by Энид Блайтон
After supper they cleared away and washed the dishes, and then stamped out the fire. They took everything to Willow House, and lighted the lantern that hung from the roof. Jack also lighted another candle to make enough light to see clearly all the treasures he had brought.
“I say! What a nice lot of matches!” said Mike. “We’ll have to store those carefully in a dry place.”
“And look at the books!” squealed Peggy. “Jack can read them out loud to us in the evening. Robinson Crusoe, and Stories from the Bible and Animals of the World and The Boy’s Book of Aeroplanes. What a lovely lot! It will be fun to read about Robinson Crusoe, because he was alone on an island, just as we are. I guess we could teach him a few things, though!”
Everyone laughed. “He could teach us a few things, too!” said Jack.
Jack had really shopped very well. He had even bought a tin of treacle, so that sometimes, for a treat, Peggy could make toffee! He had got sugar, too, which would be nice in their tea and cocoa. Their own sugar had been finished long ago.
“And we needn’t be too careful now of all our things,” said Jack, “because I can go each week and sell mushrooms and strawberries and earn money to buy more.”
“But what will you do when the mushrooms and strawberries are over?” asked Peggy.
“Then there will be blackberries and nuts,” said Jack. “They won’t fetch so much money, but at any rate I can get enough to store up plenty of things for the winter. If we can get flour, potatoes, rice, cocoa, and things like that, we shall be quite all right. Daisy can always give us milk and cream, and we get lots of eggs from the hens, fish from the lake, and a rabbit or two. We are really very lucky.”
“Jack, read to us to-night,” begged Nora. “It’s so long since I heard a story.”
“We’ll begin Robinson Crusoe first, then,” said Jack. “That seems sort of suitable. By the way, Nora, can you read yourself?”
“Well, I wasn’t very good at it,” said Nora.
“I think it would be a good idea if we all took a night each to read out loud,” said Jack. “It’s no good forgetting what we learnt. I’ll read to-night - and you shall read to-morrow night, Nora.”
So, by the light of the two candles, Jack began reading the tale of Robinson Crusoe to the others. They lay on the heather, listening, happy to be together, enjoying the tale. When Jack shut up the book they sighed.
“That was lovely,” said Peggy. “My goodness, Jack, I guess we could write an exciting book if we wrote down all our adventures on the island!”
“Nobody would believe them!” laughed Peggy. “Yet it’s all true - here we are, living by ourselves, feeding ourselves, having a glorious time on a secret island that nobody knows!”
The next day Jack and Mike rigged up some shelves on which to keep some of their new stores. It was fun arranging everything. The children soon began to make out their next list of things for Jack to buy when he went to market.
“We shall have to keep the days pretty carefully in future,” said Jack. “I don’t want to miss Wednesdays now because Wednesday is market-day at the village. I shall get better prices then.”
So, the next Wednesday, once again there was a great stir just about dawn, and the four children hurried to their tasks of picking mushrooms and strawberries. They had made plenty of baskets again, and Jack and Mike set off two or three hours later with the boat, taking the full baskets with them.
For three or four weeks Jack went to market, sold all his goods, and bought a great many stores for the winter. He and Mike decided to store the bags and sacks of goods in the inner cave of the hillside, as there they would be quite dry - and, as the children would probably have to live in the caves in the winter, the stores would be quite handy there.
As the weeks went by there were not so many wild strawberries to be found. Mushrooms stopped growing in the field, and other market goods had to take their place. The children went nutting in the hazel trees and struck down great clusters of ripe nuts, lovely in their ragged green coats and brown shells. The girls picked baskets of big ripe blackberries, and Jack took these to the market instead of mushrooms and strawberries. People soon grew to know him at the market. They wondered where he came from, but Jack never told them anything about himself.
“I just live by the lakeside,” he said, when people asked him where he lived. They thought be meant somewhere by the lake - they did not know he meant by the lakeside on the secret island - and certainly Jack was not going to tell them!
One day, for the first time, Jack saw a policeman in the village. This struck him as strange, for he had never seen one there before, and he knew that the village was too small to have a policeman of its own. It shared one with the village five miles away. Jack’s heart sank - could the policeman have been told that a strange boy was about - and could he be wondering if the boy was one of the lost children! Jack began to edge away, though his baskets of nuts and blackberries were only half sold.
“Hi, you!” called the policeman suddenly. “Where do you come from, boy?”
“From the lakeside, where I’ve been gathering blackberries and nuts to sell,” said Jack, not coming near the policeman.
“Is your name Mike?” said the policeman.
And then Jack knew for certain that the policeman had been told that maybe he, Jack, was one of the four runaway children - and he had come to find out.
“No, that’s not my name,” said Jack, looking very innocent. “Buy some nuts, Mister Policeman?”
“No,” said the policeman, getting a strip of paper out of his pocket, and looking at a photograph there. “Come you here, my lad. I think you’re one of the runaway children - let’s have a look at you.”
Jack turned pale. If the policeman had a picture of him, he was caught! Quick as lightning the boy flung down the two sticks on which he had a dozen or so baskets strung, and darted off through the crowd that had gathered. Hands were put out to stop him, but he struggled away, tearing his jacket, but not caring for anything but to escape.
