‘So my Dan Johnson is the high and mighty Sheridan himself?’ breathed Trudi.
‘Indeed,’ laughed Dan’s mother. ‘Though I’m not so sure about the high and mighty title!’
‘And you certainly are no tyrant,’ added Trudi, recovering her surprise. ‘Thank you for telling me. I’ve been so stupid! It makes so much sense I wonder I didn’t see it before.’
‘The obvious does! Just think what the first man to use the wheel must have thought. Another cup of tea?’ Drinking the hot fluid, Trudi felt slightly foolish not to have discovered the truth before. It seemed as if she didn’t know Dan at all. Mrs. Johnson took her arm gently.
‘Don’t be upset—it’s understandable, and it’s proved a valuable point. I know you’re no gold-digger, Trudi. You told me you’d be prepared to live in a tent with Dan! His father and I knew that Sheridan would be a target for gold-diggers. Regrettably several girls have made their interest in Dan’s money patently clear, and Dan developed a rather cynical attitude, but I hoped that one day he would meet a girl who would love him for himself.’ Mrs. Johnson broke off and collected the dishes and automatically Trudi helped her to carry them out to the gleaming kitchen.
‘I’ll pack you a picnic lunch and you can go wandering if you like,’ her hostess said kindly.
‘I would appreciate that,’ put in Trudi gratefully. ‘I don’t know how you were ever called “the tyrant”!’
‘Thank you, Trudi.’ Mrs. Johnson chuckled. ‘As a matter of fact my father called me by the name one day when I was throwing a tantrum at the age of two. I was so shocked I stopped my performance immediately! I’d always been an indulged youngster, but my parents knew that there were limits! When I met James, my father passed on the information and it became a family joke.’
‘No wonder Dan spoke so fondly of the tyrant!’ exclaimed Trudi.
‘Poor Trudi! It’s a shame that Sheridan wasn’t here this weekend. We could have sat down and discussed it all—I’m certain we could have cleared up a lot of misunderstandings. ‘
Trudi shook her head. Deep within her she knew that Dan would be too angry to sit calmly and listen to her side. There were too many misunderstandings.
Mrs. Johnson handed her a cut lunch and waved her goodbye. Trudi set out, her heart full. She heard the swing door clang behind her and it seemed like some mocking echo.
In a surprisingly little time she had reached the sea and she turned towards the rock where she had perched so long before. The approach to the rock was a little slippery and she cautiously scrambled up to shelter on top. A seagull’s cry mocked her, and she turned and retraced her steps.
As she walked along the sand she headed towards Bell Bay. She munched one of the sandwiches, grateful for her own appetite. Gradually the beach opened out as it formed the gentle curve, before turning to form the small beach and meet the sheer white limestone cliffs.
Bell Bay was deserted, only a few sheep contentedly grazing where their tent had been pitched. They scattered as Trudi approached and she sat on the plank Maria had positioned. The pile of stones that had formed their fireplace still held burnt ash and she poked it absently with a stick she had picked up. The ashes had been dead a long time, she realised. Like the ashes of the fire, Dan would never rekindle the flame of love which had drawn them together. Despondently she made her way back, even as a bellbird began to sing.
She was glad to reach the homestead, conscious of her own weariness. There had been so many moments of pain as she tramped over the beach at Bell Bay, but the most shattering moment of the day had been when Dan’s mother had told her Dan was S.J.
CHAPTER NINE
The morning dawned cloudy but mild and Trudi, dressed in her jeans, shirt and sweater, ran down to the kitchen. After breakfast she did the flowers, then Mrs. Johnson handed her a back-pack loaded with a picnic.
‘Off you go, get some fresh air. Will you go over to Bell Bay again?’
‘I’d like to go to Seal Bay.’
‘It’s magnificent, but dangerous on your own. You could go with the Forrest boys; they know the area.’
‘It’s all right, Mrs. Johnson. There are plenty of other beautiful places.’
‘I’ve packed extra in case you see the children,’ said Mrs. Johnson.
