Berry stood on the edge of the gully and looked down. The sides were steep and stony. From here it all looked quite unstable, and she figured if she wasn’t careful she would slip and tumble all the way down to the gully floor. Several gums were growing up the slope—maybe that would be her way down. Near the base of the last gum tree was a tangle of blackberry bushes. She only hoped that she wouldn’t be propelled down the slope and end up falling head-first into it.
Berry took the first tentative steps off the edge. A cascade of small rocks tumbled down the hill as Berry took another step. She waited for a second in the hope that everything would settle down, then she walked on. The ground seemed to shear away from the gully wall, and for a moment it was as if she were skimming over water or snow, but just as she was beginning to topple and lose her balance entirely she managed to half-grab, half-fall into the trunk of the first tree.
She looked back up to the edge of the gully and frowned. Maybe Berry hadn’t thought this one through—if it was this hard to get down to the gully floor, how the hell was she going to get up? But there was no going back now. She’d come this far, so she might as well keep going. Besides, she had her phone and Nate knew what she was doing—somehow or other she would make it out.
Berry turned her attention to the next tree, which was only half a dozen steps away. She lined herself up, aimed for the tree and made a run at it. Once again the ground moved and slipped under her feet, but her trajectory was true and she bumped into the smooth trunk of a ghost gum and hung on for dear life. She repeated the process again and was beginning to congratulate herself on a job well done when she missed the last tree and tumbled down the final part of the slope, landing on her backside with a bang.
She sat for a second trying to ignore the scratches on her hand, the gravel-rashed knee and the fact that her butt hurt. Slowly she got to her feet and looked around. At least she hadn’t landed in the blackberry bushes—so, she should be thankful for small mercies.
Berry walked a little slower than normal towards the small creek that was splashing through the gully. The winter rains had made sure that it was flowing but it still wasn’t particularly wide. There was a large flat stone sticking out of the water and Berry `wondered whether, if she managed to get to that, she might be able to jump the rest of the way without getting too wet.
But before that, she needed to check her bearings. She took off her backpack, dropped it on the ground by her feet and sat on a nearby rock. Pulling out her father’s map, she paused for a moment while she studied it.
‘Okay, Dad, I’m here—where do I go next?’
‘Oh, bloody hell,’ Nate said as he went to reach for his phone and realised it wasn’t in his pocket. While still keeping his eyes on the road, he moved his hand and checked his shirt pocket just in case—nope, not there either.
Nate flicked on his indicator and pulled off the road. He checked his jacket pocket and between the seats. He already had the sinking feeling that it wouldn’t be there, but he looked just the same.
‘Damn it!’
Nate was already on the far side of Harlington and on his way to Bendigo. In fact, he was almost at the turnoff for the Calder Highway. He could just keep going, the task of buying the light shouldn’t take that long, but then what if Berry or his sisters had to get in touch?
Nate waited for the oncoming car to pass before he pulled back onto the road, did a U-turn and headed back home.
The map was no help whatsoever. Berry stared at it again trying to spot any markings or hints as to where the gold might be, but there was nothing. She could see the gully walls drawn in and the path of the creek and even the gums that grew up the slope. Yet there wasn’t a hint about where to go now.
Berry wrinkled her nose and thought about it for a second. The writing on the map was where her father had written Possibility. She glanced up and saw the big rocks across the creek. With nothing else to go on, she stuffed the map away, picked up her backpack and tried to make it over the creek without getting too wet. Once she got to the rocks, she started to make her way along the gully wall when she spied a narrow opening.
‘Well, hello, what have we got here?’
She grabbed the torch from the backpack and was about to go in when she thought better of it. Taking out her phone, she rang Nate—no answer. She rang the number again but he still didn’t pick up, so she typed a message.
I’m in the gully in the top paddock. Found a crevice in the rockface. I’m going to have a look. Come find me and bring a rope! B x
Satisfied that at least someone knew where she was, Berry placed the phone in her anorak pocket, switched on the torch and squeezed through the narrow gap.
Once inside Berry could see there was a bit of space—probably enough for her to sit down, maybe even stretch out. But the surprising thing she discovered was a crevice in the actual wall of the gully. There was no way of telling whether it was just a small indent in the rock or a full-on cave.
