Stay:The Last Dog in Antarctica (3 page)

She was back in the black bag again. Chills carried her down the corridors and stairwells of the ship, occasionally knocking her against the walls.

‘Is the coast clear?’ she heard him whisper to Beakie.

‘Yep. Quick!’

A heavy door opened and then closed behind them. Stay smelt a strong diesel scent. The roar of the engine was so loud it made her head ring.

Chills unzipped the top of the bag. ‘All right, Stay? No one will look for you in the Engine Room.’

Stay could barely hear him over the racket. The Engine Room was long and narrow and covered in grease. A huge shaft was turning to drive the ship. Surely he wasn’t going to leave her there?

‘Where are you going to put it?’ Beakie asked.

‘Her! There’s a spare parts cupboard. I’ll zip her up in the bag and hide her there,’ Chills said.

Please don’t!
Stay thought.

‘I don’t think that’s a great idea,’ Beakie said. ‘If one of the crew finds her, they’ll take her straight to the captain. Isn’t there somewhere else?’

‘Maybe you’re right,’ Chills said. ‘Cookie might help us out. There’s a huge storeroom under the Galley.’

‘Come on, let’s get out of here,’ Beakie said. ‘It’s making me feel sick.’

Stay felt a wave of relief. She didn’t mind when Chills zipped her in again and carried her through yet another maze of corridors and steps. The ship’s layout was so complicated she wondered how anyone came to know their way around.

The diesel smell disappeared and was replaced by the much more pleasant aroma of food. Stay tried to distinguish the different smells. Raw onions. Potato peels. Mince. And something she was sure must be chocolate cake. Carol’s kitchen had had the same kind of smells and Jet had told her all about chocolate cake, which he wasn’t allowed to eat but always wanted.

‘Psst! Cookie!’ Chills hissed.

Stay heard footsteps coming towards them. ‘Up and about at last, eh? It’s too late for breakfast.’

‘Can you help us? We’ve got something we need to hide.’

‘What is it?’ Cookie asked.

‘Better you don’t know. But can we put it in your storeroom somewhere?’

‘I don’t know, Chills — sounds like trouble to me,’ Cookie said.

‘Cross my heart, no trouble,’ Chills said. ‘It’s a surprise for when we get to Davis.’

‘OK,’ Cookie said. ‘Go through the kitchen and down the back steps to the storeroom. You can put it behind the flour.’

It took a lot of shoving and grunting for Chills and Beakie to move the flour sacks out of the way and put Stay behind them in her bag. There was more grunting as they pushed the sacks back in front of her and dusted off their hands with a brisk swishing sound.

‘No one will find you there,’ Chills said. ‘Don’t worry, Stay, it won’t be for long.’

Stay thought that Chills’s voice sounded a little sad and she wished he wasn’t leaving her. He’d promised an adventure in Antarctica, but now she was shoved in the back of a storeroom inside a black bag surrounded by sacks of flour. It wasn’t very adventurous.

She wondered if there was anyone else nearby that she could send thoughts to. Someone who might be a bit more fun.

Time passed and Stay lost track of day and night. The ship rocked forwards and backwards and rolled from side to side. The bags of flour jammed into her side and felt like they were crushing her. Sometimes there were footsteps in the storeroom, but, though she concentrated hard, no one came looking for her. It was very boring.

She thought about Carol and Jet. By now, Carol probably knew Stay had been dognapped. She’d be worried. Jet might be worried too. What about all the puppies that were ready to go into school? Stay wasn’t doing her job raising money to pay for their training. What would happen to the blind people who were waiting for Guide Dogs?

And I wasn’t really dognapped,
Stay thought. She’d looked Chills in the eyes and wished for an adventure. She couldn’t blame him for taking her, but she was
leaving her important work undone and she was worried about it. The more the boat rolled and pitched and tossed, the more worried she became. She was being carried further and further from Hobart and didn’t know when she’d be back.

Stay was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn’t notice when someone came into the storeroom and started shifting the sacks of flour. It wasn’t until the person grabbed Stay’s bag and tugged at it that she realised what was happening.

‘What’s this?’ she heard a woman’s voice murmur, and there was another tug at the bag. ‘And what’s it doing in with the flour?’

