the quarry,' said George, looking back, and watching the man walk up to his
back door. 'It would be too bad if he butted in and spoilt our fun. I mean --
there may be nothing to discover at all -- but it will be fun even finding there
is nothing.'
'Very involved!' said Dick, with a grin. 'But I gather what you mean. I say,
that was a good tea, wasn't it?'
'Yes,' said George, looking all round her in an absent-'minded manner.
'What's up?' said Dick. 'What are you looking like that for?'
'Oh - how silly of me - I was just looking for Timmy,' said George. 'You know,
I'm so used to him always being at my heels or somewhere near that I just can't
get used to him not being here.'
'Yes, I feel a bit like that too,' said Julian. 'As if there was something missing
all the time. Good old Tim!  Especially on my bed at night,' said George. 'I shan't be able to go to
sleep for ages and ages.'
'I'll wrap a cushion up in a rug and plonk it down on your feet when you're
in bed,' said Dick. 'Then it will 'feel like Timmy!'
'It won't! Don't be silly,' said George, rather crossly. And anyway it wouldn't
smell like him. He's got a lovely smell.'
'Yes, a Timmy-smell,' agreed Anne. 'I like it too.' The evening went very quickly,
playing the endless game of monopoly again. Julian lay in bed later, watching
for, his uncle's signal. Needless to say, George was at the window too! They
waited for half past ten.
'Now!' said Julian. And just as he spoke there came 'the first flash from the
lantern in the tower.
'One,' counted George, 'two, three, four, five, six!' She waited anxiously to
see if there were any more, but there weren't.
'Now you can go to bed in peace,' said Julian to George. 'Your father is all
right, and that means 'that Timmy is all right too. Probably he has remembered
to give Timmy a good supper, and has had some himself as well!'
'Well, Timmy would soon remind him, if he forgot to feed him, that's one thing,'
said George, slipping out of the room. 'Good night, Dick; good night, Ju! See
you in the morning.'
And back she went to her own bed and snuggled down under the sheets.  She tossed about for a while, missing him,
and then fell asleep quite suddenly. She dreamed of her island. She was there
with Timmy -- and they were discovering ingots of gold down in the dungeon.
What a lovely dream!
Next morning dawned bright and sunny again. The April sky was as blue as the
forget-me-nots coming out in the garden. George gazed out of the dining-room
window at breakfast-time, wondering if Timmy was run-fling about her island.
'Dreaming about Tim?' said Julian, with a laugh. 'Never mind -- you'll soon
see him, George. Another hour or so and you'll feast your eyes on him through
the coastguard's telescope!'
'Do you really think you'll be able to make out Tim, if he's in the tower with
your father at half past ten?' asked her mother. 'I shouldn't have thought you
would be able to.'
'Yes, I shall, Mother,' said George. 'It's a very powerful telescope, you know.
I'll just go up and make my bed, then I'll go up the cliff-path. Anyone else
coming?'
'I want Anne to help me with some turning out,' said her mother. 'I'm looking
out some old clothes to give to the vicar's wife for her jumble sale. You don't
mind helping me, Anne, do you?'
'No, I'd like to,' said Anne at once. 'What are the boys going to do?'
'I think I must do a bit of my holiday work this morning,' said Julian, with
a sigh. 'I don't want to -but I've kept on putting it off. You'd better do some
too, Dick. You know what you are -- you'll leave it all to the last day if you're
not careful!'
'All right. I'll do some too,' said Dick. 'You won't mind scooting up to the
coastguard's cottage alone, will you, George?'
'Not a bit,' said George. 'I'll come back just after half past ten, as soon
as I've spotted Timmy and Father.'
She disappeared to make her bed. Julian and Dick went to fetch some books. Anne
went to make her bed too, and then came down to help her aunt. In a few minutes
George yelled good-bye and rushed out of the house.
'What a hurricane!' said her mother. 'It seems as if George never walks if she
can possibly run. Now Anne -put the clothes in three piles -- the very old -
the not so old -- and the quite nice.'
Just before half past ten Julian went up to his window to watch for the signal
from his uncle. He waited patiently. A few seconds after the hall-hour the flashes
came - one, two, three, four, five, six - good! Now George would settle down
for the day. Perhaps they could go to the quarry in the afternoon. Julian went
back to his books and was soon buried in them, with Dick grunting by his side.
At about five minutes to eleven there was the sound of running feet and panting
breath. George appeared at the door of the sitting-room where the two boys were
doing their work. They looked up.
George was red in the face, and her hair was windblown.  'Julian! Dick! Something's happened -- Timmy wasn't
there!'
'What do you mean?' said Julian in surprise. George slumped down on a chair,
still panting. The boys could see that she was trembling too.
'It's serious, Julian! I tell you Timmy wasn't in the tower when the signals
came!'
'Well -- it only means that your absent-minded father forgot to take him up
with him,' said Julian, in his most sensible voice. 'What did you see?'
'I had my eye glued to the telescope,' said George, 'and suddenly I saw someone
come into the little glass room at the top. I looked for Timmy, of course, at
once -but I tell you, he wasn't there! The six flashes came, the man disappeared
-- and that was all. No Timmy! Oh I do feel so dreadfully worried, Julian.'
'Well, don't be,' said Julian, soothingly. 'Honestly, I'm sure that's what happened.
Your father forgot about Timmy. Anyway, if you saw him, obviously things are
all right.'
'I'm not thinking about Father!' cried George. 'He must he all right if he flashed
his signals -- I'm thinking about Timmy. Why, even if Father forgot to take
him, he'd go with him. You know that!'
'Your father might have shut the door at the bottom and prevented Timmy from
going up,' said Dick.
'He might,' said George, frowning. She hadn't thought of that. 'Oh dear - now
I shall worry all day long. Why didn't I stay with Timmy? What shall I do now?'
'Wait till tomorrow morning,' said Dick. 'Then probably you'll see old Tim all
right.'
'Tomorrow morning! Why, that's ages away!' said poor George.  'Oh, nobody understands how much I love Timmy.  It's an awful feeling, really.
 'Do pull yourself together,
George.'
'I feel as if something's wrong,' said George, looking obstinate. 'Julian --
I think I'd better go across to the island.'
'No,' said Julian at once. 'Don't be idiotic, George.' Nothing is wrong, except
that your father's been forgetful. He's sent his O.K. signal. That's enough!
You're not to go and create a scene over there with him. That would be disgraceful!'
'Well - I'll try and be patient,' said George, unexpectedly meek. She got up,
looking, worried. Julian spoke in a kinder voice.
'Cheer up, old thing'! You do like to go off the deep end, don't you?'
Chapter Fifteen
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
GEORGE did not moan any more about her worries. She went about with an anxious
look in her blue eyes, but she had the sense not to 'tell her mother how worried
she was at not seeing Timmy in the glass room, when her father signalled.
She mentioned it, of course, but her mother took the same view as Julian did.
'There! I knew he'd forget to take Timmy up! He's so very forgetful when he's
at work.'
The children decided to go to the quarry that afternoon and explore the tunnel
under the shelf of rock. So they set off after their lunch. But when they came
to the quarry, they did not dare to climb down the steep sides. The heavy rain
of the day before, had made them far too dangerous.
'Look,' said Julian, pointing to' where the bushes and smaller plants were ripped
up and crushed. 'I bet that's where old Martin fell down yesterday! He might
have broken his neck!'
'Yes. I vote we don't attempt to go down till it's as dry as it was the other
day,' said Dick.
It was disappointing. They had brought torches, and a rope; and had looked forward
to a little excitement. 'Well, what shall we do?' asked Julian.
'I'm going back' home,' said George, unexpectedly. 'I'm tired. You others go
for a walk.'
Anne looked at George. She did seem rather pale. 'I'll come back with you, George,'
said Anne, slipping her hand through her cousin's arm. But George shook it off.
'No thanks, Anne, I want to be alone?
'Well - we'll go over the cliff then,' said Julian. 'It'll be nice and blowy
up there, See you later, George!'
They went off. George turned and sped back to Kirrin a cottage. Her mother was
out. Joanna was upstairs in her bedroom. George went to 'the larder and took
several things from it. She bundled them into a bag and then fled out of the
house.
She found James the fisher-boy. 'James! You're not to tell a soul. I'm going
over to Kirrin Island tonight because I'm worried about Timmy. We left him there.
Have my boat ready at ten o'clock.'
James was always ready to do anything in the world for George. He nodded and
asked no questions at all. 'Right, Miss. It'll be ready. Anything you want put
in it?'
'Yes, this bag,' said George. 'Now don't split, on me, James. I'll be back tomorrow
if I find Tim's all right?
She fled back to the house. She hoped Joanna would not notice the things she
had taken from the larder shelf. 'I can't help it if what I'm doing is wrong,'
she kept whispering to herself. 'I know something isn't right with Timmy. And
I'm not at all sure about Father, either. He wouldn't have forgotten his solemn
promise to 'me about taking Timmy up with him. I'll have to go across 'to the
island. I can't help it if it's wrong!' The others wondered what was up with
George when they came back from their walk. She was so fidgety and restless.
They had tea and then did some gardening for Aunt Fanny. George did some too,
but her thoughts were far away, and twice her mother had to stop her pulling
up seedlings instead of weeds.
Bedtime came. The girls got into bed at about a quarter to ten. Anne was tired
and fell asleep at once. As soon as George heard her regular breathing she crept
quietly out of bed and dressed again. She pulled on her warmest jersey, got
her raincoat, rubber boots and a thick rug, and tiptoed downstairs.
Out of the side door she went and into the night. There was a bit of a moon
in the sky, so it was not as dark as usual. George was glad. She would be able
to see her way through the rocks a little now -- though she was sure she could
guide the boat even in the dark!
James was waiting for her. Her boat was ready. 'Everything's in,' said James.
'I'll push off. Now you be careful, Miss -- and if you do scrape a rock, row
like anything in case she fills and sinks. Ready?'
Off went George, hearing the lap-lap of the water against the sides of the boat.
She heaved a sigh of relief, and began to row strongly away from the shore.
She frowned as she rowed. Had she brought everything she might want? Two torches.
Plenty of food. A tin-opener. Something to drink. A rug to wrap herself in tonight.
Back at Kirrin Cottage Julian lay in bed watching for his uncle's signal. Half
past ten. Now for the signal. Ah, here they were! One -- two three - four --
five -six.! Good. Six and no more!
He wondered why George hadn't come into his and Dick's room to watch for them.
She had last night. He got up, padded to me door of George's room and put his
head in 'George!' he said softly. 'It's O.K. Your father's signals have just
come again.'
There was no reply. Julian heard regular breathing and turned to go back to
bed. The girls must be asleep already! Well, George couldn't really be worrying
much about Timmy now, then! Julian got into his bed and soon fell asleep himself.
He had no idea that George's bed was empty no idea that even now George was
battling with the waves that guarded Kirrin Island!
It was more difficult than she had expected, for the moon did not really give
very much light, and had an annoying way of going behind a cloud just when she
badly needed every scrap of light she could get. But, deftly and cleverly, she
managed to make her way through the passage between the hidden rocks. Thank
goodness the tide was high so that most of them were well below the surface!
At last she swung her boat into the little cove. Here the water was perfectly
calm. Panting a little, George pulled her boat up as far as she could. Then
she stood in the darkness and thought hard.
What was she going to do? She did not know where her father's hiding-place was
but she felt certain the entrance to it must be somewhere in or near the little
stone room. Should she make her way to that?
Yes, she would. It would be the only place to shelter in for the night, anyway.
She would put on her torch when she got there, and hunt round for any likely
entrance to the hiding-place. If she found it, she would go in and what a surprise
she would give her father! If old Timmy was there he would go mad with delight.
She took the heavy bag, draped the rug over her arm, and set off. She did not
dare to put on her torch yet, in case the unknown enemy was lurking near. After
all, her father had heard him cough at night!
George was not frightened. She did not even think about being frightened. All
her thoughts were set on finding Timmy and making sure he was safe.
She came to the little stone room. It was pitch-dark in there, of course - not
even the faint light of the moon pierced into its blackness. George had to put
on her torch.
She put down her bundle at the back of the wall, near the old fireplace recess.
She draped the rug over it and sat down to have a rest, switching off her torch.
After a while she got up cautiously and switched on her torch again. She began
to search for the hiding-place. Where could the entrance be? She flashed her
torch on to every flagstone in the floor of the room. But not one looked as
if it had been moved or lifted. There was nothing to show where there might
be an entrance underground.
She moved round the walls, examining those too in the light of her torch. No
- there was no sign that a hidden way lay behind any of those stones either.
It was most tantalizing. If she only knew!
She went to wrap the rug round her, and to sit and think. It was cold now. She
was shivering, as she sat there in the dark, trying to puzzle out where the
hidden entrance could be.
 What was it?
There was a curious grating noise. Then a slight thud. It came from the recess
where people long ago had built their big log fires! George sat perfectly still,
straining her eyes and ears.
She saw a beam of light in the fireplace recess. Then she heard a man's cough!
Was it her father? He had a cough at times. She listened hard. The beam of light
grew brighter. Then she heard another noise - it sounded as if someone had jumped
down from somewhere! And then -- a voice!
'Come on!'
It was not her father's voice! George grew cold with fear then. Not her father's
voice! Then what had happened to him -- and to Timmy?
Someone else jumped down into the recess, grumbling. 'I'm not used to this crawling
about!'
That wasn't her father's voice either. So there were two unknown enemies! Not
one. And they knew her father's secret workroom. George felt almost faint with
horror. Whatever had happened to him and Timmy?
The men walked out of the little stone room without seeing George at all. She
guessed they were going to the tower. How long would they be? Long enough for
her to search for the place they had appeared from?
She strained her ears again. She heard their footsteps going into the great
yard. She tiptoed to the doorway and looked out. Yes -- there was the light
of their torch near the, tower! If they were going up, there would be plenty
of time to look round.
She went back into the little stone room. Her hands were trembling and she found
it difficult to switch on her torch. She went to the fireplace recess and flashed
the light in it.
She gave a gasp!  She
flashed the light up there. Evidently there was a movable stone half-way up
that swung back and revealed an entrance behind. An entrance to what? Were there
steps, such as were shown in the old map?
Feeling quite breathless, George stood on tip-toe and flashed her light into
the hole. Yes -- there were steps! They went down into the wall at the back.
She remembered that the little stone room backed on to one of the immensely
thick old walls still left.
She stood there, uncertain what to do. Had she better go down and see if she
could find Timmy and her father? But if she did, she might be made a prisoner
too. On the other hand, if she stayed outside, and the men came back and shut
up the entrance, she might not be able to open it. She would be worse off than
ever!
'I'll go down!' she suddenly decided. 'But I'd better take my bag and the rug,
in case the 'men come back and see them. I don't want them to know I'm on the
island if I can help it! I could hide them somewhere down there, I expect. I
wonder if this entrance leads to the dungeons.'
She lifted up the rug and the bag and pushed them into the hole.
Then she climbed up herself. Gracious, what a long dark flight of steps! Wherever
did they lead to?
Chapter Sixteen.
DOWN TO THE CAVES
GEORGE went cautiously down the stone steps. They were steep and narrow. 'I
should think they run right down in the middle of the stone wall,' thought George.
'Goodness, here's a narrow bit!'
It was so narrow that she had to go sideways. 'A fat man would never get through
there!' she thought to herself. 'Hallo -- the steps have ended!'
She had got her rug round her shoulders, and had picked up her bag on the way
down. In her other hand she held her torch. It was terribly dark and quiet down
there. George did not feel scared because she was hoping to see Timmy at any
moment. No one could feel afraid with
Timmy just round the corner, ready to welcome them! She stood at the bottom
of the steps, her torch showing her a narrow tunnel. It curved sharply to the
left.
'Now will it join the dungeons from here?' she wondered, trying to get her sense
of direction to help her. 'They can't be far off. But there's no sign of them
at the moment.'
She went on down the narrow tunnel. Once the roof came down so low she almost
had to crawl. She flashed her torch on it. She saw black rock there, which had
evidently been too hard to be removed by the tunnel builders long ago.
The tunnel went on and on and on. George was puzzled. Surely by now she must
have gone by all the dungeons! Why - she must be heading towards the shore of
the island! How very queer! Didn't this tunnel join the dungeons then? A little
further and she would be under the bed of the sea itself,
The tunnel took a deep slope downwards. More steps appeared, cut roughly from
rock. George climbed down them cautiously. Where in the world was she going?
At the bottom of the steps the tunnel seemed to be cut out of solid rock - or
else it was a natural passage, not made by man at all. George didn't know. Her
torch showed her black, rocky walls and roof, and her feet stumbled over an