As she set out Trudi found herself accompanied by small dark shadows, and turned to see Dan’s two dogs, the sleek black and white huntaways. She fondled them, feeling oddly glad about their patronage. Recognised as official party, they scampered around her eagerly as she made her way to the high point. Gazing around the panorama, she could understand so much of Dan’s love for the land. She ate some of the food, then rested against the rustling cabbage trees. From her viewpoint she saw the three younger Forrest children and ran lightly down the track to meet them. They expressed immediate eagerness to visit Seal Bay, and they all set off at full speed towards the white cliffs. Almost winded, Trudi was glad to slow to enquire as to the whereabouts of the eldest member of the family. The laconic reply ‘Homework!’ reminded her of her own school schooldays.
‘The dogs can go home now, they might bark at the seals,’ piped little Robin.
With a final pat for the dogs the children followed as Glenn began scrambling over the rocks. Trudi realised there was a lot more water than there had seemed when she visited the Bay with Dan, but the steadiness of her young guide reassured her. She turned to assist Robin, who gave her a beatific smile, and jumped gleefully. Totally unprepared, Trudi felt herself slip as the child landed beside her. Even as she gripped the ledge a wave dashed against her and her arm and one side were soaked.
‘It’s O.K., just a bit of salt water!’ Trudi laughed at Robin’s aghast expression. ‘Just preparing me for the rainbow spray; look, the sun’s just peeped through the cloud.’
‘It’s like fairyland, isn’t it?’ breathed Robin.
‘No seals! Let’s hunt for crabs,’ put in Glenn.
Trudi made her way to the log she had sat on earlier with Dan, stopping occasionally to pick up the odd shell.
‘I think it’s going to rain, the clouds look black,’ put in Glenn later. ‘The tide will have sealed over the rocks by four-thirty, so we have to get going soon. How’s the time?’
‘Only four o’clock,’ checked Trudi.
‘Not now, Glenn! Look, there are the seals!’ little Robin’s voice whispered excitedly.
‘Sssh! They’re coming in!’ Her big sister Angela’s eyes were large.
In rapt silence they watched the seal family. Trudi wondered if it could be the same group that she had watched with Dan. If so, the puppies seemed to have grown enormously since her last visit, their grey-brown bodies darker and the fur thicker.
The children smothered laughter as the little seal plopped cheekily against his mother and using her body as a springboard dived into the water. He repeated the process, his cheeky black eyes glistening.
‘The seals are beautiful,’ put in Angela dreamily.
They chuckled together, but Glenn looked at the water. ‘I’m wondering if I misread the tide table, the sea looks heavy.’
It was an odd word for the boy to use, but studying the sea Trudi saw it was appropriate. It rolled quite differently from the manner in which it had crashed into the little bay when they first arrived. Frowning, she looked towards the gap and stood up anxiously.
‘Glenn, I think we’d better get going. I’m no expert, but it seems to have come awfully close,’ she said.
‘That’s the closest I’ve ever been to the seals,’ said Robin ecstatically, as they climbed the rocks.
Her words didn’t reassure Trudi. If the seals were close it could only mean the tide was farther in than they thought. She knew from Dan’s words on their earlier visit that Seal Bay could entrap as the entire area was covered each full tide. The cliffs reared starkly beside them and she glanced at them, thinking they looked dangerous, pockmarked as they were with holes and pillars and caves. Busy in her thoughts, she stopped suddenly at the wat
er in front of her. The stones were completely covered. Robin’s cry of consternation made her bite hard on her own fear.
‘Glenn, wasn’t there a cliff path?’ Vaguely she remembered Dan mentioning it. They quickly turned and Trudi helped Robin and Angela to jump down from the rocks and make their way back across the strip of sand. They began running, crossing to the far end where Trudi could see a darker cliff with scrubby bushes on odd ledges. It wasn’t limestone, she noted with relief.
‘We can’t go that way,’ Glenn exclaimed. His fingers pointed out the path. ‘Last year with Dad you could see almost the whole way up. But there’s been a slip.’
