“I’ll come with you, Jack,” said Mike. “You’ll want someone to help you.”
“Right!” said Jack. “We’ll start off as soon as it’s dark.”
“Oh, Jack!” said the girls, excited to think of a cow coming. “Where shall we keep it?”
“It had better live on the other side of the island,” said Jack. "There is some nice grass there. It won’t like to eat heather.”
“How will you bring it, Jack?” asked Mike. “It will be difficult to get it into the boat, won’t it?”
“We shan’t get it into the boat, silly!” said Jack, laughing. “We shall make it swim behind the boat!”
The other three stared at Jack in surprise. Then they began to laugh. It was funny to think of a cow swimming behind the boat to their secret island!
When it was dark, the two boys set off. The girls called good-bye, and then went to Willow House, for the evening was not quite so warm as usual. They lighted a candle and talked. It was fun to be on the secret island alone.
The boys rowed down the lake and came to the place where Jack usually landed - a well-hidden spot by the lake-side, where trees came right down to the water. They dragged the boat in and then made their way through the wood. After some time they came to the fields that lay round the house of Jack’s grandfather. Jack looked at the old cottage. There was no light in it. No one was there. His grandfather had gone away. In the field nearby some cows and horses stood, and the boys could hear one of the horses saying, “Hrrrumph! Hrrrrumph!”
“Do you see that shed over there, Mike?” said Jack, in a low voice. “Well, there are some lengths of rope there. Go and get them whilst I try to find which is my own cow. The rope is in the corner, just by the door.”