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"Now listen to me," said the man, after he had had a hurried talk with his companion. "If you are going to be sensible, nothing unpleasant will happen to you. But if you want to be obstinate, you'll be very sorry. What we are going to do is this- we're going off in our motor-boat, leaving you nicely locked up here- and we're going to get a ship and come back for the gold. We don't think it's worth while buying the island now we know where the ingots are."
"And you are going to write a note to your companions above, telling them you've found the gold and they are to come down and look for it," said the other man. "Then we shall lock up all of you in this dungeon, with the ingots to play with, leaving you food and drink till we come back. Now then- here is a pencil. Write a note to Dick and A
"I won't," said George, her face furious. "I won't. You can't make me do a thing like that. I won't get poor Dick and A
"We shall shoot your dog if you don't do as you're told," said the first man, suddenly. George's heart sank down and she felt cold and terrified.
"No, no," she said, in a low, desperate voice.
"Well, write the note then," said the man, offering her a pencil and paper. "Go on. I'll tell you what to say."
"I can't!" sobbed George. "I don't want to get Dick and A
"All right- I'll shoot the dog then," said the man, in a cold voice and he levelled his revolver at poor Tim. George threw her arms round her dog and gave a scream.
"No, no! I'll write the note. Don't shoot Tim, don't shoot him!"
The girl took the paper and pencil in a shaking hand and looked at the man. "Write this," he ordered. " "Dear Dick and A
George wrote what the man had said. Then she signed her name. But instead of writing ‘George’ she put ‘ Georgina.’ She knew that the others would feel certain she would never sign herself that- and she hoped it would warn them that something queer was up. The man took the note and fastened it to Tim's collar. The dog growled all the time, but George kept telling him not to bite.
"Now tell him to go and find your friends," said the man.
"Find Dick and A
Tim did not want to leave George, but there was something very urgent in her voice. He took one last look at his mistress, gave her hand a lick and sped off down the passage. He knew the way now. Up the rocky steps he bounded and into the open air. He stopped in the old yard, sniffing. Where were Dick and A
He smelt their footsteps and ran off, his nose to the ground. He soon found the two children out on the rocks. Dick was feeling better now and was sitting up. His cheek had almost stopped bleeding.
"Hallo," he said in surprise, when he saw Tim. "Here's Timothy! Why, Tim, old chap, why have you come to see us? Did you get tired of being underground in the dark?"
"Look, Dick- he's got something twisted into his collar," said A
Dick took the paper from Tim's collar. He undid it and read it.
"Dear Dick and A
"Oooh!" said A
But Dick did not get up from the rocks. He sat and stared at the note, puzzled.
"What's the matter?" said A
"Well, don't you think it's fu
"Oh, don't be so silly, Dick," said A
"A
But A
But when they came to the little harbour, they saw that there was another boat there, as well as their own. It was a motor-boat! Someone else was on the island!
"Look," said Dick, in a whisper. "There is someone else here. And I bet it's the men who want to buy the island. I bet they've read that old map and know there's gold here. And they've found George and Julian and want to get us all together down in the dungeons so that they can keep us safe till they've stolen the gold. That's why they made George send us that note- but she signed it with a name she never uses- to warn us! Now- we must think hard. What are we going to do?"
Chapter Fifteen. DICK TO THE RESCUE!
DICK caught hold of A
"Whoever has come has discovered Julian and George smashing in that door, I should think," said Dick, in a whisper. "I simply can't think what to do. We mustn't go down into the dungeons or we'll most certainly be caught. Hallo- where's Tim off to?"
The dog had kept with them for a while but now he ran off to the entrance of the dungeons. He disappeared down the steps. He meant to get back to George, for he knew she was in danger. Dick and A
They really didn't know what to do. Then A
"I'd thought of that," said Dick, gloomily. "But you know perfectly well we'd never know the way in and out of those awful rocks. We'd wreck the boat. I'm sure we're not strong enough either to row all the way back. Oh, dear- I do wish we could think what to do."
They didn't need to puzzle their brains long. The men came up out of the dungeons and began to hunt for the two children! They had seen Tim when he came back and had found the note gone. So they knew the two children had taken it- and they couldn't imagine why they had not obeyed what George had said in the note, and come down to the dungeons!
Dick heard their voices. He clutched hold of A
"A
A
The old stone slab that Tim had sat on when he fell down the well was still there. Dick climbed down to it and tested it. It was immovable.
"It's safe for you to sit on, A