“Yes,” said Badger calmly. “Among my friends, you see.”
Poppy had been following this exchange without saying anything. Now she piped up. “You heard what he said, Shark. What’s the problem? People can sit wherever they like.”
Shark looked at her scornfully. “That’s what you think,” he hissed. Then, turning to address Badger again, he said, “Hardtack told me to tell you that you’re to come back to our table. Now.”
This was too much for Poppy. “William Edward Hardtack,” she said, giving equal emphasis to each part of the name. “Who does he think he is?”
Shark turned his head slowly. As he did so, his shark’s-fin hair moved through the air as menacingly as a real fin cuts through water. “You’ll find out soon enough, Puppy.”
This was typical of Hardtack’s group, who always found it amusing to change people’s names. So Mr Rigger became Mr Pigger, Badger had been called The Striped One, and now Poppy was being addressed as Puppy.
“Her name’s Poppy,” said Badger firmly. “If you ever washed your ears, Shark, you might hear properly and get it right for once.”
Ben, Fee and Poppy laughed. Shark, of course, did not think it funny. He spun round to address Badger once more. “This is your last chance, Badger,” he blurted out. “You know what will happen if you don’t do what Hardtack says.”
For a few moments there was silence. Then Badger rose to his feet so that he was standing level with Shark. It was clear to everybody now that he was extremely angry.
“Listen to me, Shark,” Badger began slowly. “Why don’t you just get lost and go back to your bully boss Hardtack?”
Ben, Fee and Poppy were so thrilled to see somebody standing up to Shark that they found themselves clutching at the table edge in their excitement.
Shark leaned forward, thrusting his face almost up to Badger’s nose. “You watch it, Stripe-Face!” he hissed. “If you want to get thrown off the ship by the Captain, you’re going about it the right way. And what will your Daddy say when his precious little boy comes home to New York having been kicked out of school? He’ll be pleased, won’t he?”
Badger laughed. It was just the right reaction to make somebody like Shark feel even angrier. Nobody with a hairstyle like Shark’s, thought Ben, likes to be laughed at.
“I’m warning you!” Shark’s voice rose in pitch. “You know what’ll happen.”
Badger caught Ben’s eye, and smiled. Then he turned back to face Shark. “Actually, Shark,” he said calmly, “I’ve already spoken to the Captain about the rowing boat. I told him it was my fault it was lost.”
Shark frowned. It was clear that he had not been expecting this. “You’re making that up,” he said.
“If you need proof,” Badger said, “then ask Ben. He went with me.”
“That’s right,” said Ben. “I did. Badger told Captain Macbeth exactly what happened and the Captain has told him it’s all right. He said that anybody can make a mistake.”
Just for an instant Shark might not have believed Ben – because people often do not believe what they do not want to hear. But there was something so firm in the way Ben spoke that Shark was convinced that what Ben said was absolutely true. For a moment he hesitated, and then he turned on his heel and stomped back to his friends.
Badger sat down. He was shaking.
“Well done!” said Poppy, patting Badger on the back.
“Yes,” said Ben. “Well done, Badge.”
“It’s great to see somebody standing up to a bully,” Fee said.
Poppy agreed. “Did you see his hair?” she asked. “I think it almost collapsed with shock.”
They all laughed again, and when Ben glanced across the room to Hardtack’s table, he thought that Shark’s famous shark’s fin did indeed look a little smaller, and a bit more lop-sided, than usual.
After they had finished breakfast, there was no time to think any more about what had happened in the mess hall. The expedition to search for the treasure needed preparation, and everybody had a task or two to do before they set off. Matron had spoken to Cook about food, and he had left out supplies for picnic-lunches. Bread had to be buttered, eggs hard-boiled and a large chocolate cake wrapped in greaseproof paper. This kept Poppy and Ben busy for some time.