irregular rocky path. How she longed for Timmy beside her!
'I must be very deep down,' she thought, pausing to flash her torch round her
once more. 'Very deep down and very far from the castle! Good gracious - whatever's
that awful noise?'
She listened. She heard a muffled booming and moaning. Was it her father doing
one of his experiments? The noise went on and on, a deep, never-ending boom.
'Why - I believe it's the sea!' said George, amazed. She stood and listened
again. 'Yes -- it is the sea -- over my head! I'm under the rocky bed of Kirrin
Bay!'
And now poor George did feel a bit scared! She thought of the great waves surging
above her, she thought of the restless, moving water scouring the rocky bed
over her head, and felt frightened in case the sea should find a way to leak
down into her narrow tunnel!
 'This tunnel has been here
under the sea-bed for hundreds of
years -- why should it suddenly become unsafe just when you are in it, George?'
Talking to herself like this, to keep up her spirits, she went on again. It
was very queer indeed to think she was walking under the sea. So this was where
her father was at work! Under the sea itself.
And then George suddenly remembered something he had said to them all, the first
time they had visited him on the island. What was it now? 'Oh yes! He said he
had to have water above and around him!' said George. 'Now I see what he meant!
His workroom is somewhere down here -- so the sea-water is above him -- and
it's all round the tower, because it's built on an island!'
Water above and water around -- so that was why her father had chosen Kirrin
Island for his experiment. How had he found the secret passage under the sea,
though? 'Why, even I didn't know of that,' said George. 'Hallo -what am I coming
to?'
She stopped. The passage had suddenly widened out into an enormous dark cave,
whose roof was unexpectedly high, lost in dark shadows. George stared round.
She saw queer things there that she didn't understand at all -- wires, glass
boxes, little machines that seemed to be at work without a sound, whose centres
were alive with queer, gleaming, shivering light.
Sudden sparks shot up now and again, and when that happened a funny smell crept
round the cave. 'How weird all this is!' thought George. 'However can Father
understand all these machines and things! I wonder where he is. I do hope those
men haven't made him prisoner somewhere!'
From this queer, Aladdin's cave another tunnel led. George switched on her torch
again and went into it. It was much like the other one, but the roof was higher.
She came to another cave, smaller this time, and crammed with wires of all kinds.
There was a curious humming sound here, like thousands of bees in a hive. George
half-expected to see some flying round.
'It must be these wires making the noise,' she said. There was nobody in the
cave at all, but it led into another one, and George hoped that soon she would
find Timmy and her father.
She went into the next cave, which was perfectly empty and very cold. She shivered.
Then down another passage, and into a small cave. The first thing she saw beyond
this tiny cave was a light!
A light! Then perhaps she was coming to the cave her father must be in! She
flashed her torch round the little cave she was now standing in and saw tins
of food, bottles of beer, tins of sweets, and a pile of clothes of some sort.
Ah, this was where her father kept his stores. She went on to the next cave,
wondering why Timmy had not heard her and come to greet her.
She looked cautiously into the cave where the light came from. Sitting at a
table, his head in his hands, perfectly still, was her father! There was no
sign of Timmy.
'Father!' said George. The man at the table jumped violently and turned round.
He stared at George as if he really could not believe his eyes.
'Father!' said George again, quite frightened because he did not say anything
to her.
He looked round again, and this time he got up. He stared at George once more,
and then sat down heavily. George ran to him 'What's the matter? Oh Father,
what's the matter? Where's Timmy?'
'George! Is it really you, George? I thought I must be dreaming when I looked
up and saw you!' said her father. 'How did you get here? Good gracious, it's
impossible that you should be here!'
'Father, are you all right? What's happened - and where's Timmy?' said George,
urgently. She looked all round, but could see no sign of him. Her heart went
cold. Surely nothing awful had happened to Timmy?
'Did you see two men?' asked her father. 'Where were they?'
'Oh Father -- we keep asking each other questions and not answering them!' said
George. 'Tell me first -- where is Timmy?'
'I don't know,' said her father. 'Did those two men go to the tower?'
'Yes,' said George. 'Father, what's happened?'
'Well, if they've gone to the tower, we've got about an hour in peace,' said
her father. 'Now listen to me, George, very carefully. This is terribly important.'
'I'm listening,' said George. 'But do hurry up and tell me about Timmy.'
'These two men were parachuted down on to the island, to try and find out my
secret,' said her father. 'I'll tell you what my experiments are for, George
- they are to find a way of replacing all coal, coke and oil - an idea to give
the world all the heat and power it wants, and to do away with mines and miners.'
'Good gracious!' said George. 'It would be one of the most wonderful things
the world has ever known.'
'Yes,' said her father. 'And I should give it to the whole world - it shall
not be in the power of any one country, or collection of men. It shall be a
gift to the whole of mankind - but, George, there are men who want my secret
for themselves, so that they may make colossal fortunes out of it.'
'How hateful!' cried George. 'Go on, Father -- how did they hear of it?'
'Well, I was at work on this idea with some of my colleagues, my fellow-workers,'
said her father. 'And one 'of them betrayed us, and went to some powerful business
men to tell them of my idea. So when I knew this I decided to come away in secret
and finish my experiments by myself. Then nobody could betray me.'
'And you came here!' said George. 'To my island.'
'Yes -- because I needed water over me and water around me,' said her father.
'Quite by chance I looked at a copy of that old map, and thought that if the
passage shown there -- the one leading from the little stone room, I mean -
if the passage there really did lead under the sea, as it seemed to show, that
would be the ideal place to finish my experiments.'
'Oh Father -- and I made such a fuss!' said George, ashamed to remember how
cross she had been.
'Did you?' said her father, as if he had forgotten all about that. 'Well, I
got all my stuff and came here. And now these fellows have found me, and got
hold of me!'
'Poor Father! Can't I help?' said George. 'I could go back and bring help over
here, couldn't I?'
'Yes, you could!' said her father. 'But you mustn't let those men see you, George.'
'I'll do anything you want me to, Father, anything!' said George. 'But first
do tell me what's happened to Timmy?'
'Well, he kept by me all the time,' said her father. 'Really, he's a wonderful
dog, George. And then, this morning, just as I was coming out of the entrance
in that little room to go up into the tower with Timmy to signal, the two men
pounced on me and forced me back here?
'But what happened to Timmy?' asked George, impatiently. Would her father never
tell her what she wanted to know?
'He flew at the men, of course,' said her father. 'But somehow or other one
of them lassoed him with a noose of rope, and caught him. They pulled the rope
so tight round his neck that he almost choked.'
'Oh, poor, 'poor Timmy,' said George, and the tears ran down her cheek. 'Is
he -- do you think - he's all right, Father?'
'Yes. From what I heard the men saying afterwards I think they've taken him
to some cave and shut him in there,' said her father. 'Anyway, I saw one of
them getting some dog-biscuits out of a bag this evening -- so that looks as
if he's alive and kicking -- and hungry!'
George heaved a great sigh of relief. So long as Timmy was alive and all right!
She took a few steps towards what she thought must be another cave. 'I'm going
to find Timmy, Father,' she said. 'I must find him!'
Chapter Seventeen
TIMMY AT LAST
'No, George!' called her father sharply. 'Come back. There is something very
important I want to say. Come here!'
George went over to him, filled with impatience to get to Timmy, wherever he
was. She must find him!
'Now listen,' said her father. 'I have a book in which I have made all my notes
of this great experiment. The men haven't found it! I want you to take it safely
to the mainland, George. Don't let it out of your sight! If the men get hold
of it they would have all the information they needed!'
'But don't they know everything just by looking at your wires and machines and
things?' asked George.
'They know a very great deal,' said her father, 'and they've found out a lot
more since they've been here -but not quite enough. I daren't destroy my book
of notes, because if anything should happen to me, my great idea would be completely
lost. So, George, I must entrust it to you and you must take it to an address
I will give you, and hand it to the person there.'
'It's an awful responsibility,' said George, a little scared of handling a book
which meant so much, not only to her father, but possibly to the whole of the
world. 'But I'll do my best, Father. I'll hide, in one of the caves till the
men come back, and then I'll slip back up the passage to the hidden entrance,
get out, go to my boat and row back to the mainland. Then I'll deliver your
book of notes without fail, and get help sent over here to you.'
'Good girl,' said her father, and gave her a hug. 'Honestly, George, you do
behave as bravely as any boy. I'm proud of you.'
George thought that was the nicest thing her father had ever said to her. She
smiled at him. 'Well, Father, I'll go and see if I can find Timmy now. I simply
must see that he's all right before I go to hide in one of the other caves.'
'Very well,' said her father. 'The man who took the biscuits went in that direction
still further under the sea, George. Oh by the way - how is it you're here,
in the middle of the night?'
It seemed to strike her father for the first time that George also might have
a story to tell. But George felt that she really couldn't waste any more time
- she must find Timmy!
'I'll tell you later, Father,' she said. 'Oh where's that book of notes?'
Her father rose and went to the back of the cave. He took a box and stood on
it. He ran his hand along a dark ridge of rock, and felt about until he had
found what 'he wanted.
He brought down a slim book, whose pages were of very thin paper. He opened
the book and George saw many beautifully drawn diagrams, and pages of notes
in her father's small neat handwriting.
'Here you are,' said her father; handing her the book, 'do the best you can.
If anything happens to me, this book will still enable my fellow-workers to
give my idea to the world. If I come through this all right, I shall be glad
to have the book, because it will mean I shall not have to work Out all my experiments
again.'
George took the precious book. She stuffed it into her macintosh pocket, which
was a big one. 'I'll keep it safe, Father. Now I must go and find Timmy, or
those two men will be back before I can hide in one of the other caves.'
She left her father's cave and went into the next one. There was nothing there
at all. Then on she went down a passage that twisted and turned in the rock.
And then she heard a sound she longed to hear. A whine! Yes, really a whine!
'Timmy!' shouted George, eagerly. 'Oh Timmy! I'm coming!'
Timmy's whine stopped suddenly. Then he barked joyously. 'Woof, woof, woof,
woof!' George almost fell as she tried to run down the narrow tunnel.  Behind the boulder Timmy barked, and scraped frantically!
George tugged at the stone with all her strength. 'Timmy!' she panted. 'Timmy!
I'll get you out! I'm coming! Oh, Timmy!'
The stone moved a little. George tugged again. It was almost too heavy for her
to move at all, but despair made her stronger than she had ever been in her
life. The stone quite suddenly swung to one side, and George just got one of
her feet out of its way in time, or it would have been crushed.
Timmy squeezed out of the space left. He flung himself on George; who fell on
the ground with her arms tight round him.  'Timmy! What have they done to
you? Timmy, I came as soon as I could!'
Timmy whined again and again in joy, and tried to paw and lick George as if
he couldn't have enough of her. It would have been difficult to say which of
the two was the happier.
At 'last George pushed Timmy away firmly. 'Timmy, we've got work to do! We've
got to escape from here and get across to the mainland and bring help.'
'Woof,' said Timmy. George stood up and flashed her torch into the tiny cave
where Timmy had been. She saw that there was a bowl of water there and some
biscuits. The men had not ill-treated him, then, except to lasso him and half-choke
him when they caught him. She felt round his neck tenderly, but except for a
swollen ridge there, he seemed none the worse.
'Now hurry up - we'll go back to Father's cave -- and then find another cave
beyond his to hide in till the two men come back from the tower. Then we'll
creep out into the little stone room and row back to the mainland,' said George.
'I've got a very, very important book here in my pocket, Timmy.'
 George
stiffened, and stood listening.
A stern voice came down the passage. 'I don't know who you are or where you've
come from -- but if you have dared to let that dog loose he'll be shot! And,
to show you that I mean what I say, here's something to let you know I've a
revolver!'
Then there came a deafening crash, as the man pulled the trigger, and a bullet
hit the roof somewhere in the passage. Timmy and George almost jumped out of
their skins. Timmy would have leapt up the passage at once, but George had her
hand on his collar. She was very frightened, and tried hard to think' what was
best to do.
The echoes of the shot went on and on. It was horrid. Timmy stopped growling,
and George stayed absolutely still.
'Well?' said the voice, 'Did you hear what I said? If that dog is loose, he'll
be shot. I'm not having my plans spoilt now.  But I warn you - if the dog's
with you, that's the end of him!'
'Timmy! Timmy, run away and hide somewhere!' whispered George suddenly. And
then she remembered something else that filled her with despair. She had her
father's precious book of notes with her - in her pocket! Suppose the man found
it on her? It would break her father's heart to know that his wonderful secret
had been stolen from him after all.
George hurriedly took the thin, flat little book from her pocket. She pushed
it at Timmy. 'Put it in your mouth.  And go and hide till
it's safe to come. Quick! Go, Timmy, go! I'll be all right.'
To her great relief Timmy, with the book in his mouth, turned and disappeared
down the tunnel that led further, under the sea. How, she hoped he would find
a safe hiding place! The tunnel must end soon - but maybe before it did, Timmy
would settle down in some dark corner and wait for her to call him again.
'Will you come up the passage or not?' shouted the voice, angrily. 'You'll be
sorry if I have to come and fetch you - because I shall shoot all the way along!'
'I'm coming!' called George, in a small voice, 'and she went up the passage.
She soon saw a beam of light, and in a moment she was in the flash of a powerful
torch. There was a surprised exclamation.
'Good heavens! A boy!
George's short curly hair made the man with the torch think she was a boy, and
George did not tell him he was wrong. The man held a revolver, but he let it
drop as he saw George.
'I only came to rescue my dog, and to find my father,' said George, in a meek
voice.
'Well, you can't move that heavy stone!' said the man. 'A kid like you wouldn't
have the strength. And you can't rescue your father either! We've got him prisoner,
as you no doubt saw.'
'Yes,' said George, delighted to think that the man was sure she had not been
strong enough to move the big stone. She wasn't going to say a word about Timmy!
If the man thought he was still shut up in that tiny cave, well and good!
Then she heard her father's voice, anxiously calling from somewhere beyond the
man. 'George! Is that you? Are you all right?'
'Yes, Father!' shouted back George, hoping that he would not ask anything about
Timmy. The man beckoned her to come to him.
'I've brought your boy back,' said the man.  We've got him penned up in a cave with a
big boulder in front!'
Another man came in from the opposite end of the cave. He was amazed to see
George. The other man explained.
'When I got down here, I heard a noise out beyond this cave, the dog barking
and someone talking to him and found this kid there, trying to set the dog free.
I'd have shot the dog, of course, if he had been freed.'
'But - how did this boy get here?' asked the other man, still amazed.
'Maybe he can tell us that!' said the other. And then, for 'the first time,
George's father heard how George had got there and why.
She told them how she had watched for Timmy in the glass room of the tower and
hadn't seen him - and that had worried her and made her suspicious. So she had
come across to the island in her boat at night, and had seen where the men came
from. She had gone down the tunnel, and kept on till she came to the cave, where
she had found her father.
The three men listened in silence.  It's not
many boys would have been brave enough to run so much risk for anyone.'
'Yes. I'm really proud of you, George,' said her father. He looked at her anxiously.
She knew what he was thinking what about his precious book? Had she been sensible
enough to hide it? She 4id not dare to let him know anything while the men were
there.
'Now, this complicates matters,' said the other man, looking at George. 'If
you don't go back home you'll soon be missed, and there will be all kinds of
search parties going on - and maybe someone will send over to the island here
to tell your father you have disappeared! We don't want anyone here at present
- not till we know what we want to know!'
He turned to George's father. 'If you will tell us what we want to know, and
give us all your notes, we will set you free, give you whatever sum of money
you ask us for, and disappear ourselves.'
'And if I still say I won't?' said George's father. 'Then I am afraid we shall
blow up the whole of your machines and the tower - and possibly you will never
be found again because you will be buried down here,' said the man, in a voice
that was suddenly very hard.
There was a dead silence. George looked at her father. 'You couldn't do a thing
like that,' he said at last. 'You would gain nothing by it at all!'
'It's all or' nothing with us,' said the man. 'All or nothing. Make up your
mind. We'll give you till half past ten tomorrow morning about seven hours.
Then either you tell us everything, or we blow the island sky-high!'
They went out of the cave and left George and her father together. Only seven
