As they were about to curl up and go to sleep they heard the sound of a seaplane droning overhead. It came over the island twice, and then went away.
And then, about an hour later, the girls heard the noise of the motor-boat! It grounded on the sand of the cove and the girls heard men's voices.
"Good gracious!" said Jill, sitting up in alarm. "What are they coming here at this time of night for? They will soon see the boys aren't here! Quick, Mary, get up. We'll slip out of the tent and go into the bracken. Maybe we can pretend we've been roaming over the island, and they'll think the boys are somewhere about too."
The girls left the tent and ran into the heather and bracken in the middle of the small island. The men left their boat on the beach and two of them came up to the tent.
They lifted the flap of the tent and flashed a torch inside. There was no one there, of course! One of the men called out loudly.
"Now, you children! Where are you?"
"Here!" answered Jill. She nudged Mary. "You shout too," she whispered. "Then I'll shout again, and they'll think we are all here."
"We're here!" yelled Mary valiantly, though her heart was beating hard.
"In the bracken!" shouted Jill.
"Come along down here," commanded the man. He was the one who could speak English.