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job,” said Shaun, coming into the conversation.
    â€œIt can be. But they are properly equipped with phone links. They are told not to confront the gangs. Last year some of the gang members were caught and the police had no choice but to charge them because public opinion is changing… slowly.”
    â€œSame thing with the centre,” added a second volunteer. “At first there were petitions against it, but now it is different. When the council tried to tell us we were to move, some local businesses around us wrote up and told them they wanted us to stay. The council backed down.”

    ***
    The cruiser covered the distance to the island in less than half-an-hour. It wasn’t a slouch. And anyway, the captain knew that the young children were not going to want the slow journey he had anticipated for the young people who sought to sun themselves in various states of undress while they supped on bottles of cold, alcoholic beverages. But now the fridges remained shut and the young people were nearly all involved with the Paradise children. On reaching the island, the captain pulled into a small narrow inlet with a long white beach on one side and trees right down to the water’s edge on the other. They approached the end of the beach from which a jetty had been built.
    â€œThe island’s uninhabited these days,” said the girl Kakko had been chatting to. “There was an old recluse but he got sick and had to leave. Since then people only come here for fun or to study the birds.”
    The children were all anxious to get off the boat and explore.
    â€œOK. Listen up,” said Kloa. She waited for the noise to subside. Eventually the children realised there was no going ashore until they had heard her out.
    â€œYou can go in any direction you like. There is no-one else here on this island so you can’t get into trouble, but you need to be safe. There are three rules. Remember the house up there is derelict. So the first rule is this: if you go into the house, DO NOT GO UP THE STAIRS. Why? Because you might very well fall through. I mean this. Fran, Jeno,” she said looking at the more lively of the girls and boys whom she deemed the most venturesome and the more likely to disobey her, “I am putting you in charge of making sure that people DO NOT GO UP THE STAIRS. Got it?” Fran and Jeno nodded their agreement, chuffed that they had been given responsibility.
    â€œOK. Second rule. This island is used by ground nesting birds. What does that mean Jess?” she asked one of the bright girls.
    â€œThat there might be nests with eggs in them, miss.”
    â€œCorrect, nests on the ground but hidden among the grass and undergrowth. So if you leave the paths what might you do?”
    â€œTread on the eggs, miss,” said Jess.
    â€œSo the second rule is, KEEP TO THE PATHS. OK?”
    They all shouted their agreement.
    â€œBesides,” said Kloa, “there are goof-adders and you don’t want to disturb them, do you?”
    The children stood silent and shook their heads.
    â€œOK?”
    â€œWhat’s the third rule, miss?” asked Jess, feeling bold.
    â€œOh. I nearly forgot. Mr Captain, can you make the boat hoot?”
    â€œSure,” he said and gave a blast on the horn.
    â€œWhen you hear that you are all to come back here, OK? It will mean there is food!” The children cheered loudly. The gangway was deployed and they filed over it… and then disappeared!
    Kakko was alarmed. But the volunteers didn’t seem to be fazed.
    â€œWill they be OK?” asked Shaun.
    â€œThis peace is bliss!” said Kloa. “They’d do it wherever we take them. At least here they can’t get lost or picked up.”
    The crew began to deploy the picnic stuff at the top of the beach.
    â€œWhen would you like to eat?” asked the captain.
    â€œGive them an hour. That’s all they’ll need. Most of them will be back