asked, not really looking forward to three days at sea.
‘Fished out if today’s any indication.’
Arnie nodded. ‘C-cray too small, eh, J-Jim? W-we have to go somewhere n-new now.’
‘That’s right,’ Snook’s dad said, picking up a chop with his fingers ready to chew on it. ‘That’s why we’re going to new grounds tomorrow; it’s a case of have to.’
‘Hang on, I’ve an idea,’ Reg said cutting in. ‘Why don’t the kids come with me instead of going on the boat? We could stay in the ranger’s shack. It’s fully equipped. It’d be our base camp. All we’d need is our sleeping bags and some food. What do you say?’
‘Sounds okay to me, Reg,’ Jim said, ‘as long as you don’t mind ’em tagging along, cramping your style so to speak.’
‘Not at all; they’d be good company.’ He grinned across the table. ‘What do you think, you two? Up for a few days in the bush?’
Snook banged a fist on the table. Then, unable to help himself, and in a high-pitched voice that made Jars jump, he yelled, ‘Wicked! A campin’ trip. We could go explorin’. Whatcha say, Jars? We might even find out what made them lights.’
Before Jars could say anything, Snook’s dad butted in. ‘Settle down, Snook or you’ll frighten the dog. Now, tell me, what’s this about lights? Queer lights, I think you said.’
Snook nodded and hurried to explain about the strange, flashing object in the sky, about the newscast on television and about their earlier plans to go looking for the UFO and any extra-terrestrials that happened to be in it.
His dad shook his head. ‘With your ability to land yourself in hot water, I’d say it’s just as well you’re not tearing around the countryside searching for any extra-whatsits. That little exercise would’ve ended in some sort of disaster for sure.’ He chuckled. ‘Then again, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing, you getting abducted by aliens. It’d save your mother and me a lot of grief.’
Snook gave a sheepish grin, guessing that his father was joking. At least he hoped he was. He decided not to pursue the matter.
With the decision made to go with Reg, Jars was secretly pleased. A long weekend staying in a cabin in the forest would be fun. Looking for some mysterious flying object would have been interesting, but, she felt certain, would also have been pretty much a waste of time ending with disappointment all round. Especially for Snook.
Besides saving Snook from being let down, it would also save both of them from the humiliation of the inevitable stares and gossip from the townsfolk, who, by now, were bound to have news of the Pearson gem theft.
Trying to stay positive, Jars’ mind drifted to other things. Life’s strange though, she found herself thinking: in a matter of one day, they’d being accused of theft; mysterious lights had suddenly appeared in the sky over their town; Quenton Quigley had found a riddle promising treasure and now here they were, going on a hurried trip into the wilderness. What next? she wondered. What else could possibly jump out and surprise them?
A loud knock on the door made them all turn and look.
Chapter Twelve
Jim strode to the front door and opened it. ‘Madeline? Quenton?’ he found himself asking, wondering what they could possibly want at this hour.
‘Sorry to barge in on you like this but I’ve a favour to ask,’ Mrs Quigley said. Jim saw at once that she was in quite a state. He also saw the overnight bag that Quenton was clutching.
Madeline Quigley’s bird-like way of talking, a sort of stop and start twitter, now sounded panicky, anxious. Something was worrying her.
‘Could I come in, Jim? I-I’d like to ask you something.’
‘Yes. Yes, do,’ he said, ‘Come on through.’ He led the way into the living room.
Hearing the muffled voices, and wondering what was going on, the others, including Shadow, left the kitchen to find out.
Mrs Quigley, who was now sitting on the settee, leaned forward, wringing her hands. ‘It’s my husband,’ she said, not wasting any words. ‘He’s being released from jail. He rang me from the prison. I have to pick him up tomorrow.’
She pulled a handkerchief from somewhere up her sleeve. She fussed and twisted it in her hands. Jim sat next to her wondering what to say. Consoling women in distress wasn’t his strong point. Feeling he needed to say something, he managed, ‘You don’t seem too pleased. Isn’t it a good thing he’s coming home?’
‘No, it’s not,’ she said, her voice almost a whisper. She opened her handbag. ‘And for some reason he wants this.’ She held up a book whose title read: ‘The Strahan Area, Hot Fishing Spots.’ She shook her head. ‘I’ve no idea why he wants it.’
Jim glanced at the book’s cover and scratched his head. ’Dunno either. It seems kinda strange he’d want something like that on his first day out of jail.’
‘That’s what I thought,’ she said. ‘But who knows what he’s thinking these days? I certainly don’t. You see, he made it clear to me on the first day he was locked up that he didn’t want me to visit him, or even call him on the phone. I don’t know why he’s changed his mind now. I could have easily mailed the book to him.’
Not used to emotional situations like this, Jim was slightly embarrassed. He averted his eyes as he said, ‘I, er, that’s strange.’
Quenton, a little disturbed with the way the adult conversation was going, sidled over to where Snook and Jars were standing. ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’ He jerked his thumb towards the living room door with a let’s get out of here look.
Snook could see Quenton was anxious about something. ‘Kitchen,’ he mouthed, pushing Quenton in front of him. Jars, grasping what was happening, followed. Reg and Arnie, who were looking a little confused, tagged along too. Snook’s dad and Madeline, who were in deep conversation, barely noticed their departure.
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