hours! And then, perhaps-- the end of Kirrin Island!
Chapter Eighteen
HALF PAST FOUR IN THE MORNING
As soon as the men were out of earshot, George's father spoke in a low voice.
'It's no good. I'll have to let them have my book of notes. I can't risk having
you buried down here, George. I don't mind anything for myself - workers of
my sort have to be ready to take risks all their lives -- but it's different
now you're here !'
'Father, I haven't got the book of notes,' whispered George, thankfully. 'I
gave them to Timmy. I 'did manage to get that stone away from the entrance to
his little prison - though the men think I didn't! I gave the book to Timmy
and told him to go and hide till I fetched him.'
'Fine work, George!' said her father. 'Well - perhaps if you got Timmy now and
brought him here -- he could deal with these two men before they suspect he
is free! He is quite capable of getting them both down on the ground at once.'
'Oh yes! It's our only chance,' said George. 'I'll go and get him now. I'll
go a little way along the passage and whistle. Father -- why didn't you go and
try and rescue Timmy?'
'I didn't want to leave my book,' said her father. 'I dared not take it with
me, in case the men came after me and found it. They've been looking in all
the caves for it. I couldn't bear to leave it here, and go and look for the
dog. I was sure he was all right, when I saw the men taking biscuits out of
the bag. Now do go, George, and whistle to Timmy. The men may be back at any
moment.'
George took her torch and went into the passage that led to the little cave
where Timmy had been. She whistled loudly, and then waited. But no Timmy came.
She whistled again, and then went further along the passage.
Still no Timmy.
She called him loudly. 'TIMMY! TIMMY! COME HERE!' But Timmy did not come. There
was no sound of scampering feet, no joyful bark.
'Oh bother!' thought George. 'I hope he hasn't gone so far away that he can't
hear me. I'll go a little further.'
So she made her way along the tunnel, past the cave where Timmy had been, and
then on down the tunnel again. Still no Timmy.
George rounded a corner and then saw that the tunnel split into three. Three
different passages, all dark, silent and cold. Oh dear! She didn't in the least
know which to take. She took the one on the left.
But that also split into three a little way on! George stopped. 'I shall get
absolutely lost in this maze of passages under the sea if I go on,' she thought.
'I simply daren't. It's too frightening. TIMMY! TIMMY!'
Her voice went echoing along the passage and sounded very queer indeed. She
retraced her steps and went right back to her father's cave, feeling miserable.
'Father, there's no sign of Timmy at all. He must have gone along one of the
passages and' got lost! Oh dear, this is awful. There are lots of tunnels beyond
this cave, it seems as if the whole rocky bed of the sea is mined with tunnels!'
George sat down and looked, very downhearted.
'Quite likely,' said her father. 'Well - that's a perfectly good plan gone wrong.
We must try and think of another.'
'I do wonder what Julian and the others will think when they wake up and find
me gone,' said George, suddenly. 'They might even come and try to find me 'here.'
'That wouldn't be much good,' said her father. Then we'll simply come down here
and wait, and nobody will know where we are. The others don't know of the entrance
in the little stone room, do they?'
'No,' said George. 'If they came over here I'm sure they'd never find it! We've
looked before. And that would mean they'd be blown up with the island. Father,
this is simply dreadful.''
'If only we knew where Timmy was!" said her father. Or if we could get
a message to Julian to tell him not to. come. What's the time? My word, it's
half past three in, the early morning! I suppose Julian and the others are still
asleep.'
Julian was fast asleep. So was Anne. Dick was in a deep sleep as well, so nobody
guessed that' George's bed was empty.
But, about half past four Anne awoke, feeling very hot, really must open the
window!' she thought. 'I'm boiling!'
She got up and went to 'the window. She opened it, and stood looking out. The
stars were out and the bay one faintly.
'George,' whispered Anne. 'Are you awake?' She listened for a reply. But none
came. Then she listened more intently. Why, she couldn't even hear George's'
breathing! Surely George was there?
She felt over George's bed. It was flat and empty. She' switched on the light
and looked at it. George's pyjamas were still on the bed. Her clothes were gone.
'George has gone to the island!' said Anne, in a fright, 'in the dark by herself!'
She went to the boys' room. She felt about Julian's bed for his shoulder, and
shook him hard. He woke up with a jump. 'What is it? What's up?'
'Julian! George is gone. Her bed's not been slept in,' whispered Anne. Her whisper
awoke Dick, and soon both boys were sitting up wide awake.
'Blow! I might have guessed she'd do a fool thing like that,' said Julian. 'In
the middle of the night too -- and all those dangerous rocks to row round. Now
what are we going to do about it? I told her she wasn't to go to the island
-- Timmy would be quite all right! I expect Uncle Quentin forgot to take him
up to the tower with him yesterday, that's all. She might have waited till half
past ten this morning then she would probably have seen him.'
'Well - we can't do anything now, I suppose, can we?' said Anne, anxiously.
'Not a thing,' said Julian. 'I've no doubt she's safely on Kirrin Island by
now, making a fuss of Timmy, and having a good old row with Uncle Quentin. Really,.
George is the limit!'
They talked for half an hour and then Julian looked at his watch. 'Five o'clock.
We'd better try and get a bit more sleep. Aunt Fanny will b.e worried in the
morning when she hears of George's latest escapade!'
Anne went back to her room. She got into bed and fell asleep. Julian could not
sleep - he kept thinking of George and wondering where exactly she was. Wouldn't
he give her a talking-to when she came back!
He suddenly heard a peculiar noise downstairs. Whatever could it be? It sounded
like someone climbing in, at a window. Was there one open? Yes, the window of
the little wash-place might be open. Crash ! What in the world was that? It
couldn't be a burglar - no burglar would be foolish enough to make such a noise.
There was a sound on the stairs, and then the bedroom door was pushed open.
In alarm Julian put out his hand to switch on the light, but before he could
do so something heavy jumped right on top of him!
He yelled and Dick woke up with a jump. He put on the light -- and then Julian
saw what was on his bed -Timmy!
'Timmy! How did you get here? Where's George! Timmy, is it really you?'
'Timmy!' echoed Dick, amazed. 'Has George brought him back then? Is she here
too?'
Anne came in, wakened by the noise. 'Why, Timmy! Oh Julian, is George back too,
then?'
'No, apparently not,' said Julian, puzzled. 'I say, Tim, 'what's this you've
got in your mouth? Drop it, old chap, drop it!'
Timmy dropped it. Julian picked it up from the bed. 'It's a' 'book of notes
- all in Uncle's handwriting! What does this mean? How did Timmy get hold of
it - and why did he bring it here? It's most extraordinary!'
Nobody could imagine why Timmy had suddenly 'appeared with the book of notes
- and no George.
'It's very queer,' said Julian. 'There's something I don't understand here.
Let's go and wake Aunt Fanny.'
So they went and woke her up, telling her all they knew. She was very worried
indeed to hear that George was gone. She picked up the book of notes and knew
at once that it was very important.
'I must put this into the safe,' she said. 'I know this is valuable. How did
Timmy get hold of it?'
Timmy was acting queerly. He kept pawing at Julian and whining. He had been
very pleased to see everyone, but he seemed to have something on his mind.
'What is it, old boy?' asked Dick. 'How did you get here? You didn't swim, because
you're not wet. If you came in a boat, it must have, been with George -- and
yet you've left her behind!'
'I think something's happened to George,' said Anne, suddenly. 'I think Timmy
keeps pawing you to tell you to go with him and find her. Perhaps she brought
him back in the boat, and then was terribly tired and fell asleep on the beach
or something. We ought to go and see.'
'Yes, I think we ought,' said Julian. 'Aunt Fanny, would you like to wake Joanna
and get something hot ready, in case we find George is tired out and cold? We'll
go down to the beach and look. It will soon be daylight now. The eastern sky
is just beginning to show its first light.
'Well, go and dress then,' said Aunt Fanny, still looking very worried indeed.
'Oh, what a dreadful family I've got - always in some scrape or other!'
The three children began to dress. Timmy watched them, waiting patiently till
they were ready. Then they all went downstairs and out of doors. Julian turned
towards the beach, but Timmy stood still. He pawed at Dick and then ran a few
steps in the opposite direction.
'Why - he doesn't want us to go to the beach! He wants us to go another way!'
cried Julian, in surprise. 'All right, Timmy - you lead the way and we'll follow!'
TIMMY ran round the house and made for the moor behind. It was most extraordinary.
Wherever was he going?
'This is awfully queer,' said Julian. 'I'm sure George can't be anywhere in
this direction.'
Timmy went on swiftly, occasionally turning his head to make sure everyone was
following him. He led the way to the quarry!
'The quarry! Did George come here then?' said Dick. 'But why?'
The dog disappeared down into the middle of the quarry, slipping and sliding
down the steep sides as he went. The others followed as best they could. Luckily
it was not as slippery as before, 'and they reached the bottom without accident.
Timmy went straight to the shelf of rock and disappeared underneath it.  This is the way! Hurry
up!'
'He's gone into the tunnel under there,' said Dick. 'Where we thought we might
explore and didn't. There must be a passage or something there, then. But is
George there?'
'I'll go first,' said Julian, and wriggled through the hole. He was soon in
the wider bit and then came out into the part where he could almost stand. He
walked a little way in the dark, hearing Timmy bark impatiently now and then.
But in a moment or two Julian stopped.
'It's no good trying to follow you in the dark, Timmy!' he called. 'We'll have
to go back and get torches. I can't see a foot in front of me!'
Dick was just struggling through the first part of the hole. Julian called to
him to go back.
'It's too dark,' he said. 'We must go and get torches. If George for some reason
is up this passage, she must have had an accident, and we'd better get a rope,
and some brandy.'
Anne began to cry. She didn't like the idea of George lying hurt in that dark
passage. Julian put his arm round her as soon as he was in the open air again.
He helped her up the sides of the quarry, followed by Dick.
'Now don't worry. We'll get her all right. But it beats me why she Went there
and I still can't imagine how Tim and she came from the island, if they are
here, instead of on the beach!'
'Look there's Martin!' suddenly said Dick in surprise. So there was! He was
standing at the top of the quarry, and seemed just as surprised to see them
as they were to see him!
'You're up early,' called Dick. 'And goodness me -- are you going gardening
or something? Why the spades?'
Martin looked sheepish and didn't seem to know what to say. Julian suddenly
walked up to him and caught hold of his shoulder. 'Look here, Martin! There's
some funny business going on here! What are you going to do with those spades?
Have you seen George? Do you know where she is, or anything about her? Come
on, tell me!'
Martin shook his shoulder away from Julian's grip, looking extremely surprised.
'George? No! What's happened to him?'
'George isn't a him - she's a her,' said Anne, still crying. 'She's disappeared.
We thought she'd gone to the island to find her dog -- and Timmy suddenly appeared
at Kirrin Cottage, and brought us here!'
'So it looks as if George might be somewhere near here,' said Julian. 'And I
want to know if you've seen her or know anything of her whereabouts?'
'No, Julian. I swear I don't!' said Martin.
'Well, tell me what you're doing here so early in the morning, with spades,'
said Julian, roughly. 'Who are you waiting for? Your father?'
'Yes,' said Martin.
'And what are you going to do?.' asked Dick. 'Going exploring up the hole there?'
'Yes,' said Martin again, sullen and worried. 'No' harm in that, is there?'
'It's all - very - queer,' said Julian, eyeing him and speaking slowly and loudly.
'But - let me tell you this -we're going exploring -- not you! If there's anything
queer up that hole, we'll 'find it! We shall not allow, you or your father to
get through the hole. So go and find him and tell him that!'
Martin didn't move. He went very white, and stared at Julian miserably.
'Martin, what is 'it? Why do you look like that? What's the mystery?'
And then, to the dismay and horror of everyone, Martin turned away with a noise
that sounded very like a sob! He stood with his back to them, his shoulders
shaking.
'Good gracious! What is up?' said Julian, in exasperation. 'Pull yourself together,
Martin! Tell us what's worrying you.'
'Everything, everything!' said Martin, in a muffled voice. Then he swung round
to face them. 'You don't know what it is to have no mother and no father - nobody
who cares about you - and then...'
'But you have got a father!' said Dick at once.
'I haven't. He's not my father, that man. He's only my guardian, but he makes
me call him father whenever we're on a job together.'
'A job? What sort of job?' said Julian.
'Oh any kind -- all beastly,' said Martin. 'Snooping round and finding things
out about people, and then getting money from them if we promise to say nothing
-and receiving stolen goods and selling them - and helping people like the men
who are after your uncle's secret...'
'Oho!' said Dick at once. Now we're coming to it. I thought' you and Mr. Curton
were both suspiciously interested in Kirrin Island. What's this present job,
'then?'
'My guardian will half-kill me for telling all this,' said Martin.  I can't go on with it!'
A few more tears ran down his cheeks. It was awful to see a boy crying like
that, and the three felt sorry for Martin now.
'How do you know this?' asked Julian.
'Well, Mr. Curton's got a wireless receiver and transmitter as you know,' explained
Martin, 'and so have the fellows on the island -- the ones who are after your
uncle's secret -- so they can easily keep in touch with one another. They mean
to get the secret if they can - if not they are going to blow the whole place
sky-high so that nobody can get the secret. But they can't get away by boat,
because they don't know the way through those rocks....'
'Well, how will they get away then?' demanded Julian.
'We feel sure this hole that Timmy found the other day, leads down to the sea,
and under the sea-bed to Kirrin Island,' said Martin. 'Yes, I know it sounds
too mad to be true - but Mr. Curton's got an old map which clearly shows there
was once a passage under the sea-bed. If there is - well, the fellows across
on the island can escape down it, after making all preparations for the island
to be blown up. See?'
'Yes,' said Julian, taking a long breath. 'I do see. I see it all very clearly
now. .1 see something else too! Timmy has found his way from the island, using
that same passage you have just told us about - and that's why he's led us back
here -- to take us to the island and rescue Uncle Quentin and George.'
There was a deep silence. Martin stared at the ground. Dick and Julian thought
hard. Anne sobbed a little. It all seemed quite unbelievable to her. Then Julian
put his hand on Martin's arm.
'Martin! You did right to tell us. We may be able to prevent something dreadful.
But you must help. We may need those spades of yours - and I expect you've got
torches too.' We haven't We don't want to waste time going back and getting
them - so will you come with us and help us? Will you lend us those spades and
torches?'
'Would you trust me?' said Martin, in a low voice. 'Yes, I want to come and
help you. And if we get in now, my guardian won't be able to follow, because
he won't have a torch. We 'can get to the island and bring your unde and George
safely back.'
'Good for you!' said Dick. 'Well, come on then. We've been talking far too long.
Come on down again, Ju. Hand him a spade and torch, Martin.'
'Anne, you're not to come,' said Julian, to his little sister. 'You're to go
back and tell Aunt Fanny what's happened. Will you do that?'
'Yes. I don't want to come,' said Anne. 'I'll go back ç now. Do be careful,
Julian!'
She climbed down with the boys and then stood and watched till all three had
disappeared, into the hole. Timmy, who had been waiting impatiently during the
talking, barking now and again, was glad to find that at last they were going
to make a move. He ran ahead in the tunnel, his eyes gleaming green every time
he
turned to see if they were following. Anne began to climb up the steep side
of the quarry again. Then, thinking she heard a cough, she stopped and crouched
under a bush. She peered through the leaves and saw Mr. Curton. Then she heard
his voice.
'Martin! Where on earth are you?'
So he had come to look for Martin and go up the tunnel with him! Anne hardly
dared to breathe. Mr. Curton called again and again, then made an impatient
noise and began to climb down the side of the quarry.
Suddenly he slipped! He clutched at a bush as he passed, but it gave way. He
rolled quite near Anne, and caught sight of her.' He looked astonished, but
then his look became one of fear as he rolled more and more quickly to the bottom
of the deep quarry. Anne heard him give a deep groan as at last he came to a
stop.
Anne peered down in fright. Mr. Curtin was sitting up, holding one of his legs
and groaning. He looked up to see if he could spy Anne. .
'Anne!' he called. 'I've broken my leg, I think. Can you fetch help? What are
you doing here so early? Have you seen Martin?' ' '
Anne did not answer. If he had broken his leg, then he couldn't go after the
others! And Anne could get away quickly. She climbed carefully, afraid of rolling
down to the bottom and having to lie beside the horrid Mr. Curton.
'Anne!' Have you seen Martin? Look for him and get help for me, will you?' shouted
Mr.' Curton, and then groaned again.
Anne climbed' to the top of the quarry' and looked down. She cupped her hands
round her mouth and shouted loudly:
'You're a very wicked man. I shan't fetch help for you. I simply can't bear
you!'
'Arid, having got, all that off her chest, the little girl shot off at top speed
over the moor.
'I must tell Aunt Fanny. She'll know what to do! Oh 'I hope the' others are
safe. What shall we do if the island blows up? I'm glad, glad, glad I told Mr.
Curton be was very wicked man.'
And on she ran, panting. Aunt Fanny would know what to do!
Meanwhile the three boys and Timmy were having a strange journey underground.
