Finch, page 5
The boy looked at her intently. “If I tell you, you’ve got to promise not to tell anyone I’m here.”
Audrey nodded. “Sure, I promise.”
“Can I trust you?”
“I’m actually very good at keeping secrets. Really.”
There was such a deep silence that Audrey could hear the blood beating in her ears. Then the boy said, “You’d better take a seat then. And you could tell us your name.”
There was nothing to sit on, so Audrey lowered herself to the cave floor. It was cold and gritty. “I’m Audrey.”
“Audrey? That’s a girl’s name.”
“That would be because I’m a girl.”
“Well, I’ll be. I thought you were a boy.”
“Oh. Well, I’m not.”
“In that case, I beg your pardon.” The boy grinned again. “Nice to meet you, Audrey. I’m Ross Finch. My mates call me Finch.”
“Hi, Finch.” Audrey gazed around the cave. “So … do you live here?”
“Yeah.”
“Been here long?”
“About two weeks.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.” How could anyone live in a cave for two weeks? “So do you go to school here? I mean, did you?” She hesitated. Wasn’t it illegal to skip school? Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned it.
Finch didn’t seem at all concerned, though. “I used to. Then I started working for my uncle. Bill Brewer, you know him?”
Audrey remembered what Mavis had said about Bill Brewer. “That’s the guy who has the farm behind us,” she said. “The one with the big dog.”
Finch nodded. “Yeah, he’s got a dog. Big black thing with a nasty temper. I wasn’t sorry to say goodbye to him when I quit my job and came here.”
“Why’d you quit your job?”
“Just … reasons.”
“Is that why you’re living here?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” While Audrey was wondering what to say next, Finch spoke again.
“I never knew the Keppler place was up for sale.”
“We haven’t been there long.” Audrey realised that it was ages since she’d thought about her old life. “We used to live in the city, but my dad lost his job.”
“That’s too bad,” Finch said. “I reckoned you had to be a city kid, the way you talk and that. Got any brothers or sisters?”
“I’ve got a sister, Chloe. She’s ten, younger than me. What about you?”
“There’s four of us.” Immediately Audrey heard the change in his voice: he sounded warmer, more sure of himself. “I’m the oldest. There’s me, then there’s Pete, he’s twelve, then Lizzy, who’s ten, then little May. I haven’t seen them in a while, not since they moved away from here with Mum and Dad. Gee, I miss those kids.”
Audrey tried to imagine not living with Chloe. They didn’t always get along, but how she would miss her little sister! It would be like losing a part of herself. “You’ll see them again, won’t you?”
“Well, I don’t plan on stopping here forever. And I’ve got Snowy. He’s my best mate, no question. If anything happened to Snowy I don’t know what I’d do. Pack it in, most likely.”
“Why should anything happen to him?”
“There’s plenty of risks for dogs in the country – snakes, mainly. And fox baits.”
“What’s fox baits?”
“You are a city kid, aren’t you? Baits are poisoned meat you put out to kill foxes. Foxes’ll eat anything. The trouble is, so will dogs.”
The candle flame flickered and began to sink. The cave grew darker. Audrey said, “Where do you get food from? Sorry about all the questions. But if you don’t want people to know you’re here I guess you can’t just go down to the bakery for a loaf of bread.”
“I do pretty well. I have to go out after it’s dark, but there’s always eggs from chook houses, and no one misses a few plums or tomatoes. And I trap rabbits. I nicked a couple of traps from my uncle, along with some candles and matches and a few other things.” Once again Finch grinned his slow, lopsided grin. “I’ve got to be careful I don’t get caught, though. If anyone dobbed me in to Uncle Bill, he’d hand me over to the cops.” He stroked Snowy’s head. “And what would we do then, hey, boy?”
The candle flame guttered and died, and the air in the cave felt thick and heavy. It seemed that as far as Finch was concerned, the conversation was at an end.
Audrey stood up and brushed the grit off her legs. “I should go now. I told Mum I wouldn’t be long.” She hesitated. “Um – can I come round after school tomorrow?” Did I really say that?
