Undara

by Annie Seaton

  And how was she going to do that? They must have travelled twenty kilometres already. She’d been out on this track the first week she was here, and she knew there was nothing out here. No farmhouses, no people. Not even any cattle.

  ‘Gavin, I’ll ask you one more time. Please turn around and head for the main road. If I don’t get to the meeting, it means that the sponsorship won’t go ahead. The deadline for the current round of funding applications is today. And it’s the only appointment that was left. That’s why Travis and I had to rush the application and we worked so hard last week. You can show me when I get back. Okay?’

  ‘Five minutes. That’s all it will take.’

  She folded her arms, frustrated. He wasn’t listening to a word she said. ‘All right. Show me whatever it is you want to show me and then we have to hit the highway.’ She glanced down at her phone again. ‘Five minutes. Five minutes max.’

  The ute slowed, and Gavin nosed the vehicle into a thicket dripping with rainwater.

  CHAPTER

  22

  Hidden Valley, November 1879

  Every opportunity that came their way, the twins headed for the caves. With the road busy with the gold miners heading to the diggings and Father going to Charters Towers to get stores, they were left to their own devices as the weeks went by. Each time they went to the glade they’d followed the long circular caves in a different direction, but had seen nothing apart from bats and one large snake.

  They still hadn’t told anyone about their explorations, although Stanley had quizzed them one morning when he’d overheard them talking. Mother had sent them up to the yards with some freshly baked damper to where Stanley and Wally were working, and then they were supposed to go out to the paddocks and pull out those weeds with the long cottony-looking flowers.

  ‘You didn’t ever go back in that place, did you?’ Stanley asked as they watched Wally rope the last of the steers.

  ‘What place?’ Tommy said innocently.

  ‘Under the ground.’ Stanley’s eyes were wide.

  Tommy caught Missy’s eye and shook his head. ‘No, Eunice is back from Townsville and we’ve been at lessons every day.’

  Missy crossed her fingers behind her back. ‘And we’ve all been busy with the miners going through.’

  ‘Yeah, them buggers is causing trouble.’ Stanley spat out the gob of tobacco he was chewing and Missy frowned.

  ‘You need to learn some manners.’

  ‘Sorry.’ Stanley looked sheepish, but Tommy laughed.

  ‘This is men’s work out here. You take the basket back to the house if you want to be a girl.’ He leaned away when Missy thumped his arm.

  ‘You can come back now, too. We’ve got things to do,’ she said.

  ‘Wanna go for a swim this afternoon in the springs?’ Stanley passed the enamel mug back to Missy and she put it in the basket.

  Tommy nudged Missy. ‘We have to go and pull out weeds all day.’

  Stanley’s eyes widened again when Tommy knocked back the offer of a swim, and he shook his head. ‘I’ll be there if you come at sunset.’

  ‘Okay. Race you back, Missy.’ Tommy took off and Missy walked slowly behind him.

  They weren’t going back to the house, or to the paddocks to pull out weeds. Mother and Eunice had gone to help Father in the station store and the twins had been given the task of taking the morning tea to the yards before they went to the paddocks. Missy had packed extra damper for them and now they were heading off on an adventure. Tommy had stumbled upon another entrance to the caves further from the house when he and Father had been coming back from the far paddocks last week. As soon as he’d seen the rock fall, he knew what it was; he’d told Missy about it that same night.

  ‘I called Father away, because I didn’t want him to know it was there. Cripes, Missy, he was almost on top of it, and I ran in the other direction and pretended I’d rolled me ankle.’

  ‘My ankle,’ she’d said automatically.

  ‘All bloody right, then. My ankle.’

  ‘Is it like the other cave?’ she’d asked.

  ‘No, this one looks easier. I only took a quick look before Father got off his horse and it’s sort of like a hole in the roof, but it looked really easy to get into. There’s a whole lot of rocks pushed up to the top.’

  ‘And it’s closer to where the goldfields are,’ Missy said slowly. After they’d seen the big snake, it had taken Tommy a full two weeks to talk Missy into going up to the glade with him again.

  ‘There’s sure to be gold in this one. I know there will be. For sure and certain!’ Tommy was so happy his words ran together.