The bag slid across the floor and came to rest against a pair of legs.
Rip
went the zip and light flooded in. Stay had been in the dark for so long she would have blinked if she could.

‘What on earth are you?’

The woman looking down at her in puzzlement was dressed in black-and-white checked pants and a black top. Her red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had a smudge of flour on one cheek.

Take me out of here, please,
Stay thought.

The woman crouched down and pulled the sides of the bag down. ‘You’re rather cute, aren’t you? I wonder if Cookie knows you’re here.’ She looked around and
scratched her head. ‘Better come on up to the Galley, I reckon.’

She hoisted Stay on her hip, grabbed a bag of flour with her other hand and clumped up the stairs to the Galley.

‘Check this out,’ she announced.

Everyone turned around. Stay could see half a dozen people dressed in the same kind of checked pants and black tops. Some were chopping, some cooking, some washing dishes.

‘What the hell have you got there, Ranga?’ Stay recognised Cookie’s voice as he came striding towards them.

‘Found her behind the flour,’ Ranga said. ‘Any idea where she came from?’

‘A pretty good one, actually,’ Cookie said. ‘She’s on the way to Davis.’

‘Well, she’d better come to Neptune’s blessing,’ Ranga said. ‘It’s always good to give Neptune a bit of a surprise.’

Everyone in the kitchen giggled. Stay wondered what Neptune’s blessing was.

‘Back to work,’ Cookie said. ‘Everyone’s out of bed today. A full house for dinner, and they’ll all be hungry now the sea’s calmer. Hop to it, people. And don’t forget we’ve got to make Neptune’s brew.’

Ranga placed Stay on the floor and took up a knife.
The kitchen became a flurry of activity, with everyone chopping, peeling, slicing and dicing. Stay sat quietly near Ranga, who was cutting up potatoes so fast that her hands were a blur.

Everyone else speeded up too, until Stay could hardly keep up with what they were doing. One person was stirring the soup, another was deep-frying chips, a third was slicing up the biggest pie Stay had ever seen, and another was setting out desserts on a bench. Stay could see ice-cream, blueberry tart, bread-and-butter pudding and poached pears. It looked like people on the
Aurora Australis
ate very well.

‘Ranga!’ Cookie strode down the kitchen. ‘You got the short straw. Neptune duty!’

‘Oh, no!’ Ranga wailed. ‘I did it last time.’

‘Last time was a bit mild, I recall,’ Cookie said. ‘Make it really evil. Take the dog with you.’

‘Fine, sir!’ Ranga saluted and then poked her tongue out behind Cookie’s back. ‘Why do they always give me the worst jobs?’ she asked Stay. She picked her up and clumped back downstairs to the storeroom.

Ranga set Stay on the bench before she opened the fridge, peered inside and started pulling out buckets and bowls. A strong smell filled the storeroom. Stay could see Ranga wrinkling her nose in disgust, but Stay thought it smelt wonderful.

‘Week-old vegetable scraps … check!’ Ranga said, emptying the contents of a bowl into the big white bucket on the floor. ‘Slops from Friday’s dinner … check! Out-of-date milk … check!’

She stirred the bucketful of ingredients and glanced over at Stay. ‘But not disgusting enough, according to Cookie. Let’s see, what else can I mix in?’

She rummaged through the shelves. ‘Vegemite … always good. Peanut butter … adds texture. Soy sauce?’

She straightened up. ‘Ah, I forgot the main ingredient!’ She went back to the fridge. ‘Week-old fish guts … check!’

The last ingredient smelt a bit strong even for Stay’s liking, but in it went with everything else. Ranga stirred and then lifted the spoon, holding her nose with her fingers. The mixture was thick and sloppy and light brown in colour. Something told Stay that humans wouldn’t find it so attractive.

As Ranga carried Stay and the bucket back into the kitchen, Stay could hear a strange distant roar that sounded like voices.

‘Phew!’ Cookie waved his hand in front of his face when Ranga put the bucket down. ‘Smells like a good mix this time. The hordes are gathering in the Mess and Neptune’s getting ready. Anyone in the kitchen crossing sixty degrees for the first time?’

Everyone put their heads down and chopped or stirred or scooped harder.

