The other children said No.
The days passed on the island. Food was brought over and the beach was checked for any signs to planes.
One day when Tiger had left the children food, Bertha said, "It's wunnerful the way you English have discovered a way to stop bread from becoming stale so fast."
The other children looked puzzled. Suddenly Dick exclaimed, "Don't you see! Tiger and co. must be getting fresh food over here every day! They must be leaving the Island or somebody's coming across by boat. We must be a able to find some way of getting away or even sending a message across!"
In came the Taggertys. They were clean, except Biddy knees looked like she had been crawling half a mile in some muddy place.
"Ok, but how do they get their food?" asked Julian. "You say it's got to be by boat Dick, but couldn't they also use the old tunnel? They want us to stay away from the ruined castle, could it be because of that?"
"You just never knew what would happen. It made life exciting, of course - but it did spoil a cycling tour!"
"That's certainly a possibility." said Dick. "I wish I knew what they're doing here though. It seems a bit peculiar that we don't see any sort of activity going on."
"And Tiger's two days has stretched a bit, hasn't it." said George. "We must have been here nearly a week now."
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
"Yes, and Tiger seems to be more and more nervous each day he brings us our food," added Anne.
"So what do we make of this?" asked Julian. But before anybody could answer, Tiger called to them: "Children! Can I come over?"
Julian shrugged and whispered: "Now what may he want now?" Aloud he said: "Yes, you may."
Tiger walked up to them and said: "I have a bit of happy news for you. We'll be off tonight, so from tomorrow you'll be free as a bird again. I shall leave you some supplies and a note where to find your boat in the room with the fireplace when we leave. However there is one thing I must ask from you. Under no circumstances must you show yourselves tonight. My friends and me, we go on holiday with some other friends who collect us here - and they wouldn't want any witnesses. So I won't even tell them you are here."
"You just never knew what would happen. It made life exciting, of course - but it did spoil a cycling tour!"
"Yes, I think I understand." said Julian. "What happens if we don't stay exactly here though? "
Tiger shook his head. "Just do as I say, then you will find you may get away with ease. Show yourselves tonight though....!" and Tiger shook his head again, more menacingly than they had seen him before.
"OK, OK" said Julian "We get the idea. Is that all you have to say to us after keeping us prisoners on our own island?"
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
"Apart from that I am very sorry for what I did to you and how much I spoilt your holidays, there is no more I could tell you. It's better for your own safety if you don't know, you see. But I will leave you a few lines with the supplies. Maybe you'll understand me. If so and if you feel you can forgive me, well, I suppose I shall feel a certain relief."
He turned and left.
When he had gone out of earshot, George looked at the others: "I think I know this man Tiger, I mean."
"You know him? How?" asked Berta.
"Funny you should ask, Berta," replied George, "as if I'm right you might know him as well. From your father."
"You think he's a scientist, too?" asked Dick.
"No, I think he works for the ministry of science," answered George.
"You just never knew what would happen. It made life exciting, of course - but it did spoil a cycling tour!"
"It's all very peculiar." said Dick as they watched Tiger walk away.
George and Berta were staring at each other, a worried look on both their faces.
"Tiger and the others must be here in connection with what our fathers are doing." said George as she sat stroking Timmy's head.
Berta nodded and hugged Sally closer to her.
"What shall we do about obeying Tiger's orders about tonight?" asked Dick, looking at his brother.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
"We'll have to obey them," said Julian,"It isn't worth getting ourselves into even more danger."
"There must be something we can do," Dick exclaimed.
"We'll just have to wait and see what happens tonight."
In came the Taggertys. They were clean, except Biddy knees looked like she had been crawling half a mile in some muddy place.
"I wonder if their food has been brought through the tunnel". said Anne as she prepared some food for everyone.
"Well when they've gone we may be able to find out." said Dick.
"I bet they'll block it up so we can't escape that way." said George gloomily.
"And I wonder what we'd find when we got to the other end and came out in the quarry." said Julian.
"Some trap do you mean?" asked George.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
"I'm not to sure." Julian replied thoughtfully.
He seemed to be thinking deeply about something.
"What are you thinking Julian?" Anne asked curiously.
"Well, I'm just thinking, if George seems to recognise these people, linking somehow to her fathers science, what's to say Uncle Quentin, Aunt Fanny and Berta's father are not in great danger to? I mean if they are trying to figure out some secret or something belonging to Uncle Quentin. I mean they may have kidnapped them or anything..."
Anne and Berta began to cry, imagining Uncle Quentin and Berta's father kidnapped together, being forced to give up their precious secrets.
"Now, what I'm saying is that we should all watch tonight to see what happens. I mean... we may see something that could give us a clue to this mystery."
The night came closer. As it reached six o' clock the children took it in turns to watch out for anything happening outside. The others lazed about wondering what could possibly happen that night. Ten o' clock arrived. By now, it was Dick's turn to watch out. Timmy stood by him watching to. The others were asleep in the cave room. Suddenly the throbbing of a sea plane awoke each one and make Dick jump in fright. Timmy give a low growl. The sea plane hovered the Island for a moment until it slowly lowered to the ground.