  ‘Father did say the miners were moving close to our fence. It’s exciting, isn’t it? I was going to write about the other cave in my diary, but I was scared Eunice would find it. Imagine what they’ll say when we find the gold.’ Tommy’s eyes gleamed. ‘We’ll be rich.’

  ‘And I can go to a real school and have all the books I want.’

  ‘Come on, then! Let’s go.’

  They had the rest of the day to explore before they would be missed.

  It was a long walk to the cave entrance that Tommy had stumbled upon. Occasionally, guilt got the better of each of them as they walked, and they stopped to pull weeds along the way.

  ‘We’ve already walked about five miles.’ Missy lagged behind after an hour. ‘How much further?’

  ‘There it is!’

  She looked across the paddock to where Tommy was pointing. ‘Are you sure? I can’t see anything.’

  ‘See that funny-shaped rock over there? That’s where the hole was. I’m sure it is.’

  Missy walked over and put her hand on the rock. It was hot from the sunshine. She leaned forwards and peered down. ‘It is better than the other one at the glade.’

  Once they’d cleared the bush from the edge of the hole, they saw it was easier to enter than the other cave. The roof had caved in and provided a walkway of large rocks straight to the floor.

  ‘Do you think it’s safe?’ she asked.

  ‘Don’t you dare squib out on me now.’ Tommy put his hands on his hips and scowled at her.

  Missy hitched up her skirt, threw him a glare and climbed over into the hole. ‘You can bring the basket with you.’

  Half an hour later, they’d walked through two long circular caverns, very different to the ones under the glade. The third cavern was huge with a high roof that had lots of places that let the light in. Tree roots hung from the roof and the occasional bird flitted through the holes before disappearing. As they walked they came to large patches of sunshine where there were more holes above them. Beneath each hole was a small pile of rocks, but it was light and airy; Missy had got over her fear of the dark, and they hadn’t seen any more snakes.

  Apart from the bats on the ceiling, the flitting birds and the occasional scurrying insects—different to any they’d seen before—there was little life in the caves.

  Tommy was determined to find gold, and they’d both whooped as they’d come across some glistening streaks on the rock wall beside them. Today he’d packed a pick in the morning-tea basket.

  ‘Yuk. Look at that.’ Tommy stopped in front of her and Missy had to halt suddenly so she didn’t bump into him. Even though she was more comfortable in this cave, she still hadn’t ventured far from her brother.

  ‘What?’

  A strange white insect about two inches long, waving its feelers, edged its way along the ground in front of them.

  Tommy leaned down, and Missy pulled him back. ‘Don’t touch it. It might sting you.’

  He shook his head. ‘It’s only a cockroach, but a big white one. They don’t bite.’

  ‘I’ve never seen a white cockroach before,’ she said.

  ‘Our first discovery. We’ll have to start a journal and write it all up.’

  Missy nodded. ‘That’s a good plan.’

  They were quiet as they trudged further into the cave. As they went deeper, it got darker and
Tommy lit the small lantern he’d packed in the basket.

  ‘Maybe this is far enough for today,’ Missy said. The flat floor had ended and they had to pick their way up and down through ridges and hollows that went from one side of the cave to the other. She reached for Tommy’s arm and held him back. ‘Do you think this might flood in the rain?’

  Tommy lifted the lantern and looked down at the uneven ground beneath their boots. ‘Sure looks like that, don’t it?’

  ‘Doesn’t it,’ Missy corrected him absently as she wrinkled her nose. ‘It smells different here, too.’ She followed as Tommy moved deeper into the cave and the light behind them faded. Ahead was the entrance to another cave, and they walked until they reached it.

  ‘We have to be getting close to where the gold is,’ Tommy said hopefully. He stumbled and the lantern swayed.

  ‘You be careful with that lantern. If it goes out, we’ll never find our way back.’

  ‘Will I turn it off to see how dark it is?’

  ‘No! We need to turn around now. I don’t like it in this cave. It smells funny.’ Fear began to prick at Missy’s neck. There could be monster snakes down here and they’d never see them. She bit her lip as it began to tremble, but there was no way she would let Tommy see she was scared.

