particularly enjoyed. Adom hustled his new friend away before anything worse could happen, down through the trees to the shore and the forgotten, but still stinky, tallow bucket.
‘Don’t worry. We’ll speak to the Holy Father when he comes to the boats,’ Adom reassured them as they went, but Eo wasn’t listening.
‘He hit me! He hit me!’ he kept squeaking, until Adom turned on him.
Are you trying to tell me no one ever hit you before?!’ he asked incredulously. ‘How do you learn anything?’
‘I bite him from time to time,’ Hurple offered.
Adom shook his head. The G world sounded too good to be true. In the meantime…
‘Here, you can help.’ He cobbled together another brush out of sapling branches and handed it to Eo. ‘The sooner this is done, the sooner we can be ready to grab just the right moment and ask Columba for help.’
Hurple took one sniff of the stuff and retreated to the edge of the trees, while the boys got on with the job. And the reason they both needed to completely wash themselves and their clothes in the sea afterwards had everything to do with their zeal for labour, and nothing at all to do with any silly tallow-flicking fights…
The afternoon was wearing on when the first of the brothers started to return to the shore. The mood they brought with them was cheerful. Two people had been healed on the spot and several others were expected to get better soon.
‘ He should be coming down as well any time now,’ Adom whispered to Eo and the ferret. ‘Now, you must speak to him as soon as he’s here – before he wants to get into the boats – he hates to hang about.’
But it was easier said than done. At first Brother Drostlin had the Holy Father’s ear and no one else dared approach. When the monk was finally finished, a crowd of latecomers rushed up to Columba, begging his blessing before he left. Then there was a homily – far too short to be a proper sermon, which was expected to go on for several hours, but still long enough to be eating up a lot more of the remaining time. The two boys tried to work their way up to the front of the listening congregation, but were caught by Brother Drostlin, who dragged them away by the ears.
‘This isn’t working !’ hissed Hurple through his teeth, as they huddled disconsolately by the boats. ‘How can we ask him if we can’t get to him? The tide is practically on the turn, the Traveller is going to be back to drag us away any minute and we’re still without a Gift to take with us.’
It was Adom who came up with a plan.
‘If you can’t come to him ,’ he said, ‘then what we need is for the Holy Father to come to you. ’
‘How?’
‘When the demon thing rises up out of the Otherworld to claim you, all you have to do is call out to Columbato save you – and he will. I know he will! How could he resist? It’s not as if it’s the first time he’s dealt with Kelpies. Ask anyone, they’ll tell you. And can you think of any better way of getting his attention? Not even Brother Drostlin could distract him if something like that was happening!’
‘Well…’ said Hurple.
‘It might work,’ said Eo thoughtfully. ‘I know he’d be our champion if only he knew we needed one.’
‘It’s cutting it very fine, though,’ said Hurple, rubbing an ear with his paw. And what if he refuses to help? What if he just stands there and says, “Not today. I’m not in the mood”?’
Eo stared down at him. ‘You’ve met him. Can you seriously imagine him saying anything like that?’
Hurple looked embarrassed. ‘No. No, I can’t.’
‘Then that’s what we’ll do,’ said Eo firmly. ‘It won’t be long now.’
Which was when Adom realized, suddenly and with a great sinking of the heart, that it was about to be over. The G boy and the talking beast were going on to face unimaginable dangers and excitements and strange new places and times. And he was going to go back to rowing and Brother Drostlin and the
‘Don’t worry. We’ll speak to the Holy Father when he comes to the boats,’ Adom reassured them as they went, but Eo wasn’t listening.
‘He hit me! He hit me!’ he kept squeaking, until Adom turned on him.
Are you trying to tell me no one ever hit you before?!’ he asked incredulously. ‘How do you learn anything?’
‘I bite him from time to time,’ Hurple offered.
Adom shook his head. The G world sounded too good to be true. In the meantime…
‘Here, you can help.’ He cobbled together another brush out of sapling branches and handed it to Eo. ‘The sooner this is done, the sooner we can be ready to grab just the right moment and ask Columba for help.’
Hurple took one sniff of the stuff and retreated to the edge of the trees, while the boys got on with the job. And the reason they both needed to completely wash themselves and their clothes in the sea afterwards had everything to do with their zeal for labour, and nothing at all to do with any silly tallow-flicking fights…
The afternoon was wearing on when the first of the brothers started to return to the shore. The mood they brought with them was cheerful. Two people had been healed on the spot and several others were expected to get better soon.
‘ He should be coming down as well any time now,’ Adom whispered to Eo and the ferret. ‘Now, you must speak to him as soon as he’s here – before he wants to get into the boats – he hates to hang about.’
But it was easier said than done. At first Brother Drostlin had the Holy Father’s ear and no one else dared approach. When the monk was finally finished, a crowd of latecomers rushed up to Columba, begging his blessing before he left. Then there was a homily – far too short to be a proper sermon, which was expected to go on for several hours, but still long enough to be eating up a lot more of the remaining time. The two boys tried to work their way up to the front of the listening congregation, but were caught by Brother Drostlin, who dragged them away by the ears.
‘This isn’t working !’ hissed Hurple through his teeth, as they huddled disconsolately by the boats. ‘How can we ask him if we can’t get to him? The tide is practically on the turn, the Traveller is going to be back to drag us away any minute and we’re still without a Gift to take with us.’
It was Adom who came up with a plan.
‘If you can’t come to him ,’ he said, ‘then what we need is for the Holy Father to come to you. ’
‘How?’
‘When the demon thing rises up out of the Otherworld to claim you, all you have to do is call out to Columbato save you – and he will. I know he will! How could he resist? It’s not as if it’s the first time he’s dealt with Kelpies. Ask anyone, they’ll tell you. And can you think of any better way of getting his attention? Not even Brother Drostlin could distract him if something like that was happening!’
‘Well…’ said Hurple.
‘It might work,’ said Eo thoughtfully. ‘I know he’d be our champion if only he knew we needed one.’
‘It’s cutting it very fine, though,’ said Hurple, rubbing an ear with his paw. And what if he refuses to help? What if he just stands there and says, “Not today. I’m not in the mood”?’
Eo stared down at him. ‘You’ve met him. Can you seriously imagine him saying anything like that?’
Hurple looked embarrassed. ‘No. No, I can’t.’
‘Then that’s what we’ll do,’ said Eo firmly. ‘It won’t be long now.’
Which was when Adom realized, suddenly and with a great sinking of the heart, that it was about to be over. The G boy and the talking beast were going on to face unimaginable dangers and excitements and strange new places and times. And he was going to go back to rowing and Brother Drostlin and the
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