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Shells and seaweed and anemones, or tiny crabs in rockpools, are all very well, but you soon get tired of thee from the cool water, felt hot and heavy Susan and Lucy had raincoats to carry Edmund had put down his coat on the station seat just before the ic overtook thereat-coat

Presently the shore began to curve round to the right About quarter of an hour later, after they had crossed a rocky ridge which ran out into a point, it made quite a sharp turn Their backs were now to the part of the sea which had met the ahead, they could see across the water another shore, thickly wooded like the one they were exploring

"I wonder, is that an island or do we join on to it presently?" said Lucy

"Don't know," said Peter and they all plodded on in silence

The shore that they alking on drew nearer and nearer to the opposite shore, and as they came round each promontory the children expected to find the place where the two joined But in this they were disappointed They came to some rocks which they had to climb and from the top they could see a fairway ahead and - "Oh bother!" said Edet to those other woods at all We're on an island!"

It was true At this point the channel between them and the opposite coast was only about thirty or forty yards wide; but they could now see that this was its narrowest place After that, their own coast bent round to the right again and they could see open sea between it and the mainland It was obvious that they had already come much more than halfway round the island

"Look!" said Lucy suddenly "What's that?" She pointed to a long, silvery, snake-like thing that lay across the beach

"A stream! A stream!" shouted the others, and, tired as they were, they lost no ti to the fresh water They knew that the stream would be better to drink farther up, away from the beach, so they went at once to the spot where it came out of the wood The trees were as thick as ever, but th

e streahyou could follow it up in a sort of tunnel of leaves They dropped on their knees by the first brown, dimply pool and drank and drank, and dipped their faces in the water, and then dipped their arms in up to the elbow

"Now," said Edmund, "what about those sandwiches?"

"Oh, hadn't we better have them?" said Susan "We may need them far worse later on"

"I do wish," said Lucy, "now that we're not thirsty, we could go on feeling as not-hungry as we did ere thirsty"

"But what about those sandwiches?" repeated Edot to reland and we've been carrying theot out the two packets and divided theh, but it was a great deal better than nothing Then they talked about their plans for the next o back to the sea and catch shrimps, until someone pointed out that they had no nets Eds from the rocks, but when they caulls' eggs and wouldn't be able to cook theht to himself that unless they had sos raw, but he didn't see any point in saying this out loud Susan said it was a pity they had eaten the sandwiches so soon One or two tee Finally Edmund said:

"Look here There's only one thing to be done We hts-errant and people like that always e to live somehow if they're in a forest They find roots and berries and things"

"What sort of roots?" asked Susan

"I always thought it meant roots of trees," said Lucy

"Coht And weout into the glare and the sun again"

So they all got up and began to follow the stream It was very hard work They had to stoop under branches and clireat masses of stuff like rhododendrons and tore their clothes and got their feet wet in the stream; and still there was no noise at all except the noise of the streainning to get very tired of it when they noticed a delicious sh above theht bank

"I say!" exclaimed Lucy "I do believe that's an apple tree"

It was They panted up the steep bank, forced their way through so round an old tree that was heavy with large yellowishgolden apples as firm and juicy as you could wish to see

"And this is not the only tree," said Edmund with his mouth full of apple "Look there-and there"

"Why, there are dozens of the away the core of her first apple and picking her second "This o, before the place ild and the wood grew up"

"Then this was once an inhabited island," said Peter

"And what's that?" said Lucy, pointing ahead

"By Jove, it's a wall," said Peter "An old stone wall"

Pressing their way between the laden branches they reached the wall It was very old, and broken down in places, with her than all but the tallest trees And when they careat arch which ate in it but was now alest of all the apple trees They had to break soet past, and when they had done so they all blinked because the daylight becahter They found themselves in a wide open place alls all round it In here there were no trees, only level grass and daisies, and ivy, and grey walls It was a bright, secret, quiet place, and rather sad; and all four stepped out into the hten their backs and move their limbs freely

CHAPTER TWO

THE ANCIENT TREASURE HOUSE

"THIS wasn't a garden," said Susan presently "It was a castle and this must have been the courtyard"

"I see what you mean," said Peter "Yes That is the reht of steps going up to the top of the walls And look at those other steps - the broad, shallow ones - going up to that doorway It reat hall"

"Ages ago, by the look of it," said Edmund

"Yes, ages ago," said Peter "I e could find out who the people were that lived in this castle; and how long ago"