pocket a little while ago, nibbling one of them as fast as he could."
"I hope it won't make him ill," said Philip in alarm. "I say, look! — here comes a gull — tame as anything. It wants a biscuit too, I should think."
It did. It had watched Kiki pecking at a biscuit and enjoying it, and it didn't see why it shouldn't have a share. Kiki saw the gull out of the corner of her eye and sidled away. The gull made a pounce, got the biscuit and rose into the air, making a loud laughing noise. "Ee-oo, ee-oo, ee-oo!"
Kiki flew up angrily, calling out all kinds of things to the gull. They were meant to be very rude, but unfortunately the gull didn't understand. Kiki could not catch the strong-winged bird and flew disconsolately back to the children.
"You can't complain, Kiki," said Jack. "You shouldn't have pinched that biscuit out of the tin — and the gull shouldn't have pinched it from you. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other."
"What a pity, what a pity!" said Kiki, and sidled near the biscuit tin again.
"That bird is a real clown," said Bill, shaking the crumbs off his jersey. "Now, who's coming back to the boat with me to hear the news on the wireless? Also I must send out a few messages — especially one for your mother, Philip, who will be sure to want to know if we've got here safely."
They all wanted to stretch their legs, so they walked back over the soft cushions of the sea-pinks, whose bold little pink heads nodded everywhere in the wind.
They watched Bill as he put up his little wireless mast and fiddled about with the set. It was a transmitter as well as a receiver.
"I suppose if you send messages home every night, we shan't need to post letters off to Aunt Allie," said Lucy-Ann.
Everyone roared. "And where would you post a letter, pray?" asked Jack. "I haven't seen a pillar-box anywhere about. Lucy-Ann, you're an idiot."
"Yes, I am!" said Lucy-Ann, going red. "Of course we can't post anything here! How useful that you can send messages, Bill! Then if any of us wanted help, you could get it."
"Quite so," said Bill. "But I hope if you wanted help I could whizz you off in the motor-boat. Anyway I wouldn't have consented to bring you all away into the wilds like this, if I hadn't a transmitter with me, so that I could send messages every night. I send them to headquarters, and they telephone them to your aunt. So she'll follow our travels and adventures each night."
They watched for a while, and then listened to part of a programme. Then Lucy-Ann yawned and Kiki imitated her. "Blow! You make me feel sleepy," said Dinah, rubbing her eyes. "Look, it's getting dark!"
So back they went to their tents, and were soon cuddled into their rugs. The birds called incessantly from the cliffs and the sea. "I believe they keep awake all night," thought Dinah. But they didn't. They slept too when the darkness came at last.
The next day was very warm and close. "Looks to me like a storm blowing up sooner or later," said Bill, screwing up his eyes and looking into the bright sky. "I almost think we'd better try and find our headquarters today, so that we have some shelter if a storm does blow up. This sort of holiday needs fine weather if it's going to be successful — a storm wouldn't be at all pleasant, with only tents to sleep in — we'd be blown to bits."
"I just want to take a few photographs of these cliffs and the birds on them," said Jack. "I'll do that whilst you're getting down the tents, if you don't mind my not helping you."
So off he went with Kiki towards the steep cliffs. Bill called after him that he was not to try any climbing down the cliffs, and he shouted back that he wouldn't.
Soon everything was packed away again on the motor-boat, which was just being floated by the rising tide, and they waited patiently for Jack. He soon appeared, his glasses and his camera slung round his neck, and his face beaming.
"Got
"I hope it won't make him ill," said Philip in alarm. "I say, look! — here comes a gull — tame as anything. It wants a biscuit too, I should think."
It did. It had watched Kiki pecking at a biscuit and enjoying it, and it didn't see why it shouldn't have a share. Kiki saw the gull out of the corner of her eye and sidled away. The gull made a pounce, got the biscuit and rose into the air, making a loud laughing noise. "Ee-oo, ee-oo, ee-oo!"
Kiki flew up angrily, calling out all kinds of things to the gull. They were meant to be very rude, but unfortunately the gull didn't understand. Kiki could not catch the strong-winged bird and flew disconsolately back to the children.
"You can't complain, Kiki," said Jack. "You shouldn't have pinched that biscuit out of the tin — and the gull shouldn't have pinched it from you. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other."
"What a pity, what a pity!" said Kiki, and sidled near the biscuit tin again.
"That bird is a real clown," said Bill, shaking the crumbs off his jersey. "Now, who's coming back to the boat with me to hear the news on the wireless? Also I must send out a few messages — especially one for your mother, Philip, who will be sure to want to know if we've got here safely."
They all wanted to stretch their legs, so they walked back over the soft cushions of the sea-pinks, whose bold little pink heads nodded everywhere in the wind.
They watched Bill as he put up his little wireless mast and fiddled about with the set. It was a transmitter as well as a receiver.
"I suppose if you send messages home every night, we shan't need to post letters off to Aunt Allie," said Lucy-Ann.
Everyone roared. "And where would you post a letter, pray?" asked Jack. "I haven't seen a pillar-box anywhere about. Lucy-Ann, you're an idiot."
"Yes, I am!" said Lucy-Ann, going red. "Of course we can't post anything here! How useful that you can send messages, Bill! Then if any of us wanted help, you could get it."
"Quite so," said Bill. "But I hope if you wanted help I could whizz you off in the motor-boat. Anyway I wouldn't have consented to bring you all away into the wilds like this, if I hadn't a transmitter with me, so that I could send messages every night. I send them to headquarters, and they telephone them to your aunt. So she'll follow our travels and adventures each night."
They watched for a while, and then listened to part of a programme. Then Lucy-Ann yawned and Kiki imitated her. "Blow! You make me feel sleepy," said Dinah, rubbing her eyes. "Look, it's getting dark!"
So back they went to their tents, and were soon cuddled into their rugs. The birds called incessantly from the cliffs and the sea. "I believe they keep awake all night," thought Dinah. But they didn't. They slept too when the darkness came at last.
The next day was very warm and close. "Looks to me like a storm blowing up sooner or later," said Bill, screwing up his eyes and looking into the bright sky. "I almost think we'd better try and find our headquarters today, so that we have some shelter if a storm does blow up. This sort of holiday needs fine weather if it's going to be successful — a storm wouldn't be at all pleasant, with only tents to sleep in — we'd be blown to bits."
"I just want to take a few photographs of these cliffs and the birds on them," said Jack. "I'll do that whilst you're getting down the tents, if you don't mind my not helping you."
So off he went with Kiki towards the steep cliffs. Bill called after him that he was not to try any climbing down the cliffs, and he shouted back that he wouldn't.
Soon everything was packed away again on the motor-boat, which was just being floated by the rising tide, and they waited patiently for Jack. He soon appeared, his glasses and his camera slung round his neck, and his face beaming.
"Got
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