The Warrior Sheep Down Under (3 page)

It was evening back at Murkton-on-Sea, and Rose was getting more and more worried. She'd looked everywhere for the sheep. She was beginning to feel guilty too. What if they'd fallen into the harbor and drowned? So when her sister Ida phoned, she didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Ida did most of the talking.

“Lovely morning here at Barton's Billabong,” she said. “And guess what, we've got another joey.”

“Another what?” asked Rose, vaguely.

“Joey,” repeated Ida. “You know, baby kangaroo. It's an orphan. Like Wills. We've popped it into a pillowcase so it thinks it's still in its mother's pouch.”

“Lovely,” said Rose.

“How is Wills?” asked Ida. “And all our super sheep?”

“Super,” said Rose. “Just super.”

“And when are we going to Skype?”

“Pardon?”

“Skype, dear. You know. We set up your computer for you before we left—with the little webcam and everything—so you can see our joeys and possums and we can say hello to our sheep.”

“Oh, right,” said Rose.

“Have you had a technical glitch?” asked Ida.

“Sort of. Yes.”

“Shall I put Tod on, to talk you through it?”

“No. Not just now,” said Rose quickly. “I've got a cake in the oven. Must go. Byee.” And she quickly pressed the button to end the call.

• • •

Down Under at Barton's Billabong, Ida frowned at Tod. “Rose sounded a bit funny,” she said.

“Probably just the connection, Gran,” said Tod. “She's a long way away.”

“So are our sheep,” said Ida. “I do hope they're all right.”

“Why wouldn't they be?” asked Frank as he came in for breakfast.

Ida's brother Frank was almost as old as she was. And almost as much fun. He'd been in Australia for most of his life and his face was as rutted as the reddish-brown dirt tracks around the little house he lived in here at Barton's Billabong. He'd always kept in touch with his sisters, Rose and Ida, and Ida's grandson, Tod—who was really her great-grandson and who lived with Ida because he too was an orphan. They all wrote letters and emailed and talked on the phone, so when Frank had offered to pay for Ida and Tod to visit him, they'd been delighted to accept.

“And how's sister Rose?” he asked. “Didn't she Skype so you could say g'day to your fancy flock?”

“No,” said Tod. “She's got a glitch.”

“As long as it's not catching,” said Frank. “We've got a busy day ahead. You're not just on vacation, y'know.”

Frank had worked at Barton's Billabong for more than fifty years and he loved the place. It was an animal sanctuary, way out in the bush: the lovely, lonely, wild part of Australia. Not so lonely that it didn't have roads, though, which meant that the sanctuary always had a dozen or so baby kangaroos, joeys, in its nursery.

Kangaroos never learned to look both ways when crossing roads and lots were knocked down each year. Often the mother would be killed in the accident, but her baby, cushioned in her pouch, would survive. These babies were brought to Barton's Billabong, where each one would be given a pillowcase of its own, hung from a bar, so they could hop in and out of this pretend pouch whenever they liked. The littlest ones stayed inside for a long time, only their noses and front paws peeping out.

The sanctuary had been set up long ago by two kindly half-brothers, Motte and Bailey Barton, and Frank had been as fond of them as of his work. Had been, because Motte had died a few months ago and Bailey had passed away just a week later. This had made Frank very sad and made him think of his own family, far away in Britain, and want to see them again.

“The old boys had a good run,” Frank sighed as he led Tod and Ida on their first proper tour of the sanctuary. “Left this world a better place than they found it.”

“So what will happen to the sanctuary?” asked Tod.

“And you, Frank?” asked Ida anxiously. “I hope you won't lose your home?”

Frank grinned. “I shouldn't think so. Motte and Bailey didn't have any children of their own, but they thought they had a great-great niece somewhere. So they left the sanctuary and the land and everything to her.”

“I don't understand,” said Tod. “How can you only
think
you have a niece somewhere?”

Frank ruffled Tod's hair. “You have to remember, mate, we didn't have email and social networking and all that stuff when we were young. The Bartons were working their socks off setting up this place and they lost touch with their family years ago.”

