"Gracious!" she shouted, 'it is a ship! Yes, it is! Is it being wrecked? It's a big ship- not a sailing-boat, or fishing-smack!"
"Oh, is anyone in it?" wailed Anne.
The four children watched and Tim began to bark as he saw the queer dark shape lurching here and there in the enormous waves. The sea was bringing the ship nearer to shore.
"It will be dashed on to those rocks," said Julian, suddenly. "Look- there it goes!"
As he spoke there came a tremendous crashing, splintering sound, and the dark shape of the ship settled down on to the sharp teeth of the dangerous rocks on the southwest side of the island. It stayed there, shifting only slightly as the big waves ran under it and lifted it a little.
"She's stuck there," said Julian. "She won't move now. The sea will soon be going down a bit, and then the ship will find herself held by those rocks."
As he spoke, a ray of pale sunshine came wavering out between a gap in the thinning clouds. It was gone almost at once. "Good!" said Dick, looking upwards. "The sun will be out again soon. We can warm ourselves then and get dry- and maybe we can find out what that poor ship is. Oh Julian- I do so hope there was nobody in it. I hope they've all taken to boats and got safely to land."
The clouds thinned out a little more. The wind stopped roaring and dropped to a steady breeze. The sun shone out again for a longer time, and the children felt its welcome warmth. They all stared at the ship on the rocks. The sun shone on it and lighted it up.
"There's something queer about it somehow," said Julian, slowly. "Something awfully queer. I've never seen a ship quite like it."
George was staring at it with a strange look in her eyes. She turned to face the three children, and they were astonished to see the bright gleam in her blue eyes. The girl looked almost too excited to speak.
"What is it?" asked Julian, catching hold of her hand.
"Julian- oh Julian- it's my wreck!" she cried, in a high excited voice. "Don't you see what's happened! The storm has lifted the ship up from the bottom of the sea, and has lodged it on those rocks. It's my wreck!"
The others saw at once that she was right. It was the old wrecked ship! No wonder it looked queer. No wonder it looked so old and dark, and such a strange shape. It was the wreck, lifted high out of its sleeping-place and put on the rocks near by.
"George! We shall be able to row out and get into the wreck now!" shouted Julian. "We shall be able to explore it from end to end. We may find the boxes of gold. Oh, George!"
Chapter Seven. BACK TO KIRRIN COTTAGE
THE four children were so tremendously surprised and excited that for a minute or two they didn't say a word. They just stared at the dark hulk of the old wreck, imagining what they might find. Then Julian clutched George's arm and pressed it tightly.
"Isn't this wonderful?" he said. "Oh, George, isn't it an extraordinary thing to happen?"
Still George said nothing, but stared at the wreck, all kinds of thoughts racing through her mind. Then she turned to Julian.
"If only the wreck is still mine now it's thrown up like this!" she said. "I don't know if wrecks belong to the queen or anyone, like lost treasure does. But after all, the ship did belong to our family. Nobody bothered much about it when it was down under the sea- but do you suppose people will still let me have it for my own now it's thrown up?"
"Well, don't let's tell anyone!" said Dick.
"Don't be silly," said George. "One of the fishermen is sure to see it when his ship goes slipping out of the bay. The news will soon be out."
"Well then, we'd better explore it thoroughly ourselves before anyone else does!" said Dick, eagerly. "No one knows about it yet. Only us. Can't we explore it as soon as the waves go down a bit?"
"We can't wade out to the rocks, if that's what you mean," said George. "We might get there by boat- but we couldn't possibly risk it now, while the waves are so big. They won't go down today, that's certain. The wind is still too strong."
"Well, what about tomorrow morning, early?" said Julian. "Before anyone has got to know about it? I bet if only we can get into the ship first, we can find anything there is to find!"
"Yes, I expect we could," said George. "I told you divers had been down and explored the ship as thoroughly as they could- but of course it is difficult to do that properly under water. We might find something they've missed. Oh, this is like a dream. I can't believe it's true that my old wreck has come up from the bottom of the sea like that!"
The sun was now properly out, and the children's wet clothes dried in its hot rays. They steamed in the sun, and even Tim's coat sent up a mist too. He didn't seem to like the wreck at all, but growled deeply at it.
"You are funny, Tim," said George, patting him. "It won't hurt you! What do you think it is?"
"He probably thinks it's a whale," said Anne with a laugh. "Oh, George- this is the most exciting day of my life! Oh, can't we possibly take the boat and see if we can get to the wreck?"
"No, we can't," said George. "I only wish we could. But it's quite impossible, Anne. For one thing I don't think the wreck has quite settled down on the rocks yet, and maybe it won't till the tide has gone down. I can see it lifting a little still when an extra big wave comes. It would be dangerous to go into it yet. And for another thing I don't want my boat smashed to bits on the rocks, and us thrown into that wild water! That's what would happen. We must wait till tomorrow. It's a good idea to come early. I expect lots of grown-ups will think it's their business to explore it."
The children watched the old wreck for a little time longer and then went all round the island again. It was certainly not very large, but it really was exciting, with its rocky little coast, its quiet inlet where their boat was, the ruined castle, the circling jackdaws, and the scampering rabbits everywhere.
"I do love it," said Anne. "I really do. It's just small enough to feel like an island. Most islands are too big to feel like islands. I mean, Britain is an island, but nobody living on it could possibly know it unless they were told. Now this island really feels like one because wherever you are you can see to the other side of it. I love it."
George felt very happy. She had often been on her island before, but always alone except for Tim. She had always vowed that she never, never would take anyone there, because it would spoil her island for her. But it hadn't been spoilt. It had made it much nicer. For the first time George began to understand that sharing pleasures doubles their joy.
"We'll wait till the waves go down a bit then we'll go back home," she said. "I rather think there's some more rain coming, and we'll only get soaked through. We shan't be back till tea-time as it is, because we'll have a long pull against the out-going tide."
All the children felt a little tired after the excitements of the morning. They said very little as they rowed home. Everyone took turns at rowing except Anne, who was not strong enough with the oars to row against the tide. They looked back at the island as they left it. They couldn't see the wreck because that was on the opposite side, facing the open sea.
"It's just as well it's there," said Julian. "No one can see it yet. Only when a boat goes out to fish will it be seen. And we shall be there as early as any boat goes out! I vote we get up at dawn."
"Well, that's pretty early," said George. "Can you wake up? I'm often out at dawn, but you're not used to it."
"Of course we can wake up," said Julian. "Well- here we are back at the beach again- and I'm jolly glad. My arms are awfully tired and I'm so hungry I could eat a whole larderful of things."
"Woof," said Tim, quite agreeing.
"I'll have to take Tim to Alf," said George, jumping out of the boat. "You get the boat in, Julian. I'll join you in a few minutes."