The Sea of Adventure (18 page)

Chapter 23

THE SECRET LAGOON

FOR a long time the two boats sped across the sea. "It's the Sea of Adventure!" Lucy-Ann thought. "Anything might happen here. Oh, I do hope we find Bill. Things always seem right when he's with us."

"You girls had better have a nap," said Jack at last. "You'll be tired out. Philip and I will keep awake and take turns at the wheel. You snuggle down and go to sleep."

So they did, and it wasn't long before both girls were asleep and dreaming of swings and hammocks, because of the swinging, swaying motion of the boat they were in.

After a good long time, Jack spoke to Philip. "Tufty — do you see that light flashing over there? It must be a signal of some sort, I should think. The boat in front is heading towards it. I hope we're soon coming to our journey's end, because the moon will be up soon, and we might be seen."

"That light must be a guide to the boat — or perhaps to an aeroplane," said Philip. "Blow, here comes the moon! — out of that bank of clouds. Well, she's not very bright, that's one good thing."

By the light of the moon the boys could see an island looming up in front of the boats. To the left was another island, two or three miles away from the first, or so it seemed to the boys.

"Look here, Jack — we don't want to drive right into the jaws of danger," said Philip, "which is what we shall do if we follow the first boat right up to that island it's heading for. I think it would be better to go to that other one, yonder, look — we could probably see enough in the moonlight to make out a cove to land in. We could pull this boat into safety between us."

"Right," said Jack, swinging the wheel round. Now they were no longer following the first boat. It was soon out of sight, and was probably by now safely in some little harbour. Their own boat headed for the further island. By the time they got there their eyes were used to the moonlight, and they could see everything fairly clearly.

"Doesn't seem very rocky," said Jack, nosing in gently. "No — all sand and fine shingle. I'll run her straight up this beach, Philip. Be ready to jump out as soon as she stops."

The girls awoke and scrambled out of their wraps. Jack ran the boat straight up the shingly beach. It drove into the fine shingle and stopped. Philip sprang out.

"Can't shift her at all," he panted, when he and the others had tried to pull the boat further up. "Let's chuck out the anchor and let her be. It's nearly low tide now, so we'll just paddle out and drop the anchor, and give the boat a push — it will be quite all right then, if the sea keeps calm."

The boys did this and they lay on the shingle to get their breath. They were both very tired. They almost fell asleep as they lay there.

"Come on, boys," said Dinah, at last. "Bring some rugs and find a sheltered place somewhere. You're half asleep."

"Well, we're safe till the morning anyway," said Jack, as he stumbled up the beach with the others, almost asleep as he walked. "Nobody knows we're here. Another bird-island, I suppose."

They came to a low cliff. Lucy-Ann saw a dark cave at the foot. "Put your torch on," she called to Philip. "We might be able to sleep here."

It proved to be a small cave, with a soft, dry sandy floor. It smelt a little of seaweed, but nobody minded that. They dragged their rugs in, and flung themselves down. Huffin and Puffin squatted at the opening of the cave, as if they had put themselves on guard.

Almost before their heads touched the rugs the boys were asleep. The girls followed suit, and soon there was nothing to be heard but tiny snores from Jack, who was flat on his back. Kiki examined his face in the darkness to find out why her beloved Jack was making such queer little noises, then decided they weren't worth bothering about. She sat herself down in the middle of his tummy and went to sleep too.

The next morning Huffin and Puffin walked over to Philip and stood heavily on him. "Arrrr!" they said, meaning "Come on, wake up!"

Philip awoke. "Get off," he said. "Don't copy Kiki's bad ways, Huffin and Puffin. Oh, I say — thanks for the fish — but don't put them all over my chest, Huffin!"

Huffin had been diving for fish. He now deposited them carefully on Philip, opened and shut his mouth a few times, and made his one and only remark, in a deep and satisfied voice. "Arrrrrrrrrrr!"

