“Let me in!” cried a voice - and how they all jumped with joy! For it was Jack’s voice! It was he who was thumping on the door!
“What idiots we are!” cried Mike, leaping to his feet. “We might have guessed it was Jack - but I never thought he’d be back so soon!”
They all tore downstairs to open the door to Jack. He came in, quite cross with them:
“Whatever did you keep me waiting all that time for?” he asked indignantly. “I thought you must have gone to sleep!”
“Sorry, Jack,” grinned Mike. “We didn’t see you come, and we didn’t expect you back so soon. We thought you might be the enemy. How did you get through the back garden without being seen?”
“Crawled under the currant bushes,” said Jack, with a grin. “I thought I’d give you a surprise - but I seem to have given you a good fright instead.”
“Did you see George?” asked Mike eagerly.
“Not a sign of him,” answered Jack. “His boat was there all right - but I couldn’t see him anywhere on the beach, or in the fields either. He seems to have disappeared into thin air just like Dimmy!”
“It’s all very peculiar,” said Mike. “Where in the world has everybody gone - and why is that aeroplane there - and what’s been happening whilst we were on our island?”
“I wish I could tell you,” said Jack. “What about some tea, Peggy? Are there any cakes in the tin?”