Fee, Thomas and Tanya were responsible for getting the boat ready, under the watchful eye of Miss Worsfold, who would accompany them with Matron and Henry, of course. Not only did the outboard engine have to be carried from its storage place, but it needed to be fuelled and clamped into position. Oars had to be found, as these would be necessary if anything went wrong with the motor. Then there were life jackets to be stacked in the boat along with coils of rope, a spade, and all the other things that a shore expedition required.
Finally, everybody had to get themselves ready. They needed to find their swimming gear, a towel and spare clothing in case they got wet. Ben wanted to take his torch too, as he thought that if they found any caves they might be very dark inside. Fee was keen to take her sketch book. She liked sketching shells, and was hoping to find some interesting examples, before realising that a treasure hunt is an exciting business and she probably wouldn’t have time for sketching.
As for Miss Worsfold, she was bringing the one thing that, more than anything else, would be useful on a treasure-hunting expedition. This was a metal detector – one of those instruments that registers whether there are any metal objects buried in the ground. If there was Viking treasure near the river, with any luck the metal detector would emit a high-pitched beeping sound when it passed over it.
At last, everything was in order, and Miss Worsfold was able to give the command “Boat away!” The small vessel was lowered into the sea, and they all climbed in. With Miss Worsfold in charge of the outboard engine, they slowly chugged away from the Tobermory and began to make their way across the expanse of water that separated them from the entrance to the inlet. Henry barked in excitement as they drew away from the ship. Much as he enjoyed being on board, he always loved going ashore, where there were so many more smells to interest a dog.
With the tide in their favour, it did not take them long to reach their destination. After beaching the boat, they all helped pull it up over the sand. This was a lesson that Miss Worsfold was at pains to underline. “Always remember to pull a boat well up from the water’s edge,” she said. “An incoming tide can easily take it back out to sea when it turns.”
Badger laughed. “Yes,” he said. “I remember once on Nantucket I left my boat in what I thought was a safe place and when I came back it had gone. The tide had gone out and taken it.”
He paused before continuing. “I suppose that makes two boats I’ve lost when I think about it, though at least I eventually got my own boat back. As for the other one – well, I’m really sorry about that.”
Ben was pleased to hear Badger talk like this. It showed his old friend was back again – the person who was always happy to tell a story, even if it made him look a bit foolish. It was one of the things he liked about Badger. He was not vain, and didn’t take himself too seriously. He was the opposite of Shark, who had such a high opinion of himself.
And yet, Ben told himself when he thought more about it, everybody – even Shark – must have some good points somewhere. Nobody was entirely bad. Shark probably had parents who loved him and perhaps even imagined he was a popular member of the Tobermory crew. Perhaps Mrs Shark spoke proudly of her son and his achievements, as most mothers do. And perhaps Shark was different things to different people … That possibility made Ben think.
Miss Worsfold interrupted his thoughts. She had been listening to Badger’s story, and said, “Everybody, and I mean everybody, has done something stupid at sea. It goes with being a sailor, I suppose.”
Matron looked thoughtful. “And not just at sea,” she said. “I’ve made a few mistakes myself, I can tell you.”
Intrigued, Miss Worsfold wanted to know more. “Well, perhaps you’d like to tell us about
them.”
Matron shook her head. “Maybe some other time,” she said, sounding a little embarrassed.
They all smiled.
It was now time for the treasure hunt to begin in earnest. Henry had already started, and was dashing up and down the beach, barking at nothing in particular, his tail wagging like the pendulum of a clock that has gone out of control. Now and then he stopped and dug furiously in the sand with his front paws, before losing interest and moving on to another spot.
“Look at Henry,” said Tanya. “He must know why we’re here.”
Ben disagreed. “I doubt it,” he said. “He just likes digging.”
But Badger thought that Henry might be on to something. “Dogs smell things we can’t,” he pointed out. “Henry might be able to sniff out treasure. Who knows?”
“More likely an old bone,” Fee suggested. “Dogs only think of their stomachs.”
