Child of the Cloud Page 20

  ‘You look like you could do with some chocolate and a lie down,’ Horace said in concern.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Whisker muttered. ‘Just a little wobbly from all the flying.’

  Horace gave a sharp whistle and several sturdy squirrels skidded to a halt.

  ‘Our illustrious leader needs a little assistance,’ he instructed. ‘See what you can do.’

  ‘What’s wrong with him?’ asked a brown-furred squirrel with a lazy eye.

  ‘Well, for a start, he’s half-dead from climbing up a mountain to rescue you …’ Horace said curtly.

  ‘Three-quarters dead, by the look of him,’ replied the squirrel. ‘But if your lordship pleases, we can make a stretcher from one of the blankets.’

  ‘That’s really not necessary,’ Whisker said. ‘I appreciate the gesture, but I’m perfectly capable of walking on my –’

  ‘Rubbish!’ Horace said firmly as Whisker almost toppled into the stream. ‘We either carry you now or bury you later. It’s your choice.’

  Whisker felt Anna tugging on his sleeve. The pleading look in her eyes quickly convinced him to relent.

  Feeling rather self-conscious about the whole ordeal, Whisker was hoisted into a blanket. He managed to relax slightly when he noticed Ruby being given the same treatment by several possums.

  ‘She’ll slow us down with that ankle of hers,’ Horace said loudly, and without a word, Ruby abandoned her walking stick, climbed into the blanket and fell fast asleep.

  Slumber didn’t come as easily for Whisker, and he stayed awake for some time, replaying the day’s events in his head.

  What a day it has been, he thought with heavy eyes.

  Anna walked beside him like a shadow, her tiny fingers curled around the edge of the blanket. Comforted by her presence, he finally felt a great peace descending over him. And with that peace, he let the gurgle of the stream and the rocking of the squirrels gently lull him to sleep.

  The Safe House

  Hours later, Whisker was jolted awake by a thunderous roaring sound. He opened his eyes to see a huge wall of water cascading down in front of him. The dim light of dawn shimmered through the glassy liquid, bending and refracting as the water splashed playfully onto the rocks below.

  Raising his head for a clearer look, Whisker realised that he was being carried along a narrow path and passing directly beneath the waterfall. Stocking-shaped stalactites descended from a rocky outcrop above him, dripping icy water onto stalagmites below. The path continued in an arc around a shallow pool, finally reaching the cave mouth where the subterranean stream met the outside world. The entrance to the passage was partly obscured by small conifer trees and snow, but Whisker could just make out the blue-grey water of the glacier stream glistening ahead.

  Looking back the way he had come, he spotted Anna sleeping soundly on the back of a hamster and Ruby beginning to stir in her own blanket. The passage was teeming with animals, but there was no sign of Horace or Chatterbeak.

  ‘You can put me down now,’ he whispered to the four squirrels. ‘Thanks. I feel much better.’

  The squirrels looked hesitant. Clearly their orders had been to carry him all the way to the beaver’s lodge.

  ‘I’m fine, really,’ Whisker reassured them. ‘You won’t have to dig any graves today.’

  The squirrels simply grunted and dropped the blanket on the ground. Groaning, Whisker dragged himself to his feet.

  ‘Have you seen Horace?’ he asked the squirrel with the lazy eye.

  The squirrel scratched his head as if trying to remember something.

  ‘Sir Horace …?’ he mumbled, staring at a spot between Whisker and the roof. ‘Oh yes. Sir Horace and his fair steed have gone yonder in search of feathered foe.’ He bowed low. ‘His exact words, My Lord.’

  ‘A scouting party?’ Whisker said looking towards the cave mouth. ‘Chatterbeak and Horace – the noisiest mouths on the mountain? I hope they’re alright …’

  As he spoke, the silhouette of two figures came into view at the entrance to the cave. One was extremely short, the other was large and feathery.

  Whisker breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘What did I miss?’ Ruby asked, rolling out of her blanket as Horace drew closer.

  ‘Snow, mist and a beautiful sunrise,’ Horace said cheerfully. ‘And not a bird in sight.’

  Chatterbeak nudged him with a wing. ‘Ahem?’

