chapter 15 bill hears the tale

bill was hungry and thirsty. the children, excited and happy, took him down to the lounge, wherehe ordered chicken-and-ham sandwiches and a drink for himself, and, for a treat, the same for thechildren.

"though, let me tell you, you'll have awful dreams tonight, having a meal so late," he warned them.

"so if you are chased by bears, fall out of aeroplanes or get shipwrecked in your sleep, don't blameme!"

"we shan't," said lucy- ann. "anyway, now i know you're here, i shan't even mind havingnightmares — you'll turn up in them to rescue me!"the steward brought the meal, smiling. he had also brought a banana each for micky and kiki, ontwo separate plates. kiki was very much impressed with the plates — it wasn't often she had a plate!

she insisted on putting her banana back on her plate each time she had taken a bite, which amusedthe children immensely.

"kiki's gone all polite, i see," said bill, taking an enormous bite of his sandwich. "gosh, this is good.

i haven't had anything to eat for hours. well, kids, how's things?""we've a lot to tell you, bill," said jack. "jolly interesting too. we've happened on something veryexciting."

"you would, of course," said bill. "but don't think you're dragging me into any hare- brainedescapade this time! i've had enough of you and your adventures! i've come out for a nice quiet,restful trip."

kiki gave a tremendous squawk and made him jump.

"micky! you've taken kiki's banana!" said jack. "philip, smack him. there'll be a fight soon if youdon't. all right, kiki, i'll get you another. poor old thing, that's what your good manners brought you— you put your banana down politely on your plate after each bite — and micky goes and takes it!""nice little monkey," said bill, tickling micky under the chin. "yours, i suppose, philip. it beats mehow you collect your pets wherever you go. let's see — you've had a fox cub — a lizard — a slow-worm — a snowy-white kid — two puffins — white rats — and now a monkey. well, well — solong as you don't collect a hippopotamus or a flock of lions i don't mind!"the children were bursting to tell him about the treasure-plan, but they felt they ought to let him eathis sandwiches first. he told them how he had met mrs. mannering at the airport in england, and hadseen her safely off to her aunt. then he had taken his own private aeroplane and set off.

"alone?" asked jack.

"no. with a friend of mine — tim curling — don't think you've met him," said bill. "don't you wantall your sandwiches, lucy-ann? right, i'll help myself. yes, tim came too, and i've left him with theplane. he's going to hire a motor-boat and do a bit of cruising.""oh! i wish we could too," said dinah.

"do you?" said bill, in surprise. "but i thought you liked being on this big, comfortable ship. you'reused to rowing-boats and sailing-ships and motor-boats — this big ship must be a real change.""yes, it is. but — well, shall we tell you our news, bill?" asked jack eagerly.

bill ate the last vestige of the sandwiches and finished his drink. he yawned a vast yawn and kikiimmediately did the same. "i suppose it can't wait till morning, can it?" he said. then he saw thedisappointed faces of the children and laughed. "oh, all right. out with it.""fetch the little carved ship, lucy-ann," ordered jack. "i've got all the four bits of the map. hurry.

we'll wait till you come back before we begin."lucy-ann sped off. she came back very quickly, panting, with the little ship in her hands. bill tookit. "what a beauty! this is valuable, you know. where did you get it?"then out came the story of how lucy-ann had discovered the ship in the bottle with lucian, and hadbought it for philip's birthday. in low, excited tones, so that no one else could hear, the children toldof the breaking of the bottle and the unexpected finding of the parchment inside the ship. then jackproduced the parchment, still in its four quarters. bill glanced at it with great interest. then he stoodup.

"come on down to my cabin," he said. "i think it would be wiser to talk there. this is all ratherextraordinary."

very pleased with bill's reception of their tale, the children trooped down the stairs to the cabins.

they all crowded into bill's. they knew it well because it had been their mother's. they managed tosquash themselves on the bed, with bill in the middle.

"move micky up a bit, will you?" said bill. "he keeps breathing down my neck. now then — what'sthis map? it's very old, i can see that. why is it in four pieces?"they told him. they told him the old legend of the lost andra treasure. they told him of mr. eppy'squeer behaviour. they told him of his departure — and all that they feared.

bill listened intently, asking one or two curt questions now and again. when they had finished hetook out his pipe, and began to stuff it very slowly with tobacco. the children waited. they knew thatbill was thinking hard. their hearts beat fast. what did bill think of their tale? would he take itseriously? would he do something about it?