‘Nemo, you’re a newbie, aren’t you?’ Cookie said. ‘Get out there. And take the dog too.’

The boy who’d been stirring the soup trudged over to Cookie. ‘They never mentioned this in the apprenticeship agreement,’ he said, picking up Stay.

‘There’s a lot that never gets mentioned about Antarctica,’ Cookie said.

A sudden cheer rose from outside. ‘Greetings, King Neptune!’ Stay heard someone call.

‘Out you go, son,’ Cookie said to Nemo, and gave him a push. ‘Be grateful it can only happen to you once.’

Nemo carried Stay out of the kitchen. The Mess was jammed with people. Stay had no idea there were so many on board. There must have been a hundred at least.

A very tall creature in a long blue velvet cloak was standing with his back to Stay. His hair was pure white and on his head was a gold crown. He held a bright red trident with three sharp-looking spikes.

‘Come on, you slimy pollywogs,’ he called.

There was a gasp in the room as Nemo and Stay came into sight: everyone stared.

‘Stay!’ She heard Chills call her name from somewhere in the crowd, but there was nothing she
could do. The big man in the cloak turned around to see what the commotion was about. His skin was dark blue to match his cloak and his white beard hung down to his belly.

Nemo backed away and Stay would have run if she could, but Neptune waved his hand and another blue-skinned man, draped in fishnets and seashells, stepped forwards and grabbed Stay.

‘What have we here?’ Neptune boomed.

His assistant held Stay out for everyone to see. ‘A dog, King Neptune.’

‘A dog! And has it ever been south before?’

There was silence in the room.

‘No? Then the dog goes first,’ Neptune said.

‘Wait!’ Stay was grateful to hear Chills’s voice and see him pushing forwards through the crowd. ‘Her name is Stay. She’s with me.’

‘No problem,’ Neptune said with a grim smile. ‘We’ll do you both together.’

‘But … I’ve been south before,’ Chills said. ‘I’ve had Neptune’s blessing.’

‘Oh, come on, Chills!’ a voice called out. ‘Don’t be a wuss.’

The crowd started a slow clap, and Chills shrugged and pulled off his jumper.

‘Kneel before Neptune!’ the assistant demanded.

He knelt. The assistant put Stay down on the floor next to him and together they faced Neptune.

‘Hey — don’t let that stuff get inside her!’ Chills yelled as Neptune dipped a ladle into the bucket of slops that Ranga had prepared.

Stay felt a trickle of cold, gooey liquid run down her shoulder and the crowd started to cheer. She saw Neptune ladle the gloop from the bucket onto Chills’s head and everyone began laughing. Neptune’s helper stepped up and rubbed the slime hard into Chills’s hair.

‘I now pronounce you South Polar Sea Dogs!’ Neptune boomed. ‘Part of the great brotherhood of sailors who have crossed sixty degrees south.’

Chills grinned ruefully and tried to wipe the slime from his head and shoulders. Stay realised he was laughing. They were all laughing, even the ones who were going to face the same fate. Suddenly she didn’t feel so bad. It was a game, that was all.

‘Wait!’ It was the captain’s voice and Stay felt a shiver of fear. He came pushing through the crowd and stopped in front of Neptune.

‘This dog is a stowaway,’ he said. ‘She doesn’t belong to Chills. She belongs to the Royal Guide Dogs. She can’t go to Antarctica. I’m taking her into custody.’

Chills grabbed Stay and held her hard against his chest. He smelt of fish guts, vegetable scraps and Vegemite: an utterly delicious aroma that made Stay want to stay there forever.

‘Stay is here on official business, Boss,’ Chills said in a loud voice. ‘She’s fundraising.’

‘How much money has she raised?’ the Boss asked. He reached down and grabbed her. Chills’s arms were so slimy that Stay slid out of them easily. The captain held her up high and shook her. The single coin in her insides rattled loudly.

‘One coin!’ the captain said. ‘The Royal Guide Dogs won’t be happy about that. Do you know how much money she’d be making if she was sitting outside a supermarket?’

Chills got to his feet. ‘That’s because we haven’t started fundraising yet. Everyone who’s getting Neptune’s
blessing today has to make a donation. Get your money out! Put your coins in Stay’s head before you kneel!’