  Horace corrected himself. ‘No nasty birds in sight.’

  ‘So the Emperor Eagle and his merciless minions haven’t discovered this entrance?’ Ruby ventured.

  ‘Not yet,’ Horace replied. ‘There are countless inlets, joining the glacial stream and it would be near impossible to spot this one through the morning mist.’

  ‘Well, that’s certainly a relief,’ Ruby said. ‘I doubt those birds would simply fly back to their nests and forget about us.’

  ‘What about the beaver’s lodge?’ Whisker asked.

  Horace waved his hook over his shoulder. ‘It was roughly where you said it would be – a short walk downstream towards the lake. We even saw smoke rising from the chimney – although Chatterbeak thought it was mist. If you ask me, I think they’re cooking breakfast.’

  At the mention of breakfast, the two hungry Guinea pigs began scrambling towards the entrance.

  ‘Hang on,’ Horace yelled, taking off after them. ‘You can’t just go barging in there. There are rules of chivalry to obey …’

  Whisker shook his head as the three animals disappeared through the cave mouth. ‘Poor Viola doesn’t know what she’s in for.’

  The throng of animals gathered in the snow outside the beaver’s lodge, hungry and shivering. Whisker stood at the front of the pack, his eyes fixed on the footprints surrounding the front door.

  Two sets of prints led away from the lodge, disappearing into the mist in the direction of the lake. A single set of footprints led to the front door.

  Only one beaver is home, Whisker concluded. But which one …?

  With Anna by his side, Whisker raised his paw and rapped on the round window. TAP, TAP, TAP.

  There was a cry of ‘Coming,’ from inside followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. The handle turned and the door creaked open to reveal the flustered face of Viola. She stood staring at the animals for several seconds, her teeth vibrating anxiously in her open mouth.

  ‘Beaver’s britches!’ she exclaimed, ‘There’s an entire zoo on my doorstep.’ Spotting Whisker and his sister at the head of the food queue, her face quickly relaxed into a joyous smile.

  ‘Whisker!’ she cried. ‘Is that you?’

  ‘Good morning, Viola,’ Whisker said in his politest voice. ‘It’s lovely to see you again.’

  ‘And this must be little Anna,’ Viola said, bending down to greet the tiny rat. ‘Well, aren’t you adorable?’

  As if rehearsed, Anna let out a giggle of delight and extended a tiny paw to the beaver. Voila shook it with two fingers, then raised her eyes to the sea of expectant faces. ‘It seems you’ve made a few friends since I saw you last, Whisker.’

  ‘Hungry friends,’ shouted one of the Guinea pigs.

  ‘Starving friends!’ shouted the other.

  ‘Famished friends!’ they shouted together.

  ‘Oh boy,’ Horace groaned, trying to hide behind his hook. ‘So much for sticking to the script.’

  Viola simply laughed. ‘Not to worry. It’s better to be honest than malnourished.’ She flung the door wide open to reveal an enormous crate overflowing with carrots and cabbages, lettuces and leeks and an assortment of garden vegetables.

  ‘You’re in luck,’ she said. ‘Our weekly delivery from Hawk’s View has only just arrived, so there’s plenty of food for everyone.’

  The Guinea pigs simply stared at the mountain of vegetables, unable to believe their eyes.

  ‘Well?’ she said, gesturing through the doorway. ‘Don’t just stand there. Come in. Come in.’

  ‘HURRAH!’ cheered the Guinea pigs.
‘Three cheers for Viola. And four cheers for food!’

  Two by two the animals poured inside. Whisker stood beside Viola as hamsters and hares, squirrels and shrews crowded into the living room.

  ‘It’s been such a busy morning already,’ Viola sighed as more animals squeezed their way through the narrow doorway. ‘First the badger drops by with our delivery – half an hour late, mind you – then without warning Gertrude jumps up from the table and runs off after him.’

  ‘Really?’ Whisker said, his ears pricking up with sudden interest.