Crouching down, she shone her light into the darkness and saw that there was definitely an expanse. The light beam was fairly narrow, but as she swept the shaft across the cave’s floor she thought she caught a glint. Berry backtracked with the light until it settled on a small white stone with a splash of gold.
‘No way,’ she breathed.
As excitement outweighed cautiousness, Berry crawled into the cave and picked up the stone. She sat down and studied it in the torchlight. It was the loveliest thing she’d ever seen, not because of what it was but rather what it meant. She shone the light on the ground near her and saw a handful of pebbles glinting back at her.
You were right, Dad. You found it! Gold really does exist in Harlington. Just wait until I tell Young Ned.
She dashed away a tear. She didn’t know why she was getting emotional. Maybe it was the knowledge that after all her father’s ideas, schemes and plans one actually had substance. Or perhaps it was that Young Ned was finally vindicated.
She pushed the pebble into her pocket and moved to gather up the next one. Her torch arced up over the wall of the cave, and Berry had to blink a couple of times as she tried to comprehend what she was looking at. The more she shone the light on the wall, the more she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. On the other side of the cave, a soft glow emanated from a gold vein that ran across the entire wall.
Nate strode into the kitchen and almost bumped into his mum.
‘Hey, what’s your hurry?’ Jackie said with a smile. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Sorry,’ Nate said. ‘I thought you were out with your friends.’
‘I was. We’d planned a long lunch followed by a shopping expedition, but unfortunately Kaye was called away,’ Jackie explained. ‘Anyway, our catch-up day has been postponed until next week. What’s happening here?’
‘I was meant to pick something up for Dad in Bendigo but I think I left my phone here, so I came back,’ Nate said as he walked over to the table and saw his phone taunting him from where he left it. He sighed, picked it up and checked for any messages. ‘Where’s Dad?’
Jackie shrugged. ‘I don’t know. He wasn’t here when I got back.’
Nate frowned when he found Berry’s text. ‘Geez, she shouldn’t be doing that by herself,’ he muttered.
‘What’s the matter, darling?’ Jackie asked.
Nate looked at his mum. ‘Berry’s gone off exploring. She’s asked me to come and to bring a rope—I can only imagine the trouble she’s in. I don’t know why she didn’t wait. I would have gone with her.’
Jackie bit back a smile. ‘Oh, I don’t know. Berry’s a grown woman, I suspect that she can take care of herself.’
Nate gave her a look, slightly annoyed that his mother looked amused. ‘Well, she’s in the gully and needs a rope, so I’m not sure what exactly is going on. If you see Dad could you tell him that I’ll go to Bendigo after I make sure Berry’s okay?’ Nate asked.
‘Of course,’ Jackie said with a smile.
‘Thanks, Mum.’
Nate pocketed his phone, kissed his mum’s cheek and went to find a rope. As he walked towards the garage his phone rang.
‘Hello Nate,’ Senior Sergeant Rob Mendez said. ‘Listen I’ve just discovered some very interesting information. I think you need to hear this.’
Berry carefully made her way from out of the gap between the rocks; it was tight, but she managed. She looked down and saw that her jeans were smeared with damp soil from when she’d been crawling around the cave. She bent down and started brushing the dirt off them, not that it made it much better. Giving up, she went to retrieve her backpack from where she’d left it by the rockface.
‘So, you found it, then.’
Berry jumped with fright and whirled around to see Sam Tarant standing not far away. ‘I can’t believe I never looked here. That opening is so bloody narrow, I didn’t think a grown person could get through it.’
‘Mr Tarant, you startled me,’ Berry said as she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder before turning back to him. ‘What are you doing here? Has something happened to Nate?’
He stared at her and something in his eyes made the hairs on the back of her neck quiver, but she didn’t understand why.
‘You really like him, don’t you?’ Sam asked quietly.
She gave him a small smile. ‘Yes, I do. Is that a problem, do you object?’
He let out a long sigh. ‘No, I don’t. It’s just unfortunate, that’s all.’
Berry frowned. He was always reserved but he’d never made her feel uncomfortable, until now. There was something wrong, something off and all she wanted was to get away from Sam Tarant.
‘I’m sorry but I don’t understand,’ Berry said as she took a few steps to the side, increasing the distance between them. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me. I texted Nate a while ago—I’ll go and wait for him.’
