The River of Adventure Read online

  ‘Well, Uma’s learnt that now – or do you think he hasn’t?’ asked Philip. ‘Will he start his bad ways all over again, now he knows he hasn’t been bitten by a poisonous bargua, Bill?’

  ‘I fear he will have to disappear from public life for quite a time!’ said Bill. ‘Long enough to get over any snake-bite, real or imaginary. I must say that snake of yours repaid you well for your kindness to him, Philip.’

  ‘Yes. But I wish I could have got him back,’ said Philip. ‘I liked him.’

  ‘Don’t say that in front of Oola or he’ll produce a few more barguas,’ said Dinah, in a panic.

  It was wonderful to laze on the launch again, and talk and talk. Bill was amazed at the children’s adventures.

  ‘There were we, cooped up in a silly shack with barred windows and a locked door and nothing whatever happening – and you four having the time of your lives,’ he said. ‘Rushing down gorges, almost shooting over cataracts, crawling through holes, exploring age-old treasures . . .’

  ‘It was pretty tough at times,’ said Jack. ‘The girls were marvellous. And so were Tala and Oola!’

  This was such an unusual compliment from Jack that both the girls stared in surprise.

  ‘Kiki did herbit too,’ said Jack. Bill laughed.

  ‘She certainly did, from all you’ve told me!’ he said. ‘She seems to react marvellously to the word “police”.’

  ‘Police!’ called Kiki at once. ‘Fetch the police! PH EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!’

  Some people stopped beside the launch at once, eyes round with fright.

  ‘It’s all right,’ called Jack. ‘It’s only the parrot. Don’t do that too often, Kiki, or one of these fine days you’ll find a policeman will come along and lock you up!’

  ‘PHEEEEEEEEEEEE!’ began Kiki again, and got a tap on the beak.

  ‘Bad boy!’ she grumbled at Jack. ‘Bad boy! Fetch your nose, blow the doctor!’

  ‘It’s nice to hear her again,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘Bill and I could have done with a bit of Kiki’s fun those long dull days in that shack.’

  ‘I suppose you know, you youngsters, that you have made the find of the century?’ said Bill, after a while. ‘I know that Uma was also on the mark, but he’s a bit discredited at the moment – finding a place like that wonderful old temple merely to rob it is rather different from discovering it by accident as you did, and doing your best to keep off those who wanted to despoil it.’

  ‘What do you think of the things we brought back, Bill?’ asked Dinah eagerly. ‘That gold bowl – it is gold, isn’t it? – and the cup – and the little statue – and the dagger. Don’t you think they are marvellous? I wish we could keep them, but I know we can’t.’

  ‘No, you can’t. They belong to the whole world,’ said Bill, ‘not only to our own generation, but to all those who follow us. They are wonderful relics of the history of man – and I am prouder than I can say that you have had a hand in bringing them to light.’

  ‘What will happen about the temple, Bill?’ asked Jack. ‘And what is going to happen to the things we brought back? – we had to leave them at the police station, you know.’

  ‘Yes – well, they are being shown to some of the finest experts in the world,’ said Bill. ‘The police say that when the news gets round that this long-lost temple has been found, there will be many famous archaeologists flying here, anxious to see that any excavating is now done properly’

  ‘Shall we meet them?’ asked Philip eagerly.

  ‘No. You’ll be at school,’ said Bill hard-heartedly.

  ‘School! Oh, Bill, you’re mean!’ said Dinah, who had imagined herself having a wonderful time talking learnedly to famous men. ‘Aren’t we going to stay on and see it all being dug out?’

  ‘Good gracious, no!’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘It may take five or six years – even more – to excavate that wonderful temple. It’s not done in the haphazard way that Mr Uma did it, you know. Why, practically every piece of earth will be sifted!’

  ‘Oh! How disappointing that we can’t stay for the excitement!’ sighed Lucy-Ann.

  ‘My dear Lucy-Ann – haven’t you had enough excitement already?’ asked Bill, astonished. ‘I should have thought that you four had had enough adventures to last the ordinary person for the rest of his life!’

  ‘Well – perhaps we’re not ordinary persons?’ suggested Philip, with a twinkle in his eye.

  ‘You’re not an ordinary person, Philip!’ said Dinah. ‘I wish you were! No ordinary person would take a snake about with him. I expect you’ll adopt a camel next!’

