by Annie Seaton
‘Not too bad, just bruised. I just can’t put my weight on the damn thing. Pull up a chair and have some lunch. We waited for you.’
‘We’ll just go out and have a wash,’ Jack said. ‘Come on, lads.’ Liliana smiled at him as they headed to the laundry room.
When they came back, the three sisters were sitting at the table with their father. Boyd nodded at Jack as he pulled out a chair. ‘I’d like to thank you lads for everything you’ve done to help out today. We would have been in real trouble if you hadn’t been here.’ Boyd shook his head. ‘I still can’t believe they were able to predict this storm down in Brisbane.’
His wife walked over from the stove with a pot of stew and placed it on the table on a cork mat. ‘Lil, can you slice the bread please. Tat, go and get your brothers. I told them to come straight back here after they had a wash.’ She jumped as something landed on the roof with a bang. ‘I think this is going to be worse than the storm of ’28, the one we had the year Tatiana was born.’
As their mother turned back to the kitchen, Tat came in from the side verandah with Robbie. Her brow was wrinkled in a frown and Jack watched as she gestured to Lily to come out on the verandah with her. Robbie’s lip was trembling and his face was streaked with tears. Jack followed them out to the verandah. Tat had hold of Liliana’s arm and her whispers were distressed.
‘I don’t know how far. Robbie didn’t know, but he’s been gone more than an hour.’
Jack walked over, and a shiver went down his spine as Liliana looked up at him, biting her lip and her eyes full of worry.
‘What’s wrong? How far what?’
Liliana’s voice was low. ‘Bloody little larrikin. Goat’s gone.’
‘Gone where?’ Jack frowned as he looked out at the turmoil that the wind was creating in the bush at the edge of the fenced house yard. The trees in the forest were whipping from side to side and as he watched a large branch tore off and landed on the cleared area inside the fence not far from the house.
‘Robbie said he doesn’t know for sure. He said something about checking his cave.’ Tat looked into the house. Their mother was making her way across to the doorway.
‘What cave?’ Jack asked. If Goat was out in this storm, he was in danger.
‘He sets up cubby houses and then moves on to another one. Always reading about pirates and hidden treasure,’ Liliana whispered as she ran her hand through her hair.
‘Where are these caves?’ Jack asked.
‘He’s got them all over the island. They’re in the cliffs on the seaward side, and there’s one up near the old timber workings behind Gulnare Inlet.’
Liliana’s mother pushed open the door. ‘Come inside, you three. Your lunch is on the table.’ Liliana tried to compose her face, but her mother obviously knew her well. She looked past them to the end of the verandah.
‘What’s wrong?’ Her eyes darkened as a frown crossed her forehead. ‘Where’s Billy?’ she said slowly.
Jack crossed to the door and took her hands in his. ‘Don’t worry, but it looks like he’s gone off for a bit of an adventure. The lads and I will go out and look for him before we eat.’
‘He must be here somewhere. I’ll go and look in the sheds. You know how he likes to hide.’ Mrs Ellis stood at the door. ‘He knows the rules.’ She reached for the oilskin that was hanging by the door. ‘I’m going to find him.’
Jack stepped over and put his hand on her shoulder. ‘You stay here, Mrs Ellis. We’ll go.’
Boyd jumped to his feet and winced as his bad leg took his weight. ‘What’s wrong? Go where?’
‘Goat’s taken off, Dad.’ Liliana lifted an oilskin from the hook by the door. ‘He’s out on the island somewhere.’
‘You’re bloody joking. In this weather!’ Boyd sat down again and put his leg up. ‘I wondered where he was.’ He tapped his hand against his thigh, frustration in his voice and movement. ‘I know what he’s like. He could be anywhere, the little bugger.’
‘Robbie, did he say where he was going?’ Liliana asked.
‘He said he had to get something from his cave before the storm blew it away.’
‘Which cave?’ Liliana threw a worried glance at Jack.
Boyd spoke slowly. ‘There are caves over at Turtle Rock.’
‘No,’ Lily said. ‘That part of the island is riddled with crevices.’
