"How are we going to get all this down to George"s boat?" said Anne, looking at the enormous pile of goods by the light of her torch. "We"ll never be able to carry them all!"
Certainly it looked a great pile. Julian had an idea, as usual. "Are there any barrows in the shed?" he asked George. "If we could pile the things into a couple of barrows, we could easily take everything in one journey. We could wheel the barrows along on the sandy side of the road so that we don"t make any noise."
"Oh, good idea!" said George, delighted. "I wish I"d thought of that before. I had to make about five journeys to and from the boat when I took my own things. There are two barrows in the shed. We"ll get them. One has a squeaky wheel, but we"ll hope no one hears it."
Stinker heard the squeak, as he lay in a corner of Mrs. Stick"s room. He p.r.i.c.ked up his ears and growled softly. He did not dare to bark, for he was afraid of bringing Timothy up. Mrs. Stick did not hear the growl. She slept soundly, not even stirring. She had no idea what was going on downstairs.
The things were all stowed into the boat. The children didn"t like leaving them there unguarded. In the end they decided to leave d.i.c.k there, sleeping on the rugs. They stood thinking for a moment before they went back without d.i.c.k.
"I do hope we"ve remembered all we shall want," said George, wrinkling up her forehead. "Golly-I know! We haven"t remembered a tin-opener-nor a thing to take off the tops of the ginger-beer bottles. They"ve got those little tin lids that have to be forced off by an opener."
"We"ll put those in our pockets when we get back to the house and find them," said Julian. "I remember seeing some in the sideboard drawer. Good-bye, d.i.c.k. We"ll be down very early to row off. We must get some bread at the baker"s as soon as he opens, because we"ve got hardly any, and we"ll see if we can pick up a very large bone at the butcher"s for Timmy. George has got a bag of biscuits in the boat for him too."
The three of them set off back to the house with Timmy, leaving d.i.c.k curled up comfortably on the rugs. He soon fell asleep again, his face upturned to the stars that would soon fade from the sky.
The others talked about what to tell the Sticks. "I think we won"t tell them anything," said Julian, at last. "I don"t particularly want to tell them deliberate lies, and I"m certainly not going to tell them the truth. I know what we"ll do-there is a train that leaves the station about eight o"clock, which would be the one we"d catch if we were going back to our own home. We"ll find a time-table, leave it open on the dining-room table, as if we"d been looking up a train, and then we"ll all set off across the moor at the back of the house, as if we were going to the station."
"Oh yes-then the Sticks will think we"ve run away, and gone to catch; the train back home," said Anne. "They will never guess we"ve gone to the island."
"That"s a good idea," said George, pleased. "But how shall we know when Father and Mother get back?"
"Is there anyone you could leave a message with-somebody you could really trust?" asked Julian.
George thought hard. "There"s Alf the fisher-boy," she said at last. "He used to look after Tim for me when I wasn"t allowed to have him in the house. I know he"d not give us away."
"We"ll call on Alf before we go then," said Julian. "Now, let"s look for that time-table and lay it open on the table at the right place."
They hunted for the time-table, found the right page, and underlined the train they hoped that the Sticks would think they were catching. They found the tin and bottle openers,and put them into their pockets. Julian found two or three more boxes of matches too. He thought two would not last long enough.
By this time dawn had come and the house was being flooded with early sunshine. "I wonder if the baker is open," said Julian. "We might as well go and see. It"s about six o"clock."
They went to the baker. He was not open, but the new loaves had already been made. The baker was outside, sunning himself. He had baked his bread at night, ready to sell it new-made in the morning. He grinned at the children.
"Up early today," he said. "What, you want some of my loaves-how many? Six! Good gracious, whatever for?"
"To eat," said George, grinning. Julian paid for six enormous loaves, and they went to the butcher"s. His shop was not open either, but the butcher himself was sweeping the path outside. "Could we buy a very big bone for Timmy, please?" asked George. She got an enormous one, and Timmy looked at it longingly. Such a bone would last him for days, he knew!
"Now," said Julian, as they set off to the boat, "we"ll pack these things into the boat, then"go back to the house, and make a noise so that the Sticks know we"re there. Then we"ll set off across the moors, and hope the Sticks will think we are making for the train."
They woke d.i.c.k, who was still sleeping peacefully in the boat, and packed in the bread and bone.
"Take the boat into the next cove," said George. "Can you do that? We shall be hidden there from anyone on the beach then. The fishermen are all out in their boats, fishing. We shan"t be seen, if we set offin about an hour"s time. We"ll be back by then."
They went back to the house and made a noise as if they were just getting up. George whistled to Timmy, and Julian sang at the top of his voice. Then, with a great banging of doors they set out down the path and cut across the moors, in full sight of the kitchen window.
"Hope the Sticks won"t notice d.i.c.k isn"t with us," said Julian, seeing Edgar staring out of the window. "I expect they"ll think he"s gone ahead."
