We are Tam

by Patricia Bernard

  "Steven, wake up. It's Tameron."

  She heard the squeak of his bed as she settled into her cross-legged position. Steven, his hair sticking out like a porcupine's quills, came in shutting the door gently behind him.

  "What does she say? he whispered, not wanting to wake their parents.

  Tam closed her eyes.

  "Her older-parent is sick. He has comarised, and his study-chamber is locked. She can't reach the cylinder, but he told her the clue is the Professor. Darwei's life colour is almost gone. It may already be too late. She's crying."

  "Tell her we'll help. We'll find out more about the Professor," said Steven.

  Tam lowered her arms and opened her eyes.

  "She says she'll wait all sunning."

  CHAPTER 17. THE SPYING STARTS

  Why can't you use the local library?" asked their mother.

  "Because the other one has the information we need," Steven answered, zipping up his jacket. "We'll go straight from school and be home as soon as possible."

  "Take an umbrella then. it's going to pour all day." Pat hated the rain. It got into her bones. Outside it was lashing down, beating onto the kitchen roof.

  Steven screwed up his face in disgust.

  "Not an umbrella, Mum. They're sissy!"

  "I'll take it, Mum," said Tam. "I don't mind. I'd rather be dry."

  They met after school at the bus stop. Steven was jumping up and down in a shop doorway.

  "It's freezing," he said shivering.

  Grey drizzle was falling steadily when the bus dropped them off at the park gates. Huddled under the umbrella, they hurried along the deserted paths, dodging the dripping trees, then ran up the steps of the Library to the big doors.

  "You go this time. They don't know you. Ask whether the Professor is working today," Steven said.

  Tam was reluctant.

  "The official saw me when that woman attacked Shona."

  "He won't remember."

  Slowly Tam crossed the mosaic floor, then she sighed with relief. it was a different official. Standing before him, her long hair dangling in wet rat's tails, she asked.

  "Can you ... ."

  The official looked over Tam's head.

  "Good night, Professor. Great night for a walk if you're a duck," he chuckled to someone coming down the stairs behind her.

  Tam didn't turn until she heard the footsteps pass, then she saw a grey-haired man going out through the glass doors.

  "Sorry about that. Now, what can I do for you, Miss?" the official asked, smiling at her.

  "Nothing thanks," Tam ran out behind the Professor.

  Steven was waiting outside, looking impatient.

  "That's him," he hissed.

  "I know."

  Not waiting for her to put up the umbrella, he dodged towards the steps and collided with a large figure in a yellow plastic raincoat. Miss Fipps dropped her tartan umbrella in an effort to regain her balance. Steven, not realising who it was, bent to pick it up.

  "Sorry," he said.

  They came face to face.

  "You! shouted Miss Fipps. "It's you again, you terrible boy. What are you doing loitering here?"" She snatched the umbrella from him and held it like a shield before her. "I'll have you arrested. I'll call the police." She turned clumsily and charged back through the people coming out of the building. She pushed them aside and called for the official.

  "Hells bells! Come on, Tam."

  Steven took off down the steps with Tam behind him.

  The Professor seemed to have disappeared in the direction of the Botanic Gardens, but with the heavy rain it was impossible to be sure. They ran down one path after another, searching for his tall figure, but the gardens looked empty.

  "There he is!" Tam pointed to a man walking across the wet grass. "Come on."

  They squelched after him. The rain fell even more heavily, blocking out the trees and the harbour, and the Professor disappeared again. The children searched the sodden lawn area, looking for a sign of him.

  "Over there!"

  Tam pointed to a clump of bushes. The Professor was digging in the earth beneath them. They crept closer, hiding behind a tree.

  Cautiously the Professor looked around, then taking something from his pocket he dropped it into the hole. He pushed the loose earth back and stamped it down then turned and walked straight towards them. They ducked behind some bushes. He walked past, muttering to himself. They could hear his laboured breathing.

  "You follow him, and I'll go and dig up whatever it is," Steven said.

