Unexpectedly, everyone slept late the next morning and after a breakfast of mangoes and sweet potatoes, they set off on the search. Once on the cliff top over the ledge, Rosie had to try and remember which way she had walked and crawled.

"I think it was this way," said Rosie with excitement in her voice.

Brian and Nigel followed her lead into the trees.

"There's a pile of rocks," exclaimed Nigel, pointing to his right.

"There's no hanky though," replied his dad.

"Oh yes, there isn't."

It was Nigel who spotted the hanky fluttering in the breeze, almost out of sight behind some thick bushes. "Over here, quick!" shouted a very excited lad as he forced his way through the thicket. "I've found it! I've found it!"

There, just on top of a pile of rocks, was a stick just about poking through and tied round it's end was Rosie's hanky fluttering in the breeze.

"Well done Rosie!" chorused the two fellers and Rosie blushed with embarrassment.

"Let's see if we can shift these rocks," Brian said to Nigel. "You sit down and rest, Rosie."

One by one, they managed to shift a few of the smaller rocks but the gap still wasn't big enough for even Rosie to get through.

"That's it for now kids," gasped a breathless Brian. "We'll not shift the big ones like this. We need a couple of sturdy tree trunks as levers. Stick you hanky stick in the ground as a marker and lets get something to eat and then we'll find a couple of sturdy branches."

Reluctantly Rosie did as she was told but she could see that Brian was right, it would need a bulldozer to shift those rocks. "What a shame, after all we've done just to be stopped by a few hunks of rock," complained the disappointed girl as they made their way back to camp.

"Don't be upset Rosie," consoled Nigel putting his arm around her shoulders, "dad'll think of a way. You see if he don't."

Tears trickled down her cheeks and her shoulders shook with deep sobs as she despairingly thought how close they had come to success.

Nigel stirred the fire into glowing life and expertly speared the large fish that his dad had caught the day before. "Fish for dinner," he offered to no one in particular, "and bananas to follow."

Rosie sat under a tree, hugging her legs, just starring vacantly into the flames.

"I knew this would come in handy one day," pronounced Brian as he produced a long steel pole some three inches thick.

"Where did you get that?" questioned the two youngsters in unison.

"It came from the Sea Sprite. It was a bracing bar down in the bilges, but it had been ripped loose in the storm. It's just what we need. After dinner we'll go back and see if we can shift some of the bigger boulders."

"Right then, you two ready?"

"Yes come on," shouted two eager voices, setting off on the run.

"Hold it you two, don't forget the steel pole, it's very heavy so you'll have to carry it between you."

It wasn't far to the pile of rocks but because of frequent stops to rest, it took them over half an hour. By the time they had got there, the two youngsters were too exhausted to do anything except rest. Brian busied himself, preparing the ground to lever away what looked to be a promising boulder. Eventually he was ready and said, "O.K. come on then, give a hand."

All three strained and strained until at last the boulder moved a little. Re-positioning the bar Brian commanded, "Right one big effort and we'll be in."

Once again young and old muscles alike strained almost to snapping point, before, with a swiftness that sent them sprawling, the boulder rolled away leaving a gap big enough for even Brian to squeeze through.

"Hurray! we've done it!" shouted Nigel and rushed up to the gap, eager to go inside. Up till then it had been Rosie who had, had all the adventure. Now it was his turn.

"Wait!" we've no torches so if you go in you won't be able to go far because you won't be able to see where you are going. Don't forget that the roof gets lower and you could bang your head and hurt yourself," reminded Brian. "Tonight after supper I'll make some more torches ready for tomorrow."

Tiredness and aching limbs brought them blissful early sleep and they all awoke next morning fully refreshed.

"Rosie! you get breakfast ready," said Brian, "while me and Nigel get some gear together for our exploration. We'll take food and water and six torches."

"And a rope," added Nigel, "in case we have to climb down somewhere."

Fully loaded they entered the tunnel, Rosie first, followed by Nigel and Brian. It was slow work traversing the low passageway but at last they came into the small cave. Their torches lit up the whole cave and they gazed with awe at their find. With a large opening at either end, a steady draft of salty air drifted through, dispelling the musty smell.

"Right then, let's try the other tunnel," commanded Brian. "You said it led into a huge cave didn't you?"

"Yes! come on. With all these torches we should be able to see all of it."

The cave was as big as Rosie thought it would be but even their combined torches didn't throw light to the far end.

"Rosie, dad! over here." shouted Nigel. "Look what I've found."

Brian and Rosie turned and peered across the gloomy cave towards the flickering light in the distance. They saw him leaning over a large leather covered trunk bound in brass strapping. The lid gaped open and a pile of clothes was strewn close by.

"It's the pirate's treasure!" exclaimed the excited girl, rushing over.

