by Paul Moxham
Forming a chain, they were able to quickly get all of their stuff off the Lazy Lucy. After having a short rest, they lugged the tents across the beach and up the rugged terrain.
“We need to be close to the boat,” Will said, “but not too close. We can’t afford to be seen from the water, so I suggest we get as close to the wood as possible.”
They walked a bit farther on until they reached the wood and, seeing a patch of grass, dropped the tents there.
Joe glanced around and saw that the wood blocked the view at one end, and thick gorse bushes blocked the view from the beach. “This should suit us nicely.”
“Let’s hurry and set up camp,” Amy said. “I want to see if there’s something more to your theory than just a cigarette butt.”
It didn’t take as long to set up camp as it had yesterday and, after a quick snack, they headed towards the church. They kept close to the wood at all times and stopped when they were in view of the ruin.
Will looked through the binoculars but, to his disappointment, didn’t see any movement. “I vote we stay in the shelter of the bushes and head for the other end of the island.”
Since it seemed pointless staying where they were, the others agreed with Will and moved off. It took less than ten minutes to reach the far beach, and, in the shelter of thick bushes, the children lay down and gazed down the small incline at the sand below.
Joe took the binoculars and spent a full minute surveying the area. There was still no sign of anyone and not even a sign that anyone had been there in recent times. There was no boat, no tent, not even a campfire.
Sarah stood up. “This is no mystery. How can there be one when there isn’t anyone or anything of interest on this island?”
Joe watched as Sarah started walking down the small hill and towards the beach. “I guess she’s right.” He stood up as well. “Why are we all creeping about?”
“Look!” Amy called out. She pointed to the far end of the beach where a person had just come into view.
“Gosh, they’ll see Sarah.” Will jumped up and rushed after the eight year old.
Joe and Amy watched in horrified silence as the man walked down the beach, heading directly towards Sarah who, by now, had just reached the sand. Luckily though, there was a rocky cliff that protruded out and thus stopped the man from seeing the girl.
With bated breath, Joe gazed through the binoculars as Will caught up with Sarah. The two of them turned and raced back to the grassy area. They had just flung themselves behind some gorse bushes when the man walked around the cliff and headed towards them.
“What’s going on?” Amy asked, fearful.
“The man must have seen them. He’s going straight… no, he’s turned around now and…. he’s disappeared!” Joe whipped the binoculars away from his face and gazed down at the beach. He was right. The man had literally disappeared.
Half a minute later, Will and Sarah rejoined the others. The boy turned to Joe. “What did you see?”
“You were just in time,” Joe said. “I thought the man had seen you, but then he disappeared.”
Will frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He just disappeared,” Joe replied. “He was walking along next to the cliff and—”
“Goodness, the cave!” Sarah whispered.
“What cave?” Amy asked.
Sarah explained. “Just before Will spoke to me, I saw a cave.”
Joe looked at Will. “Did you see it?”
Will shook his head. “No, but I wasn’t looking. I was only concerned with Sarah.”
“Remember the caves at Smuggles Cove?” Joe said. “What if there are similar caves on this island?”
“Caves would be an ideal hiding place for someone who didn’t want to be seen,” Amy said. She glanced at Will. “Are there many caves or tunnels that you know of in the area?”
Will nodded. “This part of the coast was a big deal to smugglers a few hundred years ago. It was a perfect distance from France, so smugglers spent many a day building tunnels. There are even rumours that Smugglers Cove was built on top of a network of tunnels.”
“You mean the ones we found?” Sarah asked.
Will shook his head. “No. According to some of the stories, what we found only amounts to a fraction of what there is. So, yes, it’s certainly possible that there are caves on this island.”
Joe quickly stood up. “Let’s explore them. If there’s something going on, I’m sure there must be something in those tunnels.” He scanned the beach. No one could be seen. “We’ll walk in single file. We know there is at least one person around, so stay alert.”
“What happens if we’re seen?” Amy said.
Joe looked over at Will. “What do you think is best?”
We’ll pretend we’re four children out sailing,” Will said. “Whatever they’re up to, as long as they believe us, we’ll be all right.”
Chapter 8: Into The Caves
The children walked down the hill going as quietly as they could. Stepping onto the soft sand, they saw that Sarah had been right.
A cave lay just to the right of them. Waiting for a moment to make sure that no one was about, the children entered.
It was dark inside, so much so that they needed to turn on their torches. The beams of light shone around the dark space. They spotted nothing of interest. It looked like any other rocky cave, nothing out of the ordinary.
Will flicked his torch around the walls as he walked close to them in an effort to see if there was a tunnel. But there was none. It didn’t take long for the children to group back together at the entrance.
“Well, there’s nothing in there,” Joe said, disappointed. “I felt sure that there would be something.”
“But what about the man?” Amy said. “Where did he disappear to?”
Sarah glanced further along and saw that there was another cave a short distance away. “Maybe he went in there.”
The others looked at where Sarah was pointing and Will nodded. “Let’s search.”
