Five Run Away Together (7 page)

"We'd better leave them here," said Julian. "Stuff them into that locker and shut down the lid. No one will guess there's anything there. We'll have to bring down a lot more stuff if we're all going to live on the island. Golly, this is going to be fun!"

The children made their way back to the house, feeling thrilled and excited. Julian's wet dressing-gown flapped round his legs, and he pulled it up high to be out of the way. Timothy gambolled round, not seeming at all surprised at the night's doings.

When they got back to the house they woke the other two, who listened in astonishment to what had happened

that night. Anne was so excited to think that they were all going to live on the island that she raised her voice in joy.

"Oh! That's the loveliest thing that could happen! Oh, I do think . . ."

"Shut up!" said three furious voices in loud whispers. "You'll wake the Sticks!"

"Sorry!" whispered Anne. "But oh—it's so terribly, awfully exciting."

They began to discuss their plans. "If we go for a week or ten days, we must take plenty of stores," said Julian.

"The thing is—can we possibly find food enough for so long? Even if we entirely empty the larder I doubt if that would be enough for a week or so. We all seem such hungry people, somehow."

"Julian," said George, suddenly remembering something, "I know what we'll do!

Mother has a store-cupboard in her room. She keeps dozens and dozens of tins of food there, in case we ever get snowed up in the winter, and can't go to the village.

That has happened once or twice you know. And I know where Mother keeps the key!

Can't we open the cupboard and get out some tins?"

"Of course!" said Julian, delighted. "I know Aunt Fanny wouldn't mind. And anyway, we can make a list of what we take and replace them for her, if she does mind. It will be my birthday soon, and I am sure to get money then."

"Where's the key?" whispered Dick.

"Let's-go into Mother's room, and I'll show you where she keeps it," said George. "I only hope she hasn't" taken it with her."

But George's mother had felt far too ill when she left home to think of cupboard keys. George fumbled at the back of a drawer in the dressing-table and brought out two or three keys tied together with thin string. She fitted first one and then another into a cupboard set in the wall. The second one opened the door.

Julian shone his torch into the cupboard. It was filled with tins of food of all kinds, neatly arranged on the shelves.

"Golly!" said Dick, his eyes gleaming. "Soup—tins of meat—tins of fruit—tinned milk—

sardines—tinned butter—biscuits—tinned vegetables! There's everything we want here!"

"Yes," said Julian, pleased. "It's fine. We'll take all we can carry. Is there a sack or two anywhere about, George, do you know?"

Soon the tins were quietly packed into two sacks. The cupboard door was shut and locked again. The children stole to their own rooms once more.

"Well, that's the biggest problem solved—food," said Julian. "We'll raid the larder too, and take what bread there is—and cake. What about water, George? Is there any on the island?"

"Well, I suppose there is some in that old well," said George, thinking, "but as there's no bucket or anything, we can't get any. I was taking a big container of fresh water with me—but we'd better fill two or three more now you are all coming! I know where there are some, quite clean and new."

So they filled some containers with fresh water, and put them with the sacks, ready to take to the boat. It was so exciting doing all these things in the middle of the night! Anne could hardly keep her voice down to a whisper, and it was a wonder that Timothy didn't bark, for he sensed the excitement of the others.

There was a tin of cakes in the larder, freshly made, so those were added to the heap that was forming in the front garden. There was a large joint of meat too, and George wrapped it in a cloth and put that with the heap,

telling Timmy in a fierce voice that if he so much as sniffed at it she would leave him behind!

"I've got my little stove for boiling water on, or heating up anything," whispered George. "It's in the boat. That's what I bought the methylated spirit for, of course.

You didn't guess, did you? And the matches for lighting it. I say—what about candles?

We can't use our torches all the time, the batteries would soon run out."

They found a pound of candles in the kitchen cupboard, a kettle, a saucepan, some old knives and forks and spoons, and a good many other things they thought they might possibly want. They also came across some small bottles of ginger-beer, evidently stored for their own use by the Sticks.