  Tommy held the lantern higher and the shadows danced across the rock ceiling.

  ‘Look, the ceiling’s getting much lower and the passage ahead is narrower.’

  ‘Come on, we’ve seen enough today. I don’t like it here. It’s hard to breathe,’ Missy said as a strange, shaky feeling ran down her arms and legs.

  ‘Maybe an animal came in here and died. That’s what it smells like. A dead beast.’ He held the lantern up to his chin and pulled a face. ‘Or a dead snake.’

  The shadows beneath his eyes and mouth made him look ghostly and Missy squealed. ‘Stop it.’

  Tommy lowered his voice and pretended to moan. ‘Or maybe a person came down here and got lost and it’s them we can smell. A body! Maybe the Chinks have beaten us to the gold.’

  ‘Stop it! Right now! You’re being stupid.’ Missy’s voice hitched on a sob. ‘And you’re really scaring me.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Tommy moved the lantern to his left hand and held out the other one to her. ‘Come on, we’ll just go to the end of this passageway and then we’ll go back up into the first cave where the sun is and have some dinner. And then we’ll have a swim with Stanley later. How’s that sound?’

  She nodded slowly. ‘Just a little bit further, then.’

  They shuffled along together, and Missy fought her fear as the passage narrowed and they went deeper into the small cave.

  ‘Oh, gosh. Look at that!’ Tommy’s voice was full of wonder and Missy stepped to the side and peered around him. The cave came to an end, but there was a circular hole surrounded by fallen rocks ahead of them. The rocks glittered in the light of the lantern.

  ‘Do you think it’s gold?’ Tommy’s voice was hushed.

  ‘Maybe.’ Missy followed him over. ‘I’ll hold the lantern while you get some to take home. Where’s your pick?’

  ‘In the basket. We can show Father if we get some. But we’re not going to tell him we came down here, though.’

  ‘We’ll have to if it is gold.’ Missy frowned at him.

  ‘He’ll skin us alive if he knew we came down here, even if we have gold,’ Tommy said.

  Missy pondered their dilemma. ‘Just see if you can get out a chunk. Look.’ She held the lantern up high after he passed it to her. ‘There’s some over near that hole that’s even got more golden bits in it.’

  Tommy bent over near the small hole that led into the next cave. He picked one up and held it close to the lantern light, and his eyes widened.

  ‘I think this is a gold nugget. Bring the light closer.’

  Missy moved reluctantly to the rock pile as Tommy began to climb up the rocks to look into the next cave. He turned around when he got to the top and gestured for her to begin climbing.

  ‘Golly, come and see this. It’s like a treasure cave. It doesn’t go any further. I think we’ve reached the end.’

  ‘Good, we won’t have to come down here again. I really don’t like this.’ She picked her way to the top of the rocks, holding the lantern in one hand as she used her other to keep her balance. The small cave was about ten feet below them.

  ‘Come on. We’ll go down there.’

  ‘I’m not being a sook.’ She shook her head as tears threatened again. ‘I don’t want to.’

  ‘Aw, come on, sis. We’ll fill the basket and our pockets and then we’ll leave. I’ll look after you.’

  She shook her head stubbornly.

  ‘Okay. You give me the lantern and you wait here.’

  ‘I’m not staying by myself in the dark.’

  ‘Well, you’ll have to come with me. Five minutes, tops. Come on.’

  With an exasperated sigh, she took his hand and they climbed down the rock pile.

  ‘Five minutes. I’ll be counting. I’ve had enough of this exploring.’ Missy’s mouth was dry, and they’d finished the water they’d brought in with them half an hour ago.

  The rock pile sloped down steeply to the floor of the smaller cave. As she climbed behind Tommy, a large rock tilted precariously beneath Missy’s feet and she grabbed for Tommy, one arm flailing to keep her balance.

  ‘Oh, I thought I was going to fall.’ He held onto her until they finally stood on the floor of the cave.

  ‘Look at this, the ground’s different here.’ Tommy put down the lantern and picked up a clod of dirt. In the other caves, the dust had been fine and silty, but this was sticky like wet mud.

