We’d been digging for most of the morning when Sam laughed, saying, ‘Look at that.’
He was pointing further down the hill towards the shore. I couldn’t see what he was talking about, looked just like a rock to me.
‘Looks like a dog’s head,’ said Sam pointing again.
There were lots of rocks dotted around here, looking closer Sam was right, it looked just like the head of a dog. I had no idea what sort of rocks these were but somehow they reminded me of the moor. That was granite, or so Miss Tregarthur had said at the start of the hike, as we fell into her terrible plans.
Was this rock a coincidence? Had it been her plan to get us stuffed away here and was there worse to come? I knew the magistrate wasn’t too worried about escaped convicts but what if he knew the crimes we had been accused of? Would he mind having a couple of so-called murderers in this little town? Zach had sentenced us to death for being part of the Carter gang, maybe the magistrate would take a harder view if another boat arrived with news of our escape.
‘Alvin,’ Sam’s hushed whisper broke into my thoughts. He took a step closer towards me.
I looked up. Coming from the dog shaped rock were a group of men, ten or so. Dark skinned, wild hair, some with white painted skins and few clothes and nearly all of them carrying spears.
I looked back, wondering if we could run, and could see no escape. The few houses were dotted across the slopes leading up to the two hills. The house belonging to the man who employed us was further down the hill and these men were between us and any safety.
They were ambling slowly towards us. It reminded me of gang fights, drug fights back home. You knew if the group came at you slowly together they had planned it, planned their violence and there would be ambulances before this was over. No ambulances here, just Ivy and her herbs.
The way they carried their spears made it clear they knew how to use them. As they neared they looked worse, so poor and clothes in cloth that you certainly wouldn’t have paid for. For me it was even worse because they…they looked so…cheerful. I couldn’t see that being anything other than a really bad sign – a gang fight against a smiling group usually meant they knew they had all the advantages and were going to use them.
They were only a few yards away. I could almost hear Sam shaking. I didn’t think I could get away with telling these men we were the famous Carter gang. I tensed, ready for the fight.
One of them shouted something, it sounded like a war cry to me, the others joined in, raising their spears and shouting.
‘I think he said something like welcome,’ Sam nudged me.
‘What?’ I hadn’t made out anything welcoming.
Sam didn’t answer me. He stepped forward and the leader met him, grasped his arm and wrapped him in a hug. We’d been here before, I thought, different people, different time, but this lot weren't so smelly.
Jenna and Ivy were further behind them, carrying baby Sam.
‘Bet that scared you,’ laughed Jen, looking at my confused face.
Jenna explained that she had been talking to Yambup and his tribe about Darwin and the Beagle.
‘They lived here before all the people arrived from Europe,’ Jenna said.
‘Bet they were happy about these new arrivals.’ I couldn’t see why Yambup would be so cheerful.
‘They don’t seem to mind really, although there has been trouble…’ Jenna gave the men a quick glance and didn’t go on.
‘Anyway Yambup says Darwin plans to walk out to that point.’ Jenna waved her arm further along the coast. ‘It’s called Bald Point, I think. He’s looking for fossils. But Yambup has been asked to arrange a corroboree.’
‘A what?’ Sam and I said together.
‘A corroboree, it’s some kind of dance celebration,’ Jenna said.
‘More like a dance off,’ Ivy added. ‘There’s a visiting tribe – they’re called the white Cockatoo people and at this corroboree they dance against each other.’
‘Safer than a gang fight, I suppose.’ I was wondering how safe we really were. Yambup and his lot hadn’t put down their spears but the girls appeared quite happy with them so maybe we were ok.
‘Jen’s planning to tag along with Darwin on his walk,’ Ivy didn’t sound too convinced that this would work.
‘If I hang around down by the shore they’ll have to go past me. And I’ve found this,’ Jenna held up what looked like a lump of rock. ‘It’s a fossil, Yambup found it for me.’
The group of men looked as though they were getting bored with our conversation and started to move off. Ivy shouted something at them and Yambup gave a whoop and shook his spear.
‘I just wanted to make sure we were invited to the corroboree as well,’ Ivy explained.
Sam and I went back to digging while Jenna set off to try and meet up with Darwin.
At the end of the day the man who had employed us - sir somebody - came back, gave us a bundle of food and paid us. I could tell he was trying to hide the amount. I guess he thought we would have no idea of the going labour rates here – and we didn’t. I thought we’d take it and check later with Jenna because he asked us to come back the next day. He had some more work up nearer to his house. So we took the money and the food and went back to the girls.
Sam looked to be in a confused state, in a hurry to get back to Ivy and fidgeting in an anxious way.
I tried to talk to him in my useless way and he just carried on muttering. What do you say to someone who has just found his girlfriend looking after another man’s baby? I’d learnt a lot of things since we’d been wandering around in Miss Tregarthur’s scheming but I hadn’t learnt how to have that sort of conversation.
