Forest Spirit

by David Laing

  Arnie smiled. ‘He’ll be good. The bullet’s gone through the fleshy part of his shoulder. Now we just got to stop all the blood from coming out. I can stop it with this for now.’

  Holding Shadow with one arm, he ripped the singlet from his back with the other hand and stuffed it into the dog’s wound. He pressed down, stemming the flow of blood. Shadow whimpered. ‘It’s okay now. You’ll be all right now,’ he said. He raised his eyes and looked at Jars. ‘But he needs a proper bandage put on it. Have you got one of them … back there … in your camp?’

  Jars was about to answer when Hector interrupted. He was holding his arm, still bleeding from where Shadow had sunk his teeth. ‘Think you’re smart, don’t you little boy, but if I’m any judge you haven’t got the guts to use that gun you’re holding.’ He sneered. ‘Reckon I’ll come right over and take it away.’

  Snook trained the barrel on Hector, who had already taken a step forward. ‘I wouldn’t if I were you.’

  Hector laughed, a shrill giggle. ‘Like I said, you don’t have the guts.’ He took another step, then froze as the gun exploded for the second time that night. The bullet sped past his ear. He ducked. ‘You idiot! You could have killed me.’

  ‘Next time I will.’

  Evelyn, who had remained quiet all this time, turned to Quenton’s father. ‘Do something. We have to get out of here. His father and Reg Carter could be here at any minute. All my plans will be ruined. I can’t let that happen. I simply can’t.’

  ‘Evelyn, I have news for you. I don’t particularly care about you or what happens to you. Our business dealings are clearly over. You and your stupid brothers can stay here and wait to be thrown into jail … to rot. I will disappear. Quenton, come over here, we’re leaving.’

  Snook shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. You ain’t going anywhere, Mr Quigley. Not when I’ve got hold of this.’ He waved the gun in the air.

  ‘Look,’ Mr Quigley went on, ‘you’re forgetting something. I’m an important man in Cray Bay and if you harm me, lots of people will hate you for it. They’ll be out of work, including your father. The town needs me, so, as I stated earlier, my son and I are leaving. Quenton, do as you’re told and get over here.’

  Quenton Quigley spoke for the first time, his face sad but at the same time defiant. ‘No, Dad, I’m not going anywhere with you. You’re a crook, just like them. I’m staying here, with my friends.’

  ‘You can’t talk to me like that. I’m your father. What I say goes, so start obeying me … or else.’

  Quenton shook his head. Mr Quigley stared at his son, then over towards Snook. ‘You’ve corrupted him, Snook Kelly. I might have known. What else could I expect after mixing with riff-raff like you.’

  Snook raised the rifle and pointed it squarely at Mr Quigley’s chest. ‘I wouldn’t say too much more if I were you. It’s time for you to listen to me.’

  ‘No,’ Quenton said, butting in, ‘let me handle it Snook. I should be the one to say it. Like I said, Dad, you’re a crook … a bird smuggler. And Mum’s known all along, hasn’t she? You must have been threatening her if she told on you. I’d bet that’s why she’s been so unhappy lately. So no, Dad, I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m staying here with my friends.’

  Snook grinned. ‘Hey you’re human after all. Who would have thought it? Don’t reckon I’ll call you Fat Arse anymore.’

  Quenton looked at Snook. ‘You call me that?’

  ‘Yeah, under my breath. But not anymore.’ Snook thought for a moment. ‘You want a job?’

  ‘Okay, what is it?’

  ‘Race down and let all those birds go. They’ve been cooped up for ages. I’ll keep this lot covered.’

  Jars interrupted. ‘Here, Quenton. I found your camera. I didn’t have a chance to give it to you before. And you’d better take this too. It’s the torch the ranger gave me. It’s getting pretty dark and you’ll need this to see what you’re doing.’

