-tish-oooooo!"

"Isn't she an idiot?" said Jack, and splashed her. She was most annoyed and walked a bit further back. "Poor Kiki! What a pity! Poor pity, what a Kiki!"

"Yes, what a Kiki!" shouted Jack, and dived under the water to catch Bill's legs.

They took a good many photographs, and Huffin and Puffin posed beautifully, staring straight at the camera in a most solemn manner.

"I almost feel they'll suddenly put their arms round one another," said Jack, as he clicked the camera. "Thank you, Huffin and Puffin. Very nice indeed! But I wish you'd smile next time. Kiki, get out of the way — and leave that tent-peg alone. You've already pulled up three."

That night the sky was full of clouds and the sun could not be seen. "Looks as if that storm might be coming soon," said Bill. "I wonder if our tents will be all right."

"Well, there's nowhere else to go," said Jack. "Sleepy Hollow is about the most sheltered place on this island. And, as far as I've seen, there are no caves or anything of that sort."

"Perhaps the storm will blow over," said Philip. "Phew, it's hot! I really think I must have one last bathe."

"You've had eight already today," said Dinah. "I counted."

Darkness came earlier that night, because of the clouds. The children got into their rugs, yawning.

"I think," said Bill, looking at the luminous face of his wrist-watch, "I think I'll slip along to the boat and send a message or two on my transmitter. I might get some news too, for myself. You go to sleep. I shan't be long."

"Right," said the boys, sleepily. Bill slipped out of the tent. The girls were already asleep and did not hear him go. Philip fell asleep almost before Bill was out of the tent. Jack lay awake a few minutes longer, and pushed Kiki off his middle for the fifth time.

She went and stood on Philip's middle, and waited for a lump to come near her feet, which she knew would be one of the tame rats. When one did venture near, raising a little mound under the rug, Kiki gave a sharp jab at it. Philip awoke with a yell.

"You beast, Kiki! Jack, take her away! She's given me an awful peck in my middle. If I could see her I'd smack her on her beak."

Kiki retired outside the tent till the boys were asleep again. She flew to the top of it, and perched there, wide awake.

Meanwhile Bill was in the cabin of the boat tuning in on the wireless. But because of the coming storm it was difficult to hear anything but atmospherics.

"Blow!" said Bill at last. "I shan't get my messages through at this rate. I've a good mind to take the boat to the little channel — what is it the children call it? — Hidden Harbour. Maybe I could get the wireless going better there — it's so sheltered."

It was very important to Bill to be able to use the wireless that night. He set the engine of the boat going, and was soon on his way to Hidden Harbour. He nosed in carefully and moored the boat.

Then he set to work on his wireless again. After a while he thought he heard some noise out to sea — a noise getting nearer and nearer. Bill turned off his wireless and listened, but the wind was getting up, and he heard nothing but that.

He turned the knobs again, listening intently for any message. He had got one through, and now he had been told to stand by and wait for an important announcement from headquarters.

The wireless fizzed and groaned and whistled. Bill waited patiently. Then, suddenly hearing a sound, he looked up, startled, half expecting to see one of the boys coming down into the cabin.

But it wasn't. It was a hard-faced man with a curious crooked nose who was staring down at him. As Bill turned and showed his face, the man uttered a cry of the utmost astonishment.

"You! What are you doing here? What do you know of . . ."

Bill leapt up — but at the same moment the man lunged out at him with a thick, fat, knobbly stick he held in his hand — and poor Bill went down like a ninepin. He struck his head against the edge of the wireless, and slid to the floor, his eyes closed.

The man with the crooked nose whistled loudly. Another man came to the small cabin and looked in.

"See that?" said the first man, pointing to Bill. "Bit of a surprise, eh, to find him up here? Do you suppose he guessed anything?"

"Must have, if he's here," said the second man, who had a short thick beard hiding a very cruel mouth. "Tie him up. He'll be useful. We'll make him talk."

Bill was tied up like a trussed chicken. He did not open his eyes. The men carried him out, and took him into a small boat, moored beside the Lucky Star. It was a rowing-boat. Into it went poor Bill, and the men undid their rope, ready to row back to their own motor-boat, which lay, perfectly silent, a little way beyond the island.

"Do you suppose there's anyone else with him?" asked the man with the crooked nose. "There was no-one on board but him."

"No. When the boat was sighted yesterday, we only saw one man aboard — and it was him all right," said the man with the beard. "If there'd been anyone else we'd have seen them. He's all alone. Ho. He didn't know he was being watched back here last night."

"I suppose there really isn't anyone else here," said the first man, who seemed very reluctant to go. "Hadn't we better smash up the boat — just in case?"

"All right — and the wireless too," said the man with the beard. He found a hammer and soon there were crashing sounds as the engine of the motor-boat was damaged and the beautiful little wireless was smashed to bits.

Then the men set off in their rowing-boat with the unconscious Bill. Soon the purring of the motor-boat, getting fainter and fainter, sounded in the night. But nobody on Puffin Island heard it except Kiki and the sea-birds.

The children had no idea at all that Bill had not returned that night. They slept peacefully, hour after hour, dreaming of huffins and puffins, big waves and golden sands.

Jack awoke first. Kiki was nibbling at his ear. "Blow you, Kiki!" said Jack, pushing the parrot away. "Oh, goodness, here's Huffin and Puffin too!"

So they were. They waddled over to Philip and stood patiently by his sleeping face. "Arrrrrrr!" said Huffin lovingly.

Philip awoke. He saw Huffin and Puffin and grinned. He sat up and yawned. "Hallo, Jack!" he said. "Bill up already?"

"Looks like it," said Jack. "Probably gone to bathe. He might have waked us up, though! Come on, let's wake the girls and go and bathe too."

Soon all four were speeding to the sea, expecting to see Bill in the water. But he wasn't.

"Where is he, then?" said Lucy-Ann, puzzled. "And good gracious — where's the boat?"

Yes — where was the boat? There was no sign of it, of course. The children stared at the cove, puzzled and dismayed.

"He must have taken it round to Hidden Harbour," said Jack. "Perhaps the wireless wouldn't work or something. It still feels stormy, and that might have upset it."

"Well, let's go to Hidden Harbour then," said Philip. "Perhaps Bill got sleepy down there in the boat and thought he'd snuggle up in the cabin."

"He's probably there," said Dinah. "Fast asleep too! Let's go and give him a shock. We'll halloo down into the cabin and make him jump. The sleepyhead!"