Alice-Miranda in the Outback Read online

  ‘Well, blow me down, if it isn’t my old mate Hugh with Two.’ The fellow grinned, revealing an impossibly white set of teeth. Alice-Miranda hadn’t been expecting that. She shielded her eyes from the glare.

  ‘Sorry,’ the man apologised. ‘Had a good year a couple back and decided to treat myself to some new choppers – whiter than a whale’s tooth, if you ask me.’

  Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘Hello sir, my name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones and I’m very pleased to meet you.’ She offered her hand. He took it and stood up.

  ‘Sprocket McGinty at your service, young lady,’ the miner replied. Then he turned to Hugh and gave the man a hearty hug. ‘Blimey, I thought your name was bad enough, Hugh with Two, and you’ve gone and given the poor kid four and more.’

  ‘Hugh with Two – does that refer to Daddy’s surname?’ Alice-Miranda frowned.

  ‘He’s never called me anything else,’ Hugh said. ‘I guess it has a certain ring to it.’

  Sprocket brushed the red dirt from his white shorts and took his thongs off, clapping them together and creating a cloud of dust before dropping them and jamming them back on his dirty feet. ‘You should have called, mate. I’d have baked a cake. But reception’s dodgy and the oven’s been busted for seven years, so that’s a lie, but I hope you’ve been to the bakery – one of Nancy’s vanilla slices wouldn’t go astray right about now.’

  Alice-Miranda giggled again. She’d wondered why her father had ordered another round of takeaway cakes. She ran to get the box from the front seat and beckoned for Millie and the others to join her. They hopped out of the cars and trotted over.

  ‘Were you blasting a new mine shaft, Mr McGinty?’ Alice-Miranda asked as she passed her father the box of treats.

  ‘A new mine?’ Sprocket looked at the girl blankly.

  ‘The explosion?’ the child said.

  ‘No, I’m putting in a sunroom,’ he said with a firm nod.

  Alice-Miranda didn’t know whether to believe him or not. She mulled it over while Hugh introduced the others. ‘Well, I can see you’re all just as right and proper as my old mate Hugh with Two,’ Sprocket said. ‘And me with no manners standing here in the sun. Who’d like a cuppa? Might even have some fizzy drink for the kids. Fridge is still working. And I’m pretty sure that I washed the cups last time I had visitors, but we might check that. It was some time ago.’

  The group followed the man to the tiny tin shed, where he opened the door. ‘Shoes off,’ he said.

  Millie nudged Alice-Miranda and the pair began to undo their laces.

  ‘Nah, just kidding. What do you think this is? A palace or something?’ Sprocket grinned, and you’d have sworn he’d just turned a light on.

  The children could hardly believe their eyes as they followed the man inside. The tiny shed gave way to a large lounge room complete with a television set and a china cupboard. There was a floral settee still covered in plastic and a yellow shag pile rug on the floor. On the wall hung an assortment of mismatched paintings – clearly done by someone with very little skill.

  Sprocket noticed the children staring. ‘You like my horses?’ He pointed at a canvas. ‘Took me an age to finish that one. Still not sure if I’ve got the tail right.’

  Millie had to shove her fist in her mouth to stop herself from laughing. The tail was the least of the man’s worries, given the horse’s head was shaped like a watermelon, but she had to love his enthusiasm.

  The dugout wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t tiny either. It was also cooler inside than out – the lounge room was a very pleasant twenty-three degrees – it said so on the large digital thermometer on the wall.

  ‘This is unexpected,’ Lucas said, glancing around.

  Sprocket led the group through to the kitchen, which looked much like you’d find in any regular home – although the cupboards were painted a garish orange and the oven had a piece of blue and white police tape crisscrossing the front of it. Jacinta’s eyes widened in alarm, wondering why there was a crime scene in the man’s kitchen.

  ‘Did something happen here?’ she asked quietly.

  Sprocket tilted his head like a curious puppy as Jacinta pointed.

  ‘Oh no, that’s just to remind me about the broken gas pipe. Don’t want to blow myself up, so I asked the Sarge if he could spare some tape. He gave me a whole roll. Excellent for keeping stickybeaks off the claim too,’ Sprocket explained. ‘It’s lucky I gave up smoking years ago – actually I don’t think I ever did smoke. It’s a filthy habit.’