Silence.
“Would that be okay?” What if he says no? I’ll die.
“Yeah, I’d like that. It’s been good to talk.”
“Do you need anything? I could bring you stuff.”
“Thanks, but I’m right.”
“See you tomorrow, then.”
Audrey thought she saw Finch raise a hand in farewell, but in the darkness she couldn’t be sure.
CHAPTER 9
Walking out of the stuffy cave was like walking into instant air conditioning. The sun shone brilliantly, a breeze cooled Audrey’s hot face and the sounds of the outside world came alive again.
She picked her way back along the creek bed, thinking about Finch. I just talked to a boy who is living in a cave. How amazing is that? She repeated the words to herself: A boy. Living. In. A. Cave. It still didn’t seem real.
Her brain buzzed, unable to settle.
“Unbelievable,” she said aloud.
Finch seemed quite friendly, but at the same time there was something kind of weird about him. Could he be on drugs? Audrey considered that for a moment, but decided it wasn’t likely, and in any case she didn’t know enough to be able to tell. (How did you tell?) He was definitely tense, though – like a wild bird, poised for flight at any moment.
There has to be something I can do to help him, she thought. He shouldn’t be living in a cave, for a start. You can tell he misses his family really badly. Don’t the Salvos look after homeless people? Surely his uncle wouldn’t report him to the police just because he stole some food.
Then again … maybe Finch thought living in a cave was fun. Maybe it was fun. It would be like camping, except not in a tent. She’d been camping once, with her family, but it had been a disaster. It had rained almost the whole time and their camp fire went out and they’d had to drive about a hundred ks to the next town to buy fish and chips. Dad had been in the worst mood.
At least she’d solved the mystery of the dog, except now she couldn’t tell anybody. Oh God, she was dying to tell Chloe! “But I mustn’t,” she reminded herself. “I promised.” She kept on walking. He has a nice face, at least what I could see of it. There wasn’t too much light. I could see his eyes, though. I like blue eyes. I wish mine were blue. And he’s really polite. Most boys weren’t polite. Audrey had been ignored or teased by a lot of boys at St Cuthbert’s.
Finch had said, “It’s been good to talk”. He must be lonely.
Audrey knew how it felt to be lonely.
*
As soon as she opened the back door, she heard voices.
Mum and Mavis were sitting at the kitchen table with two mugs and a plate of assorted cream biscuits between them. Chloe was sitting at the other end, carefully colouring in a complicated design with textas.
They all looked up at Audrey as she walked in, and Mum frowned. “You were gone a long time, Audrey. I was starting to think something had happened to you.”
Audrey went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of milk. “Sorry, Mum.”
“I thought I’d come over to see if you’d solved the mystery of the little dog,” Mavis said. “Been racking my brains to think where he might’ve come from. You find out anything?”
Audrey gulped her milk. It was like Mavis could see into her mind. She answered without looking at her. “No, we never found out any more. He must be a stray.”
“Did you see him again after that first time?”
“No.”
Mum interrupted. “Oh, that’s not true, Audrey.”
For a moment, Audrey panicked. How could Mum know?
Mum went on: “Remember, you said you saw him in the paddock the other day.”
That was close. “Oh yes, sorry, I forgot. I tried to follow him but he ran away.”
Mavis looked at her curiously. “I hope the little fella’s all right. It’s not so easy for dogs on the loose. Cats’ll always find themselves a feed somewhere.”
“He looked okay.”
Freddy wandered into the kitchen, sized up the opportunities, and leaped on to Mavis’s lap. He gazed up at her, blinked, and started to purr loudly.
Mavis chuckled. “Amazing how cats always go straight for the person who doesn’t like them.”
“But that’s Freddy!” said Chloe. “You can’t say you don’t like Freddy!”
Mavis gently but firmly eased Freddy to the floor. “I’m sure he’s a nice enough cat, as cats go. I just can’t stand the creatures. Nothing more than killing machines. I like birds, and birds and cats don’t mix.”