“So how will anybody find this niece?” asked Ida, still concerned for Frank's future.

“She
has
been found.” said Frank. “Through a lawyer. A guy in Brisbane. Goes by the wonderful name of Joseph Creeply. He put ads in the papers and on the net and…everywhere. And the lady replied. She's got the birth certificate and everything.”

“So where is she?” said Tod and Ida together.

Frank grinned. “Motte and Bailey were both very proud to be Down Underers. Motte was born in New Zealand and Bailey in Australia, and they had a bit of a sense of humor. So their will says this niece has got to prove herself to be a good Down Underer too. They set her a few little tasks she has to do before she can inherit. And she's got to do them before the thirtieth of November.”

“Hmm,” said Ida, not at all sure about this strange condition the old men had put on their will. “And what's her name?”

“Alice,” said Frank. “Alice Barton.”

“And what's she like?” asked Ida.

Frank shrugged. “No idea. But if she's related to Motte and Bailey, she's bound to be as good as gold.”

Through the many days and nights that followed,
Destiny
forged rapidly southward across the oceans, rarely within sight of land and never stopping. Fuel and food were piped and heaved aboard from supply boats.

The sheep stayed hidden in their little hold, fed and cleaned by the deckhand, who let them out occasionally when Alice wasn't on deck. And every evening, Wills told his fellow warriors all the stories he could remember from Tod's book about knights in armor and castles.

Meanwhile, Alice spent every day sweating away in her gym. The solicitor, Mr. Creeply, had refused to say what sort of challenges the deceased uncles, Motte and Bailey, had set, but she was worried they could be sporty-type things. And she hadn't done so much as run for a bus since she left school.

Then, one beautiful sunny day when the warriors were stretching their legs on deck and Alice was trying to pump iron, Wills heard a shout from one of the crew.

“Down Under ahoy!” he repeated excitedly for the others. “That means we're there!”

They crowded against the boat's rail, peering ahead at the shoreline that was slowly getting nearer. Soon,
Destiny
was passing close to the hundreds of yachts moored in the vast Auckland harbor and the warriors heard the same sound that had first called them, back in Murkton-on-Sea.

“Ohmygrass…” said Jaycey. “It's tacky Tuftella.”

“Yeah, still sobbing and sighing and tap, tap, tapping,” agreed Links.

Wills glanced uneasily at the yachts but put the thought that it might be them making the sound firmly out of his mind. It was far too late for doubt. They were almost in New Zealand. Part of Down Under. Somewhere out there, Tuftella was waiting to be rescued.

Ed and Deidre were standing on the deck, not far from the little bunch of sheep.

“New Zealand has strict rules about bringing animals into the country, you know,” said Ed. “It could mean a long delay. Who's going to tell her about the sheep? You or me?”

Alice suddenly appeared in her pink-and-white designer gym-wear.

“Ted, poppet,” she inquired. “Why aren't we going full steam…ahead?” Her smile froze on her lips. She'd seen the sheep.

“What are
they
doing here?”

“Um…a bit of a misunderstanding,” said Ed. “And we, uh, won't be allowed to berth until we've got permission.” He didn't drop his eyes from her angry face, though. “It'll only take a few days.”

“A few
days
?” Alice glared at him. “I do not
have
a few days.” She clenched her fists and her face began to flush. “Get me ashore.
Now
.”

Ed folded his arms and shook his head. “I can't go any closer,” he said. “Not with sheep on-board.”

The simmering volcano that was Alice erupted. Her face now a scarlet ball, she ran at the unsuspecting flock.

“Deidre!” she yelled. “Chuck them off!”

“Miss Barton?”

“The sheep, you dishcloth. Throw them overboard!”

The warriors stared as their fairy godtingy hurled herself at them, grabbed Wills by his front legs, and threw him into the sea.

Lamb overboard!” yelled Ed. “Stop engines!”

But his voice was drowned out by the sound of Deidre screaming and the other sheep bleating.

“Ohmygrassohmygrass…” squealed Jaycey, as Alice caught hold of her hind legs. “Ohmylegsohmy…” The rest was lost in the splash as she hit the water.

