Pearlie's Pet Rescue (4 page)

T
HREE
-and-a-half weeks went by and Pearlie noticed that Dad was getting thinner and thinner. To catch up with back orders she would hear him in the shop sewing late into the night. He looked terrible – he had red blotches on his skin and he complained to Mum that his joints ached. Sometimes he couldn't sit still and would walk around the house.

‘You need to see a doctor,' Pearlie heard Mum say one day.

‘I can't afford to stop working, Vera,' he said, sounding frustrated.

It worried Pearlie. Now Mr Spiros had left, she couldn't even earn extra money doing deliveries for him like she used to.

Nobody else had asked her to look after their pets, which Pearlie was glad of. Every day Pearlie took Tinto and Rusty to Reddy's to visit Leonetta. She was also training Tinto to go by himself back and forth between Reddy's place and home. It was fun. She would tie a note to Tinto's collar and say, ‘See Reddy.' And off the little monkey would go. In fifteen minutes he'd be back with a note from Reddy. Instead of a carrier pigeon, Tinto was a carrier monkey! Pearlie always had a special treat to give him when he returned, like a piece of melon or apple.

Leonetta was growing bigger and fatter by the week. She was a piglet no longer and Reddy had to build a bigger enclosure for her. Tinto loved riding on Leonetta's back, holding on like a jockey, while Rusty splashed around in the mud puddles surrounding them.

But as the days passed, Dad grew gradually sicker until one morning Pearlie found him on the floor. She dashed over and knelt down, listening for a heartbeat. Then when she heard it faintly, she ran to get Mum.

‘I need you to look after Joey,' Mum said as she climbed into the ambulance beside Dad.

Pearlie was in shock. The doors closed and the ambulance drove away. She stood in the street holding Joey's little hand. ‘I want Mama,' he wailed.

Pearlie gave Joey his lunch then they walked up the street and bought two raspberry cordial ice blocks, for threepence, from one of the Chinese shops. Joey was a mess as it dripped down his front and Pearlie had to take him home for a change of clothes. They played with Rusty and Tinto in the backyard.

But all day Pearlie couldn't stop thinking about Dad. As soon as she heard Mum open the front door of the shop, she jumped up and ran to greet her.

‘Is Dad going to be all right?'

Mum's face was grave. ‘The doctors still don't know what it is.' She sighed, taking off her hat. ‘We'll have to wait and see, Pearlie,' she said.

Joey came running up to Mum and she lifted him onto her hip.

‘Do you want me to make you a cup of tea, Mum?' Pearlie said.

‘Not now thanks, love. But can you give Joey something to eat? I'll just rest for an hour and then I'll go back to the hospital.'

Pearlie made Joey some porridge and sweetened it with condensed milk. Then she wrote a note to Reddy, telling him what had happened to Dad.

‘Go see Reddy, Tinto. Good boy,' she said, attaching the note to his collar. Then she gave him a kiss on the top of his head and sent him on his way. Tinto scampered across the yard, scattering the hens before him, climbed the back fence and was gone.

Pearlie helped Mum prepare dinner. Then Mum took Joey and went back to the hospital.

It's strange that Tinto's not back yet, Pearlie thought. By now it had been two hours since she'd sent the little monkey to Reddy's. He'd never stayed away this long before.

Pearlie was beginning to worry. She stood in the back lane, hoping to see Tinto scampering towards her.

The sun was setting as she knocked on Reddy's front door.

Clara opened it. ‘Reddy's at Uncle Bill's making sick trucks get well,' she said.

‘Have you seen Tinto, Clara? I sent him here with a message but he hasn't come back. I'm really worried about him.'

‘He might be out the back with Leonetta. They're girlfriend and boyfriend,' she giggled.

At that moment Reddy came up the path. ‘Sorry about your dad,' he said.

‘So you saw Tinto then?' Pearlie said.

‘Yeah, sent him straight back with a message. Why?'

Pearlie felt panic rising in her chest. ‘He hasn't come home, Reddy.'

‘Strewth.' Reddy rubbed his chin.

‘Do you think somebody's stolen him? Or he's been run over?'

‘Nah. I bet the little fella's home now waiting for you at the back door.'

‘You're probably right,' Pearlie said. ‘I better go and check.

Pearlie's heart felt heavy as she trudged home. What if someone had stolen Tinto? Or he'd been run over or attacked by a dog? She couldn't bear the thoughts going around her head and began to run, not stopping till she reached her front door.

With a small ray of hope Pearlie looked inside Tinto's cage. But he wasn't there. He'd be hungry by now, the poor little man, she thought.

That night, after Mum had gone to bed, Pearlie crept to the back door and gazed up at the stars. She was hoping to see a shooting star so she could make a wish. She sat there for an hour in her nightdress, hugging Rusty. Then she crept back to bed, leaving the door ajar just in case Tinto found his way home.

Please come home, Tinto. And Dad, please get well.

T
HE
next morning, Mum was smiling when Pearlie got up for breakfast.

‘Your father's doing better,' she said as she scooped up Joey to go back to the hospital. ‘The doctor thinks he's going to be okay.'

Pearlie felt relieved, but hurried through her chores so she could search for Tinto. Her mind was racing now, racing ahead to the time when she would see Naoko again. How could she explain to her best friend that she'd been so careless?

Santa greeted her with a loud screech. ‘Allo Pearlie, allo, allo,' he said. He jumped from his perch to the bars while Pearlie took out his seed bowl and blew off the husks, changed his water and poked a piece of apple through the bars. ‘I'll let you out later,' she said. ‘Be a good boy now.'

‘Santa good boy, good boy,' the cockatiel said.

