The Mystery of Adventure Island by Paul Moxham Page A

looked back towards the mainland and waited for the rowboat to disappear from view.
    ~
    As Amy followed Joe into the cabin and looked around, she could see that there were just the basics. Some sleeping bags, some tinned food, a lamp, some matches, and a couple of rucksacks.
    Joe and Will searched through the rucksacks while the girls went through the other stuff.
    “There can’t be any paintings here, or that woman would have found them,” Amy said as she stood up and surveyed the cabin.
    “Well, it was worth a try.” Joe pulled out a scruffy bird book from one of the rucksacks. “This is probably where they got the information about the Dodo from.”
    “But what about the paintings?” Sarah said. “There’s nothing here.”
    “I didn’t think the paintings would be here,” Joe admitted, “but I did think we might have been able to find something that would give us a clue to where they were.”
    The children quickly searched the rest of the men’s belongings, but it didn’t help. Leaving the cabin, Will shone the torch around. “Where shall we search next?”
    “There were one or two caves over on the other side of the island that we didn’t search before as it was high tide,” Joe said, “but now that it is almost low tide, we should be able search them without getting wet.”
    Everyone agreed that this was the best move, so they moved off and headed to the caves.
    It took ten minutes to search the two caves and nothing was found . Disheartened, the children sat on the sand and discussed what to do.
    “Well,” Joe said, “there’s only the lighthouse left. If they’re not in there, I don’t know where they would be.”
    “With it being low tide, it’s the best time to get across.” Will stood up and walked away.
    The others followed him, the lights from the torches bobbing to and fro as they walked.
    ~
    The moon shone brightly as the children arrived at the rocks. Since it was almost a full moon, they could see even without using their torches that the rocks had no water over them. In fact, the water was so low that even some of the sand was visible.  
    Joe was the first one to step onto the rocks and the others followed him. The rocks probably hadn’t had water on them for over an hour so they weren’t slippery, but walking across them was still somewhat perilous as they were jagged in places.
    When they arrived at the lighthouse, Joe went to the door and twisted the handle. Nothing happened. “I wonder why it’s locked.”
    Sarah’s green eyes gleamed. “Goodness, the paintings must be in there!”
    “Not necessarily,” Will said . “It could have been locked by whoever last operated it. If they let everyone in there, the place would be damaged in no time.”
    “I still think the paintings are in there,” Sarah said.
    “Well, we can’t prove it either way.” Joe gazed upwards at the railing that went around the little platform at the top of the lighthouse. “If we could somehow get up there we could get in.”
    “What about using a rope?” Amy suggested.
    Joe shook his head. “You couldn’t throw a rope that far up. Besides, it would need to support your weight as you climbed, so it would also need to grip onto something. No, I’m afraid that’s out of the question.”
    Will tried to open the door himself. When that didn’t work, he pushed against it. But that didn’t work either.
    The girls shivered as a big wave smashed against the rocks nearby, covering them in a stream of spray.
    “Let’s move on,” Amy said. “There’s no use standing here if we can’t get in.”
    “So what do you suggest we do?” Joe asked.
    Amy shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’m getting tired of walking around.”
    “Let’s head back to the campsite,” Will suggested . “I can’t think of anywhere else we can search for the paintings, and from there we can keep watch for the men.”
    “If we follow the men when they return, they might lead us to where they’re hiding the