The Adventurous Four Part 13

The motor-boat did not arrive until mid-day. Then two men came up to the tent, and the one who could speak English looked at the two girls.

"What about those boys?" he said. "Why are they not here?"

"I don't know," said Jill, trying to speak bravely.

"Where are they?" asked the man angrily.

"I don't know," said Jill again, quite truthfully.

"You don't know! You don't know!" said the man in disgust. "It is time you did know. Are they on this island?"

"Why don't you look and see?" said Jill. "I am sure you will not believe what I say-so you had better look."

The men glared at the plucky little girl and then went to hunt over the island. They found no one, of course, and returned looking worried.

They spoke to one another in a language that the girls could not understand. Then they went to the ruined buildings and looked around carefully. It did not take them long to see that the boys had pulled the old shack to pieces!

"So!" said the first man. "The boys tried to make a boat!"

Jill and Mary shook their heads. They were really feeling very much alarmed.

"It is a raft they made then?" asked the man. "What! You will not tell me, you naughty little girls! Then I shall order out my seaplanes and they will find those bad boys, and bring them back again. And you will all be made prisoners on another island till we take you far away to our country where you will stay for a long time."

The girls began to cry-not because they were afraid for themselves but because they did not want the seaplanes to hunt for Andy and Tom.

The men spoke quickly to one another. It was plain that they wanted to get back to the third island and tell their chief what had happened.

"We shall come back for you to-morrow," said the first man. "And maybe by that time we shall have caught the two bad boys. They will be punished, you may be sure!"

They left in their motor-boat, leaving two miserable girls behind them. "Oh, I do hope they won't catch poor Andy and Tom," wept Mary. "It's too bad! Now they will hunt all over the sea till they find them. And they'll catch us to-morrow too, and take us all away."

"Well, they just won't take me away!" said Jill, drying her eyes fiercely. "I shall give them a good old hunt for me! I shall go to the second island and make them hunt all over the first one and not find mel That will give them a shock! I shall hide in the food-cave!"

"So will I!" said Mary, dabbing her eyes fiercely too. "We'll wait till the tide goes down and then we'll clamber over the rocks!"

So when the tide was low that day the two girls clambered hurriedly over the line of rocks that led from one island to the next, and came to the sandy beach. Not far off was the entrance to the cave that led up to the Round Cave.

"n.o.body has seen us," said Mary, as they ran up to the cave. "We'll hide here and make the enemy think we've escaped from the island too! Perhaps they will be so busy looking for us that they will forget about the boys."

"I don't think they'll forget Andy and Tom," said Jill, making her way up the pa.s.sage to the Round Cave. "I am sure that seaplanes are out looking for them already. I have heard three or four leaving the third island. Look, Mary-this chest is almost empty. Let's take out the tins and things that are left and get inside. We can shut the lid down on us if we hear anyone coming."

The girls got the chest ready, and then amused themselves by trying to find the funnel opening that led from the cave to the surface of the cliff above. But they could not find it.

"I wonder if it's night yet," said Mary, for it was impossible to tell in the dark cave. The girls had Andy's torch, for no daylight came into the cave at all. They crept to the sh.o.r.e-cave to see. Yes-it was twilight outside. Night would soon fall.

"I vote we make a nice soft bed in the sandy floor," said Jill. "We can cover ourselves with those empty sacks. And in the morning we'll peep out and see if we can see anything!"

So they made sandy beds and threw the sacks over themselves, 'ihey fell fast asleep and did not wake till morning.

And then, when they went to peep out of the sh.o.r.e-cave, they had a great surprise! Coming gracefully down to the smooth water was an enormous seaplane, droning like a great b.u.mble-bee.

"It's coming to get us!" squealed Mary in fright, and the two girls scuttled back into the Round Cave!

CHAPTER 25.

Return to the Islands

IF only the girls had stopped to look carefully at that seaplane, they would have noticed that it bore the signs of their own country! It was the very same seaplane that had rescued Tom and Andy! It had flown to headquarters, had made its report, and had handed Tom's camera in. As soon as the pictures had been developed, and the seaplane and submarine photographs had come out clearly, there was great excitement.

Tom and Andy had been questioned closely They told their story clearly and well, and the men who listened to them were amazed at the adventures the four children had been through.

"Well, you have stumbled on an astonishing secret," said one man who had been listening, "We are proud of you! Now we shall be able to spring a real surprise on our enemy, and clean up all the submarines and seaplanes that have been worrying our shipping for some time. We did not know they had a base so near us. No wonder they have been able to do such damage!"