Timmy led the way without faltering, stopping every now and again for the others
to catch up with him.
The tunnel at first had a very low roof and the boys had to walk along in a
stooping position, which was very tiring indeed. But after a bit the roof became
higher and Julian, flashing his torch round, saw that the walls and floor, instead
of being made of soil, were now made of rock. He tried to reckon out where they
were.
'We've come practically straight towards the cliff,' he said to Dick. 'That's
allowing for a few turns and twists. The tunnel has sloped down so steeply the
last few hundred yards that I think we must be very far underground indeed.'
It was not until the boys heard the curious booming noise that George had heard
in the caves, that they knew they must be under the rocky bed of the sea. They
were walking under the sea to Kirrin Island. How strange, how unbelievably astonishing!
'It's like 'a peculiarly vivid dream,' said Julian. 'I'm not sure I like it
very much! All right, Tim -- we're coming. Hallo - what's this?'
They all stopped. Julian flashed his torch ahead and saw a pile of fallen rocks.
Timmy had managed to squeeze himself through a hole in them and go through to
the other side, but the boys couldn't.
'This is where the spades come in, Martin!' said Dick, cheerfully. 'Take a hand!'
By dint of pushing and shovelling, the boys at last managed to move the pile
of fallen rocks enough to make a way past. 'Thank goodness for the spades!'
said Julian.
They went on, and were soon very glad of the spades again, to move another heap
of rock. Timmy barked impatiently when they kept him waiting. He was very anxious
to get back to George.
Soon they came to where the tunnel forked into two. But Timmy took the right-hand
passage without hesitation, and when that one forked into three, he again chose
one without stopping to think for one moment
'Marvellous, isn't he?' said Julian. 'All done by smell! He's been this way
once, so he knows it again. We 'should be completely lost under here if we came
by ourselves.'
'Martin was not enjoying this adventure at all. He said very little, but labored
on after the others. Dick guessed he was worrying about what was going to happen
when the adventure was over. Poor Martin. All he wanted to do was to draw --
and instead of that he had been dragged into one horrible job after another,
and used as a cat's-paw by his evil guardian.
'Do you think we're anywhere near the island?' said Dick, at last. 'I'm getting
tired of this!'
'Yes, we must be,' said Julian. 'In fact I think we'd better be as quiet as
we can, in case we come suddenly on the enemy!'
So, without speaking again, they went as quietly as they could -- and then suddenly
they saw a faint light ahead of them. Julian put out his hand to stop the others.
They were nearing the cave where George's father had his books and papers --
where George had found him the night before.  He was not going 'to run headlong into danger!
They heard voices, and listened intently to see whose they were. 'George's --
and Uncle Quentin's,' said Julian at last. And, as if Timmy had also satisfied
himself that those were indeed the two voices, the dog ran ahead and went into
the lighted cave, barking joyfully.
'Timmy!' came George's voice, and they heard something overturn as she sprang
up. 'Where have you been?'
'Woof,' said Timmy, trying to explain. 'Woof!'
And then Julian and Dick ran into the cave followed by Martin! Uncle Quentin
and George stared in the very greatest amazement.
'Julian! Dick! And Martin! How did you get here?' cried George, whilst Timmy
jumped and capered round her.
'I'll explain,' said Julian. 'It was Timmy that fetched us!' And he related
the whole story of how Timmy had come into Kirrin Cottage in the early morning
and had jumped on his bed, and all that had happened since.
And then, in their turn, Uncle Quentin and George told all that had happened
to them!
'Where are the two men?' asked Julian.
'Somewhere on the island,' said George. 'I went scouting after them some time
ago, and followed them up to where they get out into the little stone room.
I think they're there until half past ten, when they'll go up and signal, so
that people will think everything is all right.'
'Well, what are our plans?' said Julian. 'Will you come back down the passage
under the sea with us? Or what shall we do?'
'Better not do that,' said Martin, quickly. 'My guardian may be coming -- and
he's in touch with other men. If he wonders where I am, and thinks something
is up, he may call in two or three others, and we might meet them making their
way up the passage.'
They did not know, of course, that Mr. Curton was even then lying with a broken
leg at the bottom of the quarry. Uncle Quentin considered.
'I've been given seven hours to say whether or not I will give the fellows my
secret,' he said. 'That time will be up just after half past ten. Then the men
will come down again to see me. I think between us we ought to be able to capture
them -- especially as we've got Timmy with us!'
'Yes - that's a good idea,' said Julian. 'We could hide somewhere 'till they
come -- and then set Timmy on them before they suspect anything!'
Almost before he had finished these words the light in the cave went out! Then
a voice spoke out of the blackness.
'Keep still! One movement and I'll shoot.' '
George gasped. What was happening? Had the men come back unexpectedly? Oh, why
hadn't Timmy given them warning? She had been fondling his ears, so probably
he had been unable to hear anything!
She held Timmy's collar, afraid that he would fly at the man in the darkness
and be shot. The voice spoke again.
'Will you or will you not give us your secret?'
'Not,' said Uncle Quentin, in a low voice.
'You will have this whole island, and all your work blown up then, and yourself
too and the others?'
'Yes! You can do 'what you like!' suddenly yelled George. You'll be blown up
yourself too. You'll never be able' to get away in a boat - you'll go on the
rocks!'
The man in the darkness laughed. 'We shall be safe,' he said. 'Now, keep at
the back of the cave. I have you covered with my revolver.'
'They all crouched at the back. Timmy growled, but
George made him stop at once. She did not know if the men knew he was free or
not.
Quiet footsteps passed across the cave in the darkness.
George listened, straining her ears. Two pairs of foot steps! Both men were
passing through the cave. She knew where they were going! They were going to
escape by the undersea passage - and leave the island to be blown up behind
them!
As soon as the footsteps had died away, George switched on her torch. 'Father!
Those men are escaping now, down the sea-tunnel. We must escape too - but not
that way/ My boat is on the shore. Let's get there quickly and get away before
there's any explosion.'
'Yes, come along,' said her father. 'But if only I could get up into my tower,
I could stop any wicked plan of theirs! They mean to use the power there, I
know - but if I could get up to the glass room, I could undo all their 'plans!'
'Oh do be quick then, Father!' cried George, getting in quite a panic now. 'Save
my island if you can!'
They 'all made their way through the cave, up to the passage that led to the
stone flight of steps from the little stone room. And there they had a shock!
'The stone could not be opened from the inside! The men had altered the mechanism
so that it could now only be opened from the outside.
"In vain Uncle Quentin swung the lever to and fro. Nothing happened. The
stone would not move.
'It's only from outside it can be opened,' he said in despair. 'We're trapped!
They sat down on the stone steps in a row, one above the other. They were cold,
hungry and miserable. What could they do now? Make th'eir way back to the cave
and then go on 'down the' under-sea tunnel?
'I don't want to do that said Uncle Quentin. 'I'm so afraid that if there is
an explosion, it may crack the rocky bed of the sea, which is 'the roof of the
tunnel -and then water would pour in. It wouldn't be pleasant if we happened
to be thereat that moment.' '
'Oh no. Don't let's be trapped like that,' said George, with a shudder. 'I couldn't
bear it.' '
'Perhaps I could 'get something to explode this stone away,' 'said her father,
after a while. 'I've got plenty of stuff if only I've time to put it together.'
'Listen!' said Julian, suddenly. 'I can hear something outside this wall. Sh!'
'They all listened intently. Timmy whined and scratched at the stone that would
not move.
'It's voices!' cried Dick. 'Lots of them.' Who 'can it be?'
'Be quiet,' said Julian, fiercely. 'We must find out!' 'I know, I know!' said
George, suddenly. 'It's the fishermen who have come over in their boats! That's
why the men didn't wait till half past ten! That's why they've gone in such
a hurry! They saw the fisher-boats coming!' 'Then Anne must have brought them!'
cried Dick. She must have run home to Aunt Fanny, told her everything and given
the news to the fishermen - and they've come to rescue us! Anne! ANNE! WE'RE
HERE!'
Timmy began to bark deafeningly. The others encouraged him, because they felt
certain that Timmy's bark was louder than their shouts!
'WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!'
Anne heard the barking and the shouting as soon as she ran into the little stone
room. 'Where are you? Where are you?' she yelled.
'HERE! HERE! MOVE THE STONE!' yelled Julian, shouting so loudly that everyone
near him jumped violently.
'Move aside, Miss - I can see which stone it is,' said a man's deep voice. It
was one of the fishermen. He felt round and about the stone in the recess, sure
it was the right one because it was cleaner than the others through being used
as an entrance.
Suddenly he touched the right place, and found a tiny iron spike. He pulled
it down - and the lever swung back behind it, and pulled the stone aside!
Everyone hurried out, one on top of the other! The six fishermen standing in
the little room stared in astonishment. Aunt Fanny was there too, and Anne.
Aunt Fanny ran to her husband as soon as he appeared - but to her surprise he
pushed her away quite roughly.
He ran out of the room, and hurried to the tower. Was he in time to save the
island and everyone on it? Oh hurry, hurry! '
'WHERE'S he gone?' said Aunt Fanny, quite hurt. Nobody answered. Julian, George
and Martin were watching the tower with anxious intensity. If only Uncle Quentin
would appear at the top. Ah - there he was!
He had taken up with him a big stone. As everyone watched he smashed the glass
round the tower with the stone. Crash! Crash! Crash!
The wires that ran through the glass were broken and split as the glass crashed
into pieces. No power could race through them now. Uncle Quentin leaned out
of the broken glass room and shouted exultantly.
'It's all right! I was in time! I've destroyed the power that might have blown
up the island - you're safe!'
George found that her knees were suddenly shaking. She had to sit down on the
floor.  Then he too sat down.
'What's he doing, smashing the tower up?' asked a burly fisherman. 'I don't
understand all this.'
Uncle Quentin came down the tower and rejoined them. 'Another ten minutes and
I should have been too late,' he said. 'Thank goodness, Anne, you all arrived
when you did.',
'I ran all the way home, told Aunt Fanny, and we got the fishermen to come over
as soon as they could get out their boats,' explained Anne. 'We couldn't think
of any other way of rescuing you. Where are the wicked men?'
'Trying to escape down the under-sea tunnel,' said Julian. 'Oh - you don't know
about that, Anne!' Arid he told her; while the fishermen listened open-mouthed.
'Look here,' said Uncle Quentin, when he had finished. 'As the boats are here,
the men might as well take all my gear back with them. I've finished my job
here. I shan't want the island any more.'
'Oh! Then we can have it!' said George, delighted. 'And there's plenty of the
holidays left. We'll help to bring up what you want, Father.'
'We ought to get back as quickly as we can, so as to catch those fellows at
the other end of the tunnel, sir,' said one of the fishermen.
'Yes. We ought,' said Aunt Fanny.
'Gracious! They'll find Mr. Curton there with a broken leg,' said Anne, suddenly
remembering.
The others looked at her in surprise. This was the first they had heard of Mr.
Curton being in the quarry. Anne explained.
'And I told him he was a very wicked man,' she ended triumphantly.
'Quite right,' said Uncle Quentin, with a laugh. 'Well, perhaps we'd better
get my gear another time.'
'Oh; two of us can see to that for you now,' said the burly fisherman. 'Miss
George here, she's got her boat in the cove, and you've got yours, sir. The
others can go 'back with you, if you like - and Tom and me, we'll fix up your
things and bring them across to the mainland later on. Save us coming over again,
sir.'
'Right,' said Uncle Quentin, pleased. 'You do that, then. It's down in the caves
through that tunnel behind the stone.'
They all went down to the cove. It was a beautiful day and the sea was very
calm, except just round the island, where the waters were always rough. Soon
the boats were being sailed or rowed to the mainland.
'The adventure is over!' said Anne. 'How queer - I didn't think it was one while
it was happening -- but now I see it was!'
'Another to add to our long list of adventures,' said Julian. 'Cheer up, Martin
- don't look so blue. Whatever happens, we'll see you don't come out badly over
this.  We'll see that you don't
suffer - won't we, Uncle Quentin? We'd never have got through those falls of
rock if we hadn't had Martin and his spades!'
'Well - thanks,' said Martin. 'If you can get me away from my guardian - and
never let me see him again -I'd be happy!'
'It's quite likely that Mr. Curton will be put somewhere safe where he won't
be able to see his friends for quite a long time,' said Uncle Quentin dryly.
'So I don't think you need worry.'
As soon as the boats reached shore, Julian, Dick, Timmy and Uncle Quentin went
off to the quarry to see if Mr. Curton was still there - and to wait for the
other two men to come out of the tunnel!
Mr. Curton was there all right, still groaning and calling for help. Uncle Quentin
spoke to him sternly.
'We know your part in this matter, Curton. You will be dealt with by the' police.
They will be along in a short while.'
Timmy sniffed round Mr. Curton, and then walked away, nose in air, as if to
say 'What a nasty bit of work!' The others arranged themselves at the mouth
of the hole and waited.
But nobody came. An hour went by - two hours. Still nobody. 'I'm glad Martin
and Anne didn't come,' said Uncle Quentin. 'I do wish we'd brought sandwiches.'
At that moment the police arrived, scrambling down the steep sides of the quarry.
The police doctor was with them and he saw to Mr. Curton's leg. Then, with the
help of the others, he got the man to the top with great difficulty.
'Julian, go back and get sandwiches,' said Uncle Quentin at last. 'It looks
as if we've got a long wait!'
Julian went back, and was soon down the quarry with neat packets of ham sandwiches
and a thermos of hot coffee. The two policemen who were still left offered to
stay and watch, if Uncle Quentin wanted to go home.
'Dear me, no!' he said. 'I want to see' the faces of these two fellows when
they come out. It's going to be one of the nicest moments of my life! The island
is not blown up. My secret is safe. My book is safe. My work is finished. And
I just want to tell these things to my two dear friends!'
'You know, Father, I believe they've lost their way underground,' said George.
'Julian said there were many different, passages. Timmy took the boys through
the right ones, of course -- but they would have been quite lost if they hadn't
had him with them!'
Her father's face fell at the thought of the men being lost underground. He
did so badly want to see their dismayed faces when they arrived in the quarry!
'We could send Timmy in,' said Julian. 'He would soon find them and bring them
out. Wouldn't you, Tim?'
'Woof,' said Timmy, agreeing.
'Oh yes - that's a good idea,' said George. 'They won't hurt him if they think
he can show them the way out! Go on in, Timmy. Find them boy; find them! Bring
them here!'
'Woof,' said Timmy, obligingly, and disappeared under the shelf of rock.
Everyone waited, munching sandwiches and sipping coffee. And then they heard
Timmy's bark again, from underground!
There was a panting noise, then' a scraping sound as somebody came wriggling
out from under the rock. He stood up - and then he saw the silent group watching
him. He gasped.
'Good morning, Johnson,' said Uncle Quentin, in an amiable voice. 'How are you?'
Johnson went white. He sat down on the nearby heather. 'You win!' he said.
'I do,' said Uncle Quentin. 'In fact, I win handsomely. Your' little plan went
wrong. My secret is still safe - and next year it will be given to the whole
world!'
There was another scraping sound and the second man arrived. He stood up too
- and then he saw the quietly watching group.
'Good morning, Peters,' said Uncle Quentin. 'So nice to see you again. How did
you like your underground walk? We found it better to come by sea.'
Peters looked at Johnson, and he too sat down suddenly. 'What's happened?' he
said to Johnson.
'It's all up,' said Johnson. Then Timmy appeared, wagging his tail, and went
to George.
'I bet they were glad when Timmy came up to them!' said 'Julian.
Johnson looked at him. 'Yes. We were lost in those hateful tunnels. Curton said
he'd come to meet us, but he never came.'
'No. He's probably in the prison hospital by now, with a broken leg,' said Uncle
Quentin. 'Well, constable - do your duty.'
Both men were at once arrested. Then the whole company made their way back over
the moor. The two men were put into a police car and driven off. The rest of
the company went into Kirrin Cottage to have a good meal.
'I'm most terribly hungry,' said George. 'Joanna, have you got anything nice
for breakfast?'
'Not much,' said Joanna, from the kitchen. 'Only bacon and eggs and mushrooms!'
'Oooh!' said Anne. 'Joanna, you shall have the O.B.C.B.E.!'
'And what may that be?' cried Joanna, but Anne couldn't remember.
'It's a decoration!' she cried.
'Well, I'm not a Christmas tree!' shouted back Joanna. 'You come and help with
the breakfast!'
It was a very jolly breakfast that the seven of them -no eight, for Timmy must
certainly be counted -- sat down to. Martin, now that he was free of his guardian,
became quite a different boy.
The children made plans for him. 'You can stay with the coastguard, because
he likes you - he kept on and on saying you weren't a bad boy! And you can come
and play with us and go to the island. And Uncle Quentin will see if he can
get you into an art-school. He says you deserve a reward for helping to save
his wonderful secret!'
Martin glowed with pleasure. It seemed as if a load had fallen' away from his
shoulders. 'I've never had a chance till now,' he said, 'I'll make good. You
see if I don't!'
'Mother! Can we go and stay on Kirrin Island and watch the tower being taken
down tomorrow?' begged George. 'Do say yes! And can we stay there a whole week?