Inside the trunk were some old seafarer's clothes, a book with faded writing, a telescope, a magnifying glass, a large key and in the bottom wrapped in a leather pouch, a fistful of gold coins.

"We've found it! We've found some pirates treasure! Yippee!"

"Wonder who it belonged to?" mused Nigel. "I'll bet it wasn't Captain Morgan's. He had loads of treasure. Maybe it belonged to some shipwrecked sailor and this was all he had. Do you think he would mind if we kept it, after all it IS finders keepers, isn't it? Wonder where he is now?"

"Look, this trunk is too big to take back through the tunnel so we'll have to take just the clothes and things," said Brian. "Rosie you take the leather pouch and key and some clothes and you Nigel take the telescope and some clothes. I'll take the book and the rest of the clothes and the magnifying glass."

It was a struggle to crawl along the tunnel with their booty but somehow they eventually tumbled into daylight. Everyone was excited with their find and after a short rest, they headed for camp. Food was forgotten as they unravelled the clothes and spread out the rest of their "pirate's treasure."

"Look," cried Rosie "aren't these coins beautiful? They're gold, aren't they?"

Brian took a coin in his hand and after a close inspection declared, "These look like Spanish doubloons and they certainly are gold. How many are there Rosie?"

With trembling fingers, Rosie started to count the coins. "One, two three..... thirty five, thirty six..... seventy one, seventy two!" she cried. "We're rich! I wonder what they're worth? I'll bet it's lots and lots of money. You can buy yourself another boat and I can get my dad a better fishing boat." Rosie danced around the camp fire clutching the leather pouch of doubloons.

In all the excitement of the gold coins, they had all forgotten about the rest of the goodies until Rosie tripped over some of the clothing and fell flat, amid screams of laughter.

"I think I'd better put these away," confided the girl, "before I lose them. I'll put them in the tool box."

When she came out of the hut, Rosie saw that Nigel had put on an old fashioned, three cornered sailor's hat, trimmed with feathers.

"Aha! Jim lad, where's me parrot, Cap'n Flint?" growled the lad, as he stood on one leg and brandished a stick as a sword.

"You make a good pirate," exclaimed Rosie as she dived into the pile of clothes. Very soon, dressed as old salts, the two youngsters approached Brian as he sat near the fire.

"Avast there, ye landlubber, bring me some victuals," roared Nigel, pointing his sword at his father.

Brian looked up and laughingly said, "A real pirate would have a thick bushy beard and you haven't got one, so get your own grub."

Still chuckling at their antics, they sat down and ate a hearty meal of bananas, mangos and papayas and grilled some fish that Nigel had caught.

After their meal they turned their attention to the rest of the treasure. Brian reached out for the book and opened it. The writing was neat and somewhat faded but with the setting sun it was difficult to read, so he set it aside.

With the key in her hand Rosie said, "I wonder what this is for? I'll bet it's for a treasure chest. Maybe it's still in the cave somewhere and we haven't found it yet."

Still dressed in his pirates clothes, Nigel brandished the telescope and declared, "With this, I will be able to spot a rescue ship more easily."

"If you do," replied his dad, "make sure you're not wearing those clothes, otherwise they won't come for a pirate."

They talked well into the night until finally tired eyelids forced them into a deep sleep.

Rosie awoke with a start as the brilliant morning sun forced it's way past her closed eyes and into her brain. "Did we really find that treasure." she thought and then dashed out of the hut shouting. "Come on you two, get up, it's time for more treasure hunting."

Nigel entered her vision and with bleary eyes said, "Go away Rosie I'm too tired for anything." With that he turned and went back to lie down.

"Leave him alone," said Brian "Nigel worked hard yesterday and he must be tired. Come on then, breakfast first, then some chores, then you're free to do what you want."

"What about him?" argued Rosie, pointing an accusing finger at her friend.

"Let him sleep for now, he'll do his share when he wakes up," replied the man.

Rosie set about her tasks and in no time at all had finished. "Right I'm off to the cave to find a treasure chest for this key." Stuffing the key down the waste band of her shorts, Rosie grabbed a torch, stuck it in the fire to catch alight and ran off before Brian could reply.

Brian sat down, leaned against a coconut palm and opened the book. The writing didn't look quite as faded as the night before and in the strong sunlight he started to read.

It had been written by a Mr. Mayhew who was second mate on a schooner called the Albatross. She had plied her trade amongst the islands in the Caribbean waters. In the Summer of 1843 the Albatross had been attacked by pirates and in the ensuing fight, Mr. Mayhew had fallen overboard. As he drifted away from his ship, he had seen her powder magazine explode and the explosion had broken the ship in two. With both halves of the ship on fire, the pirates were unable to stay on board, so they had sailed away leaving his vessel and him to their fate. A sudden rain squall had put out the fires but then the for'ad end had sunk. The after end had drifted with him for a day but come the morning it was not to be seen. For two days and nights he had clung to a piece of his ship's mast and was eventually swept onto their island.

