The Sea of Adventure (5 page)

Lucy-Ann had gone pale when he first began to speak. Then she looked round and saw her mack on the ground. She picked it up. Then, scarlet in the face, she stammered out a few words of thanks.

The big man smiled again, showing all his fine teeth. "Don't look so scared," he said. "I shan't eat you!"

"He looks just as if he might," thought Lucy-Ann, retreating behind Jack.

"Pop goes the weasel," said Kiki, in a polite conversational tone. "Pop, pop, pop!"

"What a remarkably clever bird!" said the big man, and put out his hand to pat Kiki. She gave him a vicious nip with her beak, and then whistled like an engine.

The big man's smile vanished and he scowled. "Dangerous bird, that," he said, and disappeared into the crowd. The children were relieved. They didn't think, of course, that he was one of the gang — that had only been Philip's make-up — but they were worried in case he kept them talking, and prevented Bill from coming up and fetching them.

They stood there, under the clock, looking all round for Bill. They couldn't see anyone even remotely resembling him. Then a rather shambling, round-shouldered man came up, wearing thick glasses through which his eyes peered sharply.

He wore a thick long coat, had field-glasses slung across his back, and a curious black checked cap. He also had a black beard. But he spoke in Bill's voice.

"Good evening, children. I am glad to see you are punctual. Now at last we start on our little expedition."

Lucy-Ann beamed. That was Bill's nice warm voice all right, in spite of the beard and the queer get-up. She was just about to fling herself on him, crying "Oh Bill, it's good to see you," when Jack, feeling sure that Lucy-Ann was going to do something silly like that, pushed her away and held out his hand politely.

"Good evening, Dr. Walker. How are you?"

The others took their cue from Jack, and anyone looking on would have thought that here were four children greeting a tutor or a guardian who was going to take them on a journey somewhere.

"Come this way," said Dr. Walker. "I have a porter for your things. Hey, porter, put these bags on your barrow, will you, and find our reservations in the ten o'clock train. Thank you."

It wasn't long before they were all safely on the night train. The children were thrilled with their little "bedrooms." Lucy-Ann liked the way everything could fold down or fold back, or be somehow pushed out of the way.

"Now, you must sleep all night," said Bill, his eyes smiling at them from behind his thick glasses. "Dr. Walker will see that you are awake in time for breakfast."

"How do we get to the place we're going to, and where exactly is it?" asked Jack.

"Well, we get there by this train and another, and then by motor-boat," said Bill. The children looked thrilled. They loved travelling.

"I've got a map here," said Bill, making sure that the door was shut. "It's a map of all the many little islands dotted off the north-west coast of Scotland — hundreds of them. Some are too small to map. I don't expect anyone has ever visited all of them — only the birds live there. I thought we'd make one of them our headquarters, and then cruise around a bit, taking photographs, and watching the birds in their daily life."

The eyes of the two boys gleamed. What a glorious thing to do! They visualised days of sunshine on the water, chugging to and from tiny islands inhabited by half-tame birds, picnicking hungrily in the breeze, sitting on rocks with their feet dangling in the clear water. Their hearts lifted in happiness at the thought.

"What I should really like," said Philip, "would be a tame puffin or two. I've never seen a live puffin — only a stuffed one — but they look real characters."

"I suppose you would teach them to sit up and beg," said Bill, amused.

"Huffin and puffin," announced Kiki. "God save the King!"

Nobody took any notice. They were all too much absorbed in thinking of their unusual holiday.

"I shall remain behind there, once you have gone back," said Bill. "It'll be a bit lonely without you all, but no doubt you will leave me your tame puffins for company."

"I shall hate leaving you," said Lucy-Ann. "Will you have to be there all alone for long, Bill?"

"A goodish time, I expect," said Bill. "Long enough for my enemies to forget about me, or to think I'm dead and gone."

"Oh dear!" said Lucy-Ann. "I wish you didn't have to lead such a dangerous life, Bill. Can't you do something else instead?"

