"Andy, what are you going to do now?" asked Jill, sipping her cocoa. "We've got plenty of food, luckily, because we buried it all in the sand at the top of the beach out there—but we can't get away, because our boat's gone and we've lost Tom. Have we got to stay here for the rest of our lives?"
"Don't be silly, Jill," said Andy. "Let's tackle one thing at a time, for goodness' sake. We've done the most important thing so far—hidden ourselves so well that we weren't found—and now we'll do the next most important thing—we'llrescue Tom! After that we'll think how to escape—but one thing at a time, please, and no worrying about what's going to happen. If we get worried, we'll get frightened, and nobody is any use when they're frightened. We've all got plenty of courage and we'll use it!"
Jill and Mary cheered up at Andy's brave words. "I would like to rescue poor Tom," said Jill. "He will be so lonely and upset. Where do you suppose he is?"
"In the cave where he left his camera, I expect," said Andy, pouring himself out another cup of cocoa. "And I'm pretty certain there'll be a guard somewhere at the entrance, for if there were not, Tom would soon escape—so we won't run into trouble—we'll see if there isn't tome other way of rescuing Tom."
"But how can there be?" asked Jill.
"I don't know yet," said Andy. "But I do know this—we thought it was impossible to bide safely on this bare little island—yet we did it! And so, though it sounds impossible to rescue Tom, there may.be a way if we think hard enough. So now—let's all think hard!"
Chapter 16
An Exciting Discovery
Nobody could think how to rescue Tom. After all, if there was someone guarding the cave-entrance, how could Andy possibly get in without being seen?
The boy gave it up after a time, and for a change he set the gramophone going. There was only one record that was not broken, and that was the one with the lullaby on one side and the nursery rhymes on the other. The girls listened, rather bored, for they had heard that record scores of times since they had come to the island.