'I'd rather like to have your father to myself for a few days and feed him up
a bit.'
'Oh -- that reminds me, Fanny,' said her husband, suddenly. 'I 'tried some soup
you left for me, the night before last. And, my dear, it was horrible! Quite
bad!'
'Oh Quentin! I told you to pour it away! You know I did,' said his wife, distressed.
'It must have been completely bad. You really are dreadful.'
They all finished their breakfast at last, and went out into the garden. They
looked across Kirrin Bay to Kirrin Island. It looked lovely in the morning sun.
'We've had a lot of adventures together,' said Julian.
'More than most children. They have been exciting, haven't they?'
Yes -- they have. But now we must say good-bye to the Five, and to Kirrin Island
too. Good-bye, Julian, Dick, George, Anne -- and Timmy. But only Timmy hears
our good-bye, for he has such sharp ears.


--- layout: default date: 08/10/2019 ---
Covers races from 16th August — 4th October.
Last updated: {{ page.date | date: "%A, %B %e" }}
{% include standings.html riders=site.data.2019.series_5.ages teams=site.data.2019.series_5.agesteam %} {% include datetime.html %}


We want more women in games! And women want to be in games! So what's stopping us?
Well, a lot
the problem is that society doesn't exactly make it easy for us. But, no worries, because no matter
your skill level, there are people who have made resources to help you.


