the criminal behind this. She had to be.
A voice said, “All done?”
“Let’s go, then.”
“You can’t leave her in the sun like that, you fool. The poor kid will bake.”
“All right, all right.”
Rough hands dragged me sideways and rolled me over.
I lay still. I could hear footsteps and a confusion of hooves. Then the sounds grew fainter and fainter, further and further away.
It wasn’t me the men had been after. It was Helen and Drucilla.
I was alone.
15
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
I was alone, with a hessian sack tied over my head.
It was rough and itchy and smelled of mould. I had to get it off. But how, with my hands tied behind my back? Perhaps if I wriggled my wrists I could loosen the rope … The second I tried, pain seared up my arm and into my left shoulder. Was it dislocated? Or broken? It hurt, terribly. Wincing with every movement, I finally got the rope off, then the sack. I took a deep, ragged breath. The road stretched away from me through bush and bare paddocks. Dust hung in the air where they’d passed, but the phaeton, the horses and riders were gone.
Gone, taking Helen and Drucilla with them. A wave of despair passed over me. I was hurt, alone, miles from anywhere. Would I ever see them again?
“Drucilla, where are you?” I whispered. “Where have they taken you? Please, please let me find you.”
If ever there was a time for my gift to work, it was now. I concentrated. In my mind’s eye I saw her face as if she were right in front of me: flushed and angry, fighting for me like a lioness for her cub, hitting and biting. Then shocked as that fist hit her jaw. I waited. And waited.
Nothing.
“What’s the point of having a gift?” I muttered to myself. Why was I able to find lost spectacles and scissors and cigar cases, but not my friend?
There was no use sitting here by the track tied up like a parcel. I had to raise the alarm.
But first I needed to free my ankles. Even though the ropes weren’t tied tightly, it took a long time. My whole body was shaking, and when I finally stood up and tried to walk, I staggered like a drunk on a spree. My brain wasn’t working properly, for it took me a while to realise that I was in shock. What I needed was hot sweet tea, a nip of brandy and a blanket. But I had none of those things, so what I had to do was keep on walking.
And I had to work out a plan. Mr Rossiter had gone out with his shepherd, so there was no use returning to his farm. I had to get back onto the main road. The sun was almost directly overhead, so I judged it to be around noon. We were expected back at Shantigar for lunch at one, and I wondered how long Papa and Mr Petrov would wait before they began to worry about us. I wasn’t far from Castlemaine – perhaps eight miles – and I knew that when I got over the wobbles I could walk at least three miles an hour. I’d be back in town in two and a half hours’ time. I groaned out loud. The kidnappers would be far away by then.
Ah, there
was
something I could do as I trudged along. The police would want descriptions of the men who’d bailed us up. What could I tell them? I searched my memory and found myself trembling again. Images racketed around in my brain and I felt panic rising. No, no, I told myself. Breathe, breathe …
SP had trained me in observation for our inquiry work. And the Professor had always insisted I had perfect recall. So I cleared my mind and concentrated. Now I could see them. They were dressed alike in brown coats, with printed cotton scarves over the bottom half of their faces. The man who stayed on his horse – the leader, I assumed, since he’d called out the orders – had red hair and a bushy red beard. The one who’d grabbed me was lanky and thin, with a broad-brimmed hat hiding his hair. His eyes were an odd yellowish-brown.
The harsh cry of a crow startled me. It was sitting close by on a fencepost, its black feathers glistening in the sunlight. Its round white eye seemed to regard
A voice said, “All done?”
“Let’s go, then.”
“You can’t leave her in the sun like that, you fool. The poor kid will bake.”
“All right, all right.”
Rough hands dragged me sideways and rolled me over.
I lay still. I could hear footsteps and a confusion of hooves. Then the sounds grew fainter and fainter, further and further away.
It wasn’t me the men had been after. It was Helen and Drucilla.
I was alone.
15
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
I was alone, with a hessian sack tied over my head.
It was rough and itchy and smelled of mould. I had to get it off. But how, with my hands tied behind my back? Perhaps if I wriggled my wrists I could loosen the rope … The second I tried, pain seared up my arm and into my left shoulder. Was it dislocated? Or broken? It hurt, terribly. Wincing with every movement, I finally got the rope off, then the sack. I took a deep, ragged breath. The road stretched away from me through bush and bare paddocks. Dust hung in the air where they’d passed, but the phaeton, the horses and riders were gone.
Gone, taking Helen and Drucilla with them. A wave of despair passed over me. I was hurt, alone, miles from anywhere. Would I ever see them again?
“Drucilla, where are you?” I whispered. “Where have they taken you? Please, please let me find you.”
If ever there was a time for my gift to work, it was now. I concentrated. In my mind’s eye I saw her face as if she were right in front of me: flushed and angry, fighting for me like a lioness for her cub, hitting and biting. Then shocked as that fist hit her jaw. I waited. And waited.
Nothing.
“What’s the point of having a gift?” I muttered to myself. Why was I able to find lost spectacles and scissors and cigar cases, but not my friend?
There was no use sitting here by the track tied up like a parcel. I had to raise the alarm.
But first I needed to free my ankles. Even though the ropes weren’t tied tightly, it took a long time. My whole body was shaking, and when I finally stood up and tried to walk, I staggered like a drunk on a spree. My brain wasn’t working properly, for it took me a while to realise that I was in shock. What I needed was hot sweet tea, a nip of brandy and a blanket. But I had none of those things, so what I had to do was keep on walking.
And I had to work out a plan. Mr Rossiter had gone out with his shepherd, so there was no use returning to his farm. I had to get back onto the main road. The sun was almost directly overhead, so I judged it to be around noon. We were expected back at Shantigar for lunch at one, and I wondered how long Papa and Mr Petrov would wait before they began to worry about us. I wasn’t far from Castlemaine – perhaps eight miles – and I knew that when I got over the wobbles I could walk at least three miles an hour. I’d be back in town in two and a half hours’ time. I groaned out loud. The kidnappers would be far away by then.
Ah, there
was
something I could do as I trudged along. The police would want descriptions of the men who’d bailed us up. What could I tell them? I searched my memory and found myself trembling again. Images racketed around in my brain and I felt panic rising. No, no, I told myself. Breathe, breathe …
SP had trained me in observation for our inquiry work. And the Professor had always insisted I had perfect recall. So I cleared my mind and concentrated. Now I could see them. They were dressed alike in brown coats, with printed cotton scarves over the bottom half of their faces. The man who stayed on his horse – the leader, I assumed, since he’d called out the orders – had red hair and a bushy red beard. The one who’d grabbed me was lanky and thin, with a broad-brimmed hat hiding his hair. His eyes were an odd yellowish-brown.
The harsh cry of a crow startled me. It was sitting close by on a fencepost, its black feathers glistening in the sunlight. Its round white eye seemed to regard
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