by Энид Блайтон
“Come on down here, Paul. We’ll go off in the boat. Hurry up!”
Paul waved his hand and disappeared. When he appeared at the edge of the water, the others saw that he was carrying something. He had a loaf of bread, a packet of biscuits, and two tins of fruit!
“I say! You’ve got brains to think of those!” said Jack, pleased. “Good for you, Paul!”
Paul went red with pleasure. He thought the four children were wonderful, and he was very proud to be praised by Captain Jack!
“I just had time to push all our things into a bush,” said Paul. “And I grabbed these to bring, because I guessed we might have to stop away for some hours.”
“Good lad,” said Jack. “Come on in. We haven’t any time to lose. Tell us about the boat. How far away was it?”
As Jack and Mike rowed their boat away from the island, away to the mainland, Paul told them all he had seen, which wasn’t very much. “I couldn’t see who the men were, but they looked as if they might be Mr. Diaz and Luiz,” he said. “Oh, Jack - I don’t want to be caught and kept a prisoner again. It is so lovely being with you.”
“Don’t you worry,” said Jack, pulling hard at the oars. “We’ll look after you all right, if we have to stuff you down a rabbit-hole and pile bracken over it to hide you!”
That made them all laugh, and Paul felt better. The boys were pulling across to the mainland swiftly, hoping to reach it before the other boat could possibly catch any sight of them. The island was between them and the strange boat, but it might happen that the two men rowed round it and would then see the children’s boat.
They reached the mainland safely. Jack chose a very wooded part, and rowed the boat in right under some overhanging trees, where it could not possibly be seen. Then he and the others got out.
“I’d better climb a high tree and see if I can possibly see what’s going on the island opposite us,” said Jack.
“I’ll climb one too,” said Mike. “I’d like to watch as well. Come on, Paul, would you like to climb one too?”
“No, thank you,” said Paul, who didn’t like climbing trees any more than he liked bathing.
“Well, you stay behind and look after the girls,” said Jack. Paul was pleased with that. It made him feel important.
But the girls didn’t want much looking after! They wanted to climb trees too! However, they busied themselves in looking for a clear space to picnic in.
Jack’s tree was a very high one. He could see the island quite well from it. He suddenly saw the boat coming round one side of the island, and he knew who the two men were!
“Yes - it’s our dear friend Mr. Diaz and his sleepy helper Luiz,” thought Jack to himself. “They must have missed seeing the little beach where we usually land, and they’ve come round to the other side of the island. Well, that means we can keep a jolly good watch on them!”
Mike and Jack watched the boat from their perches up in the trees. The two men landed and pulled the boat on to the shore. They stood and talked for a while and then they separated and went off round the island.
“I’m afraid they won’t find us!” Jack called softly to Mike, who was at the top of a tree nearby. “And unless they find the things we brought with us, that Paul so cleverly stuffed into a bush, they may not even think we’ve been to the island!”
“It was a good idea of yours to come across to the mainland, Jack,” answered Mike. “We’re safe enough here. We could even make our way through the woods and walk to the nearest town, if we had to!”
“Look! There’s one of the men at the top of the hill,” said Jack. Mike looked. The hill was not near enough to see if the man was Mr. Diaz or Luiz, but it was certainly one of them. He was shading his eyes and looking all down the waters of the lake.
“Good thing our boat’s hidden!” said Mike. “I wonder how long they’re going to hunt round the island! I don’t want to spend the night in these woods - there’s no heather here and the ground looks very damp.”
The boys watched for two hours and then they began to feel very hungry. Mike left Jack on watch and climbed down to the girls, who had been picking a crop of wild strawberries, small and very sweet. Paul was with them, and he ran to Mike and rained questions on him about the men in the boat.
Mike told him all he had seen. “But what I really came down for was to say we’d better have something to eat,” he said. “I’ll clean the fish we’ve caught, Peggy, and light you a small fire. You can cook them, then, on some hot stones, and we’ll have a meal.”