He slipped round a corner and into a garden. He darted round the cottage there and peered into the back garden. There was no one there - but there was a little henhouse at the side. Jack made up his mind quickly. He opened the door of the henhouse, slipped inside, and crouched down in the straw there, hardly daring to breathe. There were no hens there - they were scratching about in the little run outside.
Jack heard the sound of shouting and running feet, and he knew that people were looking for him. He crouched lower, hoping that no one had seen him dart into the cottage garden.
The running feet went by. The shouting died down. No one had seen him! Jack let out a big breath, and his heart thumped loudly. He was really frightened.
He stayed in the henhouse all day long. He did not dare to move out. He was hungry and thirsty and very cramped, but he knew quite well that if he slipped out he might be seen. He must stay there till night. He wondered what Mike would think. The girls would be anxious, too.
A hen came in, sat on a nesting-box and laid an egg. She cackled and went out again. Another came in and laid an egg. Jack hoped that no one would see him if they came looking for eggs that afternoon!
Someone did come for the eggs - but it was after tea and the henhouse was very dark. The door was opened and a head came round. A hand was stretched out and felt in all the boxes. The eggs were lifted out - the door was shut again! Jack hadn’t been seen! He was crouching against the other side of the house, well away from the nesting-boxes!
The henhouse did not smell nice. Jack felt miserable as he sat there on the floor. He knew that by running away he had as good as told the policeman that he was one of the runaways. And now the whole countryside would be searched again, and the secret island would probably be explored, too.
“But if I hadn’t run away the policeman would have caught me and made me tell where the others were,” thought the boy. “If only I can get to where Mike is waiting with the boat, and get back safely to
the island, we can make preparations to hide everything.”
When it was dark, and the hens were roosting in the house beside him, Jack opened the door and slipped out. He stood listening. Not a sound was to be heard except the thump-thump of someone ironing in the kitchen of the cottage near by.
He ran quietly down the path to the gate. He slipped out into the road - and then ran for his life to the road that led to the wood by the lakeside where Mike was waiting.
But would Mike be waiting there? Suppose people had begun to hunt already for the four children - and had found Mike and the boat! What then? How would he get back to the girls on the island?
Jack forgot his hunger and thirst as he padded along at top speed to where he had left Mike. No one saw him. It was a dark night, for the moon was not yet up. Jack made his way through the trees to the lakeside.
And then his heart leapt for joy! He heard Mike’s voice! “Is that you, Jack? What a time you’ve been! Whatever’s happened?”
The Great Hunt Begins
Jack scrambled into the boat, panting. “Push off, quickly, Mike!” he said. “I was nearly caught to-day, and if anyone sees us we shall all be discovered!”
Mike pushed off, his heart sinking. He could not bear the idea of being caught and sent back to his uncle’s farm. He waited till Jack had got back his breath and then asked him a few questions. Jack told him everything. Mike couldn’t help smiling when he thought of poor Jack sitting with the hens in the henhouse - but he felt very frightened. Suppose Jack had been caught!
“This is the end of my marketing,” said Jack gloomily. “I shan’t dare to show my nose again in any village. They will all be on the look-out for me. Why can’t people run away if they want to? We are not doing any harm - only living happily together on our secret island!”
After a bit Jack helped Mike to row, and they arrived at the island just as the moon was rising. The girls were on the beach by a big fire, waiting anxiously for them.
“Oh Jack, oh Mike!” cried Nora, hugging them both, and almost crying with delight at seeing them again. “We thought you were never coming! We imagined all kinds of dreadful things! We felt sure you had been caught!”
“I jolly nearly was,” said Jack.
“Where is your shopping?” asked Peggy.
“Haven’t got any,” said Jack. “I had only sold a few baskets when a policeman spotted me. I’ve got the money for the ones I sold - but what’s the good of money on this island, where you can’t buy anything!”
Soon Jack had told the girls his story. He sat by the fire, warming himself, and drinking a cup of hot cocoa. He was dreadfully hungry, too, for he had had nothing to eat all day. He ate a whole rice pudding, two fishes, and a hard-boiled egg whilst he talked.
Everyone was very grave and solemn. They knew things were serious. Nora was really scared. She tried her hardest not to cry, but Jack heard her sniffing and put his arm round her. “Don’t be a baby,” he said. “Things may not be so bad after all. We have all our plans laid. There is no real reason why anyone should find us if we are careful. We are all upset and tired. Let’s go to bed and talk to-morrow.”
So to bed in Willow House they went. Jack took off his clothes and wrapped himself in the old rug because he said he smelt like hens. Peggy said she would wash his things the next day. They did not get to sleep for a long time because first one and then another of them would say something, or ask a question - and then the talking would all begin again.
“Now, nobody is to say another word!” said Jack at last, in his firmest voice.
“Ay, ay, Captain!” said everyone sleepily. And not another word was spoken.