Alice turned to Oxo next, but he was already charging after Wills and Jaycey, determined to rescue them. He skidded under the rail and plummeted into the waves.

“Ram overboard!” shouted Ed. “Half astern both!”

“Aye, aye, skip,” came a call from the bridge.

Meanwhile, the question Jaycey had asked some days ago was answered. She
could
swim. She didn't enjoy it, but somehow she instinctively paddled with her front legs and her head stayed above water.

On deck, Alice was pushing Sal's rear end. “Move!” she grunted. “We haven't got time to mess about!”

Sal stood planted firmly on the deck, thinking. The words she wanted finally came back. “Her actions may seem odd, it's true,” she bleated loudly. “Verse…” She couldn't remember which verse but it didn't matter. She suddenly leapt forward, over the rail and into the sea. Alice fell flat on her face. Links couldn't help treading on her as he jumped into the water after Sal.

“Full astern both!” roared Ed. “We're going to run them down!”

“No!” shouted Alice, picking herself up. “Full
ahead
both!”

But
Destiny
was now moving backward, fast. Unfortunately, there was a large fishing boat close behind. Too close. There was a crunch of metal on metal and a violent jolt.

“Now look what you've done!” Alice cried at Ed. “Just capture a yacht or something and get me ashore!”

Deidre was weeping noisily as she peered over
Destiny
's side. All she could see was foaming white water and deck furniture that had bounced over the guard rail into the sea. “They're gone,” she sobbed. “Drowned. Those poor sheep have drowned…”

“Well,” said Alice, “that's one consolation.”

But the warriors hadn't drowned. An onshore wind was sweeping them rapidly toward land. They coughed and choked and paddled desperately, their white heads more often under the water than above it. They were completely hidden amid the white topped waves.

Wills saw a small upturned plastic table swirling toward him. He turned his body to face the way the table was moving and waited until it was right up close to him. Then he threw his front hooves on to it and dragged his hindquarters aboard. The upturned table rocked violently from side to side but Wills managed to stay upright.

“Find yourselves something to float on!” he yelled at the others.

More upturned tables from
Destiny
's sun deck were being swept in, along with dozens of large empty boxes lost from the fishing boat in the collision. One by one, the other Warrior Sheep copied Wills and managed to haul themselves out of the water. Sal lay sprawled on her tummy across her table. Jaycey crouched as low as she could inside her smelly fish box. Oxo stood squarely on top of a box marked
Bait
, and Links crouched athletically on another upturned table.

The choppy waves became a swelling line of surf, rolling in toward the beach near the harbor, sweeping the warriors with it.

“Surf's up, man!” yelled Links. “These waves is crankin'!”

His wave rose. “Cowabunga!” he cried in triumph. His wave crashed. Links lost his balance and was submerged before being tumbled head over tail up the beach. He staggered to his feet, spluttering. “Duh…think that's what you call a wipeout. Still, we's pretty cool, eh, guys? Like woolly fish, right?”

Oxo didn't give an opinion. He was using his great head to push Sal clear of the water.

Wills and Jaycey had reached the beach too.

Links was beaming. “High hooves for the surfing dudes?”

The others stopped coughing and shaking water from their fleeces and turned to Links. They each raised a front hoof and clacked them all together.

“High hooves!” they shouted. “Warrior Sheep Down Under!”

“But only just,” said Wills. “We could have been drowned. Or crushed. We were lucky.”

“Luck had nothing do with it, dear,” Sal said happily. “It was our fairy godtingy who saved us.”

The others stopped grinning and stared at her.

“Surely it's obvious,” she continued. “She
knew
the boat was going to crash and pushed us over the side to save our lives.”

It took some time before Alice could get ashore. For a start, the skipper of the fishing boat was a very angry man, who exchanged rather rude words with her. And then her own skipper, Captain Ted, told her that
Destiny
's propellers were badly damaged and the boat wouldn't move no matter how much she told it to. Finally, Alice smiled sweetly at the owner of a nearby dinghy, and he took her and her luggage and Deidre to the quayside.