Back at the house the wailing child hadn’t stopped and it was back to requiring both girls and Sam to care for him. I walked off, far enough away to escape the noise, and sat on another rock looking over the sea. I could see the Beagle rocking gently on the waves at anchor in the bay. I wondered how long Darwin was going to stay and whether my plan would work. I needed to hear how Jenna had got on with him, when she wasn’t too busy with baby Sam.
Even if Darwin did take us what would happen next? The Beagle was on an expedition and it sounded like it might be a long trip, if it ever got back to England. And getting back there brought up a whole new list of problems, including avoiding being hanged.
‘Back on a rock,’ Jenna appeared behind me, somehow I did find rocks to sit on and try to think, looking for some quiet here.
‘So how did it go with Darwin?’ I asked after we’d done a bit of staring at each other, smiling and a bit more than hugging. It was so good to be back together.
‘Ok-ish,’ Jenna said. ‘Not sure he liked the idea of talking to anyone female about his work, but I knew enough to get him interested. Not so much about ideas, and he was more than puzzled how I knew about his trip to the Galapagos Islands.
‘Where?’ I was puzzled too.
‘It’s the place with all those giant tortoises,’ Jenna laughed at my expression. ‘I don’t remember everything. I think he got a lot of his ideas from there.’
‘So what did you tell him?’
‘I asked him why he thought there were so many different animals on the islands. Different from anywhere else. Made him think.’
‘Did he say he’d take us?’ I might have done some drawing of Darwin’s specimens but I couldn’t say that I found the whole thing particularly interesting.
‘Too early to tell,’ Jenna replied. ‘He was off with your boat’s captain searching the rocks for something. To be honest I think he was a bit fed up with being here at all.’
‘No night life.’ I sort of could get Darwin’s feelings. This wasn’t the most cheerful of places. Everyone I’d seen looked a bit fed up. The only ones that looked cheerful were Yambup and his group.
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‘I said I’d see him at the corroboree thing tomorrow.’ Jenna paused before going on: ‘If we get on the Beagle, what happens next?’
I took time answering her, watching small boats going out to the ship and back.
‘Probably get hanged,’ I said eventually.
‘Should we stay here?’ Jenna said in a rather flat tone.
We talked about that. We had chosen not to return home before, to stay in the caveman world, where my mum might or might not have died. Always when that thought crept into my head I knotted up with the feeling I should have done more. The only chance of finding out what had happened was to travel in the tunnel again. Even then I had no idea where we might end up.
‘I’m sure there’s more. If we could get back we might sort all this out.’
Jenna looked as though that was unlikely.
‘I feel I have to try,’ I put my arm around her. ‘Doesn’t mean you have to come with me. You could stay here – look after baby Sam.’
‘Will they take all of us on the ship?’ Jenna said and I knew she had worse worries. ‘What happens if we get him to the tunnel?’ She voiced something that must have been on both our minds.
Neither of us had any idea what would happen if we took this baby into the tunnel that brought us here. Before it had been impossible to take any new people with us, the cave child Zog had gone berserk when Lisa had taken her towards the tunnel’s blue haze. Van had taken off with Posy rather than risk putting her into whatever shape the tunnel took last time. But what would happen with baby Sam?
‘No idea,’ I said one of my favourite phrases.
‘Anyway, we need to get back and help Ivy.’ Jenna stood.
‘Do you know when the Beagle is leaving?’ I said, looking up at her. I wasn’t in any hurry to get back to the house even though I was getting hungry.
‘I think they’re going in four or five days’ time.’ Jenna reached down, grabbed my arm and pulled me up. ‘Come on, your turn for nappy changing if you want more stew.’
I followed her very slowly.
Corroboree
-19-
The following evening we all set off, Ivy carrying small sleeping Sam, and made our way to a large flat area where it was planned to have the dance ceremony. Yambup and his tribe had already lit small fires and were painting their faces. On the other side and in the shadows the other tribe were doing the same.
Darwin, most of the crew from the Beagle, and a lot of people from the town arrived and stood watching. I thought they looked pretty nervous. The two tribes were both carrying spears and I noticed that several of the men from the Beagle were armed.
‘Is this safe?’ I whispered to Jenna. ‘Looks like it might take off.’
‘Don’t think so,’ Jenna said not too confidently. ‘I think the tribes have been persuaded to set this up on the promise of food and other stuff being provided.’
Setting up took so long the baby woke and started whinging and moved on to full scale howling. So Ivy and Sam took him away, leaving Jenna and me to watch the show.
Suddenly it started, with banging of spears and clubs the two tribes rushed into the flat circle and started a weird stamping dance. It was like some sort of pantomime, with them playing out killing animals and although it looked pretty violent no one actually got speared.
‘Hideous.’ Darwin had come over to us and he shuddered as he spoke. ‘These primitive tribes do this everywhere, disgusting behaviour.’
I didn’t agree, Yambup and the rest were having a great time of it and I didn’t understand why Darwin had said that.