  Quenton took the torch, then Jars, surprising herself as much as Quenton, did something that would have been unthinkable earlier. She put her arm around his shoulders and squeezed. ‘Look, Quenton, I’m sorry about your dad, I mean I …’

  Quenton pulled away, looking embarrassed. ‘Don’t worry; I think I knew something serious was going on all along. He was always nice to me; he gave me things, like this camera, but with Mum, it was different. He treated her real bad. She would end up crying and shaking and … well, it was rotten what he did to her. It made me feel real bad too. So, I suppose I knew something was going to happen at some stage. I just didn’t know what.’ At that point, Quenton’s voice trailed away. ‘I guess I know now …’

  Jars didn’t know what to say, so she just nodded. Quenton held the camera up. ‘Thanks for this,’ he said, solving the awkwardness of the moment, ‘and don’t worry about the birds, I’ll set them free.’

  When Quenton had gone, Snook called out to Jars. ‘I guess all we can do now is wait for Dad to turn up. I don’t fancy walking back in the dark with this lot for company.’

  ‘You won’t have to wait long.’ Jars pointed towards the trees. ‘I can hear him coming now, and from the sounds of it, I think he’s in a hurry.’

  ‘How do you know it’s Dad? It could be anybody.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Snook, it’ll be him for sure. Nobody else would be crashing through the forest like a mad thing at this time of night.’ She held out her hand. ‘So lend me your torch. I’ll shine it over towards the opening where he’ll come out; he’ll know where we are then.’

  Jim Kelly had a very good reason for being the first to arrive at the Grimshaw camp. He and the others had heard the rifle shots. He estimated they were not too far away, either. Inspector Luciano told them not to panic, to keep their cool, but Jim had other ideas; gunfire meant that something or someone was being shot at. He had to find out what that was, had to get to the kids. Heart pounding, he raced past the Inspector and the others. They called out to him. He ignored them and continued to run, stumbling and half falling over dead tree limbs and protruding rocks until, breathing heavily, he came to the edge of the forest.

  All eyes were on him as he burst from the trees.

  ‘Over here,’ Jars caIled out when she saw it was reaIly her uncle. ‘We’re all over here, with the bird thieves.’

  He raced over to the group. ‘Well, would you look at that?’ Jim said, still puffing. He looked from one to the other and then at his son.

  ‘Unbelievable!’ He shook his head, taking in the scene – Snook with a rifle, pointing it at a group of people whose faces he couldn’t quite make out in the darkness, and Jars, standing next to Arnie Grimshaw, who was holding Shadow in his arms. ‘What’s going on? Jars? Did you say these people are bird thieves? And where’s Quenton?’

  Snook replied for Jars. ‘Yep, it’s the Grimshaws and …’ He didn’t finish. His dad walked over to the group. He saw them clearly for the first time. ‘Yes, the Grimshaws, just as I suspected.’ He looked directly at Evelyn. ‘I had a strong inkling that something like this was going on when I told you about the car and everything else that’s been happening; you couldn’t hide your feelings, could you, Evelyn?’ He peered through the darkness at the other figure next to her.

  ‘It’s me, Kelly. I’m afraid there’s been a huge misunderstanding.’

  ‘Mr Quigley! Don’t tell me you’re mixed up with these crooks? I always knew you were a bit of a rogue, but good heavens, man, why did you stoop to something like this? You’ve got plenty of money as it is.’

  Mr Quigley hesitated, as if unsure what to say. Finally, his words came rushing out. ‘Now look here, Kelly, it’s not what you think. They told me the cargo was to be Tasmanian devils. I was going to save them from getting that disease, that cancer thing they’re all catching. I offered to ship them out to a safer place on one of my boats. I had no idea that the intention was to smuggle birds.’ He glared at Evelyn and her brother, as if daring them to disagree.

  Hector spat, scowling.
‘He’s as guilty as the rest of us. Aren’t you, Quigley, or should I call you boss?’ He spat again, this time in the direction of Mr Quigley. He turned to Jim Kelly. ‘Who do you believe, him or me?’

  Jim’s lips stretched into a grim smile. ‘It’s like this. As far as I’m concerned, you’re all guilty. Each one of you is as bad as the other.’ He waved his hand in the air and turned his back. There would be no further discussion. Then, realising again that Quenton was missing, he asked Snook where he was.

  ‘Oh,’ he said when Snook told him, ‘then everything’s fine.’ He held out his hand. ‘You can give me that rifle now. You go and get a fire going, lighten the place up a bit for the others.’

  Snook gave the rifle to his dad. ‘Others, what others?’

