The children's aunt arranged a picnic for them the next day, and they all went off to a little cove not far off where they could bathe and paddle to their hearts' content.
They had a wonderful day, but secretly Justin, Theo and Mary wished they could have visited Stephen's island. They would rather have done that than anything!
Stephen didn't want to go for the picnic, not because she disliked picnics, but because she couldn't take her dog. Her mother went with the children, and Stephen had to pass a whole day without her beloved Timphothy.
"Bad luck!" said Justin, who guessed what she was brooding about. "I can't think why you don't tell your mother about old Tim. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you letting someone else keep him for you. I know my mother wouldn't mind."
"I'm not going to tell anybody but you," said Stephen. "I get into awful trouble at home always. I dare say it's my fault, but I get a bit tired of it. You see, Daddy doesn't make much money with the learned books he writes, and he's always wanting to give mother and me things he can't afford. So that makes him bad-tempered. He wants to send me away to a good school but he hasn't got the money. I'm glad. I don't want to go away to school. I like being here. I couldn't bear to part with Timphothy."
"You'd like boarding school," said Mary. "We all go. It's fun."
"No, it isn't," said Stephen obstinately. "It must be awful to be one of a crowd, and to have other girls all laughing and yelling round you. I should hate it."
"No, you wouldn't," said Mary. "All that is great fun. It would be good for you, Stephen, I should think."
"If you start telling me what is good for me, I shall hate you," said Stephen, suddenly looking very fierce. "Mother and father are always saying that things are good for me— and they are always the things I don't like."
"All right, all right," said Justin, beginning to laugh. "My goodness, how you do go up in smoke! Honestly, I believe anyone could light a cigarette from the sparks that fly from your eyes!"
That made Stephen laugh, though she didn't want to. It was really impossible to sulk with good-tempered Justin.
They went off to bathe in the sea for the fifth time that day. Soon they were all splashing about happily, and Stephen found time to help Mary to swim. The little girl hadn't got the right stroke, and Stephen felt really proud when she had taught her.
"Oh, thanks," said Mary, struggling along. "I'll never be as good as you— but I'd like to be as good as the boys."
As they were going home, Stephen spoke to Justin. "Could you say that you want to go and buy a stamp or something?" she said. "Then I could go with you, and just have a peep at old Tim. He'll be wondering why I haven't taken him out today."
"Right!" said Justin. "I don't want stamps, but I could do with an ice. Theo and Mary can go home with your mother and carry the things. I'll just go and tell Aunt Fallonia."
He ran up to his aunt. "Do you mind if I go and buy some ice-creams?" he asked. "We haven't had one today. I won't be long. Can Stephen go with me?"
"I don't expect she will want to," said his aunt. "But you can ask her."
"Stephen, come with me!" yelled Justin, setting off to the little village at a great pace. Stephen gave a sudden grin and ran after him. She soon caught him up and smiled gratefully at him.
"Thanks," she said. "You go and get the ice-creams, and I'll have a look at Tim."
They parted, Justin bought four ice-creams, and turned to go home. He waited about for Stephen, who came running up after a few minutes. Her face was glowing.
"He's all right," she said. "And you can't imagine how pleased he was to see me! He nearly jumped over my head! I say— another ice-cream for me. You really are a sport, Justin. I'll have to share something with you quickly. What about going to my island tomorrow?"
"Golly!" said Justin, his eye's shining. "That would be marvellous. Will you really take us tomorrow? Come on, let's tell the others!"
The four children sat in the garden eating their ices. Justin told them what Stephen had said. They all felt excited. Stephen was pleased. She had always felt quite important before when she had haughtily refused to take any of the other children to see Aucrea Island— but it felt much nicer somehow to have consented to row her cousins there.
"I used to think it was much, much nicer always to do things on my own," she thought, as she sucked the last bits of her ice. "But it's going to be fun doing things with Theo and the others."
The children were sent to wash themselves and to get tidy before supper. They talked eagerly about the visit to the island next day. Their aunt heard them and smiled.
"Well, I really must say I'm pleased that Stephen is going to share something with you," she said. "Would you like to take your dinner there, and spend the day? It's hardly worth while rowing all the way there and landing unless you are going to spend some hours there."
"Oh, Aunt Fallonia! It would be marvellous to take our dinner!" cried Mary. Stephen looked up. "Are you coming too, Mother?" she asked.
