Chapter 18
Change of Plan
Twenty minutes later Jack and Nat were headed up the hill. Their mission was simple; grab warm clothes and get back down to Abraham’s place, where they’d join Riki and go straight to the Rehua Reserve. They’d made plans to meet Barnaby and Elijah under the mahoe tree on their road at three o’clock. There was no time for mucking about.
When they raced up the front steps and into the kitchen, Mike was waiting for them. And he was angry. His big hands were clenched into fists.
‘Where’s Kathleen?’ he bellowed.
Nat stopped in her tracks. ‘She was here with you.’
‘She’s gone,’ said Mike. ‘Sundance too. They’ve been gone for hours. I’ve got no idea where.’
Jack shrugged. ‘She’s probably making a tree hut Dad. Chill out.’
‘Chill out?’ Mike stepped towards Jack until they were eyeball to eyeball. ‘The weather is closing in, my youngest daughter has gone missing and you want me to chill out? Change of plan, you two. Whatever you were about to do, it’s cancelled. We’re forming a search party and leaving in five minutes.’
‘But Dad,’ began Nat, ‘we’ve got to get – ’
‘No buts!’ Mike glared at them both. ‘I don’t care what’s going on – you’re coming with me. You’re going to need raincoats, warm hats, gumboots – the clouds are coming down and visibility is going to be close to zero.’
Nat looked at Jack in a panic, and then at their father. He was breathing so hard his face was going red. She knew Kathleen’s disappearance was something to do with their pony pact. She had to get her sister back. The treasure would have to wait.
Mike began to collect things together, throwing rope, jackets and blankets into his truck while muttering angrily to himself. Jack ducked into his room, and Nat was left alone in the kitchen. The cave atlas was sitting on the table. On a hunch, she picked it up. Kathleen had marked the pages – some maps were eliminated with a firm pencil ‘No.’ Others said ‘Maybe’ or had a question mark.
As Nat flicked through the book, the atlas fell open, revealing an edge of jagged paper. A page had been ripped out. Nat noted the cave maps before and after the torn page, and flipped to the index. There were two options; Requiem Cavern and Restriction Rock Cave.
Striding back into the house, Mike took one look at Nat and started yelling.
‘Put that down,’ he barked. ‘Can’t you tell this is serious? We’re heading into the back blocks, and then we’re going up the river.’
‘She’s not there,’ said Nat.
‘And how do you know that?’
Nat took a deep breath. She couldn’t say a word about the pony pact, but she knew Kathleen had disappeared to search for the treasure.
‘I asked her to match the cave map from the attic to one in here. She’s gone off to one of these two places.’ Nat held open the atlas.
Mike glanced at it and looked at her in horror.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
‘Restriction Rock is on the other side of the district; I’ve heard cavers talk about it. But Requiem Cavern is on this farm. There’s another name for it.’ An anguished expression crossed his face. ‘Kathleen asked me this morning about the caves around here, and I pointed out the directions they were in. I never imagined it’d lead to this!’
Nat scanned the index. ‘Also called The Eagle’s Roost. First surveyed 1920.’
‘Probably no-one’s been back since – it’s right at the end of the bluffs; nearly an impossible trail to get to it, and if you manage to get out there, you’re surrounded by sheer cliffs.’
Nat gulped. This wasn’t good.
Mike glared at her. ‘You set her on this mission Nat, and she wanted to help you so much she’s gone off all alone.’ He glanced out the window. The fog was closing in around the house.
‘This is serious. Kathleen’s nine years old. Men have been badly hurt out there.’ He spun around. ‘Jack! We’re leaving – now!’