But it wasn't the roundness of the cave that startled the four children—it was what it held!
Piled high, everywhere were boxes, sacks, and big tin chests with strange words on them! Some piles reached to the roof of the cave, others reached half-way.
"Golly! Look at that!" said Tom, in the greatest astonishment. "Whatever's in all those boxes and things—and why are they here?"
The little flame of the candle flickered on the strange array in the cave. Andy set the candle gently down on a flat piece of rock, and pulled the neck of a thick brown sack undone. It was lined with coarse blue paper inside. He undid that—and then gave a low cry of surprise.
"Sugar! Stranger and stranger! I was expecting treasure or something—and it's sugar! I wonder what's in the other sacks and boxes."
Some the children could not force open, but others were already opened, as if some one had taken from them some of the contents. The boxes were full of tins—there were tins of soup, meat, vegetables, fruit, sardines—everything one could think of. There was a chest of flour, a chest of tea, tins of salt, even tins of butter and lard, well-sealed and air-tight.
"Andy—I really don't understand this," said Jill in a puzzled voice. "How did all these come here? And who do you suppose they belong to? As far as we know there isn't a single person on the island."
"I don't know any more than you do, Jill," said Andy. "It's like a dream; but anyway we shan't need to starve whilst there's all this food stored here!"
"But may we take it, if it belongs to anyone else?" said Mary, frightened.
"We can pay the person it belongs to," said Andy. "My father and your mother will gladly pay, to keep us from starving, if we have to spend the winter here!"