Riddle Gully Secrets by Jen Banyard Read Free Book Online Page A

cares more about all those dead people than me.’
    â€˜I’m sure that’s not true,’ said Pollo.
    â€˜And now he springs this … this
gift
thing on me!’ Dan spluttered. ‘Gee willakers!’ His jaw clenched. ‘You know what I think? Great-however-many-greats-grandfather Fergus had some clever escape route all worked out; Grandpa was drunk and fell into a manhole with the lid off. No aliens! No portals! End of story!’
    They sat for a moment to the drilling of crickets and the crackling of the bush. Pollo brushed a beetle from her arm. ‘You know, the Diamond Jack gang of bushrangers used to hide out around here. If you believe the stories, they lived underground for weeks at a time. They knew all the tunnels and caves. I reckon there’s your ancestor’s portal – a secret cave.’
    â€˜A secret cave!’ said Dan. ‘That’d be perfect!’
    â€˜Cave entrances can be invisible from the surface,’ said Pollo. ‘Last year Will and I found one that turned out to be a huge wintering cave for bats.’
    â€˜I nearly broke my neck,’ said Will. ‘I dropped straight down into it. The opening was smaller than a car tyre.’
    â€˜Gee willakers!’ said Dan. ‘If I could show Twig a cave like that it might make him think twice about this “family gift” rubbish.’
    â€˜You’re going to tell Twig about your iPad too though, aren’t you?’ said Will.
    â€˜And the rest,’ added Ash, ‘like your shopping in town and your secret passion for school uniforms.’
    â€˜If we sorted out the portal business first, maybe I could kind of ease my way into all that stuff,’ wheedled Dan.
    Ash sniffed.
    â€˜I reckon we should go find a cave right now,’ said Will. ‘Then Dan’s got no more excuses.’
    â€˜I don’t like caves much,’ said Pollo. ‘They’re pitch black and they smell funny – like old tin cans.’
    â€˜Since when are you squeamish?’ said Will.
    â€˜Since I didn’t bring my torch,’ said Pollo. ‘I hardly thought I’d be needing one.’
    â€˜Like you told me yesterday – a good investigator is always ready for action.’ Will grinned smugly and patted his backpack. ‘Good news! There’s a torch in here!’
    Pollo groaned. ‘Oh, alright. With a bit of luck you’ll get stuck in a cave again and I’ll have something to write about in my column.’
    â€˜That’s the spirit!’ said Will. ‘What about you, Ash?’
    â€˜I was going to go back in,’ said Ash, waving a hand towards town, ‘but I’m in no hurry. Mum will be busy all day today anyway.’
    Dan jumped up and grabbed his canvas bag. ‘Gee willakers! I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s almost like we’ll be, you know, hanging out.’
    â€˜Remember, Dan,’ said Ash, ‘Twig could still be right about your ancestor finding a portal.’ She broke off a leaf and nibbled on it. ‘Even if he’s wrong about you and you are completely ordinary – which would seem to be the case.’ She looked at the sky dreamily. ‘If I were an alien, I’d like it here.’
    â€˜You’re a nutter,’ said Dan.
    Pollo elbowed him. ‘A nutter who knows the country well enough to help you find your cave.’

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Scritch!
The spade dug into the summer-baked earth, harder and rockier up on the top of the hill than in the gorge below.
Thunk!
Its load joined a large pile of dirt at the base of a granite outcrop.
    At the end of the spade was a woman dressed in a sweat-soaked khaki uniform, topped with a limp, grubby silk scarf. Pearls of sweat on her forehead rivalled two large pearls glowing on her earlobes. She straightened, wiping her brow with a gritty forearm, leaving a swipe of mud. She let the spade fall and from her shirt pocket