He cleaned the fish they had caught, and made a fire. “I hope the men on the island don’t think our smoke is anything to do with us!” he said.
They had a meal of cooked fish, bread, biscuits, and wild strawberries. Then Mike went up his tree again to watch, and Jack came down and had his share of the meal. It was really rather fun. The children enjoyed their dinner, and wished there was more of it!
“But we must keep the two tins of fruit, and the rest of the bread and biscuits for later on in the day,” said Peggy, putting them safely aside under a bush. “Thank goodness Paul had the brains to bring what he could! We’d only have had the fish to eat if he hadn’t!”
Jack and Mike took it in turns to watch from a tree the rest of the day. They saw no more signs of the two men on the island, but they knew that they had not left, because their boat was still there.
When it began to get dark, and the boys could no longer see clearly from their perches in the trees, Jack wondered what was the best thing to do.
He climbed down and talked to the others. “We’d better have another meal,” he said, “and finish the rest of the food. I’m afraid we shall have to spend the night here.”
“We could sleep in the boat,” said Nora. “That would be more comfortable than the damp ground here. There are two old rugs in the boat too. And Peggy and I have explored a bit and found where a great mass of bracken grows. We could collect it before it’s quite dark, and use that for bedding in the boat! It will be fairly soft for us.”
“Good,” said Jack. “Show us where the bracken is, Nora, and Paul, Mike, and I will carry armfuls to the boat. Peggy, will you get a meal?”
“Right,” said Peggy. It was dark to get a meal under the trees, but the little girl did the best she could. She opened the tins of fruit - Paul had even been sensible enough to snatch up the tin-opener! She cut the rest of the bread into slices, and put two biscuits for every one. That was all there was.
The boys and Nora came back with armfuls of bracken. They set it in the boat. Then they went back to where Peggy was waiting. Jack had his torch in his pocket, so they were able to see what they were eating. They shared the fruit in the tins, ate their bread and biscuits, and drank the fruit juice, for they were very thirsty.
“And now to bed,” said Jack. “Bed in a boat! What queer adventures we have! But all the same, it’s great fun!”
Mike’s Marvellous Idea
The children made their way to where the boat was tied to a tree. It was now piled with sweet-smelling bracken. Jack had taken up the seats, so that the whole of the boat was a bed. The two girls got in and cuddled down, and then the three boys settled themselves too. It was a bit of a squeeze, but nobody minded. They wrapped the two old rugs round them and talked quietly.
The lake-water lapped gently against the boat, saying “lip-lip-lip” all the time. It was a pleasant sound to hear. An owl hooted in a trembling voice not far off. “Ooooooooo! Oo-oo-oo-oo!”
Paul sat up in a fright. “Who’s that?” he said.
Mike pulled him down. “It’s only a bird called an owl, silly!” he said. “Don’t sit up suddenly like that, Paul, you pull the rug off us.”
Paul lay down again and cuddled up to the other two boys. He was glad that the noise was only made by a bird.
The moon came up soon, and shone down through the black branches of the trees above. The water of the lake turned to silver. “Lip-lip-lip” it said all the time against the boat. Nora liste
ned to it and fell asleep. Peggy lay on her back and looked at a star that shone through the trees, and suddenly fell asleep too. Paul was soon asleep, but Mike and Jack talked quietly for some time.
They couldn’t imagine what Mr. Diaz and Luiz were going to do next. If they stayed long on the island the children couldn’t go back there - and as they had no food, this was serious. On the other hand, if they tried to make their way through the thick woods nearby, they might get quite lost.
“If only we could make Mr. Diaz and Luiz prisoners, just as they made you and Paul, it would be grand,” said Jack. “Then we could do what we liked.”
Mike lay silent for a moment - then he made such a peculiar noise that he really frightened Jack.
“Mike! What’s up?” said Jack in alarm. “Are you ill?”
“No,” said Mike in a very excited voice. “It was only that I suddenly got such a marvellous idea I wanted to shout - and I only just stopped the shout in time. That was the funny noise you heard - me stopping the shout. But oh, Jack, I’ve really got the most wonderful idea!”