Voices could be heard in the distance. Voices of the three men. They were obviously getting ready to go and it seemed they were going in this sea plane!
"Lets go and see what's happening." George said. So they walked quietly round to a big empty patch of ground where the sea plane had landed. It wasn't a very big one, in fact, quite small. The men, not noticing the watching children, swung open the door of the plane. There was such a surprise next, it was very unclear to the children what happened, it was all over so quickly.
After the door was open, it suddenly revealed Uncle Quentin, Aunt Fanny and Berta's father, sat in the back passengers seat, gagged and looking very worried. As soon as George saw this, she couldn't help but let out a piercing scream. The men jumped and turned to see the children. In seconds the children were shoved into the sea plane, the men jumped in after, and then they were flying off in to the night...
"Beware of young men with long hair - that's what dad says, isn't it?"
Pat, Holiday House
Several things were happing very quickly now. The pilot shouted something in a foreign language and Tiger translated: "We are too heavy, we cannot get airborne! Quick, is there any calm bit of sea where we can land?"
"Why should I tell you that?" shouted George.
"Because if you don't the pilot has to ditch anywhere in this pitch black darkness and will most likely crash us to bits, that why!"
"You just never knew what would happen. It made life exciting, of course - but it did spoil a cycling tour!"
"Quick George," shouted Julian. "Guide the pilot into Kirrin bay."
"Not there!" roared Tiger. "It's too close to the shore. Go out to sea."
"No time," said Dick quietly "I can see we'll be landing on the water any minute now!"
The pilot did his best and the seaplane skimmed over the surface before coming to rest on the heaving waves.
While this was happening Anne and Dick had managed to get the gags off the three adults and Berta flung herself sobbing into her father's arms.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
The Five eagerly watched Tiger and his two men. They knew they couldn't get out of the plane without the men moving first.
Tiger quietly whispered with the two men and the pilot, who was just saying, in heavily accented English: "I tell you, it's impossible! We cannot take all people. Four or Five have to go!"
Tiger's face clouded: "Yes, but go where? No need to show me your gun, that's not an option. I've seen enough shooting in my life. No shooting, no killing and that's final!"
"If we just sit here and wait, the police will get us," said one of the other men.
The pilot now produced his gun and pointed it at the children: "I don't care what you say. I have my orders and these are, you three, the two professors and the woman," he said. "So the children have to be..." He couldn't finish the sentence.
Dick who had been watching Tiger closely didn't even see the man move, all he saw was a big, shiny revolver appearing in the man's hand. With an ear-splittering bang the scene exploded.
The pilot cried out in pain and held his hand.
"I warned you! No shooting of children, I said. And while I'm at it, I might just add one more thing: You are under arrest!" shouted Tiger.
The men went pale. "A cop, I should have known," snarled Fred.
"Not exactly, I work for the intelligence services, but you were close enough. And if you don't want to get the same or better as your flyboy friend here, you'd better hand your guns to the boys. And be careful to hold them by the barrels. Then you can get on the fenders and inflate the dinghies."
George was busy undoing her parents' bonds while Anne tried to untie Berta's father.
Grudgingly, the two men obeyed and handed their guns to Dick and Julian.
"Now the dinghies, and slowly," commanded the man they all knew as Tiger.
"You just never knew what would happen. It made life exciting, of course - but it did spoil a cycling tour!"
Sulkily the two men did as Tiger told them. When the dinghies were inflated Tiger turned to George's father. "Would you like to get into one of these?" he asked politely.
Quentin looked astounded. He turned to his wife and said "Fanny, do you want to get into that small craft or shall we stay here and let the children go?"
"We'll go Father." said George at once, and glancing at Tiger who nodded to her, she made her way across to the nearest dinghy and got in carefully. She had hardly sat down when Timmy hurtled after her and the little craft rocked as he got as close to George as possible.
"Oh dear, that dog!" exclaimed Quentin, but his wife laughed. "You might know he wouldn't let George out of his sight. Have you room for another?" she called across to where her daughter was busy getting the oars into position.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
"Yes, mother, no problem at all," called back George.
"Before you leave for the shore, please listen very carefully," said Tiger.
George looked at the man expectantly.
"Go straight to the police station and ask them to ring the inspector. When they've got him on the line, ask to speak with him and tell him the following: Pussycat got the mice, that should bring him here. Then ask the policemen to get a boat ready and fetch us. Thank you."
George skillfully rowed the boat ashore and while Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny went back to Kirrin Cottage, she ran up to the police station where she rung the bell. The time seemed endless till a very sleepy voice called out: "Hello! Do you need help?"
George quickly told the sergeant who had called out to her what Tiger had said.
At the plane, Tiger asked the boys to help him tie the two men up while Berta's father guarded the wounded pilot. Julian and Dick hadn't forgotten what the men had intended for them and happily assisted the officer. When the sergeant and a constable arrived with a motor boat twenty minutes later, they took the prisoners, Anne, Berta and her father with them. Tiger, Julian and Dick took the second dinghy.
"You just never knew what would happen. It made life exciting, of course - but it did spoil a cycling tour!"
