by Paul Moxham
As Amy left the cave and stood on the beach, she switched off the torch, disappointed. “I thought they would be in there.”
“I’m sure there’s another way to distract the men,” Joe said.
Amy shook her head. “No. This isn’t just about rescuing Will.”
“No?” Joe repeated.
Amy sat down on the sand. “If that man comes back from the mainland and tells the others about Sarah, what do you think will happen?”
“They’ll leave on the seaplane as soon as they can and take the paintings with them,” Joe said.
“Yes. Which means if we find the paintings, we can delay them,” Amy said. “I just wish there was some way of knowing where that man went.”
Joe suddenly grinned. “I’ve got it! Pretend to be the man.”
“What?” Amy said, confused.
“I’ll go to the bushes where we were the other day, and you can walk along the beach. If I wave left, you go left,” Joe replied. “If I wave right, you go right, okay?”
“What will this prove?” Amy said.
“I want to know the exact location of the man before he disappeared,” Joe said. “So get into position.” He turned and raced towards the bushes.
Before long, he was in position. Waving for Amy to start walking, he waited. As she got closer to him, he waved her right, and then left.
After five minutes of stepping this way and that, Joe joined his sister on the beach. Standing where she was, he gazed around. He was close to the caves but, surprisingly, neither of the two were opposite him. He frowned.
Amy turned to him. “So what did this prove? We know the man went into one of the two caves, so—”
“Or so we thought,” Joe interrupted.
“What do you mean?” Amy asked.
Joe waved his hands in front of him. “Where are we standing?”
Amy frowned. “In front of the two caves.”
Joe smiled. “Be more specific.”
Amy looked again and suddenly realised that while she was standing in front of the two caves, she was actually standing in between the two caves. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Joe nodded. “We searched the caves, but we didn’t search the bushes in between the caves.” He hurried forward and the two of them were soon at the bushes. It didn’t take long before he let out a yell. He flung aside a pile of brush to reveal a tunnel.
“Golly!” Amy shouted. She looked at Joe. “You were right.”
“Let’s see what’s in here.” Switching the torch on, Joe entered the tunnel. Amy was right behind him and, after she replaced the brush in its correct place, followed Joe.
~
As Sarah whipped down the street on the runaway bicycle, Kenneth shot past on his machine. Startled, she grimly smiled. Obviously, his brakes weren’t working either. And, since he had been going faster down the hill, the extra weight made him whip past her. She only caught a glimpse of the man’s face, but she could see that he looked scared.
The two bicycles sped down the road. Luckily, there were not many people walking along the street, and those who were, quickly leapt out of the way when they saw the bicycles approach.
Sarah was trying her hardest to spot a police officer, but she couldn’t see one. She knew there would be a police station, she would just have to find it before she got caught.
She thought about crashing the bicycle deliberately, but didn’t want to risk hurting herself, so she just followed the man down the road.
Just up ahead lay the harbour. It was a sharp turn and she didn’t know whether or not the man, at the speed he was going, would make it. He didn’t. She watched as the front tire of his bicycle hit the concrete and he catapulted into the air.
“Yes!” Sarah couldn’t help but utter a shout of joy as she saw the man hit the water and disappear from view.
The smile disappeared from her face as she approached the corner. Grabbing the handlebars as hard as she could, she waited until the right moment before she whipped them to the left.
The tires screeched on the gravel as the machine neared the water. She thought she had just enough room and then she realised she was going to suffer the same fate as the man. The bicycle hit the concrete and she flew up into the air. She hit the water and sank beneath the waves.
Sarah swam upwards and, a few moments later, broke through the surface. Glancing around, she spotted the man swimming powerfully towards the pier. Her only hope would be to reach it before him.
She was closer to it than he was and she swam as fast as she could. Fortunately, there was a teenage boy walking down the pier who reached out his hand and helped her up. “Where’s the police station?”
The boy pointed. “It’s halfway up that street. Why, is something wrong?”
Sarah glanced behind her and spotted her pursuer pulling himself up onto the pier. “I need to get there before he does.”
The boy smiled. “Leave it to me.”
Sarah left the boy and ran off in the direction of the police station. She didn’t know what the boy had meant when he had said that he would help, but as she raced down the street, she heard a yell.
She looked behind her and saw Kenneth lying facedown on the pier. The boy smiled and hurried off. She didn’t know what had happened. Maybe the boy had tripped him, but it didn’t matter. The man stumbled to his feet and hurried after her, limping.
Sarah was used to running around, but it was clear that the man wasn’t, and the chase was taking its toll on him. But she didn’t feel sorry for him. He was a crook and he deserved what he got.
Sarah raced down the street. Reaching the halfway point, she saw the police station. “Yes!” With a smile, she walked up the steps and went inside.
~
With Joe leading the way, Amy followed him down the tunnel, which widened into a cave. As Joe shone the torch around the space, he could see why the man had come in here.
There were boxes stacked by the walls and a table and chairs in the middle. On the table was a lamp and a number of papers.
Upon examination they saw that it was a pile of maps. Spreading one out, Joe saw that it was a map of England. “I wonder what these circles mean.”
