The Secret of Sinbad's Cave

  Chapter 23

  Man to Man Chat

  The following morning, Nat took Plato for a long ride over the hills. She found herself steering the horse towards the grove of Pukatea trees out on the cliffs. When she got lost in wistful imaginings about returning to the sanctuary, Plato neighed and brought her back to the present. He pranced on the spot and Nat scanned the bush line, certain someone was watching them.

  There were so many unanswered questions from the last ten days, and so few leads. Mike still hadn’t let them in on Natalia’s story; she could feel that there must be more. There was that odd comment he’d passed last week about the settlers’ gossip. How had Rewi met her great great grandmother? Why did he build secret rooms and leave notes for her? And why did she never uncover them herself?

  Returning home, she brushed down the stallion and checked in on Kathleen

  ‘How many more cave maps do I need to look at in the atlas?’ she asked, watching as her sister practised writing with her left hand. The box from the attic was on her desk, and her cast rested protectively on it.

  ‘None,’ she replied. ‘I checked every single one.’

  ‘Sure,’ said Nat.

  Kathleen’s face clouded over. ‘I was careful,’ she protested. ‘I knew it was important!’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Nat. ‘I know you did. But the cave that best matched our map wasn’t the treasure cave, right?’

  Kathleen smiled and cradled her injured arm. ‘Right.’

  ‘And all the caves in the North Island, every type – limestone and marble – are in that atlas.’

  ‘Lava tubes too,’ said Kathleen.

  ‘So it doesn’t make sense if we have a map that doesn’t match any of them!’

  ‘No it doesn’t,’ agreed Kathleen. ‘Cavers are pretty observant. Think of Barnaby – he’s always on the lookout.’

  Nat flushed at the mention of Barnaby. She’d been doing a good job of thinking about the treasure instead of him, but even hearing his name made her want to giggle. She shook the thought of his cute smile out of her head and focused.

  ‘We’ve had generations of cavers criss-crossing this area, and we’ve got a map for a cave they’ve never found.’ Nat frowned. ‘I don’t buy it.’

  ‘Neither do I,’ said Kathleen.

  ‘Who even surveyed the cave?’ demanded Nat.

  ‘Does the map have any clues?’ asked Kathleen. She opened the box and produced the original. They flattened it out and examined it.

  ‘Cave of the Emeralds,’ mused Nat. ‘It has a nice wide entrance – which makes it even stranger that it’s never been found.’ She paused. ‘Well, of course it’s been found – we’ve got a map for it. But somehow it was lost again.’

  ‘Maybe someone wanted it lost?’ suggested Kathleen. ‘They could have been protecting the treasure.’

  ‘It’s odd though,’ said Nat, sitting down in a heap. ‘The people who lost the cave weren’t after the treasure.’

  ‘Why not?’ asked Kathleen.

  ‘Because they’d have taken it – then there’d be no point keeping the cave hidden.’

  Kathleen gasped. ‘Unless there’s something else in there.’

  Nat stared at her sister. ‘Maybe,’ she murmured. She turned back to the map. ‘There are three passages that turn off the main stream.’

  ‘What did the patupaiarehe say?’ asked Kathleen.

  ‘Trace the outline of Tautoru on the rock,’ recited Nat. ‘Why does that sound so familiar?’

  ‘Toru is three,’ said Kathleen.

  ‘Yes!’ said Nat, remembering. ‘Riki told me the other night – Tautoru is Orion’s belt!’


  She heard the rumble of a car in the driveway.

  ‘Finally,’ said Nat. ‘Riki’s here!’

  Nat raced out the door and down the steps, ready to let fire with a string of questions. But she didn’t get a chance. After she’d hugged Riki, she threw her arms wide to hug Abraham. Instead, he handed her a box of vegetables.

  ‘This is for dinner,’ he instructed. She looked at him. ‘Well, go on.’

  Nat placed the box on the kitchen table, and returned to Abraham’s truck, ready to demand answers. But even as she opened her mouth, Abraham interrupted.

  ‘This is for your father when you lot bugger off,’ he said, putting an old cake tin in her hands. ‘You can peek inside, but it won’t do you no good.’ He laughed. ‘Not for you!’

  Inside, Nat prised the lid from the tin.

  ‘It’s just cake,’ she said.

  Riki smiled. ‘Whisky cake. His recipe is pretty famous.’

  ‘Stop gas-bagging,’ called Abraham. ‘I know there’s plenty to catch up on but let’s get the jobs done first. There’s still more out here you know!’

  Returning to the beat up truck, Nat was given a set of door handles and paint stripper.

  Abraham nodded. ‘That’ll make his day.’

  ‘He’ll be back soon,’ said Kathleen.

  ‘Not a problem, child,’ said Abraham. ‘In times of excitement, every moment should be savoured. The skies are clear, the mysteries are unraveling at last.’

