The Treasure Cave: sea tales of Tiptoes Lightly (6 page)

“Aye-aye,
Captain Berrybug,” called King Thomas, pulling on the ropes to tighten the
sail. “But we don’t have any hatches.”

The first
raindrops flew through the air and struck their faces.

“Abandon
ship!” cried Captain Berrybug. “Run for the Treasure Cave. Guard our treasures!”

Out of the
ship Tom and June jumped and scrambled up the bluff to the cave. Lucy followed,
barking loudly at their heels. He wasn’t sure what all the excitement was about
but it looked like fun. The rain was already lashing the bluff when they dived
into the cave. Lucy ran around inside wagging his tail and barking loudly. The
sound echoed off the walls—it was deafening.

“Shush, Lucy,
shush,” said Tom. “No barking. Lie down.”

Lucy spun
around a few times and flopped down at the back of the cave. Tom and June lay
on the sandy floor and peered out the entrance. Outside the wind was howling
and the rain beating down, but inside everything was still and dry. They
watched as the squall moved inland off the sea and listened to the sound of the
surf.

“We forgot out
raincoats,” said Tom. “They’re by the boat.”

June Berry
shrugged. “We can get them later,” she said.

After a while
Lucy got up and explored the cave. He sniffed in every nook and cranny. At the
back he began to dig into the sand. Tom looked over and saw that he was digging
out another passage. He went over and helped.

“It goes
further,” said Tom, “or at least I think so. Let’s find out,” and he set to
work with a will.

As he dug down
the sand became coarse. Soon he was digging out tightly packed pebbles and
stones and his fingers began to hurt.

“The passage
goes on,” he said. “I’m sure of it. But we’ll have to get spades from the
garden shed to dig this out.”

The
Tail

Tiptoes sat at
the living room window. She watched as a sudden squall rushed in from the
ocean. The light dimmed and in a moment lashing wind and rain shook the
cottage. A short while later, the storm had blown past and was flying over the
mountains.

She decided it
was time to check on Tom and June. She found them busily digging out a passage
in the cave. She wondered what Obaro the cave spirit would think of that, but
he was nowhere in sight. So she left and wandered down the beach. Seagulls were
everywhere. They were pouring onto the beach from the north and south. Round
and round they flew, whirling and calling and mewing. They landed on the sand
in great white flocks, only to take off again and fly out over the sea and dive
into the waves.

Tiptoes came
to the old railway trestle spanning Pudding Creek. The creek flowed down from
the hills, past the edge of town, and into the sea at the end of the beach. The
trestle was no longer used for trains. It’d been turned into a walkway for
people hiking the coast. Seagulls sat shoulder to shoulder along the whole
length of the guardrail. All at once a great cry rose up and the gulls swept
out to sea. They gathered where the creek, flush with water and running fast,
swept into the ocean. Such a noise the gulls made—Tiptoes almost had to cover
her ears! By the hundreds they dived and dipped into the swell.

“I wonder what
they are fishing for?” thought Tiptoes, and she flew out to join them. She had
to be careful. Gulls were twisting and turning here and there and everywhere.
Three times she almost got run over. She looked into the water and saw silvery
shapes darting in the swirling surf. Squid, baby squid by the thousands! They
were chasing and darting hither and thither—just like the gulls. Tiptoes
couldn’t see what the squid were feeding on, but they were as busy chasing
their food as the gulls were busy chasing them.

Tiptoes went
back to the trestle and landed on the railing. Not a single seagull kept her
company; they were all out at sea. She watched for a long time until the squid
moved away to the south and the seagulls followed them around the headland and
out of sight.

She was about
to go back to Tom and June when she saw, beyond the breakers, a tail rise and
fall amongst the waves. Tiptoes jumped high into the air. There it was again,
moving northwards towards the wild bay. Tiptoes sped over the waves but only
caught one last glimpse as the tail dipped under the water. It was far too
small to be a whale, and there was no fin along the back so it couldn’t be a
dolphin, nor did it have the dark brown flippers of the seals and sea lions.
This one was beautifully shaped and silvery green.

