They Found a Cave (6 page)

Inside Cherry bit her lip, not trusting herself to argue back, and to point out that the chaff-house was the only handy open door she could find when racing with her tell-tale sack of blankets. She crouched miserably with her eye to the crack, and saw Tas hurrying up. ‘I s'pose he'll tell me what a blight I am,' she thought wretchedly, ‘and how was I to know Ma Pinner was lurking just outside?'

‘Hullo!' Tas called cheerfully. ‘How does she like it in there, Nig? Bit dark and plenty of rats?'

‘You needn't be so beastly
funny
,' called Cherry, nearly hoarse with rage. ‘I didn't
try
to get locked in.'

‘Then, if you don't like it, why not come out?' As Tas spoke he turned the lock without a key and threw wide the door.

‘Good lord! How did you do it?' asked the astonished Nigel, as he grabbed at the sack which had been the cause of all the trouble.

‘With these pincers,' Tas replied, showing them in his hand. ‘The key was lost for a week once, but I always managed to get in with these. Come quick now! Race to Hollow Tree and don't let Ma know you've escaped.'

At Hollow Tree they tipped the blankets on top of the tools, food, and pots and pans already concealed in its gloomy heart. Nigel wanted Cherry to remain there hidden and not risk another raid on the Homestead, but she insisted she must go back once more to collect a milk-pail and some things she had carefully ‘planted' about the place.

‘All right, sneak down, then, and listen well for the creak of Ma's armour. I say, Tas, from the look of this junk shop we're getting the stuff out. Just check over the list with me, will you? After that we've only to break into her store-room together, and then clear out!'

A wave of excitement swept Cherry as his words reached her. Was it possible all the worries and anxieties would be over in a few hours? They would be
free—
free at last and living in their own cave. She shuddered with a fearful joy as she dodged through the scrub of the hillside, taking cover from the windows of the house as she went. Judging from the sounds as she crept past the kitchen, Ma Pinner was making scones and well occupied. Brick was there running errands for her with a bright willingness that ought to have roused all her suspicions.

Cherry stole round the back way and busied herself packing. She was just dragging her swag from the verandah when Nippy gave a cry from the dining-room. Without stopping to think she rushed to his rescue through the open door of the verandah. ‘What is it, Nippy? What's the matter?'

‘Oh, it's you?' he said calmly, his head bobbing up from where he knelt by the sideboard. ‘I'm only calling Fluffles. Have you seen him anywhere? Do you think
she
'
s
driven him away?'

‘Hush! Is that all? Don't let her know I'm in the house,' Cherry whispered urgently. ‘Never mind your old cat. We're going soon now.'

‘Not without Fluffles,' said Nippy firmly. ‘Nig said I could take him, so I'm going to whatever you say. Here, come along Fluffy, dear. Where are you? Come here, puss.'

Just in time Cherry heard a warning cough from Brick. She dived under the table at the same moment as Ma Pinner's enormous legs in their soiled pink satin slippers shuffled quietly into the room.

‘What's all this? Oh, it's you, is it, young Nippy? Want some more of what you got yesterday? Then git out of here and fill the kitchen box with sticks, like I told you before.'

‘
Want my cat!
'

‘Oh, do you? Your cat's shut in the store-room, then! There's a mouse in there and she can do a job of work fer me before I let her out. Now git along, or you'll git something to help you.'

Ma's stout ankles were not three inches from fingers which itched to grab them and bring her to the ground like a tree new-felled. Or would she clutch the table? And would the big boys rush in quickly enough to deal with her? And was there a rope handy to tie her with if they did? Even as Cherry's thoughts raced round, the pink slippers slowly and heavily removed themselves from reach. Nippy had gone and she was alone.

When she felt safe she crept to the verandah again and found Brick picking up her abandoned pack. ‘Tas says, “Never drop your bundle”,' he grinned. ‘That's Australian for “Never give in”. How did you manage to escape from the shed?'

Cherry explained, and asked what was to be done about Nippy's cat, which was the latest difficulty. ‘He won't go without it,' she declared.

Brick was not disturbed for he said they had already found it in the store-house.