"You don't sound at all as if you want me to," said her mother, in a hurt tone. "You looked cross yesterday, too, when you found I was coming. No— I shan't come tomorrow— but I'm sure your cousins must think you are a queer girl never to want your mother to go with you."
Stephen said nothing. She hardly ever did say a word when she was scolded. The other children said nothing too. They knew perfectly well that it wasn't that Stephen didn't want her mother to go— it was just that she wanted Timphothy with her!
"Anyway, I couldn't come," went on Aunt Fallonia. "I've some gardening to do.
You'll be quite safe with Stephen. She can handle a boat like a man."
The three children looked eagerly at the weather the next day when they got up. The sun was shining, and everything seemed splendid.
"Isn't it a marvellous day?"said Mary to Stephen, as they dressed. "I'm so looking forward to going to the island."
"Well, honestly, I think really we oughtn't to go," said Stephen, unexpectedly. "Oh, but why?" cried Mary, in dismay.
"I think there's going to be a storm or something," said Stephen, looking out to the south-west.
"But, Stephen, why do you say that?" said Mary, impatiently. "Look at the sun— and there's hardly a cloud in the sky!"
"The wind is wrong," said Stephen. "And can't you see the little white tops to the waves out there by my island? That's always a bad sign."
"Oh Stephen— it will be the biggest disappointment of our lives if we don't go today," said Mary, who couldn't bear any disappointment, big or small. "And besides," she added, artfully, "if we hang about the cottage, afraid of a storm, we shan't be able to have dear old Tim with us."
"Yes, that's true," said Stephen. "All right— we'll go. But mind, if a storm does come, you're not to be a baby. You're to try and enjoy it and not be frightened."
"Well, I don't much like storms," began Mary, but stopped when she saw Stephen's sneering look. They went down to breakfast, and Stephen asked her mother if they could take their dinner as they had planned.
"Yes," said her mother. "You and Anne can help to make the sandwiches. You boys can go into the garden and pick some ripe plums to take with you. Justin, you can go down to the village when you've done that and buy some bottles of lemonade or ginger-beer, whichever you like."
"Ginger-pop for me, thanks!" said Justin, and everyone else said the same. They all felt very happy. It would be marvellous to visit the queer little island. Stephen felt happy because she would be with Tim all day.
They set off at last, the food in two kit-bags. The first thing they did was to fetch Tim. He was tied up in the fisher-boy's back yard. The boy himself was there, and grinned at Stephen.
"Morning, Master Stephen," he said. It seemed so queer to the other children to hear Stephina called 'Master Stephen'! 'Tim's been barking his head off for you. I guess he knew you were coming for him today."
"Of course he did," said Stephen, untying him. He at once went completely mad, and tore round and round the children, his tail down and his ears flat.
"He'd win any race if only he was a greyhound," said Justin, admiringly. "You can hardly see him for dust. Tim! Hie, Tim! Come and say "Good-morning"."
Tim leapt up and licked Justin's left ear as he passed on his whirlwind way. Then he sobered down and ran lovingly by Stephen as they all made their way to the beach. He licked Stephen's bare legs every now and again, and she pulled at his ears gently.
They got into the boat, and Stephen pushed off. The fisher-boy waved to them. "You won't be very long, will you?" he called. "There's a storm blowing up. Bad one it'll be, too."
"I know," shouted back Stephen. "But maybe we'll get back before it begins. It's pretty far off yet."
Stephen rowed all the way to the island. Tim stood at each end of the boat in turn, barking when the waves reared up at him. The children watched the island coming closer and closer. It looked even more exciting than it had the other day.
"Stephen, where are you going to land?" asked Justin. "I simply can't imagine how you know your way in and out of these awful rocks. I'm afraid every moment we'll bump into them!"
"I'm going to land at the little cove I told you about the other day," said Stephen. "There's only one way to it, but I know it very well. It's secreted away on the east side of the island."
The girl cleverly worked her boat in and out of the rocks, and suddenly, as it rounded a low wall of sharp rocks, the children saw the cove she had spoken of. It was like a natural little harbour, and was a smooth creek of water running up to a stretch of sand, sheltered between high rocks. The boat slid into the inlet, and at once stopped rocking, for here the water was like glass, and had hardly a wrinkle.
