Soon they came across a familiar belt of trees. “We’re here,” said Antonia, grinning in delight.
They wove their way on to the beach. Antonia screwed up her eyes at the dazzling sun. “There!” she said triumphantly. “Look at the sand. Does that say turtles or not?”
“Turtles,” agreed Cai. They stared at the markings covering the beach. “This one’s like a wiggly tyre track,” he continued.
“That’ll be an adult,” said Antonia, squatting down to take photographs. “The marks are too big to have been made by the hatchlings. Oh, look, Cai, a piece of eggshell!”
Antonia snapped away with her camera, collecting as much evidence of the turtles as she could. Sadly, she found a couple of dead hatchlings, although not much was left of them.
“I’ve been thinking,” said Cai. “It might be better to pass this on to a conservation charity. They’ll know exactly what to do. They might even get the hotel to work with them. They could make the beach a tourist attraction. I’m sure people go on turtle-watching holidays.”
“That’s a brilliant idea.” Antonia’s eyes shone with excitement. “Let’s ring the North Coast Sea Life Rescue Charity. I bet they’d help.”
Kicking off her sandals, she sank down on the warm sand while she put her camera away in its bag.
“I’ve taken loads of photos and we can take some shell back too…”
Antonia broke off as a funny sensation swept over her. Her heart soared. Her ear was clearly on the mend! Sensing that Diamond was about to call, Antonia lightly brushed her silver dolphin charm and was rewarded by a small flutter of its tail. A minute later the dolphin charm began to vibrate and click.
Silver Dolphin, we need you.
Diamond, I hear your call.
Jumping up, Antonia ran and hid her camera, water bottle and shoes under a tree before racing back down the beach.
“Antonia…oh!” Cai’s hand flew to the silver dolphin charm pinned to his T-shirt then, with a wide smile, hurried after her.
Side by side they splashed into the warm water. Antonia sensed the call wasn’t urgent, but was eager to meet up with the dolphins. The moment her legs melded together she swam, dipping in and out of the water, loving the feeling of flying as she raced through the sea. Cai swam beside her, his body arching like a real dolphin.
When they were a fair way out, they spotted Diamond with two smaller dolphins hovering by her side. Jet and Swirl! Antonia wanted to swim straight to their friends, but remembering her role as a Silver Dolphin, she approached Diamond first.
“Thank you for answering the call, Silver Dolphins.” Diamond greeted Antonia and Cai with a friendly rub on the nose, then waited while they said hello to Jet and Swirl.
“It’s not urgent this time. Jet and Swirl found some litter that needs clearing up. They’ve offered to show you where.”
“This way, Silver Dolphins,” clicked Jet.
He dived underwater with Swirl, Antonia and Cai following close behind. Beneath her Antonia could see a dark shadow and as she drew closer she caught her breath.
“It’s beautiful!”
The coral reef stretching beneath them was the most wondrous thing Antonia had ever seen. Thick with corals of every shape and size, the reef was as colourful as a carnival float and came in every shade of the rainbow from pastel pink to vibrant blue. Fish flitted around—striped, spotted and some with long feathery tails—while beautiful red tube worms waved their fan-shaped plumes.
“Over here,” clicked Jet, diving towards a rock with squiggly marks that made it look like a brain. Suspiciously, Antonia and Cai swam closer to a yellow and black object that looked out of place on the reef.
“It’s a diver’s torch!” exclaimed Cai, reaching out for it. Anxiously, Antonia looked about. “Do you think someone’s still down here? What if they see us?”
“It’s broken.” Cai flicked at the switch. “It looks like it’s been dropped. The glass is cracked.”
“Humph!” exploded Antonia crossly. “Why are people so lazy! It wouldn’t have been difficult to take the torch ashore and put it in a bin.”
“I know.” Cai shoved the torch in the pocket of his shorts. It was too big and the end stuck out, but at least it left his hands free to swim. “It’s amazing down here. Shall we have a look round?”
Antonia and Cai spent a long while exploring the coral reef. It was fun watching tiny fish chasing each other in and out of the corals. Antonia liked the clownfish best, with their colourful orange and white scales. They saw a sea snake too. It slithered out from a crevice, swimming away from them, its black and silver striped body wiggling like a land snake.
“They’re really poisonous,” said Cai, shivering. “But luckily for us they’re very shy and only bite if provoked.”
All too soon it was time to leave. Reluctantly, the Silver Dolphins followed Jet and Swirl to the surface. Diamond was waiting for them, but she wasn’t cross that they’d been gone so long. Her liquid eyes sparkled and she opened her mouth in a wide smile.
“We’ve worked you hard, Silver Dolphins. Now it’s time for some fun.”
With a friendly nose rub Diamond said goodbye, then left the Silver Dolphins to play with her nephew and niece.
“Let’s have a game of Sprat,” said Jet. “I’ll be it. It’s a two-wave head start.”
Determined not to get caught so easily this time, Antonia sped away. Swirl swam after her and giggling together they hid behind a cluster of rocks on the seabed. It was a fast game and everyone got caught at least twice. Then Cai called a halt, begging Jet to teach him more dolphin tricks.
“How about this?” asked Jet, launching his body out of the water until he was standing on the surface on his tail. Faster than lightning he turned a full circle then splashed down into the sea, showering everyone with water.
“That’s easy,” clicked Antonia. She threw herself upwards and, copying Jet, turned a perfect twister of her own.
“Hooray!” cheered Cai. “My turn now.” He practised the twister until he was turning full circles too. Then there was an enormous water fight with Antonia and Swirl taking on Cai and Jet. Soon the sea looked like a whirlpool; Antonia and Cai splashing with their hands and the dolphins splashing with tails and fins.
“Truce!” panted Cai, stopping to shove the broken dive torch deeper in his pocket. “We should be getting home.”
“We need to phone the North Coast Sea Life Rescue Charity to tell them about the turtles,” Antonia remembered.
“Aw,” sighed Jet. “Do you have to go right now?”
“The Silver Dolphins don’t live here. Soon they’ll go away for good,” clicked Swirl sadly.
“But you’ll come back, won’t you?” asked Jet.
“Maybe,” said Cai hopefully.
“I hope so,” Antonia agreed. It would be great to come back and see the dolphins and the turtles too. But the holiday wasn’t over yet. “Who’s up for a last game of Sprat?” she asked.
“Me!” was the unanimous reply.
“I’ll be it then. Ready or not…I’m coming!”
The sea was empty. Taking a deep breath
Antonia dived down to find her friends.
Copyright
HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd, 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB.
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Text copyright © Julie Sykes 2009
Cover illustrations copyright © Andrew Farley 2009
The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work.
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EPub Edition © SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 978-0-007-34304-1
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