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in Timber Creek. She’ll be out of jail by then. So will I. Think about it, Hector; you have nothing to lose.’
    â€˜You’re talkin’ rubbish, Quigley, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.’
    â€˜Good, I’ll pay you and your sister a visit immediately after my release.’
    â€˜Yeah, and you’d better bring that treasure map with you.’
    â€˜Oh, I shall, Hector. You can be certain of that.’
    Hector watched as Quigley crossed the prison yard, head in the air like a Grand Duke. ‘What an idiot,’ he said under his breath before spitting on the ground for the third time that morning.

Chapter Twenty-One
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    F inally settled in and refreshed after their boat journey, Snook, Jars and Quigley stood on the track outside the shack under the canopy of the forest, waiting for Reg to lock up. Jars looked up. She couldn’t see the sky, hidden by overhanging trees, but she knew what the airy smell of dampness meant. ‘It might rain later,’ she remarked to no one in particular.
    â€˜Let’s hope not,’ Reg said, as he joined the group.
    â€˜Where are we goin’?’ Snook asked.
    â€˜Left. If we follow the track skirting the river. That’ll take us deeper into the forest. From memory, there are a few sidetracks leading off this one; we could try going up one of them. You know, have a look around. Get our bearings so to speak. What do you say? Good idea?’
    â€˜I don’t want to go too far,’ Quenton said. ‘My legs are still aching from before.’
    Jars saw Snook roll his eyes. She also saw him bite his lip. She smiled to herself. Snook was trying his best to cope with Quenton. Good on him, she said to herself, at the same time wondering how long his patience would last. Quenton’s whining really was exasperating.
    They made their way along the track in single file, dodging the occasional puddle and fallen tree branch. Birds continued to issue their warnings, and every now and then, to their left and right, the grass and ferns rustled.
    â€˜Lizards,’ Jars commented to Snook, pointing into the bush.
    â€˜Yeah, or snakes.’
    â€˜What? What did you say?’ Quenton asked running to see what they were talking about. ‘Did you say snakes?’
    â€˜Don’t worry about it,’ Snook said, ‘just watch you don’t step on one.’
    A half-hour later they came to a river. ‘It’s blocking our path,’ Snook said, disappointment showing in his face.
    â€˜Looks like the end of the line,’ Reg said. ‘We must have missed those other offshoots I was talking about. ‘We might as well head back. It’s close to lunchtime anyway.’
    At that moment, Jars noticed something to her left; some of the ferns had been broken and several fungi had been knocked from one or two dead logs. She bent over, looking closer. Yes, it was another track, barely visible. ‘I wonder where that goes?’ she said pointing.
    Snook peered into the tangle of ferns. ‘Where? Whatcha lookin’ at?’
    â€˜There,’ Jars said, pointing to the ground. ‘The vegetation has been disturbed, the soil, too. Not by a wild animal though, by something more human I’d say.’
    Snook bent over to look. ‘I can’t see a thing. Have you got x-ray vision or what?’
    â€˜No, but I’ll tell you something that’s more than a little strange.’
    â€˜What’s that?’
    Jars, eyes squeezed into slits as she bent over to examine the ground more closely. ‘It’s the impressions on the ground. I’ve never seen anything like it.’
    â€˜What? Howdya mean?’
    â€˜They’re webbed.’
    Reg wandered over; then he bent and parted the ferns that had grown over the path’s opening. He saw the marks. ‘Platypus have webbed feet,’ he said. ‘It might have been one of them.’
    â€˜No, I don’t think so,’ Jars