The Adventurous Four - - Страница 20

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Tom stared at the man in surprise. He knew quite well that the girls would not fight men. What did mis man mean? Could he be telling an untruth?

Then Tom suddenly knew that the man was hoping to trap him into saying something about the others. This mail did not know that the «others» were only two girls and a boy. He did not even know for certain that there were any others!

"Well, two can play at a game of pretend like that!" thought the boy. So he put on a face of great surprise and said:

"Golly! Are there others on these islands then? I wish I'd known! I could have asked them for help!"

The man looked surprised. So perhaps this boy had no friends then? Could it be that he was really alone? The man did not know what to think. He said no more but turned and went out of the cave. Tom couldn't help feeling pleased. The man had thought he might trap him—but he felt sure he had tricked the man!

It was very lonely in the Round Cave. Tom slept heavily all the night through, but found the day very, very dull.

He sat on a box and groaned deeply. Then he yawned loudly. He was bored. He was lonely.

He sat there, doing nothing; and then he heard a very peculiar noise above his head—a kind of scraping noise. Tom wondered what it could be.

"Perhaps it's a rabbit or something," he thought. "But no—it couldnt be. The roof of the cave is of rock."

The scraping noise went on—and then something happened that made Tom leap up in fright.

A strange hollow voice came into the cave from somewhere! — It ran all round the cave and Tom could just make out the words. The funny deep voice said, "Tom! Are you there?"

It was really Andy's voice, of course, coming down the hole to the cave—and the hote had made it sound deep and strange, not a bit like Andy's.

Tom trembled and said nothing. He couldn't understand this queer voice suddenly coming into the cave. So Andy spoke again.

"Tom! It's Andy speaking. Are you there?"

The voice rumbled round the cave—but this time Tom was not so scared. Could it really be Andy, somehow managing to speak to him? He answered as loudly as he dared.

"I'm here! In the Round Cave!"

Tom's voice came up to Andy, all muddled and jumbled, for Tom was not near the opening of the hole. Andy could not make out what he said, but he knew it was Tom speaking.

"Good!" he thought. "Tom's in there all right. I'll speak to him again and see if I can find out what's happened to him."

So once more Andy's voice came rumbling down into the cave. "Tom! I'm speaking down a hole that must somehow lead into your cave. See if you can find it and speak up it. I can't hear you properly. But whatever you do, don't let anyone hear you speaking to me."

Tom felt excited. Good old Andy! He got upland began to hunt around for the hole that led upwards to Andy. He must find it, he simply must!

Tom picked up the lamp and hunted around the cave. As he was doing this he heard the steps of the sentry coming up the rocky passage to the Round Cave. At once Tom sat down and began to sing loudly the lullaby that was on the unbroken gramophone record.

"Hush! Hush! Hush! You mustn't say a word! It's time for hush-a-by, My little sleepy bird!"

These were the words of the rather silly lullaby song on the record. But they did very well indeed for a warning to Andy not to say anything for a moment! The sentry heard the boy singing, peeped in at him, said something that Tom didn't in the least understand, and went out again. He seemed surprised that the boy should sing. Tom went on singing the lullaby for a long time till he felt quite sure the sentry was not coming back.

Then he stopped singing and hurriedly began to hunt for the hole again. It didn't seem to be anywhere I The roof of the cave was not very high, and by standing on boxes and tins Tom could examine nearly every inch of it. But he could not find a hole that led upwards.

Andy's voice came booming down again: "Tom! Have you found the hole?"

The voice was so near Tom's ear that the boy nearly fell off the box he was standing on. He held up the lamp to the place where the voice came from. It was at the point where roof and wall met, at the back. The roof was of rock—but the wall just there was only of sand. Tom put his hand up and felt a cold draught blowing down the hole.

"Andy! I've found the hole!" he said, putting his head to it. "I say—tell me what's happened."

In low voices the two boys told one another all that had happened. Tom was very excited when he heard how the others had pretended to be seaweed-covered rocks.

"I wondered how yon would hide," he said. "I couldn't trunk what you would do! Oh, Andy, I'm glad you're safe."

"Well, Tom, the next thing to do is to rescue you" said Andy. "I'm wondering if we can use this hole. What's it like at your end?"

"Rather small," said Tom. "I couldn't get up ft unless I could make it larger. What's it like at your end?"

"I can easily make it as large as I like by- scraping at it," said Andy. "Can you make your end large, too, do you think?"

Tom scraped at it with his hands. He could easily scrape the wall away, but not the roof. "I might perhaps be able to," he said. "But I'd want something to do it with—I've nothing but my hands."

"I've nothing but my hands either," said Andy, "and they are bleeding already from scraping at the soil. Listen, Tom—I shall go back to the girls soon, when the rocks are uncovered, but I can't wait till night. I must go now whilst the tide is low. So I want you to call to the sentry and pretend that you want his help in undoing a tin of food or something. See? Then whilst he is in the cave with you, I'll creep over the rocks safely without being seen, and get back."

"All right," said Tom. "What will you do then?"

"I'll collect something for us to work at the soil with," said Andy. "And I'll bring it back to-night. Then maybe we can make the hole large enough for you to crawl up. I don't think it's more than about six feet long. Now, wait to hear my seagull call, Tom—then yell for the sentry, and I'll make a dash for the rocks as soon as I see him go into the cave."

Everything worked well. When Tom heard Andy's seagull cry he shouted for the sentry, and the man went into the cave to see what was the matter.

He found that Tom had got a large tin of tongue, and seemed to have lost the tin-opener, The sentry hadn't one either, and he spent a very long time trying to open the tin with his pocket-knife. He ended in cutting his thumb very badly, and Tom produced a handkerchief and spent a long time binding up the man's thumb, glad to keep him in the cave so long.

Andy had plenty of time to escape back over the rocks. He knew them well now, and leapt from rock to rock easily. He was back in the shack in no time, it seemed!

The girls were thrilled to see him and he had to sit and tell them all he had done at least four or five times. When they heard about the hole leading down to the Round Cave the girls were tremendously excited.

"So you see," finished Andy, "I plan to get Tom out that way to-night—and I must take back with me something to dig and scrape with."

"Here's an old bit of wood with some jolly big nails in it, all sticking out," said Jill. "Would that do?"

"Yes—that's fine," said Andy. "Is there a bit for Tom?"

They found an old bit that would do. And then Andy said such a funny thing.

"I'll take the gramophone too! And the one record!"

The girls stared at him. "The gramophone!" said Jill at last. "Whatever for? Are you mad!"

"It does sound rather mad, I know," said Andy. "But I want it for something. I'll tell you afterwards. It won't sound quite so mad then!"

Andy had a very good meal, for he was awfully hungry. Then he settled down to sleep, for, as he said, he would not have much of a night that night!

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