"What? Be a gardener, or a tram conductor or something safe like that, do you mean?" asked Bill, grinning at Lucy-Ann's serious face. "No, Lucy-Ann — this kind of life suits me. I'm on the side of law and order and right — and to my mind they're worth while running any risk for. Evil is strong and powerful, but I'm strong and powerful too, and it's good to try my strength against bad men and their ways."

"Well, I think you're marvellous," said Lucy-Ann stoutly. "And I'm sure you'll always win. Don't you hate having to hide now?"

"I'm furious about it," said Bill, looking anything but furious, but with a note in his voice that made the others realise how desperate he felt, having to "disappear" when there was work to be done. "But — orders are orders. And anyway, my disappearance means a perfectly glorious holiday for all of us. Well, boys, have you finished studying that map?"

The two boys had been poring over the map of islands. Jack put his finger on one. "Look — that sounds a good one — the Isle of Wings — it must be full of birds!"

"We'll try and go there," said Bill. "We shall probably get well and truly lost, but never mind. Who minds being lost on the blue-green sea in May-time, with all kinds of little enchanted islands ready to welcome you?"

"It sounds glorious," said Dinah. "Oh, look at Kiki. She's trying to pull the plug off its chain in that basin."

Kiki had thoroughly explored the whole of the "bedroom," and had had a good drink out of one of the water decanters. Now she settled down on the little towel-rail and, with a remarkably human yawn, put her head under her wing. At the same moment there came a loud banging of doors all down the train. She took her head out again.

"Shut the door," she remarked. "Pop goes the door. Send for the doctor."

The whistle blew, and to Kiki's alarm the whole "bedroom" suddenly shook as the train pulled out of the station. She almost fell off the towel-rail.

"Poor Kiki, what a pity, what a pity!" she said, and flew to Jack's shoulder.

"Now it's time we all retired to bed and to sleep," said Bill, getting up. He looked very queer in his black beard and thick glasses. Thank goodness he had taken off the awful black checked cap.

"Do two of us sleep here, or four of us?" asked Lucy-Ann, looking doubtfully at the small beds, one on each side of the "bedroom."

"Two, silly," said Bill. "I've got a single room on the right of you — and to the right again is another compartment, or room, for the two boys. I'm in the middle of you, you see — and you've only to bang hard on the wooden wall between us, if you want anything, and I'll come rushing in."

"Oh, good!" said Lucy-Ann. "I'm glad you're so near us. Bill, are you going to sleep in your beard?"

"Well, as it's rather painful to remove it the moment, being well and truly stuck on, I think I will," said Bill. "I'll take it off when we're safely among our little islands. No one will see us there. Don't you like me in my beautiful beard?"

"Not much," said Lucy-Ann. "I feel as if you're not you when I look at you, but when I hear your voice, it's all right."

"Well, my child, look at me with your eyes shut, and you'll have no horrid feelings," said Bill, with a grin. "Now good night, and sleep well. Come on, boys, I'll take you to your compartment. I'll wake you in the morning, and we'll dress and go along to the restaurant car for breakfast."

"I feel a bit hungry now," said Philip, "although we had a jolly good supper. But that's ages ago."

"Well, I've got some sandwiches and some bananas," said Bill. "I'll get them. But don't be long turning in, because it's getting late."

"Only just gone ten," said Dinah, but she yawned as loudly as she spoke. Kiki promptly imitated her, and that set everyone else yawning too.

Bill went into his own compartment and fetched sandwiches and ripe bananas. Then he said good night to the girls and took the boys to their own "bedroom." It really was very exciting to go to bed in a train. It. was queer undressing with the train swaying about, rushing through the night at sixty miles an hour.

It was nice to be in bed, listening to the "tutta-tut-tah! tutta-tut-tah!" of the train wheels turning rapidly over the rails.

"Travelling far, travelling far, travelling far," said the wheels to Lucy-Ann, as her eyes closed, and her mind swung towards sleep. "Travelling far. . . ."

