It's still night time.
The ravine opens onto a beach which is sandy.
On each side are high rocks.
On one side a black cave yawns open (not literally).
Arthur heads for it.
Should he do that? asks Gaius.
Why not? asks Louisa.
Might he become trapped by the tide? asks Gaius.
No, says Louisa. Let's follow him.
wersh-wersh-shoom
Hear that? says Terence.
Yes, says the Ear. That's the sound of the sea.
blunch-blunch
Pebbles shifting.
They enter the cave.
Anyone got a torch? asks Arthur.
I have, says Louisa.
She turns it on.
Ooh! Rimstone and stalactites.
Wonderful, says Gaius. Is this the one with the famous inscription?
Could be, says Louisa. No one's seen the inscription since the 1990s.
What's an inscription? asks Terence.
Writing, says Louisa. They say Captain Baudin wrote his name on the wall of the cave. You can't see it now.
Probably covered by shifting sands, says Gaius.
Let's DIG! says Terence.
He starts digging at random.
I may be just an Ear, says the Ear, but I would dig close to the rock face.
Where's the rock face? asks Terence.
It's all rock face, says Gaius.
Just imagine you're him, says Louisa. You walk into the cave with your men. You say: Let's leave something to show we've been here. You decide to scratch your name on the rock face. Now where would you do it?
Imagine you're lower, says Arthur.
Because I'm a lobster, says Terence.
No, says Arthur. At the time you would've been a human sea captain. But if sand's covering it now the floor of the cave at the time must have been lower.
Good deductive reasoning, Arthur, says Gaius. Now Terence, where will you dig?
Why do I have to do it? asks Terence.
You don't, says Louisa. You'd never find it anyway.
Let's all try and get a few hours' sleep before sunrise, says Gaius.
I never sleep, says Terence. What will I do?
Keep watch, says Louisa.
What for? asks Terence.
The tide coming in to drown us, says Arthur.
Night birds, says Gaius.
Ghost emus, says Louisa.
The sleepers lie down in the sand.
Terence and the Ear sit at the mouth of the cave, keeping watch for these things.
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