The Secret Island Read Free

but now, swimming in the hot June haze, it seemed more enchanting than ever. As they drew near to it, and saw the willow trees that bent over the water-edge and heard the sharp call of moorhens that scuttled off, the children gazed in delight. Nothing but trees and birds and little wild animals. Oh, what a secret island, all for their very own, to live on and play on.
    “Here’s the landing-place,” said Jack, and he guided the boat to a sloping sandy beach. He pulled it up on the sand, and the children jumped out and looked round. The landing-place was a natural little cove - a lovely spot for a picnic - but picnickers never came here! Only a lonely otter lay on the sand now and again, and moorhens scuttled across it. No fire had ever been made on this little beach to boil a kettle. No bits of old orange peel lay about, or rusty tins. It was quite unspoilt.
    “Let’s leave our things here and explore a bit,” said Mike, who was simply longing to see what the island was like. It seemed very big now they were on it.
    “All right,” said Jack, and he put his bag down.
    “Come on,” said Mike to the girls. “This is the beginning of a big adventure.”
    They left the little cove and went up through the thick trees. There were willows, alders, hazels, and elderberries at first, and then as they went up the hill that lay behind the cove there were silver birches and oaks. The hill was quite steep, and from the top the children could see a very long way - up the lake and down the lake.
    “I say! If we come here to live, this hill will make an awfully good place to watch for enemies from!” said Mike excitedly. “We can see everything from here, all round!”
    “Yes,” said Jack. “Nobody would be able to take us by surprise.”
    “We must come here, we must, we must!” said Nora. “Oh, look at those rabbits, Peggy - they are as tame as can be, and that chaffinch nearly came on to my hand! Why are they so tame, Mike?”
    “I suppose because they are not used to people,” said Mike. “What’s the other side of the hill, Jack? Shall we go down it?”
    “There are caves on the other side of the hill,” said Jack. “I haven’t explored those. They would make good hiding-places if anyone ever came to look for us here.”
    They went down the hill on the other side. Gorse grew there and heather and bracken. Jack pointed out a big cave in the hillside. It looked dark and gloomy in the hot sunshine.
    “We haven’t time to go there now,” said Jack. “But a cave would be an awfully good place to store anything in, wouldn’t it? It would keep things nice and dry.”
    A little way down the hill the children heard a bubbling noise.
    “What’s that?” asked Peggy, stopping.
    “Look! It’s a little spring!” cried Mike. “Oh, Jack! This shall be our water-supply! It’s as cold as can be, and as clear as crystal!”
    “It tastes fine, too,” said Jack. “I had a drink last time I was here. Lower down, another spring joins this one, and there is a tiny brook.”
    At the bottom of the hill was a thick wood. In clear patches great bushes of brambles grew. Jack pointed them out.
    “There will be thousands of blackberries in the autumn,” he said. “And as for hazel nuts, you should see them! And in another place I know here, on a warm slope, you can find wild raspberries by the score!”
    “Oh, do show us!” begged Mike. But Jack said there was not time. Besides, the raspberries wouldn’t be ripe yet.
    “The island is too big to explore all over to-day,” said Jack. “You’ve seen most of it - this big hill with its caves, the springs, the thick wood, and beyond the wood is a grassy field and then the water again. Oh, it is a glorious place!”
    “Jack, where shall we live on this island?” said Peggy, who always liked to have everything well settled in her mind.
    “We shall build a house of wood,” said Jack. “I know how to. That will do finely for the summer, and for the winter we will have to find a cave, I think.”
    The children gazed at one another in