In spite of all the excitement the four children were soon fast asleep and dreaming. What were they dreaming of? That was easy to guess. Blue-green water, clear as crystal, enchanting little islands, big white clouds flying across an enormous blue sky, and birds, birds, birds . . . travelling far, travelling far, travelling far.

Chapter 7

ON THE SEA AT LAST

THE journey was half over before the children awoke again. Bill banged on the walls, and they woke with a jump. They dressed and walked staggeringly along to the restaurant car, feeling very hungry. Lucy-Ann didn't much like walking across the bits that joined two carriages together. She clutched Bill's hand then.

"I'm always afraid the train might come in two, just when I'm walking through the bit where two carriages are joined," she explained. Bill quite understood, and didn't even smile, though the others were very scornful of Lucy-Ann's extraordinary idea.

Kiki behaved very badly at breakfast, throwing the toast about, and squawking because she was not allowed any of the rather small helping of marmalade. She made rude noises at the sunflower seeds Jack offered her. The other passengers were amused at her and laughed — but that only made Kiki show off all the more.

"Stop it, Kiki," said Bill, exasperated, and tapped her smartly on her beak. Kiki screeched and made a pounce at his beard. A vicious tug and some of it came away. Kiki hadn't been able to understand why Bill had arrived with a strange mass of hair under his chin, and round his cheeks. Now, having got some of it, she retired under the table and began to peck it gently, separating the hairs one by one and murmuring to herself all the time.

"Let her be," said Bill. "She'll be happy pulling that bit of my beard to pieces." He rubbed his chin. "That hurt. I hope I don't look too peculiar now?"

"Oh no — it doesn't really show much," Jack assured him. "Kiki always gets excited on a journey like this. She's awful when I bring her back from school — whistles like the guard, and tells all the people in the carriage to blow their noses and wipe their feet, and screeches in the tunnels till we're almost deafened."

"But she's a darling really," said Lucy-Ann loyally, and didn't say a word about Kiki undoing her shoe-laces and pulling them out of her shoes at that very moment!

The journey was a long one. There was a change to be made at a very big and noisy station. The next train was not quite so long as the first one and did not go so fast. It took them to a place on the coast, and the children were delighted to see the blue sea shining like a thin bright line in the distance. Hurrah! They all loved the sea.

"Now I feel that our holiday has really begun," said Lucy-Ann. "Now that we've seen the sea, I mean. It gives me a proper holiday feeling."

Everyone felt the same, even Kiki, who leapt about like a Red Indian doing a war-dance, on the luggage rack above the children's heads. She flew down to Jack's shoulder when they got out of the train at a big seaside town.

The strong breeze blew in their faces, and the girls' hair streamed back. Bill's beard blew back too, and Kiki was careful to stand with her beak to the wind. She hated her feathers being ruffled the wrong way.

They had a very good meal in a hotel, and then Bill went down to the harbour to see if his motor-boat was there. It had just come in. The man who brought it knew Bill very well, and had been told in what disguise he was to be seen.

"Morning, Dr. Walker, sir," he said in loud tones. "Fine weather for your expedition. Everything's ready, sir."

"Plenty of provisions, Henty?" asked Dr. Walker, blinking through his thick glasses.

"Enough to stand a siege, sir," said Henty. "I'm to pilot you out, sir — I've got a boat behind."

Everyone went on board. It was a fine motor-boat, with a little cabin in front. Jack's eyes gleamed when he saw the stock of food — tins, tins, tins! The little refrigerator was full of stuff too. Good! There would be plenty to eat anyway, and that, in Jack's opinion, was one of the main things to be planned for, on a holiday. People always got so terribly hungry when they were holidaying.

Henty piloted them out of the harbour, his tiny boat bobbing behind. When they were beyond the harbour Henty saluted and got into his boat.

"Well — good luck, sir," he said. "The wireless is O.K., sir — we'll be expecting a message regularly, to know you're all right. There are extra batteries, and a repair set as well. Good luck, sir. I'll be here in two weeks' time to pick up the kids."