  ‘Oh yes,’ she replied. ‘It was quite a sight. One moment she was calmly reading the newspaper and the next thing I knew she was in hysterics, insisting that she had to catch the badger before he sailed away. What the Tasmanian devil she was thinking I have no idea. I mean, what’s so important that it can’t wait until after breakfast?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Whisker said with a shrug. ‘Maybe she read some –’

  ‘No bouncing with your boots on!’ Viola’s voice cut him off midsentence. She picked up her enormous ladle and waved it at a field mouse using the couch as a trampoline. ‘My sister would have a fit …’

  As Viola reprimanded the cheeky mouse, Whisker moved silently towards the dining table. Gertrude’s unexplained behaviour made him uneasy, and he thought a peek at the newspaper would set his mind to rest. He took one look at the page lying open in the centre of the table – and froze.

  What he saw chilled his tail to the bone.

  Without a second thought, he scooped up the open page and stuffed it under his coat.

  Ruby saw the action from across the room and raised an eyebrow in question. Remaining calm, Whisker tipped his head in the direction of the front door and mouthed ‘go.’

  Ruby nodded and, with a quick whisper in Anna’s ear, she began leading the little rat through the crowd of animals.

  As Whisker turned to follow them, he noticed Viola smiling at him from the couch, the ladle in one paw, the mouse’s tail in the other.

  ‘Anything wrong?’ she asked.

  ‘I-I think we’ve left a few stragglers behind,’ Whisker lied. ‘I’d better go and investigate. I’ll be back in a minute.’

  ‘Very well,’ Viola replied over the chatter of the animals. ‘I’ll hold the fort until you return.’ She returned her attention to the mouse. ‘Now, repeat after me, no more field mice jumping on the couch …’

  Whisker found Horace and Chatterbeak standing on the doorstep, directing the last animal into the cosy lodge.

  ‘Leaving already?’ Horace asked as Ruby and Anna brushed past him.

  ‘Plans have changed,’ Whisker said, hastily closing the door.

  ‘But what about breakfast?’ Horace whined.

  Whisker didn’t answer. He simply pulled Anna and Ruby forward and began trudging through the slushy snow in the direction of the passage. Horace gave Chatterbeak a confused shrug and hurried after them.

  The Morning News

  Whisker looked over his shoulder to see Gertrude’s footprints disappearing into the mist beside the trail of the badger. There was no sign of either animal.

  Increasing his pace, he continued walking until the lodge was out of sight.

  ‘In here,’ he hissed, directing his companions into a small hollow in the side of the cliff face.

  ‘But this isn’t the passage,’ Horace protested.

  ‘I know,’ Whisker said, removing the newspaper from his coat. ‘We’re not heading for the passage.’

  He spread the crumpled sheet on a rock. His companions took one look at the headline and let out a collective gasp.

  Horace pointed his hook at a collection of images accompanying the article. ‘This is bad. This is really bad.’

  ‘It gets worse,’ Whisker said gravely. ‘From the few lines I’ve read, our entire world is about to be turned upside down.’

  ‘You’d better read the rest of it,’ Ruby said, ‘– and out loud.’

  Whisker glanced regretfully at Anna and began to read.

  Whisker finished reading. No one spoke. All eyes were fixed on the four wanted posters to the right of the article. As Madam Pearl had predicted, the bounty on Whisker’s head had skyrocketed to one thousand gold coins. His three companions each had rewards of five hundred gold coins printed below their portraits.

  ‘That mangy mutt, Bartholomew Brawl must have blabbed on us,’ Horace muttered. ‘Rotten pies to Sea Dogs and putrid pies to inflated prices! Our humble rescue party is worth a small fortune. Whoever turns us in will be set for life.’

  ‘No one’s going to turn us in,’ Ruby said through gritted teeth. ‘Are they, Whisker?’

  Whisker didn’t answer. He simply turned in the direction of the lodge and let out a deep sigh.

  Horace’s eyes grew wide.

  ‘Gertrude!’ he hissed. ‘That beastly beaver has sold out.’

  Whisker nodded gravely. ‘If what I suspect is true, she’s already sailing to Hawk’s View with the badger.’

  ‘Caw, caw, no need to panic,’ Chatterbeak squawked, shaking his wings in a clear display of panic. ‘She doesn’t know we’re here.’

  ‘She may not know our exact location,’ Whisker said, ‘but she knows we’re somewhere on the mountain. As soon as the alarm is raised, Cloud Mountain will be crawling with sniffer hounds, hunting hawks and worse.’