When they finally landed, Alice fixed her makeup, while Deidre made some phone calls for her. Then they perched on a bench overlooking the harbor. Deidre sniffed back more tears as she gazed at the oily water and imagined the poor sheep drowned beneath it. Alice glanced briefly at the tugs chugging out to pull
Destiny
in to the repair dock.

“Well, what did the insurance company say?” she asked.

“I'm afraid they're unlikely to pay for the damage,” replied Deidre.

“Whyever not?”

“Something about it being an ‘Act of Sheep.'”

Alice ground her teeth but let the matter drop. “Well, get the laptop out, poppet,” she said briskly. “Let's get started on claiming my inheritance. What do I have to do first?”

Deidre opened Alice's mailbox. There was an email from Joseph Creeply, Attorney at Law. She read aloud. “For your first challenge, you must go to Rotapangi, where you will”—Deidre caught her breath—“do a
bungee
jump!” She stared wide-eyed at Alice, then read the last line. “I will require photographic proof that you have completed this and every challenge. Good luck.”

“Good luck!” squeaked Alice. “You need more than
luck
to bungee jump.”

“Too right,” said a voice above their heads. “You need a good strong piece of elastic.”

Alice looked up slowly at the dusty boots, the sturdy, sun-tanned legs, the slightly ragged shorts, the faded bush shirt, and the weathered, cheerful face of the young woman looking down at them. Their owner smiled broadly.

“G'day. I'm Shelly. I guess you're Alice. You hired me.” She held out her hand. “Saw you arrive just now.” Her grin broadened. “Top show.”

Alice gave the newcomer a smile that wasn't a smile and didn't shake her hand. “To my employees,” she explained precisely, “I'm Miss Barton.”

“Sure, Alice,” said Shelly. “Whatever.”

Alice turned back to Deidre. “Is this really the best you could find, poppet, mm?”

“Uh, yes, Miss Barton. I mean…she's qualified in all sorts of sports and stuff and knows first aid and can cook and drive and…”

“And I know New Zealand and Oz like the back of my bush hat,” finished Shelly. “I've been leading adventure tour groups for years. Got my own transport too, of course.”

Alice looked Shelly up and down again. She was going to have to make the best of a bad job. She braced herself and stood up. “Right,” she said. “Take me to Rotapangi. Bring the stuff with you, Deidre.”

Shelly looked from Alice to Deidre, then at the mountain of luggage. She picked up the two heaviest suitcases as if they were filled with feathers and strode off. “That's what I like to see,” she said. “Traveling light.”

Deidre hurried behind with the laptop and remaining bags.

• • •

The warriors had felt the need for a reviving snack after their first ever try at surfing. They wandered back toward the harbor, found a patch of grass in a quiet corner near a parking lot, and got their noses down.

“Nice grass…” mumbled Oxo, tearing at it greedily. “Salty, like it was at Murkton-on-Sea.”

“The sobbing and sighing and tap, tap, tapping's the same too, actually,” pointed out Jaycey. She still wasn't sure she wanted to meet the fairest ewe of all, but with their stomachs full and the sunshine drying their fleeces, the warriors all felt excited again.

Links looked up and began to nod:

“Miss Tuftella, you ain't got nothin' to fear,

Well, I s'pose you have but we's gettin' near.

We's the surfin' sheep with a one track mind,

That's tellin' us just what we gotta find.

We's Down Under now and there's somethin' new,

So listen up, girl, and hear me true.

The fairy godtingy's showin' the way,

So, Tuftella, tune in to what we gotta say:

Between us all, we's got the power,

An' we's comin' to get you from your dark ol' tower.”

The other warriors joined in.

“Yes, we's comin' to get you from you dark ol' tower!”

Oxo suddenly broke off in mid-chorus and stared. “Hey, guys—isn't that her over there? Our fairy godtingy!”

The sheep looked up and saw Alice Barton hurrying across the parking lot, trying to keep up with a woman who was carrying a large suitcase in each hand. The Deidre girl was running along behind them, carrying more bags, which she kept dropping, then stopping to pick up. The woman with the big suitcases dumped them next to a battered four-wheel-drive truck on the far side of the parking lot.