‘At least we could go part way.’
Together they climbed on to the path’s first ledge. Trudi knew that unless they could reach a cave above high water mark they were still in danger.
‘I don’t know anything about the caves. The boss and Dad would never let us go near them. I remember seeing one a bit higher up; there it is, behind that bush,’ Glenn finished excitedly.
‘Stay here and I’ll have a look.’
Trudi scrambled up the track and shuddered as the path ended in a sudden drop. Already the sea spray splashed her, and she knew the time was slipping away. She turned and saw another ledge laden with logs and driftwood slightly higher. With a maximum of effort she reached it, then hauled herself higher again into the cave. With relief she found herself able to stand upright.
It was almost pitch dark in the cave and she had to force herself to wait until her eyes adjusted to the gloom. Gingerly she explored the area. It opened out rather like a large room and shelved down gradually at the back. At least it looked safe and was above the tide line, she thought with relief.
A hurried glance at the children waiting silently on the ledge made her sing out cheerfully,
‘Hey, we’ve discovered a fantastic pirates’ lair!’
She scrambled back down to them, marking her footholds carefully. Leaving Glenn with Robin, she carefully helped Angela into the safety of the cave.
Again she made her cautious way down to the widest gap and studied the distance. Inside herself she knew that the smallest child could not reach the last ledge.
‘Glenn, you hop up and pass Angela some of the firewood from the lower ledge, but be careful.’
‘Sure thing!’
With relief Trudi slid down to Robin, whose smile wobbled slightly.
‘Robin, I think I’ll just have a rest by you for a minute before I take you up.’ She smiled to make light of the situation, then turned her eyes desperately to seek an alternative route.
‘We need a bulldozer,’ commented Robin.
Her words were an inspiration.
‘Guess I’ll be the ‘dozer blade and you can be the ‘dozer,’ said Trudi. ‘We have to stay joined until we reach the cave. That can be the garage, right?’
‘O.K. Do I make the ‘dozer noises?’
‘All the best bulldozers do!’
They edged their way up to the closest point, a small ledge several feet below their objective. After a glance below, Trudi determined not to look down again. She signalled a stop and spoke to Glenn above her, before turning to Robin.
‘This time you can be the blade and I’ll be the tractor. You climb on my shoulders. I’ll hold your feet and then Glenn can reach your hands, O.K.?’
‘Sure! We’ll make it.’
Robin’s trust warmed her. The noise of the sea was very close, the spray reaching for them, but she would not look. The darkening sky made her frown and she looked at her watch, wondering how long they had been. It still stood at ten past four. She knew then what had happened. When her arm had been dunked some water must have seeped into the watch, gradually slowing it until it stopped.
‘Off we go!’
Carefully pushing the child ahead of her, she reached for the last holds.
‘I’ve got her!’
Trudi didn’t dare sigh with relief until Robin entered the cave. The children were all babbling excitedly and Trudi pulled herself up, conscious that her side ached, her shoulders felt bruised and her hands were badly cut. She had never been through such a terrifying experience and she didn’t dare to think of the downward journey. Temporarily the children were safe.
‘Gee, I’m starving!’
‘Me, too!’
‘The pack—it’s on the ledge! I’ll get it in a minute. There’s quite a lot of food left.’
‘Will we have to stay here all night?’ questioned Robin, her eyes wide so that for a moment she looked like her bigger sister.
‘Course we will! Probably till lunchtime when the tide is low again. I don’t think we could do that trip down the cliff in the dark. It would be different if Dad and Sheridan were at home, they’d soon have us out. I hope we get out before they get back, though. Dad’s going to skin me alive.’
‘Nonsense, it wasn’t your fault, Glenn,’ Trudi reassured him. ‘I’ve just discovered my watch has stopped.’
‘It’s dark in here,’ put in Robin. ‘Can we light a fire?’
‘Sorry, I’ve just realised I’ve no matches.’
‘Here, but please don’t tell Mum.’ Glenn’s shamefaced expression made her grin.