Restrictions on client hostnames/addresses
smtpd_client_restrictions
This parameter specifies optional restrictions on SMTP client host names and
addresses.
The default is to allow connections from any host. The following
restrictions are available:
Restrictions are applied in the order as specified; the first
restriction that matches wins.
Specify a list of restrictions, separated by commas and/or whitespace.
Continue long lines by starting the next line with whitespace.
Sensible examples:
- permit_mynetworks, reject_unknown_client
- reject_maps_rbl, reject_unknown_client


In this short article, we will set up Matterport's Mask RCNN repository.
I ran into many dependency issues, and I wanted to document this and share this to others.
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/matterport/Mask_RCNN.git
Remove opencv-python from requirements.txt:
numpy
scipy
Pillow
cython
matplotlib
scikit-image
tensorflow>=1.3.0
keras>=2.0.8
opencv-python <--- DELETE THIS LINE
h5py
imgaug
IPython[all]
Install the required dependencies:
conda install --file requirements.txt
conda install -c conda-forge opencv pycocotools
Migrate the project to TensorFlow 2:
tf_upgrade_v2 --intree Mask_RCNN/ --outtree Mask_RCNN_V2/ --reportfile report.txt
For more information about migrating TensorFlow projects, please go to tensorflow.org/guide/upgrade.


