The Gum Tree Gang and the Mystery at the Old Queenslander (14 page)

Tracey glanced at the old
house as she exited from Mrs.
Potter's
place. She started running towards the police
station, then halted.

"The scraping sound...that's
it!" Tracey turned back
towards the old
Queenslander. She raced across the road
and
ran up the steps, heading straight for the fireplace
room. The room looked eerie in the early
morning
gloom. Her eyes scanned the
fireplace. She started
counting, "One, two,
three, four,...two, three,

four...here...no! Five, six,
seven. One,...three, four,
here!" Highly
excited, she placed her hand on the fourth brick. "Please, let this
be it...yes!"

In a few moments, she was
running towards the police
station again.
Tracey felt like she could fly, she was so
elated. It was worth it to waste a few minutes going
back
to the old Queenslander. She pushed
open the door and
stood in front of a desk,
breathless.

A sandy haired policeman
stared at her over his
paperwork. "Good
morning young lady. You're an early
bird.
What can we do for you?" he asked casually, as
though young girls came running into the police station at;ix
thirty every morning.

"There's something bad going
on. It's to do with tht
Did Queenslander up
the road. My friends and I...,'
Tracey
stopped to take a breath. She felt very flustered
Where should she start with the story?

"First of all, sit down over
here and we'll take you
name and address.
After that, you can tell me what it
you
want to say." The friendly man smiled at Tracey an( Dulled up a
swivel chair next to his desk.

Tracey sat down, and after
giving her name and address
began to tell
her story from the beginning of their
adventure at the old Queenslander!

~~~~
Chapter
Twenty-nine
~~~~

Bush Track

"Where are we?" Matthew
looked over Krystal's
shoulder. "I'm
getting sore," he complained.

"Well, I've never been here
before either," Krystal
retorted. She had
looked and looked as they rode, but
nothing
seemed familiar. "Wait, I can hear something."
She pulled on Dilly's mane to stop her for a
moment.

Dilly gladly stopped and
munched a small tuft of grass
at the side
of the track.

"It's a car!" said Matthew
excitedly. "Someone's
coming." He almost
lost his balance trying to look
around
him.

"Well, there must be a road
near here. C'me on Dilly,
this way,"
Krystal said, urging the horse along, kicking
the beast gently with her the heels of her joggers.

The horse raised its head
and cantered in the direction
of the
noise.

The track led to a narrow bitumen road.

"Look, there's a signpost."
Krystal headed Dilly in the
direction of
the tee intersection.
Police Driving
Centre,
Krystal read. "Terrific, let's go."
She gave Dilly a sound
kick and the horse
started galloping.

Krystal hung on to the
horse's neck and Matthew hung
on to
Krystal.

"I c-a-a-n't st-a-a-y on
much lon-ger," Matthew
screamed through the
jolts.

"Just hang on," yelled
Krystal, tightening her grip.
"Whoa whoa,"
she called to Dilly. After a few moments
the horse slowed down. They were in a clearing with a
building to their right.

"You're not silly, Dilly,"
said Krystal, patting the
horse's neck. The
two slid off the animal, glad to be on
the
ground again.

"This is it. Burbank Police
Driving School." Krystal
read the sign.
"Let's see if someone's here." She was
already heading towards the front of the building.

Matthew followed stiffly.

"It must be a bit too early,
the whole place is locked
up," said
Krystal, peering through the glass doors.
"Maybe we should try a bit further down the road."

"I think we should wait." Matthew felt too
sore to ride any more.

"Well, I hope we don't have
to wait too long. If Morrie
comes back to
the house and finds you and Dilly gone,
they'll be after us, for sure," said Krystal, checking
her
wrist watch.

"Maybe we should keep goin'
then," said Matthew,
rubbing his legs. He
certainly didn't want to be tied up
again.

Just then they heard the sound of a car close
by.

"Quick, get behind the building. It might be
Morrie,"

said Krystal, darting around
the back of the building.
Matthew
followed.

"What about Dilly?" Matthew
asked, "She sure looks
six thirty every
morning.

"There's something bad going
on. It's to do with the
old Queenslander up
the road. My friends and I...,"
Tracey
stopped to take a breath. She felt very flustered. Where should she
start with the story?

"First of all, sit down over
here and we'll take your
name and address.
After that, you can tell me what it is
you
want to say." The friendly man smiled at Tracey and
pulled up a swivel chair next to his
desk.

Tracey sat down, and after
giving her name and address,
began to tell
her story from the beginning of their
adventure at the old Queenslander!

"Don't worry, I'll run to
the police station. It'll be
quicker than a
telephone. Will you take care of Kevin
then?" Tracey asked, turning to leave.