‘Just what we wanted. Look after them and I’ll see if I can fetch the big log I noticed earlier, and the pack.’ Trudi made her way down to the ledge. The sun had disappeared and the cool grey of the evening had the bite of the rain in it. Grabbing several logs and the pack, she made her way back. Not far from the cave stood a much bigger log and Glenn was tugging at it.
‘It’s matai, and it’s dry,’ he explained.
The two of them shifted it to the entrance, then studied their prize.
‘If we could keep pushing it on to a fire at one end it would burn for hours,’ Trudi said hopefully.
‘Trudi, I’m cold!’
‘Here, Robin, have my jacket. We’ll soon have a fire going.’
They didn’t need Dan Johnson to tell them what to do. Trudi remembered Dan telling her not to sit on the rocks as they were cold, so she pushed some of their precious logs into a small floor area and suggested they all sit together. With the fire lit the atmosphere took on a much more cheerful tinge.
‘At least Mum will know where we are,’ put in Angela. ‘The smoke will tell her. It’s rather fun, isn’t it! Can we eat now?’
The picnic was never more appreciated.
‘I’m sleepy, Trudi,’ muttered Robin, nestling contentedly against her. ‘Tell me a story.’
Trudi thought for a moment. The simple demand made her think of her own childhood. The sound of the sea reminded her of her father’s story of the pearl, and Robin was fast asleep before the tale was finished.
Angela took the next turn and then Glenn had them shivering with a ghost story. Gradually Glenn and Angela settled, and Trudi reassured them, telling them that she would keep watch. The three children soon lay asleep and she covered them with her cardigan. The night would be long, but sleep had never been further away. The thought of Dan’s anger was enough to keep her wide awake. Bitterly she wondered if she could leave Ti Kouka before Dan returned from the conference.
She shivered and rubbed her arms before adding another log. Her watch caught her eye and she noted that it showed four-fifteen. A small sharp twig lay at her feet and with it she prized the back off her watch. In the firelight she could glimpse the shiny workings. She held it out to the flame and rubbed the empty case with the cotton of her blouse. She doubted whether it would work, but she supposed the fire could dry it. Carefully she edged it together, seating the watch by guessing the time.
Looking at the length of the matai log, she wondered if she could locate a similar one by which they could clamber down the cliff the next day. She began to ponder on their situation. Without the danger of the tide she might be better to leave Glenn in charge and to go down on her own to get help from Ti Kouka. Considering the problem, she stood up again and made her way to the edge of the cave. The moon was a feeb
le sickle, which scarcely cast any light, but at least the clouds had rolled away.
Below, the sea leapt hungrily, but already the tide was ebbing, she realised. She remembered the dawn descent from her island with Dan.
A spark snapped suddenly, sounding like a gunshot, and Glenn sat up swiftly. His puzzled glance took in the surroundings, then he recollected himself.
‘Is it my turn to watch?’
‘I guess it is. What about us talking for a little while?’
‘Fine. Look at these sleeping beauties. Honestly, it would take an earthquake to wake them!’
‘Well, you can pray we don’t have one of those,’ grinned Trudi.
‘Facing Mum and Dad will be bad enough. Poor old Mum, she’ll be baking, I guess.’
‘Baking?’ Trudi queried.
‘Sure, she reckons she thinks better when she’s doing something. When we get home there’ll be a feast waiting! Don’t know if I’ll be given much of a chance to sample it, though. I’ll be in the dog box for a while.’
‘Well, I’ll be there too,’ smiled Trudi. ‘I’m worrying more about the way down.’
‘Oh, no problem. The boss and Dad will have help on the way at first light.’
‘They’ll still be in Wellington,’ Trudi reminded him.
‘Oh, no. They were going to catch the late ferry and drive straight through. Guess they’ll be arriving at Ti Kouka any time now. S.J.’s got all sorts of rescue gear in the store. He’ll be here as soon as the tide’s cleared the stones.’
The Man From Ti Kouka Page 14