She fed Rusty and let the Girls out of the chicken coop. They pecked at the leftover rice and vegetables from last night's dinner while she collected the freshly laid eggs and put them inside the house.

‘There, all done. Come on, Rusty,' Pearlie said. ‘Let's find Tinto.'

She was hoping that Rusty would be able to pick up Tinto's scent. Rusty danced around her legs, happy to be going for a walk.

Pearlie was all set to leave when she heard someone calling over the fence. Her first thought was that something bad must have happened to Dad.

She rushed to open the gate. To her surprise it was Frank McBride, Dulcie's older brother, dressed in his soldier's uniform. And who should he be holding but Tinto!

Tinto jumped into Pearlie's arms and snuggled into the crook of her neck, as though he couldn't get close enough.

‘Oh my little darling. I've been so worried about you. Where did you find him, Frank?'

‘I'm afraid he's been in a bit of strife,' Frank said.

Pearlie didn't like the tone of Frank's voice.

‘Apparently the little scoundrel hitched a ride on a truck heading for Larrakeyah Barracks. Once he was inside he made straight for the canteen kitchen and spent the whole night there making a proper mess of the place. Food, pots and pans, dishes everywhere. It's going to cost the army a pretty penny.'

‘Oh peanuts!' Pearlie said. ‘Is it that bad?'

‘If I were you, Pearlie, I'd lie low with Tinto for a couple of days,' Frank said. ‘At the moment the Colonel's hopping mad and wants me to get rid of your pesky monkey. But he'll soon forget. He's got more important things on his mind. Just make sure it doesn't happen again.'

‘I will. Gee thanks, Frank,' Pearlie said.

‘No worries, kiddo. You just look after yourself – and Tinto.'

Pearlie shut the gate and took Tinto inside. ‘I thought I'd never see you again,' she said. ‘I missed you so much.'

Tinto looked up at Pearlie and wrapped his long tail around her arm. She hugged the little monkey to her chest. Lie low for a few days, was what Frank had said. But where? She drummed the kitchen table with her fingers, thinking. Then she stopped. ‘I've got it, Tinto! Diamond Cave is the perfect place to lie low.'

The last time Pearlie had been to Diamond Cave was with Naoko and Reddy, the day they'd spied on Beake. It was a spooky place, but she had been brave, then, because she'd been with her friends. She'd never imagined that one day she'd be going there all alone.

Pearlie packed her school satchel quickly. What would Nao take? she wondered. Torch, spare batteries, food, water . . . and yes, shoes for the long walk there.

Tinto perched on Pearlie's shoulder for some of the way. At other times he slept in the pouch or ran along the sand beside her. She ate sweet bush cherries to give her the energy to keep going.

Just as Diamond Cave appeared in the distance, the sky darkened, turning the day almost black. A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, immediately followed by a thunder clap that almost deafened Pearlie.

Pearlie knew that lightning and thunder so close together meant the lightning was right above her and very dangerous. Raindrops – as big as the bush cherries in her pocket – dinted the sand. She began to run, scrambling over the rocks and boulders that lay tumbled on the beach.

By the time she reached the entrance, she and Tinto were drenched. She switched on the torch and went inside, shivering as the coldness from the cave went right through her skin to her bones.

Pearlie sat down on the big slab of rock in the inner chamber where she and Naoko had been before. Tinto stayed close to her side. He usually loved to explore but he was shivering, too, so she laid the blanket around them both and brought out some food to eat.

How long have I been asleep? Pearlie opened her eyes. It was pitch black.

She felt around for the torch and pushed down the switch. But it had been on the whole time she was sleeping and now the batteries were dead.

Lucky I brought a spare set, she thought. She fumbled with the batteries in the darkness and finally managed to get them in the right way. At last she could see again.

‘Tinto,' she said, lifting the blanket and looking for him. ‘Where are you, little man?' She waited a few seconds for him to appear. ‘Tinto!' she cried urgently, her voice echoing through the chambers of the cave.

Suddenly she heard a deep rumbling sound coming from somewhere above her.

Pearlie grabbed her school satchel just in time and leapt off the slab of rock as a shower of stones rained down from the ceiling.

The roar was deafening. Large stones were beginning to fall now. Any moment she could be crushed.

Pearlie had lost her torch. The only thing she could do was crawl away from the sound. She came up against a wall and could go no further. There she sat curled up into a tight ball, her hands over her ears as the rocks kept falling and tumbling around her, some striking her sharply.

Would the roof fall in and crush her? And where was Tinto? Had he been buried alive under the rocks?

When the cave-in finally stopped, Pearlie lifted her head. She was covered in a layer of dust and dirt and completely hemmed in by rocks. Her head throbbed. She felt a stickiness in her hair and brought her fingers to her nostrils. It smelt metallic.

Blood.

‘Tinto,' she called weakly. ‘Tinto, where are you . . .' Then she began to cry. The darkness inside the cave was like being inside a coffin. She wanted Mum and Dad to come in and scoop her up. When was the last time they'd done that? Maybe Chinese New Year's Day, two years ago, after the dragon procession? Dad had piggybacked her home because she was tired out from playing in the street all day with the other children. That must have been the last time because, during the night, Mum gave birth to Joey. And then it was Joey who was kissed and hugged and carried around and Pearlie was suddenly the big girl, the older sister. She had not welcomed Joey into the family at first. But she'd grown to love her baby brother, of course.

How will anyone find me? she thought. Who would think of looking for me all the way out here in Diamond Cave? I'm going to die by myself in this horrible dark place.

Pearlie was so exhausted from crying that she fell into a deep sleep.