  Tam followed the Professor across the grass. he's counting his steps, measuring, she thought, watching him mark something on a piece of paper. He counted again, dug another hole, dropped something in, covered it up and moved on again.

  Steven had waited a few moments and then burrowed quickly into the dirt that the Professor had stamped down. He found a small metal tube. Brushing it clean, he pocketed it and ran after Tam. She was still hiding behind the hedge.

  "Got it?" she whispered, wiping the rain from her face.

  Steven nodded.

  "What's he up to now?"

  "Same thing, only this time he marked it on a map. Do you think they're bombs?"

  Steven felt his pocket. It didn't feel like a bomb, and it wasn't ticking. Maybe it was a non-ticking bomb. But why would anyone want to blow up the Botanic Gardens?

  "Quick, he's leaving." Tam grabbed the umbrella, and they followed behind the hedge.

  "Just as well. I'm freezing," Steven pulled his jacket collar up. The wind from the harbour cut through the pair of them.

  They followed the Professor from the gardens, through the park and up the hill to the park gate. He crossed a busy intersection and turned down a long road leading to the docks. They ran to catch up, but stayed on the opposite side of the road. Halfway down the hill he turned into a small lane, then into a gateway. The children watched from across the road.

  "It looks like an old vicarage to me," said Steven," but there's no church around."

  The small house was wedged between a row of tan terraces used as offices and a white-painted Greek restaurant with plastic geraniums in window boxes. The garden was wildly overgrown. High banana trees leant over a sloping wooden verandah. The side gardens were dense with bushes. Behind the shutters a light went on.

  "It's a bit run-down, isn't it?" Tam remarked, pushing back her damp hair.

  The drizzling rain continued, making them drip where they stood.

  "Let's go home. We can't do anything more tonight," she suggested. Steven agreed.

  They caught the bus at the corner and arrived home just before tea. Their father wasn't in a good mood. He spoke severely to them.

  "I'm not satisfied. You've been out too often this week. Tam looks tired, and what about your homework?"

  "Our homework's done, honest Dad. We did it at lunchtime," Steven answered for the both of them.

  "That's not good enough, homework takes more effort than that."

  "It's this history project. it's taking longer than we thought," explained Tam. She hated being told off by her father.

  "It'll be over soon. The Lord mayor is burying a time cylinder at the Town Hall on Saturday morning," Steven hesitated, knowing this was not the best time to ask, but asking anyway. "Can we go and watch, Dad."

  Their father frowned again.

  "I suppose so, if it's history - history in the making. Then will you settle down to normal study?"

  "Yes," they said together.

  Steven hid the tube in his bedroom. He only just had time to force the lid before he was called for tea.

  "It's not a bomb," he whispered later, as they went upstairs for their baths.

  "Oh, why didn't you wait for me?" demanded Tam.

  "I had to check that it wouldn't blow the house up, didn't I?"

  "Well, what is it then?"

  "I'm not sure, come and look."

  Carefully he placed the open tube on his bed, then withdrew a rolle
d sheet of paper and a small roll of film.

  "Don't put your fingers on the film," he warned.

  "I'm not a complete idiot, you know," Tam replied.

  He unrolled the paper. It was covered with strange symbols.

  "That's the funny writing I saw in his office."

  "Do you think he's a spy?" Tam sat on the bed making everything bounce.

  "I don't think so." But Steven looked thoughtful.

  "Older-parent said he was the clue. if he has Darwei prisoner, he could find out all about the future and sell the information to big companies or foreign powers," Tam went on dramatically.

  "it certainly would help to know what's going to happen in the future," Steven said, packing up the tube carefully.

  "There! I said he's a spy," said Tam triumphantly.

  "Only one way to find out for sure. We'll have to search his house tomorrow after school, while he's at the Library."

  Tam was shocked.

  "You mean break in?"

  "Not exactly, just look about. We have to find out about Darwei, don't we?"

  "What are we going to look for?"

