Chapter 10 Sheltering from the storm

The rhythm of the oars was soothing. It was a technique that you never forget, Gina thought as she raced across the open water towards her island. To stay on course, her eyes sought out the unchanged landscape of the diminishing coastline. The wind got stronger the further out she got, and it drove the refreshing salty spray up into her face.

Arriving at the razor sharp rocks surrounding Kirrin Island, Gina scooted over to the other side of the boat. It was much harder to row forwards, but it had been too long since she had navigated these treacherous rocks, for her to attempt to do so backwards.

'Easy,' she told the rabbits that had watched her arrival at the sandy cove on the east side of the island, as she dragged her boat up beyond the high tide mark.

Kirrin Castle looked much the same as she remembered, a few more fallen stones at the base of its two towers, the only witness to the passage of time. She didn't go inside though, it was dark and she hadn't brought the torch from her boat's ditch-kit. Instead, she decided to go for a walk around the island. Rounding the side of the castle, she spotted something rising up out of the grass. She thought at first that it was another rabbit but as she got closer, she saw that it was some wood. A few steps closer – it was wood that had been treated and carved. Closer still and she saw that it was a wooden headstone that, like the ash stump, had been decorated with an intricate carving of Timmy.

In her vilification of him, Gina had assumed that Julian had left Timmy with the vet to be incinerated. This evidence suggested that Julian had, in fact, rowed over here with Timmy, buried him and spent what must have been days carving out a headstone. The wood had been varnished recently to protect it against the abrasive salt that flavoured the Kirrin air. Just like my boat has been, she realised. Loathing herself as she did so, Gina started to sob as she lay down in the grass atop Timmy's resting place.

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The slam of the front door informed the others that Gina had left the house. They saw her run past the window at an impressive speed. Julian knew that he alone would be able to catch up with her. He rose to his feet.

'I'll go after her.'

Aunt Fanny caught hold of his arm. 'Let her go, she needs a bit of time to settle down. She'll come back when she's ready.'

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Half an hour later and Aunt Fanny was calling down the stairs in a panic. The three of them rushed up to find their aunt in her bedroom looking out of the window.

'What's wrong?' Anne asked, rushing over to comfort her.

'Look.'

They crowded around the window where they saw a tiny boat heading towards Kirrin Island carrying a lone rower.

Is that?' Dick asked.

'The Adventurer,' Julian confirmed.

'Oh, the silly girl. What does she think she's doing going out there?' Aunt Fanny said.

'She'll be fine,' Dick said, 'Gina's always been a great sailor. A quick trip to Kirrin Island and back is hardly a problem for her.'

Julian put an arm around his aunt. He didn't share Dick's confidence. He doubted that Gina had done much sailing in the last few years, and despite her obvious high level of fitness, rowing used a specific set of muscles. Besides:

'Are those storm clouds?' he asked, pointing to a hazy patch of sky just visible at the opposite side of the viewable horizon from Kirrin Island.

Aunt Fanny nodded. 'It said on the radio this morning that we could expect heavy rain later on this evening. If Gina spends anything more than a few minutes on the island before heading back, she'll get caught in the storm. Oh Julian,' she clutched his arm. 'What if the storm comes on whilst she's on her way back.'

Julian patted her arm reassuringly, 'she'll spot the clouds and not set out. Still, the ditch-kit is only equipped with the basics. It won't be a comfortable night for her. By the look of it, we still have at least an hour before that storm hits. I'll borrow a boat and row out to the island with some supplies. We'll wait out the storm and come home in the morning.'

'I'll come with you,' said Dick.

'Better not, it will be quicker to grab enough things just for two, and I'll be able to row quicker with a lighter boat. If you want to help, run around to Alf's (1) house and let him know that I'm borrowing his boat, would you? I'll signal with the torch when I arrive at the island, so you could keep a look out for that too. '

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Julian threw changes of clothes for himself and Gina into a bag along with some food, water and a bottle of very expensive brandy that Aunt Fanny retrieved from his uncle's study - to ward off the cold, she had told him. He knew that he had other basic supplies in the airtight lock-box in the cave on the island, so he could travel light.

Alf was already waiting for him when he arrived at the harbour. He had readied the boat and was stood by the jetty.