‘He probably saw the storm coming and he’s gone for shelter.’ Boyd’s face was set. ‘I’ll deal with him when he comes home. He has to learn to do as he’s told, especially since we heard there could be Japanese on the island.’
Jack stared at Liliana and heat prickled his neck as she looked away.
The wind screeched outside, and something banged against the side of the house. Jack had to raise his voice to be heard as he beckoned to Roger and Charlie. ‘We’re going out to find him.’
‘Jack, he’ll be fine. Even if he has to wait the storm out. He’s a sensible little tyke and he’d know this whole island better than the rest of us. But I’ll tan his hide when he gets back, that I can promise.’
Mrs Ellis shook her head. ‘The wind is so strong, it will blow him off the cliff if he goes near the edge.’
Jack took charge. ‘He knows better than that. Tat, you get your mother a cup of tea. Liliana, come and look at those maps the boys were working on and show us where these caves are. We’ll head out.’
He stared at her as she shook her head. ‘You’ll never find them by yourselves. I’ll come with you.’
Boyd nodded. ‘She’s right, you know.’
‘How far are the caves?’ Jack asked. He moved across to the table and Roger and Charlie followed him. The twins’ maps were sitting at the end of the table, and Jack knew that he had seen a map of the islands on the visit when he had helped with their lessons. He’d smiled that day when Goat had added a pirate ship and a couple of treasure chests to his map of Whitsunday Island.
‘Here it is.’ He slid out the map as Liliana came to stand beside him. The four of them stared down at Goat’s map, and as Jack watched, Liliana traced a path with her finger. She pointed to the two treasure chests he had coloured in.
‘This one is where there is a cave about half a mile to the south. It’s pretty easy to find at the head of Gulnare Inlet. I know he’s had a cubby house there for ages. He’s even let us visit that one.’ She lifted her finger and made a wide arc to the other treasure chest. ‘This one is up at Turtle Rock. He’s always pointed it out to us when we’ve been fishing out to sea, but he’s not allowed to go that far from the house.’ She lowered her voice. ‘It’s on the other side of the peak and the cliff that faces the east is full of caves. It’s really high above the sea. If he’s gone that way …’ Liliana cleared her throat and Jack frowned.
‘If he’s gone that way?’ he asked quietly, and Roger and Charlie looked at each other.
‘It’s really dangerous.’ Liliana lifted her chin. ‘You’ll never find it from the map. It’s a good couple of miles away and there’s no track.’
Jack thought for a moment. ‘How about Roger and Charlie go to the one south and you can take me to Turtle Rock?’
‘Yes. That’s the best plan.’ Liliana glanced over at her parents and lowered her voice. ‘But just tell Mama we’re all going to stay together and go to Gulnare. She’s worried enough as it is.’
Jack nodded briskly. ‘Rog and Charlie, get Tat to find whatever oil slicks and lanterns that she can. Maybe some hats to protect our heads, if we can keep them on in this wind. Liliana, can you grab us something quick to eat and drink and we’ll head off before this storm gets any worse.’
He walked over to the sofa and squatted down beside Boyd and Alexandra. ‘Lily’s going to take us out and we’ll find him.’
Boyd put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. ‘Thank you.’
‘No.’ Alexandra’s eyes were wide and her voice was shrill. ‘Lily is not going with them. I don’t want two of my children out in that storm.’
Boyd’
s voice was low and calm. ‘She has to, sweetheart. She’ll be able to take the men straight to Billy’s hidey hole.’ He lifted his head to meet Jack’s eyes. ‘Take care of her, Jack. But follow Lil’s guide. She knows the island as well as her brother. There are some more oilskins and kerosene lanterns out in the shed—’
Jack lifted his hand. ‘The lads are getting them now. And don’t worry, we’ll find Goat and bring him home safe.’ As he reached over and took Alexandra’s hand, she lifted her face to him. It was pinched and white, and her lips were bloodless. ‘I promise you that, Mrs Ellis.’
Jack stood but before he turned for the door he caught Boyd’s eye and lowered his voice. ‘Don’t worry. If it gets too bad, we’ll take shelter and wait till it blows out to bring him home. Once it gets really dark, we won’t risk being out in the storm.’
