Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort (3 page)

‘Time for bed, honey buns,' said Mum.

Lulu quickly stifled her yawn and sat up straighter. ‘We're not tired, Mum,' she promised. ‘It's holidays – we can sleep in.'

‘We have a big, busy day tomorrow,' said Mum. ‘It's definitely time for bed.'

‘That's right. We're going to swim and ride the horses and check the calves,' promised Uncle Nick.

Lulu's face glowed with excitement. ‘Can we have a really long ride?' she begged.

‘Don't like horsies,' complained Gus. His bottom lip trembled. ‘Bug Boy like Chook.'

Mum stroked Gus's forehead. ‘I think someone's very tired.'

‘I not
tir-ed
,' insisted Gus. His voice rose and wobbled in a sob.

‘Off you go,' said Dad. ‘I'll come and tuck you in.'

‘Here are some torches,' said Uncle Nick. ‘So you can see your way in the dark.'

The children kissed the parents goodnight. Then they went over to the tents. The four dogs followed them.

It was dark away from the brightness of the fire. The torches cast an eerie, thin
light. Lulu tripped over a tussock in the grass and squealed.

‘Careful,' said Lachie.

‘Watch out for the ghost,' whispered Tom.

‘Why do you keep talking about a ghost? What ghost?' asked Lulu.

Rosie grabbed Lulu's hand and squeezed it.

‘The ghost of the old dairy farmer,' whispered Tom. ‘He wanders around the house at night, moaning and wailing. He's terrifying!'

Lachie stifled a giggle.

Lulu flicked one honey-coloured plait over her shoulder. ‘I don't believe you,' she replied. ‘You're just trying to frighten us.'

Tom shook his head. ‘Haven't you heard him? I hope he doesn't wake you. Well, sleep tight.'

Tom, Ben and Tim ducked inside their tent. Their shoulders were shaking with giggles. The farm dogs, Daisy and Polly, followed them inside. Gus stopped and looked back at Lulu.

‘Don't worry, Gussie,' said Lulu. ‘The boys are just being silly.'

The girls crawled into their tent. They changed into their pyjamas and climbed into their sleeping-bags. Lulu's dad popped by to tuck them in, then went back to join the adults by the camp fire.

‘Goodnight, Rosie. Goodnight, Ella and Meg,' called Lulu. She switched off the torch.

They could hear the murmur of the parents talking around the camp fire outside. The flames flickered, leaving dancing shadows on the tent wall. Lulu snuggled down. She felt her eyes grow heavier and heavier.

An owl hooted. Asha grunted and huffed, and then she started to snore. Jessie climbed onto the end of Lulu's sleeping-bag. She turned around three
times and lay down to snooze.

Lulu was just dropping off to sleep when she heard a snuffling sound. Her ears strained to identify the noise in the darkness. There was a shuffle and a sob. Lulu's heart jumped into her mouth.

What was that?

There was a whisper as something brushed against the side of the tent. Lulu sat up.

The door to the tent rustled and then a white hand slid through the opening. Lulu gasped.

In through the flap slid Gus in his superhero pyjamas. ‘Gussie
fwightened
,' he said. ‘Gussie sleep with Lulu.'

‘Come on, Gussie,' said Lulu. ‘Come and lie between us.'

Gus cuddled in between Lulu and Rosie. He slipped his thumb in his
mouth. Lulu rolled over with her back to Gus and closed her eyes. She tried to go back to sleep.

Suddenly she heard another noise coming from outside the tent. A creepy, chilling sound that set her teeth on edge.

‘Ooo-aaahhh,'
moaned an eerie voice.

‘Ooo-aaahhhh,'
came another groan from Rosie's side of the tent.

Lulu listened carefully. Rosie sat up and clutched Lulu's arm. Her eyes gleamed white and round in the darkness. Ella huddled against Meg, breathing deeply.

‘Shhh,' whispered Lulu, holding up her hand.

‘Oooo-aaahhh,'
wailed the ghostly voice outside. The tent rippled as something brushed against it.

Lulu narrowed her eyes and wriggled out of her sleeping-bag.

‘Lulu?' whispered Rosie. ‘What are you doing?'

Lulu tossed a plait over her shoulder and picked up her pillow. She crawled to
the tent opening and crept out.

Two shadowy figures were crouched beside the tent. One rippled the tent with its fingers while the other moaned and wailed.

Lulu tiptoed slowly towards the shadows.
Thump, whack
. She hit them both over the shoulders with her pillow.

‘Ouch!' cried one of the ghosts.

‘Ow – that hurt,' yelled the other ghost. ‘Lulu! What did you hit me for?'

Tom and Ben jumped to their feet. Tim sprinted around from the other side of the tent, giggling.

Lulu put a hand on her hip. ‘Boys, will you please go to bed? None of us can sleep with your terrible singing outside our tent.'

‘We weren't singing,' protested Tim. ‘We were moaning, just like ghosts.'

Lulu shrugged. ‘Oh, I couldn't tell the difference. I thought you were singing us a lullaby.'

The boys slunk back to their own tent.

Inside the girls' tent, Rosie, Gus, Ella and Meg were all sitting up in their sleeping-bags, giggling. Jessie was smiling her big doggie grin.

‘That was the boys?' asked Rosie. ‘I thought for a moment it really was a ghost.'

‘No, just the boys trying to scare us,' said Lulu. ‘Goodnight, everyone – sleep well. See you in the morning.'

The next day dawned bright and fair. It was so exciting to be on holidays at the farm that all the cousins woke up early. They met in the kitchen and ate breakfast.

‘Don't forget we're riding this morning,' Lulu's dad reminded them. ‘We'll catch the horses and saddle up while you do your chores.'