The
Oyster’s Daughter

Tiptoes
returned from the railway trestle to find Farmer John reading a book on the
beach. It was called, The Worst Way to Milk a Cow, by A. N. Udder. Farmer John
was wrapped up in his rain jacket and sat out of the wind between two rocks. As
long as he wasn’t in the wind he was warm and could enjoy the sunshine. Just
around the corner was the pirate ship. The hull was almost finished and June
Berry was building a teepee on the deck with Lucy’s help.

“Why are you
building a teepee?” asked Tiptoes.

“It’s not a
teepee,” said June. “It’s a cabin for His Royal Highness King Thomas
Nutcracker.”

“I see,” said
Tiptoes. “And where is His Royal Highness at the moment?”

“He’s in the Treasure Cave,” said June Berry. “He’s sure there’s a tunnel to another chamber, but
there’s only room for one to dig.”

Tiptoes went
into the cave. She found Tom on his belly digging with garden trowels. It did
look like there was a passage. He’d dug quite far in, but it was narrow, with
only enough room for one person. After a while he backed out and cleared the
sand and pebbles from the hole.

“Hi, Tiptoes,”
said Tom when he saw her. “It’s getting wider again. I’m sure there’s another
cavern. There’s gold and silver in there for sure.”

Suddenly the
cave darkened as June Berry crawled in the entrance.

“Dad’s taken
Lucy for a walk,” she said, looking at the hole Tom had made. “It’s my turn
now,” and she squirmed in and started digging.

After a while
she called out: “I think I’m through. There’s another space.”

“Let’s see!
Let’s see,” said Tom, and June scooted out.

“There is a
space,” said Tom, digging furiously. “I think I can squeeze through.”

“Be careful,”
said June Berry. “Make sure you can come back.”

Tom began to
wiggle furiously. In a moment his legs and feet disappeared.

“It’s another
chamber,” he called, “but it’s too dark to see.”

Tiptoes and
June Berry waited as Tom explored. Finally he came wiggling out. He was covered
in sand from head to foot. He had something in his fist.

“What’s that?”
asked June Berry. “What did you find?”

Tom went to
the entrance and opened his hand in the light. In his palm lay a silvery ball,
about the size of a large marble. It glinted with delicate rainbow colors.

“It’s a
pearl!” exclaimed Tiptoes.

Grunt
Sculpin and the Starfish

Farmer John
closed his book and went to fetch the kids for lunch. He found them in their
ship putting up the mast again. The squall had blown it over. This time they
were burying it deeper.

“Ahoy, me
hearties!” he called as he passed their ship. “Time for me mates to gnash some
nosh.”

“Yea!” cried
Tom and June, rushing up the slope ahead of him. They were starving.

After lunch
they wanted to go back to the beach but the rain began again. This time it
settled in and looked like it was going to stay for a while.

“You’d better
stay here,” said Farmer John. “It’s going to be wet and I don’t want you
catching cold.”

But Tiptoes
didn’t mind the rain. The tide was out and she’d found a rock pool filled with
life. She walked around the edge peering into the water. She saw all sorts of
things: periwinkle snails, buckshot barnacles, purple mussels, sunburst
anemones, lots of crabs of all kinds and one orange starfish. The starfish
looked so lovely that Tiptoes dived into the water to meet it.

Under the
water Tiptoes could fly and swim at the same time. She called it flimming. She
waved her wings and swam with her arms and legs, but she wasn’t nearly as fast
as a fish. Tiptoes flimmed to the starfish and reached out and touched its
skin. It was rough and bumpy.

“Good day,
Madam Starfish,” said Tiptoes politely. “My name is Tiptoes Lightly. I’ve come
for a visit.”

“Good day,
Madam Four Arms Lightly,” replied the starfish. “I’m sorry to see that you lost
one of your arms and only have a bump instead.”

“But Madam
Starfish,” said Tiptoes, “I have two arms and two legs. The bump is my head.”

“Two arms and
two legs and a head!” exclaimed the starfish. “I never heard of such a thing.
By my suction pads, you are a strange creature!”

“I suppose,”
said Tiptoes. “I never thought about how I look to a starfish.”

“You do look
strange,” said the starfish. “Very strange. Thank goodness I am a normal person
with five arms and no head. But, of course, we are special.”