The children laughed when they heard about Huffin's morning offering. They rubbed their eyes and decided to have a dip in the sea, for they all felt dirty.

"Then we'll have breakfast," said Jack. "Gosh, I wish I wasn't always so frightfully hungry. I say, this is rather a nice island, isn't it? Look, you can see the enemy's island on the horizon over there. Wonder if Bill is there."

"We'll go up to the highest point on this island after breakfast, and have a good look round at all the others," said Philip. "Let's go and get some food from the boat."

The boat was afloat on the high tide. The children had to swim out to her. They rifled her for food — and whilst she was looking for a tin of salmon she knew she had put in, Lucy-Ann found something that made her shout.

"I say, look! — a wireless! Do you suppose it is a transmitter as well as a receiver? Can we send a message on it?"

"Don't know," said Jack, examining it. "It's not a bit like Bill's. If only we knew! Anyway, even if we could send out messages on it, I wouldn't know how to. I expect it's just some sort of portable wireless. Come on, let's have breakfast. Phew, this sun's hot."

With Huffin, Puffin, Kiki and the three rats all sharing their breakfast, the four children made a very good meal on the boat. "Now, what next?" said Jack. "Shall we go up to the top-most height in this island and see what's all round us?"

"Yes," said the others, so, leaving the boat by itself, they made their way up the low cliff and on to the grass-grown land behind. It was not so heathery as Puffin Island had been, nor were there many birds on it.

"It's funny. You'd think there would be plenty on a nice little island like this," said Jack. "Look, there's a hill at the other end of the island! — let's climb it."

They climbed to the very top — and then they stood still in astonishment. Beyond them, sparkling blue, was a lagoon, flat and still as a mirror. It lay between two islands, but the islands were joined by broad strips of rocks that enclosed the whole lagoon, so that it was impossible to say which island it really belonged to. The rocks ran out from each one, in places as high as cliffs — and there between them lay this unbelievably lovely sea-lake.

"Look at that!" said Jack in awe. "We've seen some wonderful sights — but never one as beautiful as that blue lagoon. It can't be real."

But it was. It stretched out below them for about a mile and a half, so sheltered and protected that not a ripple broke its calm blue surface.

And then something happened that gave the children a shock of amazement. They heard the low hum of an aeroplane. They saw it coming towards them. Jack pulled them down flat in case they were seen. It flew right over the lagoon, and as it flew, something dropped from it — something that opened out, billowed white, and had something else fixed below it.

The children watched in amazement. All sorts of ridiculous things flashed through their minds — was it a scientific experiment — bombs — atom bombs — what was it?

A little parachute had opened, and was swinging down to the lagoon. The package underneath it was wrapped in glistening stuff — some kind of waterproof material, Jack thought. It reached the water and disappeared. The parachute spread itself out on the calm surface and lay still. But as the children watched, it seemed to dissolve and finally it too disappeared into the water.

"Look — the plane is circling the lagoon again. It's going to drop another," said Philip. They all watched as the plane once more dropped a parachute, and the same thing happened.

Down to the water it floated with its unknown package, and in a few minutes all trace of it had disappeared. A third one was sent down and then the aeroplane circled round once and headed away. Soon it was lost in the distance.

"Well, whatever in the world was it doing, dropping things into this lagoon?" said Jack in astonishment. "What a strange thing to do! What's in those enormous packages the parachutes carry?"

"And why drop them into the lagoon?" wondered Dinah. "It seems so silly. Do they want to get rid of something? What a strange way to do it!"

"Let's take the boat and go and sail over the lagoon to see if we can see down into the depths," said Lucy-Ann.

"And how do you think we are going to get into the lagoon, idiot?" said Jack. "No boat can get into that water — unless it's dragged over that barrier of rocks surrounding it."

"Yes — of course — how silly of me!" said Lucy-Ann. "I do wish we could see down into that water though — and find out what secrets it is holding down in the blue depths."