They hurried over and were soon in the cave which was double the size of the previous one. Like all the others, Joe was very familiar with caves, especially after their last adventure and, as he felt the rocky wall, he hoped to discover a tunnel. But no rocks gave way and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Amy yelled out as she picked up something that was on the cave floor and held it up. “Look what I’ve found.”
The others raced over and Joe saw it was another cigarette butt. “How long do you think that has been here?”
“It doesn’t look too old,” Will said. “Not longer than a few days.” He glanced around. “We can’t find a tunnel, and there’s nothing else here, so whoever is on the island isn’t staying in this cave.” He walked out of the cave and onto the sand.
As the others joined him, Will looked around. There were a few gulls in the sky above, but that was all. He looked towards the trees at the far end of the inlet. There were quite a few, enough to hide a building. “Why don’t we walk towards the wood over there and see if we can see anything?”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Joe said.
The four of them walked along the beach as they headed to the other side of the island. They were about halfway there when Amy suddenly stopped. She raised her hand and pointed to the trees in front of them. “Is that a person?”
Will raised his binoculars to his eyes and peered through them. “Yes. It’s a man.”
“What does he look like?” Joe questioned.
“He’s bald and big.” Will looked back at the others for a moment. “Was the man you saw near the cave bald?”
Joe shook his head. “No.”
“What’s he doing now?” Amy asked.
Will looked back through the binoculars. After gazing around for one minute, he dropped the binoculars, disappointed.
“Has he gone?” Joe asked.
Will nodded. “He must have headed deeper into the wood.”
“Maybe if we hurr
y we can catch sight of him,” Sarah said.
“Possibly.” Will raced along the sand, fuelled by the desire to catch up to the man. They were soon standing at the edge of the wood. Will walked to where he had seen the man.
“What was the man doing?” Amy asked.
“He was looking around,” Will said. “Almost as though he didn’t want anyone to see where he was going.”
“I wonder why?” Joe asked.
“Let’s see if we can find where he went.” Will led the others into the wood. There wasn’t much of a path, just an animal track. The track meandered along, sometimes getting quite close to the rocky cliffs, but always staying within the confines of the wood.
Will was just about to suggest that they turn back when something caught his attention. He shot his hand up. “Quiet! I see something.”
Sarah frowned as she peered forward and saw a small log cabin. “Do you think the man went in there?”
“It seems like a good possibility.” Will crept forward, going from the trunk of one tree to the next, pausing each time as he did so. But, apart from some birds chirping, all was silent.
From what Amy could see, there was only one window on this side of the cabin. She assumed that the door and possibly another window would be on the other. She joined the others at the corner of the cabin. “Are we going to look through the window?”
Joe surveyed the dirty window. “I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to see, but get ready to run in case someone’s in there.”
The air was tense with anticipation as Joe hugged the cabin wall and sidled towards the window. He paused once he was right next to it and, after glancing back to make sure that nothing had happened to the others, he looked through the glass.
The moss and grime that covered the lower half of the windowpane made it hard to get a clear view of the inside, but Joe saw enough to satisfy him. He turned and walked back to the others.
“Is anyone there?” Will asked.
“Not that I can see,” Joe replied, “but someone has definitely been there.”
“Why? What did you see?” Amy asked.
“There are some sleeping bags, some food—” Joe replied.
“How many sleeping bags?” Will interrupted.
“At least two, maybe three. But I….” Joe paused as the bushes nearby rustled.
“Maybe we should talk somewhere else,” Sarah said.
Suddenly, a large bird flew up from the bushes.
“Phew! It’s only a bird.” Joe glanced at the others. “I just want to see if the door’s unlocked, and then we’ll go.”`
“But what if someone comes?” Amy asked, worried.
“Hope that they don’t.” Joe hurried around to the other side of the cabin and paused at the door. He reached for the handle and turned it. It swung open without a sound. The hinges had clearly been oiled. That, as well as the sleeping bags, confirmed that someone had been living in here for a period of time.
Joe waved to the others and they hurried over. They all glanced around the small cabin. There were a couple of sleeping bags, some tins of food, a small table, and two chairs. There were also three rucksacks leaning against the wall.
Joe walked over to them and was just about to open one to see what was inside when the sound of voices reached his ears. Standing up, he looked back at the others. “Do you hear that?”
“We have to go!” Amy whispered.
All four of them ran as fast as they could through the wood in the opposite direction from where the voices were coming from. It was an anxious few moments until they reached the cover of some thick bushes.
Peering through the foliage, they saw three men come into view. They were still talking, but it wasn’t loud enough for the children to hear what was being said. They entered the cabin and closed the door.
The children waited for a few minutes to see if they would come out, but when they didn’t, they decided to head back to the beach.
After making sure they couldn’t be seen through the cabin windows, they made their way back along the path and, before long, were on the beach. They sat down and rested on the sand as they thought about what they had just seen.
“So, why do you think those men are here?” Amy asked.