"well," said bill, putting his pipe into his mouth, and speaking out of one side whilst he hunted in hispocket for matches. "well — i think you've got something there — but i'm basing my feelings on mr.

eppy's behaviour, not on your map, which i don't know enough about to decipher. you've been veryingenious in trying to get it explained to you, and you've fitted various curious facts together verywell — such as finding the name andra on the little ship, and noticing it again on the map.""yes — that was a bit of luck," said jack. "you really do think the map is genuine, bill? i mean —do you think there's any hope of its really showing where the old treasure is?""i can't say," said bill, puffing away at his pipe. "can't possibly say. i'd have to take the map to anexpert, get it deciphered properly, find out all i can about the old andra legend — it may be just atale, you know — and see if there really is an island called thamis, and what it's like.""there is," said jack triumphantly. "i found it on a map."bill began to laugh. "i don't know how it is that you children always seem to happen on somethingextraordinary," he said. "just when i thought we were in for a lovely, peaceful trip, i shall have to gohunting about for an expert on old documents, and get him to translate greek so old that it's probablyimpossible to read correctly. and if there's anything in it, i suppose we'll have to see this island calledthamis."

"bill! will you really?" cried jack in delight, and philip bounced up and down on the bed, nearlyupsetting everybody. dinah clutched lucy-ann, her eyes shining. they were all so pleased becausebill hadn't pooh-poohed the whole idea.

"we'd better get to bed now," said bill. "it's very late. we'll talk about all this in the morning — butdon't get excited! we can't possibly do more than give this map to an expert, and then maybe runover to thamis and back, if it's near enough, just to give it a look over. after all — we're on a cruise,you know."

the children got up reluctantly. bill went with them to their cabins. "i'm going up on deck to smokemy pipe," he said. "happy dreams!"

in the early morning jack and philip woke up with a jump. they sat up in bed. light was just filteringthrough their porthole, and a curious noise was coming from far below them.

"it's the engines of the ship," said jack, in relief. "i wondered whatever in the world it was. what aqueer noise they're making. what's happening?""they've stopped," said philip, after listening for a minute or two. "no — there they go again —clank-clank-clank. they don't sound a bit right. they don't purr like they usually do. i hope nothing'swrong."

"now they've stopped again," said jack. "well — if there's any danger we shall hear the ship's hooterhooting and hooting and the steward will come along and bang on our door.""yes. and our life jackets are ready in the cupboard, so we've nothing to worry about," said philip,feeling sleepy again. "it's nothing. let's go to sleep."but in the morning they found that the ship was still not using her engines. she lay there on thepurple-blue sea, rocking a little, with the airport island lying not more than a mile or two off.

"funny!" said jack, and dressed quickly. he banged on the girls' door as he went by with philip. thetwo boys tore up on deck, and found their friend, the second officer.

"what's up?" they asked him. "why have we stopped?""mac's got trouble with his engines," said the officer. "soon be all right, i expect."they saw bill coming along. he had been up for some time, walking round the deck for exercise.

they rushed to him, and he grinned. "hallo! ready for breakfast? i'm ravenous. hallo, micky, hallo,kiki."

"micky-kiki-micky-kiki, micky-ki . . ." began kiki. jack tapped her on the beak.

"that's enough. take a bit of exercise. go and chase the gulls!" but kiki didn't want to. she wasbored with the gulls now. besides she wanted breakfast. breakfast was nice on board ship becausethere was always grape-fruit, and kiki liked that. she loved the cherries on top of the grape-fruithalves, and the children took it in turn to give her one.

when breakfast was over the children took bill all over the ship. they were not allowed down in theengine-room because of the trouble with the engines. mac was in a fearful temper, and had been upall night long working on them.

a message was put up on the ship's notice-board that morning.

owing to trouble with the engines of the viking star, we are putting back to port. passengers will benotified further at six o'clock this evening.

with a curious clanking and labouring the viking star made her way slowly to the island with theairport. motor-boats came roaring out to meet her and find out what was wrong. in one of them wasbill's friend, tim. he was soon on board, and bill introduced him to the children.

"tim, here are the four children i've told you about. be careful of them, or they'll pull you into aperilous adventure. that's the kind of children they are. put them in the middle of an iceberg andthey'll find an adventure somehow!"

the children liked tim. he was younger than bill, had a mop of unruly curly hair which the wind didwhat it liked with, and eyes as green as lucy-ann's. he had as many freckles as she and jack had,and a most infectious laugh.

"you'd better come off in the motor-boat with me, hadn't you?" he said to bill. "come back to theisland. it's interesting."

"right," said bill. "we'll have the day together. come on, you four — down the ladder with you!"