Chloe picked Freddy up and hugged him. “Fred’s not like other cats. He doesn’t need to hunt for food. And we always keep him inside at night so he can’t hurt anything. He’s never caught a bird, not ever.”
“Well, that’s a real good start,” said Mavis, “but once a cat, always a cat. Killing’s in their nature.” She turned to Audrey. “I was wondering if you’d like to come to our next birdwatchers’ outing next Saturday.” She pronounced it “Sat-dee”. “We leave from the post office at nine o’clock sharp. Your mum and dad could come too if they want. We’re going up to the range to see if we can spot some yellow-tailed black cockatoos.”
Audrey could see Chloe looking at her with a peculiar expression on her face. She nearly choked on her milk. “Thanks, Mrs–”
“Mavis.”
“Thanks, but I can’t.” She looked down at the table. “I’ve got – I’ve got netball practice on Saturday.”
“Oh, are you playing netball, Aud?” Chloe asked in her sweetest voice. “I didn’t know you’d tried out for the team.”
“I forgot to tell you.”
“Not to worry.” Mavis gave Audrey an understanding look, and she had the uncomfortable feeling that the old woman had seen straight through her feeble lie. “I just thought you might be interested. Well, thanks for the tea and bickies, Caroline. I’d best be off. I promised my brother I’d look in on him before tea.”
“Nice of you to drop by. And if we hear anything more about the dog we’ll let you know.”
“I’d appreciate it. Goodbye all. I’ll see myself out.”
As soon as the screen door had banged shut behind her, Audrey turned to Chloe, her face furious. “Thanks for that. I’m just starting to get used to school. You know what it’d be like for me if anyone knew I was going birdwatching with a bunch of old people.”
“You don’t know that at all, Audrey,” said Mum. “You girls judge everything by how it looks to others, don’t you?”
“Mum, you’re just as bad. I saw your face when you were stuck here with Mavis.”
Mum’s cheeks turned pink. “Nonsense. I – to be honest, I’m not keen on people I don’t know well dropping in at all hours. Especially when we don’t have a lot to talk about.”
“That doesn’t matter with Mavis,” Chloe said. “She does all the talking.”
“Very true.” Mum got up and began to clear away the mugs and plates. “I suppose she’s quite a nice old thing, really. And we can do with a few friends out here, can’t we?”
CHAPTER 10
“I’m going for a walk down the creek, Mum!” yelled Audrey. It was after school on Monday, and Mum was in what she called “the office” but was really a tiny lean-to sleep-out at the side of the house.
“Be careful!” yelled Mum.
“I will!”
“Don’t forget your homework!”
“I won’t!”
Chloe bounced out of her bedroom. “Can I come too?”
Audrey thought quickly. “I’m not going far. I just want to check out the creek, see if there are any tadpoles yet.”
“Oh. Forget it, then.” Chloe stared at her. “Why are you wearing that dress? You haven’t worn that in ages.”
“I spilled juice on my school uniform, okay?”
Chloe shrugged. “Whatever.” She stared harder. “Did you know you’re getting a pimple? It’s on your chin, right there.” She pointed.
“I did. Thanks for reminding me.”
“No worries.”
As Audrey headed for the door, she heard Mum’s voice again. “Watch out for snakes!”
*
When she reached the cave, Audrey hung back, uncertain. Even from the outside, the cave felt empty. It was almost like … like someone had died. But that was stupid, of course.
“Finch!” she called. “Are you there?”
Not a sound, not a movement.
“Can I come in?” She almost added, “Are you decent?”, which was what Dad always said before he came into her bedroom. She stifled a nervous urge to giggle. “I’m coming in, okay?”
As she made her way slowly down the entrance to the cave, head bent, Snowy skittered towards her. He crouched and wagged his tail, but retreated quickly when she put out a hand to pat him.
Audrey took a few more steps. “Finch?” she called. “It’s me!”
A bud of light glowed in the dark.
