Priscilla's Spies Part 33

"Isn't that Inishbawn?" said Miss Rutherford. "Jimmy Kinsella told me it was the day I first met you."

"That's it," said Priscilla, "that's where we mean to put her."

"It's not half far enough away," said Miss Rutherford. "Lord Ullin or Torrington or whatever lord it is will quite easily follow her there.

We must go much further, right out into the west to High Brasail, where lovers are ever young and angry fathers do not come."

"Inishbawn will do all right," said Priscilla.

"Priscilla says," said Frank, "that the people won't let Lord Torrington land on Inishbawn."

"They certainly seemed to have some objection to letting any one land,"

said Miss Rutherford. "Every time I suggested going there Jimmy has headed me oflf with one excuse or another."

"They have very good reasons," said Priscilla. "I have more or less idea what they are; but of course I can't tell you. It's never right to tell other people's secrets unless you're perfectly sure that you know them yourself, and I'm not sure. You hardly ever can be unless you happen to be one of the people that has the secret and in this case I'm not."

"I don't want to ask embarra.s.sing questions," said Miss Rutherford, "though I'm almost consumed with curiosity about the secret. But are you quite sure that it's of a kind that will really prevent Lord Torrington landing there?"

"Quite absolutely, dead, c.o.c.k sure," said Priscilla. "If I'm right about the secret and I think I am, though of course it's quite possible that I may not be, but if I am there isn't a man about the bay who wouldn't die a thousand miserable deaths rather than let Lord Torrington and the police sergeant land on that island."

"Then all we've got to do," said Miss Rutherford, "is to get her there and she's safe."

Priscilla hurriedly turned over the corner of the spinnaker and got out the jam pot. She glanced at its paper cover.

"Inishbawn is an inviolable sanctuary," she said. "What a mercy it is that I wrote down that word last night. I had forgotten it again. It's a desperately hard word to remember."

"It's a very good word," said Miss Rutherford.

"It's useful anyhow," said Priscilla. "In fact, considering what we're going to do I don't see how we could very well get on without it. I suppose it's rather too early to have luncheon."

"It's only half past eleven," said Frank, "but??"

"I breakfasted early," said Miss Rutherford.

"We scarcely breakfasted at all," said Frank.

"All right," said Priscilla, "the wind's gone hopelessly. It's much too hot to row, so I suppose we may as well have luncheon though it's not the proper time."

"Let us shake ourselves free of the wretched conventions of ordinary civilisation," said Miss Rutherford. "Let us eat when we are hungry without regard to the clock. Let us gorge ourselves with California peach juice. Let us suck the burning peppermint?"

"We haven't any today," said Priscilla. "Brannigan's wasn't open when we started."

"The principle is just the same," said Miss Rutherford. "Whatever food you have is sure to be refres.h.i.+ngly unusual."

CHAPTER XIX

The _Tortoise_ lay absolutely becalmed. The ebbing tide carried her slowly past Inishbawn towards the deep pa.s.sage between the end of the breakwater of boulders and the point on which the lighthouse stands.

The air was extraordinarily close and oppressive. Even Priscilla seemed affected by it. She lay against the side of the boat with her hands trailing idly in the water. Frank sat with the useless tiller in his hand and watched the boom swing slowly across as the boat swayed this way or that with the current. Miss Rutherford, her face glistening with heat, had gone to sleep in a most uncomfortable att.i.tude soon after luncheon. Her head nodded backwards from time to time and whenever it did so she opened her eyes, smiled at Frank, rearranged herself a little and then went to sleep again.

The cattle on Inishbawn had forsaken their scanty pasture and stood knee-deep in the sea. Not even the wild new heifer, which had gored Jimmy Kinsella, if such a creature existed at all, would have had energy to do much. A dog, which ought perhaps to have been barking at the cattle, lay prostrate under the shadow afforded by a gra.s.sy bank. A flock of white terns floated motionless a few yards from the _Tortoise_, looking like a miniature fleet of graceful, white-sailed pleasure boats.

They had no heart to go circling and swooping for fish.

Perhaps it would have been useless if they had. The fish themselves may well have been lying, in search of coolness among the weedy stones at the bottom of the sea. Of all living creatures the jelly fish alone seemed to retain any spirit. Immense crowds of them drifted past the _Tortoise_, swelling out and closing again their concave bodies, revolving slowly round, dragging long purple tendrils deliriously through the warm water. They swept past Priscilla's drooping hands, touching them with their yielding bodies and brus.h.i.+ng them softly with their tendrils. Now and then she lifted one from the water, watched it lie flaccid on the palm of her hand and then dropped it into the sea again.

A faint air of wind stole across from Inishbawn. The _Tortoise_, utterly without steerage way, felt it and turned slowly towards it. It was as if she stretched her head out for another such gentle kiss as the wind gave her. Priscilla felt it, and with returning animation made a plunge for an unusually large jelly fish, captured it and held it up triumphantly.

"It's a pity you're not out after jelly fish, Miss Rutherford," she said, "instead of sponges. There are thousands and thousands of them. We could fill the boat with them in half an hour."

Miss Rutherford made no reply. She had succeeded in wriggling herself into such a position that her head rested on the thwart of the boat. Her face was extremely red, and, owing perhaps to the twisted position of her neck, she was snoring. Priscilla looked at Frank and smiled.

"I wonder," she said, "if we ought to wake her up. She won't like it, of course, but it may be the kindest thing to do. It wouldn't be at all nice for her if she smothered in her sleep."

Frank blinked lazily. He was very nearly asleep.

"You're a nice pair," said Priscilla. "What on earth is the point of dropping off like that in the middle of the day? Ghastly laziness I call it."

Another puff of wind and then another came from the west. The _Tortoise_ began to move through the water. Frank woke up and paid serious attention to his steering. Priscilla looked round the sea and then the sky. The thunder storm was breaking over Rosnacree, five miles to the east, and a heavy bank of dark clouds was piled up across the sky.

"It looks uncommonly queer," said Priscilla, "rather magnificent in some ways, but I wish I knew exactly what it's going to do. I don't understand this breeze coming in from the west. It's freshening too."

A long deep growl reached them from the east.

"Thunder," said Frank.

"Must be," said Priscilla. "The clouds are coming up against the wind.

Only thunder does that?and liberty. At least Wordsworth says liberty does. I never saw it myself. I told you we were doing 'The Excursion'

last term. It's in that somewhere. I say, this breeze is freshening.

Keep her just as she's going, Cousin Frank. We'll be able to let her go in a minute. Oh, do look at the water!"

The sea had turned a deep purple colour. In spite of the ripples which the westerly breeze raised on its surface it had a curious look of sulky menace.

"Miss Rutherford," said Priscilla, "wake up, we're going to have a thunder storm."

Miss Rutherford sat up with a start

"A storm!" she said. "How splendid! Any chance of being wrecked?"

"Not at present," said Priscilla, "but you never know what may happen.

If you feel at all nervous I'll steer myself."

"Nervous!" said Miss Rutherford. "I'm delighted. There's nothing I should like more than to be wrecked on a desert island with you two.

It would just complete the most glorious series of adventures I've ever had. Do try and get wrecked."

"Hadn't we better go in to Inishbawn and wait till it's over?" said Frank.