Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort (4 page)

Nutmeg and Flirt cantered towards the creek. Lulu held on tight around Dad's middle. She felt as if she were flying.

Lulu directed the dads to where the calf was trapped. The animal looked weaker. It was no longer struggling. Its mother was now wallowing in mud up to her belly. She bellowed in fear.

‘It's all right, girl,' said Uncle Nick. ‘We'll get you and your calf out of there.'

Dad dismounted. Lulu scrambled down too. Her legs felt a little shaky.

‘Lulu, you hold the horses for us,' suggested Dad.

Lulu held the two sets of reins. Nutmeg nuzzled against her and whickered warm air on her cheek. Lulu breathed in the comforting scent of horse and hay.

Lulu's dad undid the leads from the horses' bridles and knotted them to make a long rope. The dads tried to fasten the rope around the calf. The calf struggled wildly. The two dads slipped and slid.

Finally they managed to tie the rope around the calf's belly.

Lulu's dad clambered out of the ooze. He took off his hat and wiped his forehead.

‘Okay,' he said to his brother. ‘Time to use those muscles.'

The two dads grabbed the rope and started to haul. It was like a game of tug-of-war. The calf didn't budge. The dads pulled harder. The calf slid forward a few centimetres.

The cow mooed. The calf bleated. The dads strained. Their boots slid on the grass. The dads leaned back and
heaved
.

With a loud sucking noise, the calf broke free. It shot forward. The two dads went flying, landing in a heap of waving arms and legs. Lulu couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

The calf collapsed, its legs trembling. The cow lumbered up the bank after it. The dads jumped up.

‘Hurray!' cried Lulu. ‘You did it.'

Lulu's dad carefully checked the young animal by running his hands over its legs and body.

‘He seems fine,' said Dad. He nodded with satisfaction. ‘We'll wash that mud off and have a closer look, but I think he'll be okay.'

A moment later the cousins arrived. They carried buckets and towels.
Lulu and the other kids set to work lugging buckets of water up from the creek. They sloshed water over the calf. Lulu carefully wiped his face with a towel. When the mud was gone, Lulu could see he had a crooked white stripe on his black nose.

The calf mooed with indignation. He struggled to his feet. Lulu thought he looked adorable with his big brown eyes.

Dad checked him again for cuts or scrapes. ‘We'll let him go now,' he said. ‘He needs some quiet time with his mother.'

Uncle Nick untied the rope. The calf shook himself. He trotted off after his mother on wonky legs.

Lulu laughed.

‘Great job,' said Uncle Nick. ‘It was lucky Lulu found him when she did.
He might have been stuck there for days.'

Lulu glowed with pride. Dad gave her a muddy hug.

‘I think we all need a good swim at the waterhole to wash off,' said Dad.

‘Yes, please,' said Lulu.

Dad looked at the wet and muddy children. His brow furrowed.

‘Where's Gus?'

‘Gus is with Mum,' said Lulu.

‘Why don't you fetch him for a swim, Lulu?' suggested Dad. ‘We'll take the horses back to the yards.'

Lulu ran into the garden, where Mum was still painting.

‘Gus,' called Lulu, swinging her helmet by its strap. ‘Gussie.'

There was so sign of him. Mum looked up from her canvas.

‘I thought Gus was with you and Dad,' said Mum.

‘No,' said Lulu. ‘He wanted to come back here.'

Mum put her paintbrush down and stood up. ‘Are you sure?'

‘Yes,' said Lulu. ‘He was frightened of the horses.'

‘He must be in the house, or maybe he's in one of the tents?' said Mum.

Mum and Lulu began to look for Gus. He wasn't in the house, or the tents, or the chicken house. Auntie Tor and Kate were in the kitchen mixing dough to make scones.

‘Auntie Tor – have you seen Gus?' asked Lulu. ‘We can't find him.'

‘No,' replied Auntie Tor. ‘I haven't seen him for ages.'

‘What if he's wandered down to the creek?' asked Auntie Kate. ‘He might fall in.'

‘He said he wanted to go swimming,' said Lulu. Her stomach fluttered with nerves. ‘But I told him we'd go later.'

