Alice-Miranda in the Outback

by Jacqueline Harvey

  A happy tingle ran down Alice-Miranda’s spine. ‘You are going to make everyone very happy, little one.’

  She wondered what to do – wake Matilda or leave her sleeping. The last thing she wanted was to scare the poor child half to death, especially as they’d never met before.

  ‘Rusty, stay here,’ she said. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’

  And with that Alice-Miranda took off. She ran up the back steps of the homestead, making as much noise as she could. Hopefully that would get them all up.

  ‘Uncle Barnaby!’ Alice-Miranda called as she ran inside. Junie was the first one out. The cat ran into the hallway, then stretched down on her front paws and arched her back. Seconds later, Hugh appeared, Barnaby and Hayden close behind him.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ the man asked. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘I’ve found her. Matilda. She’s asleep in the machinery shed,’ the girl said. Everyone was up now.

  ‘What? How on earth did you think to look there – and at this time of night?’ Barnaby said, his brow creasing.

  Alice-Miranda explained that she’d thought she heard a noise so she and Rusty went out for a walk. It was Rusty who deserved all the credit.

  There were cheers and hugs as the girls arrived in the hallway too.

  ‘Well, what are we waiting for?’ Millie said.

  ‘I think Uncle Barnaby and Hayden and Larry should go. We don’t want to frighten the girl,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Barnaby nodded. ‘You’re quite right. Hugh, can you call Darley’s Plains and let Laura know? We’ll go and get her. Come on, Alice-Miranda, you’d better lead the way.’

  The girl flew back outside, with Larry next to her and Barnaby and Hayden bringing up the rear. When they reached the machinery shed, their smiles couldn’t have been any bigger. Rusty had laid next to Matilda with his snout nuzzled against her hair.

  ‘Oh, thank heavens,’ Barnaby said as he knelt down. He gently touched Matilda’s cheek and waited as she began to rouse and her eyes fluttered open. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for her to register the familiar face. She reached out her arms and began to cry. Barnaby held her tightly, tears streaming down his own cheeks. Behind him, the other three children were crying too.

  ‘This is the best news,’ Larry said, turning and giving Alice-Miranda a tight hug. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt more relieved.’

  ‘Me either,’ Hayden agreed, wrapping his arms around both girls.

  Barnaby scooped Matilda up and noticed the blanket she was lying on.

  ‘Where did this come from?’ he said.

  ‘I think someone put her here,’ Alice-Miranda said, explaining more about the engine noise she thought she’d heard and the fresh tyre tracks.

  ‘But why would they do that? They could have brought her straight to the house,’ Hayden said. ‘And where did they find her?’

  ‘Is she hurt?’ Larry asked.

  Barnaby prised Matilda’s arms from his neck. ‘Did anyone hurt you?’ he asked.

  She looked at him with her big blue eyes and wet lashes, but it was obvious she didn’t know what he was asking.

  ‘How does she communicate with her parents?’ Alice-Miranda asked. ‘Does she understand sign language?’

  ‘I think Laura’s been teaching her,’ Larry said.

  Barnaby carried Matilda down to the house, where everyone was waiting in the kitchen. Hugh had called Darley’s Plains. Laura was on her way with her parents, and to say she was excited was an understatement. She’d radioed Cam and Ted and they were en route too, but it would be a while before everyone arrived, given the vast distances they needed to cover.

  Matilda spotted the room full of strangers and clung to Barnaby’s neck until Lucas began to play peek-a-boo with her. She started to giggle.

  Barnaby took the opportunity to put the child down on the table and check for any obvious injuries. Apart from some scratches – probably the result of tramping through the scrub – she looked to be fine, which made the man feel a lot better. She was covered in dirt, but a bath could wait until her mother arrived.

  ‘Who’s up for some hot chocolate?’ Lawrence asked. He was keen to do something useful.

  Lucas stunned everyone by signing the question to Matilda.

  The girl’s face brightened and she nodded.

  ‘When did you learn how to sign? Alice-Miranda asked.

  Lucas grinned. ‘I’ve been taking a class at school the past year – it’s voluntary just at lunchtimes once a week. I thought it was a good idea.’