“Maybe they are towns that the men have robbed from,” Amy suggested as she left Joe and walked over to the boxes.
“If so, these men have been busy. Really busy.” After folding the map up and leaving it in the same condition in which he had found it, Joe joined Amy as she pulled out a tin.
“Hey, it’s baked beans,” Amy said, surprised.
Joe reached into the box and pulled out another tin of food. “This one is peaches.” He shone his torch at the box and they were amazed at how many tins were there. “Phew. That’s a lot of food.”
Amy glanced towards the other boxes. “Especially if those contain food as well.”
“They must be planning to be here for a long time.” Amy looked around the cave. “Do you see paintings or anything that might be stolen?”
Joe shook his head. “The paintings would probably get damp in here, so they would have to be somewhere dry.”
“But they’re not in the cabin or the church,” Amy said, “and they are the only buildings except for the ruined ones—”
“They have to be in the lighthouse,” Joe interrupted. “It’s the only answer. It’s dry inside.”
“But how do we get in?” Amy said.
“Let’s wait and see if one of the men goes there,” Joe suggested. “It should be low tide soon, so if we hurry to the wood, we might catch sight of someone heading to the lighthouse.”
~
Joe and Amy had been sitting by the wood for roughly half an hour when Luke, the man with the ponytail and glasses, appeared. The children ducked down as he walked past them and headed towards the lighthouse.
“Looks like I was right,” Joe said.
But what do we do now?” Amy asked.
Joe waited as Luke walked across the rocks. Once the man had reached th
e building, he took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.
“Now’s our chance,” Joe said.
“But how do we get in without him seeing us?” Amy asked.
“We just have to hope that he has gone up the stairs for some reason.” Joe walked forward and hurried towards the rocks.
The two of them climbed over the rocks as fast as they could. While low tide had passed, the water hadn’t yet started to rise, so they were able to cross to the lighthouse without getting wet.
Joe slowed down as they reached the building. He put his ear as close to the door as possible and listened. No sound could be heard. He looked at Amy. “Get ready to run in case he’s still down below.”
As Amy nodded, Joe grabbed the door handle. He hoped it would be unlocked, but if the man had locked it again, they would be unable to get in.
Chapter 24: Inside The Lighthouse
The door opened without any trouble. Stepping inside, Joe saw that the place was quite old. Also, the spiral stairway was bigger than he thought it would be.
Amy looked around. “No sign of the man.”
Joe shook his head. “No. Let’s go upstairs and see if there’s somewhere to hide.”
They went up the stairs. They had yet to reach a room when they heard footsteps. The man was coming down the stairs!
Joe hurriedly glanced around. “Shall we go up or down?”
“Up. We should be close to one of the rooms,” Amy said.
The two of them hurried up the stairs as fast as they could, hoping the sounds of their footsteps would blend in with the man’s.
Joe looked up and caught sight of Luke above him and realised they were not going to make it in time. “Blow!” They raced back down the steps until they came to the door. Joe opened it, but paused.
“What’s wrong?” Amy whispered.
“I just thought of something.” After closing the door, Joe hurried to the back of the steps and crouched down. He motioned for Amy to do the same, and they sat in silence as Luke came into view ten seconds later.
Without looking behind him, the man opened the door, closed it, and locked it. Joe couldn’t actually see him lock it, but as he heard the key turn, he knew what had happened. Listening, he heard the footsteps of the man fade away. “Let’s hope we haven’t got locked in here for nothing.”
“I’m sure the paintings are here somewhere,” Amy said. “Where else could they be?”
Joe glanced around. “Well, they’re not down here. Let’s head up.”
This time, the two of them walked instead of running. They were soon at a door. Finding it unlocked, Joe opened it. He smiled. In front of him were a number of packages that were tubular in shape. “Those look like the packages that the pilot took this morning.”
Amy frowned. “But if these are the paintings, why wouldn’t they have taken all of them?”
“Well, maybe they only deliver the ones that people have paid for.” Joe picked one up and saw that it had a name tag on it. It read: The Blue Lotus.
“Is that the name of a painting?” Amy questioned.
“I don’t know. Let’s open it and see.” Joe undid the string and, with Amy’s help, unravelled what had been packed inside the paper.
“Yes!” Amy exclaimed in jubilation as she saw a beautiful painting of a lotus flower. “I wonder how much it’s worth.”
Joe spotted a name on the corner of the painting. Bending down, he read what it said. “Vincent van Gough. Hey, I think I’ve heard of him.”
Amy nodded. “Yes, so have I. My teacher was talking about him. If what she said was true, his paintings are worth a fortune.”
“We should try to take all the ones that say Vincent van Gough then,” Joe said. “We can manage two each, so that will be four.”
Amy put the painting back in its protective packaging. “But how are we going to get out? Just stroll out the front door?”
“Of course, we…” Joe paused as he realised that the man had locked the door, trapping them inside. “I guess we didn’t think the plan through. But at least we have the paintings.”
“But what are we going to do with them?” Amy questioned.
