CHAPTER 17
Jack and Claire crept quietly toward the light, staying close to the sand dune and holding onto Blanca who seemed surprisingly quiet as if she knew she mustn’t bark. They could see the light flashing on and off and thought they could see something out to sea where the other light had been.
“Let’s get closer,” whispered Claire.
“OK. I hope Blanca keeps quiet,” replied Jack.
“Don’t worry about her. I’m holding her tight. She can’t escape.”
“Do you think those men are dangerous,” asked Jack, the first sign of fear in his voice.
“Probably,” replied Claire,” But we are not going to fight them are we. We just want to see what they are doing and follow them if possible.”
“We can run back to the lighthouse and get Uncle Bernard’s help, if we need to can’t we?” said Jack with a slight quiver in his voice.
The flashlight suddenly swept round in their direction and the twins fell to the ground and froze. Blanca was squashed under Claire but she only gave a slight whimper as if to say. “Ouch that hurt!” The twins kept their heads down as the torch flashed around the beach in a circle.
Someone yelled “OK” and three men suddenly ran down to the water’s edge. A small boat had come in from the sea right down to the edge of the sand where it was beached. Two men jumped out of the boat and joined the three others. Altogether the five men heaved the boat out of the water and began to pull it up onto the beach. The first few metres were easy, but as they reached dry sand the men found it increasingly difficult to haul the boat toward the forest. Two of them grabbed the rope that was attached to the prow of the boat and began to pull from the front; the other three men went to the back to push. They succeeded in getting the boat a little further forward just enough to get to the top of the sand dune and, as they did the boat suddenly tilted forward and slid right into the clearing where the twins had seen the other tracks stop. The men stood around panting and trying to get their breath back. Claire and Jack crept closer. They popped their heads over the last dune with only a few mounds of grass between themselves and the smugglers.
The clearing was illuminated with the lights of a small truck, and there, in the middle, was the boat. It was small, a simple rowing boat. The outboard engine had been left at the water’s edge in order to make the boat lighter. It was painted in red and blue and had the name Roi de Royan painted on the side and a few numbers that were difficult to read as the paint had chipped off, but they definitely ended in 17. A tarpaulin covered half the area and the children imagined the other half was where the two boatmen had been seated. The men stood near the truck smoking and talking in hushed whispers. When they had finished their cigarettes they began to unload the little boat. Each took two boxes and placed them in the back of the truck. The boxes must have been heavy as the men seemed to stagger when they lifted them. After a few minutes the boat was empty and the five men were retracing their steps and pushing the boat back to the water. It was much easier to get the boat back into the sea now that it was empty. Three of the men attached the outboard motor, got into the rowing boat, started the engine and disappeared out to sea.
The other two men watched until the boat was a tiny speck just visible in the moonlight, and then returned to the truck. The two stood next to the truck and lit another cigarette each. They were talking in low voices as Jack crept as close as he dared. He overheard a few words but only understood two, “OK” and “moulin” the rest of the conversation being in French, he could not understand at all.
The men got in the truck and drove slowly through the forest to what the children now knew must be a fairly big road running parallel to the beach. Probably the same road Aunt Izzy had used when she drove so recklessly up to the house on that first night. Claire and Jack relaxed and let Blanca go free. Then they both stood up to stretch their legs.
“That was a close thing,” said the twins together and began to laugh out loud as the dog jumped around their feet barking.
Just as they were about to turn round, they each felt a large hand clutch their shoulder and spin them both round together. They were looking straight into the face of Uncle Bernard, and he looked very angry indeed!