The girls began to cry—not because they were afraid for themselves but because they did not want the seaplanes to hunt for Andy and Tom.
The men spoke quickly to one another. It was plain that they wanted to get back to the third island and tell their chief what had happened.
"We shall come back for you to-morrow," said the first man. "And maybe by that time we shall have caught the two bad boys. They will be punished, you may be sure!"
They left in their motor-boat, leaving two miserable girls behind them. "Oh, I do hope they won't catch poor Andy and Tom," wept Mary. "It's too bad! Now they will hunt all over the sea till they find them. And they'll catch us to-morrow too, and take us all away."
"Well, they just won't take me away!" said Jill, drying her eyes fiercely. "I shall give them a good old hunt for me! I shall go to the second island and make them hunt all over the first one and not find mel That will give them a shock! I shall hide in the food-cave!"
"So will I!" said Mary, dabbing her eyes fiercely too. "We'll wait till the tide goes down and then we'll clamber over the rocks!"
So when the tide was low that day the two girls clambered hurriedly over the line of rocks that led from one island to the next, and came to the sandy beach. Not far off was the entrance to the cave that led up to the Round Cave.
"Nobody has seen us," said Mary, as they ran up to the cave. "We'll hide here and make the enemy think we've escaped from the island too! Perhaps they will be so busy looking for us that they will forget about the boys."
"I don't think they'll forget Andy and Tom," said Jill, making her way up the passage to the Round Cave. "I am sure that seaplanes are out looking for them already. I have heard three or four leaving the third island. Look, Mary—this chest is almost empty. Let's take out the tins and things that are left and get inside. We can shut the lid down on us if we hear anyone coming."
The girls got the chest ready, and then amused themselves by trying to find the funnel opening that led from the cave to the surface of the cliff above. But they could not find it.