Sam turned and stared at her. ‘You needn’t bother, he’s not coming. I’ve sent him on an errand to Bendigo and he’ll be ages yet.’
‘What do you want, Mr Tarant? Why are you here?’ Berry asked as she backed up.
‘What do I want?’ he echoed as he took a step closer. ‘Come on, Berry, don’t pretend. We both know you’re not stupid.’
Berry’s eyes widened as she realised what he was saying. ‘The gold?’
‘Yes, the gold!’ he snapped. ‘I knew that your father had found it. Oh, he denied it, of course—called himself my friend, but pretended that he didn’t know where the gold was so that he wouldn’t have to help me out.’
‘You’re not making any sense,’ Berry answered. ‘I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.’
‘I was losing everything!’ he shouted. His mouth was flecked with spittle as he spat out the words, and his eyes blazed with an anger that she had never known he was capable of. ‘Everything!’ He pointed at her. ‘And your father was keeping the gold from me. I would’ve helped him if I could … he had a head full of dreams that never got him anywhere, but I would’ve helped if he needed it. Everyone said he was a good man and I didn’t deserve a friend like him …’ Sam stopped to take a breath, his hands quivering with an almost palpable rage. ‘Well, what did he do when I needed him, hey?’
Berry tried to steady her racing heart and keep her voice even. ‘Mr Tarant, please …’
‘He did nothing!’ Sam said. ‘He hid the gold from me so that he wouldn’t have to share it—that’s what he did.’
‘I don’t think he—’
‘You don’t know anything. You were a child. But I knew.’
‘Knew what?’
‘That he’d found the gold. And I was going to find out, oh yes. It was only a matter of time before I found out. But then …’
‘Then what?’ said Berry, as she continued backing away.
‘He wasn’t supposed to die! He cheated me completely. He took his secret to the grave and left me with nothing. Why didn’t he just tell me? Well, I won’t be cheated again, you hear me?’
‘Okay, well, I’m going to leave now,’ Berry said as she jumped over the creek and landed on the flat rock in the middle of the flowing water.
‘Why didn’t he just tell me? Everything would have been fine—we would have all been happy.’ Sam looked over at Berry. ‘You should have sold the place when you had the chance.’
Berry looked behind her. ‘What?’
‘You heard me. I think I’ve waited long enough, don’t you?’
‘What the hell does that mean?’
‘I’ve been waiting all these years to buy Stone Gully. If only you’d just sold it to me, all this unpleasantness need not have happened,’ Sam said as he started clambering over the rocky ground towards her.
Berry jumped off the rock and landed on the other side of the creek. ‘As I said, I’m leaving. And I want you to get off my property.’
‘He’d found the gold—I knew it. But every time I asked he said he hadn’t. He even dragged me around pretending to look for it, making a fool of me. I was the owner of Tarantale Downs, my family had been on that land for generations. By what right did the likes of Jordy McCalister have to look down on me? I needed the money and he was meant to be my friend but he wouldn’t help.’
Berry turned around angrily and faced him. ‘This is not your property, and we will never sell it to you.’
Sam paused, and a nasty smile spread over his face. ‘No, I don’t suppose you will. However, if you were to have an unfortunate accident as you were exploring this gully all by yourself, then I think your brother and sister could be convinced that this place is, well, cursed. I doubt they would refuse an offer, particularly when they were consumed with the tragic loss of their big sister at the same place they lost their parents and their grandparents.’ Sam jumped off the rock and landed on the same side of the creek as Berry, then started making his way towards her. Berry backed up, one thought racing through her mind: could she make it back to the gum trees and climb out of here before he could catch her?
‘You won’t make it,’ Sam said as he watched her look frantically towards the trees. ‘I’m much more familiar with this territory, and you can see that I’m gaining on you.’
‘Go away!’ she shouted at him.
‘And I haven’t even raised a sweat yet.’
‘Just leave me alone.’
‘Leave you alone? With the gold? I don’t think so. No, it’s gone too far now, don’t you see? I can’t possibly let you go now, can I?’
‘Please, Mr Tarant …’
‘I’m catching up, Berry. Just make it easier on both of us, hey? You’re not going to get away—you know that.’ Berry looked back and saw that he was indeed gaining.
She whimpered quietly to herself as she realised that he was right.