Boyd reached up with his left hand and gripped Jack’s hand. ‘Thank you, Jack. Be careful. As careful as you can in that monstrosity.’ They both looked to the window as another strong gust of wind roared in like a freight train. The house shook for a moment, and then the wind dropped back again.
Jack nodded and crossed to the kitchen, where Liliana handed him a bowl of stew and a mug of tea. He took it and looked at the two plates on the bench. ‘Have you eaten?’
‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘I’m sick with worry.’
‘You have to eat if we’ve got a few miles to walk.’ Jack dipped the bread in his stew as Roger came through the door. Roger used both hands to hold the door against the wind, and Tat hurried in, soaking wet, her hair plastered to her face. Charlie was behind her, arms full of oil slicks. The smell of linseed oil pervaded the kitchen as he dropped them next to the wood fire.
They quickly finished the stew and drained the teapot empty. Liliana reached for a couple of brown paper parcels, handed one to Roger and held onto the other. ‘I made some sandwiches in case we have to stay out overnight. There’s some biscuits in there too.’ She picked up the oilskin and gestured to a small door behind the wide stove at the back of the kitchen that Jack hadn’t noticed before. ‘Come on. We’ll go out the back way.’
Jack looked over. The two younger sisters were sitting at their parents’ feet and Robbie had climbed into Boyd’s lap, his thumb in his mouth. If it hadn’t been for the worry on their faces, it would have made a happy family picture. The three men followed Liliana over to the door and the bolt made a loud snap as she drew it undone.
‘The lanterns are against the back of the shed. One each, but only put one on at a time for each pair to conserve the kero,’ Charlie said as he passed an oil slick to Jack. Roger was already pulling his over his head. One by one, they slipped through the narrow, low doorway and Jack gestured for Liliana to follow the other two to the shed as he secured the door. There was a rusty bolt on the outside and as he forced it shut, his hand pushed against the timber and dislodged a piece of wood and he swore as the splinter buried deep in his palm. Putting his hand to his mouth, he dashed to the shed to join the others.
CHAPTER
23
The four of them stayed together as they pushed their way down to the jetty. Beneath the hill, the wind wasn’t as strong as it was up at the exposed house. Lily had never seen anything like it. As they’d fought their way from the shed to the path, the wind had stung her face, and her hat had been blown off before they’d crossed the house yard. Trees were being whipped into a crazy dance of branches, bending and swaying, and twice they had to run as a crack above warned them of a falling branch. The tide was out but the sea was churning, and she pointed to the jetty.
‘Quick, down here. I’ll tell you where we have to go.’ She ran ahead of them and stood out of the wind behind one of the wooden pylons beneath the jetty. The water was still a few yards away from the last pylon, and the space beneath the jetty was wide enough for them to get some respite from the wind but Lily had to shout to make herself heard. Even though it was mid-afternoon, it was hard to see in the darkness brought early by the low clouds and the driving rain. Jack held the lantern up and the shadowed light created grotesque shadows on their faces.
Once she was sure Roger and Charlie could hear her, she pointed to the south. ‘If you follow the beach along to the end, you’ll see a track as soon as you reach the end of the sand. Follow that for about five hundred yards and then it splits into two. Take the right fork, but watch out for the water. With this wind and the tide turning, there might be deeper water than usual in the mangroves. Once you go around the head of Gulnare Inlet, go around to the other side and you’ll see the tracks where the old railway brought the logs down. Follow that until the end of the track and you’ll see a big cave tucked into the cliff facing the water.’
‘If he’s there, do you want us to try and get him back to the house?’ Roger’s voice was muffled by the wind.
‘Wait and see what the wind does. With any luck, this will blow itself out in a couple of hours.’ Lily reached up and pulled the wet strands of hair from her lips. ‘Stay there until it does.’
Jack shook his head and yelled over the noise. ‘If it is a cyclone, there’ll be a lull in the middle when the wind will stop, so wait a while, because the wind will come roaring back from the other direction.’
‘Okay. We’ll see you soon, I hope.’ Charlie and Roger ducked from beneath the jetty and ran to the end of the beach, but it was only seconds before they disappeared into the driving rain.
