Stolen Treasures

by Summer Waters

  Curiously, Antonia stared at the small display in the window. The gifts were certainly original. Who’d think of buying a toilet-roll holder as a souvenir! It was pretty though. Antonia stepped forward for a better look, then gasped. Was that…no, it couldn’t be. She had to be mistaken. Antonia pressed her nose against the window, staring at the shop display in disbelief.

  Chapter Three

  After tea, Antonia played in the garden with her little sister, Jessica. They made a camp with blankets, pegs, sun loungers and an old washing line. Jessica had just gone indoors to get her dolls when Sophie arrived.

  “Hi,” said Antonia. “How are the cat pictures coming along?”

  “Great,” said Sophie. “I found a huge old tabby asleep under a tub of geraniums. The plants made him look like he was wearing a flowery hat. It was so funny. I made loads of sketches. I wanted to start painting the picture tomorrow but now I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we’re not going to be here! That’s what I came round to tell you. Mum and Dad are pulling me out of school to go on holiday. It’s a last-minute thing. Dad realised if we don’t go now we won’t get one. Once the school holidays start he’ll be too busy running art classes for the tourists.”

  Sophie’s dad was an artist and he also taught people how to paint.

  “Oh,” said Antonia. She smiled wanly and tried to sound pleased for Sophie, but she was going to miss her friend. “Well, have a good time. Where are you going?”

  “Jersey,” said Sophie. “Don’t look like that! It’s only for a week. I’ll be back before the end of term and I’ll bring you a souvenir.”

  Antonia shuddered, remembering the souvenirs in Emily’s Treasure Chest.

  “You don’t have to buy me anything,” she protested. “Just send me a postcard. And I’m pleased for you. Really I am. I hope you have a brilliant time.”

  “Thanks.” Sophie hugged Antonia. “I wish you could come with us. I asked Mum if you could but she didn’t think your mum would let you have the time off school.”

  “She wouldn’t,” agreed Antonia.

  “Sophie!” cried Jessica, staggering across the lawn, her arms full of dolls. “Have you come to play with us?”

  “Sorry, Jess, not today. I’ve got to go and pack,” said Sophie hurriedly. “See you soon, Antonia, and remember not to call for me tomorrow.”

  That night, Antonia lay in bed thinking about Emily’s Treasure Chest. The more she thought about it, the more uncertain she became. Could she have been mistaken about the souvenirs? Maybe they weren’t what she’d thought they were. Antonia tossed in her bed, wishing her racing brain would switch off and let her get some rest. It was gone midnight before she got to sleep and she woke early with her brain still whirring.

  “This can’t go on,” she thought, groggily pulling on her yellow checked school dress.

  Determined to find out for sure, Antonia left for school earlier than usual, to go and have another look in the window of Emily’s Treasure Chest. She hoped that she’d been wrong about the souvenirs on sale. However, standing outside the shop’s window, Antonia’s hopes were dashed.

  Emily’s parents had been busy. The window display was finished and the shelves were crammed with souvenirs. There was the toilet-roll holder with starfish ends, light pulls made from seahorses, small dishes made from scallop shells and a strange-looking object fashioned from a sea urchin. A sign hanging from one of the shelves left Antonia in no doubt as to where the gifts came from:

  Our marine souvenirs are handmade from the genuine items.

  “It should say, animals have died to make these gifts,” said Antonia in disgust. It wasn’t right that Emily was allowed to come to Sea Watch, pretending to care. Claudia should ban her.

  Antonia hurried to school, anxious to share her news with Cai. She found him in the playground talking to Toby. His brown eyes shone with excitement as Antonia hurried towards him.

  “I can’t wait for you to see the badger cub,” he called as she approached. “Her name’s Stripes. She’s so cute and not a bit shy. I gave her a bottle of milk last night and when she’d finished, she kept nudging my hand for more.”

  Antonia had completely forgotten about the badger cub and was pleased to hear some good news. She listened to Cai until he’d run out of things to say, before finally telling him about Emily’s Treasure Chest.

  “It’s awful,” she finished. “Claudia mustn’t let Emily help out at Sea Watch any more. She doesn’t care about sea life at all.”

