Katie's War (15 page)

‘It will take a lot of digging to get anything out from under that pile,' said Kieran.

For a long while Katie and Dafydd sat clasped together listening to the crackle of the burning bushes and the singing in their ears. Katie wanted to go on holding him, loving him as he deserved to be loved, but she could sense that he was uncomfortable.

‘Maybe we should get washed up,' he said. ‘I suppose we can be expecting visitors.' He struggled, and Katie, reluctantly, let him go. ‘Funny,' he said, ‘I'm still counting elephants.'

She watched as his small figure disappeared into the gloom. It had all happened so quickly. She realised she was seeing Dafydd for the first time for his true worth, but she also knew that she was losing him. She struggled to her feet, watching the familiar figure disappear. Kieran was standing back as if he understood what she was feeling.

‘I love you, Frog,' she called out into the night. But there was no answer. Downhill, in the distance, men were shouting.
She groped behind her and found Kieran's hand. She pulled it over her shoulder and held on to it.

‘I think we should get away from here,' he said. ‘You've done it, Katie. You've done what you set out to do, haven't you?'

‘Not me, Kieran. Not me,' she said, and pressed his hand against her cheek.

D
afydd had a lamp lit by the time they reached the house. The yellow wedge of light looked welcoming and homely. Katie poked her head into the kitchen, leaving Kieran outside.

‘Anyone else here?' she whispered from the door. Prince circled her legs, whining his welcome.

‘No, there wasn't even a light. I wonder where Marty and your mother are?' It seemed strange to Katie that life might be going on as it always had.

‘Oh, I remember now, Marty was going to help Mr Moran with a calf. Mother will have waited for him there,' she said. Dafydd came to the door, holding the lamp. Katie gasped and then laughed. ‘Have you seen yourself? You look like a chimney-sweep!'

‘In that case, Miss O'Brien, you look like the goose that was dropped down the chimney to clean it.'

‘Water is what we need, lots of it.' She stepped outside to signal to Kieran that the coast was clear, then stopped to listen.
There were shouts from the direction of the quarry then the rapid ‘crump crump crump' of nailed boots pounding in step towards them. ‘Inside, quick!' Katie ordered, then there was a command from the road. ‘Now lads, up the hill, and we'll have them.' Boots scraped, men cursed and crashed as they pushed their way through the hedge, then there was silence.

‘Dafydd and I'll wash in the trough,' said Kieran.

‘No you won't, you'll come inside.'

‘They're gone now. You go in and wash, we'll get the worst off out here.'

Katie sat on the end of her bed. The boys had joined her now and were working hard with soap and hot water to get the last of the black off their faces and necks. They made quite a contrast in size and shape.

‘I can't believe it, I just can't take it in,' she said, hugging her knees. ‘We did it! We really did! Here's a towel.' She threw it to them and they fought over it amicably. ‘All those tons and tons of rock like a river in flood. Wasn't it strange the way it turned to jelly under our feet – then the roar, and the little railway truck! Oh, Dafydd and Kieran, just think of all that lovely rock on top of the guns and nobody knows how it got there.'

‘Well, we hope they don't,' said Kieran. ‘What did you do, Dafydd? Did you mean to blow up the whole magazine?'

‘No. I didn't set it off, I couldn't have,' said Dafydd. ‘But it knocked me out for a moment. I seem to remember …' He paused. ‘I was just about to light the fuse and I heard a sound from up at the magazine. I was petrified. Was there somebody there? Or was it the goats, perhaps? My hands were shaking so much I was afraid I wouldn't be able to light the match. What if someone saw me when I struck the light? I decided I'd shout a warning, but only when the fuse was alight. The head broke off
my first match and I nearly dropped the box. When the second match flared it seemed to light up the whole mountain. Perhaps someone had me in his gun-sights now, but the wretched fuse wouldn't light! Then all at once it started,
spitting
and hissing all over the place and burning awfully quickly. I looked up but staring at the match seemed to have blinded me. I had to get out – and I had to start counting my elephants. It didn't seem possible to shout and count at the same time. I must have been looking in the direction of the magazine at that moment because I'm sure I saw someone strike a match. Almost immediately there was a blinding flash, a huge bang, and a thump that seemed to hit all over me, and everything went black.' Dafydd began to scrub at his hair with the towel.

‘Go on,' said Katie breathlessly.

‘Well, next thing I knew I was struggling to my feet and scared silly. There was something terribly wrong, you see. My mind was saying: twenty elephants, twenty-one elephants … Either I had lost count in the blackness or else I had just
nineteen
seconds to get away. They say never, never run from a blast. By God I ran.'

