We Were Only Strawberry Picking (4 page)

‘Er – Sorry, I didn’t … before I realised what you were saying, I peered over the gaping hole to see if I could hear a little more clearly, but slipped and fell in too – not before grabbing your precious beret – here you go,’ said Lyndi Lou, as she passed the beret to Henratty.

‘Oh, thanks! I can see you managed to hold onto the basket of strawberries too!’

‘Amazingly, don’t know how I managed that as well. Where are we, it’s so dark down here? Hopefully Jack and Oscar would have heard my loud scream and have probably notified the attendant to get help,’ but Lyndi Lou was about to eat her words as suddenly there was one almighty thud. Whatever had landed was big as it blew up dirt in their faces, as they began to cough due to the choking dust that had engulfed them.

‘Wow,’ the voice said. ‘That was such an adrenaline rush, I want to do it again, that has to be the longest slide I have ever been on.’

‘JACK!’ shouted Henratty loudly. ‘What are you doing down here?’ but before he could answer, there was another thud.

‘Ouch!’ Jack cried. ‘That hurt.’

‘Sorry,’ apologised Oscar.

‘OSCAR!’ cried Henratty, as she gave her sister a sideways glance of despair.

‘OH, NO, NOT OSCAR AS WELL!’ Their hearts sunk as they were not just in big trouble, but they now realised they could be lost forever and their parents would be absolutely distraught.

‘So, I take it you went for help before you both came down here?’ demanded Henratty annoyingly.

‘Er – I’m afraid not, I heard your scream and instinctively ran over and dived into the hole to come and rescue you,’ said Jack.

‘And how exactly have you rescued us, you’ve made everything a hundred times worse, as you do realise that nobody knows we are down here and we will never be found?’ snapped Henratty.

‘I’ll find a way out,’ retorted Jack. At this stage, Oscar and Lyndi Lou began to sob – they were naturally scared of the daunting prospects. Henratty then went over and gave them both a comforting hug.

‘Look guys, Jack and I will get you out of here if it’s the last thing we do, we’ll work something out, I promise. Now, dry your eyes and let’s get down to finding a way out – there just has to be one.’

Suddenly from nowhere, there was this intensity of light. Henratty, Lyndi Lou and Oscar immediately swung round towards the beaming light, as they shaded their eyes.

‘Is that you, Jack?’ asked Henratty.

‘Of course it’s me, who else would it be?’

‘Where did you find that torch?’ asked Henratty.

‘I didn’t find it, I just remembered that I had it in my army jacket the whole time. I told you I would rescue you and I now have the equipment to get you out of here!’ declared Jack excitedly.

‘Jack, it’s a torch, try to be realistic, that is not going to get us out of here,’ retaliated Henratty.

‘But it’s a start,’ chirped Oscar defending his big brother. ‘At least we can now see where we are going.’

‘You’re absolutely right, so let’s get the basket of strawberries that Lyndi Lou brought down and it looks like you have done the same, Oscar. At least, we have something to eat for the time being,’ remarked Henratty.

* * *

At the opposite end of the tunnel, unbeknown to them, Nora had been listening to what the meerkats were saying. She had figured out that there were indeed four creatures of unknown origin, they sounded young and fairly harmless from her analysis but she was not going to take any chances and would ensure that all the animals living in this mine were prepared. Still hanging upside down, Nora thought she would bide her time until the intruders got a little closer – she knew it was going to take them a good hour or maybe more to get to this side of the tunnel.

The unmistakable Enoch had returned!

‘Well, Enoch, did you give the others the message as instructed?’

‘Yes, Nora! Word for word!’

‘I want you to go back and give them another message: tell everyone that I want them to assemble here. It’s going to take Escargot a lifetime to get here, so he can stay at base, so too can Poppy and Nancy, but Cooper, Alfonso and Jasper can accompany you back here.’

‘Cooper won’t make it,’ said a concerned Enoch.

‘Of course he will, he’s been cooped up in his little habitat for far too long, a change of scenery will do him good. The intruders won’t be here for an hour or so, which will give him plenty of time to get here, half an hour at the most.’ Have you got that, Enoch?’

‘I think so!’

‘Tell them it is crucial that they all come and that I have managed to work out we have four very young, and I’m pretty sure, very harmless creatures. The only thing I don’t know is what type of species they are.’

‘Will do, I can’t wait to meet them!’ and off he trundled once more to fetch the others. However, Enoch had not noticed that he had taken the wrong turning in the tunnel and was now heading towards the meerkats rather than base. That was the trouble with these tunnels they all looked alike and were so interlinked, once you lost your bearings, it could take you a very long while to get back to where you started and for Enoch even longer. He was thinking to himself,
I wonder who they are? Nora said they were young, I hope some of them were my age, they could even be like me! Oh, wouldn’t it be just great to have another mole down here, real company at last – someone who truly understands me …

*
* *

Jack shone the torch above them – they could see that they had fallen hundreds of feet underground. He then aimed the torch along the tunnel – visibility was still poor as they realised they were in one very long tunnel.

‘So what should we do?’ asked Henrattty.

‘Well, for a start, we need to get moving, as this torch has a short battery life and I really don’t know how long it is going to last, so the sooner we get going the sooner we’ll get out of here!’

‘Jack, you’re absolutely right and may I say thank goodness you wore that jacket. What did I call it last time? “A ridiculous outfit” I seem to remember. Well, I apologise, as it could well be our saving grace at the moment. What else have you got in those pockets?’ Henratty demanded.