"I'll take good care of the
lad, to be sure," she replied,
coaxing
Kevin to drink more of the blue goo. "Now,
young man, where do you hurt?" she queried, eyeing
Kevin all over.

Tracey glanced at the old
house as she exited from Mrs.
Potter's
place. She started running towards the police
station, then halted.

"The scraping sound...that's
it!" Tracey turned back
towards the old
Queenslander. She raced across the road
and
ran up the steps, heading straight for the fireplace
room. The room looked eerie in the early
morning
gloom. Her eyes scanned the
fireplace. She started
counting, "One, two,
three, four,...two, three,

four...here...no! Five, six,
seven. One,...three, four,
here!" Highly
excited, she placed her hand on the fourth brick. "Please, let this
be it...yes!"

In a few moments, she was
running towards the police
station again.
Tracey felt like she could fly, she was so
elated. It was worth it to waste a few minutes going
back
to the old Queenslander. She pushed
open the door and
stood in front of a desk,
breathless.

A sandy haired policeman
stared at her over his
paperwork. "Good
morning young lady. You're an early
bird.
What can we do for you?" he asked casually, as
though young girls came running into the police station
at
obvious."

"If it is Morrie he might
think the horse bolted, or something like that. We'll just stay
hidden." Krystal
sounded very sure of what
they should do, so Matthew
was satisfied
for now.

A big white car with blue lights on the roof
pulled up in a dust cloud.

"It's the police," Matthew exclaimed
grinning.

"Let's just wait and make
sure it is the police," said
Krystal
cautiously.

The two waited as a tall
policeman got out of the car
and just
stared at Dilly, who had found some nice flowers
to eat.

"Oh, oh...Dilly's eating the
garden!" Krystal whispered
to Matthew.
"We'll be in trouble again. Come on, let's
face the music." Krystal came out from behind the
building. The policeman saw her
immediately.

"Is this beast yours?" he
questioned in a rather angry
tone.

Krystal tried to act casual.
"No, actually we borrowed
it. Her name's
Dilly. She belongs to a couple of crooks."
Krystal kept trying to push Dilly away from the flowers
as she spoke.

"And who are you then?" the
policeman asked. "And
who's your friend,"
he queried, spotting Matthew
peeping from
behind the building.

"I'm Krystal, and that's
Matthew; he was kidnapped!"
Krystal added
in a dramatic tone.
The policeman's
eyebrows shot up. "I see; let's tie that
horse up somewhere and go inside. I'd like to hear
more," he added, returning to the car and bringing
out a long rope.

~~~~
Chapter
Thi
rty
~~~~

The Plan

"So you reckon there'll be a
robbery today?" Sergeant
Livingstone spoke
to Tracey as she sipped a hot drink and
crunched a biscuit in her teeth. It was good to eat and
drink something.

"I sure do. It'll be at that
jewellery store at Arndale, the
one called
'Rocks'. See, that's what the message said."

She placed the paper in
front of the sergeant, who read
it aloud:
"ROles royce for kiCKS bargains GALORE AT
ARNDALE STORE DON'T BE LATE AT 8:00 BIG BIKKIES to be made on
all LATER model cars."

"If you say so," said the
sergeant as he picked up the
'phone and
telephoned the message to some of his crew.
He replaced the receiver.

Just then the telephone
rang. Sergeant Livingstone
picked it up "A
girl and a boy, and a horse,
mmm...sounds
interesting. We've got another young lass here, and there's another
boy who's been hurt apparently.
He's at
Mrs. Potter's. Yes, there's an ambulance on its
way. The girl says there's something going on at the
Arndale Centre today. Could be right too!...Yes,
there's been a lot of robberies lately. We're checking it out,
just
in case."

The sergeant put the 'phone
down and looked at
Tracey, who was almost
jumping out of her seat.

"Krystal and Matthew...have
they found them?" she a
sked. Tears swelled
in her eyes. "Are they okay?"

"They're fine, just fine.
The boy's a bit sore from being
tied up,
but he'll live. They'll be here shortly," Sergeant Livingstone
added casually.

Tracey's face shone with relief.

~~~~
Chapter Thirty-one
~~~~

Reunion

It was just after eight that
morning, and the little police
station at
Underwood was crammed with people.

Krystal and Matthew had
arrived safely from the police
driving
centre, with the policeman.

Kevin had recovered
surprisingly quickly with Mrs.
Potter's
blue goo, and had been brought to the police
station by an ambulance officer and a policewoman.

Mr. Cormack and Mr. and Mrs
Roberts had come to
collect their
children.

Krystal was glad that her
mother had not come. They
would have all
cried too much, she reasoned.

The telephone rang! The
whole room was quiet as the
sergeant
listened. "How many? Two got away you say.
Yes! Keep up the good work. I'll be in touch." He put the
'phone down.