"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 Anne's hand and pulled her quickly away from the cove.
He was afraid that whoever had come to the island might be somewhere about and see them.
The boy took Anne to the little stone room where their things were and they sat down in a corner.
"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 Anne stared after him.
They had felt comforted while he was there, and now they were sorry he had gone.
They really didn't know what to do.
Then Anne had an idea.
"I know!" she said, "we'll row back to the land in our boat and get help."
"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 Anne to make her keep quiet.
He saw through the broken archway that the men were going in the opposite direction.
"Anne!
I know where we can hide!" said the boy, excitedly.
"Down the old well!
We can climb down the ladder a little way and hide there.
I'm sure no one would ever look there!"
Anne didn't at all want to climb down the well even a little way.
But Dick pulled her to her feet and hurried her off to the middle of the old courtyard.
The men were hunting around the other side of the castle.
There was just time to climb in.
Dick slipped aside the old wooden cover of the well and helped Anne down the ladder.
She was very scared.
Then the boy climbed down himself and slipped the wooden cover back again over his head, as best he could.
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, Anne, if you don't want to keep clinging to the ladder," he whispered.
So Anne sat shivering on the stone slab across the well-shaft, waiting to see if they were discovered or not.