nature reserve without water, and I didn’t know if the water in the river was safe to drink.
As I stood at the cash with Hollie at my feet, waiting for the clerk to ring in our groceries, I looked up at the TV screen above his head, which was showing the news. There was a picture of a ship down at the harbour—a tanker. Then there was a picture of a really large propeller under water, with two blades missing! I froze! The sound on the TV was low, and it was too difficult to make out what the news people were saying, but they showed a sketch of a small submarine, a sketch of a young man, and a small dog. My head started to spin, and I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to ask the man at the counter to turn up the volume but didn’t want to draw attention to us. I paid for our groceries, thanked the man, and went out the door. My heart was thumping in my chest.
Outside, I stared at the telephone booth. Maybe I could call them and tell them that it wasn’t me, and that the sub is still there at the bottom of the pier. I could explain how we had walked all day yesterday, and slept by the river, and couldn’t possibly have sabotaged the tanker. That was a good idea. I stepped inside the booth and reached for the phone book. Then I hesitated. If I called them, and told them it wasn’t me, they’d ask me if I knew who it was, and I’d have to tell them I didn’t know, because there was no way I would tell on Jewels. Problem was, I wasn’t very good at lying, especially under pressure. And they would most certainly put me under pressure if they brought me in for questioning. And if they did bring me in—which they would surely do—and kept me locked up for a month or two while they figured it all out, what would become of Hollie and Seaweed?
I stepped out of the phone booth and walked slowly back to the river. I needed to think it through. Someone had sabotaged the tanker, and had been put up to it by Jewels, who had received the idea from me. Did that make me responsible? Or was it possible that somebody else had come up with the same idea? That seemed unlikely, though I supposed it was possible. Either way, they thought it had been me. And they would come looking for me now. And I doubted they’d bother to search the bottom of the pier. They’d think we had sailed away. They’d search for us at sea.
Chapter Ten
WE FOLLOWED THE RIVER into Walyunga National Park, which was filled with trees, rocks, hills, and gorges, and, with its dry red earth, was what I imagined Mars might look like if it had trees. The walk along the river was well shaded, secluded, and wonderful, even though I was nervous in my gut all day. But I had come up with a plan.
Since the police, coast guard, and navy would be searching for us at sea, and would assume we were trying to sail away; then, after a week or so, when they hadn’t found us, they’d surely think we were gone for good, and would stop searching. So all we had to do was stay away from the pier for about a week or so, sneak in at night, motor the sub under another ship, and follow it out to sea. We’d appear as one vessel on sonar, and be undetectable by radar. Then, once we were out of Australian waters, I would contact the Perth harbour police on shortwave, and explain exactly what had happened—that it hadn’t been me, and that I didn’t know who it was.
I thought it was a good plan, and it might have worked, except for one very unlucky moment. Just before entering the park, I went searching for a small store to buy more water and snacks. We were eating and drinking more food and water than on the sub. If we were going to disappear into the woods for a week, we had to have more of both. But the only store I could find was inside a small garage, and didn’t offer much. I went in without taking my hat off, and left Hollie outside in the tool bag, in the shade. I felt confident no one would recognize me from the picture that had been on the news, especially when it
As I stood at the cash with Hollie at my feet, waiting for the clerk to ring in our groceries, I looked up at the TV screen above his head, which was showing the news. There was a picture of a ship down at the harbour—a tanker. Then there was a picture of a really large propeller under water, with two blades missing! I froze! The sound on the TV was low, and it was too difficult to make out what the news people were saying, but they showed a sketch of a small submarine, a sketch of a young man, and a small dog. My head started to spin, and I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to ask the man at the counter to turn up the volume but didn’t want to draw attention to us. I paid for our groceries, thanked the man, and went out the door. My heart was thumping in my chest.
Outside, I stared at the telephone booth. Maybe I could call them and tell them that it wasn’t me, and that the sub is still there at the bottom of the pier. I could explain how we had walked all day yesterday, and slept by the river, and couldn’t possibly have sabotaged the tanker. That was a good idea. I stepped inside the booth and reached for the phone book. Then I hesitated. If I called them, and told them it wasn’t me, they’d ask me if I knew who it was, and I’d have to tell them I didn’t know, because there was no way I would tell on Jewels. Problem was, I wasn’t very good at lying, especially under pressure. And they would most certainly put me under pressure if they brought me in for questioning. And if they did bring me in—which they would surely do—and kept me locked up for a month or two while they figured it all out, what would become of Hollie and Seaweed?
I stepped out of the phone booth and walked slowly back to the river. I needed to think it through. Someone had sabotaged the tanker, and had been put up to it by Jewels, who had received the idea from me. Did that make me responsible? Or was it possible that somebody else had come up with the same idea? That seemed unlikely, though I supposed it was possible. Either way, they thought it had been me. And they would come looking for me now. And I doubted they’d bother to search the bottom of the pier. They’d think we had sailed away. They’d search for us at sea.
Chapter Ten
WE FOLLOWED THE RIVER into Walyunga National Park, which was filled with trees, rocks, hills, and gorges, and, with its dry red earth, was what I imagined Mars might look like if it had trees. The walk along the river was well shaded, secluded, and wonderful, even though I was nervous in my gut all day. But I had come up with a plan.
Since the police, coast guard, and navy would be searching for us at sea, and would assume we were trying to sail away; then, after a week or so, when they hadn’t found us, they’d surely think we were gone for good, and would stop searching. So all we had to do was stay away from the pier for about a week or so, sneak in at night, motor the sub under another ship, and follow it out to sea. We’d appear as one vessel on sonar, and be undetectable by radar. Then, once we were out of Australian waters, I would contact the Perth harbour police on shortwave, and explain exactly what had happened—that it hadn’t been me, and that I didn’t know who it was.
I thought it was a good plan, and it might have worked, except for one very unlucky moment. Just before entering the park, I went searching for a small store to buy more water and snacks. We were eating and drinking more food and water than on the sub. If we were going to disappear into the woods for a week, we had to have more of both. But the only store I could find was inside a small garage, and didn’t offer much. I went in without taking my hat off, and left Hollie outside in the tool bag, in the shade. I felt confident no one would recognize me from the picture that had been on the news, especially when it
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