“Well, one of the men should come back eventually, so we’ll tell him about the swap then,” Joe said.
“So we just wait here until that happens?” Amy asked.
Joe nodded. “Hopefully, Sarah will be back with the police before anything happens, but if not, we’ll do a deal with those men.”
“What if they don’t agree to that deal?” Amy said.
“Then they don’t get the paintings,” Joe said. “Either way, I can’t see anything happening for a while, so let’s explore the rest of the lighthouse.”
Leaving the room, they climbed up the rest of the steps. Halfway up they came to a door. Opening it, they saw that it was a very small room with no windows and a low ceiling.
“Why does it smell weird?” Amy asked.
Joe picked up one of the many cans were on a shelf. “It’s oil.” Looking around, he realised that they were all the same. “This room is packed full of cans of oil. That’s why it smells.”
“Why would someone need this much oil?” Amy wondered.
“To light the lamp,” Joe replied. “I read somewhere that lamps in lighthouses had to burn oil to keep alight.”
“Would it be any use now?” Amy said.
“No, I don’t think so,” Joe replied. “It must have been here for years and years. Goodness knows how long.”
Leaving the smelly room, they kept on climbing up the stairs. There was one final room before the top, and inside that room was a mattress that had clearly seen better days, some matches, and a lamp.
They climbed up the final few steps until they reached the very top of the building, which was the lamp room. It had big windows all around. The view was magnificent. A massive lamp stood in the middle of the room. Broken glass lay on the floor, so they had to be careful where they walked.
Joe examined the lamp. “This probably hasn’t worked in years and years.”
Amy opened the door and stepped out onto the gallery. She clutched onto the railing and looked down. It was a long way. She felt dizzy even just looking at the ground.
Whipping her head away, she followed Joe as they walked in a circle around the structure. Since they were so high, they could see for miles and miles.
Finishing up where they started a few moments later, Amy glanced towards the beach. “Can you see the cabin? I can’t.”
“No, I can’t see it either. It’s in a pretty good hiding place. I doubt you could see it from an aeroplane either.” Joe suddenly clutched his sister’s arm. “Look!”
As Amy saw one of the men appear near the wood, she frowned. “I wonder where he’s going.”
Both of them soon discovered the answer as the man left the grass and walked onto the rocks.
“Oh no, why is he coming back so soon?” Amy said.
“I don’t know, but why does he have a rucksack on his back? Unless…” Joe looked over at his sister. “He’s come to take the paintings away.”
“So, we’re finished,” Amy muttered.
“Not yet. Follow me.” Joe hurried into the lamp room and raced down the steps. Puffing, he arrived on the ground floor half a minute later. He hurried over to some wooden boxes that were lined up against the walls. Trying to lift one, he realised it was too heavy. “Help me lift this.”
“But—” Amy said.
“Just help me!” Joe interrupted.
Amy helped him as they moved the box to the door and placed it down in front of it. Joe ran to get another box as footsteps were heard outside.
“Hurry! One more.” Joe hurried over to the next box and they dragged it across the floor. Just as he heard the sound of the key sliding into the lock, the box slid next to the other one.
“Lean against the door,” Joe instructed. “We can’t let the man open it.”
The two of them leaned against the door just as the key
turned and the door was pushed open. It moved a small bit, but then stopped. The man yelled out. “Hey! What’s going on?”
Chapter 25: Kaboom!
Joe motioned for Amy to be quiet as they both stood there, not daring to move. Joe didn’t want to give any indication that it was just two children that were stopping the man. He smiled as he thought of an idea. In his best grownup voice, he started speaking. “How long until the four police boats arrive?”
Amy grinned. In her best adult voice, she said, “shouldn’t be too long. Though the army will probably arrive first.”
“You’re right. The fifty commandos should be circling the island now,” Joe said.
“What about the two destroyers? Shouldn’t they be here?” Amy said.
“I just received word that they’re on schedule. Should be here in thirty minutes. If only those men knew what was about to happen. They’ll have no chance to escape.” Joe stopped speaking and put a finger to his lips, motioning Amy to be quiet.
A minute later, they moved a box away and tried to open the door. But they couldn’t. The man had locked it again.
“Well, at least he didn’t get in,” Joe said.
“But we didn’t get out either.” Amy giggled. “I could hardly keep a straight face, especially when you talked about the commandos.”
Joe laughed as he thought about the conversation that they had just had. “Me too. Though, I think you went a bit far with the two destroyers.”
“I just said whatever came into my head,” Amy said. “Hey, hadn’t we better see if the man is heading to the cabin?”
“Yes, though we can’t leave this unguarded,” Joe said. “We’ll have to split up. I’ll stay here while you see.”
Amy hurried up the steps. Joe went over to the sealed wooden boxes and felt around for the lightest one. He slowly dragged it across the floor until it was firmly up against the others. He was resting on it when Amy re-appeared.
After sitting down next to him, she explained what she had seen. “I was just in time to see the man disappear into the wood. I waited for a minute or so, but he didn’t come into view, so I expect he’s now telling the others about the destroyers, patrol boats—”