"Please, sir, what about my sisters?" asked Tom anxiously. "Will you get them away before you do anything?"

The men laughed heartily. "Of course!" said one. "That will be our first job. You don't really suppose we should forget those two plucky little girls, do you? Oh no-we shall send your father's seaplane to rescue mem-and after that-oho! A big surprise will come to those islands!"

The boys grinned. "May we see the surprise, sir?" asked Andy.

"No," said the man. "It will be a bit too noisy." He turned to Tom's father and gave him a few quick orders.

"Come along," said the boy's father. "You and Andy must come with me to the islands so that you may tell me quickly where the girls are. We have to get them off before we attack me enemy-and I'd like to do it as quickly as possible before anyone knows we've discovered their secret."

The boys were thrilled! To go off in that wonderful seaplane again-to the islands! And to rescue the two girls under the very noses of the enemy! What fun!

They all went aboard the great seaplane. They rowed out to it in a little boat and climbed up the ladder over the side, and into the plane. A few quick orders, and the great engines were started up.

R-r-r-r-r-r! R-r-r-r-r-r-r! R-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r! The seaplane skimmed over the water for a little while and then rose from the surface as gracefully as a gull. It soared up and round, and then flew in a straight line towards the far-off islands.

The boys were trembling with excitement and joy. They had had many adventures, but this last one, the rescue of the girls, was the finest of the lot! They looked out over the sea, watching for the first sign of the islands they now knew so well.

"As soon as we sight the islands, we are going cautiously," said Tom's father. "We don't want to warn the enemy if we can help it! You say there is a good landing-place off the sh.o.r.e of the second island, Andy. Well, you must guide us there when the islands come in sight, and we'll land on the water. Then you and Tom and a couple of men can get to the first island and take off the girls. Then off we'll go again and give the signal for the warships to go and-surprise the enemy!"

"Warships!" cried the boys. "I say! What a shock for the enemy!"

"It's a shock they deserve," said Tom's father grimly. "We are sending three warships and some aeroplanes to deal with the submarines and seaplanes. So, you see, we want to get the girls off as quickly as possible."

"Oh, golly, wouldn't I like to join the fight!" groaned Andy. "Oh, couldn't I, sir?"

"No," said Tom's father. But he smiled at the eager boy and clapped him on the shoulder. "You're a good lad, Andy," he said, "and I'm glad that my three children had your help in their amazing adventures!"

Andy went red with pleasure. He thought Tom's father was a fine man, dressed in his grand uniform. He wondered what his own father would say when he heard all their adventures-and in his secret mind he felt a little uncomfortable because his father would have to hear the news that his fishing-boat had been lost.

The boys kept a watch for the islands-and as soon as they caught sight of them, lying flat in the sea, they both shouted loudly: "There they are!"

"The islands, the islands!"

"Which is UK one the girls are on?" asked Tom's father eagerly. Tom showed him.

"The first one," he said. "And the next one is where the food-cave is, and the third one is where the submarines are. I don't know anything about the others further off. We didn't explore those."

"Well, we shall," said the boy's father, in a grim tone. "Now, Tom, we are almost on the coast ot the second island. Is that the smooth bit of water we can land on, just down there?"

"Yes!" cried both boys, as they saw the flat stretch of water that lay between the reef of rocks and the cave-beach. The seaplane circled round and flew down gracefully. She skimmed the water a little, like a swallow, and then came to rest, bobbing up and down as she lay there.

"The tide is a bit too deep over the rocks that lead to the first island," said Tom in disappointment. "We can't climb over them to rescue the girls yet."

"We'll take a boat, then," said his father. "Are those the caves you hid in, Tom?"

"Yes-that one just there is the one that leads to the food-cave," said Tom. "Like to see it, Daddy? You might find something of importance there, perhaps."

"Yes-we might as well have a look," said the boy's father. So a boat shot off from the seaplane carrying the two boys, Tom's father, and two men. They landed on the beach and went towards the cave.

The girls were hiding inside the chest when they heard footsteps coming up the pa.s.sage-way that led from the sh.o.r.e-cave to the Round Cave. They lay there trembling, wondering when they were going to be discovered.

Tom led his father into the cave. "Look!" he said, "do you see all these boxes and chests, Daddy? They are absolutely full of food of all sorts. I can tell you it came in handy when we were so hungry. At first I kept a list of the things we took, thinking that we would pay for them when we discovered the owner, but-"

Tom stopped. A queer noise was coming from a big chest near by. He stared in surprise.

