16

strange discoveries

the next three days the children worked hard at rowing and sailing, untilthey were perfectly at home in bill’s boat, and could handle it almost aswell as bill. he was pleased with them.

‘i must say i do like to see children sticking to things, even if it meanshard work,’ he said. ‘even old kiki has stuck to it too, sitting on the sail,over-balancing half the time, but not dreaming of letting you go byyourselves. and as for lucy-ann, she’s the best of the lot, because she hashad to fight seasickness a good part of the time.’

that afternoon, having first seen that joe was safely in the yard at theback of the house, pumping up water from the deep well there, the childrenwent to examine joe’s boat carefully, to see if they could possibly handle itthemselves.

they stood and looked at it bobbing on the water. it was bigger thanbill’s, but not very much. they felt certain they would be all right in it.

‘it’s a pity kiki can’t row,’ said jack. ‘she could take the third pair ofoars and we could get along fine.’

‘fine,’ said kiki. ‘fine. god save the queen.’

‘idiot,’ said philip affectionately. he was as fond of kiki as jack andlucy-ann were, and the bird went to him readily. ‘i say, freckles – iwonder when joe is going to town again. i’m longing to try my hand at theboat; aren’t you?’

‘i should just think so,’ said jack. ‘i keep on and on thinking of thatgreat auk i saw. i shan’t be happy till i’ve seen it close to.’

‘bet you won’t find it,’ said philip. ‘it would be awfully funny if you did,though – and came back with it cradled in your arms. wouldn’t kiki bejealous?’

to the children’s delight, aunt polly announced that joe was goingshopping the next day. ‘so if you want anything, you must tell him,’ shesaid. ‘he has a long list of things to get for me – you can add anything youwant to it, and give him the money.’

they put down a new torch battery on the list. dinah had left her torch onone night and the battery was now no use. she must have a new one. jackadded another roll of film. he had been taking photographs of the sea-birdsround craggy-tops, and now wanted a new film to take to the isle ofgloom with him.

they waited anxiously for joe to depart the next day. he seemedirritatingly slow. he started up the car at last and backed it out of thetumbledown shed where it lived. ‘now don’t you children get into mischiefwhile i’m gone,’ he said, his sharp eyes watching them suspiciously.

perhaps he sensed that they were wishing him to be gone for reasons oftheir own.

‘we never get into mischief,’ said philip. ‘have a good time – and don’thurry back.’

joe scowled, put his foot on the accelerator and shot off at his usualbreakneck speed. ‘can’t think how the old car stands those bumps andjerks,’ said philip, watching it go across the cliff and disappear down to theroad on the other side. ‘well – he’s gone. now, what about it? our chancehas come.’

in great excitement the children ran down to the beach, and made theirway to the big boat. the boys got in. dinah untied the rope and gave it apush.

‘take care of yourselves,’ called lucy-ann anxiously, longing to jumpinto the boat with them. ‘do take care of yourselves.’

‘okay!’ yelled back jack, and kiki echoed the word. ‘okay, okay, okay,shut the door and wipe your feet!’

the girls watched the boys rowing hard, and then they saw them put upthe sail as soon as they were out on the open sea. there was a good windand they were soon moving along at a fine speed.

‘off to the isle of gloom,’ said lucy-ann. ‘well, i hope jack brings backthe great auk.’

‘he won’t,’ said dinah, whose common sense told her that it wouldindeed be a miracle if he did. ‘well, i hope they find the entrance to thoseawful rocks all right. they seem to be managing the boat well, don’t they?’

‘yes,’ said lucy-ann, straining her eyes to follow the boat, which wasnow becoming difficult to see, owing to a haze over the water. the isle ofgloom could not be seen at all. ‘oh dear – i do hope they’ll get on well.’

the boys were having a fine time. they found that although joe’s boatwas heavier and more awkward to manage than bill’s, it was not reallydifficult. there was quite enough wind and they were simply rushingthrough the water. it was most exhilarating to feel the up-and-downmovement, and to hear the wind in the taut sail, and see the waves racingby.

‘nothing like a boat,’ said jack happily. ‘one day i’ll have one of myown.’

‘they cost a lot of money,’ said philip.

‘well, i’ll make a lot, then,’ said jack. ‘then i’ll buy a fine boat of myown, and go sailing off to distant islands inhabited by nothing but birds, andwon’t i have a marvellous time!’

‘i wish we could see the island,’ said philip. ‘this haze is a nuisance. ihope we’re going in the right direction.’

before they saw the island, they heard the thundering of the waves on thering of rocks around it. then quite suddenly, after what seemed a very longtime, the island loomed up, and the boys felt the spray from the breakingwaves falling finely around them.

‘look out – we’re heading straight for the rocks!’ cried philip in alarm.

‘take down the sail. we’ll have to row. we can’t manage the boat in thiswind – it’s got too strong. she’s going too fast.’

they took down the sail, got out the oars and began to row. jack tried tosee the high hill. but it was much more difficult to spot the hill in realitythan it had been to see it on the map. the hills seemed more or less thesame size. the boys rowed round the ring of rocks, keeping well out ofreach of the current that swept towards the island.

‘there’s a high hill – see, to the left,’ suddenly said jack. ‘pull towardsthere, tufty. that’s right. i believe that’s the one we want.’

they pulled hard at their oars, panting and perspiring. then, as the hillcame right into view, the boys saw, to their delight, a gap in the ring ofrocks – a narrow gap, it is true, but decidedly an opening through which aboat might pass.