Once on the island, Mr. Mayhew had found the cave and made his home in it. It was he who had blocked the seaward entrance to the cave to stop the wind howling through. His explorations had brought him to the shingle bay and there, beached in shallow water was the after end of his ship. Mr. Mayhew had managed to salvage just a few things before another storm had dragged the vessel away.

"Poor fellow," thought Brian, "I guess he could only salvage that trunk before he lost his ship for ever. I wonder what happened to him? He couldn't have been rescued, otherwise he would have taken his trunk with him. Maybe more pirates got him or maybe he fell over the cliff or was drowned whilst swimming to the wreck. I wonder how far out his ship is? Maybe it's only just under the surface. I'll have to build a raft or a boat or something to see if I can spot it."

Brian closed the book, just as Rosie came back looking crestfallen. "What's the matter Rosie?" he asked. "No more treasure?"

"No! there's nothing more in the cave that I can find. My torch went out so I had to come out," replied the saddened girl. "Is Nigel up yet?"

As if in answer to her query, Nigel presented himself, yawning and stretching. "That's better," he offered to no one in particular. "What's been going on?"

Rosie told him about her lack of success and while they ate some dinner, Brian told them about what he had read in the book and what he planned to do.

"Isn't that going to be dangerous?" said a worried Nigel "You've always told us not to go swimming anywhere except in the lagoon, because of the currents."

"Yes that's quite correct," agreed his father, "the currents are dangerous but I'm not going swimming. I'll make a raft or boat and I'll tether it to the shore with a rope so that I won't be swept out to sea. I just want to look into the water to see if I can see the wreck."

"You won't see very much," retorted Rosie "unless you have a glass bottomed bucket."

"You're right," he replied, "I'll have to think of some way to make one."

Rosie was the first to get moving and she rushed around gathering ropes and the axe and things.

"Come on let's go," she commanded, arms full of tackle. "Grab some of this lot."

Together they shouldered their equipment and set off on the trek to the cove. Once on the shingle beach, Brian warned them not to go into the water and set about selecting some smaller trees to chop down. The chopping and tying took many days until at last there was a very presentable raft settled on the beach just above the tide mark.

"Right then," said Brian "first thing tomorrow I'll set sail and I'll see what I will see. Hopefully I'll see the wreck."

"What if you do?" asked Rosie. "You still won't be able to reach it, we've no diving gear."

"That doesn't matter Rosie," replied her friend's father, "once I know that it's there, once we get off this island, I'll come back with a proper salvage team."

That evening in camp, Rosie rummaged through all their gear and triumphantly held out a small square of plastic. "We can make a glass bottomed thingy with this," she exclaimed, "to help you see better."

"Where did you get that?" exclaimed an astonished Brian.

"I brought it ashore from the Sea Sprite when we were bringing all that stuff off," replied the girl. "It's the door from the first aid cabinet."

"That's brilliant Rosie, it's just what I need, thanks!"

Until the sun went down, Brian busied himself with making a glass bottomed thingy, whilst Nigel and Rosie went to collect some firewood.

As usual, Rosie was the first to greet the rising sun, running around and getting things ready for the forthcoming adventure.

"Come on lazy bones, get up. We have a lot to do today and you never know, we might just find some real treasure." she shouted to the world. The world stayed silent but her companions greeted her commands with a chorus of, "Shut up noisy."

The good natured banter continued through breakfast until at last they were all ready. It was an excited trio that half ran the distance to the shingle beach until at last the raft came into view.

Brian tied a rope to the raft and the other end to the nearest tree. The shingle helped as they heaved and strained and dragged the raft until it was floating in the sea. Brian clambered aboard and with his makeshift paddle, slowly paddled out.

"Dad! Wait!" shouted Nigel. "You've forgotten the glass bottomed thingy."

Brian paddled back and took the home made gadget and set off again. Rosie and Nigel stood on the beach and watched and waited with baited breath.

Slowly the raft headed out to sea under the power of Brian's paddle. Once the current took control, Brian put down his paddle and peered over the side. The sea was calmish and he could see the sea bed slowly falling away but no sign of the Albatross. Brian spent all morning paddling around with his tethering rope at full stretch until wet and fed up he started to pull on the rope to come ashore. The two youngsters grabbed the rope and helped to pull him in.

"Did you see anything?" they both shouted long before he was in earshot. A shake of his head indicated that there was nothing to be found.

The rest of the day was a bit of an anti-climax and even Rosie's natural exuberance was quelled.

With the excitement of finding Mr. Mayhew's belongings and the disappointment of not finding his ship, their thoughts turned to being rescued. They had been on the island over twenty days and had only ever sighted that one plane. No ship had come within sight of the island and it was beginning to look like they would never be rescued.