The Building of the Raft
The four children tackled the shack that afternoon and tore out as many planks as they could.
"Pile them up in different sizes," ordered Andy. ' "Come and help with this long plank, Tom—it's too heavy for me to pull out alone."
By the end of that day the children had sixteen planks of different sizes piled up. Andy was pleased.
"If we can get as many as that to-morrow, we'll be able to make a really fine raft," he said. "Tom, you are saving ail those long screws and nails, aren't you? We shall need them soon."
"Yes—they're all safe," said Tom, showing Andy a tin into which he had put all the screws and nails he had taken oat of the planks.
"Do you think we'd better hide these planks in case the man does come to-morrow, although we feel sure he won't?" asked Jill.
"Well—perhaps we had better," said Andy, who was feeling tired and not at all eager to carry heavy planks about. So he and Tom took the planks one by one and tad mem in thick heather. Then they went to have a good meal; which the girls had been getting ready.
"I've never been so hungry in my life!" said Tom.
"You've said that about a thousand times since we've been on this island," said Jill. "Well—see if you can eat that plateful!"
Tom took the plate. It was full of cold tongue, baked potatoes, and tinned asparagus tips which the man had brought yesterday. There were also sliced pears, tinned milk to eat with them, and hot cocoa. The pears and tinned milk were so delicious that Tom wanted a second helping.
"Good gracious! At the rate you eat you'll want about a thousand tins on the raft!" said Mary, opening another tin of pears. "Andy, I hope you won't forget to take a tin-opener when you go. It would be so awful to be hungry, and have heaps of tinned food round you—and not be able to eat any of it because you had forgotten an opener!"
Andy grinned. "I shan't forget that," he said. "Golly, I am tired!"
They were all tired, and they fell asleep in the tent almost as soon as they lay down on their heathery beds. They awoke late the next day and Andy could not make up his mind whether to get on with the raft or not.
"I'm pretty sure that fellow meant he wouldn't come for a few days," Andy said. "But if he did happen to come and found us at work on a raft, it would be too disappointing for anything."
"Well, one of us could go up to the rocky ledge and keep watch all the time, couldn't we," said Jill eagerly. "We could easily see anyone coming, then, and give warning in time to let you and Tom hide everything."
"Yes—of course," said Andy. "That's a good idea! Take it in turns of about two hours each. You go first, Jill, and Mary next."
So Jill went up to the rocky ledge and sat there. She could see the cave-beach of the next island and had a good view of any boat that might come over the water.
No boat was to-be seen—but all that day the islands were very noisy indeed! Seaplanes flew over many times, their engines roaring loudly. Three came down in the calm water opposite the cave-beach. Jill watched them carefully.
Stores were taken to the cave, as she could plainly see. The seaplanes roared away after a time—but all that day others flew over the islands, and the children wondered to see so many.
"Well, there's one thing that's lucky," said Andy with a grin. "Those seaplanes make such a noise that no one could possibly hear the sound of any hammering to-day—so I vote we get on with it and make as much noise as we like now there's a chance!"
So the sound of hammering was heard on the children's island that day, as Andy and Tom nailed twelve big planks crosswise to twelve others below. Then on top of the two crosswise rows Andy nailed yet another row of shorter planks to make the raft really solid and heavy.
The boys added a kind of rim to the raft to prevent things rolling off too easily. Andy was clever at carpentry and he knew all the best tricks of making each plank hold the other fast It was a very solid-looking affair that began to take shape by the time that night came.
Andy had found a strong post that would do for a mast, but he did not mean to put this up till the raft was almost ready to launch. "We can't very well hide a raft with a mast." he said. "It is easier to hide a flat raft with no mast, if that man pays us a visit too soon."
"How can we hide it, though?" asked Tom, looking at the heavy raft. "We really can't toss it lightly into the heather as we could do with planks!"
Andy grinned. "Well hide it in a very easy place," he said. "We'll simply rig up the tent above it, and pile heather on the raft, which will then make the floor I don't think anyone is likely to think that our tent hides a raft!"