  He filled the kettle with water and set about retrieving cups and saucers from an overhead cupboard.

  ‘We’ll give you a hand, Mr Sprocket,’ Alice-Miranda said. The crockery looked clean enough, but after the man’s earlier comment she thought it was better to give everything a rinse just in case. Millie did the drying.

  Hugh had set the box of cakes on the dining room table and he and Lawrence were now hunting for plates.

  Sprocket directed Lucas and Jacinta to a side room where he said they’d find another fridge. Sure enough, there were cans of lemonade and cola lining the shelves, so the pair helped themselves to a selection and brought it back to the table.

  ‘Fizzy drink doesn’t go off, does it?’ Sprocket asked. The children looked at one another and shrugged. The man directed everyone to sit down. Tea and cakes were passed around and, though the children and Lawrence and Hugh had just had afternoon tea, none of them hesitated.

  ‘Mr McGinty,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  The fellow looked around dramatically. ‘Is the ghost of my old dead dad here again?’

  Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘No, I was talking to you.’

  ‘No one calls me Mr McGinty unless they’re a magistrate,’ the man replied.

  ‘Mr Sprocket, Daddy said that you saved his life once.’ Alice-Miranda was determined to hear the story her father had begun to share.

  ‘Did he now? Well, it all started one day when this young fella arrived in town en route to Hope Springs. Trouble was, it had been raining for a month and the road was flooded, so he had to stop in Coober Pedy till things dried out. Hugh with Two was down the pub asking about some work and a place to stay. I was there, enjoying a cleansing ale, and I didn’t think he looked too bad. Bit of a rough head, but he was young and strongish, so I offered him a bed and brought him up here. Mind you, his bed was on the floor because I hadn’t finished the guest room yet, but he didn’t seem to care,’ Sprocket said. ‘He had the fanciest swag I’ve ever seen – remember it came with snake repellent and all – whoever sold him that saw him coming.’

  ‘So Daddy lived here and worked for you,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘I wouldn’t go so far as calling it work, but he did a bit and kept out of trouble for a minute or so,’ Sprocket explained. ‘It was all going well until he decided to use the amenities in the middle of the night.’

  ‘What happened?’ Jacinta said.

  ‘Patience,’ the man replied. ‘Hugh with Two got up for the loo – heck I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it,’ the man chuckled.

  The children giggled, but Lawrence began to wonder if the fellow didn’t have a few sheep loose in the top paddock.

  ‘Anyway, the house wasn’t nearly as luxurious as it is now, and we still had an external facility. Except that Hugh with Two got confused about which of the outbuildings was the toilet and which was the entrance to one of my old mine shafts. Fell straight in, didn’t he. Lucky I always take an evening constitutional to check the claim. That’s how I heard him, or who knows how long he’d have been down there – probably still be there now come to think of it. Been a couple of those over the years. Anyway, I’d been using that shaft to store some of my cactus plants until I got the garden going.’

  The children looked at Hugh, who winced. He held up his hands to indicate the length of the spines.

  ‘Ow!’ They all shuddered.

  ‘I spent the rest of the night removing prickles from your father’s bare
bottom.’

  ‘I didn’t see any cacti out in your yard,’ Alice-Miranda said. She couldn’t remember seeing any garden at all.

  ‘Once I realised what a danger those beasties were, I got rid of them. Couldn’t risk having anyone else with a bum full of prickles,’ Sprocket said earnestly.

  ‘So there you have it, kids. Rescued by a mad miner from his killer cacti,’ Hugh said. ‘And it’s something of a miracle, but we’ve stayed friends ever since – although I think this is only the second time I’ve seen him since then. It’s fortunate country folk don’t forget things.’

  ‘He’s a good bloke, Hugh with Two. Doesn’t really think I’m crazy – not like everyone else around here,’ Sprocket said, then immediately changed tack. ‘Would you like to have a look at the new seam?’

  ‘Down a mine shaft?’ Lucas said.

  ‘Actually, I found it by accident during the renovations. Richest bit of ground I’ve ever dug up, and to think it only happened because I wanted more room in the dugout,’ Sprocket said. ‘Come on.’