In the morning the children awoke early, and remembered what had happened the day before. Nobody felt like singing or shouting or joking as they usually did. Peggy solemnly got the breakfast. Jack went off in his old overcoat to milk the cow, for his things were not yet washed. Mike got some water from the spring, and Nora fed the hens. It was not a very cheerful party that sat down to breakfast.
When the things were cleared away, and Peggy had washed Jack’s clothes and set them out to dry, the children held a meeting.
“The first thing to do,” said Jack, “is to arrange that someone shall always be on watch during the day, on the top of the hill. You can see all up the lake and down from there, and we should get good warning then if anyone were coming - we should have plenty of time to do everything.”
“Shall we have someone on guard during the night?” asked Nora.
“No,” said Jack. “People are not likely to come at night. We can sleep in peace. I don’t think anyone will come for a few days, anyhow, because I think they will search around the lake-side first, and will only think of the island later.”
“I think, as we are not going to the mainland for some time, we had better make a big hole in the boat and let her sink,” said Mike. “I’ve always been afraid she might be found, although she is well hidden under the brambles. After all, Jack, if she is sunk, no one could possibly find her!”
“That’s a good idea, Mike,” said Jack. “We can’t be too careful now. Sink her this morning. We can easily get her up again and mend her if we want her. Peggy, will you see that every single thing is cleared away that might show people we are here? Look, there’s some snippings of wool, there - that sort of thing must be cleared up, for it tells a tale!”
“I’ll see to it,” promised Peggy. Jack knew she would, for she was a most dependable girl.
“Every single thing must be taken to the caves today,” said Jack, “except just those few things we need for cooking, like a saucepan and kettle and so on. We can easily slip those away at the last minute. We will leave ourselves a candle or two in Willow House, because we can sleep there till we have to go to the caves.”
“Jack, what about the hen-yard?” asked Nora. “It really does look like a yard now, because the hens have scratched about so much.”
“That’s true,” said Jack. “Well, as soon as we know we’ve got to hide, Mike can pull up the fence round the hen-yard and store it in Willow House. Then he can scatter sand over the yard and cover it with heather. It’s a good thing you thought of that, Nora.”
“There’s one thing, even if we have to hide away for days, we’ve enough food!” said Peggy.
“What about Daisy, though?” said Mike. “She won’t have anything to eat. A cow eats such a lot.”
“We should have to take her out to feed at night,” said Jack. “And by the way, Peggy, don’t light the fire for cooking until the very last minute and stamp it out as soon as you have finished. A spire of smoke gives us away more than anything!”
“What about someone hopping up to the hill-top now?” said Mike. “The sun is getting high. We ought to keep a watch from now on.”
“Yes, we ought,” said Jack. “You take first watch, Mike. I’ll give you a call when it’s time to come down. We’ll take turns all the day long. Keep watch all round. We don’t know from which end of the lake a boat might come, though it’s more likely to be from the end I was at yesterday.”
Mike sped up the hill and sat down there. The lake lay blue below him. Not a swan, not a moorhen disturbed its surface. Certainly no boat was in sight. Mike settled down to watch carefully.
The others were busy. Everything was taken up to the caves in the hillside and stored there. Nora left a sack by the hen-yard ready to bundle the hens into when the time came. She also put a pile of sand by the yard, ready for Mike to scatter after the fences had been pulled up. Nora was no longer the careless little girl she had been. Nor was she lazy any more. She had learned that when she did badly everyone suffered, so now she did her best - and it was a very good best too.
After a while Jack went up to take Mike’s place on the hill-top. Mike set to work to sink the boat. She soon sank to the bottom of the water, under the bramble bushes. Mike felt sure that no one would ever know she was there.
Peggy went hunting round looking for anything that might
give them away. She did not find very much, for all the children tidied up after any meal or game. Broken egg-shells were always buried, uneaten food was given to the hens, and it was only things like snippings of wool or cotton that the wind had blown away that could be found.
Peggy went on guard next and then Nora. It was dull work, sitting up on the hill-top doing nothing but watch, so Nora took her pencil and drawing-book and drew what she could see. That made the time go quickly. Peggy took her mending. She always had plenty of that to do, for every day somebody tore their clothes on brambles. After every stitch Peggy looked up and down the lake, but nothing could be seen.
That evening Mike was on guard, and he was just about to come down to get his supper when he saw something in the distance. He looked carefully. Could it be a boat? He called Jack.
“Jack! Come quickly! I can see something. Is it a boat, do you think?”
Everyone tore up the hill. Jack looked hard. “Well, if it’s a boat, it’s very small,” he said.
“It’s something black,” said Nora. “Whatever is it? Oh, I do hope it isn’t anyone coming now.”
The children watched, straining their eyes. And suddenly the thing they thought might be a small boat flew up into the air!
“It’s that black swan we saw the other day!” said Jack, with a squeal of laughter. “What a fright it gave us! Look, there it goes! Isn’t it a beauty?”
The children watched the lovely black swan flying slowly towards them, its wings making a curious whining noise as it came. Nora went rather red, for she remembered how frightened she had been the first time she had heard a swan flying over the island - but nobody teased her about it. They were all too thankful it was only a swan, not a boat.