“G’day!” came Finch’s voice.
Audrey emerged from the tunnel into the chamber. When her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she saw Finch sitting at the back of the cave, Snowy curled up at his feet.
Finch was making something. She could hear the scrape of a knife against wood or stone.
“Hi.” Audrey moved shyly into the circle of light. Would Finch notice that she was wearing a dress? She sat on the ground, first carefully tucking her skirt around her legs. “I’m glad you’re still here. For a minute I thought you might’ve gone.”
“Not a chance,” Finch said. “Here, have a look at this. I’m making it for May, my little sister. She’ll be seven in a few weeks. The wood’s from an old dead walnut tree I spotted a few days ago. It’s a nice timber, walnut.”
He held up what he was working on. “There’s still a few details to sort out, but I’m getting there.”
Audrey saw a small roundish wooden bird. The shape was complete, and there were carved hints of wings and feathers.
“It’s a finch!” she exclaimed. “That’s amazing! You’re really clever!”
Finch looked pleased. “They have a particular sort of body, don’t they, finches? Little fat things with short tails. I thought May would like it, being as how she’s a Finch, you know, same as me.” He returned to his carving. “She’s a little fat thing too, but she wouldn’t be happy to hear me say it.”
“I’ve got finches at home,” Audrey told him. “Zebras. I’ve had them a while, and there’s only five left now. They’re quite old.”
“Cage birds?”
“Yes. They were all hatched in the cage.”
“You feel sorry for them, don’t you?” Finch said, working away at the shaping of a folded wing. “It’s like they’re in prison. There’s all that great big sky to fly in, and they’ll never know what it feels like.”
“I know,” Audrey said. “But my finches wouldn’t survive outside the cage. If I let them go, they’d die. I try to keep them happy. I do care about them.”
“I’m sure you’re real good to them,” Finch said. “The point is, wild birds should stay wild. We shouldn’t interfere with nature, it upsets the balance.” He looked over at her. “Have you ever heard of the passenger pigeon?”
“No. Should I?”
“I read about them in a magazine a while ago. Last century there were billions of passenger pigeons in North America. Seems the flocks were so big that when they were on the wing they blotted out the sun. But people cut down the forests they lived in, and farmers shot them because they ate their crops, and they were killed for food, and now they’re extinct. Out of all those billions of birds, there’s not one left.”
“Not one?”
“Not a single one. It’s a real shocker, isn’t it? And what about the dodo? It was a kind of pigeon too, a big one, and it was good to eat. Or it was. Nobody alive has ever seen one. People hunted it, and because it couldn’t fly – it only had tiny little wings – it was a sitting duck.” He laughed. “Sorry, that was accidental, honestly. I didn’t mean to joke about the poor old dodo.”
“I’ve only ever seen drawings of the dodo in Alice in Wonderland. I always thought it wasn’t real.” Audrey hugged her knees. “You know a lot, don’t you?”
“I read a bit. I like knowing things.”
“Me too,” Audrey said. She paused. “Actually, I want to be a scientist. A zoologist. I want to study birds.” She waited for the expected silence, or a look of disbelief.
“Well, good on you. You must be real brainy. I didn’t think girls cared much about science and that.”
“Actually, lots of girls care.”
“I suppose I don’t know enough girls.” Finch grinned his lopsided grin. “I’m glad I know you, though.”
Audrey let the words stay in her mind, savouring their warmth. Then, because she felt that maybe now they knew each other well enough, she said, as if the thought had just come to her, “You know, you don’t have to stay here, Finch. If you want to be with your family, my parents would help you.”
Immediately she noticed the change in him. He put down the little wooden bird and leaned back against the cave wall, retreating into darkness.
“Thanks, but I don’t need any help,” he said. His eyes glittered. “I know what I’m doing, and I can be a lot more use to my old man if I keep away. The last thing he wants is another mouth to feed.”
“But he’s your father,” argued Audrey. “I mean, how d’you think he’d feel if he knew where you were? And your mum – wouldn’t she be worried?”