  ‘Well, that reminds me – Bill, I did see a baby camel today that didn’t look too happy,’ said Philip hopefully. ‘I thought that if any prizes were going for brilliance in finding a long-forgotten temple, perhaps mine might be something like a baby camel.’

  ‘Certainly not,’ said Mrs Cunningham, sitting up straight. ‘You can’t be serious, Philip! What – take one home, do you mean!’

  ‘Well, this was a very little one,’ said Philip earnestly. ‘Wasn’t it, Lucy-Ann? Not more than two days old. It was absol—’

  ‘Philip – do you or do you not know that camels grow very big – and that they do not like a cold climate like ours?’ said his mother. ‘And that I would not dream of having a camel sitting in the middle of my rose-beds, and . . .’

  ‘All right, Mother, all right,’ said Philip hurriedly. ‘It was only just an idea of mine – and you both seemed so pleased with us that – well . . .’

  ‘That you thought you’d make hay while the sun shone and cash in on a camel?’ said Bill with a grin. ‘No go, Philip, old son. Try something else.’

  ‘I hope we’re not going back to school immediately,’ said Jack. ‘I did rather want to show you that waterfall hurling itself over the edge of the gorge, Aunt Allie. Can’t we go and explore a bit down in the old temple – wouldn’t we be allowed to, seeing that we found it? Then you could creep through that hole in the cavern wall and crawl out on to the ledge and go and stand on the platform, and see what Oola calls the “waterfalling” – it’s unbelievable!’

  ‘Oola find waterfalling, Oola show kind Missus?’ said Oola’s voice, and his small black head appeared round a corner.

  ‘Oh! So there you are!’ said Philip. ‘Come here, Oola. Sit with us and tell how you went out all by yourself to find the waterfalling.’

  Oola was very proud to tell his story. He would not sit down to tell it, but stood there, a small, lithe figure, still with the marks of bruises and weals on his back, his eyes sparkling as he told his tale.

  Mrs Cunningham drew him to her when he had finished. ‘You’re a good little boy and a brave one, Oola,’ she said. ‘We shall never forget you.’

  ‘My boss remember Oola too?’ asked Oola, looking at Philip with love in his eyes.

  ‘Always,’ said Philip. ‘And when we come back here, sometime in the future, to see the temple when it is all dug out, and its treasures on show, you must be here to guide us round, Oola. Promise?’

  ‘Oola promise. Oola keep clean, Oola go to school, Oola do all things like boss say,’ said the small boy valiantly. He gave an unexpected salute and disappeared, his eyes shining with proud tears.

  There was a little pause after he had gone. ‘I like him very much indeed,’ said Lucy-Ann emphatically. ‘Don’t you, Jack?’

  Everyone nodded vigorously. Yes – Oola had been as astonishing a find as any of the treasures in the temple. Would they ever see him again? Yes, of course!

  ‘Well, we’ve talked so much that I really feel my tongue is wearing out,’ said Mrs Cunningham. ‘But I must tell you one thing to relieve your minds. We are not going to fly back home – we are going by sea, and we shan’t be home for a week or more.’

  ‘Oh – super!’ cried Dinah, and the others agreed in delight. Another whole week – what luck!

  ‘Do you think we shall have had enough convalescence by then?’ asked Lucy-Ann. ‘Shall we be fit to go back to school?’
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  ‘Good gracious – you’re all as fit as fiddles!’ cried Mrs Cunningham.

  ‘Fiddles! Fiddle-de-dee!’ shouted Kiki. ‘Diddly-fiddly, cat and spoon!’

  ‘You’re getting a bit mixed up, old thing,’ said Jack. ‘Sign of old age! Now, don’t peck my ear off, please!’

  They all sat silent for a while, and listened to the river flowing past, lapping gently against the boat.

  ‘The River of Adventure,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘We couldn’t have given it a better name. We ran into adventure all the way along its banks.’

  ‘And what adventures!’ said Jack. ‘Oh, don’t keep nibbling my ear, Kiki, pleeeeeeeeeeese!’

  ‘Pleeeeeece! Fetch the pleeeeeece!’ shouted Kiki, and whistled. ‘PHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!’

  Goodbye, Kiki. You always have the last word!