FOR THE CHILDREN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18374, 14 April 1923, Page 8 (Supplement)

FOR THE CHILDREN.

BY EDITH HOWES. ' s" ;

SILVER ISLAND.

(All Rights Reserved.) . CHAPTER V. / Enid and Jim plunged upward through the bush along the edge of Middle Stream. Even Jim was anxious now, while before Enid's mind there floated constantly a picture of Wuffles lying unconscious, perhaps even dead, at the foot of some precipitous rock. The long summer twilight still held, but at any. moment it might deepen into real darkness. They must find Wuffles before that moment came. They must! They rounded a sharp , bend in .the stream, and t faced a noisy waterfall tumbling down 20ft. of perpendicular rock. "That noise would keep Wuffles from hearing our calls," said Jim. • " And if lie were calling for help, it would stop us from hearing, too,'- said E'.ljid. " Come on." They began toclimb the steep rocks beside , the waterfall, hanging on to roots and clumps of grass and fern. "Hullo, you two, are you going up?" It was Wuffles' voice, clear above the noise of the waterfall, and it came from below them. At that comforting, startling sound. Ffiid's ; mind .lost its painful visions and her fingers lost their grip. Down she slimed; kinocked against Jim; down he slipped. They landed, in a muddle of arms and legs on the moss and rubble at the foot of the rock, and there stood young Wuffles staring at them in amazement. " What you going up there for?" he asked. "• " Enid and Jim sorted themselves out. " Wherever have you bec!n?" asked. Enid. " We were going up to look for you." "Silly kid," said Jim. " Weren't you told not to leave the creek? S'poad you've been mooning about all over the place, instead of > coming straight: back. "I wasn't silly enough to fall down that rock, anyway," retorted Wuffles. "I foiflnd an easy track round here, and he waved his arms ,to the right. " We thought something had happened to you. Wo were quite ,anxious, said Eni'd. What have you been doing all this time?" "I found a cave, a real cave; its a stunner." ~ V ,~, . , "Then you did leave the creek! said Jim. _ "No, I didn't. Middle Creek comes out of the cave; n?nd I went into the cave a long way, but it got too dark, so I came back; And there's an old fireplace by the cave. Someone 8 been camping there." " • . «• - ' All this was verv interesting. lhe two elder children had been scrambling down the creek as fast as they could go, but now they slackened their pace till Wuffles overtook them. "How do you know the fireplace is olid ?" Jim asked. . . 44 Because ferns and piddytbids are growing all over it. There's an iron bar across the top, and a hook _ hanging "from that, and they're, both thick with rust. And the track I came down is all overgrown, but it's been ft track. Somebody has lived up there. . The track goes info the cave, so I s pose he lived j in the cave." ~ "One of the silver-hunters, I expect, said Enid. "Did vou find any silver? > No. Wuffles hadn't found any silver, though there were " tons of rocks " up there, and -he had spent " hours trying to chip pieces off. The other two. though unable to boast of a cave and a silver-hunter's camp, told triflmpljant of their glittering find. " I've pot . a piece in my pocket," said Jim; 4 when it's light you can see silver all over it. We'll come" up first thing to-morrow morning and find some more, and we'll explore the cave, too." <' ; By the time they reached the camp it was very dark. There ought to have been a moon, but neither moon nor. stars showed through the thick roof of cloud that had massed itself between them and the sky. . Fortunately they .had brought a candle 4 with them. to the inland. By " its flickering- light 'theyopened up their little Maori .. .oven and fqund their fish smoking hot and deliriously cooked. A hasty meal, and then "to "bed. "We mustn't' ' use, too much candle." Enid said. "We shall need it for the cave. We ought to have brought more than one." But there was no cave for them next day. \ When they woke the roof of clouds was falling in' a steady, sopping, persistent rain that never ceased for a . moment. It was all very well to go round for an hour or two in bathing suits, knocking oysters off the rocks, fishing, bathing, ducking-: one another, running up and down the little beach, enjoying the all-pervading wetness as if they had been young seals at play; but all their wood * was; w<st and the fire refused to burn, and they couldn't boil the billy or make damper or cook their fish. The ovrters were their breakfast; for; the rest of the day they- must • meal on biscuits and what remained of Aunt Kathleen's cookery, which was not much now, and by ' nightfall was nothing. Soon they were shivering with cold, and ,were iglad' to rub themselves down, put'' on all the clothes they had, roll themselves in their blankets, - and burrow comfortably into their beds of fern. ? There they stayed for the rest of the day, watching the rain slip perpetually down. Some drifted in, -or soaked in a fine mist through their canvas roofs; but they were careful not .to touch the tarpaulin, so there was no great leakage, and they remained warm and only slightly damp. . .- / Threefold Creek, as they had discovered early in the morning, was impossible. Even by breakfast-time it was a foaming torrent, carrying down with it dead branches and rolling boulders that would have made its ascent dangerous as well as difficult. Further explorations must wait till the rain was over, that was evident. ■ :.-

There was nothing to ; do! Why, ■oh why had they' brought no books with then?? - Anything in print would' have been a ' boon, ' anything at ■.; all. But in their eagerness they; had made no preparation for. wet days; though they were all great readers, no , one had suggested bringing books. The island and the silver had filled. their thoughts. ' H It was a long and dreary day. Enid told three stories—all she could remember —and thev each had r a little stock of riddles. ". Then they sang school song!». Then Wuffles began to "make ,up poetry" aloud—it was one of his peculiar delights — and the others endured - it for some time. Indeed, they rather eniovejcl helping him to find his rhymes at first. But thev soon tired of this, and 'when he said he could make tunes to them, and took to crooning them over and over again to a dirge-like air that had no tune in it, there was nothing for Jim to do but to sit on his chest, which he promptly did. After that, entertainment layered, and they were nil heartily dad when darkness fell and they could drop off to sleep. '~_ ;-;..: - v (To be continued.) ' ————■ —. ~ -, —...',:.. ■•;•:.■'l " ■ TO HIS OWN DETRIMENT. An irate father was lecturing one of his sons over some misdeed, and. of course, brought in the old boast, "When I was a boy my father would have thrashed me soundly for such a thing." .- [v "H'm! Nice sort of a father you must have had.' 1 - ':';';- ; v"What? You impvdent youncr rascal! I'd a jolly sight better father than ever you had!" •* - \ .* NO GOOD AT THEM. A little boy repeatedly arrived late 'at school one day the headmaster said to him :—"Next time you are late I'd like you to bring an excuse from your father,',' "I don't want to bring an excuse irom father,'-' said the boy. - . '■?' ~ * > "Why not?" . ' * '■.; .' "He's no eood at them. Mother always finds him ouc.*' . ' ,' ->-

Old Skinflint: " Hcffi. boy, what's this you .were>. shouting? 'Great . swindle-— sixty victims! ' I can see nothing about it in the paper." • . ."' ' Sharp Sam : v "That's the swindle. .You arc the sixty-first."