  ‘So that’s what you were working on when we arrived?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  ‘No, was breaking up a slab of stone out the back. Thought I might put in a guest suite. Tourists pay a lot of money to stay in this town so I decided to cash in on the action.’

  They followed Sprocket through the kitchen and down a narrow tunnel to another space almost the same size as the lounge room. There was a string of naked globes glowing against the wall, but the old man turned them off and picked up a torch. He shone it around, illuminating a spidery vein of coloured lines.

  ‘Whoa, it’s like an Aladdin’s Cave,’ Millie gasped.

  ‘If it’s not rude to ask, do you know how much you could be looking at here?’ Lawrence asked.

  ‘Sadly, a lot less than you were paid for that awful musical you were in – yes, you think you can come to the outback and be anonymous, Lawrence Ridley, but I know exactly who you are. Hollywood royalty.’ Sprocket winked at the man. ‘Don’t worry, I was probably the only person in the world who didn’t enjoy it.’

  ‘That’s not true,’ Jacinta shook her head. ‘The lady at the Kulgera Roadhouse said much worse things.’

  Alice-Miranda nudged her friend. Jacinta bit her lip, realising her lack of tact. ‘Sorry – I didn’t mean to be rude.’

  Lawrence grinned. ‘It’s all right, Jacinta. I’d rather know that, even in the middle of nowhere, people have paid good money to see the movie, never mind if they didn’t enjoy it.’

  Sprocket looked at him in the dim light. ‘Paid. You’re kidding, right? I’ve got a satellite dish on my roof that could eavesdrop on the Australian Parliament if I wanted to – which, by the way, I don’t, at least not since that incident at Woomera, which we won’t talk about now.

  ‘Anyway, in answer to your question, this could make me rich beyond my wildest dreams. But don’t you go spreading that around. You never know who’s listening and I don’t want to end up like Taipan Dan.’

  ‘What happened to him?’ Millie asked.

  ‘Gone,’ Sprocket said. ‘Last time I spoke to the silly old codger he said he was onto something big – the find of his life. I don’t really understand him though – he never has a brass razoo, and yet over the years he’s probably dug up millions in opals. No idea what he does with his money unless he’s got a fortune squirrelled away for a rainy day. But it hardly ever rains out here now does it? I’ve been waiting three months for him to come back.’

  ‘Do you think he’s met with foul play?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  Sprocket shrugged.

  ‘Thought I saw his ute in town the other week so I went over to borrow some dynamite, but his place was locked up tighter than a tin can. Still, I managed to get in – did a short stint as a locksmith in my younger years. Anyway, the house was the same as always – washing up in the sink, fridge full of rotten food – except he wasn’t there. Only been a coupla times in the past thirty years he’s left town and he’s always asked me to keep an eye on things. This time – nothing. I checked the claim – he hasn’t fallen down a shaft as far as I could see. Nor was he dead on a mound of dirt the way my old mate Harry left the world.’

  ‘What about his car?’ Lucas asked, his eyes wide.

  ‘Gone too. And Junie.’

  ‘Is that his wife?’ Millie asked.

  ‘No, she’s his cat – there’s been no wives that I know of,’ Sprocket said. ‘Oh, and there was one other thing . . .’

  Alice-Miranda stared at the ceiling. Every now and again, depending on which way she turned her head, she could see a sparkle. Sprocket had told the children that it was potch – opal with no colour, and of no value either. Still, it was pretty to look at.

  She couldn’t help thinking about what might have happened to Taipan Dan – where he’d gone and why he’d disappeared without telling anyone. That seemed a dangerous thing to do in the outback, given the vast distances and isolation. Alice-Miranda had expected it to be big, but now she was actually here she was beginning to realise the enormity of the landscape.

  Millie and Jacinta were sound asleep. Alice-Miranda could hear Millie’s breathy grunts and Jacinta’s not-so-sweet snores.

  They’d arrived at their accommodation and been greeted by Di, a smiling blonde lady who was the perfect hostess and lived in her own dugout next door. The woman had kindly stocked the fridge and pantry with bacon, eggs, bread and milk for breakfast, and recommended the Outback Bar and Grill for dinner, which had proven every bit as delicious as they’d hoped.

