“It’s a big island, but the place where we landed is the only bit of the shore that’s safe to bring a boat alongside,” said Harry. “Even there, you want to be careful; there are sunken rocks everywhere. Most of the visitors funk it, though of course it’s nothing when once you know the way. The local people have rather exaggerated the difficulties, to discourage boating parties from landing here when there were sheep: there are plenty of city gentlemen, out for the first time with a rifle, who would think it rather sporting to fire at a stray sheep on these hills.”
“Sort of chaps who pot black swan and seagulls,” said Jack with disgust.
“Yes; the coast swarms with them in the holidays. However, they generally let Shepherd’s Island alone, thank goodness!”
“But you can land near Smugglers’ Cave,” said Judy.
“Oh yes—if you know the entrance. But it’s so masked with rocks that no one would dream of putting in there who wasn’t thoroughly familiar with the place. It was rather lucky for the shepherds who had to camp here that there is only one good landing: if they had had to watch all the shore at night their job would have been a fairly tough one. As it was, they could keep a look-out from the door of the hut.”
“This is a stuffy old place!” Judy said contemptuously. “Let’s go down to the other end of the Island: I want to show you the Smugglers’ Cave, Miss Earle.”
“Were there smugglers?” I asked.
“Never a smuggler!” Harry McNab answered, laughing. “But there’s a cave of sorts, and of course it had to have a name.”
“All the best caves have smugglers,” Vera smiled. “Come and we’ll explore it, Doris.”
We went along the shore of the Island. The sandy beach soon gave place to rocks, at first low and scattered, but presently rugged and steep, with masses of rounded boulders flung hither and thither. The outgoing tide had left innumerable pools among them, fringed with red and bronze seaweed and big crimson anemones. We lingered among them until eldritch screams from Judy smote upon our ears, and we beheld her dancing on a huge flat-topped rock and calling to us to hurry.