"I knew something was going on. I saw you children going into that old place. Not good, I thought, not good!"
She brought a glass of blue coloured liquid out of the fridge. "Drink this." She shoved the glass near Kevin's lips.
He sipped cautiously.
"Mrs. Potter, would you mind if we rang the police. There's something really bad going on," Tracey requested.
"I'm sorry, child, I don't have one of those fancy telephones. When we were growing up we never needed those sorts of things. Out at Birdsville we just visited the post office once a week to get all the local news. Things have changed since then...," her voice trailed on."Don't worry, I'll run to the police station. It'll be quicker than a telephone. Will you take care of Kevin then?" Tracey asked, turning to leave.
"I'll take good care of the lad, to be sure," she replied, coaxing Kevin to drink more of the blue goo. "Now, young man, where do you hurt?" she queried, eyeing Kevin all over.
Tracey glanced at the old house as she exited from Mrs. Potter's place. She started running towards the police station, then halted.
"The scraping sound...that's it!" Tracey turned back towards the old Queenslander. She raced across the road and ran up the steps, heading straight for the fireplace room. The room looked eerie in the early morning gloom. Her eyes scanned the fireplace. She started counting, "One, two, three, four,...two, three,
four...here...no! Five, six, seven. One,...three, four, here!" Highly excited, she placed her hand on the fourth brick. "Please, let this be it...yes!"
In a few moments, she was running towards the police station again. Tracey felt like she could fly, she was so elated. It was worth it to waste a few minutes going back to the old Queenslander. She pushed open the door and stood in front of a desk, breathless.
A sandy haired policeman stared at her over his paperwork. "Good morning young lady. You're an early bird. What can we do for you?" he asked casually, as though young girls came running into the police station at;ix thirty every morning.
"There's something bad going on. It's to do with tht Did Queenslander up the road. My friends and I...,' Tracey stopped to take a breath. She felt very flustered Where should she start with the story?
"First of all, sit down over here and we'll take you name and address. After that, you can tell me what it you want to say." The friendly man smiled at Tracey an( Dulled up a swivel chair next to his desk.
Tracey sat down, and after giving her name and address began to tell her story from the beginning of their adventure at the old Queenslander!
~~~~Chapter Twenty-nine~~~~
Bush Track
"Where are we?" Matthew looked over Krystal's shoulder. "I'm getting sore," he complained.
"Well, I've never been here before either," Krystal retorted. She had looked and looked as they rode, but nothing seemed familiar. "Wait, I can hear something." She pulled on Dilly's mane to stop her for a moment.
Dilly gladly stopped and munched a small tuft of grass at the side of the track.
"It's a car!" said Matthew excitedly. "Someone's coming." He almost lost his balance trying to look around him.
"Well, there must be a road near here. C'me on Dilly, this way," Krystal said, urging the horse along, kicking the beast gently with her the heels of her joggers.
The horse raised its head and cantered in the direction of the noise.
The track led to a narrow bitumen road.
"Look, there's a signpost." Krystal headed Dilly in the direction of the tee intersection. Police Driving Centre, Krystal read. "Terrific, let's go." She gave Dilly a sound kick and the horse started galloping.
Krystal hung on to the horse's neck and Matthew hung on to Krystal.
"I c-a-a-n't st-a-a-y on much lon-ger," Matthew screamed through the jolts.
"Just hang on," yelled Krystal, tightening her grip. "Whoa whoa," she called to Dilly. After a few moments the horse slowed down. They were in a clearing with a building to their right.
"You're not silly, Dilly," said Krystal, patting the horse's neck. The two slid off the animal, glad to be on the ground again.
"This is it. Burbank Police Driving School." Krystal read the sign. "Let's see if someone's here." She was already heading towards the front of the building.
Matthew followed stiffly.
"It must be a bit too early, the whole place is locked up," said Krystal, peering through the glass doors. "Maybe we should try a bit further down the road."
"I think we should wait." Matthew felt too sore to ride any more.
"Well, I hope we don't have to wait too long. If Morrie comes back to the house and finds you and Dilly gone, they'll be after us, for sure," said Krystal, checking her wrist watch.
"Maybe we should keep goin' then," said Matthew, rubbing his legs. He certainly didn't want to be tied up again.
Just then they heard the sound of a car close by.
"Quick, get behind the building. It might be Morrie,"
said Krystal, darting around the back of the building. Matthew followed.
"What about Dilly?" Matthew asked, "She sure lookssix thirty every morning.
"There's something bad going on. It's to do with the old Queenslander up the road. My friends and I...," Tracey stopped to take a breath. She felt very flustered. Where should she start with the story?
"First of all, sit down over here and we'll take your name and address. After that, you can tell me what it is you want to say." The friendly man smiled at Tracey and pulled up a swivel chair next to his desk.
Tracey sat down, and after giving her name and address, began to tell her story from the beginning of their adventure at the old Queenslander!