• • •

“Say hello to Trevor,” said Shelly. “He's your trusty conveyance for the next few days. Or weeks. Or however long it takes you to do what you have to do in New Zealand.”

“I presume you
are
joking?” said Alice, staring in disbelief at the dust-coated vehicle.

“Don't be rude about Trevor,” said Shelly. “We've been through a lot together.” She opened the passenger door. “Get in, find a seat. You've got plenty of choice. We usually carry six passengers.”

Alice turned on Deidre. “Can't you do anything right? Why didn't you check what sort of vehicle she had?”

“But they're all the same,” said Deidre. “All the adventure tour companies have trucks like this.”

“I don't do
trucks
, poppet!” said Alice. “I do cars. Sleek, fast, expensive cars.”

“Not in the Outback you don't,” said Shelly. “Or most of New Zealand. Certainly not Rotapangi.” She went round to the back of the truck. It was parked very close to a low wall. She jumped up onto the wall and, from there, onto the truck's roof. It had a guardrail all around it and straps to tie down the rucksacks that it usually carried. “Hand up your bags and I'll tie them on top,” she called.

Alice sat down firmly on her largest suitcase. “What
do
you think I am?” she demanded. “A backpacker? I have proper clothes. Expensive clothes. I have beauty products. I have office equipment. They are
not
going up there.”

Shelly shrugged. “Suit yourself. But you'll be cramped inside.”

Alice stood up and nodded toward the open door of the truck. “Deidre.”

“Yes, Miss Barton.” Deidre heaved the heaviest case into the truck and dumped it on the nearest seat. Alice stood glaring up at Shelly until all the bags were in. Then she shoved Deidre in after them.

“You can sit at the back,” she said to her. “It's bound to be the bumpiest place, so please don't be sick.” She climbed in after Deidre and slammed the door.

• • •

At the edge of the parking lot, the sheep were suddenly thrown into a panic.

“Ohmgrassohymyfairygodtingy…” wailed Jaycey. “She's going. And taking all her lotions and potions with her!”

“Follow, follow!” called Sal. “She is our guide. We must stay by her side!”

With Sal in the lead, the five sheep galloped across the parking lot.

Shelly didn't see them coming because she'd turned her back to jump down from the roof again. She squeezed into the driver's seat. “OK, let's rock to Rotapangi,” she said and turned the key.

“Quickly, quickly…!” bleated Sal, her fat bottom swaying from side to side as she ran.

“Onto the wall!” shouted Wills. He leapt up and ran along it, beside the slowly moving truck. The others, even Sal, managed to leap up after him. Except Oxo, who dived straight over the top and had to jump back from the other side.

“Oops,” he grunted. “Overdid it a bit.”

His hooves landed on the wall just as Wills hopped onto the roof of the truck.

“Now!” Wills called. “Jump. All of you!”

Thumpety, thumpety, thumpety, thump!

The truck swayed as the four remaining warriors obeyed Wills's command and jumped from the wall onto the moving roof.

• • •

“What a
wonderful
vehicle,” sighed Alice from inside the truck. “Even the roof makes a racket.”

Shelly merely assumed the noise was the expensive suitcases falling about behind her. Deidre was already feeling too sick to notice anything.

• • •

On the roof, the sheep were getting their breath back.

“She could have given us time to finish lunch,” complained Oxo.

“Sit down and wedge yourselves against the rails,” advised Wills.

“Ohmygrassohmyfleeceohmyeverything…” cried Jaycey as Shelly put her foot on the accelerator and the truck sped toward the highway. The pretty Jacob sat down quickly before she toppled overboard. The warriors on the roof pressed safely together, and before long they were enjoying the wind in their fleeces.

• • •

Inside, Alice settled into her seat. “Deidre. Find me some gentle music,” she called, without turning round. “I need de-stressing. It's been a traumatic day.” She heaved a sigh. “Still, at least I've got rid of those mangy sheep.”