  Alice-Miranda looked at the clock on the bedside table. It had just gone four and, no matter how many sheep she counted in her head, sleep wouldn’t come. She pushed back the covers and padded noiselessly to the hallway. Lucas was lying on the pull-out couch in the lounge room.

  She nudged past her cousin. It was strange being in a house that was almost entirely underground, although the air still felt fresh inside.

  ‘Can’t sleep either?’ Lucas whispered.

  Alice-Miranda turned around. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.’

  Lucas sat up. ‘You didn’t. I’ve been awake for ages.’

  ‘Me too,’ the girl said. ‘Would you like some water?’

  Lucas nodded and hopped up to join her in the kitchen.

  ‘I’ve been thinking about that guy, Taipan Dan,’ Lucas said.

  ‘Yes,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘What’s your theory?’

  ‘Maybe he’s sick and had to go to the city to see some doctors, or maybe it was a family matter,’ the boy said.

  Alice-Miranda frowned. ‘Mr Sprocket sounded worried, and he did say there was something else – and then he never told us what it was.’

  The man had been in the middle of his story when he got distracted by a sparkle in the seam. He’d taken his pick and started chipping away, and from that point on it was as if he was mesmerised. After ten minutes or so, Hugh realised it was opal fever, and they weren’t going to get another thing out of him. The group had bade Sprocket farewell and made a detour via the kitchen to wash up, leaving the man to his work.

  They’d all been disappointed not to hear the rest of the story, but Hugh said it was something he’d got used to in the short time he’d lived there. Sprocket would start a tale and, if he was lucky, Hugh might hear the rest of it a day or so later. Hugh said that he’d never met Taipan Dan – Sprocket had kept to himself during Hugh’s previous stay.

  ‘What do you think it could have been?’ Lucas asked. ‘The thing Sprocket left out.’

  ‘Who knows?’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Do you want to look at the stars?’

  ‘Sure,’ Lucas said. The waitress at the restaurant had said they were her favourite thing about the outback. But by the time they’d arrived home from dinner, everyone was so tired that they’d forgotten to take a proper look.

  Alice-Miranda opened the front door as quietly as she could, and she and Lucas walked out onto the porch. The first thing they both noticed was the c
hill. While inside was a pleasant twenty-three degrees, the temperature out here couldn’t have been more than about six or seven.

  The other thing they noticed was the darkness. The dugout had been softly illuminated by a small row of lights under the kitchen cabinets that threw off enough of a glow for the occupants to be able to get around without bumping into things, but now the children found themselves wrapped in a cloak of black. It was almost impossible to see anything at ground level, and yet when they raised their eyes towards the heavens it was as if the most beautiful jewel box in the world had been sprinkled across the sky.

  ‘Wow!’ Lucas gasped.

  ‘It’s incredible,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Two Cape Cod lawn chairs situated just beyond the covered veranda offered a perfect vantage point. Lucas ducked back inside, pulling the quilt from his bed to keep them both warm.

  The children sat side by side and tilted their heads skywards. For the next half hour or so they picked out constellations and planets until they fell sound asleep.

  They were woken by the warmth of the sun’s rays on their cheeks and Millie’s voice calling their names.

  ‘We’re out here,’ Alice-Miranda shouted, and rubbed her eyes.

  Millie scrambled through the front door and was surprised to see the pair under the doona in their pyjamas. ‘Lucky you’re cousins. If Jacinta found you cosied up with anyone else like that, Lucas, the Coober Pedy police would probably be investigating a murder.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Jacinta’s not the jealous type,’ Lucas said.

  Millie and Alice-Miranda looked at one another and raised their eyebrows.

  The smell of bacon wafted through the screen door. ‘Breakfast’s ready,’ Lawrence called from inside.

  Something on the dusty ground beyond the lawn chairs caught Millie’s attention as she turned to the door. ‘Don’t suppose you noticed the owner of those tracks?’

  Alice-Miranda and Lucas hopped up. Millie was pointing at a long trail through the red dirt.

  ‘Looks like it came from right under your chair, Alice-Miranda,’ Lucas said. ‘Glad it was dark and we didn’t see anything.’