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- and he had his hat shot right off when his boat tried to land!"
    „Is there anyone there now?" asked Julian. „I suppose the old fel ow is dead? Has he a son or anyone to follow him?"
    „I don"t think so," said Wilfrid. „But I don"t know an awful lot about it. I tel you who does, though - one of the groundsmen on the golf-course, called Lucas. He was once one of the watchmen who kept visitors away from the island."
    „It might be rather interesting to talk to him," said Dick. „I"d rather like to walk over the golf-course, too. My father plays a good game of golf, and I know something about it."

    „Well, let"s go now," said George. „Timmy is longing for a good long walk, even though he ran al the way down to the vil age and back today! Walk, Timmy? Walk?"
    „Woof-woof," said Timmy, and leapt up at once.
    Walk? Of course he was ready for a walk! He leapt all round George, pretending to pounce at her feet. Wilfrid tried to catch hold of him, but couldn"t. „I wish you were my dog," he told Timmy. „I"d never let you out of my sight."
    Timmy ran up to him then, and gave him a loving lick. It was astonishing how he seemed to like Wilfrid. Nobody could understand it. As George said, „Timmy is usual y so particular about making friends! Stil , Wilfrid is nicer than he was!"
    The Five, with Wilfrid too, went up the hil , crossed over the road that ran along the top, and climbed over a stile. They found themselves on one of the fairways of the golf-course, not far from a green, in which stood a pole with a bright red flag waving at the top.
    Wilfrid knew very little about the game of golf, but the others had watched their parents play many a time. „Look out - someone"s going to pitch his ball on this green," said Julian, and they stood by the hedge to watch the man play his ball. He struck it beautiful y with his club, and the bal rose, and fel right on to the green. It rolled to within about a foot of the hole in which the flag-pole stood.
    Timmy ran forward a few steps, as he always did when a ball rol ed near him. Then he remembered that this was golf, and he must never, never touch a ball on the fairway or on the green.
    The players passed by, and went on with their game. Then they disappeared, to play off another tee.
    „Well, let"s see if we can find Lucas now," said Wilfrid, crossing the fairway to where he could get a good look over the course. „You"l like him. There"s not much he doesn"t know about the animals and birds here. I think he"s a wonderful man!"
    Wilfrid stood on the slope of a hil and looked all round. „There he is!" he said, pointing to where a man was trimming up a ditch. „See? Down there. He"s using his bil -hook to make things tidy."
    They went down the hil towards the ditch at the bottom. „I bet there"s an awful lot of bal s in that ditch," said Wilfrid. „Hey, Lucas! How are you?"
    „Afternoon, young sir," said the groundsman, turning towards them. His face was as brown as a well-ripened nut, and his arms and shoulders were even browner. He wore no shirt or vest, and his dark, deep-set eyes twinkled as they took in the five children and the dog.
    He held out a brown hand to Timmy, who licked it gravely, wagging his tail. Then Timmy smelt Lucas al over and final y lay down with his head on the man"s feet.
    „Ha!" said Lucas to Timmy, and gave a loud, hearty laugh. „Think I"m a-going to stand here all afternoon, do you? Well, I aren"t. I got work to do, ole dog, so git up! You"re a right good-un, you are, a-laying on my foot, so"s I can"t move a step! Want me to stop and have a rest, don"t you?"
    „Lucas, we came to ask you something," said Wilfrid. „About the island in the harbour.
    What"s its name - and does anyone live there now?"
    „We can see it from that little cottage almost at the top of the hil on the other side of the road," said Dick. „It looks awfully quiet and lonely."
    „And so it is," said Lucas, sitting down on the bank of the ditch. Timmy at once sat up