"Well, we shall," said the boy's father, in a grim tone. "Now, Tom, we are almost on the coast of the second island. Is that the smooth bit of water we can land on, just down there?"
"Yes!" cried both boys, as they saw the flat stretch of water that lay between the reef of rocks and the cave-beach. The seaplane circled round and flew down gracefully. She skimmed the water a little, like a swallow, and then came to rest, bobbing up and down as she lay there.
"The tide is a bit too deep over the rocks that lead to the first island," said Tom in disappointment. "We can't climb over them to rescue the girls yet."
"We'll take a boat, then," said his father. "Are those the caves you hid in, Tom?"
"Yes—that one just there is the one that leads to the food-cave," said Tom. "Like to see it, Daddy? You might find something of importance there, perhaps."
"Yes—we might as well have a look," said the boy's father. So a boat shot off from the seaplane carrying the two boys, Tom's father, and two men. They landed on the beach and went towards the cave.
The girls were hiding inside the chest when they heard footsteps coming up the passage-way that led from the shore-cave to the Round Cave. They lay there trembling, wondering when they were going to be discovered.
Tom led his father into the cave. "Look!" he said, "do you see all these boxes and chests, Daddy? They are absolutely full of food of all sorts. I can tell you it came in handy when we were so hungry. At first I kept a list of the things we took, thinking that we would pay for them when we discovered the owner, but-"
Tom stopped. A queer noise was coming from a big chest near by. He stared in surprise.
"What's that noise?" said Tom's father at once.