“It could be any number of reasons,” Joe said.
“They must be the ones who dressed up as a ghost and tried to scare us,” Will said.
“But why? What possible reason could they have for staying on this island?” Sarah said.
“I don’t know. I truly don’t.” Will frowned as he caught sight of the men as they emerged from the wood. “Oh, no! We need to hide!” He stood up, but paused as one of the men turned and saw him.
Chapter 9: The Birdwatchers
As the men approached, Will quickly whispered to the others. “Don’t let them know that we suspect anything. Just follow my lead.”
The others had just enough time to nod before the bald man called out. “Hey! What are you doing here?”
“We’re camping,” Will said.
“We can’t have visitors on this island, so you’ll have to move off,” the bald man said.
“What about you? Why are you on this island?” Joe said.
“We’re doing a very important study for the government about the bird population in this area,” the bald man replied.
Amy studied the three men. They were rough looking and were untidily dressed. “You don’t look like government people.”
The bald man looked at the children in turn. “What would your parents say if they knew you were interfering with the government? I don’t think they would be too pleased.”
“We’re not doing anything wrong,” Sarah said.
The man sneered. “You kids are all the same. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been snooping on us. Haven’t you heard about the ghost that haunts this island?”
“Jeremiah Jones?” Joe said.
“Yes. I wouldn’t stay any longer on this island if I were you,” the man said.
“But you’re staying here,” Amy said.
“That’s different. It’s our job,” the bald man confessed. “We can’t leave. But I’m warning you – if you stay here tonight, I’m sure you’ll be visited by the ghost and who knows what will happen. So leave this island as soon as you can.”
The man stared at the four children once more in turn before he turned and walked away. The other men followed him.
Once they were out of hearing distance, Sarah looked towards Joe. “What if the ghost does come again?”
Joe laughed. “They were just trying to scare us.”
“But we did see the ghost,” Amy said.
“It was those men dressed up. I know we don’t have proof, but there are no such things as ghosts,” Joe said. “But we can see whether or not the men are lying about being birdwatchers.”
“What do you mean?” Will asked.
“Well, do you know much about birds? Ones that live around here?” Joe said.
“A few, why?” Will questioned.
~
As Joe led the way down the hill half an hour later and walked over to where the three men were standing below a tall pine tree, he saw that they had changed into cleaner clothes. One of them, the bald fellow who had spoken to them earlier, was now wearing a nametag on his chest. It read: Marvin – Bird Researcher.
Joe turned to the man. “Have you seen the Dodo yet?”
Marvin hesitated. “I’m not sure.” He looked over at the man standing next to him who had a ponytail and wore glasses. “Have you, Luke?”
Luke shook his head. “Of course we haven’t. They’re extinct. Besides, they lived in Africa.” He gazed at Joe. “You mustn’t know a lot about birds, boy.”
“What about a Grey Wagtail?” Sarah asked. “We just saw one last week in Smugglers Cove.”
“Did you now?” Luke said. “Well, I think we saw one here the other day, didn’t we, Kenneth?”
The third man, a short, thin fellow with b
eady eyes, nodded. “Yes, just near those hills.” He pointed to the hillside that the children had just walked down.
“Was he grey and red or grey and blue?” Joe said. “The one we saw was grey and blue.”
Kenneth looked to Luke. “I can’t recall. Which one do you think it was?”
Luke paused as he thought. “It was grey and blue, just like yours.”
Joe nodded. “Well, we had better get going. Oh, and we’ve decided to leave this afternoon.”
“I’m glad you’ve got some sense in you,” Marvin piped up.
“We thought about what you said about the ghost and decided we had better not be here at nightfall,” Joe said.
Marvin smiled. “Quite right. Well, have a good trip home.”
Joe smiled. “We will. Bye.” He turned and walked away, the others following close behind.
As soon as the children had reached the top of the hill, they stopped and, hiding behind a bush, peered through the leaves.
As Joe saw the men leave the trees and head in the direction of the beach, he glanced at the others. “It worked. They’re going back to the cabin.”
“They’ll probably change back into their other clothes right away,” Amy said.
Will nodded. “Yes, now that they think that we’re going home.”
“But we’re not,” Joe stated. “And all because of the Grey Wagtail.”
“It was a good thing we had two birds in mind,” Sarah said.
“Yes. They surprised me with the Dodo, so it was either a lucky guess or they do know some stuff, but they did what I thought they would when the Grey Wagtail was mentioned.” Joe chuckled. “If only they knew that it was grey and yellow.”
“There’s still a chance that they are telling the truth,” Amy said. “After all, not every birdwatcher could possibly know every type of bird.”
“Well, no, but there are too many things that are not making sense,” Joe said. “I suggest we explore the island from end to end. We could uncover something that will explain why the men are here.”
“Shall we search the middle of the island or the shoreline first?” Will asked.
“Shoreline. We can go back to camp, have a quick meal, and then search.” Joe walked towards the wood, which would take them back to the campsite.