"Arrrrrr!" said Huffin and Puffin, and, their wings vibrating quickly, they sailed down to the lagoon as if to say "You want to go there? Well, it's easy."

They bobbed there on the lagoon, very small specks indeed, diving under the water for fish. The children watched them.

"I don't see why we can't go and have a bathe there," said Jack at last. "We could swim a good way out and then dive down to see if we could find out anything. You never know!"

"Well, let's go now then," said Dinah eagerly. "I feel as if I simply must find out what all this is about. It's the most peculiar secret, I must say!"

They began to scramble down the hill. It grew rocky as they got lower down, but there were plenty of sea-pink cushions to soften the way for their feet. At last they reached the edge of the still blue water.

They undressed and went in. The water was very warm indeed, and rippled like soft silk over their arms. They swam out slowly, enjoying the warmth of the lake and of the sun on their shoulders.

"Now I'm going to dive down and see if I can make out anything," said Jack, and turning himself up like a duck, down he went, down and down and down. What would he find at the bottom?

Chapter 24

AN AMAZING DISCOVERY

THE lagoon was quite deep. Jack could not swim to the bottom, because he couldn't possibly hold his breath long enough. He came up, gasping.

"All I could see was a pile of silvery stuff lying on the bottom," he gasped to the others. "Nothing else at all. I couldn't go right down to it, because I hadn't enough breath."

"Well, that's not much use," said Dinah. "We want to see what's inside the waterproof wrapping — tear it off, so that we can see what it holds."

"We wouldn't be able to do that very easily," said Philip. "I bet it's sewn up pretty tightly — or sealed in some clever way. I'll go down, Jack — perhaps I can get near enough to feel what's inside."

"Oh dear — do be careful," said Lucy-Ann. "You don't know what might be inside!"

"Well — it's hardly likely to be anything that will eat us," grinned Jack. "Kiki, why don't you do a little diving, like Huffin and Puffin do — you could be a bit of help then!"

But Kiki did not approve of all this love of bathing. She flew about above the children in the water and tried occasionally to perch on a bare shoulder. Huffin and Puffin loved having the children in the water, and swam and dived beside them, uttering deep arrrrrs of satisfaction.

Philip dived under, and swam rapidly downwards, his eyes wide open in the salt water. Far below him he saw the silvery mass, gleaming dimly on the lagoon bed. He swam right down to it, and put out his hand to touch it. Beneath the wrapping he felt something very hard indeed.

Then, his breath giving out, he rose up to the surface, almost bursting. He took in great gulps of air.

"I felt something hard," he said at last. "But it was impossible to tell what it was. Blow! Isn't it sickening to be right on top of a mystery like this, and not be able to solve it?"

"We shall have to give it up," said Jack. "I know perfectly well I haven't enough breath to go down and probe the wrappings. I should burst for want of breath."

"I do hate giving things up," said Dinah.

"Well, swim under the water yourself and see if you can find out anything," said Philip.

"You know I can't hold my breath even as long as you can," said Dinah. "So what's the good of that?"

"I'm going to swim back to shore," said Lucy-Ann. "There's a nice sunny rock over there, covered with seaweed. I shall have a sun-bath there."

She swam slowly over to it. Huffin and Puffin dived under, just beside her. "I wonder what they look like when they swim under water," thought Lucy-Ann. "I'd love to see them chasing a fish."

She turned herself up, and duck-dived under the water. Ah, there was Huffin, using his wings to swim swiftly through the water after a big fish. "Quick, Huffin, or you'll lose it!"

Just as she was going to swim upwards again Lucy-Ann noticed something below her. The lagoon was not nearly so deep just there, for a shelf of rocks ran out into the water, making it fairly shallow, although it was much too deep still for Lucy-Ann's feet to touch the bottom.

The little girl took a quick glance to see what it was on the rocks below the water, but then her breath gave out, and, half choking, she rose up to the surface, gasping and spluttering.