“What is it?” asked Jack in surprise.
“Well, it was you saying that you wished we could make Mr. Diaz and Luiz prisoners that really gave me the idea,” said Mike. “I know how we could! If we could only get their boat away from the island to-night, they wouldn’t be able to leave - and they’d be prisoners there!”
“Mike! That’s a most marvellous idea!” said Jack. “It solves all our difficulties. You really are a clever chap! Once they are prisoners on the island, we can row to the village at the end of the lake, get a car, and go back to Peep-Hole in safety!”
“Yes,” said Mike, trembling with excitement. “How shall we do it. Jack?”
“Wait a minute,” said Jack, frowning in the moonlight. “I’ve just thought of something. Suppose Mr. Diaz and Luiz can swim? They could easily swim across to the mainland and escape that way.”
“But they can’t swim,” said Mike. “I heard Luiz tell Mr. Diaz he couldn’t, and Mr. Diaz said he couldn’t either. It was when I was a prisoner up in the tower - they often used to come and sit with us there, and they talked to one another. So if neither of them can swim they really would be prisoners!”
Jack was so delighted the he wanted to sing and dance. He carefully took off his share of the rug and put it over the sleeping Paul.
“We needn’t wake Paul or the girls,” he said. “We will undress, Mike, then slip into the water over the edge of the boat, and swim to the island. You can swim as far as that, can’t you?”
“Easily,” said Mike. “Then we’ll undo their boat get into it and row off! Oh, Jack, this is the most exciting thing we’ve ever done! I wonder if they’ll see us!”
“I don’t expect so,” said Jack. “They’ll be asleep in our cave, I expect!”
The boys undressed without waking the girls or Paul.
They slid into the water over the side of the boat and swam off in the moonlit lake, only their two dark heads showing on the calm, silvery surface.
It was rather farther to the island than they expected. Mike was tired when they reached the men’s boat, but Jack, who was a marvellous swimmer, was quite fresh. He got in and pulled Mike in too. He undid the rope that tied the boat to a tree.
Then he pushed off, the oars making a splashing noise in the silence of the night. No sooner had they gone a little way out on the lake than a shout came from the island, and Luiz stood up. He had been asleep on some heather, and had awakened to hear the sound of oars.
“Hie! That’s our boat you’ve got! Bring it back at once!”
“We’ll bring it back some day!” yelled back Jack in delight.
“You just bring it back now, at once!” yelled Luiz, suddenly realising that he and Mr. Diaz would not be able to leave the island at all without a boat. “You wicked boys!”
“Good-bye, dear friends,” shouted Jack, seeing Mr. Diaz suddenly appearing down the hill. He had been sleeping in the cave and had awakened at the noise of shouting. “See you some day soon!”
The two men were quite helpless. They could neither of them swim, they had no boat - they could do nothing but shout angrily, and that was no good at all! The boys simply laughed and waved to them.
When they reached their own boat, feeling rather cold and shivery, for they had no clothes on, they found the girls and Paul wide awake and rather scared. Peggy threw the boys their clothes, and called out to know where they had been and what all the noise was and where they had got the other boat.
“Can’t you guess!” cried Nora. “They’ve taken the enemies’ boat - and now they are prisoners on our secret island, hurrah! Oh, Jack, what a marvellous idea! We were so scared when we woke up and found you two gone - but we might have guessed you were off on some wonderful idea!”
“It’s Mike’s idea,” said Jack, dressing quickly. “It’s one of the best ideas he’s ever had! It acted beautifully too - Mr. Diaz and Luiz are as angry as can be, but they can’t do anything about it! As soon as it’s light we’ll row to the village at the end of the lake, get a car, and go off to Peep-Hole to see what Dimmy and George have done - and Mr. Diaz and Luiz can have a nice little holiday on the island!”
Everybody laughed. They felt sure they would never be able to go to sleep again that night, but after a while they began to yawn - and before the moon had begun to slide down the sky they were all fast asleep once more, with Mr. Diaz’s boat tied safely alongside their own.
