“Do you suppose anyone has ever been on this little island before?” said a man’s voice.
“No!” said someone else. “The countryside round about is quite deserted - no one ever comes here, I should think.”
The three children crouched down in the bracken and listened. The trippers were setting out their supper. One of the hens in the cave began to cluck loudly. Nora thought it must have laid an egg.
“Do you hear that noise?” said one of the trippers. “Sounds like a hen to me!”
“Don’t be silly, Eddie,” said a woman’s voice scornfully. “How could a hen be on an island like this! That must have been a blackbird or something.”
Jack giggled. It seemed very funny to him that a hen’s cluck should be thought like a blackbird’s clear song.
"Pass the salt,” said someone. “Thanks. I say! Isn’t this a fine little island! Sort of secret and mysterious. What about exploring it after supper?”
“That’s a good idea,” said Eddie’s voice. “We will!”
The children looked at one another in dismay. Just the one thing they had hoped the trippers wouldn’t do!
“Where’s Mike, do you suppose?” said Peggy, in a low voice. “Do you think he’s hiding in our boat?”