  ‘You never told me about that,’ Lawrence said, impressed with his son.

  ‘I guess I just forgot – there’s so much going on,’ Lucas shrugged.

  Jacinta looked at the boy adoringly, wondering if there was anything Lucas couldn’t do.

  ‘That’s brilliant, Lucas. Could you ask Matilda if anyone hurt her while she was lost?’ Barnaby said.

  The others looked at him. ‘Why?’ Jacinta asked.

  ‘I just need to know,’ Barnaby said.

  Lucas looked at the girl and signed the question. She shook her head.

  ‘Ask her if she saw anyone out there? Did anyone look after her?’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Matilda watched Lucas’s hands, then nodded.

  ‘You were right, Alice-Miranda. Someone must have found Matilda and brought her here to the homestead,’ Hayden said.

  ‘But for some reason they didn’t want anyone to know – though they weren’t very good at covering their tracks,’ Alice-Miranda said. Matilda held her arms out towards the girl, who moved the child onto the chair between herself and Millie.

  ‘Maybe they were travelling through,’ Millie said.

  ‘Or they’re a fugitive on the run from the law,’ Jacinta said dramatically.

  No one wanted to think that was true, but nothing was outside the realms of possibility.

  Larry stirred her mug of hot chocolate and lifted it to her lips. ‘Mum says that there are lots of people who come to the outback to escape from something.’

  For now, at least, whoever had brought Matilda to Hope Springs was a mystery.

  ‘Wasn’t Blue Dog supposed to be with her?’ Hayden said.

  ‘Yes,’ Barnaby replied, ‘but there’s no sign of her anywhere. Could you ask Matilda about the dog, Lucas?’

  The boy signed a question and Matilda turned her palms upwards and shrugged. ‘I don’t think she knows where Blue Dog is.’

  Lawrence finished passing out the mugs of hot chocolate and found some biscuits. Matilda drank and ate everything she was offered, but soon started to fall asleep again. She crawled into Alice-Miranda’s lap and nestled down, clearly very comfortable with her new friend.

  ‘Come on, little one,’ Barnaby said. He turned to Larry. ‘I’m going to put her in with you girls.’

  He picked up Matilda and carried her to the sleep-out. The boys, Jacinta and Millie all went back to bed, but Larry and Alice-Miranda were wide awake. They headed into the lounge room and sprawled out on the couches. Junie and Rusty joined them, Junie leaping into Alice-Miranda’s lap and nuzzling her hand for attention.

  ‘Do you think we’ll ever find out who brought Matilda back?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  Larry frowned. ‘It’s a strange one, that’s for sure. They obviously don’t want to be found, but maybe we can put our heads together and solve the mystery? If I didn’t plan on taking over the station then I think I’d like to become a detective or, even better, a spy.’

  ‘That sounds like fun,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Millie, Jacinta and I have been known to solve a few cases.’

  ‘Tell me more,’ Larry said. ‘You mentioned something about a man who woke up from a coma yesterday. What’s that story?’

  ‘Oh yes, poor Mr and Mrs Parker,’ Alice-Miranda began. ‘It was terrible at the time . . .’

  Larry was mesmerised and when Alice-Miranda came to the end of her tale, Larry told her about the time her family had gone on holidays to
Kakadu and ended up surrounded by crocodiles on a river crossing. Alice-Miranda was on the edge of her seat. Over an hour passed, and it was only the sound of a diesel engine coming up the driveway that distracted the girls from their storytelling.

  ‘Laura’s here!’ Larry yelled, and she and Alice-Miranda raced for the door as the rest of the family hauled themselves back out of bed.

  Sprocket was rudely awoken by a sudden blinding light and the loud noise of someone thumping the side of the ute. He looked up from where he lay, curled around tools and wedged between the edge of the tray and the old dog cage.

  ‘Rise and shine, my friend.’ The man who had kidnapped him from Dan’s place thumped the vehicle again, sneering down at him.

  Sprocket shielded his eyes from the rising sun. His nose was throbbing, and he could still taste blood in his mouth. Every bone in his body was aching too. He had no idea how long he’d been out. The last thing he remembered was deciding not to do a runner.