"Don't worry, I'll run to the police station. It'll be quicker than a telephone. Will you take care of Kevin then?" Tracey asked, turning to leave.
"I'll take good care of the lad, to be sure," she replied, coaxing Kevin to drink more of the blue goo. "Now, young man, where do you hurt?" she queried, eyeing Kevin all over.
Tracey glanced at the old house as she exited from Mrs. Potter's place. She started running towards the police station, then halted.
"The scraping sound...that's it!" Tracey turned back towards the old Queenslander. She raced across the road and ran up the steps, heading straight for the fireplace room. The room looked eerie in the early morning gloom. Her eyes scanned the fireplace. She started counting, "One, two, three, four,...two, three,
four...here...no! Five, six, seven. One,...three, four, here!" Highly excited, she placed her hand on the fourth brick. "Please, let this be it...yes!"
In a few moments, she was running towards the police station again. Tracey felt like she could fly, she was so elated. It was worth it to waste a few minutes going back to the old Queenslander. She pushed open the door and stood in front of a desk, breathless.
A sandy haired policeman stared at her over his paperwork. "Good morning young lady. You're an early bird. What can we do for you?" he asked casually, as though young girls came running into the police station atobvious."
"If it is Morrie he might think the horse bolted, or something like that. We'll just stay hidden." Krystal sounded very sure of what they should do, so Matthew was satisfied for now.
A big white car with blue lights on the roof pulled up in a dust cloud.
"It's the police," Matthew exclaimed grinning.
"Let's just wait and make sure it is the police," said Krystal cautiously.
The two waited as a tall policeman got out of the car and just stared at Dilly, who had found some nice flowers to eat.
"Oh, oh...Dilly's eating the garden!" Krystal whispered to Matthew. "We'll be in trouble again. Come on, let's face the music." Krystal came out from behind the building. The policeman saw her immediately.
"Is this beast yours?" he questioned in a rather angry tone.
Krystal tried to act casual. "No, actually we borrowed it. Her name's Dilly. She belongs to a couple of crooks." Krystal kept trying to push Dilly away from the flowers as
she spoke.
"And who are you then?" the policeman asked. "And who's your friend," he queried, spotting Matthew peeping from behind the building.
"I'm Krystal, and that's Matthew; he was kidnapped!" Krystal added in a dramatic tone. The policeman's eyebrows shot up. "I see; let's tie that horse up somewhere and go inside. I'd like to hear more," he added, returning to the car and bringing out a long rope.
~~~~Chapter Thirty~~~~
The Plan
"So you reckon there'll be a robbery today?" Sergeant Livingstone spoke to Tracey as she sipped a hot drink and crunched a biscuit in her teeth. It was good to eat and drink something.
"I sure do. It'll be at that jewellery store at Arndale, the one called 'Rocks'. See, that's what the message said."
She placed the paper in front of the sergeant, who read it aloud: "ROles royce for kiCKS bargains GALORE AT ARNDALE STORE DON'T BE LATE AT 8:00 BIG BIKKIES to be made on all LATER model cars."
"If you say so," said the sergeant as he picked up the 'phone and telephoned the message to some of his crew. He replaced the receiver.
Just then the telephone rang. Sergeant Livingstone picked it up "A girl and a boy, and a horse, mmm...sounds interesting. We've got another young lass here, and there's another boy who's been hurt apparently. He's at Mrs. Potter's. Yes, there's an ambulance on its way. The girl says there's something going on at the Arndale Centre today. Could be right too!...Yes, there's been a lot of robberies lately. We're checking it out, just in case."
The sergeant put the 'phone down and looked at Tracey, who was almost jumping out of her seat.
"Krystal and Matthew...have they found them?" she asked. Tears swelled in her eyes. "Are they okay?"
"They're fine, just fine. The boy's a bit sore from being tied up, but he'll live. They'll be here shortly," Sergeant Livingstone added casually.
Tracey's face shone with relief.
~~~~Chapter Thirty-one~~~~
Reunion
It was just after eight that morning, and the little police station at Underwood was crammed with people.
Krystal and Matthew had arrived safely from the police driving centre, with the policeman.
Kevin had recovered surprisingly quickly with Mrs. Potter's blue goo, and had been brought to the police station by an ambulance officer and a policewoman.
Mr. Cormack and Mr. and Mrs Roberts had come to collect their children.
Krystal was glad that her mother had not come. They would have all cried too much, she reasoned.
The telephone rang! The whole room was quiet as the sergeant listened. "How many? Two got away you say. Yes! Keep up the good work. I'll be in touch." He put the 'phone down.
"You were one hundred per cent right, young lady," said the sergeant, addressing Tracey. "There was a planned robbery at the jewellery store at Arndale. The police arrived just as they were in the act. They caught two boys and two older boys, but they were clean, apparently decoys! Two got away in a silver car. They're having a bit of a chase right now. They'll keep in touch." He beamed at Tracey in admiration.