‘now – careful,’ warned philip. ‘this is the tricky bit. watch out. wemay get swung off our course and run into the rocks. and anyway, althoughthere are none showing just there, in the gap, there might be some justbelow the water that would rip the bottom from our boat. careful, freckles,careful!’

jack was very careful. everything depended on getting safely through thegap. the boys, their faces strained and anxious, rowed cautiously. kikididn’t say a word. she knew that the boys were worried.

the gap or passage was narrow but long. it was anxious work getting theboat through. various strong currents seemed to be doing their best to driveher to this side or that, and once the boys felt the bottom being scraped bysome rock that was not far below the water.

‘that was a narrow shave,’ said philip, in a low voice. ‘did you hear thatnasty scrape?’

‘i felt it too,’ said jack. ‘hallo – we seem to be all right now. i say, howmarvellous, tufty – we’re in a channel of perfectly calm water!’

beyond the rim of rocks was a channel or moat of brilliant blue, calmwater, gleaming in the summer sun. it was strange to see it after theturbulence of the waves that raced over the rocks. they could hear thethunder of these still.

‘not far to the island now,’ said philip, thrilled. ‘come on – i’mfrightfully tired – at least my arms are – but we simply must get to land. i’mlonging to explore.’

they looked about for a good landing place. the island was very rockyindeed, but in one place there was a tiny cove where sand gleamed. theboys decided to land there.

it was quite easy to land and haul the boat a little way up the beach,though it took all the boys’ strength to pull it up. but bill had shown themthe knack of hauling, and soon they were free to explore the deserted island.

they climbed the rocky cliff behind the little cover, and gazed over thatside of the isle of gloom.

it was the number of birds that first took the boys’ attention. there werethousands upon thousands, all kinds, all sizes, all shapes. the noise theymade was tremendous. they took little notice of the boys, who stoodwatching them in wonder.

but they were not as tame as they had hoped. sitting birds flew away assoon as the boys went near. they seemed as wild as those at craggy-tops.

jack was disappointed.

‘funny!’ he said. ‘i always thought that birds on a deserted island, whereno men ever came, were completely tame. it says so in all my books,anyway. these are quite wild. they won’t let us go really near them.’

there were a few tress to be seen, and what there were grew in shelteredspots, bent over sideways by the wind that blew across the island.

underfoot was a kind of wiry grass which grew in tufted patches here andthere. but even that did not grow everywhere, and the bare rock thrust up inmany places.

the boys left the cliff and walked inland, the cries of the thousands ofbirds in their ears. they made their way towards the hill that towered up inthe centre of the isle.

‘i want to see what those funny buildings are that i saw through theglasses,’ said jack, remembering. ‘and oh dear, i do want to find a greatauk. i haven’t seen a sign of one yet. i keep on looking and looking.’

poor jack was in a terrible state of excitement, expecting to see a greatauk at any moment, and, instead, seeing all kinds of birds he had alreadyseen at craggy-tops. it was disappointing. he hadn’t expected to see aprocession of great auks – but one, just one, would have been marvellous.

there were plenty of big razorbills with their curiously-shaped beaks,plenty of skuas, gulls, cormorants and other birds. it was a paradise of sea?birds, and jack was lost in wonder at the number of them. how he wouldlike to spend a few days on this island, watching and taking photographs!

they came to the hills, and found a pass between them. here there wasmore grass and a few tiny wild flowers, sea-pinks and others. one or twostunted birches grew on the hillsides.

between the hills lay a small valley, and in it was a stream, running offinto the sea on the other side of the island. the boys went to have a look atit because it seemed rather a curious colour.

it certainly was a strange colour. ‘sort of bright blueygreen,’ said jack,puzzled. ‘i wonder why. i say, look! – there are those queer buildings, up onthat hill. and do you notice, tufty, how the rocks change in colour here?

they are not black any more, but green. and some of them look likesandstone. it’s queer, isn’t it?’

‘i don’t think i like this island much,’ said philip, with a shudder. ‘it feelslonely and odd – and sort of bad.’

‘you’ve been listening to old joe’s tales too much,’ said jack, with alaugh, though he himself did not like the ‘feel’ of the island either. it was somournful and desolate, and the only sounds to be heard so far inland werethe incessant cries of the sea-birds circling overhead.

they climbed halfway up a hill to see the ‘buildings’. it was difficult tomake out what they were, they were so old and broken down – not muchmore than heaps of stones or rocks. they did not look as if they ever couldhave been places to live in.

and then, close to one of these ‘buildings’, philip discovered somethingstrange. he called jack in excitement.

‘i say! come and look here! there’s a terrific hole going right down intothe earth – simply terrifically deep!’

jack ran over to the hole and peered down it. it was a large hole, aboutsix feet round, and it went so far down into the earth that the boys could notpossibly see the bottom of it.

‘what’s it for?’ said philip. ‘is it a well, do you think?’

the boys dropped a stone down to see if they could hear a splash. butnone came. either it was not a well, or it was so deep that the sound of thesplash could not be heard.

‘i shouldn’t like to fall down there,’ said philip. ‘look! – there’s a laddergoing down – awfully old and broken – but still, a ladder.’

‘it’s a mystery,’ said jack, puzzled. ‘let’s go and look around a bit. wemight find something to help us to clear up such a peculiar problem. a shaftgoing down into the depths of the earth, in a lonely island like this!

whatever was it made for?’