‘There's a bit of fun going on there,' he added. ‘Nig and Tas find they have to lift out the store-room window—yes, take it clean off its hinges from a ladder outside—and they've got Nippy standing by to squeeze through when they're ready.'

‘Then he's not getting sticks?'

‘No, he'll get his precious cat instead. Then he'll hand out the stores we need through the window. It's all going splendidly, isn't it? If only
she—
hullo?'

Cherry and Brick crouched back among some ferns as a door opened and Ma's voice reached them distinctly. ‘Hey! You young devils—where's all my matches gorn?' she complained. ‘Not a box in the place.'

‘Oh,' Brick groaned. ‘Dash Nippy and his clever ideas.' He pulled some boxes from his pocket, told her to warn the others, and bolted inside hoping to placate Ma.

Evidently he was not successful, for they had barely time to haul Nippy out again and hold up the window-frame in place, before she was at the store-room door, fumbling with the key and grumbling about ‘more matches'.

Had Ma been observant she must have seen Nigel's thumb where it showed through the glass, and the packets of several things jumbled together; but perhaps she could not see well, coming to the dim light from the bright kitchen. In any case she did not stay long, for Brick, with great presence of mind, came to the door and yelled that he thought he could smell her scones burning.

‘Another minute and I should certainly have dropped the thing,' Nigel grunted as he wiped the sweat from his face after she had gone away.

As they stood grouped by the ladder considering the next move, Cherry noticed Nippy's white face. She guessed he was feeling sick at the thought of having to creep inside again and risk being caught red-handed by Ma in her own locked store-room. However, since no one else was small enough to creep through the window, she knew he would go, and pretend to go cheerfully, if he had to.

‘Hadn't we better get off now?' she suggested.

‘What about it, Tas?' Nigel asked, as he checked things from his list and the loaded wheelbarrow. ‘Flour, oatmeal, and bacon—good! Tea, cocoa, honey, salt, and soap—all useful; some baking powder for our bread; but no tinned meat or several other items—not so good…'

‘We've got the stuff wot matters most, haven't we?' said Tas.

‘There are several things missing, and we shall never have another chance,' Nigel demurred, carefully not looking at Nippy's face.

‘I reckon we ought to go while the going's good,' said Tas.

It was Cherry who decided things. ‘There's Brick gone for the goats,' she cried, dancing with excitement. ‘He must have seen
her
go to the verandah for her tea!'

In a flash the window-frame was screwed up and the ladder removed. With a rope in front, all hands helped to trundle the wheelbarrow away. They pushed and pulled it, heedless of its horrible squeaking, up to Hollow Tree. Brick was waiting for them there with the goats.

Nippy circled round yelping with delight like a puppy, and even Brick relieved his inward excitement by turning cartwheels along the ridge.

‘Now,' cried Nigel, when the barrow had groaned to rest outside the sacking door of Hollow Tree, ‘let's take the most necessary stuff up first; we'll come back for the rest later.' With a happy grin and a rude gesture towards the Homestead, he dived inside to sort out the baggage.

It fell to Tas, as the bushman, to arrange what they should all carry. He put the packs in large sugar-bags tied at the neck and two corners, forming loops to slip over each shoulder.

Brick lined up the party for their burdens, with cries of ‘Forward, camel one!' When all was ready, Tas judged the weight upon each back, handing in addition an axe, a billy can, or a filled tin as he judged fairest. At last all was ready for the climb.

 

‘Look at you all!' giggled Cherry from away in front with the goats. She was a quaint enough figure herself with long legs in bursting shoes, her red shirt waving like a flag above the white coats of her flock, yet she turned to laugh at the cavalcade behind her.

First came Brick, his grey eyes twinkling with fun, and the tuft of hair that would never lie flat nodding at each sturdy forward step. He was curiously draped about with a milking-pail and a strainer, and the blanket he carried was worn like a kilt in folds beneath his belt. Trotting behind him came Nippy, revolving all the time like a top in order to make sure at every step that his Fluffles was really following him, and clanking and jangling whenever he turned.