In three days the raft was quite complete, and was very sound and solid. Andy had decided to take all the food in the big wooden box in which the man had brought the tins and jars on his last visit.
"We can nail the box to the floor of the raft," said Andy, "and our food will stay there quite safely I If we put it loose on the deck of the raft, everything would get thrown off in a rough sea, even though we've put a kind of rail to the edge of the raft."
There came a warning cry from Jill not long after that. She had seen a boat coming round the cliff on the far side of the cave-beach. Hastily the boys put up the tent over the raft, and Mary strewed the heather and bracken over the deck. She could not hide the box of. food in the middle of the raft, however.
"Never mind about that," said Andy. "Put a rug over it, and it will look like a seat or something."
There were two men this time, and one of them was the one who spoke English.
The boat drew up in the cove where the raft was, and one man got out. It was not the man who had seen the fallen-down shack, but the one who spoke English.
Andy went down to meet him. "Please, sir, won't you give us a boat to go home in?" asked Andy, knowing perfectly well that the man would say no.
"No," said the man at once. "You will stay here for as long as we wish. But soon the winter will come, and a tent will be no good to you. Is mere any building here that can be mended?"
"No," said Andy, who did not wish the man to examine the buildings, and perhaps ask where the tumbledown shack was. This had almost disappeared by now, for the children had taken all the planks for their raft!
"Let me see your tent," said the man. Andy's heart sank. It would be too bad if the raft was found just as it was finished. He took the man to the tent in silence.
The man looked inside. He saw the box in the middle covered with a rug. "What's that?" he asked.
"It's the box of food the man brought us the other day," said Andy, and he pulled off the rug. The man saw at once that it way only a box of food and he nodded. He did not go inside the tent, luckily, or his nailed boot might have gone through the heathery covering and struck against the wooden raft below. Then he would certainly have pulled aside the heather and seen the children's secret.
Jill and Mary watched, very pale and scared. Tom sat nearby and whistled. The man still stood looking into the tent, and all the children felt very anxious indeed—and then a great seaplane roared over the island, making a terrific noise.
"Look! Look!" yelled Tom, jumping up. "Isn't it a big one!"
The man looked up, at Tom's yell, and followed the seaplane with his eyes. "I must go," he said, and he went down the beach to the boat. "I will send men to put you up a rough hut for the winter. Be sensible children and you will be looked after—but if not, you will be,very sorry for yourselves."
The children were very thankful indeed when they saw the boat go off over the water. They heaved deep sighs of relief and looked at one another.
"Thank goodness, that seaplane came when it did and Tom let out that yell," said Jill. "It just took the man's attention away! I really thought he was going to go inside the tent and look at everything!"
"Well, I think we're safe to make our escape soon now," said Andy. "I don't expect any men will be sent for a while. We'll drag the raft down to the shore early to-morrow morning, and I'll set up the mast and rig the sail as best I can. Then Tom and I will start off."
The girls said nothing. They did not like being left alone on the island—and yet they knew that Andy was right, Somehow he must get home and tell the people there the secrets they had discovered. The raft would not really take four—and the girls were not strong enough to stand days and nights of tossing about on the sea.
"Well, Andy, it's very important that you should get back and tell the secret of these islands," said Jill at last. "So, for the sake of our country, Mary and I will stay behind here without any fuss and do the best we can, whilst you and Tom set off for home. But do rescue us as soon as possible!"
"Of course we shall," said Andy, glad to see that the girls were going to be brave and not male any fuss. "You are good sports, you two girls—I really do feel proud of you both—don't you, Tom?"
"Very proud," said Tom. And the girls went red with pleasure.
"We'll wish you luck to-morrow!" said Jill. "Oh, how I hope you'll soon get back home, Andy! Mary and I will watch every day till you come back."
They all went to bed early that night, for to-morrow was to be an important day! They did not sleep very well, for they were too excited.
And in the morning, early, they took down their tent, dragged off the heather that covered the raft, and tied ropes to it, to pull it down to the beach.
"Now we're off on another adventure!" said Andy, dragging the raft. "Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Down to the sea we go!"