The Publicity Push

by Christopher Cummings

  Graham pointed down. “He had a car parked here. And he’s been here a few times, from the look of these wheel ruts,” he explained.

  It was a chilling thought and Kylie shivered and looked anxiously around again. “The men who want the treasure map,” she said, voicing her suspicions.

  “Have to be,” Graham replied.

  “But why?” Kylie asked.

  “To keep tabs on what we are doing I suppose,” Graham replied.

  “What will we do?” Kylie asked.

  “Nothing for the moment,” Graham replied.

  Kylie was shocked. “Oh but we must! We must tell mum and Uncle Bill.”

  Graham shook his head. “No, not yet. We don’t have enough proof; and they will call the police and make a big fuss and then we won’t be allowed to go anywhere. No searching for old gold mines.”

  “But... but.. but what if the men come back?” Kylie replied. She could see what Graham was getting at but it wasn’t in her nature to hide things from her mother.

  “Peter, Stephen and Roger will be here tomorrow. We can organize some secret observation of our own then. That will give us some facts to plan on,” Graham replied.

  Reluctantly Kylie agreed to this. Brother and sister then made their way out onto the road and walked slowly back along the road to the farm, discussing how they might find the old gold mine. It was a very thoughtful and anxious Kylie who spent the rest of the morning painting, her eyes being continually drawn to the wall of jungle. Graham set himself up on the veranda on the couch with a book but he had binoculars handy and also a stout stick.

  When Mrs Kirk and Gran returned Kylie felt quite ill at the thought of hiding anything from them but she met Graham’s eyes and he gave an emphatic shake to his head. One result was that lunch was a silent event and Kylie only picked at her food.

  After lunch Kylie resumed her painting while Graham went downstairs and laid out every item of his hiking clothes and gear and checked it. He then sat and studied the old maps and notes.

  During milking Kylie felt quite sick. She badly wanted to tell Uncle Bill, if only to warn him, but managed to hold her tongue. Graham appeared quite happy and went about whistling and cracking silly jokes. That annoyed Kylie as she experienced frequent flashbacks to the awful beating she had received and she knew she was scared.

  “What if the men come tonight?” she asked Graham when they were alone after the milking.

  “The dogs will warn us,” Graham replied. “Anyway, I shall stay awake till late, just in case.”

  Kylie felt even more anxious and upset by tea time. She was so sick inside she could hardly eat. Her mother noticed this and asked if there was anything wrong.

  “No mum. I am just a bit worried about tomorrow. I’m alright,” Kylie replied.

  Lying to her mother made her feel even worse and she was further annoyed by Graham’s apparently relaxed attitude. ‘It’s alright for him; he’s a stupid male!’ she thought angrily.

  The result was that she had trouble getting to sleep. She lay awake for hours. At every sound her heart would thump rapidly and she would break into a cold sweat. Graham checked on her several times and gave her a cheerful grin which annoyed her even more. In her mind’s eye she could picture the two men creeping up on the house...

  Monday dawned wet and misty. Bartle Frere was hidden in clouds and the grass was wet and the lanes muddy. As Kylie helped to bring in the cows in the half-light she could not help glancing continually at the wall of jungle beyond the milking shed. Graham saw her doing this and shook his head to indicate there was nothing to worry about.

  After breakfast they set to work to arrange the bedding for their friends. This at least raised Kylie’s spirits and she hummed happily as she worked. Morning tea was a cheerful affair and Mrs Kirk looked happier.

  The girls were the first to arrive. Margaret and Allison travelled up from Cairns with Allison’s dad; a dark-haired and grumpy man who tried to pretend he was happy. Luckily he only stayed for a few minutes, pleading business commitments before driving off. It was instantly apparent to Kylie that Allison was not happy either, that she was only pretending.

  “My mother has gone to Sydney because her sister is very ill,” was all she said when asked. Somehow this did not ring true but Kylie did not want to probe.