By Elohina Guevara
Vision
Hearing
Cognitive
Mobility
They will have problems with audio content without captions
Let's see the numbers!
About 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability
21% (13.3 million) of people reported a disability in 2017/18
643,131 people stated they had a disability in April 2016, accounting for 13.5% of the population.
🙌🏼
Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council... requires public bodies to ensure their websites and apps are accessible to persons with disabilities. All websites created after 23 September 2018 will have to be accessible by 23 September 2019. Existing websites will have to comply by 23 September 2020.


Australia appoint Glasgow boss Dave Rennie as head coach
Rennie will see out the current season with the Warriors before taking over the Wallabies.
Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie has been appointed as Australia head coach on a three-and-a-half-year deal, the Wallabies have announced.
Rennie, who had also been approached about the vacant New Zealand post, succeeds Michael Cheika, who resigned after his side’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to England in Japan in October.
The PA news agency understands Glasgow have already identified Rennie’s successor and an announcement will be made soon, although the New Zealander will see out the current season with the Warriors and depart in July 2020.
Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle said: “This is a massive coup for Australian rugby, Dave Rennie was the clear standout candidate for the job, and we’re thrilled to have
secured his services.
“Dave’s coaching philosophy focuses equally on football and team culture, the key pillars to building sustainable success in any team. He has a proven track record in the Northern
and Southern Hemisphere.”
Scottish Rugby chief Executive Mark Dodson told PA: “I’d like to thank Dave for the contribution he’s made to the development of Glasgow Warriors over the past two seasons.
“He’s led a talented playing and coaching group with passion and encouraged the team to express themselves and play positive rugby throughout.
“He enhanced the strong, positive culture at Scotstoun and pushed the team to achieve significant results, playing some outstanding rugby on the way.
“He has conducted himself throughout with great professionalism and I know he will want to sign off his time in Glasgow with some silverware. We wish him well for the future.”
Rennie told glasgowwarriors.org: “We’ve loved our time here around great people. It’s been as good as I could have wished for after leaving New Zealand.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to coach at international level and an added bonus that we’ll be a little closer to home, near our kids and grandkids.
“All my focus is on the rest of the season in Glasgow as we strive to be in the mix come play-off time in both comps again.”


Home
(current)
Request Volunteers
Register
Contact
Stats
Calender
Volunteer Connect
Opportunities
Rehab Centers
Nursing Homes
Hospitals
My Location
Volunteer Locations
John doe:
×
hi


The NGO's
Sophie Un
Photo by Mom
Ba bo con
Photo by Mom
House
Photo by Mom
Family
Photo by Mom
Sylvie In
Photo by Mom
Sophie Un
Photo by Mom
Sylvie In
Photo by Mom


(navbar)
This needs to be left here
This needs to be left here
(greeting)
(message)
Comment ID
Object ID
Username
Your comment
Date


| Path: | README.rdoc |
| Last Update: | Sat Mar 22 22:17:43 -0600 2008 |
Net::SCP is a pure-Ruby implementation of the SCP protocol. This operates over SSH (and requires the Net::SSH library), and allows files and directory trees to copied to and from a remote server.
In a nutshell:
require 'net/scp' # upload a file to a remote server Net::SCP.upload!("remote.host.com", "username", "/local/path", "/remote/path", :password => "password") # download a file from a remote server Net::SCP.download!("remote.host.com", "username", "/remote/path", "/local/path", :password => password) # download a file to an in-memory buffer data = Net::SCP::download!("remote.host.com", "username", "/remote/path") # use a persistent connection to transfer files Net::SCP.start("remote.host.com", "username", :password => "password") do |scp| # upload a file to a remote server scp.upload! "/local/path", "/remote/path" # upload from an in-memory buffer scp.upload! StringIO.new("some data to upload"), "/remote/path" # run multiple downloads in parallel d1 = scp.download("/remote/path", "/local/path") d2 = scp.download("/remote/path2", "/local/path2") [d1, d2].each { |d| d.wait } end # You can also use open-uri to grab data via scp: require 'uri/open-scp' data = open("scp://user@host/path/to/file.txt").read
For more information, see Net::SCP.
If you wish to run the tests, you‘ll also need:
Or, you can do it the hard way (without Rubygems):
(The MIT License)
Copyright (c) 2008 Jamis Buck
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the ‘Software’), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
 IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.