Nigel and Tas followed more soberly behind. The lean length of Tas was hung like a warrior with tools and an axe, while the broad shoulders of Nigel carried a man's load. He paused, and his teeth looked extra white as he grinned up at Cherry. ‘“Look” did you say, Cherry?' he asked. ‘It's “listen to us” you mean. Wouldn't the row we make rouse anyone but Ma down there, swilling and guzzling so much she can't hear.'

They rested a few moments, and stared down at the Homestead still basking peacefully in the sunshine.

‘I rather wish she
would
come out, don't you?'

‘Not yet,' said Tas. ‘We don't want them to find what's still “planted” in Hollow Tree.'

‘No,' said Brick with authority, ‘but Ma won't come out. She won't be looking for us just yet.'

‘Why not? How do you know?' Cherry demanded, looking suspiciously at his happy face. ‘What have you been up to, Brick?'

‘Nothing. I only…well, you know how she piles in the sugar in her tea? I just added a spoonful of Epsom salts, as a present from Nippy “with love and kisses”. Now, come on, Nig. Let's sing as we go. Let's sing as long as we have any breath left. I feel sort of
happy.
'

‘Gosh,' protested Tas, ‘
must
you? Oh, all right, then. At least that'll scare Ma worse than anything. It'll upset her worse than salts if she do hear…' He ducked to avoid a shower of bark and twigs thrown at him from all sides.

The line of the baggage train swung forward to the music of an old chorus, and the sound was caught and tossed by the echoes of the mountains, together with the faint jangling notes of the goats' bells far in front.

Cherry arrived first. The goats, led by Lily, were quick in scaling the last of the rough climb; it was all she could do to keep them in sight. However, when at last her head popped over the ridge, there they were, nibbling the scrub round the tarn as though they were perfectly at home.

‘But I feel a bit like that myself,' thought Cherry, as she gazed round happily at the now familiar line of open caves, the rugged rocks, and the hollow which held the reedy tarn, and away to the outline of far ranges. ‘We seem to—to sort of
belong.
' No contradiction came to her diffident whisper, only the warm welcome of the sun at noon, and the slight stirring of spring in the bush.

She eased her shoulders and had a drink of tarn water, before carrying her load into Capra Cave. It looked just as they had left it. She felt it queer to be standing alone in this small, cool world, wedged above an immense space of tree tops and blue sky. It was queer to walk that stone floor and plan a sleeping place where only a bushranger had slept before; most queer of all to look out and see far below the Homestead, as unimportant and unreal now as if made of empty matchboxes.

Cherry would have liked to linger on, enjoying the first thrill of the escape, but a head coming into view far down the track reminded her of home-making activities yet to be done. The holes Nippy called ‘shelves', she had decided, would make a safe dairy. She tied gum leaves to a stick and swept them free from dirt and loose sand. She had just begun to sweep the whole floor in the same way when she heard a shout and ran to look out.

‘How are things, Cherry?' called Nigel.

‘Quite all right, thanks. The little ladies are by the tarn, contentedly sitting down—sort of knitting and gossiping in the sun.'

‘Good, but keep an eye on them. We are leaving this load and going back for the next, Tas and I. Will you help Brick haul it up Giant Steps?'

After they had left Brick had a better plan, which he revealed as soon as they were out of sight. ‘Instead of climbing up, you and Nippy can pull the stuff into the cave with this rope.' He threw a length at her, and after it had fallen twice on his own head she managed to catch it.

‘Nippy's going to help you,' he called. ‘When I give the word, both of you pull. It's better to die as a crane than a camel. N
OW
!'

The bundles he tied on went easily enough until he risked a bag of flour, which split on the rock and the precious stuff began to leak out. The two above could not see what was happening until he shouted frantically. It then became a question of whether to pull up or let the bag slide down again—either way meant loss of flour.

In the end they hauled it into the cave and Nippy slopped a tin of water down to wash away the crime. This it did not do, for it drove the flour into cracks, leaving runnels of white on the grey face of the rock.

‘Never mind! The first shower will soon put
that
right,' Brick called up cheerfully, little guessing the importance of the accident to them all later on.