  ‘She will tell me if she wants to.’

  Margaret was the opposite. She positively glowed with happiness and good health. She beamed at Graham and gave Gran a big hug and then handed her a small present. Gran was very touched and Kylie felt a warm glow about her friend. ‘Now, if only that bone-headed brother of mine will return some of her affection,’ she thought.

  Her own spirits lifted by the minute and the secret watcher in the woods was forgotten in the excitement of showing the girls where they were to sleep and in helping them unpack. There was also the thought of Peter. ‘Do I really like him?’

  “Does Bert know you are coming?” Kylie asked Allison.

  “Yes. He will come over this afternoon to say hello,” Allison replied.

  “Do your mum and dad know about him?” Kylie asked.

  Allison shook her head. “No fear! They don’t need to know yet.”

  That set Kylie’s mind working. ‘Yet? Just how serious does Allison think this affair is?’ she wondered. ‘Heavens, it is only a holiday romance. Oh dear, I hope she doesn’t get hurt.’

  The tooting of a car horn announced the arrival of the boys. All three had come in Mrs Bronsky’s car. Kylie found that she was happy to see them, but noted that her heart did not go into wild palpitations at the sight of Peter. The car was unloaded and Graham took them all in to meet Gran and Uncle Bill.

  Gran’s face lit up. “Heavens! What an invasion!” she cried delightedly. “This is just what the place needs, a lot of young people to liven it up.”

  Morning tea was arranged while the boys lugged their gear down to the basement. Kylie was called on by her mother to help although she badly wanted to hear what Graham was saying to them downstairs. That he had said something was perfectly obvious to her as they all came up laughing and joking and pretending nothing unusual was going on.

  Almost as soon as the cups and plates had been removed from the table the plot was revealed. The boys went downstairs in a huddle of whispers. Margaret tried to follow but was told to go away because they were changing. That made Kylie very suspicious. She went downstairs a few minutes later and found the four boys bending over a sketch map of the farm.

  “What are you lot up to?” she asked.

  “Nothing. Go away,” Graham replied.

  “If it has anything to do with the man watching us from across the road I will not. We have a right to know as well. We want to be in this too,” Kylie replied.

  “You are girls. This is dangerous stuff,” Graham replied.

  “Don’t be a sexist pig Graham. We can help and still be quite safe,” Kylie replied, her anger rising. Margaret and Allison had followed her down and now supported her.

  Graham gave in. “OK. We were just trying to work out a plan to try to get a good look at this bloke, or at his car.”

  “What bloke?” Margaret asked.

  Kylie described the watcher in the woods. Both Margaret and Allison made exclamations of fright and Allison’s eyes widened with anxiety.

  “Do you want to catch him?” Margaret asked.

  “No, just get a good look at him, and at his car,” Graham replied. “If it is the same men then the police can then lock them up or warn them off.”

  “Then we have to be involved,” Kylie said. “You don’t even know what they look like. You weren’t here.”

  That was a hard argument for Graham to counter so, reluctantly, he let the girls join in the planning. It was a simple plan but needed a bit of preparation and time. Kylie was to go with the other girls and Stephen to circle around the open farm to the north side of the hill, so that they were hidden from the watcher or his car by the ground. They would circle around to the r
oad beyond where the car was hidden, then lie under cover beside the road and watch. Half an hour was allowed for this move. After that time Graham, Peter and Roger were to walk out along the driveway, pretending to be going to the milking shed but were then to just walk straight into the jungle where the man was believed to be watching from.

  “But what if he’s there?” Margaret asked anxiously.

  “Then he will have trouble explaining why,” Graham replied.

  “But what will you say if he asks what you are doing?” Allison asked.

  “We don’t have to explain anything. He is the one who is trespassing,” Graham replied.

  “But what if he’s got a gun or something?” Margaret asked, her anxiety plain.

  Graham shrugged. “He won’t be game to use it, and anyway, he won’t get all three of us. At least one will get away.”