--- layout: post title: zOMG My Passwords are Insecure, now What? date: '2012-06-08T10:01:00-05:00' tags: - rails - security - passwords - auth - authentication permalink: /post/24678036532/zomg-my-passwords-are-insecure-now-what ---
What happens if your passwords get breached like LinkedIn? Are your users safe? Will they trust you? Had LinkedIn taken a few more security precautions they could have greatly mitigated the security threat. Simply stretching and salting passwords would have made the break in much less valuable to the thieves.
These practices are normally discussed in even the most basic web programming books. As Dan Morrison over at Collective Idea mentions in a great Password Rant; no web app in this day and age should be committing these types of simple security mistakes. But what if they are? What if you are? If you start from scratch the solutions are pretty easy, but how do you migrate an existing system with real users and pre-existing password hashes?
As luck would have it I’ve spent some time moving authentication backends before, so I can help shed some insight into this problem.
If you were really naive and stored passwords in plain text, first shame on you, and second…life will be really easy. You just have to add an auth library such as Devise to your app and re-save all users while setting :password to the stored password.
Depending on the level of pain you want to go though, and the number of users in your app, you could send reset password instructions to all of your users and delete their old password hash. This process can be a bit jarring and users might wonder why they have to reset in the first case. You could also set temporary passwords for all users and have them reset on login. If you have a ton of users and don’t want to do that you can roll users to from their old passwords to use devise gradually. This is the process I’ll walk you through.
The biggest problem to overcome is that you don’t know your user’s password (this is actually a good thing in the security world). So the only time we should have the user’s password is on login when they send it to be secure compared to the saved hash. First you can move existing password hashes and salts (if you have any) to a :legacy_password_hash
and a :legacy_password_salt
field in the user table. Once you’ve done this wait for the user to log in again and you can build a secure password hash for them using devise. So lets write some code.
This process isn’t just for migrating insecure systems, but can be useful if you want to change authentication schemes.
We’ll want to transition the old password checking code to a method called valid_legacy_password?
making sure to use a secure comparison. In this example the client application was using BCrypt wtih a salt but wanted to migrate to Devise and use stretching. So we’ll first have to generate the password hash and then compare against the legacy password hash.
In app/models/user.rb
def valid_legacy_password?(password)
calculated_hash = BCrypt::Engine.hash_secret(password, legacy_password_salt)
Devise.secure_compare(legacy_password_hash, calculated_hash)
end
Now that we can tell if the user is who they claim to be, using the legacy system. Then we will want to convert the password from a legacy one to one using devise.
def convert_legacy_password!(password)
return false if legacy_password_hash.blank? || !valid_legacy_password?(password)
self.password = password
if encrypted_password.present?
self.legacy_password_hash = nil
self.legacy_password_salt = nil
self.save
end
end
Here we check to see if the password they’re providing matches the legacy system, then we set the password. Note that devise uses a field called encrypted_password
to store the new secure hash. Devise will automatically hash the password on save. So if devise correctly converts the password to a hash we remove the legacy hash and salt and save the fields.
Now that we’ve got our model code in place we’ll need to wire up some logic in our sessions controller. You could put this in the model but that would require before callbacks or over-writing a Devise method. To do this you’ll need to tell devise that you want to implement your own session controller.
config/routes.rb
devise_for :users, :controllers => { :sessions => 'sessions' }
Now we want to implement the create action making sure to call super at the end to preserve the default devise functionality.
app/controllers/sesssions_controller.rb
class SessionsController < Devise::SessionsController
def create
user = User.where(:email => params[:user][:email]).first
user.convert_legacy_password!(params[:user][:password]) if user.present? && user.has_legacy_password?
super
end
end
First we are grabbing the user based on their email, checking if they have a legacy password, and if so converting it using the password they just provided. So as users log into our system, their old insecure passwords are flushed out and only the new passwords are saved. To help things along you could add something like this to your ApplicationController to speed up the process.
class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
before_filter :check_legacy_password
private
def check_legacy_password
sign_out(current_user) if current_user && current_user.legacy_password_salt.present?
true
end
end
This can take some time depending on the number of users you have in your system, but it’s worth it for the piece of mind. At some point (after a number of months) you should consider notifying users they must sign in or their accounts will be deleted. You should also consider your backup strategy, if you have insecure passwords storage, you have insecure password storage backups. Either sanitize them or delete them.
Security shouldn’t be taken lightly especially as Dan pointed out, the hard work is already done for us, and there is no excuse for using an insecure system. While migrating authentication solutions seems like a pain, it only took maybe half a day at most to implement, test and verify the system worked in staging. Security is like air, you don’t miss it until it’s gone. So do the right thing, friends don’t let friends store insecure passwords.
If you want a more secure version that doesn’t involve waiting try out this post https://blog.jgc.org/2012/06/one-way-to-fix-your-rubbish-password.html though you’ll still have to incorporate your own password hashing algorithm in-front of the auth solution. You could also add a salt to the existing hashes, re-hash them store them and update the code in valid_legacy_password?
and then your legacy passwords are secure, and you’re still using the off the shelf auth code.


{{ prod?.po_product?.product?.sku }}
Quantity produced: {{ prod?.quantity_produced }}
Produced by: {{ prod?.created_by?.first_name }} {{ prod?.created_by?.last_name }}
Commit artisan productions to blockchain secured storage
Quantity produced: {{ prod?.quantity_produced }}
Produced by: {{ prod?.created_by?.first_name }} {{ prod?.created_by?.last_name }}


|
QuantumLibrary
|
Coroutine-compatible spinlock. Used internally for mutexes since threads running coroutines cannot block. More...
#include <quantum_spinlock.h>
Classes | |
| class | Guard |
| class | ReverseGuard |
Public Types | |
| using | TryToLock = std::try_to_lock_t |
Public Member Functions | |
| SpinLock () | |
| Constructor. The object is in the unlocked state. More... | |
| SpinLock (const SpinLock &)=delete | |
| Copy constructor. More... | |
| SpinLock (SpinLock &&)=default | |
| Move constructor. More... | |
| SpinLock & | operator= (const SpinLock &)=delete |
| Copy assignment operator. More... | |
| SpinLock & | operator= (SpinLock &&)=default |
| Move assignment operator. More... | |
| void | lock () |
| Locks this object. More... | |
| bool | tryLock () |
| Attempt to acquire the lock. More... | |
| void | unlock () |
| Unlocks the current object. More... | |
Coroutine-compatible spinlock. Used internally for mutexes since threads running coroutines cannot block.
| using Bloomberg::quantum::SpinLock::TryToLock = std::try_to_lock_t |
|
inline |
Constructor. The object is in the unlocked state.
|
delete |
Copy constructor.
|
default |
Move constructor.
| void Bloomberg::quantum::SpinLock::lock | ( | ) |
Locks this object.
Copy assignment operator.
|
inline |
Attempt to acquire the lock.
|
inline |
Unlocks the current object.


Photo of Formula 2 car with new 18-inch wheels
by Matt GrettonThe world of Formula 1 is gearing up for the rule and regulation overhaul which is set to hit the sport in 2021. One of those changes will be the increase in wheel size. Formula 2 will be racing with those wheels next year and therefore 18-inch wheels are being tested now in Barcelona. Pirelli shares a photo of the Formula 2 car with its new tires. What do you think?


--- layout: post permalink: /data_science/ ---
Hey!
I'm going to share my learnings about data science now and again. This is mainly because I want to keep my notes organized and tidy to easily find the things that I need, so mainly to help myself :)
In the meantime, I'm happy to serve anyone going through the similar path on data science to ease their process.
Feel free to send me any comments or feedback!
PS: I'm new to Jekyll, so probably gonna learn & add the features by time. If there are some cool and easy things to do right away just let me know!
{% assign sorted_pages = site.data_science | sort:"order" %} {% for node in sorted_pages %}


Unrequited
Unrequited is a movie starring Justin Baldoni, Michael Welch, and David Keith. Troubled by his disturbed past, a young man kidnaps the girl of his dreams and ultimately finds himself battling with his conscience, having to decide...


PDF.js is a Portable Document Format (PDF) library that is built with HTML5. Our goal is to create a general-purpose, web standards-based platform for parsing and rendering PDFs.
This is a pre-built version of the PDF.js source code. It is automatically generated by the build scripts.
For usage with older browsers/environments, without support for modern features
such as e.g. async
/await
, Promise
, and ReadableStream
,
please refer to the es5
folder.
See https://github.com/mozilla/pdf.js for learning and contributing.


Market goods and services are all goods and services produced by market activity branches, all imported goods and services with the exception of those that are directly purchased externally by the government in the framework of its routine operations and by households, and the production part of non-market branches.


--- layout: page title: About header-img: "img/about-bg.png" ---
Come and watch an aspiring web developer try and write about his experiences.


Draw a Bike
We asked over a thousand people to draw a bicycle. This is the result.
Use
⌘-
on Chrome to zoom out.
Dismiss


Get a custom domain here
| Type | Name | Content | TTL |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNAME | {your domain} | shaped-krill-fusn49u0rpoovwvgh0i6za5w.herokudns.com | 3600 |
| TXT | {your domain} | look-for-the-bear-necessities | 3600 |
It may take some time for the DNS records to propagate.
Use a CDN like Cloudflare and set the SSL connection type to Flexible to achieve this.
Bear can issue a certificate for you, but this is currently only available to
contributors.
Having issues? More info here.


--- layout: page ---
We’re pleased to present the class of 2019, a group of apps that creatively employ Material Design across four distinct categories—theming, innovation, experience, and universality. We hope their work is as inspiring to the community as it is to us, and we look forward to seeing how you continue to make Material yours.


Ingredients:
400g of dried Spaghetti
175g Piece of smoked pancetta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Garlic cloves
handful of parsley leaves
3 large free-range eggs
50g of Pecorino cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Bring 4.5 litres/8 pints water to the boil in a large saucepan with eight teaspoons salt. Add the spaghetti and cook for
nine minutes, or until al dente.
Meanwhile, cut the pancetta into lardons (short little strips), about 6mm/1¼in wide.
Heat a large, deep frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil and the pancetta and fry until lightly golden. Add
the garlic and parsley and cook for a few seconds, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Drain the spaghetti well, tip into the frying pan with the pancetta, garlic and parsley, add the beaten eggs and half
the grated pecorino cheese and toss together well.
Season to taste with a little salt and black pepper. The heat from the spaghetti will be sufficient to partly cook
the egg, but still leave it moist and creamy. Take to the table and serve in warmed pasta bowls, sprinkled with the rest
of the cheese.


Are you sure you want to delete the comment?
Login
Signup
Please check out your inbox to activate the account.
Are you sure you want to delete the comment?
Delete Cancel


Sign up for Cobiro today
And Automate your Google Ads
Join over 25,000 online stores using Cobiro - a free tool for Google Ads® - text and shopping ads. It’s an easy-to-use, intelligent advertising platform fully automating keyword planning and bidding.


Maddy has written {{ blogs.count }} blog{{ blogs.count |pluralize }}.
{% comment %} {{ blogs.count |pluralize }} is used to correctly add an s or pluralize the word blog depending on count. {% endcomment %}
{% for blog in blogs %}
{% comment %} this passes the id to be used in the blog_detail def in views.py {% endcomment %}


FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
FOO
BOO
BOO
BOO
BOO
BOO
BOO
BOO


Animated Form Labels
Click on the form input and the label transitions from the input field to the top of the input.
First Name
Last Name
Email