  The brute handed him a water bottle. Sprocket hauled himself up against the back of the rear windscreen and unscrewed the lid. He sniffed first, wanting to make sure that the guy wasn’t about to poison him, then gulped it down.

  ‘Thanks,’ he mumbled. ‘Although I think calling me your friend is a stretch. None of my friends have ever punched me in the face.’

  ‘I was just being polite like my mother taught me,’ the man replied. He pulled a sandwich out of the esky in the cabin and passed half to Sprocket, who eyed it warily.

  ‘Go on, take it,’ the man said, waving the food under Sprocket’s nose. ‘I don’t need you to die of starvation, you silly old coot.’

  Sprocket took a good look at the fellow and understood why his nose hurt so much. The chap’s arms rippled with muscles and his neck was the girth of a small tree trunk. What hair he had was shorn close to his head and there was a deep scar above his left eyebrow. His was a face you didn’t forget, so Sprocket was pretty sure he’d never seen him before.

  ‘Do you have a name?’ Sprocket asked.

  ‘That’s on a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know,’ the bloke replied.

  Sprocket ate the ham and cheese sandwich, which was far more delicious than he’d expected. Though maybe that was just because he hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch the day before.

  ‘Where are we?’ Sprocket asked, standing up in the back of the tray. He turned three hundred and sixty degrees, but there wasn’t a single landmark he knew. All he could see was miles and miles of red dirt plains and scrubby mulga trees with the odd rocky outcrop.

  ‘That’s not really your concern now, is it?’ the man said.

  ‘Well, it is, because I need you to point me in the right direction so I can be heading home.’ Sprocket licked his finger and tried to wipe some of the crusty blood from his top lip. He wasn’t terribly successful, merely smearing a red stain across his face.

  The bloke walked back to the front of the truck and pulled out a piece of paper.

  ‘You know what this is?’ he asked, waving it at Sprocket, who shook his head. ‘I think you do, you lying hound.’

  ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about!’ Sprocket exclaimed.

  ‘Yeah right. What were you doin’ in that dugout then? I know it’s not yours,’ the man said, the friendly demeanour in his voice giving way to something harder.

  ‘That dugout belongs to my friend, Taipan Dan. He’s been away for a while and I wasn’t sure if he was back, so I went to take a look,’ Sprocket said.

  ‘And you just let yourself in?’ the other bloke said.

  ‘Yes, because we’re mates,’ Sprocket said. ‘What were you doing there?’

  ‘I’m taking what’s mine,’ the man said. ‘Dan thought he could hide it but nothin’ gets past my missus. She realised the old man had what I need to get my dues – pity it wasn’t before I’d driven halfway out here, but never mind. You were just unlucky to be there.’

  ‘You’re nothing but a common thief,’ Sprocket said, shaking his head.

  ‘And you’re about to turn your hand to that skill too,’ the man replied.

  Sprocket frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘We’re off to Hope Springs. I saw that damn kid grab the map that blew out the window and you’re going to get it back for me,’ the fellow threatened.

  Sprocket looked at him as if he was mad. ‘Why would I do that?’ he said.

  ‘Because if you don’t, there’s a ditch back there that wouldn’t take long to turn into a grave,’ the man snarled. ‘And if you think about double crossing me – remember, I know where you live. Coober Pedy’s a dangerous place for an old fella. Always a shame when they fall down a hole and never come out again.’

  A lump rose in Sprocket’s throat. ‘Okay,’ he squeaked. ‘Will you let me go once I’ve found what you’re after?’

  ‘I’ll think about it,’ the man replied.

  It was almost midday by the time the Darley family took Matilda home. Cam had arrived a couple of hours after his wife with Ted, his brother-in-law, who was also the local sergeant from Coober Pedy.

  Alice-Miranda had given the man her full statement and remembered to tell him about the white ute she’d seen yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, the tracks from the vehicle near the shed weren’t a lot to go on, though Ted did take away the blanket Matilda had lain on to see whether he could wangle some forensic testing down in the city. Because no crime had been committed, though, and Matilda was safe and unharmed, he didn’t expect his superiors would want to spend resources on the investigation when there were more pressing matters at hand. He’d left before the others to settle a dispute between several claim holders at the pub in Coober Pedy.