The people from the town hadn’t lost their nervous look. Jenna told me there had been some trouble before and that this dance-thing was an attempt to make things better. Later I found out that ‘some trouble’ had meant one of the settlers actually shooting one of Yambup’s tribe. So I was surprised they had anything to do with them. The dancing got wilder, some re-enactment of kangaroo killing.
I saw one of the settlers, a big man with red face and beard nearly to match, he’d been swigging at a bottle during the dance, trying hopelessly not to let people see and it was obvious that he was getting drunk. Other townspeople had moved away from him. I don’t think he had any family with him.
One of the dancers lurched towards him, it was all part of the show, they did it to everyone. The drunken man took exception, pointing at the dancer and shouting something. One of the fires flared up and I saw that the dancer was Yambup holding his spear and looking wild. They had both edged nearer to me and I could see trouble coming. Yambup raised his spear in a mock charge straight at the man whose face tightened in an angry snarl. Yambup grinned but the man had a pistol in his hand. He brought up his arm, ready to shoot. In the flickering darkness the rest of the crowd might not have been able to see what was happening. Yambup’s face froze as he saw the gun.
Jenna prodded me and she didn’t have to say anything.
I lunged forward, smashing my hand down on the raised pistol, knocking it out of the drunk’s hand. Yambup spun round and away in his dance. The man turned on me, his fat hairy hand gripping me by the throat. His eyes glared murder at me. Two of the Beagle’s crew took him from behind and dragged him into the darkness, not gently.
‘Well done boy,’ the magistrate came up to me. ‘Just keep it quiet. Don’t let anyone else know what happened.’ Perhaps I didn’t give him enough reassurance because he went on, ‘Might be some more paperwork I’ve overlooked.’ And he walked away, leaving me to think about his words.
The dance ended and the Beagle crew brought out the food. It turned into a wild party and at least there was no more fighting, no more guns drawn. I wasn’t sure how Yambup had taken this. He came up to me after the dance and gripped my hand as he stared into my eyes and nodded. I reckoned the other man should lock his door that night.
As the Beagle crew prepared to go back to their ship, Darwin stepped up to Jenna and asked if she would come with him on the next day. ‘Some sort of kangaroo hunt,’ he said.
That sounded hopeful for my plan, if not for the kangaroos.
Early the following day Sam and I went back to digging. We saw Jenna join Darwin and his group as they set off and it looked to me as though there were too many people for a hunt, the kangaroos would hear them coming. We didn’t meet up until the end of the day. Jenna looked exhausted as we stood outside their house and she walked slowly towards us.
‘No hunting, just walking,’ Jenna puffed. ‘Worse than that walk on the moor. He keeps stopping and poking around at things. To be honest I think he’s a bit daft. Can’t see how he got all his great ideas.’
‘I can,’ I laughed. ‘From you!’
Jenna had spent quite a while talking about the things she remembered from her school project.
‘Never thought it would come in useful,’ she said as she returned to helping Ivy with child care, although Sam had taken a major role.
‘Will he take us?’ I was a little desperate. I didn’t fancy spending the rest of my life digging vegetables and wondering if the next boat would bring news that ended up with my being taken back and hanged.
‘Yep,’ Jenna said, and the tone in her voice wasn’t as hopeful as I would have expected. There was something on her mind. I needed to talk to her, get her alone, but baby Sam needed attention and the small house was too crowded to talk privately.
‘It wasn’t just my talking to him that has got us onto the boat,’ Jenna added. ‘It was the captain who asked me. Apparently the magistrate suggested it after last night.’
I frowned at Jen, I thought that had been well sorted, no one killed.
‘That big drunk has been a problem for a while,’ Jenna sounded angry. ‘He’s one of the main settlers and has money so they don’t want him to cause more trouble.’
‘What a
bout Yambup?’
‘He’s been told to leave,’ Jenna said. ‘Problem is Yambup’s had trouble here before. He’s left now, don’t know where he’s gone and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets into more difficulties.’
‘So the magistrate would like to get me out of here as well,’ I said as we turned back.
‘That’s about it,’ Jenna replied, and I was sure that wasn’t all she had in her mind. There was more and if Jenna wasn’t telling me it meant it wasn’t good. I thought it was better to wait and find out when she felt it was the right time. The day ended with baby Sam and stew, not together.
The next morning two crew members from the Beagle arrived. Jenna must have won over Darwin as well because they were going to take us. The ship was planning to leave in the late afternoon, catching the wind. We were asked to come down to the jetty.
‘Not much room on the Beagle for all of us,’ I said as the crewmen left. ‘Bit cramped.’ I was imagining how difficult it would be with the baby, and how noisy.
The others were standing behind me and it was awfully quiet. I turned, trying to catch Sam’s eyes as he looked away.
‘What?’ I said in Jenna’s direction.
She shook her head. It was another one of those times when she just knew what was happening and I had no idea.
Tregarthur's Prisoners: Book 3 (The Tregarthur's Series) Page 14