‘Ready, Liliana?’ Lily looked up as Jack’s warm breath puffed on her cheek. She nodded as he took her hand. ‘Before we go, tell me exactly where we’re going, just like you told the others, in case we get separated. I don’t want to lose you.’
Lily quickly described the course through the forest that would bring them to the middle of the island on the seaward side, where Turtle Rock protruded from the cliff face. ‘It’s going to take us a good hour or two to get there. Depends on how windy it is once we get away from the lee of the island. The best thing is we can skirt around the peak and it’s mostly flat, with a lot of cleared areas where they took the hoop pines from the low areas when they first started felling the timber.’
‘Don’t let go of me, okay?’ Jack yelled.
By the time they’d fought their way through the driving rain and into the swampy mangroves at the base of the last hill, Lily was exhausted. Jack’s grip was firm and when she stopped to catch her breath, he stood in front of her in an attempt to shelter her from the incessant rain.
He lowered his head. ‘Do you want to stop for a while?’
‘No. I’m fine. I just need to catch my breath.’ She looked down at her feet. One shoe had been sucked from her feet by the black sticky mud in the mangrove swamp, and she didn’t tell Jack that a root had cut the sole of her foot and it was throbbing with pain.
It was more important to get to the cave and see if Goat was tucked up there, although Lily had begun to doubt that he would have come this far, knowing the storm was about to break.
‘Come on, we haven’t got far to go.’
As they climbed the hill, the rain stopped and the wind began to ease. By the time they reached the base of the volcanic plug that formed the protrusion that the Ellis children had named Turtle Rock, glimmers of watery sunlight were breaking through the clouds.
‘Do you think it’s over?’ Lily squinted as she looked west into the setting sun.
‘No.’ Jack’s voice was concerned. ‘Look to the east.’
She did. To the east, a mass of black cloud was moving quickly towards them. From there, they could see the sea beneath them, and it was a mass of angry white caps as the waves crashed against the cliffs far below. Lily swallowed, praying and hoping that Roger and Charlie had found Goat, or that he’d made his way home himself.
Jack held out his other hand and pulled her up to the flat rock at the top of the cliff. ‘Come away from the edge. We’re in the eye of the cyclone, and it will be worse once the back end of the storm hits us.’ Jack held Lily tightly and despite her wet clo
thes, the storm and her throbbing foot, pleasure filled her.
She wasn’t going to give up. ‘Come on, the cave is only about a hundred yards along the cliff top.’ She pulled away from Jack’s hold and bit her lip as she put her weight on her foot.
‘Billy,’ she yelled. ‘Goat, are you in there?’
The cave mouth was hidden ahead behind low scrubby bushes. ‘I haven’t been here for ages. I didn’t even know Billy had discovered it until I saw that map he’d drawn with the pirate ship on it.’
She watched as Jack cocked his head and his eyes narrowed.
‘What is it?’ she said, leaning forward. ‘Can you hear him?’
‘No, quickly, run!’ As soon as he finished speaking, the roar of the wind hit Lily with a physical force. Jack grabbed for her hand as she was almost knocked off her feet by the wind gust. There was a huge crack above them and a massive tree hit the ground at the base of the rock with a reverberating thud. Small rocks bounced and skittered around the mouth of the cave. Jack waited until the rock fall was done and then dragged her along to the entrance. Tears stung Lily’s eyes as the cut on her foot ached. Jack pulled back the low branches covering the opening.
‘Billy!’ Lily yelled.
There was no answer.
Jack strode past Lily and paused just inside the dark space until Lily hobbled beside him. The air was musty and still, and the cave was in total darkness.
‘He’s not here.’ Lily put her hand to her mouth and held back the tears, unsure if the emotion clogging her throat was relief or disappointment.
‘He’ll be fine. I think you’re right. He probably went to the cave closest to the house. Robbie did say he was going to a cave, and unless he has any more secret places, he’s probably with Roger and Charlie right now.’
‘Will we go back?’
Jack moved back to the cave entrance and fiddled with the lantern. ‘I don’t think it would be wise. That wind is twice as strong as before.’
As the flame caught, the space inside the cave was filled with light. Liliana gasped.