  "Evidence," I guess," Steven answered vaguely.

  CHAPTER 18. GATHERING EVIDENCE

  At four o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, Tam and Steven stood at the Professor's front gate. The idea of searching his house had sounded easy the night before, but now it was a bit frightening.

  Steven scrutinised the overgrown garden.

  "I'm sure it's empty. He won't be home until five o'clock, later if he goes burying bombs again," he said.

  Tam giggled nervously. Now she knew that they weren't bombs, the idea of the Professor's blowing up the Botanic Gardens sounded silly.

  "We can say we're looking for our cat," Steven continued as he pushed open the rickety gate.

  "All the way from our place to here! It'd have to have caught a bus."

  "Ssshhh, dillbrain," Steven frowned a warning at her.

  They walked quickly up the brick path and stepped onto the wooden verandah. It squeaked loudly. Steven winced, clutching Tam's arm. They waited, but nothing happened.

  "You go that way," he said pointing to the left. "I'll go this way. look for anything suspicious." He tiptoed around the corner of the house, the wooden planks squeaking with every step.

  Tam crept to the front window and carefully unhooked the shutter latch. She pressed her face against the glass and peered in. The room was full of books and maps. Bookcases reached from floor to ceiling, maps hung from the walls, books were stacked everywhere - on the desk, on chairs, on the carpet. What a mess! thought Tam. Was that suspicious? No, just untidy."

  She stepped carefully around the corner to the next window. The trees growing against the verandah cast dark, cold shadows and smelt damp with moss. The second room was almost empty, with blank white walls and ceiling. As she pressed her nose against the glass, she noticed that the window was locked from the inside and nailed from the outside. Also there was a strong wire mesh nailed across the inside. The room contained only a long wooden table- no chairs or other furniture. Tam thought it odd. How did they sit at the table?"

  Further along the verandah a pair of french windows stood open, with white lace curtains fluttering in the breeze. Tam moved towards them as quietly as she could. Someone must be there. She peeked through the doorway. This appeared to be the real dining room. There were four chairs and a small round table set for afternoon tea. One steaming cup had already been poured.

  "Someone is here," she gasped. Quickly she stepped back into the shadow of the trees and tiptoed back the way she'd come.

  Steven first looked through the window of a lounge room with two large leather sofas and an assortment of comfortable chairs. it looked a friendly room, but a bit shabby. Maybe that's why he was selling secrets- to get some money. The whole house looked a bit run-down.

  The next window was open, and Steven stuck his head inside. it was a plain, sparsely-furnished bedroom with a blue bedspread and a large wardrobe and some photographs of the Professor and his family hanging on the walls.

  "Looks okay to me," Steven muttered to himself.

  "I'm so glad to hear it."

  A heavy hand grabbed his collar and swung him round. Steven's feet barely touched the floor. Glaring down at him, his beard quivering and his chest heaving, was the professor.

  "I thought you were at the Library," gasped Steven.

  "Obviously, or you wouldn't be trying to break into my house." Then the Professor recognised him. "I know you. You're that disagreeable boy who broke into my office, pestered me almost to death and caused my secretary to have a nervous collapse. Now you're snooping around here. What is going on?" His grip tightened until Steven thought he'd choke.

  He wondered whether he could slip out of his jacket and make a run for it; But what about Tam? Anyway, he doubted if he could do it, the Professor was holding his so tightly. He tried to wriggle free, but the angry man twisted his arm up his back.

  "Oh, no you don't! I know how to treat thieves." He marched Steven to the back of the house and through a door.

  Tam arrived just in time to see them disappear around the corner. She tiptoed after them.

  The Professor pushed Steven into the dining room, shoved him down on a chair and sat opposite him, breathing heavily. Steven's mind raced. Could he make a dash through the open windows and find Tam on the way?

  "I Wouldn't try it," the Professor warned, reading Steven's mind. He stirred his tea vigorously. "I ought to call the police."