All the children cleared their dirty
plates from the table. Lachie and Tim emptied the compost while Ben and Ella unpacked the dishwasher.

Lulu, Meg, Ella and Rosie carried the chickens from the henhouse to the vegetable garden. Suddenly, Meg squealed. A squirt of water had hit her in the middle of her back and dribbled down her shirt.

‘Ow,' yelled Meg. ‘What was that?'

A giggle came from behind the hydrangea bush. Hidden there were four cowboys with water blasters.

‘Boys,'
warned Lulu.

A spray of water shot from Tom's water blaster and drenched Lulu's jeans. Ella hid behind Meg.

‘Rosie, look at Gussie,' cried Lulu.

The girls stared at their brother. He was no longer dressed in his favourite
superhero suit. He was wearing jeans, a blue-and-white checked shirt, a brown cowboy hat and a red kerchief knotted around his neck.

‘I not Gussie,' said Gus. ‘I Billy.'

‘But I thought Billy was invisible?' asked Lulu.

Gus shrugged and gave a cheeky grin. ‘Billy a cowboy.'

‘Stick 'em up,' called Tim. He twirled two blasters around his fingers. Then he soaked the girls with water. ‘Gotcha.'

‘Come on, girls,' yelled Lulu.
‘Revenge!'

The boys ran for the safety of the hills. They laughed and hooted. The girls ran for the laundry. There they found cowgirl hats and more water blasters. They filled the blasters with water. Then the four girls crept around the house to
see where the boys were hiding.

There was no sign of the cowboys in the garden or on the hillside sloping down from the house.

‘They're hiding in the fort,' guessed Lulu. The girls ran down to the creek and across the bridge. At the base of the hill, the rope was gone.

‘The boys have pulled up the rope,' whispered Rosie.

A shot of water sailed over their heads from above.

‘We'll get soaked if we climb up that way,' said Meg.

Lulu pushed her hat back on her head and looked up.

‘I have an idea,' she said. ‘Follow me.'

Lulu ran around the hill and towards the cattle yards. Here the ground was not so steep. Lulu found a narrow cattle
track that led up the hillside.

The other girls followed, huffing and puffing. They climbed higher and higher until they reached the top of the ridge. They crept along the ridge until they found the cubby fort.

‘Sssshh,'
warned Lulu.

The boys were lying behind the log. They peered over the edge of the clearing and down at the path. The girls crept up behind them, hidden by the huge tree.

‘No sign of them yet,' said Tim.

‘Should we let the rope down and send out a patrol?' asked Lachie.

‘No,' said Tom. ‘They'll come up soon. They'll want revenge.'

Lulu signalled to the girls. She counted down with her fingers – three, two, one …

At once, the four girls shot streams of cold water – straight onto the backs of the five boys lying in front of them.

‘Owww,' yelled Tim.

‘Attack,' yelled Tom.

‘Retreat,' yelled Ben.

The boys leapt to their feet and returned fire. The nine cousins ran and blasted and soaked and screamed until they were hoarse with laughter. The battle was only over when Auntie Tor rang the bell to call them back.

‘Time to go horseriding,' said Meg.

‘Hurray,' said Lulu. ‘Come on, Gus.'

Gus shook his head. ‘Billy not like horsie,' he grumbled.

‘Are you sure, Gus?' asked Lulu. ‘Cowboys ride horses.'

Gus pouted. Then Lulu remembered what happened last time they were at the farm. Gus had been frightened by sitting so high up on a moving horse.

‘Billy go swim,' insisted Gus. ‘Billy play with Chook.'

‘You can't go swimming yet,' said Lulu. ‘Let's take you back to Mum.'

One by one the cousins slid, slithered and scrambled down the path.

Gus charged down, skidding the last few metres on his bottom.

‘Careful,' warned Lulu. But he was gone.

Lulu glanced out over the paddocks. Dad and Uncle Nick had saddled the horses in the yard. The cousins were running towards them. Just below, she could see the cow and her calf splashing across the creek.

Lulu scrambled down the path after Gus. Then a loud moo caught her attention.

Beside the creek, the calf had become stuck in the mud. It struggled and floundered as it tried to get out. Its mother bellowed and pawed the ground. The calf was sinking deeper and deeper.

Lulu's heart pounded. She walked slowly towards the panicking calf. She didn't want to frighten it further.

‘It's all right, little calf,' called Lulu. Her voice was calm and gentle.

The calf mooed loudly. Its eyes rolled
in fear. It had sunk to its belly in the sticky brown mud. The mother glared at Lulu. Dad had warned them never to get too close to a cow with a calf, in case she charged.

But the calf needed help. Lulu thought quickly. She turned and ran for the horse yards as fast as she could.

Dad and Uncle Nick were leading the two horses, Nutmeg and Flirt, through the paddock towards her. Ella and Meg rode on their backs, wearing helmets.

‘Dad, Dad!' Lulu yelled. ‘There's a calf stuck in the mud.'

Lulu finally reached them. She huffed and puffed. She leaned over and tried to catch her breath.

‘Where's the calf?' asked Dad. ‘Is it hurt?'

In a moment, Lulu had explained the problem.

‘We'd better ride over there quickly,' said Uncle Nick. He lifted Ella and Meg down.

‘Lulu, you ride behind me to show us the way,' said Dad. Lulu put on Meg's helmet. Dad swung up into Nutmeg's saddle. Then Uncle Nick lifted Lulu up behind him.

‘Tom, can you fetch towels and buckets from the house?' asked Uncle Nick. ‘Bring them down to the creek.'

Uncle Nick mounted Flirt.

‘Hold on tight,' warned Dad. ‘Let's go and rescue this calf.'