They woke when the stars had gone and the moon had slipped away. The sun was coming up in the east and the lake looked peaceful and blue. Not a cloud was in the sky.
“Goodness, I am hungry!” said Peggy. “And we haven’t got a single thing to eat!”
Mike grinned. He put his hand into his pocket and brought out a large packet of chocolate!
“I kept this till this morning, thinking it would come in very useful!” he said. “We’ll share it, and then we’ll have to wait till we get to the village at the end of the lake for breakfast.”
“Good old Mike!” said every one, delighted to see the chocolate. It had nuts in it and was most delicious. They sat in the early morning sunshine, munching it and giggling whenever they thought of Mr. Diaz and Luiz!
“There they are, at the edge of the lake, trying to see us!” said Peggy. “Well, they’ll see us soon enough when we row out! What shall we do with their boat, Jack?”
“We’ll leave it tied up here,” said Jack. “It will be safe enough.”
So they left the extra boat behind, untied theirs, and rowed out on to the lake. Mr. Diaz and Luiz saw them at once, and shouted, but the children took no notice at all. They rowed steadily away from the island down to the village at the end of the lake.
When they got there they tied up the boat and stepped out on to the sandy shore. They made their way to the village and soon came to a baker’s shop. They bought warm new bread and some jam tarts. They went to the grocer’s and bought half a pound of butter, some potted meat to spread on their bread, and some biscuits and chocolate. They also bought some ginger-beer, and then sat down by the roadside to eat a peculiar, but very delicious breakfast!
Jack and Mike lent their pocket-knives to every one to spread the potted meat and butter on thick slices cut from the new loaf. How lovely it tasted!
Then they ate the jam tarts and the biscuits, munched the chocolate, and drank the ginger-beer. They felt much better after their meal, and Jack looked about for a garage.
There wasn’t one - but at that moment a bus rattled up and stopped nearby. The children went to ask if there was any bus that would take them near Spiggy Holes.
“My bus starts off again in ten minutes’ time,” said the driver. “I go as far as Cliftonside, and you can get a bus there to Spiggy Holes.”
The children were pleased. They got into the bus and waited for it to start. It set off at last and rumbled down the country lanes for an hour until it arrived at Cliftonside. Out tumbled the children, and went t
o get the bus for Spiggy Holes. It didn’t start for half an hour, so they went to buy some more ginger-beer, for it was a hot day and they felt very thirsty again.
They arrived at Spiggy Holes at half-past twelve. The bus stopped a mile away from Peep-Hole and the children took a short cut across the fields.
“We’d better just keep a watch-out in case anyone else is looking for Paul,” said Jack. “You never know!“
So they kept a look-out, and walked beside the tall hedges to hide themselves till they got to Peep-Hole.
And what a surprise they had when they got to the field opposite Peep-Hole - for there on the grass was a big aeroplane! It was painted a bright blue, and had silvery edges that shone in the sun!
The children stopped in the greatest surprise. Nobody was in the aeroplane. Nobody was about at all. They didn’t know whether to go to Peep-Hole or not - did the aeroplane belong to the enemy? Or was it a friend’s? It was all very mysterious indeed.
Alone at Peep-Hole
The five children stared and stared at the aeroplane. Paul went rather pale.
“It looks like an aeroplane from my own country,” he said. “Do you think my enemies have flown over here to find me? If only I knew what had happened to my father - whether he got better or not! I am very unhappy.”
“Cheer up, old son,” said Jack. “We’ll soon find out everything. I expect Dimmy has told the police to find out what’s been going on in your country, and she’ll tell us as soon as we find her.”
“I want to see Dimmy,” said Nora. “I feel safe when I’m with her.”
“Well, let’s go quietly to Peep-Hole without being seen, and find her,” said Mike. So they crept along by the tall hedge, turned into the little lane where Peep-Hole stood, and ran into the small front garden.
The front door was shut. It usually stood wide open. They went round to the back door. That was shut and locked too! The children stared at one another in surprise.