  After they’d waved the Darleys off, the family and friends trundled inside. ‘I think a movie afternoon might be in order for you lot,’ Barnaby said as he noticed all of the children yawning contagiously.

  ‘The early start must be catching up,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘But if there are jobs to do we’d much rather help.’

  Millie frowned and yawned again. ‘Not me. I’m exhausted.’

  ‘Yeah, speak for yourself, Alice-Miranda. I need a nap,’ Jacinta leaned her head on Lucas’s shoulder.

  ‘What about if we organise some lunch then, and you kids can choose something to watch,’ Hugh said.

  ‘What are you going to do, Daddy?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  ‘I think we’re heading out to make a start on that bore,’ he said, looking at Barnaby, who nodded.

  ‘Having seen the place from the air yesterday, we’re going to have to check more than one of them,’ Barnaby said.

  ‘What do you mean, Dad?’ Larry asked.

  ‘The place is dry all over – not just the home paddocks,’ the man replied as the phone rang.

  Hayden ran to pick it up. ‘Hi Mum,’ he said. ‘Laura and Ted have just taken Matilda home.’

  There was a lull as Evie spoke on the other end of the line. A few minutes later, Hayden put his sister on. Larry didn’t talk for long before she handed the phone to her father, while the others set about getting lunch ready and Jacinta and Lucas headed into the lounge room to browse through the collection of DVDs in the television cabinet.

  ‘Mum said hello to everyone,’ Larry announced, walking to the pantry and pulling out jars of Vegemite, peanut butter and jam.

  ‘How is she?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  ‘She’s good,’ Larry reported. ‘Pretty relieved about Matilda. And Granny moved into the nursing home yesterday. There’s a male nurse who’s very funny and Granny has taken a shine to him, so it wasn’t as difficult as Mum expected. But she still has lots of clearing out to do and probably won’t be back for another couple of weeks.’ Larry’s sparkling eyes seemed to lose their twinkle. Alice-Miranda couldn’t help noticing the sad look on Barnaby’s face too.

  She walked over to the man and asked quietly. ‘Are you all right, Uncle Barnaby?’

  The question caught him off guard and he bright
ened immediately, putting on a brave face.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ he said. ‘I miss Evie, that’s all. These distances never get any easier but, when you run a property, that’s just how it is.’

  Alice-Miranda leaned in and gave the man a hug around the middle.

  ‘What’s that for?’ He looked at her, the crinkles in the corners of his eyes creasing into a smile.

  ‘Just because,’ the child said.

  He kissed the top of her chocolate curls.

  ‘Thank you, sweetheart,’ he said.

  ‘Dad’s such a wuss,’ Larry winked at Alice-Miranda. ‘But we still love him anyway.’ She nudged her father’s arm as he walked past and he gave her a special grin.

  ‘Lunch is ready!’ Hugh called. Lucas and Jacinta stampeded in.

  ‘What is it about the air out here that makes me feel hungry all the time?’ Millie asked as she grabbed two slices of bread and spread them with butter.

  ‘At least we haven’t come across any more dinosaurs,’ Jacinta said.

  The others giggled.

  ‘What?’ Jacinta pulled a face. ‘Stop making fun of me. It’s true!’

  Lucas nodded. ‘I believe you, even if the others don’t.’

  ‘Please,’ Millie rolled her eyes. ‘Just because she’s your girlfriend.’

  Jacinta poked her tongue out at Millie. Alice-Miranda decided it was time to change the subject.

  ‘So, what do you think is wrong with the bore, Uncle Barnaby?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m not sure, but I’ve got parts for just about any problem – though I might not have enough if more than one bore needs fixing. Seems odd to have multiple break downs at the same time. What I do know is that if I don’t get it sorted, those three-minute showers are about to become a wash in a bucket – with shared water.’

  ‘Three!’ Jacinta frowned. ‘Millie told me it was two.’

  The red-haired girl chuckled. ‘Do you know how much fun it’s been hearing you complain about washing your hair in less time than it usually takes you to get wet?’

  ‘Mean!’ Jacinta fumed. ‘I didn’t have long enough to wash the conditioner out. No wonder I look all greasy.’