“Where shall we plant them?” asked Mike.
“Well, we’d better plant them in little patches in different corners of the island,” said Jack. “If we dig out a big patch and have a sort of vegetable garden, and anyone comes here to look for us, they will see our garden and know someone is here! But if we just plant out tiny patches, we can easily throw heather over them if we see anyone coming.”
“Jack’s always full of good ideas,” said Nora. “I’ll help to dig and plant, Jack.”
“We’ll all do it,” said Jack. So together they hunted for good places, and dug up the ground there, and planted their precious seeds. It was Peggy’s job to water them each day and see that no weeds choked the seeds when they grew.
“We’re getting on!” said Nora happily. “Milk and cream each day, eggs each day, wild raspberries when we want them, and lettuces, mustard and cress, and radishes soon ready to be pulled!”
Jack planted the beans in little bare places at the foot of a brambly hedge. He said they would be able to grow up the brambles, and probably wouldn’t be noticed if anyone came. The bean seedlings were carefully watched and nursed until they were strong and tall, and had begun to twist themselves round any stem near. Then Peggy left them to themselves, only watering them when they needed it.
It was sometimes difficult to remember which day it was. Jack had kept a count as best he could, and sometimes on Sundays the children could hear a church bell ringing if the wind was in the right direction.
“We ought to try and keep Sunday a day of rest and peace,” said Mike. “We can’t go to church, but we could make the day a good sort of day, if you know what I mean.”
So they kept Sunday quietly, and the little island always seemed an extra peaceful day then. They hardly ever knew what the other days were - whether it was Tuesday or Thursday or Wednesday! But Jack always told them when it was Sunday, and it was the one day they really knew. Nora said it had a different feel, and certainly the island seemed to know it was Sunday, and was a dreamier, quieter place then.
One day Jack said they must explore the caves in the hillside.