"Matt, didn't you say that Cad booked an aeroplane flight?" Krystal reminded Matthew."Hey, yeah, that's what I heard." Matthew fixed his eyes on the sergeant.
"That right?" said Sergeant Livingstone, picking up the telephone again and informing the squad. He put the telephone down. "Well, all we can do for now is wait and see. Anyone for a cuppa?" he asked, ringing a little bell on his desk.
~~~~Chapter Thirty-two~~~~
Success at Last
It was ten o'clock before the children could leave the police station. They all felt exhausted by then.
At about nine o'clock, the man nick-named Cad had been caught just as his 'plane was about to leave.
After a thorough search, the police found a haul of precious jewels in his possession.
Morrie had escaped in the silver car which had been found abandoned near the bush house. The police were still looking for him.
"What about Dilly?" Krystal asked. "What'll happen to her now?"
"Well, we do have some facilities for horses and some keen horse lovers. I'm sure she'll be well taken care of," Sergeant Livingstone reassured Krystal.
Krystal was also curious as to how Tracey got the final clue.
Tracey beamed as she told of her discovery. "Well, I heard scratching noises earlier, and I worked it out that it was the sound of bricks moving. I realised it was the brick fireplace and checked it out. There was a scratched number one on a brick near the floor, so I counted the number seven up and four across, the two other numbers on the last message, remember?" Tracey looked at the interested expressions around her. "Sure enough, there was a message behind a brick. Simple!" she added for emphasis.
"But, Trace, how did you know the message would still be there? What if the boys got there before you!" Krystal asked, with a puzzled expression.
"Yeah, how'd you know that? Kevin queried.
"Well, I didn't really. I guess they were supposed to come early and pick up the clue. I was just a bit too early for them; I think the Lord helped there!" Tracey replied.
"I think so. But how would they know what the clue was if you took the coded message?" Krystal asked, still puzzled.
"Oh, there were actually two slips of paper with the same message. I only took one!" Tracey replied.
"I've got a smart sister!" exclaimed Matthew, with new admiration.
~~~~Chapter Thirty-three~~~~
Home at Last
Mrs. Cormack hugged her two children over and over. "Kevin, you'd better take it easy. Does your head hurt?" "Just a bit," Kevin replied solemly.
"Krystal, Kevin, she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I nearly fainted when I found trucks and a teddy bear in your beds this morning. You gave me a terrible fright. I was so glad to get Krystal's note. I showed it to your dad immediately. He rang the police straight away. I just prayed and prayed you would be all right." She hugged Krystal and Kevin again. "Praise God, he answered my prayers."
"We're sorry to cause you trouble, Mum." Krystal put her arms around her mother's shoulders. "We wanted to tell you, but we just couldn't. I'm really sorry that you were worried! I really am," she repeated.
"We should have adventures more often," said Matthew, helping himself to a large piece of freshly baked chocolate cake.
"At least the food is better here. Poor Matthew, having to eat that brown stuff. What was it anyway Matt?" Krystal questioned.
"That! It was only chocolate ice cream; it was delicious!" He grinned.
Krystal's mouth dropped open. "Maybe we should have another adventure then.""I don't know about that. I was worried out of my mind when my two weren't in their cosy beds this morning," said Mrs. Roberts, shaking her head.
Maureen Cormack nodded in agreement. "I agree with you Pam, and I think you've all had enough for now, I mean adventures." Mrs. Cormack smiled, passing around the plate of fluffy chocolate cake. "Did you find out what'll happen to Nathan and David?" she asked, helping herself to a small piece of cake.
"I talked with the principal this morning. I think they'll be suspended from school until the whole matter gets sorted out. Nathan's mother was going to do some home schooling with him for a while this term. David's family are moving back to Adelaide soon," Pam Roberts replied, brushing a few chocolate cake crumbs off her chin.
Patches the cat waited near the doorway. She came to investigate the fallen crumbs.
"I hope the possum'll be okay," said Krystal,
remembering the special stare the little possum gave her.
"What possum?" asked Tracey, suddenly interested.
"I found a baby possum at the old stables. It was so
cute. It wiggled its nose at me." Krystal smiled.
"So, where is it now?" asked Mrs Cormack, already
wondering if she might find a possum in one of the beds. "I put it in a tree for its mother. Maybe we should go
back and make sure it's okay," Krystal added.
/> "You did the best thing for a little possum. The mother would have come looking for it sooner or later. Thepolice are checking the place out, so I might just ask them to check it out for you." Mrs. Cormack smiled at her daughter. "The main thing now is that you children get lots of rest, so you're nice and fresh for the school camp coming up."
"I nearly forgot about the camp!" exclaimed Krystal, glancing at Tracey.
"A boring camp," said the two girls in unison, and then giggled.
the End for now!
Watch out for their next exciting adventure, The Mystery at Mount Tamborine, where the Gum Tree Gang have a huge task to find out who is trying to flatten their convention centre and if the humungous Pterodactyl will fly?
The Gum Tree Gang and the Mystery at the Old Queenslander Page 8