‘I know, you hit me going at full tilt.'

‘Funny feeling wasn't it?'

‘No it wasn't, it was like being hit by a cannon ball with legs,' said Katie.

‘No, I mean when our explosion went off – like a big burp it was, and the whole mountain lifted and you were holding on to me like I was a thief. Then Kieran was calling and we knew which way to go.'

‘So your elephants were right.'

‘I reckon I was one elephant short, must have been counting them in my sleep. Kind of exciting, wasn't it?'

Kieran looked at Dafydd who had started working away at his hair again. ‘Dafydd, you're amazing!' and then he began to laugh. It started as a chuckle, and Katie could see it coming and was already smiling when it burst. She tried to keep a straight face but Dafydd's half-serious, half-puzzled expression was so comical she had to laugh too. Through her tears she saw Dafydd grin and then give up the struggle. All the tension, all the anxiety, all their fears went romping out around the room as they collapsed in hysterical laughter.

After a time Katie's laughter began to subside in painful hiccups and a fervent wish that no-one should start her off again. She cocked her head and put up a hand for silence. Light, running steps could be heard outside and Mother's voice calling, ‘Children, children, are you all right?'

Katie took a deep breath. ‘Yes, Mother, we're fine,' she called down.

‘What happened?'

‘It sounded like an explosion up towards the quarry.'

‘What on earth can have caused that?' Mother sounded worried.

‘There are soldiers up there.' Katie had her fingers crossed for the next question but a man's voice was calling from the road, ‘Missus, excuse me, Ma'am. We're looking for a young lad who we think may be around here. Well built, tweed jacket and a … what sort of a pack did he have, Sergeant?' Katie looked towards Kieran, who made a face. A second voice answered; it had an edge to it that Katie didn't like. ‘Sort of satchel. We think he may have been involved …'

‘All right, Sergeant. We'd just like to talk to him, Ma'am.'

To Katie's relief Mother answered without hesitation, ‘Yes indeed, he was here. That would be the young lad who called – when – when was it – just after dinner. He wanted a job in the
slate quarry. I had to send him away, I'm afraid. There won't be work here till after the war is over.'

‘Which way did he go?'

‘Oh, along past the quarry. I sent him up through the gap to the Graves of the Leinstermen and down to Killaloe. He'll be in Clare by now.'

‘Oh well, that tidies that up, thank you, Ma'am.'

‘What happened?' Mother asked.

‘There's been a band of rebels operating out of these parts. We think one of them blew himself up. Bomb-making probably.'

It hadn't occurred to Katie that someone might have been hurt. A sudden fear struck her and she gripped Kieran's arm – Seamus? He knew about the magazine. The voice went on, ‘We found this.'

Now Katie
had
to see. Kieran tried to stop her but she darted to the window, edging forward so she could look down without being seen. Two men in uniform were lit in the wedge of light from the door. She saw the glint of a polished Sam Brown belt and a bandaged hand on the man in front. She drew back, remembering the fallen tree and a long-barrelled revolver. The man behind passed something forward that looked like a sack. The officer held it out.

‘What is it?' Mother asked.

‘It's a trench coat, Ma'am. Anybody you know wear a trench coat?'

‘No. I've never seen it.' Katie could sense the relief in Mother's voice. ‘Is there a … a body?' Mother asked.

‘No, Ma'am, no body, just this in the bushes. If there was a body his friends took him away.'

‘Or he was blown to bits,' said the other voice.

‘Thank you, Sergeant!' snapped the officer. Then, talking to
Mother, he tipped his head towards the quarry. ‘Is that your land there, Ma'am?'

‘Yes, oh yes, the quarry too. My husband hopes to open it again.'

‘Well, he'll have his work cut out, I'm afraid. The blast the owner of this coat set off started a regular landslide. The
quarry
's
half-filled up again from what we can see.'

‘Oh …' said Mother vaguely, but the soldiers were ready to go.

‘We'll take that, Ma'am, if you don't mind. It's evidence.' Mother handed back the coat. ‘That'll be all. Thank you, Ma'am. Better keep inside till all this is over.' The officer turned and walked away. The Sergeant hesitated till the officer was out of hearing then said to Mother, ‘We'll be back.'

Katie shivered. She waited till the scrunch of their boots had receded into the distance, then whispered, ‘You heard that?'

Kieran nodded. ‘There are some in the army that learned more from the Black and Tans than is good for them,' he said.

