Puppy Pie (25 page)

‘It's been so hot and dusty harvesting all day,' Jake says. ‘And the sticky flies! You're far better off in the Bank.'

‘You're just trying to make me feel better. I know,' Gull smiles.

‘No, honest,' he responds. ‘Even Tom said he'd rather be bored in a Bank than working himself to a frazzle outside.'

‘Um, you know the Bank's not air-conditioned, Tom,' Gull says.

‘No but it's shady,' Tom says. Then adds laughing, ‘Hey, a shady Bank. Get it? It's a joke.'

Jake playfully tickles him on the neck. They both grin. ‘Anyway, shade makes a big difference.' Tom looks expectantly at Gull. ‘Er, have you saved the Folly yet?'

‘Oh, I almost forgot,' Gull says, plunging her hand into her bag and extracting the memory stick.

‘That itty bitty thing's going to save the farm?' Tom asks pointing at the small red and silver object in Gull's palm.

‘Where'd you get that?' Lucy asks.

‘Don't ask,' Shirley tells them. ‘The less you know, the better.'

‘See? I knew you were a spy in training,' Tom laughs as the five of them walk briskly into the lounge room and over to the computer.

Gull turns the computer on and then inserts the stick. Immediately one file appears on the screen.

‘Right,' Lucy says enthusiastically. ‘Now, do your magic, Gull.'

‘Yeah,' Tom chimes in, ‘magic this thing and save the farm, just like the legend says.'

Gull looks over at Shirley and shrugs. ‘I need a password but I don't know what it is.'

‘No, Gull,' Tom says shaking his head. ‘Wrong answer: try again. Try “yes, I know” this time. And then just type it in. So easy!'

‘Wish I could,' his cousin answers, slouching at the computer. Shirley settles herself in a chair and crosses her fingers.

Tom collapses onto the couch. ‘We're doomed!'

‘Gull says, ‘All I know is that the file had four initials on it. Let's see,' she says thinking hard. ‘Have To Join Firemen.'

‘Huh?' Tom says. ‘You want to fight bushfires?'

‘No, it's not that,' Gull says shaking her head. ‘It's um, mnemonics.'

Tom walks over to Gull and tries opening her mouth.

‘What are you doing?' Gull asks batting him away.

‘Thought you'd swallowed a dictionary. What's nem, nem…?'

‘Mnemonics?' Shirley repeats. ‘Isn't that when you remember something by using a pattern of words?'

‘Right,' Gull grins.

‘Another dictionary swallower,' Tom mumbles and Jake grins.

‘I had to remember the initials H.T.J.F. That was the name of the file. And the sillier the sentence, the easier it is to remember. Got it?' Gull grins at Tom.

‘Got it,' he grins back.

‘So, Gull, what makes you think this is
the
file?'

‘Because of all the files, it's the only one I can't open.'

Lucy is studying the initials, frowning hard. She repeats them out loud. ‘H.T.J.F. Doesn't tell us a lot, does it?'

‘On the way home, Shirley and I were wondering whether it might be a sentence itself, like ‘Hope to join farms',' Gull says.

‘Doesn't make any sense at all,' Tom scoffs. ‘What about er, “Heavy tuna jellyfish”?'

‘Sounds like the name of a rock band,' his brother laughs.

‘Of course! How simple,' Lucy shouts suddenly as she jumps up.

‘Is it?' Jake and Tom ask at the same time.

‘Don't you see?' Lucy says exasperated. ‘Gull has got the right file after all. I bet you anything that H.T.J.F. stands for Harry, Ted, Jimmy and one ‘F' for the Folly. Not,' she says looking over at Jake, ‘Heavy tuna jellyfish.'

‘Yet another mystery solved! Not that it matters much,' Lucy sighs heavily. ‘Oh wait. How many letters do you need for the password, Gull?'

‘Six,' Gull says as she scribbles another word down on a piece of paper.

‘Folly? No, five letters,' Jake mumbles. ‘What about “Harry”? No, forget it. Only five letters.'

Leaning forward, Shirley says, ‘Now, let's think six letters. Maybe it's a word that connects the three families.'

‘Um, I can only try for a password three times,' Gull says.

‘Really? How come?' Lucy asks surprised.

‘Security. The computer locks me out even if the fourth try is the right word,' Gull says staring up at the file.

Jake walks up and down the room. He mumbles to himself, ‘Six letters. Six letters.' He stops pacing. Suddenly he says, ‘Hey, what about ‘Sprogg'? That's six letters. And it connects the three families. He's the bank manager for the farms.'

