The Adventurous Four - - Страница 16

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They waited till the drone of the plane's engines was far away. It was hunting the waters everywhere for the stolen boat. Andy stood up and yelled to the girls, who were lying flat under a bush.

"It's gone for the moment. Help us to take out these goods and hide them. If the boat is discovered here and taken away, and we are made prisoners on this island, we shall at least be sure of stores!"

"If we are able to start out to-night we can easily pat back the food," said Tom. They all worked hard, and buried the tins and boxes under some loose sand at the top of the beach. They pulled the boat farther up the beach and then sat down to rest, hot and tired.

And then poor Tom gave a squeal of dismay. The others jumped and looked at him in fright. "Whatever's the matter?" asked Andy.

"My camera!" said Tom, his face a picture of horror. "My camera—with all those pictures I took! I left it in the store-cave."

"Left it in the store-cave!" said everyone. "Whatever for?"

"Well, I was afraid I'd bump it against the rocks, carrying it up and down those passages," said Tom. "So I took it off for a minute, meaning to put it on when we went. And I forgot."

"You fathead! "said Jill.

"Don't call me that," said poor Tom, looking almost ready to cry.

"Well, fathead is too good a name," said Mary. "Thin head would be better. You can't possibly have go my brains if you do a thing like that, so you must be a thinhead with no brains at all."

Tom went very red. He blinked his eyes and swallowed a lump that had-suddenly come into his throat. He knew how valuable the pictures were that he had taken. How could he have come to forget his camera like that?

"Cheer up, Tom," said Andy. "I know what you feel like. I felt just like that when I found I'd forgotten to bring the anchor in the ship. It's awful."

Tom was grateful to Andy for not scolding him. But all the same he felt really dreadful. They had gone to such a lot of trouble to get those photographs-and now all because of his carelessness they had been left behind.

"I vote we have something to eat," said Andy, thinking that would cheer Tom up. But it didn't. For once in a way Tom had no appetite at all. He couldn't eat a thing. He sat nearby looking gloomily at the others.

The seaplane did not come back. The children sat and waited for the evening to come, when they might start. Jill yawned. "I must do something for the next two or three hours," she said, "or I shall fall asleep. I think I'll take the kettle and keep filling it with water at the spring, and bring it back to the boat. There's a big water-barrel there, and we could fill it with water."

"Good idea," said Andy. "You and Mary do that. I think I'll just wander up to the bush where we put the sail and see if it's still there. I don't think I've time to rig up some kind of a mast in this little boat so the sail won't be any good. But it might be useful to cover us with if it should happen to pour with rain."

The girls went off. Andy nodded to Tom, who was still looking gloomy, and went across the island to the bush where he had put the sail.

Tom was left alone, "They don't want me with them," thought the boy, quite wrongly. "They think I'm awful. I think I'm awful too! Oh, dear-if only I could get my camera."

He thought of the reef of rocks that led to the second island. It wasn't a bit of use trying to climb over them because the tide was getting high now.

But then he thought of the boat! It really wasn't a great distance to row to the cave, from the beach where he was. How pleased the others would be if he got back his camera!

The boy did not stop to think. He dragged the boat down the beach by himself, though he nearly pulled his arms out, doing it! He pushed it into the water and jumped in. He took the oars and began to row quickly round to the second island. He would land on the shore then, run quickly to the cave and get his camera.

"Then I'll be back here with it almost before the others know I'm gone!" he thought.

Nobody would have known what Tom had done if Andy had not happened to look round as he went over the little island to find the old sail. To his enormous astonishment he saw their boat being rowed away!

He could not see that the one in it was Tom, and for a moment he stood still, wondering what had happened. Was it another boat, not their own? He ran quickly to find out.

He soon saw that it was their own boat. He saw where Tom had dragged it down the beach. He could just see the boat rounding the corner of a cliff now.

"That was Tom all right," said Andy to himself. The girls came back at that moment and shouted to Andy.

"What's the matter? Why do you look like that? Where's the boat?"

"Tom's gone off with it," said Andy angrily.

"Tom! Whatever do you mean, Andy?" asked Jill in the greatest surprise.

"I suppose he felt upset about leaving his camera behind and he's gone to get it by himself," said Andy. "He really is a fathead. He may be seen and caught. I'm quite sure someone will be hunting for us soon. Really, I could shake Tom till his teeth rattled!"

The girls stared at Andy in dismay. They did not at all like the idea of their brother going off alone in the boat. Well—they would just have to wait patiently till Tom came back. It should not really take him a very long time. The sun was sinking now. He should be back by the time it was gone. Then they could all start out again and try to make for home.

Jill set the kettle of water down on the beach. She felt tired. Mary sat down beside her and looked out over the water for Tom to come back. Andy walked up and down impatiently. He could understand that Tom longed to get back his camera and put himself right with the others so that they no longer thought him careless and sffly—but he did wish he hadn't gone off in their precious boat!

The three children waited and waited. The sun sank lower. It disappeared over the sky-line and the first stars glimmered in the darkening sky.

And still Tom was not back. The girls could no longer see anything on the sea, which was now dark. They could only sit and listen for the plash of oars.

"Tom ought to be back by now," said Andy anxiously. "He's had plenty of time to get a dozen cameras I Whatever is he doing?"

Nobody knew. They sat there on the chilly beach, anxious and worried. If only, only Tom would come back! Nobody would scold him. Nobody would grumble at him. They just wanted him to come.

"I should think he's been caught," said Andy at last. "There can't be any other reason why he's not back. Now we're in a pretty fix! No Tom—and no boat!"

What had happened to Tom? A great many things. He had rowed safely to the beach where the caves lay hidden in the cliff behind. He had dragged the boat up the sand and had gone into the first cave. He stumbled through the rocky archway and into the queer Round Cave, which was so full of food.

He had no torch, so he had to feel around in the dark for his camera. It took him a long time to find it.

"Where did I put it?" wondered the boy anxiously. "Oh, if only I had a match!"

But he hadn't. He felt over tins and boxes-and at last his hand-fell on the box-like shape of his camera, safe in its waterproof covering!

"Good," Tom thought. "Now I'll just rush down to the boat and row back. I really must be quick or the others will be worried."

But Tom had a dreadful shock as he was about to make his way out of the Round Cave back to the beach. He heard voices!

The boy stood perfectly still, his heart beating fast. Whose voices were these?

They came nearer. Men were on the beach outside! Men had found his boat! Was it the enemy?

Alas for poor Tom-it was the enemy! Tom had not heard the boom of the seaplane coming down on the water. He had not seen a rubber boat putting off hurriedly to the cave. But now he could hear the voices of the men.

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