"The Saucy Jane!" said Julian, peering down, feeling amazed and awed to think that they had read the bearings so correctly that they were actually over the Saucy Jane herself!

"The Nailer must have come here with the stolen goods - got out the Saucy Jane and rowed her to this spot. He must have taken his bearings very carefully indeed, and then holed the boat so that she sank down with the loot in her. Then I suppose he swam back to shore."

"Most ingenious," said Dick. "Really, he must be a jolly clever fellow. But I say, Julian - how on earth are we going to get the boat up?"

"I can’t imagine," said Julian. "I simply can’t imagine! I hadn’t even thought of that."

Timmy suddenly began to growl. The four looked up quickly to see why.

They saw a boat coming over the water towards them - the Merry Meg, with Maggie and Dirty Dick in it. And the children felt quite certain that both were reading the bearings on their piece of paper in exactly the same way as they themselves had!

They were so engrossed in watching for Tall Stone Tock Hill, Chimney and Steeple that they took no notice of the children at all. "I don’t think they guess for one moment that we’ve read the bearings and marked the place," said Julian. "How wild they’ll be when they find we are right over the place they’re looking for! Watch out for trouble!"

Chapter Nineteen

Maggie and dick are annoyed

The boat in which Maggie and Dirty Dick were rowing went this way and that as the two searched for the same objects that the children had already spotted. The four watched them, and George put her hand on Timmy to stop him barking.

The boat came nearer and nearer. Maggie was trying to keep in view two or three of the bearings at once and her head twisted from side to side continually. The children grinned at one another. It had been hard enough for the four of them to keep all the bearings in view - it must be very difficult for Maggie, especially as Dirty Dick didn’t seem to be helping very much.

They heard Maggie give sharp orders as the boat swung this way and that. Then it headed for them. Dirty Dick growled something to Maggie, who had her back to them, and she turned round sharply, losing the view of the things she was looking for.

Her face was full of anger when she saw the raft so near - and in the place where she wanted her boat to go! Afraid of completely losing the view of the things she was keeping her eyes on, she turned back again and hastily looked to see if Tock Hill, Tall Stone and Steeple were still all to be seen together. She said something in a furious voice to Dirty Dick, and he nodded with a sour face.