  “If you’re right, then yes, it is awful,” said Cai. “But banning Emily from Sea Watch won’t help. Far better that she comes along and finds out what we do. Helping at Sea Watch might show Emily that it’s wrong to take things from the sea.”

  “But her parents are killing sea creatures!” said Antonia, her fingers straying to her dolphin charm.

  “Are you sure?” Cai persisted. “Lots of shells and things are collected after the animals have died.”

  “There’s too much stuff in the shop for that,” Antonia argued.

  “Let’s see what Aunty Claudia says,” said Cai, placidly. “After all, it’s not Emily’s fault. It’s her parent’s shop.”

  Antonia didn’t want to fall out with Cai, so she let the matter drop. The thought that Claudia would sort things out tonight made Antonia feel slightly happier. Eleanor and Karen couldn’t come to Sea Watch after school and to Antonia’s annoyance, Emily asked if she could walk there with her and Cai. It was impossible to say no. On the way, Emily talked nonstop and asked tons of questions.

  “I joined Sea Watch mostly to make friends but also because I love dolphins. Eleanor and Karen have seen them in the bay. Have you?”

  Cai grinned at Antonia.

  “Occasionally,” he said.

  “I’d love to see a dolphin. I’m saving up so that one day I can go to Florida and swim with them.” Emily chattered on hardly pausing for breath.

  Gritting her teeth, Antonia nodded and smiled. Not long now, she thought. Antonia was confident that when Claudia found out about Emily’s parents’ shop she would stop her from coming to Sea Watch.

  But Antonia was disappointed. Claudia listened carefully to Antonia’s news and then said, “This is exactly the type of person Sea Watch needs. By sharing our work with Emily, we can show her the damage her parents are causing and hopefully she will persuade them to change their ways. Sea Watch isn’t just about caring for the sea. It’s about educating others to care for it, too.”

  “But…” Antonia felt awkward about wanting to mention the uneasy feeling she had about Emily.

  Antonia was a very powerful Silver Dolphin with extra magical skills because her birthday was on midsummer’s day. She had something that Claudia called a sixth sense. It meant knowing certain things without being told them, and Claudia had it too. Antonia was conscious that her sixth sense was getting stronger. She was convinced it was telling her that there was something bad about the girl.

  You’re wrong about Emily.

  Antonia jumped as she heard Claudia’s voice inside her head.

  Trust me.

  Claudia stared deeply into Antonia’s eyes until Antonia felt slightly giddy.

  I do trust you, she thought.

  Then you must give Emily a chance. Promise me?

  Antonia tried to look away but Claudia’s gaze held her. Then suddenly she smiled so warmly that Antonia would have promised her anything.

  OK. I promise, I’ll give Emily a chance.

  Well done, Silver Dolphin.

  Claudia winked at Antonia then steering her towards the door, she spoke aloud, “Come and see the badger cub, she’s gorgeous.”

  Chapter Four

  There was no shortage of volunteers wanting to with Stripes. Everyone had heard about the badger cub and they followed Claudia outside to see her. Claudia insisted that the cub was handled as little as possible.

  “Stripes isn’t a pet,” she explained. “When she’s better,
she’ll be returned to the wild. She’s more likely to get hurt again if she becomes too confident around people.”

  To Antonia’s delight, Claudia chose her to see to Stripes while Cai and Emily were asked to clean out the guillemots. Antonia felt a slight pang of jealousy that she hadn’t been paired with Cai, but quickly realised she was being mean. She waved at Cai and Emily as they disappeared indoors to start work.

  “The badger sanctuary sent lots of things for Stripes,” said Claudia. “Come with me and I’ll show you where everything is.”

  Antonia followed Claudia back inside the Sea Watch building to the small kitchen area.

  “That’s her bottle sterilising.” Claudia pointed at a dainty bottle sitting in a jug of clear liquid on the worktop. “It doesn’t need rinsing. Just give it a shake dry, then pour the milk in up to the line. Warm it in the microwave, then shake the bottle again to make sure there aren’t any hot spots.”

  “Where’s the milk? In the fridge?” Antonia asked, pointing over to it.

  “Yes.” Claudia pulled the door open. “It’s the blue bottle.”

