“There’s our beach, with its silvery sand all glittering in the moonlight!” cried Nora. The boat slid towards it and grounded softly in the sand. Jack leapt out and pulled the boat in. One by one the children got out and stood on the little sloping beach.
“Welcome to our island, Paul,” said Peggy, putting her arm round the excited boy. “This is our very own. Our father bought it for us after our adventures here last year - but we didn’t think we’d visit it this summer! We left it last Christmas, when we were living in the hill-caves. They were so cosy!”
“Come along up the hill and find the caves,” said Jack. “We are all awfully tired, and we ought to get some sleep. We’ll get the rugs and things out of the cave, and heat some cocoa and have a meal. Then I vote we make our beds on the heather, as we used to do. It’s very hot to-night, and we shall be quite warm enough.”
“Hurrah!” said Mike in delight. “Give me a hand with this box of food. The girls can bring the other things, if Paul will help them.”
“Of course I will,” said Paul, who really felt as if he was living in a peculiar dream! They all made their way up the beach, through a thicket of bushes and trees, and up a hillside where the bracken was almost as tall as they were. The moon still shone down from a perfectly clear sky, and except that the colours were not there, everything was as clear as in daylight.
“Here’s our cave!” said Jack in delight. “The heather and bracken are so thick in front of it that I could hardly see it. Mike, have you got your torch handy? We shall need to go into our inner store-cave to get a few things to-night.”
Mike fished in his pocket for his torch. He gave it to Jack. “Thanks,” said Jack. “Peggy, come with me into the store-cave, will you, and we’ll get out the rugs. Mike, will you and Nora choose a place for a fire and make one? We’ll have to have some cocoa or something. I’m so hungry and thirsty that I could eat grass!”
“Right, Captain!” said Nora, feeling very happy indeed. It was wonderful to be on the island like this - able to sleep in the heather and have a camp-fire. She and Mike and Paul hunted about for twigs and wood, and found a nice open place near the cave for the fire.
Peggy and Jack went to the back of the cave, found the passage that led into the inner cave, and crept through to the big store-cave beyond that lay in the heart of the hillside.
“Everything’s here just as we left it!” said Peggy, pleased, as Jack shone his torch around. “Oh, there’s the kettle, Jack - and I want a saucepan, too, for the soup to-night and eggs to-morrow morning. Dimmy put some into the box. Look, there’s the rabbit-skin rug we made last year - and the old blankets and rugs too. Bring those, Jack, we’ll need them to-night.”
Jack piled the rugs in his arms. Peggy took the kettle and the saucepan. They went back to the outer cave, and then looked for the others outside. Mike had got a good fire going. Paul was sitting beside it in delight. He had never seen a camp-fire before.
“Nora, get the cocoa tin, a bag of sugar, and the tinned milk,” said Peggy. “Mike, go to the spring and fill this kettle with water, will you? I’ll boil water for the cocoa and we’ll add milk and sugar afterwards.”
Mike went off with the kettle to the cold spring that gushed out from the hillside and ran down it in a little stream. He soon filled it and came back. “What are we going to have to eat?” he asked hungrily.
“Soup out of a tin, bread, biscuits, and cocoa,” said Peggy.
“Oooooh!” said everyone in delight. Mike opened the tin, glad that Dimmy had remembered to put in a tin-opener! He poured the rich tomato soup into the saucepan, and then set it on the fire firmly. “Shall I make another fire to boil the kettle?” he asked.
“Oh no,” said Peggy. “The soup will soon be ready, and we’ve got to cut the bread, and get out the biscuits. You do that, Nora. Where’s the biscuit tin, Mike?”
The soup cooked in the saucepan. Peggy sent Jack for cups and dishes and bowls and spoons from the inner cave. The kettle was put on to boil. Peggy cleverly poured the soup from the saucepan into the dishes and handed a plateful to everyone. Hunks of bread were given out too. The kettle sang on the fire, and the smoke rose in the moonlight and floated away in the clear air.
“This is simply perfect,” said Mike, tasting his tomato soup and putting big pieces of bread into it. “I wish this meal could last for ever.”
“You’d get pretty tired of tomato soup if it did!” said Jack. Everyone laughed. Peggy made the cocoa and handed round big cups of it, with tinned milk and sugar, and a handful of biscuits for everyone.
How they enjoyed that meal by the camp-fire! Mike said he wished they needn’t go to sleep - but they were all so terribly sleepy that it was no good wishing that!
“I shall fall asleep sitting here soon,” said Nora, rubbing her eyes. “What a nice supper that was! Come on, everyone, let’s make our beds in the heather and wash the supper things to-morrow.”
So they spread the rugs out in the soft heather and lay down just as they were in their clothes - and in two seconds they were all fast asleep on the secret island, lost in happy dreams of all they were going to do the next day!
Peace on the Island
All night long the five children slept soundly on their rugs in the heather. The three boys were in the shelter of a big gorse bush, and the two girls cuddled together beside a great blackberry bush. The heather was thick and soft and as springy as any bed.
The sun rose up and the sky became golden. The birds twittered and two yellow-hammers told everyone that they wanted a “little bit of bread and no cheese!” The rabbits who had played about near the sleeping children shot off to their holes. A rambling hedgehog sniffed at Mike, and then went away too.
Jack awoke first. He was lying on his back, and he was very much astonished when he opened his eyes and looked straight up into the blue sky. He had expected to see the ceiling of his bedroom at Peep-Hole - and he saw sky and tiny white feathery clouds, very high up.
Then he remembered. Of course - they were on the dear old secret island! He lay there on his back looking up happily at the sky, waiting for the others to wake. Then he sat up. Far below him were the calm, blue waters of the lake. It was a perfect day - sunny, warm, and calm. Jack looked at his watch, and stared in surprise - for it was half-past nine!
“Half-past nine!” said Jack in amazement. “How we have slept! I wish the others would wake up - I’m jolly hungry.”
He got up cautiously and slipped his few clothes off. He ran down to bathe in the lake. The water was delicious. He dried himself in the hot sun and dressed again. He went to the spring and filled the kettle for breakfast. Then he busied himself in making a fire.
Mike awoke next, and then Peggy and Nora together. Paul still slept on. The girls were full of joy to find themselves on the secret island, and they flew down to bathe in the lake with Mike. When Paul awoke they asked him if he too would like to have a swim, but he shook his head.
“I can’t swim,” he said. “And I don’t want to bathe in the lake. I just want to stay here with Jack.”
They got breakfast. Nora ran down to the lake to wash the supper things. Jack fetched more wood for the fire, which was burning well. Peggy cut big slices of bread and butter, and popped some eggs into the saucepan to boil. “Two eggs for everyone,” she said. “I know quite well you’ll all be able to eat heaps and heaps! Nora, find the salt, will you? I’ll boil the eggs hard, and we can nibble them and dip them in the salt.”
“Let’s have some of these ripe plums too,” said Mike, uncovering the basket. “They won’t last very long in this hot weather. And where are the biscuits, Peggy? Surely we didn’t finish them all last night.”