"Good," said Tom, "Let's go now. I feel so awfully excited that I really must do something!"
The boys went to the other side of the island. After a while the girls appeared and waved to them. Jill put the glasses to her eyes.
The boys seem frightfully pleased and excited about something!" she said. "They are waving and pointing and nodding like anything. They seem to want us to understand something."
"Well, it-can only be that they have found something exciting and are going to do something about it," said Mary, taking the glasses from Jill and looking through them. "Yes—Tom's like a mad thing. Well, we shall know when they come back to-night. I only hope Tom will be able to swim back all right. I was really afraid he'd drown this morning."
The boys disappeared after a time. They sat down in a little sunny hollow and finished the rest of the food. Andy found a stream of water and the boys drank from it. Then they sat talking quietly, waiting for the night to come.
At last it came. The moon was behind the clouds, and gave only a pate light now and again. The boys, slipped quietly to the top of the cliff that overlooked the small cove next to the harbour. They had already planned the easiest way down. Andy went first. He climbed like a cat. Tom followed him, trying not to send any stones clattering down the cliff.
They came to the shore. It was sandy and their feet made no noise. The boys stayed in the shadow of the cliffs for a few minutes, listening. They could hear no noise at all, except the small sound of little waves breaking on the sand. The boats were not far off, upturned in a row. No one was guarding them. Indeed, why should anyone? No one had ever set foot on the islands since the farm-folk had gone—save for the crews of enemy seaplanes and submarines.
The boys crept over the silvery sand. Take the boat on the left," whispered Andy. "It's just our size."
They came to the boat—and then they heard voices. They seemed to come from the far side of the cliff, and sounded clearly in the night. The boys could not hear any words—but the sound was enough to make them lie down Sat beside the boat they had chosen.
Tom was trembling. Suppose they were found out just as they were taking the boat! It would be too bad. The boys listened until the sound of voices died away and then they cautiously lifted their heads.