  His dad laughed. ‘The cavalry. They’ll be out there now, watching us. I’d say they’ll be scratching their heads, wondering what on earth is going on. Once they’ve summed up the situation, they’ll join us. Not that you kids need them. Seems to me you’ve tidied things up here very nicely.’

  ‘Not just us, Mr Kelly,’ Jars said, ‘Shadow’s the real hero. He’s the one that saved us.’

  She walked over to Arnie, who was still nursing the dog in his arms. She stroked Shadow’s head. ‘Don’t worry, Shadow, you’re going to be all right, boy.’

  It didn’t take Snook long to stoke the fire. He was joined by Jars and Arnie. Arnie still held Shadow in his arms. Jim, who was still covering Evelyn, Hector and Mr Quigley with his rifle, followed.

  Jars was the first to hear the ‘cavalry’ arrive. When she saw who was leading them, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

  ‘Lucky?’ she said, when Inspector Luciano drew near. ‘I thought you were a salesman, like you told me on the plane. How come you’re here instead, chasing crooks?’

  The Inspector ignored Jars’ question. His trained eyes and policeman’s brain, both as sharp as a chisel, quickly summed up the situation. He said, ‘Good, it looks like everything’s in hand here. Well done … to whoever was responsible.’

  Jim took his eyes off his captives for a second. ‘It was the kids. But how they managed to round this lot up I’ve yet to find out.’

  ‘Amazing. That’s all I can say. Anyway, we can fill in the details later. Right now, I’ve got some explaining to do myself.’ He looked across at Jars. ‘I’m afraid I owe you an apology. I haven’t been exactly truthful with you. I had to spin you that story about being a salesman, for security reasons. I had strict orders from above about keeping everything hush-hush. I hope you can forgive me.’

  ‘You’re a policeman?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Can I ask you one more thing?’

  ‘Sure, go ahead.’

  ‘Is your name really Lucky?’

  The Inspector smiled and gave a brief nod. ‘My colleagues call me that after a famous – or should I say infamous – gangster, who lived back in the 1930s … Lucky Luciano. He was part of the ‘mob’, like Al Capone. He was one of the most notorious crooks of the time.’

  Jars hadn’t heard of any of them, but decided not to push the subject further.

  As though reading her mind, the Inspector turned and called out to the other two officers, who were standing nearby. ‘Come and cuff these three. Read them their rights and get them on that boat over there. Take it to the boat ramp at the other end of the lake and wait. I’ll meet you there with the car as soon as I can.’ Then, as though an afterthought, he added, ‘Load the birds too; we’ll need them for evidence.’

  Jim, who had been covering the crooks, lowered his rifle. ‘I’ll help you load if you like.’

  Jars frowned. ‘We’re letting them go. Quenton is releasing them right now.’

  ‘What?’ the Inspector said, irritation showing in his voice for the first time. ‘They were vital to us making a case. All we’ll have now are a heap of empty cages and your word against theirs.’ He sighed. ‘Who is this Quenton anyway? I’d like to have a word with him.’

  ‘It’s not his fault,’ Jars said. ‘I told him to do it. The birds needed to be set free.’

  At that moment, Quenton stepped into the light thrown by the fire. ‘That’s me. I’m Quenton Quigley, and I heard you going on about me letting the birds go, so I was wondering – would these be any good to you?’ He held out his camera for the Inspector. ‘I took some pictures of the birds, when they were in their cages. There’s some that show them flying away, too.’

  Inspector Luciano grabbed the camera; he pressed the view button that would allow him to see the digital images. After a short time, he looked up. ‘Quenton, let me shake your hand. You’re a marvel. Your quick thinking has saved the day. These pictures are all we need to prosecute and, I dare say, to send those poachers away for some time.’ He signalled with his hand towards the two police officers. ‘Okay, let’s get this show on the road. And Jim, you can go with them. You can drive the boat while the officers guard the prisoners.’

  ‘What about the big guy with the dog?’ one of them asked. ‘Do we take him too?’

  ‘No, no,’ Jars said. ‘He didn’t really know what was going on. The others fed him a heap of lies, and well, because he’s a little slow, he believed them.’ She looked across at Snook.

  ‘That’s right,’ Snook agreed, ‘he’s okay. ‘It’s just the others who’re the crooks.’