'Miss George, gone off for a little adventure then Master Julian?' The wind had already started to pick up, and Alf had to raise his voice as it blew the sound away. 'I've put yer some firewood under the tarp, should do yer till mornin' if yer careful wi it.'

'Thanks, Alf. I owe you one,' Julian stowed his bags under the tarpaulin with the wood and jumped in.

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Unlike Gina, Julian was used to rowing. He frequently had to do it in his job, and as Gina had rightly deduced, he visited Kirrin Island every few months to treat Timmy's grave, and to cull the rabbit population, that with no predators to keep their numbers in check, would otherwise multiply exponentially.

The sea was choppy now, and Julian had to row hard to keep the boat on course. Luckily, as he approached the east side of the island, the rocks themselves afforded some shelter from the worsening weather. The rocks around Kirrin Island had claimed many ships in years past, and as fat raindrops began to fall, Julian had to concentrate hard on the single safe route through the island's teeth.

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Having cried herself to sleep, Gina woke when the first dollop of rain splashed on her cheek.

'Oh hell,' she said as she jumped to her feet and took note of the dramatic change in the weather. 'I can't row home in this.' Through the gaps in the wind, Gina heard the waves crashing around the shore and realised that, in this storm, her boat was not safe where she had left it. Hurrying back to the cove, she seized the bow and dragged it as high up the beach as she could. As she slung the ditch-kit over her shoulder, she happened to glance down the beach in time to see another boat land. A person wearing a full set of Grundéns(2) jumped out and began pulling it up the beach towards her. Visibility was poor through the now torrential rain, but as the figure got closer, it looked straight up at her, and she saw that it was Julian. Instinctively, she ran down the beach, grabbed hold of his boat which was bigger than hers, and considerably heavier, and helped him to haul it up the beach to where hers was moored.

'Leave it!' Julian shouted above the howl, indicating her ditch-kit. 'Here, take this instead,' he removed a torch from the bag before handing the bag to her, while he retrieved the heavier and the more cumbersome bundle of firewood. 'We need to get to the cave, but I need to signal to the others first to let them know that I've arrived safely.' Having made a few flashes, they set off at a brisk pace. It was getting darker by the second, and they stopped briefly while Julian retrieved a second torch, for her, from the bag. Careful to avoid the many rabbit holes, they reached the skylight of the cave. Julian pushed back the bush that covered the entrance; reaching down, he drew up the few feet of rope that was secured to it. He examined the integrity of the knot and the rope itself, and finding it satisfactory, he dropped both their loads through. With his torch, he performed a sweeping examination of the interior of the cave, before allowing Gina to precede him down the rope.

Touching down on the sandy floor of the cave, Julian turned to find Gina watching him. Prepared for another confrontation, he was surprised when she gave him a shy smile.

'Thank you for coming over. Whilst the self-inflating dingy would be very useful if the boat got a leak, I'm not sure how much use it would be for a night on the island,' she paused and nibbled at her bottom lip in a manner that Julian found entrancing. 'I expect you're going to tear a strip off me for coming over here?'

Julian considered her words. She was right, he should be angry with her, but he wasn't. 'I'm just relieved that you're okay,' he told her.

'And why wouldn't I be?' she demanded.

'Let's not fight over this, please. For the last few minutes of the journey, I was battling a strong wind and frankly I'm exhausted. I didn't mean to question your seafaring prowess, I just knew that the ditch-kit was not well equipped on account of having packed it myself. I knew that there was time to get over here before the storm hit so I came.

'Look at you, you're shivering. I'll get a fire going by the cave entrance. There's a change of clothes for you in the bag. Have a couple of mouthfuls of the brandy too, it'll help warm you.'

Turning away from her, he grabbed the firewood and heading over to the cave entrance, he began sorting the wood into separate piles of tinder, kindling and fuel. In addition to the wood that Alf had given him, he already had some stored in the cave. Therefore, he had enough to construct a substantial pyramid fire that, once going, would be maintenance free until morning. He began building, trying not to think about the woman who he had been in love with since he was fourteen, removing her clothes just a few feet behind him.

Footnotes

1 – Alf, the fisher boy named in the early Famous Five books as having looked after Timmy when Uncle Quentin refused to allow George to keep him at the house. Enid had a tendency to forget the names of her incidental characters as time went on. Timmy's keeper, in the later books, is referred to as Jim.

2 – Grundéns, waterproof overalls worn by sailors and fishermen.