“We’ll see,” said Miss Worsfold. “He’s having a great time, anyway. And the exercise will do him good.”
Miss Worsfold clapped her hands together. “Right then, everybody,” she called out. “Time to get going.”
They gathered around the teacher and listened carefully to her instructions. Tanya and Poppy would take it in turns with the metal detector to sweep the ground at the top of the beach. “The Vikings wouldn’t bury their treasure in the sand itself,” she said, “because it might get washed away by the tide. And of course the wind can easily change the shape of a sand dune dramatically. The worst thing for anybody burying something on a beach, I should imagine, would be to come back and not be able to recognise the place they’d put it.
“While Tanya and Poppy are working here,” she continued, “the others will split into two groups. One group – that’s you, Fee, Thomas and Matron – will go and explore the river. Ben and Badger will search further along the shore to see if there are any caves. Poppy and Ben, you told the Captain you thought that a cave would be a likely place to hide treasure, didn’t you? I’ll stay here with Henry and help with the metal detector.”
She paused. “And we’ll meet up at the top of the hill by the waterfall in an hour,” she said, pointing to the hill a little way back from the beach. “Any questions?”
Nobody wanted to waste any time, so Miss Worsfold showed Tanya and Poppy how to use the metal detector. That did not take long. All they had to do, it seemed, was to put on earphones, move the switch to the on position, and then sweep the instrument in front of them as they walked.
“Don’t do it too quickly,” warned Miss Worsfold. “You don’t want to miss anything. And if it beeps at you, then there’s metal down below. Start digging. But don’t get too excited,” she cautioned. “Just because it beeps doesn’t mean there’s treasure. It might only be that you’ve found an old belt buckle.”
While Fee and Thomas set off to explore the banks of the river with Matron, Ben and Badger went in the opposite direction to search for caves, a task that took them off along the rocky shore beyond the mouth of the river.
It was a warm day and the sky was completely clear. High up above them, they saw a pair of sea eagles, circling effortlessly. Even at that height, the birds’ great wing span made them clearly visible from the ground.
“Look at them,” said Badger, pointing. “That would be a great place to search from. You’d see everything laid out below you.”
Ben gazed upwards. “And they can spot the tiniest detail,” he said. “Their eyesight is amazing.”
As they watched, one of the eagles suddenly swooped down like an arrow, its wings tucked in tight. They did not see exactly where it went, as its target was beyond a small rise along the shore. But when it rose up again, above the level of the trees, they saw that it was clutching a large fish in its talons.
The two boys looked at one another. It had been such a remarkable thing to witness, and it had a chilling effect on them. Neither said anything, but they were both thinking the same thing. This was a wild and untamed place where anything could happen. What if somebody was watching them – just as closely as that eagle had been watching its prey before striking it with such deadly precision?
Ben tried not to think about it and remarked how the shore had just the right sort of rock for the formation of caves.
And they did find a cave. A few minutes later, as they scrambled over a group of large rocks, they saw before them a sizeable dark mouth in the rock. The tide was half in, half out, and this had exposed the entrance to the cave. At high tide, Ben thought, it would be largely underwater.
They stood at the entrance and peered inside. Although there was bright sunlight outside, it was dark inside and difficult to see beyond the first few rocks.
“Just as well we brought a flashlight,” said Badger.
“I know,” agreed Ben. “It would be impossible to see how deep the cave is without it.”
They began to explore the cave. Its floor was sand, still moist from the last high tide. There were small outcrops of rock, covered in barnacles, the tiny shells dotting the dark surface with white. There were mussels too, clinging to the rock amid tangled growths of dark seaweed.
They made their way further into the cave, clambering over slippery boulders, being careful not to tread in the occasional pool of seawater. Then the cave came to an end with a face of flat rock, rising up to a roof that they could barely make out in the darkness, even with the help of the flashlight.
Badger looked around. “Nothing here,” he said, sounding disappointed.