  ‘Yuk, it smells awful,’ he said, looking around.

  ‘It smells really wet, just like it does over at the springs. That mouldy smell when the swamp dries up.’ Missy wrinkled up her nose.

  For the first time, Tommy sounded scared. ‘There’s no gold in here. It’s all dark and dank. Look at the wall, there’s water running down it.’

  Missy’s eyes widened as she stared at the wall. As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she could see rivulets of water trickling down where they’d climbed down the rocks. ‘I wonder if we’re near the river at the gold diggings?’ she said quietly.

  ‘We could be. We’ve walked about the right distance.’

  ‘I’ve had enough.’ She turned away from Tommy. ‘Come on.’

  ‘Yes, let’s get out.’ Tommy shook his head. ‘I don’t like it in here, either.’ A low rumble began above them, and Missy screamed as the rocks they’d climbed down began to roll towards them. Tommy jumped on top of her and pushed her to the ground, shielding her body with his.

  It took a few minutes for the loud noise to subside and the choking dust to settle.

  ‘You okay, Missy?’ Tommy’s voice was croaky.

  ‘I will be when you get off me. The ground’s all wet and sticky.’ He stood and held his hand out to her. ‘Look, it’s light now.’ High above them, a patch of bright sky was visible where some of the roof had fallen in.

  ‘Come on,’ he said and then turned around and swore. ‘Bollocks.’

  ‘What?’ Missy turned to face him and gasped.

  The opening they’d climbed through was now a solid wall of fallen rocks.

  CHAPTER

  23

  Hidden Valley, 31 January 2019

  Gavin opened the door and came around to her side. Emlyn shoved her phone back into her pocket as he walked around the back of the ute. He opened her door and held out his hand to her.

  ‘I’m fine, thank you.’

  ‘You think?’

  Fear and annoyance filled her as she climbed out of the car.

  ‘Oh, come on.’ He threw her an impatient look. ‘I just wanna show you something. Can’t you take a bit of teasing?’

  Gavin reached for her arm and his fingers bit into the tender skin on her biceps. She tried to pull out of his grip, but he started to lead her up the s
teep incline.

  ‘Gavin, please let me go. I’m quite capable of walking up the hill myself.’

  ‘Come on, Doc.’

  Emlyn frowned. ‘How far up is the cave?’ She looked around as he kept hold of her arm and pulled her up the slope.

  ‘Not far. It won’t take long.’ His eyes were hard and glittering, and she dragged in a shaky breath. ‘Come on, Em.’

  ‘Don’t call me that.’ Irritation pushed out her sharp response, but he got the message and let her go.

  ‘We’re almost there.’

  Emlyn looked at him and clenched her hands behind her back, so Gavin couldn’t see how much she was shaking. Her arm was burning where his fingers had pressed into the scar tissue. Her mind spun as she tried to think of a way to get him to go back to the car. She didn’t know how to react, but one thing she was picking up loud and clear. Gavin’s behaviour wasn’t normal. Her heart thudded, and her hands were clammy.

  How she could get away from him?

  ‘Come up here. I guarantee you’re really going to like what I’m going to show you. It’s a special place.’

  ‘Is this another entry to the tubes?’ She caught up with him; the quicker he showed her, the sooner they’d get back on the road.

  Gavin nodded. ‘Yes. And the stupid part is, my brother has forgotten all about it. Even though it’s raining, it’s still bloody hot, isn’t it?’ His tone was conversational as he rolled up his sleeves and looked up at the clouds. Emlyn had noticed before when the rain had eased that patches of blue dotted the western sky. But now her eyes were fixed on his arm. The skin on his right forearm was white and shiny; puckered and wrinkled, the same as the top of her arm had been before her skin graft.

  ‘What happened to your arm?’ she asked.

  ‘What happened to your neck?’ he threw back at her.

  ‘I was in an accident.’ She lifted her head to meet his eyes steadily as they walked towards the top of the hill. She wasn’t going to show him how ill at ease she was. ‘What about you? What happened?’

  ‘I was trying to do the right thing,’ he said, but his smile was ugly. ‘But the sad thing was I could never take any credit for my efforts.’