They kept to the path until they came to a dip, where they were hidden from any watcher at Kirrin Cottage. Then they took another path that led them, unseen, to the cove where d.i.c.k had taken the boat. He was there, waiting anxiously for them.
"Ahoy there!" yelled Julian, in excitement. "The adventure is about to begin."
Chapter Ten.
KIRRIN ISLAND ONCE MORE!
THEY all clambered into the boat. Timothy leapt in lightly and ran to the prow, where he always stood. His tongue hung out in excitement. He knew quite well that something was up-and he was in it! No wonder he panted and wagged his tail hard.
"Off we go!" said Julian, taking the oars. "Sit over there a bit, Anne. The luggage is weighing "down the boat awfully the other end. d.i.c.k, sit by Anne to keep the balance better. That"s right. Off we go!"
And off they went in George"s boat, rocking up and down on the waves. The sea was fairly calm, but a good breeze blew through their hair. The water splashed round the boat and made a nice gurgly, friendly noise. The children all felt very happy. They were on their own. They were escaping from the horrid Sticks. They were going to stay on Kirrin Island, with the rabbits and gulls and jackdaws.
"Doesn"t that new-made bread smell awfully good?" said d.i.c.k, feeling very hungry as usual. "Can we just grab a bit, do you think?"
"Yes, let"s," said George. So they broke off bits of the warm brown crust, handed some to Julian, who was rowing, and chewed the delicious new-made bread. Timmy got a bit too, but his was gone as soon as it went into his mouth.
"Timmy"s funny," said Anne. "He never eats his food as we do-he seems to drink it-just takes it into his mouth and swallows it, as if it was water!"
The others laughed. "He doesn"t drink his bones." said George. "He always eats those all right-chews on them for hours and hours. Don"t you, Timothy?"
"Woof!" said Timmy, agreeing. He eyed the place where that enormous bone was, wishing he could have it now. But the children wouldn"t let him. They were afraid it might go overboard, and that would be a pity.
"I don"t believe anyone has noticed us going," said Julian. "Except Alf the fisher-boy, of course. We told him about going to the island, d.i.c.k, but n.o.body else."
They had called at Alf"s house on their way to the cove. Alf was alone in the yard at the back.: His mother was away and his father was out fishing. They had told him their secret, and Alf had nodded his tousled head and promised faithfully to tell n.o.body at all. He was evidently very proud at being trusted.
"If my mother and father come back, you must let us know," said George. "Sail as near the island as you dare, and hail us. You can get nearer to it than anyone else."
"I"ll do that," promised Alf, wishing he could go with them.
"So, you see, d.i.c.k," said Julian, as he rowed out to the island, "if by any chance Aunt f.a.n.n.y does return sooner than we expect, we shall know at once and come back. I think we"ve planned everything very well."
"Yes, we have," said d.i.c.k. He turned and faced the island, which was coming nearer. "We shall soon be there. Isn"t George going to take the oars and guide the boat in?"
"Yes," said George. "We"ve come to the difficult bit now, where we"ve got to weave our way in and out of the different rocks that keep sticking up. Give me the oars, Ju."
She took the oars, and the others watched in admiration as the girl guided the big boat skillfully in and out of the hidden rocks. She certainly was very clever. They felt perfectly safe with her.
The boat slid into the little cove. It was a natural harbour, with the water running up to a stretch of sand. High rocks sheltered it. The children jumped out eagerly, and four pairs of willing hands tugged the boat quickly up the sand. .
"Higher up still," panted George. "You know what awful storms suddenly blow up in this bay. We want to be sure the boat is quite safe, no matter how high the seas run."
The boat soon lay on one side, high up the stretch of sand. The children sat down, puffing and blowing. "Let"s have breakfast here," said Julian. "I don"t feel like unloading all those heavy things at the moment. We"ll get what we want for breakfast, and have it here on this warm bit of sand."
They got a loaf of new bread, some cold ham, a few tomatoes and a pot of jam. Anne found knives and forks and plates. Julian opened two bottles of ginger-beer.
"Funny sort of breakfast," he said, setting the bottles down on the sand, "But simply gorgeous when anyone is as hungry as we are."
They ate everything except about a third of the loaf. Timmy was given his bone and some of his own biscuits.
He crunched up the biscuits at once, and then sat down contentedly to gnaw the fine bone.
"How nice to be Timmy-with no plate or knife or fork or cup to bother about," said Anne, lying on her back in the sun, feeling that she really couldn"t eat anything more. "Oh, if we are always going to have mixed-up meals like this on the island, I shall never want to go back. Who would have thought that ham and jam and ginger-beer would go so well together?"
Timmy was thirsty. He sat with his tongue hanging out wishing that George would give him a drink. He didn"t like ginger-beer.
George eyed him lazily.
"Oh Timmy-are you thirsty?" she said. "Oh dear, J feel as if I really can"t get up! You"ll have to wait a few minutes, then I"ll go to the boat and empty out some water for you."