Mum went pale at the thought of Gus falling into the creek all on his own.

‘We'll send out some search parties,'
said Auntie Tor. She covered the dough with a damp cloth.

‘I'm going straight to the creek,' said Mum. Her voice cracked with worry. ‘Lulu, can you go and ask the dads to help look too?'

Soon everyone was calling out far and wide. Lulu and Rosie climbed up to check the cubby fort. There was no sign of Gus there. Lulu gazed out over
the valley, hoping to see a small boy walking through the paddocks.

Lulu could see the adults searching along the creek. The cousins were hunting in the scrub at the base of the hill. Polly and Daisy sniffed in the bushes.

Lulu and Rosie scrambled down the path and found Mum.

‘He's not up there,' said Lulu. ‘And I couldn't see him in any of the paddocks.'

‘What about the sheds?' asked Mum. Lulu could tell Mum was frightened. Her face was white and her eyes looked big and scared.

The children split into groups to search the outbuildings. Dad drove the car out to the road, towards town. Uncle Nick drove towards the cattle yards and Uncle Greg searched the high paddocks.

Asha trotted beside Lulu. They were heading towards the old dairy where the hay was stored. Where could Gus be?

Gu-us,'
called Lulu. She climbed the bales of hay.

Asha sniffed behind the feed bins and the rusted old milk tanks. He wasn't there.

‘Where's Gussie?' Lulu asked Asha. ‘Find Gus.'

Asha whined and looked up at Lulu. Her grey whiskers twitched. Then she began to trot back towards the farmhouse.

‘Do you know where Gus is, or are you just looking for dinner?' asked Lulu.

Lulu hurried along beside the dog. In the garden, Asha sniffed around Mum's chair. With her nose to the ground, she snuffled over to the empty vegetable garden. She continued up the steps, onto the verandah, through the laundry and into the kitchen.

‘We looked in here, girl,' said Lulu. ‘He's not there.'

Just in case, Lulu glanced around. She checked behind the door and under the table. Asha trotted on, through the lounge room and down the hall to the bedrooms. Lulu searched each room but there was no sign of anyone.

Asha ran into the last bedroom, the one where Mum and Dad slept. It had a big bed covered in a pretty patchwork quilt. An old-fashioned dressing table with a mirror stood against one wall.

‘See – there's no-one here,' said Lulu. Asha ran over and stuck her nose under the bed. Her tail wagged madly.

Lulu felt a quiver of hope. Could Gus really be here? Could he have been hiding all this time?

Lulu lifted up the edge of the quilt and checked under the bed.

‘Squawk,'
came a loud complaint. There were Chook and Griffin nesting on a pile of clothes.

Right beside them was a little cowboy. He was curled up fast asleep.

‘
Gussie
,' called Lulu. ‘You're here. We thought you were lost.'

Gus stirred and yawned and stretched. He crawled out from under the bed.

‘Billy hungry,' said Gus, rubbing his eyes.

Lulu hugged her brother. ‘You naughty boy,' she said. ‘Everyone is so worried about you. We couldn't find you anywhere.'

Gus looked at her with disgust. ‘Billy not lost, Billy here.'

‘I know. Let's go and call Mum,' said Lulu. She took Gus by the hand. ‘Clever Asha! She found you.'

Out on the verandah, the dinner bell hung under the eaves. Lulu stepped up on a stool. She rang the clapper against the bell so that the sound pealed out across the valley. She rang the bell long and loud to summon everyone home.

Soon the boys came running from the garage. The mums ran back from searching the waterhole. The girls came in from the machinery shed and the dads drove back.

Mum hugged Gus until he squirmed. Her eyes were wet with tears.

‘I'm so glad Lulu found you. We were so
worried
,' said Mum.

‘I didn't find him. Asha found him,' said Lulu. She stroked Asha between the eyes. ‘She just sniffed his scent right under the bed.'

Dad swung Gus high up in the air over his head and kissed him. He swung Lulu up too. Gussie squirmed again, and put his cowboy hat firmly on top of his head.

‘Billy hungry,' repeated Gus. He scowled, tired of all the fuss.

Everyone laughed with relief.