Ben reluctantly agreed. He had hoped so much that they might find an old chest, tucked away behind a rock and forgotten all those centuries ago, but there was nothing. “Oh, well,” he said. “Perhaps the others will be having more luck.”
Together they made their way out of the cave, their eyes taking a while to adjust to the bright sunlight outside. Then they headed back the way they had come to give the others their disappointing news. If there was treasure to be found – and both Ben and Badger were now reluctantly reaching the conclusion that there might not be – it must be somewhere else.
Poppy, Tanya and Miss Worsfold were having no better luck with the metal detector. They had taken it in turns to wear the headphones and walk backwards and forwards over the rough, broken ground. It was slow going, as they had to make their way round large clumps of heather and thick clusters of gorse bushes.
“Nothing,” said Poppy, as she handed the metal detector over to Tanya. “Not even the slightest squeak.”
Tanya’s results were the same, although Miss Worsfold, when it was her turn, did find a piece of rusty chain. This caused brief excitement, only to be followed by disappointment. “It’s probably just part of an old anchor chain. Certainly nothing to do with the Vikings,” she said.
Meanwhile, Fee and Thomas, accompanied by Matron, had been following the river upstream, looking out for likely spots where the Vikings might have hidden their treasure. There were one or two places that looked promising, but which, on closer investigation, revealed nothing. After a while, they decided to give up and head up to the waterfall, where they were all due to meet.
Matron sighed. “I’m afraid this has been very much a wild goose chase.”
Neither Fee nor Thomas felt they could disagree.
“Oh well,” said Thomas. “At least it’s been interesting.”
Matron said that she thought so too.
A moment later they rounded a corner, and there was the waterfall. They had heard it from some distance away, but now it was straight in front of them – a solid wall of dark, peaty water cascading down to a large pool at its base, throwing up plumes of white spray that was caught by the wind.
They stopped and stared in wonder.
“Look at that!” exclaimed Matron. “What a drop!”
Fee had to struggle to make her voice heard above the roar of the water. “It’s very high,” she said.
Matron looked up. There was a glint in her eye. “It would be wonderful to dive from up there,�
� she said. “Straight into that pool down below.”
“But it’s far too high,” Thomas protested.
“Not for me!” said Matron.
A deadly dive
Just as Matron said this, Poppy, Tanya, Miss Worsfold and Henry arrived, and reported that their search, too, had been unsuccessful. “We looked everywhere,” said Tanya, “but apart from an old anchor chain there was nothing.”
“Perhaps there never was any treasure,” said Miss Worsfold. “Or perhaps somebody found it a long time ago.”
Matron shrugged. She always looked on the bright side and saw no reason to be too disappointed about treasure that might never even have existed. “Oh, well,” she said. “No matter: we’ve all had a very enjoyable time exploring.” She looked at her watch. “And I think it’s just about time for our picnic. Where on earth have Ben and Badger got to? We’ll just have to start without them!”
Thomas was pleased about the picnic. He had been too excited to eat much at breakfast, and was now beginning to feel pangs of hunger.
Miss Worsfold walked off to look at the pool beneath the waterfall as the others unpacked the food. Here the river whirled about before resuming its course down to the shore of the sea loch. She bent down and cautiously dipped a finger into the water.
“This water’s warmer than you’d think,” she called out. “I suppose the sun heats it up.”
Matron joined her at the water’s edge. “I was thinking of taking a dip,” she said. “I have my swimming costume on underneath already. You never know when you might get the chance to swim – or dive.”
With the mention of diving, Miss Worsfold glanced up towards the top of the waterfall. “From up there?” she asked anxiously.
Matron smiled. “There’s a narrow shelf of rock just below the top,” she said. “Can you see it? It would be a good diving platform.”
Miss Worsfold shielded her eyes against the sun. “Yes, I see it.” She sounded hesitant. “But are you sure it’s not too high?”
The Secret of the Dark Waterfall Page 10