"All bought out of my mother's money!" said George. "Well, we'll take the ginger-beer too. It will be nice to drink it on a hot day."

"Where are we going to sleep at night?" said Julian. "In that ruined part of the old castle, where there is just one room with a roof left, and walls?"

"That's where I planned to sleep," said George. "I was going to make my bed of some of the heather that grows on the island, covered by a rug or two, which I've got down in the boat."

"We'll take all the rugs we can find," said Julian. "And some cushions for pillows. I say, isn't this simply thrilling? I don't know when I've felt so excited. I feel like a prisoner .escaping to freedom! Won't the Sticks be amazed when they find us gone!"

"Yes — we'll have to decide what to say to them," said George, rather soberly. "We don't .want them sending

people after us to the island, making us come back. I don't think they should know we've gone there."

"We'll discuss that later," said Dick. "The thing is to get everything to the boat while it's dark. It will soon be dawn."

"How are we going to get all this down to George's boat?" said Anne, looking at the enormous pile of goods by the light of her torch. "We'll never be able to carry them all!"

Certainly it looked a great pile. Julian had an idea, as usual. "Are there any barrows in the shed?" he asked George. "If we could pile the things into a couple of barrows, we could easily take everything in one journey. We could wheel the barrows along on the sandy side of the road so that we don't make any noise."

"Oh, good idea!" said George, delighted. "I wish I'd thought of that before. I had to make about five journeys to and from the boat when I took my own things. There are two barrows in the shed. We'll get them. One has a squeaky wheel, but we'll hope no one hears it."

Stinker heard the squeak, as he lay in a corner of Mrs. Stick's room. He pricked up his ears and growled softly. He did not dare to bark, for he was afraid of bringing Timothy up. Mrs. Stick did not hear the growl. She slept soundly, not even stirring.

She had no idea what was going on downstairs.

The things were all stowed into the boat. The children didn't like leaving them there unguarded. In the end they decided to leave Dick there, sleeping on the rugs. They stood thinking for a moment before they went back without Dick.

"I do hope we've remembered all we shall want," said George, wrinkling up her forehead. "Golly—I know! We haven't remembered a tin-opener—nor a thing to take off the tops of the ginger-beer bottles. They've got those little tin lids that have to be forced off by an opener."

"We'll put those in our pockets when we get back to the house and find them," said Julian. "I remember seeing some in the sideboard drawer. Good-bye, Dick. We'll be down very early to row off. We must get some bread at the baker's as soon as he opens, because we've got hardly any, and we'll see if we can pick up a very large bone at the butcher's for Timmy. George has got a bag of biscuits in the boat for him too."

The three of them set off back to the house with Timmy, leaving Dick curled up comfortably on the rugs. He soon fell asleep again, his face upturned to the stars that would soon fade from the sky.

The others talked about what to tell the Sticks. "I think we won't tell them anything," said Julian, at last. "I don't particularly want to tell them deliberate lies, and I'm certainly not going to tell them the truth. I know what we'll do—there is a train that leaves the station about eight o'clock, which would be the one we'd catch if we were going back to our own home. We'll find a time-table, leave it open on the dining-room table, as if we'd been looking up a train, and then we'll all set off across the moor at the back of the house, as if we were going to the station."

"Oh yes—then the Sticks will think we've run away, and gone to catch; the train back home," said Anne. "They will never guess we've gone to the island."

"That's a good idea," said George, pleased. "But how shall we know when Father and Mother get back?"

"Is there anyone you could leave a message with—somebody you could really trust?"

asked Julian.

George thought hard. "There's Alf the fisher-boy," she said at last. "He used to look after Tim for me when I wasn't allowed to have him in the house. I know he'd not give us away."

"We'll call on Alf before we go then," said Julian. "Now, let's look for that time-table and lay it open on the table at the right place."

They hunted for the time-table, found the right page, and underlined the train they hoped that the Sticks would think they were catching. They found the tin and bottle openers,and put them into their pockets. Julian found two or three more boxes of matches too. He thought two would not last long enough.