Excitedly, Gull races back to the computer.

Gull looks up at her cousin, his face glowing with expectation. ‘Come on, Gull. It makes sense, doesn't it?' He looks over at his siblings for support. Even Shirley nods when Gull looks around at her.

‘Well, here goes,' Gull says as she types in “SPROGG”. Five pairs of fingers are firmly crossed.

Across the screen flashes the words ‘Incorrect Password. Entry Denied.'

‘Oh, no,' Jake groans as he sinks to the floor. ‘But it fits. It has to be “Sprogg”. It has to be.'

‘Sorry Jake,' Gull says forlornly, looking down at her crumpled cousin on the floor. ‘It was a great try but no banana, I'm afraid.'

‘Only two more guesses,' Lucy sighs sitting down on the floor next to Jake.

Shirley shakes her head and looks around at the disconsolate gang. ‘Look at it this way,' she says. ‘At least you've got two more guesses. And you're already home. Which is more than I can say for myself. So, that's where I'm heading for now: home. After all, tomorrow is another big day.'
Especially for Gull
, she thinks. Immediately, Gull gets up from the computer and follows Shirley out.

‘Thanks for everything, Shirley,' Gull says as they walk over to the ute.

‘Look,' Shirley says quietly putting her arm around Gull's shoulder, ‘I know you're under a lot of pressure. I just want you to know that if the farms are lost, it's not your fault. It's not even your battle but I'm glad you're here anyway.'

Gull bites her bottom lip. ‘I know, I suppose. But I'd still feel I was letting everybody down if I didn't come up with the evidence. After all, isn't that what “Gulls” are supposed to do? Save the farm?'

Gently, Shirley asks smiling, ‘Wasn't this supposed to be a holiday for you?'

‘Yeah, a holiday with a very big adventure in the middle,' she nods as Shirley climbs into the ute and starts the engine. Shirley reaches out and ruffles Gull's fair hair before she drives away. Watching her disappear down the road, Gull feels very much alone.
If only I knew the password. Then I'd know what to do
.

‘Dinner's ready,' Lucy announces as she comes out to stand beside her cousin. ‘And I've just been adding to our sheets about today's events so we're up to date. Doomed, of course, as Tom says but up to date anyway,' she says shrugging helplessly. She looks at Gull's glum face. ‘Look, it's not your fault about the Folly or even your problem.' Lucy sighs. ‘Some holiday this turned out to be for you. I bet you never want to come back here again.'

Gull, close to tears, hangs her head. ‘I should be able to work this out,' she says bursting into tears. Lucy, her own eyes overly bright, gives Gull a long hug. ‘Don't worry, Gull. You're always welcome, wherever we are. After all, you're our friend as well as our cousin.'

Gull drags out a tissue and blows her nose loudly. ‘So, what'll we do now?'

‘Eat! And then go try waking up Dad again. This is almost his last chance to listen to our conspiracy theory before it's too late.'

* * *

As Useless lies below the window in the attic, Ma senses her brood around her. ‘It's time,' she says to Venomous and Menacing. They smile to themselves. They know she only calls on them when it's a “big” job. And this is the biggest they have ever had.

‘You have to cross the barrier tonight,' Ma says roughly. ‘And you can't fail. Or the farm is lost and us with it. Remember, Harry is your target. And only Harry,' Ma adds darkly.

* * *

Outside the Folly, the sky is darkening as Useless slowly pads down the stairs. In the kitchen, Jake says to the rest of the gang, ‘‘Let's try waking Dad for the very last time.'

The others agree and, grabbing Tom from the Harvester on the way through, make for Harry's bedroom.

‘Dad, wake up,' Lucy says shaking him gently.

‘That never works,' Jake says. ‘We've tried that before.

‘My turn,' Tom says as he jumps onto the bed. ‘Come on, Jake, let's try this.' The next moment, the twins are jumping all over the bed. ‘Wake up now, Dad,' Tom gasps as he jumps up and down on the bed. ‘We've got good and bad news for you but you have to wake up to hear it. Otherwise, we'll lose the farm.' With decreasing enthusiasm, the twins keep jumping up and down on the big bed until they flop down exhausted.

Still, Harry sleeps on, oblivious of the frantic gang. Tom looks at the others in desperation, and they return his look. ‘What'll we do now?' Tom asks.