  Looking across at Arnie, whose full attention was on Shadow, the Inspector nodded. ‘Okay, he looks harmless enough at the moment. I do want to have a talk with him though, so I’ll walk back to camp with him.’

  Jars watched as the flames in the fire grew higher, sending off sparks that whirled and winked their way into the night. She lifted her gaze. The clouds had disappeared, giving way to a new sky, lit up by the moon and stars.

  ‘Shadow’s going to be all right, Jars.’ It was the ranger. ‘He’s feeling sick and sorry for himself at the moment, but Arnie’s looking after him.’

  ‘That’s terrific. Arnie wants to clean and bandage him when we get back to camp.’

  ‘Jars,’ the ranger said, changing the subject. ‘When you were in my office looking at the cave drawing, you seemed more than a lit le interested in it. Why was that?’

  ‘Have you seen the cave? Jars asked. ‘The one near here?’

  Rubbing his chin, Reg frowned as though facing an internal battle. He lowered his hand and shrugged his shoulders. A rueful smile crossed his lips. ‘I was hoping to keep the cave a secret – to protect it against …’ His voice trailed away. Then, as though gathering his thoughts, he went on. ‘Now I guess I’ve no other choice, so yes, I stumbled across it some time ago. It was mind-blowing. I found something inside the cave too, something that would rattle the world if it was ever made public. The thing is, I want to keep the cave and what’s in it a secret. That’s a must. Otherwise, I’m afraid it would eventually be destroyed. That’s the usual pattern. Most people would care for these things, but unfortunately there are always the few …’ His voice trailed away once again. Seeming to gather his thoughts, his eyes fixed on Jars. ‘But now my secret’s no more, is it? You’ve been there too, right?’

  Jars nodded.

  ‘I thought so, so here, you might as well have a look at this.’ He fished into his back pocket and took out a slip of paper. ‘The actual make-up of the carving has been puzzling me. The bird tracks I can understand, but these round markings – I’ve no idea what they mean.’ He stabbed at the drawing. ‘They’re a mystery.’

  Jars inspected it.

  ‘I’ve been wondering about that too.’ She lifted her eyes, looking skywards, her eyes riveted on the stars, as though deep in thought. One particular group of stars interested her. Was it that simple, she wondered? Could that be the answer to the riddle? She decided it could. Handing the paper back to the ranger, she smiled briefly. ‘I think I know what the round shapes are, but I still don’t know what they mean.’

  ‘You do?’ the ranger said, excitement in his voice, ‘You know what they are? Tell
me, I’m all ears.’

  ‘Why don’t we go to the cave now? Then I can show you.’

  ‘Sounds good to me. I’ll go and tell your uncle we’re going on ahead.’

  ‘Snook knows about the cave,’ Jars said, feeling a little guilty. ‘I told him. And so does Quenton; he found it, but now he’s dead scared. He thinks there’s an evil ghost in there. My guess is that he’s already put it out of his mind, and anyway he’d never find it again. Not without the help of the wombat.’

  ‘The wombat? What do you mean?’

  ‘I can tell you about him later too, but what about Snook? I mean, he knows …’

  ‘Well, it seems to me we’d better invite him to come along with us; knowing Snook, he’s bound to sniff its whereabouts out eventually anyway. There’s one plus though, he’s the kind who can keep a secret. Wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘Oh, yes. He’ll do that, and Mr Carter … don’t worry about me, I can too.’

  Suddenly, the ranger took out a torch from his jacket pocket and shone it in the direction of the trees. ‘Is that your wombat? Over there, halfway along the clearing?’

  ‘That’s him all right,’ Jars said. ‘But that’s not all – look behind him, in the trees and bushes.’

  Reg shone the beam into the depths of the forest, and there, staring through the darkness were a thousand eyes, sparkling and glinting like the stars.

  ‘What the …?’

  ‘Don’t worry, Mr Carter, I know what they are. They’re the animals that the Forest Spirit watches over. They’ve come to say thank you.’

  ‘You know, Jars, there’s something else I should tell you. I’ve known about the Forest Spirit legend for some time now. It seems you know now as well. But there’s something else about the cave that you haven’t mentioned, so it must have escaped your notice. It has another secret, something both precious and unbelievable. And like I said before, it must never be told. Are you ready to find out what that is?’