  “Oh Graham!” Kylie cried. She was appalled at the very idea. Equally she could see now way to stop the boys, other than telling Uncle Bill or her mother. Feeling sick at heart she went to get dressed in old clothes.

  CHAPTER 13

  SHARES?

  As Kylie pulled on her boots she felt sick in the stomach. The thought of the men being so close; and of the possible risk to Margaret and the boys made her feel she wanted to throw up. The attitude of the boys also exasperated her. All they could do was joke and grin. Graham had the light of battle in his eye and she knew he was enjoying the situation immensely.

  When they were all ready they gathered in the foyer. Graham gave some least minute instructions. While he was doing this Mrs Kirk appeared.

  “What are you children doing?” she asked.

  There was a moment of guilty silence. Kylie said: “Going for a walk,” at the same moment that Graham said: “Playing a game.”

  Mrs Kirk looked suspicious but simply said: “Don’t go far. Lunch is in an hour.”

  “Yes mum.”

  Graham looked at Kylie. “Go on. We will see you in half an hour.”

  Kylie turned and led the way out through the side door through the garage. Stephen and Allison followed her. Kylie found her heart beating rapidly and she wiped sweaty hands on her trousers as she came to the fence. The group climbed over the fence and set off across the side of the hill beyond. As they walked they kept looking back to check that the house was hiding them from the supposed location of the hidden watcher.

  After a hundred metres the swell of the ground forced them up so that they were visible to anyone in the whole stretch of rainforest.

  Kylie turned and led the way downslope to the right. “Don’t look back. We will pretend we are going to Platypus Creek,” she said.

  The group tramped down across the open cow pasture and past a lone tree, to a gate leading into the lane that led around the hill. They went through the gate and turned left to follow the lane. Soon they were out of sight of the house and the rainforest.

  “What if they are also watching from down at the creek?” Allison suggested, indicating the line of jungle along Platypus Creek to their right front.

  Stephen shook his head: “There are only two of them. I can’t see them doing that all day long. I reckon they would take turns.”

  The lane forked. The right fork led to the creek. The left fork went on around the hill to the main road. Several fields beyond the main road were also part of the farm and this lane led to them. When they came to the main gravel road Stephen stopped them while he had a good look along it in both directions. Satisfied no-one could see them he waved them across.

  Kylie went last, closing the gate behind them. As she crossed the road she looked left and noted with relief that the crest of the hill hid them from the rainforest. They went through another gate into the field beyond and set off across it. This field had waist high long grass and fear of snakes slowed them right down. Kylie was very glad she wore the high rubber gum boots.

  The sun had come out by this and they were all sweating. The long grass was full of butterflies which flew off as they were disturbed. Stephen now took the lead and led them across the side of the slope for three hundred paces before turning left and going uphill. This brought them to the fence beside the gravel road about fifty paces from the place where the car was possibly hidden.

  “Find a good spot here,” Stephen said. He took off his glasses and wiped them. “Bloody sweat!” he grumbled. The glasses were fogging up in the humid air.

  The group made itself comfortable under a clump of small trees beside the road. They were hidden by a screen of long grass along the fence but made holes in this so they could clearly see the road and the rainforest on the other side.

  “Ten minutes,” Stephen observed. They settled down to wait.

  While they waited they talked quietly. Kylie did not really want to talk, partly because she was so worried, but also because she did not particularly like Stephen. When she was in his presence she experienced a feeling of unease and she sensed that she did not trust him. She knew, from stories she had heard, that Stephen had been involved in a few dubious activities. She had also heard gossip which said he did things to girls.

  The result was that Stephen talked mostly to Allison, who responded cheerfully enough, while Kylie alternately checked her wristwatch and studied the ants. From time to time she also eyed the long grass near her in case of snakes.

  Suddenly a car engine burst into life just up the road.