Gull says, ‘I wish I believed in magic or the little people. Something wonderful that was on our side, for a change, instead of having the whole world against us.'

‘Me too,' Lucy says despondently. ‘But we don't believe in magic or tiny creatures so let's not even think about it. And I hate to say it but Dad's a dead loss.'

‘Yep,' Jake agrees sadly. ‘And tomorrow's Wednesday! We could lose the farm on Saturday. We're running out of time.' A jolt runs through the gang.

Gull looks at her dejected cousins. Gently shepherding them back to the kitchen, she grabs a cold jug of fresh orange juice from the fridge as the others collapse into the nearest chairs. Lucy slouches onto the table with her head in her arms; Jake is staring dolefully into space; Tom is staring down at the floor.

Gull, swallowing hard to keep from bursting into tears again, pours the orange juice into four glasses.

‘I'd like to propose a toast,' Gull says formally, just as she's heard here own parents say. She tries to smile. Her cousins raise their heads and look at her. ‘To my courageous cousins, who've worked really hard to save the Folly. Sorry I couldn't help more.'

Tom picks up his glass and clinks it against Gull's. ‘You did help,' he says graciously as he tries to smile at Gull. Jake and Lucy raise their glasses too.

‘To the gang,' Jake sighs with a watery smile as he clinks glasses with the others. Lucy smiles sadly, drinks her orange juice and shrugs. ‘Well, wherever we are, we know we can count on each other. And that's the most important thing.'

The gang finishes their juice in abject silence. With a communal sigh of despair, the gang gets up and heads towards bed. As they pass Harry's bedroom, they glance in to see him still sleeping deeply.

Lucy shrugs. ‘Poor Dad! It's not your fault. Pity you can't fix this problem: you can usually fix anything.'

Just then Useless, apparently in a playful mood, jumps onto Harry's bed, big paws leaving the occasional muddy mark on the crisp white sheets.

‘It's no good, Useless,' Jake shrugs, ‘we've already tried jumping up and down. I don't think you've got a chance if it didn't work for us.'

‘After all,' Tom adds, ‘you're only a dog.'

‘Gerroff,' Harry slurs as he tries to shift Useless. However, seeing Harry move makes Useless even more playful, and he starts pawing at Harry as if it's a wonderful game.

Harry opens one eye. ‘Useless, get lost,' he says but Useless is in a frantically playful mood and won't be put off. ‘Lucy, get him off me,' Harry shouts opening both his eyes and blinking hard.

Lucy standing at the door begins to fume. ‘Sorry, Dad' she says coldly, ‘can't help you. If you won't help save the farm, I can't get Useless off you.'

‘What are you on about?' Harry asks grumpily. ‘Farm's alright. Get off dog,' he says trying to grab Useless' collar. ‘Ow! Something bit me,' he says almost launching himself out of bed.

‘Dad,' Jake says angrily, ‘the Bank's calling in the overdraft, the crop's still not in and we need your help. We're about to lose the Folly, and all you can do is sleep.'

‘Rubbish,' Harry says trying to control Useless as he turns over to go back to sleep. ‘Everything'll be alright tomorrow.'

‘No, Dad. Now!' Lucy shouts. ‘Wake up now and fix the problems. We know what's making the crop fall over: it's a mite. But we don't know how it got into Australia or who brought it here. You have to wake up and listen to us. Otherwise, everything is lost. We won't even have a roof over our heads.'

‘Don't be silly,' Harry says only half listening as he tries to control a frisky Useless. ‘Fix everything tomorrow.'

‘You're not paying attention, Dad. Tomorrow,' Jake says vehemently, ‘was yesterday.'

‘You,' Harry says sleepily, trying to point a finger at Jake, ‘worry too much,' as he tries pushing Useless' head onto the pillow.

‘And you're not worrying enough!' Lucy cries storming out, the rest of the gang storming out after her. The last one, Tom, slams the door so hard it almost falls off its hinges.

Harry murmurs after them, ‘Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite.'

The gang stands on the other side of the door frustrated and fuming.

‘Now what?' Gull asks.

‘Maybe Useless will have better luck than we've had,' Lucy glowers morosely. ‘Come on. Let's go upstairs. It's late and we need a good night's sleep.' They stomp up the stairs, swamped by feelings of impending doom.

With the bedroom door firmly closed, Useless is trapped inside with Harry. In a half-hearted struggle, Harry tries hard to keep Useless lying down instead of scampering all over the bed like a young pup.