Ay, ay, Captain! shouted the children joyfully, full of delight to think they had their island to themselves once more!
A Stormy Night in Willow House
There you are, henny-pennies! said Nora. There is a nice little shelter for you!
Plop! Plop! Plop! Enormous drops of rain fell down and the hens gave a frightened squawk. They did not like the rain. They scuttled under the sack at once and lay there quietly, giving each other little pecks now and again.
Well, that settles the hens, said Mike. I wonder how Peggy is getting on with the fire.
Peggy was not getting on at all well. The rain was now coming down fast, and she could not get the fire going. Jack arrived with Daisy the cow and shouted to Peggy:
Never mind about the fire! Now that the rains coming down so fast you wont be able to light it. Get into Willow House, all of you, before you get too wet.
The girls can go, said Mike, running to help Jack. Ill get the things to help you milk. My goodness - we havent drunk all the milk yet that Daisy gave us this morning!
Put it into a dish and pop it in the hen-yard, said Jack. Maybe the hens will like it!
In the pouring rain Jack milked Daisy the cow. Soon all the saucepans and the kettle and bowls were full! Really, thought Jack, he simply must get that old milking-pail that the girls had told him of at their Aunts farm. It was such a tiring business milking a cow like this.
When the milking was finished, Jack took Daisy back to her grassy field on the other side of the island. Mike went to Willow House where the two girls were. It was dark there, and the sound of rain drip-drip-drip-ping
from the trees all around sounded rather miserable.
Mike and the two girls sat in the front part of Willow House and waited for Jack. Mike was very wet, and he shivered.
Poor old Jack will be wet through, too, he said. Feel this milk, girls. Its as warm as can be. Lets drink some and it will warm us up. We cant boil any, for we havent a fire.
Jack came to Willow House dripping wet. But he was grinning away as usual. Nothing ever seemed to upset Jack.
Hallo, hallo! he said. Im as wet as a fish! Peggy, where did we put those clothes of mine that I brought to the island last night?
Oh yes! cried Peggy, in delight. Of course! You and Mike can change into those.
Well, I dont know about that, said Mike. Jack only brought three old vests, a shirt or two, and an overcoat.
Well, we can wear a vest each, and a shirt, and Ill wear the overcoat, and you can wrap the old blanket I brought all round you! said Jack.
The boys took off their wet clothes and changed into the dry ones. Ill hang your wet ones out to dry as soon as the rain stops, said Peggy, squeezing the rain out of them.
I cant see a thing here, said Mike, buttoning up his shirt all wrong.
Well, light the lantern, silly, said Jack. What do you suppose the candles are for? Nora, find the lantern and light it. It may want a new candle inside. You know where you put the candles, dont you? Over in that corner somewhere.
Nora found the lantern. It did want a new candle inside. She found a box of matches and lighted the candle. Mike hung the lantern up on a nail he had put in the roof. It swung there, giving a dim but cheerful light to the little party huddled inside Willow House.
This really feels like a house now, said Nora, pleased. I do like it. Its very cosy. Not a drop of rain is coming through our roof or the walls.
And not a scrap of wind! said Jack. That shows how well we packed the walls with heather and bracken. Listen to the wind howling outside! We shouldnt like to be out in that! What a good thing weve got Willow House to live in! Our outdoor bedroom wouldnt be at all comfortable to-night!
The thunderstorm broke overhead. The thunder crashed around as if someone were moving heavy furniture up in the sky.
Hallo! Someones dropped a wardrobe, I should think! said Jack, when an extra heavy crash came!
And there goes a grand piano tumbling down the stairs! said Mike, at another heavy rumble. Everyone laughed. Really, the thunderstorm did sound exactly like furniture being thrown about.
The lightning flashed brightly, lighting up the inside of Willow House. Nora was not sure that she liked it. She cuddled up to Mike. I feel a bit frightened, she said.
Dont be silly! said Mike. Youre as bad as those women trippers over the bats! Theres nothing to be frightened of. A storm is a grand thing. Were perfectly safe here.
A storm is just a bit of weather being noisy! laughed Jack. Cheer up, Nora. Were all right. You can think youre lucky youre not Daisy the cow. After all, we do know that a storm is only a storm, but she doesnt.
Crash! Rumble! Crash! The thunder roared away, and the children made a joke of it, inventing all kinds of furniture tumbling about the sky, as each crash came. The lightning flashed, and each time Jack said, Thanks very much! The sky keeps striking matches, and the wind keeps blowing them out!
Even Nora laughed, and soon she forgot to be frightened. The rain pelted down hard, and the only thing that worried Jack was whether or not a rivulet of rain might find its way into Willow House and run along the floor on which they were sitting. But all was well. No rain came in at all.