  “This isn’t cow’s milk,” said Antonia, reading the label.

  “It’s a specially prepared milk formula. Cow’s milk can give cubs the runs.”

  “Yuk!” Antonia grimaced and Claudia laughed.

  “Sit Stripes on that towel when you feed her to keep your school dress clean. And be gentle with her. She’s got a nasty wound on her back leg where she was hit by a car. The bandage shouldn’t need changing yet, but give me a shout if it looks like it’s leaking. I’ll be at the computer,” said Claudia.

  After snapping on a pair of rubber gloves, Antonia collected a bucket to put the soiled straw in and headed out to the pen. Stripes was very inquisitive, snuffling round her feet as she picked up the dirty bedding. Antonia went back to the shed for clean straw and when she returned, she noticed Emily outside. She was hovering a short distance away from the badger pen. She watched as Antonia put down clean straw and refilled Stripes’s water bowl. Then she followed Antonia when she went indoors to prepare Stripes’s milk.

  “Haven’t you got anything to do?” asked Antonia, irritated at being watched.

  “I’m helping Cai,” said Emily vaguely, fidgeting with her rubber gloves.

  Antonia lifted the bottle out of the sterilising fluid, waved it dry and filled it up to the line with the special milk. It took seconds to warm in the microwave. After screwing the teat on the top, she shook the bottle, picked up the towel and went to feed Stripes. The badger cub nudged at the bottle teat with her black button nose. Laughing, Antonia lifted her on to her lap, then guided the teat into Stripes’s mouth.

  “Hungry, are we?” she held the bottle tightly as Stripes began to suck.

  The baby badger looked so cute, Antonia wanted to stroke her black and white face but, remembering Claudia’s warning, she didn’t. Emily edged closer, then hesitantly stepped inside the pen.

  “How old is she?”

  “About ten weeks.”

  “She’s gorgeous,” breathed Emily.

  Antonia’s hair swung away from her face as she smiled up at Emily.

  “Isn’t she just!”

  “Oh! Look at your necklace,” Emily reached forward.

  Scowling, Antonia pulled back shaking her head so her hair covered her dolphin charm.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. That necklace is beautiful too. Was it very expensive?”

  “It was a gift,” said Antonia.

  Emily sighed. “I don’t suppose I could afford one. My parents have spent most of their money setting up the shop.”

  Antonia suddenly felt hot and her hands trembled slightly. She had wanted to say something to Emily about her parents’ gift shop and here was her chance. But before she could speak, another sensation swept over her. Spirit! He was going to call and this time it was urgent. Stripes was only halfway through her bottle. Antonia wiped a drop of milk from the cub’s nose then, noticing Emily’s rapt expression, decided to ask her for help.

  “Emily,” she said. “I’ve just remembered I have a really important job to do. Can you finish feeding Stripes for me?”

  “Me? Yeah, I’d love to.” Emily looked as if she’d just been handed a million pounds.

  “Come and sit down then.”

  When Emily was comfortable, Antonia handed Stripes over. All the time the cub didn’t stop sucking on the bottle.

  “Oh,” squeaked Emily softly. “Thanks, Antonia.”

  At that moment, Antonia’s silver dolphin charm juddered.

  “Don’t forget to check the pen’s locked when you’ve finished,” Antonia called. “The padlock’s a bit stiff.”

  She hurried down the garden and through the gate to the beach. Leaving her sandals under the Sea Watch boat, Antonia ran into the sea. Her dolphin charm was vibrating strongly and suddenly it gave a shrill whistle.

  “Spirit, I hear your call,” clicked Antonia, as she splashed into the water.

  There was no question of waiting for Cai today. Spirit’s call was urgent. The dolphin charm thrashed against her skin, urging her on. The moment Antonia’s legs melded together she started swimming, effortlessly flying in and out of the sea, causing a spray of water that sparkled like diamonds. Antonia followed the coastline heading west. She swam fast, anxious to find Spirit.

