Pyro Watson and the Hidden Treasure (11 page)

San Simeon lay down on the sand. Above him the night stars shone, twinkling merrily and giggling among themselves. Around him his crew were snuggling down for the night and telling each other little jokes and late-night stories before they drifted off to sleep.

‘Nighty-night, Cap'n,' called Derrick the Cook.

‘Cheery bye,' sang Smit the Cabin Boy's Father.

And one by one they called their goodnights, and sleep tights, and don't let the bed bugs bite, and closed their eyes.

Soon the air was filled with snores and sighs and other blurty noises that caused poor Miss Calamity to blush and sleep with cotton muffs in her ears.

But Simeon wasn't able to sleep.

He closed his eyes but they popped open.

Someone, he was sure, wasn't being true to him and try as he might, he couldn't put the thought to rest. He had to find out what was causing this nuisancy, troubly feeling.

Silently he slipped out of his sleeping bag and stood up. His crew were scattered across the sand in front of him, mouths open, hands folded on chests, sleeping like babies.

Perhaps, he thought, if I keep them apart from one another I might discover who is causing my head-achy tummy. So, as soon as the sun rose the very next day, Simeon stood on the sandhill and called his crew together.

‘Today we have a new edict!'

‘Oh good. I loves an edict,' Derrick the Cook sang out. ‘Where's we gonna keep it, Cap'n?'

‘You don't keep an edict,' Simeon called. ‘You hear it.'

‘Course,' the crew muttered among themselves as they cleaned out their ears.

‘Has we gotta sing anything as well?' Derrick the Cook wanted to know. He wasn't a very good singer and would rather not join in if he could possibly help
it. ‘See's I have to go and get a good stew happenin' down the galley.'

‘An edict …' said Simeon, hardening his heart because he knew his crew would not be happy. He loved them, loved every single one of them, but he'd become troubled and wanted so badly for everything to be back the way it was. ‘… is a new rule.' He held up his hands before anyone could interrupt. ‘The new rule is this … No talking to each other. No playing together. No card-gamey things. No mixing.'

The crew stood silently. Their mouths hung open as if they'd been slapped.

‘Wot? Not ever?'

‘Not until I say it's all right.'

‘But Cap'n …'

Simeon didn't listen. He held up his hands for silence. ‘Now go and do your duties and let there be no gossiping or fun-making things together.'

It wouldn't be for long, Simeon told himself. Just until he could find out who was being a traitor. Just until he found out who was going to let them all down when they were needed the most.

For once Pyro was glad he was awake early. Behind him, in the back end of the old bus, he could hear Mr Stig moving around quietly, getting ready to go and get the paper and the croissants for breakfast. Pyro's mum would have said the croissants were a little bit fattening to eat every day, and she was probably right if Mr Stig's round tummy was anything to go by, but they beat Vegemite on toast hands down.

‘Can I come?' Pyro hissed.

‘Sure thing. But I don't think the pirate shop'll be open.'

‘I want to get to Min's.'

Mr Stig nodded. ‘You reckon his gran'll be up this early?'

Pyro wasn't sure. His nan was always first up and liked to go out and walk around in the garden with a cup of tea in her hand. At least she used to before she got sick.

‘Nan gets up early,' he said before he could stop it slipping out. ‘Least she used to …'

Mr Stig walked with a backward lean. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his long shorts which sat a little below his middle. He glanced over at Pyro. ‘She'll be right, your grandma. I reckon she'll be out in her garden again before you know it.'

They'd walked to the end of the caravan road and were headed across the little bridge that separated them from the town. Further along, according to the map, was the town and somewhere about the middle was Min's house.

‘I'll just go check it out,' Pyro said as they drifted into the paper shop. ‘I could just walk past the front so I know where it is for later.'

‘How about I sit here in the sun and see how the gee-gees went yesterday.'

Pyro had forgotten about the betting game they were going to play. ‘Dad doesn't like horseracing very much,' he said.

‘I figured that.' Mr Stig had found his pages and was doing his best to keep it all in one heap. ‘He's not a bad bloke, your dad, though, is he? Boy, he can play soccer.'

‘You should see him play rugby.'

‘Pretty good?'

‘Pretty good,' Pyro agreed.

He set off in the direction that he'd remembered from the map at the camping grounds.

Fingers crossed Min would be pleased to see him.

He'd been more than pleased. He'd seen Pyro even before Pyro had opened the little front gate that would have led him to the front door. Becks had barked her silly head off and Min's gran had hurried in from her early morning walk around the garden.

‘Just like my nan!' Pyro had exclaimed.

‘Does your nan do that, too?'

‘And she takes a cup of tea with her and pulls out weeds …'

‘And does she go about talking to the plants …?'

It was just amazing how many things were the same for Pyro and for Min. They counted them up as they scampered back up the street to let Mr Stig know he could go back to the camper because Min's gran was cooking up some scrambled eggs.

‘We always have scrambled on Sundays,' Min said.

‘We always have scrambled on Saturdays. We have bacon and eggs on Sundays.'

So then they began to count the differences.

There was such a lot to share and so many things to do and see. The only problem was how they were ever going to fit them into one day.

‘We can check out pirate sites after school tomorrow,' Min suggested as they paused in front of the computer. It was a pretty ancient old thing that took up most of the room on the desk in Min's gran's front room. ‘It's an oldie but a goodie …' Min said.

‘That's what my nan says!' Pyro shrieked.

‘My gran says it too.'

Pyro's finger twitched to send an email to Geezer. He hadn't been able to do that all week because Auntie Mor wasn't that keen on computers. She was still on the way, she said, and would get there soon enough.

He almost said, ‘Let's send a message to Geezer' but then he remembered that Min didn't even know Geezer so it'd be a bit stupid doing that when the other things were lined up waiting and the sun was already starting to get so hot they'd have to get going or get boiled alive.

‘We'll go down the old co-op first,' Min said. ‘There's all sorts of stuff down there.'

There were buoys and old nets and crab baskets with giant holes in them that made Pyro wonder just how
big crabs can grow. They climbed over the bank of giant pipes that had been used to build the new road and the bridge and were now being slapped by little waves as the tide came in. ‘They'll be underwater by lunchtime,' Min said. And he showed Pyro all the little fish that were happily swimming in and out of the shallower water that filled the bottom of them already. ‘Be heaps of fish here again one day,' he said.

They found a couple of long sticks and ferreted around until they found bits of rope that could be unravelled for fishing lines and then did even better and found some old line. They pretended to fish for a little while and then, because Min's gran had a couple of lines in her garage – and guess what? so did Pyro's – they had to hurry back and fetch them.

The day was galloping by.

They didn't catch fish but had to go back to Min's gran's to get more sunscreen. She went on about it for ages – ‘just like mine' Pyro had giggled – and she made them wear legionnaire's caps and said they'd be getting a good ticking off if they came home with the backs of their necks sunburnt. The caps were truly awful and Pyro was glad when Min quickly switched them for a couple of cricket hats that were hanging about in his room.

Then it was back into town to buy pirate swords and then home to Min's gran's for lunch and a sword fight in the backyard and then back to the beach for a quick dip in the shallower waves before heading up to the caravan park to check out the hide-out.

They'd walked so far, so fast that Becks decided to stay home in the cool front room.

‘Gran'll fall asleep,' Min said as they set off with the sounds of the Sunday arts show drifting from the tele.

‘Mine too,' Pyro grinned. ‘She only lasts about five minutes.'

‘Does she snore?'

Min did a perfect impersonation. Pyro did better. They snorted and snored all the way back through town and up the caravan park.