Five on a Treasure Island Read Online Free PDF

the two towers of the castle on the island, you are pretty well over the wreck! I found that out ages ago."
    The children saw that the tip of the far-off hill and the church tower were practically in line, when they looked at them between the two old towers of the island castle. They looked eagerly down into the sea to see if they could spy the wreck.
    The water was perfectly clear and smooth. There was hardly a wrinkle. Timothy looked down into it too, his head on one side, his ears cocked, just as if he knew what he was looking for! The children laughed at him.
    "We're not exactly over it," said George, looking down too. "The water's so clear today that we should be able to see quite a long way down. Wait, I'll row a bit to the left."
    "Woof!" said Timothy, suddenly, and wagged his tail— and at the same moment the three children saw something deep down in the water!
    "It's the wreck!" said Julian, almost falling out of the boat in his excitement. "I can see a bit of broken mast. Look, Dick, look!"
    All four children and the dog, too, gazed down earnestly into the clear water. After a little while they could make out the outlines of a dark hulk, out of which the broken mast stood.
    "It's a bit on one side," said Julian. "Poor old ship. How it must hate lying there, gradually falling to pieces. George, I wish I could dive down and get a closer look at it."
    "Well, why don't you?" said George. "You've got your swimming trunks on. I've often dived down. I'll come with you, if you like, if Dick can keep the boat round about here.
    There's a current that is trying to take it out to sea. Dick, you'll have to keep working a bit with this oar to keep the boat in one spot."
    The girl stripped off her jeans and jersey and Julian did the same. They both had on bathing costumes underneath. George took a beautiful header off the end of the boat, deep down into the water. The others watched her swimming strongly downwards, holding her breath.
    After a bit she came up, almost bursting for breath. "Well, I went almost down to the wreck," she said. "It's just the same as it always is— seaweedy and covered with limpets and things. I wish I could get right into the ship itself. But I never have enough breath for that. You go down now, Julian."
    So down Julian went— but he was not so good at swimming deep under water as George was, and he couldn't go down so far. He knew how to open his eyes under water, so he was able to take a good look at the deck of the wreck. It looked very forlorn and strange. Julian didn't really like it very much. It gave him rather a sad sort of feeling. He was glad to go to the top of the water again, and take deep breaths of air, and feel the warm sunshine on his shoulders.
    He climbed into the boat, "Most exciting," he said. "Golly, wouldn't I just love to see that wreck properly— you know— go down under the deck into the cabins and look around. And oh, suppose we could really find the boxes of gold!"
    "That's impossible," said George. "I told you proper divers have already gone down and found nothing. What's the time? I say, we'll be late if we don't hurry back now!"
    They did hurry back, and managed to be only about five minutes late for tea.
    Afterwards they went for a walk over the moors, with Timothy at their heels, and by the time that bedtime came they were all so sleepy that they could hardly keep their eyes open.
    "Well, good-night, George," said Anne, snuggling down into her bed. "We've had a lovely day— thanks to you!"
    "And I've had a lovely day, too," said George, rather gruffly. "Thanks to you . I'm glad you all came. We're going to have fun. And won't you love my castle and my little island!"
    "Ooh, yes," said Anne, and fell asleep to dream of wrecks and castles and islands by the hundred. Oh, when would George take them to her little island?

Chapter Five
A VISIT TO THE ISLAND
    Contents— Prev/Next
    The children's aunt arranged a picnic for them the next day, and they all went off to a