They had talked at first, and then had watched and waited for the boys. But they hadn’t come. Then Nora had begun to worry.
“Oh dear! They ought to be here now. Whatever can have happened?”
“Perhaps Mr. Diaz or someone was in the room for ages with Mike and Paul,” said Peggy sensibly. “Jack and George couldn’t possibly rescue them if anyone was with the others.”
“That’s true,” said Dimmy. “Well, we must wait in patience. We can’t do anything else! Are you two warm enough?”
“I’m glad of my coat,” said Peggy. “It’s a funny thing, but excitement makes me feel rather cold!”
They waited for another hour. Now all of them were anxious and worried, though Dimmy tried not to show it. Then Nora gave a low cry.
“Look! I can see the light of a torch over there in the shore-cave! It must be them!”
It was! Jack, Mike, Paul, and George hurried across the sand in silence. They were tired and stiff now, but they knew that a long row awaited them! They were pleased that everything had at last gone well.
“Oh, Mike, dear Mike!” said Nora joyfully, so glad to have her brother back again that the tears fell down her cold cheeks. Mike hugged her and Peggy kissed kind old Dimmy, and got into the boat with the others. It was a good thing it was a big boat!
“I must say good-bye,” said Dimmy hurriedly. “Don’t push off yet, George - you’ve forgotten I’m not going with you!”
“Oh, Dimmy, I wish you were coming too,” said Peggy, sad to say good-bye to her, “I hope you’ll be all right. Anyway, George will be with you as soon as he rows the boat back from Longrigg.”
“Good-bye, dears,” whispered Dimmy. She got out of the boat. “Take care of yourselves. I’ll let you know as soon as we have found out about Prince Paul, and what we must do with him, Good luck!”
“Good luck!” whispered the children. George pushed off from the little wooden jetty. The boat floated out on the water. George bent to the oars and began to row away. Soon nothing could be seen of Dimmy at all - she had vanished into the darkness.
The boat went on and on over the dark, restless sea. Jack had found the second pair of oars and was rowing too, to help George. The children spoke to one another in whispers, because George said voices carried so far over the water.
“Well, we’ve rescued you, Paul!” said Jack. “You’re safe with us now! And I don’t somehow think that dear Mr. Diaz will be able to find you on our secret island! We’ll have a nice little holiday there for a few days - and oh, won’t it be lovely to be back there again, all by ourselves!”
“Lovely, lovely, lovely!” said the others, and began to dream about their island. Soon, soon, they would be there!
Off to the Secret Island
George rowed the boat silently over the calm sea towards the little fishing village of Longrigg. Jack helped him, and the children sat quietly in the boat until George said it was safe to talk.
“No one can hear you now,” he said. “So talk away!”
And then what a noise there was as Mike told the others all that had happened when he was a prisoner with Paul. And Paul joined in excitedly, telling how he had been captured in his own father’s palace and taken away to Cornwall over sea and land, in ships, aeroplanes, and cars. Poor Paul! He was really very glad to be with friends once more, for although he had not been very badly treated by Mr. Diaz and Luiz, he had been kept a close prisoner for some time.
Soon the moon came up and flooded the sea with its silvery light. The children could see one another’s faces as they talked, and every time the oars were lifted from the water silvery drops fell off the blades.
“There’s Longrigg!” said George, as they went round a cliff that jutted out into the sea. Everybody looked. The children had been to Longrigg before with George in his boat, but it looked different now in the moonlight - a huddle of silvery houses set in a cove between the cliffs.
“It’s like an enchanted village,” said Nora dreamily. “And I guess our secret island will look enchanted too, to-night, when we get there. Oh, I do feel so very excited when I think that we’re really going there again!”
The children began to talk of their adventure on the secret island the year before - how they had kept their own cow there and their own hens. How they had built their own house of willows, and had found caves in the hillside to live in during the winter. Paul listened, and longed to see the wonderful island!
They landed at Longrigg. George took them through the deserted village street to his brother’s garage, a tiny place at the top of the street. A man was there waiting for them.
“Hallo, Jim,” said George. “Here are the passengers for your trip. And mind, Jim, not a word to anyone about this. I’ll explain everything to you when you come to see me to-morrow. Till then, say nothing to anybody.”
“Right, George,” said Jim, who seemed very like his brother as he stood there, sturdy and straight in his dark overalls.
“Good-bye, George, and thanks for all your help,” said Jack, getting into the car with the others. “Have we got the food? Oh yes - it’s in the back. Good!”
“Good-bye,” said George. “I’m going back to Peep-Hole now in case Miss Dimity wants a bit of help. Stay on your secret island till you hear from us. You’ll all be quite safe there!”
The car started up and Jim set off up the cliff road. The children waved to George, and then the car turned a bend and was out of sight. They were on their way to Lake Wildwater - on their way to the island!
It was about forty miles away, and the car purred softly through the moonlit night. Paul was very sleepy and went sound asleep beside Peggy - but the others were too excited to sleep.
Jack watched the country flash by - five miles gone, ten, twenty, thirty, forty! They were almost there. Jim was to drive to where the children’s aunt and uncle had once lived, and then leave them. They could find their way then to the lake, and get their boat, which was always ready.
“Here we are,” said Jim. The car stopped. Jim got out. “I’ll give you a hand with the food down to the boat.” he said. So the six of them carried the food to where the boat was locked up in a small boat-house. Captain Arnold, the children’s father, had built them a little house for their boat in case they wished to visit their secret island at any time. Mike had the key on his key-ring. He got it out and unlocked the boat-house. There lay the boat, dreaming of the water. The moon shone into the boat-house, and Jack was able to see quite well, as he undid the rope and pushed the boat from the house.
The food was put in. Everyone but Jim got into the boat. Jim said good-bye and good luck and strode back over the fields to his waiting car. The five children were alone!
Jack and Mike took the oars. Paul was wide awake now and was full of excitement, longing to see this wonderful secret island that he had heard so much about.
“It won’t be long now,” said Nora, her eyes shining happily in the moonlight. The oars made a pleasant splashing sound in the silvery waters, and the boat glided along smoothly.
On and on they went - and then, rounding a corner of the wooded bank of the lake, they came suddenly in sight of their island!
“Look! There it is, Paul!” cried Peggy. Paul looked. He saw a small island floating on the moonlit lake, with trees growing down to the water’s edge. It had a hill in the middle of it, and it looked a most beautiful and enchanting place.
“Our secret island,” said Nora softly, her eyes full of happy tears, for she had loved their island with all her heart, and had spent many, many happy days there along with the others the year before.
For a while the two boys leaned on their oars and looked silently at their island, remembering their adventures there. Then they rowed quickly again, longing to land on the little beach they knew so well.