  "You'd better not, or I'll tell them about how you bury information in the Botanic Gardens!"

  The Professor's spoon clattered into the saucer. His face turned white with shock.

  "What have you been up to? Miss Fipps was right when she said she saw you following me yesterday. She said there were two of you. Who's the other one?" He leant menacingly over Steven.

  "Me - and you'd better not hurt my brother, because we have evidence," Tam stood at the french windows, her fists clenched, her face determined.

  The Professor looked at her piercingly,his lips narrowing angrily. "Is that so, then I suggest you enter and explain yourself. I don't like mysteries."

  Tam slid into the chair beside Steven. She gave him a weak smile. The Professor closed and locked the french windows and sat down again. "Now, why are you two snooping around my house and following me?" he demanded.

  "We're trying to help a friend," answered Tam.

  "What have I to do with children? I don't know any children." He picked up his cup.

  "It's about the Lord Mayor's cylinder," Tam continued. "Darwei was interested in it before he comarised."

  The Professor caught his breath, then choking on his tea

  he put his cup down quickly, his hand shaking.

  "What's this? Who's this Darwei character?"

  Steven shook his head at Tam. "Don't tell him anything. He knows already."

  The Professor leant back in his chair and watched them with narrow eyes. "What a smart boy you are. Sounds like you know too much yourself."

  "We know you are burying information," burst out Tam. "We've got a tube."

  "Have you touched anything in it? It will ruin the film if it's touched." The Professor's voice shook anxiously. He breathed faster. Taking a small silver pillbox from his top pocket, he swallowed two pills. "I have a bad heart. I shouldn't have unpleasant surprises like interfering children."

  There was a pounding at the front door.

  "Professor, I'm back," Miss Fipp's voice called.

  "Good heavens, Miss Fipps! She musn't find you here." The Professor pushed back his chair and grabbed Steven's arm.

  "Let him go!" Tam hung onto the man's jacket.

  "Quiet! Follow me, and not a word, or you'll never find out what has happened to Darwei."

  He dragged Steven and Tam along the passage and pushed them into the empty room. The door slammed behind them, and they heard a bolt slip across.

  "He does k
now about Darwei, see I told you," said Steven rubbing his shoulder. he looked about. "This really is an odd room. Wonder what he uses it for? No furniture except this table."

  "And bolts on the inside and outside of the door," added Tam looking very ed.

  Steven pulled at the wire mesh nailed across the window.

  "Can't get out this way."

  They stopped talking and listened. They could hear the Professor speaking outside the door.

  "I just want to be alone to work, Miss Fipps."

  Miss Fipp's shrill voice rang out clearly.

  "I have no intention of leaving you alone, dear Professor. I intend to prepare dinner for you."

  "No! The Professor spoke rudely. "Don't bother. Did you bring the papers I need?"

  "I've brought everything you asked for. Really, it's no trouble. A little salad, some steak, an apple pie."

  "Did you bring my pills from the desk? I've run out," the Professor snapped.

  "Oh dear me, no. I never thought ... . Oh, silly me. I'll rush back straight away."

  Her heavy footsteps echoed up the passage, and they heard the front door slam.

  "He's lying. He has his pills. He just wants to get rid of her, so she won't find us," whispered Tam.

  CHAPTER 19. DARWEI IS CLOSE

  The bolt slid back, and the door opened. The Professor, looking drawn and tired bolted it behind him.

  "Now, before she returns. How much do you know?"

  "We know you have something to do with Darwei's disappearance. I bet you've got him prisoner somewhere. And we know you're selling information about the future to someone," Steven answered quickly, hoping to catch the Professor out.

  "And Darwei has only a few more sunnings, I mean days, to live. His younger is my mirror-image, and she asked us to help save him," added Tam.

  The tired-looking man stood silently, staring down at the table.

  "I see. I see. So you know about mirror-imaging?"

  "Yes."

  "And you understand how dangerous it can be?"

  Remembering the giant snow white mosquitoes, Tam nodded fast.