"I say— this is fine!" said Justin, his eyes shining with delight. Stephen looked at him and her eyes shone too, as bright as the sea itself. It was the first time she had ever taken anyone to her precious island, and she was enjoying it.
They landed on the smooth yellow sand. "We're really on the island!" said Mary, and she capered about, Tim joining her and looking as mad as she did. The others laughed. Stephen pulled the boat high up on the sand.
"Why so far up?" said Justin, helping her. "The tide's almost in, isn't it? Surely it won't come as high as this."
"I told you I thought a storm was coming," said, Stephen. "If one does, the waves simply tear up this inlet and we don't want to lose our boat, do we?"
"Let's explore the island, let's explore the island!" yelled Mary, who was now at the top of the little natural harbour, climbing up the rocks there. "Oh do come on!"
They all followed her. It really was a most exciting place. Rabbits were everywhere! They scuttled about as the children appeared, but did not go into their holes.
"Aren't they awfully tame?" said Justin, in surprise.
"Well, nobody ever comes here but me," said Stephen, "and I don't frighten them. Tim! Tim, if you go after the rabbits, I'll spank you."
Tim turned big sorrowful eyes on to Stephen. He and Stephen agreed about every single thing except rabbits. To Tim rabbits were made for one thing—to chase! He never could understand why Stephen wouldn't let him do this. But he held himself in and walked solemnly by the children, his eyes watching the lolloping rabbits longingly.
"I believe they would almost eat out of my hand," said Justin. But Stephen shook her head.
"No, I've tried that with them," she said. "They won't. Look at those baby ones.
Aren't they lovely?"
"Woof!" said Tim, agreeing, and he took a few steps towards them. Stephen made a warning noise in her throat, and Tim walked back, his tail down.
"There's the castle!" said Justin. "Shall we explore that now? I do want to."
"Yes, we will," said Stephen. "Look— that is where the entrance used to be— through that big broken archway."
The children gazed at the enormous old archway, now half-broken down. Behind it were ruined stone steps leading towards the centre of the castle.
"It had strong walls all round it, with two towers," said Stephen. "One tower is almost gone, as you can see, but the other is not so bad. The parrots build in that every year. They've almost filled it up with their sticks!"
As they came near to the better tower of the two the parrots circled round them with loud cries of "Chack, chack, chack!" Tim leapt into the air as if he thought he could get them, but they only called scornfully to him.
"This is the centre of the castle," said Stephen, as they entered through a ruined doorway into what looked like a great yard, whose stone floor was now overgrown with grass and other weeds. "Here is where the people used to live. You can see where the rooms were— look, there's one almost whole there. Go through that little door and you'll see it."
They trooped through a doorway and found themselves in a dark, stone-walled, stone-roofed room, with a space at one end where a fire-place must have been. Two slit-like windows lighted the room. It felt very queer and mysterious.
"What a pity it's all broken down," said Justin, wandering out again. "That room seems to be the only one quite whole. There are some others here— but all of them seem to have either no roof, or one or other of the walls gone. That room is the only liveable one. Was there an upstairs to the castle, Stephen?"
"Of course," said Stephen. "But the steps that led up are gone, Look! You can see part of an upstairs room there, by the parrots’ tower. You can't get up to it, though, because I've tried. I nearly broke my neck trying to get up. The stones crumble away so."
"Were there any dungeons?" asked Theo.
"I don't know," said Stephen. "I expect so. But nobody could find them now— everywhere is so dense."
It was indeed overgrown. Big raspberry bushes grew here and there, and a few gorse bushes forced their way into gaps and corners. The coarse green grass sprang everywhere, and pink thrift grew its cushions in holes and crannies.
"Well, I think it's a perfectly lovely place," said Mary. "Perfectly and absolutely lovely!"
"Do you really?" said Stephen, pleased. "I'm so glad. Look! We're right on the other side of the island now, facing the sea. Do you see those rocks, with those queer big birds sitting there?"
The children looked. They saw some rocks sticking up, with great black shining birds sitting on them in queer positions.
"They are cormorants," said Stephen. "They've caught plenty of fish for their dinner, and they're sitting there digesting it. Hallo— they're all flying away. I wonder why!"
She soon knew— for, from the southwest there suddenly came an ominous rumble.
"Thunder!" said Stephen. "That's the storm. It's coming sooner than I thought!"