‘He meant it then?'

‘He either meant it or he enjoys scaring people. It works, you know, scaring people at random until one of them does something silly.' Katie gazed at her two friends, both looking scrubbed and anxious. She loved them both. She wanted to see Father's face when he came home and found all his work in the quarry done for him and the new rock laid bare. She wanted to tell him how they had buried the guns. Mother would prepare a special dinner for him and for Mr Parry, and Katie'd stand up and say, Look at my clever boys! She closed her eyes and the fantasy faded.

‘You'll have to go, Kieran, it's dangerous for you here,' she said.

‘I don't think it's me he's after now. I don't like to leave you with him around.'

‘Who is he after – Seamus?'

‘Could be … else he just likes making trouble, like I said.'

‘You still ought to go.'

‘I can't, not while you're all in danger here.'

‘Yes you must, really and truly. We'll be all right, and there's nothing you can do. In fact, if you were found here it would just make things worse. Whoever they were they would presume you were on the other side and want to shoot you. If they realised you'd buried their toys under
thousands
and thousands of tons of slate they'd probably join together for the fun of tearing you apart.'

‘Maybe you're right, I don't want to make it worse for you.'

‘Of course I'm right, amn't I always right? Dafydd will tell you. We'll hide you in the loft above the harness room till the soldiers have gone. The only trouble now is that Mother's in the kitchen. I'll have to go with you to show you the way.' She turned to Dafydd. ‘Frog, can you think of a way to get Mother out of the kitchen, just for a minute, while we dash through?'

Katie hovered half-way down the stairs, one ear cocked to hear what Dafydd was saying and one hand held up ready to signal to Kieran when the coast was clear. She could hear Dafydd's voice below. Why did he sound as if he was complaining? What was he asking?

‘Perhaps there's a pair in the wash I could wear?' came his voice as he led Mother towards the pantry where clothes for washing were kept.

Stifling a laugh, Katie signalled urgently to Kieran above. He slipped swiftly down the stairs, boots in hand. They raced across the yard, hand in hand, and darted in behind the
saddle-room
door.

‘Did you hear him, Kieran?'

‘No, but it sounded as if he was complaining.'

‘He was. He was telling Mother, as if it was her fault, that he had been looking for his socks everywhere but he couldn't find a single pair!'

Katie could feel one of Kieran's deep chuckles rising in him, she pressed him to her to squeeze down the chuckles and wanted to put a hand over his mouth to stop another outburst of laughter.

‘Complaining about his socks! You won't find another like our Dafydd,' he chortled.

‘You'll find a ladder at the back of the room,' Katie said finally. ‘You'll be safe up there. I'll bring you out some food as soon as I can get to the larder, but you'll have to wait till Mother goes to bed.' She ran back across the yard.

Mother wanted to hear all about the explosion, but there wasn't much they could tell. Just how there had been a loud bang followed by a roar, which they supposed was the
rock-fall
the soldier had mentioned. Katie's fingers were cramped from keeping them crossed behind her back in case, but lies weren't really necessary. Nevertheless, Mother was restless. She wanted to stay up for Marty, but Katie assured her it could be hours yet and that Marty'd be all right if she left a lamp lit for him. Still Mother lingered doing odd jobs. In the end, in desperation, Katie went up and got ready for bed herself. At last she heard the door of Mother's room close. She took a breath of relief and made her way to the larder to engage in honest theft.

Katie stood outside the harness room with Kieran's satchel in her hand and her pulse racing. Little fears flitted across her mind like
bats. She felt strangely vulnerable in her nightdress under the stars but he wouldn't see her, it would be dark in the loft.

She climbed the ladder to be met by impenetrable blackness.

‘Here, Kieran, take your satchel. It has some scraps in it.' She heard him move. He must have felt the satchel because it was pulled away from her into the dark.

‘Gosh! you didn't have to kill the pig for me!' his voice said appreciatively.

‘Just some old scraps that Prince refused,' she managed to say as she pulled herself up on the opposite side of the hatch to where he sat. It was just like the time they had first met in Nenagh. Words just would not come. Her tongue felt like a great blob in her mouth. She felt shy and awkward. There were still sounds of activity on the hill outside, occasional shouts, a shot. It seemed natural to keep quiet. Eventually a squad of marching feet passed and a deeper silence settled over the farm. She tried to see where Kieran was in the dark. She forced her tongue to move: ‘Have you got the food I gave you? I don't know how you'll get the cork out of the bottle.'