By this time dawn had come and the house was being flooded with early sunshine. "I wonder if the baker is open," said Julian. "We might as well go and see. It's about six o'clock."

They went to the baker. He was not open, but the new loaves had already been made.

The baker was outside, sunning himself. He had baked his bread at night, ready to sell it new-made in the morning. He grinned at the children.

"Up early today," he said. "What, you want some of my loaves—how many? Six! Good gracious, whatever for?"

"To eat," said George, grinning. Julian paid for six enormous loaves, and they went to the butcher's. His shop was not open either, but the butcher himself was sweeping the path outside. "Could we buy a very big bone for Timmy, please?" asked George. She got an enormous one, and Timmy looked at it longingly. Such a bone would last him for days, he knew!

"Now," said Julian, as they set off to the boat, "we'll pack these things into the boat, then'go back to the house, and make a noise so that the Sticks know we're there.

Then we'll set off across the moors, and hope the Sticks will think we are making for the train."

They woke Dick, who was still sleeping peacefully in the boat, and packed in the bread and bone.

"Take the boat into the next cove," said George. "Can you do that? We shall be hidden there from anyone on the beach then. The fishermen are all out in their boats, fishing. We shan't be seen, if we set offin about an hour's time. We'll be back by then."

They went back to the house and made a noise as if they were just getting up. George whistled to Timmy, and Julian sang at the top of his voice. Then, with a great banging of doors they set out down the path and cut across the moors, in full sight of the kitchen window.

"Hope the Sticks won't notice Dick isn't with us," said Julian, seeing Edgar staring out of the window. "I expect they'll think he's gone ahead."

They kept to the path until they came to a dip, where they were hidden from any watcher at Kirrin Cottage. Then they took another path that led them, unseen, to the cove where Dick had taken the boat. He was there, waiting anxiously for them.

"Ahoy there!" yelled Julian, in excitement. "The adventure is about to begin."

KIRRIN ISLAND ONCE MORE!

THEY all clambered into the boat. Timothy leapt in lightly and ran to the prow, where he always stood. His tongue hung out in excitement. He knew quite well that something was up—and he was in it! No wonder he panted and wagged his tail hard.

"Off we go!" said Julian, taking the oars. "Sit over there a bit, Anne. The luggage is weighing "down the boat awfully the other end. Dick, sit by Anne to keep the balance better. That's right. Off we go!"

And off they went in George's boat, rocking up and down on the waves. The sea was fairly calm, but a good breeze blew through their hair. The water splashed round the boat and made a nice gurgly, friendly noise. The children all felt very happy. They were on their own. They were escaping from the horrid Sticks. They were going to stay on Kirrin Island, with the rabbits and gulls and jackdaws.

"Doesn't that new-made bread smell awfully good?" said Dick, feeling very hungry as usual. "Can we just grab a bit, do you think?"

"Yes, let's," said George. So they broke off bits of the warm brown crust, handed some to Julian, who was rowing, and chewed the delicious new-made bread. Timmy got a bit too, but his was gone as soon as it went into his mouth.

"Timmy's funny," said Anne. "He never eats his food as we do—he seems to drink it—

just takes it into his mouth and swallows it, as if it was water!"

The others laughed. "He doesn't drink his bones." said George. "He always eats those all right—chews on them for hours and hours. Don't you, Timothy?"

"Woof!" said Timmy, agreeing. He eyed the place where that enormous bone was, wishing he could have it now. But the children wouldn't let him. They were afraid it might go overboard, and that would be a pity.

"I don't believe anyone has noticed us going," said Julian. "Except Alf the fisher-boy, of course. We told him about going to the island, Dick, but nobody else."

They had called at Alf's house on their way to the cove. Alf was alone in the yard at the back.: His mother was away and his father was out fishing. They had told him their secret, and Alf had nodded his tousled head and promised faithfully to tell nobody at all. He was evidently very proud at being trusted.

"If my mother and father come back, you must let us know," said George. "Sail as near the island as you dare, and hail us. You can get nearer to it than anyone else."

"I'll do that," promised Alf, wishing he could go with them.