  ‘That’s definitely a reason to flee,’ Ruby said.

  ‘But what about all the animals?’ Horace asked in concern. ‘We can’t just abandon them.’

  ‘Viola will take good care of them,’ Whisker said, hurriedly folding the newspaper. ‘There’s plenty of room in the lodge and more than enough food. But right now her sister Gertrude is our concern.’ He waved the crumpled paper in the direction of the lake. ‘It’s vital we reach the opposite shore of Lake Azure before she does.’

  ‘Caw, caw, leave that to me,’ Chatterbeak chirped, spreading his colourful wings. ‘It’s fine weather for a stealth flight. The wind is light and, with any luck, the morning mist will conceal us from watching eyes.’

  ‘Good,’ Whisker said, hoisting Anna onto Chatterbeak’s back. ‘I’d hate to run into any old friends when we pass Falcon Island.’

  ‘But what happens when we reach Hawk’s View?’ Horace asked anxiously. ‘We can hardly slip into a café for a spot of brunch. There’ll be wanted posters for our arrest on every street corner.’

  ‘We’re not flying to Hawk’s View,’ Whisker said, tightening his drawstring bag. ‘We’re flying to the prison.’

  ‘The prison!’ Horace exclaimed. ‘Are you out of your mind? Are you completely insane? The Governor is planning to execute every prisoner in that place and you want to –’

  Ruby clamped her paw over his mouth.

  ‘Shh,’ she hissed, looking nervously up at the sky. ‘There are four flocks of birds still hunting for us. Do you want to shout our location to the entire mountain?’

  Horace raised his eyes to the heavens and shook his head.

  ‘Alright,’ Ruby said, slowly removing her paw from his mouth. ‘Now stay quiet and let Whisker explain.’

  Whisker glanced briefly at his sister and then said in a determined voice, ‘We are going to rescue the fox.’

  Horace opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it and bit down on his hook instead.

  ‘The fox knows where our parents are,’ Whisker said simply. ‘In fact, he may be the only living creature who knows their location. In light of what we have just read, I believe their lives are in terrible danger. They could be locked in a cage, or tied up on a boat, or huddled at the bottom of a well – slowly starving to death while the fox sits in his prison cell …’

  Horace shuddered at the suggestion.

  ‘If the fox faces the gallows,’ Whisker said coldly, ‘our parents face the same fate.’

  ‘We won’t let that happen,’ Ruby said, moving her paw to the hilt of her scissor sword. ‘You can count on us.’

  ‘All of us,’ Horac
e chimed in. ‘We’re in this together.’

  ‘All two-thousand-five-hundred-gold-coins of us,’ Chatterbeak chirped.

  ‘And don’t forget the rest of the crew,’ Horace added. ‘Fred and the Captain are still on their way and they’re always up for a prison breakout!’

  ‘Thanks,’ Whisker said, touched by his friends’ loyalty. ‘And believe me, you’re worth so much more than a bounty of gold.’

  Horace moved his hook over his heart. ‘Aw shucks, what a lovely sentiment – though possibly not one to spruik around the Governor. If the bounty on our heads rises any higher, even Pete might be tempted to turn us in.’

  ‘You might consider turning yourself in before this is over,’ Whisker admitted. ‘It’s not going to be easy.’

  ‘It’s never easy with you,’ Ruby said with the hint of a grin. ‘But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.’ She turned to Anna, sitting in readiness on Chatterbeak’s back, the misty clouds swirling around her.

  Anna waved back, then gave her brother a beaming smile. It was the kind of smile that told Whisker everything was going to be alright. It gave him strength. It gave him purpose. And most of all it gave him belief.

  Sitting before him was living proof that he should never give up.

  He had ascended the mountain with hope.

  He had returned with the child of the cloud.

  Book 6

  The Golden Anchor

  Around Whisker’s neck hangs a tiny golden pendant – a symbol of hope and a reminder of his family.

  Passed down from generation to generation, the golden anchor is much more than just a lucky charm. It may be Whisker’s final hope of saving his parents …

  Discover more about the Pie Rats at:

  www.pierats.com.au