But Timothy couldn"t wait. He went off to some nearby rocks, which were out of reach of the sea. In a hole in one of them he found some rain-water, and he lapped it up eagerly. The children heard him lapping it, and laughed.
"Isn"t Timmy clever?" murmured Anne. "I should never have thought of that."
The children had been up half the night, and now they were full of good things, and were very sleepy. One by one they fell asleep on the warm sand. Timothy eyed them in astonishment. It wasn"t night-time! Yet here were all the children sleeping tightly. Well, well-a dog could always go to sleep too at any time! So Timothy threw himself down beside George, put his head right on her middle, and closed his eyes.
The sun was high when the little company "awoke. Julian awoke first, then d.i.c.k, feeling very hot indeed, for the sun was blazing down. They sat up, yawning.
"Goodness!" said d.i.c.k, looking at his arms. "The sun has caught me properly. I shall be terribly sore by tonight. Did we bring any cream, Julian?"
"No. We never thought of it," said Julian. "Cheer up! You"ll be burnt much more by the time this day ends. The sun"s going to be hot-there"s not a cloud in the sky!"
They woke up the girls. George pushed Timmy"s head off her tummy. "You give me nightmares when you put your heavy head there," she complained. "Oh, I say-we"re on the island, aren"t we? For a moment I thought I was back in bed at Kirrin Cottage!"
"Isn"t it gorgeous-here we are for ages, all by ourselves, with tons of nice things to eat, able to do just what we like!" said Anne, contentedly.
"I guess the old Sticks are glad we"ve gone," said d.i.c.k. "Spotty Face will be able to loll in the sitting-room and read all our booksI if he wants to."
"And Stinker-dog will be able to wander all over the house and lie on anybody"s bed without being afraid that Timothy will eat him whole," said George. "Well, let him. I don"t care about anything now that I"ve escaped."
It was fun to lie there and talk about everything. But soon Julian, who could never rest for long, once he was awake, got up and stretched himself.
"Come on!" he said to the others. "There is work to do, Lazy-Bones! Come along!"
"Work to do? What do you mean?" said George in astonishment.
"Well, we"ve got to unload the boat and pack everything somewhere where it won"t get spoilt if the rain happens to come," said Julian. "And we"ve got to decide exactly where we"re going to sleep, and get the heather for our beds and pile the rugs on them. There"s plenty to do!"
"Oh, don"t let"s do it yet," said Anne, not at all wanting to get up out of the warm sand. But the others pulled her up, and together they all set to work to unload the boat.
"Let"s go and have a look at the castle," said Julian. "And find the little room where we"ll sleep. It"s the only one left whole, so it will have to be that one."
They went right to the top of the inlet, climbed up on to the rocks and made their way towards the old ruined castle, whose walls rose up from the middle of the little island. They stopped to gaze at it.
"It"s a fine old ruin," said d.i.c.k. "Aren"t we lucky to have an island and a castle of our own! Fancy, this is all ours!"
They gazed through a big broken-down archway, to old steps beyond. The castle had once had two fine towers, but now one was almost gone. The other rose high in the air, half-ruined. The black jackdaws collected there, talking loudly. "Chack, chack, chack! Chack, chack, chack!"
"Nice birds," said d.i.c.k. "I like them. See the grey patch at the back of their heads, Anne? I wonder if they ever stop talking."
"I don"t think so," said George. "Oh, look at the rabbits-tamer than ever!"
The courtyard was full of big rabbits, who eyed them as they came near. It really seemed as if it would be possible to pat them, they were so tame-but one by one they edged away as the children approached.
Timothy was in a great state of excitement, and his tail quivered from end to end. Oh those rabbits! Why couldn"t he chase them? Why was George so difficult about rabbits? Why couldn"t he make them run a bit?
But George had her hand on his collar, and gave him: stern glance. "Now, Timothy, don"t you dare to chase even the smallest of these rabbits. They"re mine, every one o them."
"Ours!" corrected Anne at once. She wanted to share in the rabbits, as well as in the castle and the island.
"Ours!" said George. "Let"s go and have a look at the little dark room where we"ll spend the nights."
They made their way to where the castle did not seen to be quite so ruined. They came to a doorway and looked inside.
"Here it is!" said Julian, peeping in. "I shall have to us my torch. The windows are only slits here, and it"s quit dark."
He turned on his torch-and the children all gaze< into="" the="" old="" room="" where="" they="" proposed="" to="" store="" their="" goods="" and="">
George gave a loud exclamation. "Golly! We can"t use this room! The roof has fallen in since last summer."
So it had. Julian"s torch shone on to a heap of fallen stones, scattered all over the floor. It was quite impossible to use the old room now. In any case it might be dangerous to do so, for it looked as if more stones might fall at any moment.
"Blow!" said Julian. "What shall we do about this? W shall have to find somewhere else for a storing an sleeping-place!"
Chapter Eleven.
ON THE OLD WRECK.