‘Let me see – hold this, Oscar,’ as he passed over the torch. ‘I have my two catapults, lots of string, my binoculars, a watch with a compass, my tank of water, a tiny shovel, metal detector, bonbons – my favourite sweets, a whistle, pen and paper. Oh, and papa’s foghorn!’

‘I think we’ve heard enough. Dust yourself off everybody and let’s get moving. I suggest that we hold hands in a single file due to the poor visibility and that way we won’t get separated. So I’ll go first – Jack, pass me the torch,’ and on they marched as Henratty led the way.

‘Where do you think we are?’ asked Lyndi Lou as they came upon some old tracks.

‘I think we are in some sort of mine judging by these tracks. I do recall Papa Mortimer mentioning something a long time ago when he was giving us a history lesson on Meerville Town. However, I was not paying much attention but I think he said this mine had been closed some thirty years ago. I guess we’re the only ones down here now … there must be a way out. There must be a lift that would have taken the workers and cargo to the top of the mine, above ground, and I think that’s what we need to find,’ surmised Henratty. Jack had now got out his shovel and was scraping the side of the wall.

‘What exactly are you playing at?’ asked Henratty.

‘I’m looking for diamonds,’ Jack responded excitedly.

‘Don’t be so silly, if there were diamonds down here, don’t you think the whole of Meerville would know about it?’ deduced Henratty.

‘Maybe they do, but they just couldn’t find the right area to dig, as look, we have come to the end of this tunnel and there are four other tunnels to choose from. It’s like a maze down here. I know there is treasure down here and I’m going to find it,’ Jack proclaimed confidently.

‘Will you please pay attention, Jack, and stop thinking that everything is an adventure.’

‘Oh, Henratty, do you remember our last conversation regarding “adventure” at Oscar’s birthday?’

‘Please don’t remind me, besides that’s different, this is for real and we need to be responsible as we have Lyndi Lou and Oscar to think of.’

‘I know that but we can still have fun!’

‘Jack, this is no picnic, we could be in serious danger – who knows what’s lurking down one of these tunnels? For all we know there could be other creatures down here, and nasty ones at that.’ Lyndi Lou began to cry again.

‘Look, what you’ve gone and done,’ fumed Henratty.

‘Don’t blame me, Henratty – I’m not the one that mentioned monsters and nasty stuff,’ refuted Jack.

‘Lyndi Lou, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you; I was just trying to make Jack realise how serious our predicament was, because if we don’t get out of here, we could be in serious danger and this torch is our only hope. Now let’s press on,’ commanded Henratty.

‘Okay, sis, you’re right. I’ll try not to get too upset and instead focus on being positive about getting out of here,’ Lyndi Lou said reassuringly.

‘Have you got that, Jack … FOCUS!’ Henratty said sternly.

‘Yeah, yeah, but I tell you there’s treasure to be found here, I know it,’ Jack responded defiantly.

‘Let’s go left here and tread carefully,’ instructed Henratty.

Nora had listened with intent to their conversation:

S
o they think they're on a treasure hunt, well I think I better let Cooper know that they could possibly know about the hidden diamonds. How could they know about that I wonder? It is only Cooper and I that know about the diamonds and their whereabouts. It looks like they may not be so innocent after all. We'll definitely have to interrogate them to ensure they suspect nothing and dispel any idea of this mine being a treasure trove.

We have kept this place safe for thirty years and safe it must remain. These diamonds can only bring evil upon the land and if those evil birds of prey, the Larkans, in Skylark, get hold of them, it spells the end of this world as we know it. For the moment, there was no danger of that happening, as Nora with Cooper's help would ensure that these creatures never got out of this tunnel to tell the tale but for now, she would just observe to see what unfolds and what they truly know!

With those thoughts of Skylark buried once more, Nora began to wonder what was taking Enoch so long, it's never taken him this long to deliver a message before and Cooper and the others should have arrived by now.

* * *

Meanwhile, Enoch had finally realised something was wrong, as it dawned on him that it usually took him fifteen minutes at the most to walk back to base but he felt like he had been walking for all eternity. He was sure that at least thirty minutes had passed and he had not caught sight of base. In fact, as he looked more closely at the intricacies of the tunnel, he realised that this tunnel was completely different to the usual tunnel that had taken him back to base. For starters, the lights were much higher up the walls than the usual tunnel and it was a lot more dusty.

‘Oh, no I must have taken the wrong turning; I told Nora that we should have marked the tunnels more clearly to define them, as she knows how easily I get confused. She is going to kill me or even worse she is going to insist that I eat Poppy to show that I am truly a mole, instead of the forgetful useless mole I know she thinks I am …'

Poor Enoch wanted to shout “help” from the rooftops but that would only make things worse. Also he did not want to be the one that was to blame for alerting the visitors to the fact that they were no longer the only inhabitants in the mine.

Enoch continued to babble and revisit what he was going to do as he continued along the tunnel. Unbeknown to him the intruders were heading straight towards him.

‘Shush,' Henratty commaned.

‘What's wrong?

‘I thought I heard something, or more like someone talking.'

‘You must be hallucinating, surely there can't be anyone else down here,' remarked Jack.

‘OH, NO – WHAT AM I GOING TO DO – I'M IN BIG TROUBLE!' uttered the voice – it was Enoch!