  At the mention of mysteries, Nat glanced back to watch Abraham. Hearing some soaring music they could not, he put together a couple of old fashioned dance steps. But he wasn’t ready to say anything. Instead he hooked his hands behind his back and walked among the trees, humming to himself.

  ‘He’s acting funny,’ Nat said to Riki.

  Riki laughed. ‘You haven’t seen the half of it! On the way up here he was singing old songs to himself. He’s in a great mood.’

  ‘How come?’

  She shrugged. ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’

  Nat deposited the paint stripper and door handles on the freezer. ‘I’ve been waiting for ages to tell you about the afternoon we were supposed to meet back at your place.’

  Riki nodded. ‘The day Kathleen went adventuring by herself.’

  ‘Exactly,’ said Nat. ‘It was incredible – we found the cave map she’d been looking at, and took off to a place called Pukatea Mountain.’

  The story was disrupted by the crunch of gravel under tyres. Nat knew that sound. Her Dad was back from mustering. She glanced at Riki. ‘I’ll pick this up later.’

  Mike roared back into view and the farm dogs leapt from the back of the truck to inspect each individual, assessing them for good and bad smells, or the ultimate prize – a bit of food. Mike climbed out, shook Abraham’s hand, and to Nat’s absolute amazement they fell silent, looking up at the blue sky.

  ‘Pearler day,’ said Mike, after a long pause.

  ‘Too right,’ agreed Abraham, and from his pocket he produced his pipe and a pouch of tobacco. He offered it first to Mike.

  ‘Don’t mind if I do.’

  Riki, Kathleen and Nat sat in the sun by the porch, watching Abraham stuff his pipe and Mike roll a cigarette.

  ‘Why don’t they hurry up?’ whispered Nat.

  ‘The things they’re going to talk about are big things,’ said Riki, keeping her voice low. ‘You can’t dive straight into them.’

  ‘But the waiting is so painful!’ said Nat.

  ‘I think watching them is kind of funny,’ said Kathleen.

  Nat sighed. She hated being held back. Over the last few days she’d felt as though her wings had been clipped. She took a deep breath and let it out while counting to ten. Then she stretched out her legs in the sun and counted the freckles from her toes to her knees while Mike and Abraham eased their way into the strangest conversation they’d had in a long time.

  It started out normally; with the weather.

  ‘Tomorrow they reckon the rain’s coming,’ said Mike.

  Abraham blew out a puff of smoke, and they watched it linger in the air. ‘They say we’re in for a helluva downpour, don’t they?’

  Mike nodded. ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Should we be worried, down the hill?’

  ‘You’ll be right unless you go underground.’ br />
  ‘Right,’ said Abraham. ‘Right, right.’

  ‘Something to drink mate?’ asked Mike, scuffing his boots in the dust of the yard.

  ‘Don’t mind if I do,’ replied Abraham.

  ‘Tea?’ suggested Mike.

  Abraham shook his head, but sideways, as if he was shaking water from his ear.

  Mike pulled his hands out of his pockets. ‘I’m sure we’ve got coffee.’

  ‘Marvellous!’ said the old man.

  They wandered towards the front door, where Mike paused to drop his cigarette butt in a tin can. They kicked off their boots and stepped inside, smiling at the girls as they walked past. Inside, the conversation turned when Mike spied all the produce on the bench.

  ‘This is very generous,’ he said. ‘I’m quite partial to courgettes.’

  ‘Those are my prize crop,’ boasted Abraham.

  ‘Thank you very much,’ said Mike.

  ‘So,’ said Abraham. ‘There are some things we need to talk about, and the truth is going to sound…’ He paused, looking for the right word. ‘Fantastical.’

  ‘I’m ready,’ said Mike. ‘I might even surprise you with a few stories of my own.’

  ‘Shall we invite the girls in?’ said Abraham. ‘They’re listening anyway.’

  The front door swung open, and Nat, Kathleen and Riki trooped inside. Mike yelled up the stairs to Jack, who curled himself into an armchair, and Abraham began to talk.

  ‘This story,’ he began, ‘has never been told. Thus, it has spawned rumours and treasure hunts. It has caused broken hearts and broken families. And no-one has got near the truth until now.’

  A yell in the yard and the sound of laughter stopped Abraham. There was a crash as bikes hit the dirt, and two unruly heads emerged through the door. Nat’s heart leapt. It was Barnaby and Elijah.

  ‘Are we late?’ asked Elijah.

  ‘No,’ said Abraham. He looked at his watch. ‘Perfect timing.’

  ‘Take a seat,’ said Mike.

  ‘How come you’re here?’ asked Nat.

  ‘Abraham rang Dad and requested we come down. Move over.’ Barnaby pushed his way onto the sofa next to Nat.

  ‘We were just talking about the treasure,’ said Abraham.

  ‘Excuse me?’ said Kathleen, in her politest voice.

  ‘Yes?’ asked Abraham, who seemed amused at all the interruptions.

  ‘What treasure?’

  ‘Oh,’ said Abraham, still beaming. ‘Sinbad’s treasure.’