  After a very long time Antonia slowed, sensing two different types of vibration in the water. Looking up, she saw a boat in the distance. That could be causing the bigger vibration. The smaller one she hoped was being made by Spirit. The boat, a small blue fishing vessel with an ancient-looking cabin, came closer. Nets, hung with fluorescent pink buoys, were draped over one side. A tall lady was moving around on deck. She looked vaguely familiar. Diving under the water so as not to be seen, Antonia tried to work out how she might know her. She kept underwater, swimming on a parallel path with the boat to avoid a collision. The vibrations became stronger and the sea more choppy as finally, the boat passed her by.

  “Silver Dolphin?”

  “Yes,” clicked Antonia, answering Spirit’s sudden urgent whistle.

  “Get the name of the boat.”

  Immediately Antonia somersaulted and surfaced so she was facing the boat’s stern as it sped away from her. The boat was travelling fast and the boat’s name was already too small for her to read. She screwed up her eyes trying to make out its registration number painted in much larger characters.

  “SB…is that a 6 or an 8?”

  It was no good. Antonia couldn’t read the registration number either.

  “Did you get its name?” Spirit surfaced alongside her.

  Antonia shook her head. “Sorry, it was going too fast. The first two letters were SB so it’s a Sandy Bay boat, if that’s any help?”

  Spirit looked disappointed.

  “You’ll need more than that to report it.”

  “Who am I reporting it to and why?” asked Antonia, puzzled.

  “I’ll show you when the second Silver Dolphin arrives,” said Spirit.

  Suddenly Antonia was aware of vibrations in the water, pinging against her skin like tiny stones.

  “Cai,” she remembered guiltily.

  Chapter Five

  Cai swam up. “I came as fast as I could,” he puffed. “Thank you, Silver Dolphin.” Spirit swam forward and greeted Cai by rubbing noses. “And thank you, too,” he added, ruffling Antonia’s hair with a flipper.

  “But I failed,” said Antonia miserably.

  “You answered the call and that’s what matters,” Spirit answered her.

  “What happened?” asked Cai.

  “The boat that dumped the rubbish came back. This time it put down nets in a protected area. It’s damaged a bed of pink sea fan coral. Come with me and I’ll show you,” said Spirit.

  He dived down, followed by Antonia and Cai. At first the water was murky but gradually it cleared enough for Antonia to see that they were swimming over rocks. Spirit swum deeper and t
hen stopped.

  “We’re here,” he said. “It’s beautiful,” said Antonia, venturing forward to stare at the miniature forest stretching away from her.

  “The coral looks exactly like fan-shaped trees!” exclaimed Cai.

  “Each pink sea fan coral is made from thousands of tiny organisms, so they’re actually animals not plants. Look again and you’ll see the damage the net caused.”

  “Oh!” cried Antonia. “Some of them are broken.”

  She swam closer, pointing in dismay at the pieces of coral scattered like broken china around the stems of the pink sea fans.

  “Pink sea fans are very fragile,” Spirit continued. “They also take ages to grow. This area is protected, but not everyone is aware of that. If you give the boat’s details to the coastguards, they will make sure the owners know that the coral reef is a protected area.”

  Antonia started to swim round the pink sea fans. It was like swimming in a huge garden of flowers. The corals were so colourful. She loved them all, from the palest pink to the vibrant cerise ones. As she swam, a plan of how to find the boat causing the damage was forming in her head. She was almost ready to share it when she noticed Cai signalling upwards. Antonia followed him and broke through the sea’s surface at the same time as Spirit, creating a sparkling blue fountain of water.

  Cai gulped at the air with huge greedy breaths.

  “Sorry,” he panted. “I can’t stay underwater as long as you.”

  “You will with practice,” said Antonia.

  “Remember you are very powerful,” Spirit warned Antonia. “Not every Silver Dolphin will develop all of your skills.”

  Cai stared at Antonia in surprise.

  “You never told me that,” he said admiringly.

  Antonia shrugged, letting her wet hair flop forward to hide her face.

  “It’s nothing really. Listen, I’ve had an idea. Let’s go home and walk round to the harbour. I might recognise the boat, and the lady on board, if I saw them again. Then we can get the name and registration number, and tell the coastguard.”

  “Careful, Silver Dolphin,” warned Spirit. “Some of the boats are very similar. You must be sure you have the right one before you report it. I think you should wait.”