  “That’s him!” Kylie cried. Her heart rate shot up dramatically and she moved into a crouching position. Almost immediately the engine note changed to a roar and a car burst out of the edge of the rainforest onto the road and turned towards them. It was an old dark green Ford with one man in it.

  The car accelerated and was past them in a few seconds. Kylie stared at the driver and saw that he was a solid looking young man of about twenty with a big jaw and fair hair. ‘Oh dear! Is that one of the men?’ she wondered. She bit her lip in anxiety and rose to try to get a better look but the car sped away.

  “Was that one of them?” Allison asked.

  “I don’t know. He might have been. They had stocking masks on when we saw them,” Kylie replied. She stood and stared after the car as it vanished through the trees along the small creek at the bottom of the hill.

  “I’ll know that man if I ever see him again anyway,” Allison replied.

  “So will I,” Kylie agreed. “Did you get the car’s number Stephen?”

  That had been Stephen’s particular job and he nodded. “Yes. B. X. T. Four. Three. Five. A Ford Falcon, and an old bomb. There can’t be too many of them around the Tablelands.”

  “Here come the others,” Allison said.

  From out of the rainforest appeared Graham, Margaret, Peter and Roger. The three climbed through the fence to meet them.

  Graham called out as he walked towards them: “Did you see him?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t recognize him,” Kylie replied.

  “I think I did,” Margaret replied. “I got a good look at him and I think he is the one called ‘Burg’.”

  “Carl Limburger?” Allison asked.

  Margaret nodded. They discussed this possibility. Kylie explained that she wasn’t sure because she did not see the man’s body or his gait but Margaret replied that was why she thought it was him. “I only saw him from the back but he had the same solid build and way of walking as the fellow who bashed you Kylie.”

  Stephen took off his glasses and wiped them. “So what happened when you walked across the road?” Stephen asked.

  Graham and Peter both laughed. Graham explained: “We walked out along the driveway talking and telling jokes and just went straight across the road and into the scrub. The bloke was there and he obviously wasn’t expecting that because he just gaped at us for a second, then turned and bolted.”

  Margaret chuckled. “He got all tangled up in a vine and tripped,” she added. “Then he ran into a wait-a-while. That made him swear something horrible.”

  “Serves him right,” Kylie s
aid. She had an intense dislike of the two men.

  Graham nodded. “Then he ran off along the old road. We called out but he ignored us and kept going as fast as he could. As soon as he got to his car he got in and drove off,” Graham explained.

  Peter said: “He certainly acted in a very suspicious manner.”

  Graham turned to Stephen. “You got his car number Steve?”

  Stephen nodded. “Yes.” He held up his notebook where he had jotted this down.

  “So what do we do now?” Kylie asked.

  “Phone the police and find out if Limburger or one of his friends owns the car,” Margaret suggested.

  Graham shook his head. “If we do that then the oldies might cancel our whole operation.”

  That was a sobering thought but Kylie only considered it for a moment, then said: “We must tell them. Gran and Uncle Bill might be in danger.”

  Graham made a face and nodded. “You are right. Come on, let’s do that now.”

  The group set off back along the road to the farm. Five minutes later they found Uncle Bill in the machinery shed and told him. Kylie acted as spokesperson, with some help from Graham.

  The upshot was that they were half an hour late for lunch. Uncle Bill insisted that they show him everything and only then did he walk back to the farm with them. He looked very worried and Kylie felt her hopes sinking. Mrs Kirk and Gran had to be told. Kylie and Graham did this while Uncle Bill telephoned the police.

  Mrs Kirk was quite angry. “You should have told us yesterday. And as for walking into the jungle where he was! Why!... Why!.. Words fail me! What if he had been armed and violent?”

  “But he wasn’t mum,” Graham answered.

  “But what if he had been? You silly boy! You did not see how violent he was when he was here. He bashed Kylie quite brutally. It makes me sick just to think of it,” Mrs Kirk said.

  “So what happens now?” Graham asked.