"What's that jnoise?" said Tom's father at once.

"I don't know," said Tom. "Listen!"

It was the girls inside the chest, of course! They had heard Tom's voice, and they were quite mad with joy and excitement-but they couldn't lift up the lid of the chest which they had carefully shut down over themselves! It had got so tightly fastened that they could not push it up, and the two girls were shouting and banging on the lid to make themselves heard.

"There's something in that chest," said Tom in a trembling voice. "Is it the enemy playing a trick?"

"We'll soon see," said his father, in a fierce voice. He rapped out an order to the two men with him, and they went over to the chest. They ripped off the lid-and every one stood ready to fight the enemy.

But it was two small, excited, and most untidy little girls who rose up from the chest, shouting loudly: "Tom! Andy! It's us! We hid here because we thought you were the enemy!"

Their father picked them out of the chest and hugged them. They were as surprised as he was! They simply couldn't believe their eyes!

"Daddy! It's you! However did you get here? Oh, Tom! Andy! You've come to rescue us just in time. Oh, what a good thing you came to the cave!"

"Why are you here?" asked the boys.

Jill and Mary told their tale, their words tumbling over one another. When their father heard that the enemy guessed that the boys had left on a raft, he hustled them all out of the cave very quickly.

"We'll get back to our plane," he said. "We shall get into a spot of trouble if the enemy see us here. If they really think the boys have gone to tell their secret they will be watching for us-though not expecting us quite so soon. Come along!"

They all rowed off to the seaplane. The girls were thrilled to get inside it, and even mpre excited when it rose into the air and left the sea far below.

"Good-bye, little islands," said Jill, watching them get smaller and smaller as the plane left them behind. "We've had lots of adventures on you-but I'm very glad to leave you, all the same!"

The boys were looking down as the plane flew swiftly along. Suddenly Tom gave a shout.

"Warships! Look! Steaming below us at top speed! Are they going to the islands?"

"They are," said his father. "There will be quite a lot of noise round about your islands very soon! And, look-here are aeroplanes, too, to help the warships."

A flight of aeroplanes flew near the seaplane. The children felt tremendously excited. What a pity they had left before the fun began!

"And now, home we go to your mother," said the children's father, "and to Andy's father. Both will be so very glad to have you back again."

"But what will my father say about his lost fishing-boat?" wondered poor Andy. "Whatever will he say?"

CHAPTER 26.

The End of the Adventures

THE seaplane flew over the water, and at last came to the sh.o.r.es of the little fishing-village where Andy lived, and the other three children had been staying. It glided down to the water, and rested there, its great wings spread out beside it.

The little beach was soon crowded with people-fishermen and their wives, children, visitors-all shouting and cheering. The news had gone round that the fout missing children had been found!

A boat set off to fetch the children from the plane. It was rowed by Andy's father! How Andy shouted to see him!

"Dad! We're back again!"

The bearded man in the boat smiled and waved. He had been terribly worried about Andy and the children-but now his heart was glad. They were safe!

The children tumbled into the boat, all talking at once. Andy's father patted his boy on the shoulder and smiled at him out of eyes as blue as Andy's. Neither of them said very much, but their hands pressed one another joyfully. Tom's father came with them. He had two days' leave'and was going to spend it with his wife and children.

The people on the beach cheered and shouted. The little boat grounded and was pulled up the sh.o.r.e by willing hands. Every one wanted to shake hands and say how glad they were to see the children back. And then the children saw ttieir mother! They rushed to her and hugged her like bears, shouting and laughing.

"Now, now, give m$ a look in," said their father, smiling, and the whole family went up the beach together. Andy went off with his father. He had no mother, so he thought twice as much of his father.

What a talking and chattering there was that evening! The children's mother made them all strip off their dirty clothes and have a good bath before they did anything.

"I don't know you when you look so dreadfully dirty!" she said. "Put on clean clothes, for goodness' sake!"

Soon they were all clean and dressed in other clothes. It felt nice to be tidy and fresh again. They hung round their mother and tried to tell her all their adventures at once.

"Andy was marvellous," said Tom. "We could never have done what we did if it hadn't been for him. The girls were pretty brave too-I was proud of them."

"And old Tom didn't do so badly-except that he left his precious camera behind and got us all into a fix!" said Jill. "He was as brave as could be."