The captain put Stay back down. There was a lot of shuffling and scuffling in the room and Stay could see people reaching into their pockets. As each small group came up to receive Neptune’s blessing, they put money into the slot in Stay’s head. Then they knelt down in front of Neptune and were thoroughly slimed, to the raucous cheers of their shipmates. By the time everyone had finished, the whole Mess was covered in slime and Stay was heavy with coins.

‘See?’ Chills said to the captain with a smile. ‘She’s hard at work as an official Davis Station expeditioner. She’ll raise far more money on this trip than she’d get at an ordinary old supermarket.’

A big cheer rose up around the room. ‘Let her stay! Let her stay!’ everyone chanted. Stay looked around in surprise. It sounded as though people liked having her around.

Then someone at the back called out: ‘We can pay the dog for Neptune’s revenge!’

An even bigger cheer rose up and Stay wondered what they were talking about.

‘Ten dollars!’ someone called, and there was a round of clapping. A man pushed forwards out of the crowd and put some folded-up notes into Stay’s head. ‘Twenty-five
dollars!’ a woman called, and followed suit. When someone yelled, ‘Fifty dollars!’ the cheering rose to a new level. Finally a big bearded man stamped forwards. ‘One hundred dollars for the chance to slime Neptune!’ he boomed. ‘You’ll have to take it on trust. It’s up in my cabin.’

The cheering dropped to a whisper as the bearded man stood in front of Neptune. ‘Now it’s your turn,’ he said.

‘Don’t hold back, Horse!’ came a yell from the crowd. Someone brought a chair and King Neptune sat down heavily. Horse picked up the bucket of slops and raised it high. He slowly turned it and emptied the contents over Neptune’s head, and the whole room went wild. Horse put the bucket down and rubbed the slime into Neptune’s hair and beard, almost skidding over on the slippery floor.

People are very strange,
thought Stay. But she didn’t care. She was thrilled about how much money she’d raised for the Guide Dogs. She was nearly half full of coins, and there were lots of notes in there too. All those puppies waiting to be trained wouldn’t have to wait so long.

Finally Horse was finished. Neptune got to his feet, bowed to everyone and limped out of the Mess, trailing slime behind him. There was a big round of applause as he disappeared.

‘Dinner’s in an hour!’ Cookie yelled out. ‘Remember, Neptune likes to turn off the hot water!’

There was a collective groan and everyone who’d been slimed made a rush for the door. The rest started to clean up with mops and buckets. Ranga knelt beside Stay with a wet cloth and a bucket of fresh water and wiped her clean again.

‘I’ll put her in the Window of Sin,’ Cookie said. He bent down to pick her up. ‘Phew, girl, you’re heavy now,’ he said, hoisting her in the air. ‘What did Chills say her name was?’

‘Stay,’ Ranga said.

‘Righteo, Stay,’ Cookie said. ‘I know just the spot for you.’ He carried her over to the window that opened between the Mess and the Galley, where Stay had seen all the desserts being laid out earlier. One of the kitchen boys moved the bowls and trays around to make some space. Cookie placed Stay right in the middle of the desserts, between the bread-and-butter pudding and the blueberry tart.

‘A coin for each dessert!’ He laughed.

Everyone came back for dinner not long after. They had fresh clothes and wet hair and some of them still smelt faintly of Neptune’s slime. A few were grumbling about the cold showers, but most were smiling and some gave Stay more coins before they helped themselves
to dessert. As the coins clinked down and joined the growing pile inside her, Stay felt very pleased.

Until she looked up to see the Boss standing in front of her. He took a few scoops of blueberry tart and looked down at Stay, his forehead wrinkled. ‘It’s all very well to raise the money,’ he said. ‘But how’s it going to get back to the Royal Guide Dogs?’

Stay felt a pang. It was true: she had no idea how to get the money back to Hobart and, until it was there, she wasn’t really doing her job.

The Boss gave her a pat on the head. ‘Perhaps you’d better come and stay with me for safekeeping. Cookie! Bring the dog up to the Bridge after dinner. That’s an order.’

‘Sure thing, Boss,’ Cookie called out from the kitchen.

Stay didn’t like the sound of that at all.