Pearlie's Pet Rescue Read online

  Contents

  1 Havoc at School

  2 Sneaking

  3 Goliath

  4 Santa

  5 Leonatta

  6 Lost

  7 The Runaway

  8 The Rescue

  9 Be Brave, Pearlie

  10 Old Man Lizard

  11 Year of the Horse

  The world is at war and it’s changing every­thing in Darwin. Pearlie’s best friend, Naoko, has been taken away and put in a prison camp because she’s Japanese. All Pearlie has left of her is their friendship scrapbook and Naoko’s tiny pet monkey, Tinto.

  Before Naoko left, she and Pearlie snuck into the house of a man called Mr Beake and found evidence that he was a spy. They photographed his spy equipment to prove that it was him, not Naoko’s dad, who was passing top-secret information to the Japanese.

  But unfortunately the photos were over­exposed. To make matters worse, Pearlie dropped a bracelet with her name on it in Beake’s house – and he found it! Now it’s only a matter of time before he realises that she knows his secrets . . .

  ‘WHAT am I going to do now, Reddy?’ Pearlie asked in despair as she looked down at the bunch of photographs in her hand. Every single one of them was black.

  ‘Buck up, Pearlie.’ Reddy snapped.

  ‘But now we still don’t have any proof that Beake’s a spy. My life is over . . .’ Pearlie’s arms dropped to her sides and she let the photographs scatter in the wind.

  ‘You’re not a goner yet,’ Reddy said. ‘We’ll break into his place again and find something else to prove that he’s the spy.’

  ‘Break in? Again?’ Pearlie shivered at the thought, remembering back to when she and Naoko had broken into Beake’s house last time – how she’d had to hide in the cupboard when Beake had come home early. She’d smelt his horrible pipe-tobacco breath just inches away from her face. And then she’d dropped her bracelet, and so now he knew someone called Pearlie had been there.

  They’d been looking for evidence to prove that Naoko’s father, Mr Ito, wasn’t the spy everyone had been talking about – that Beake was. But now they had no proof and no plan. And Beake was out to get her.

  Reddy cocked his head to one side and raised his eyebrows. ‘Hey, wait a minute . . . I’ve got a better idea.’

  ‘That’s a relief. What is it?’

  ‘We’ll ask Dulcie to come with us.’

  ‘What! Are you crazy? We’re arch enemies, Reddy. I lopped off her precious ponytail, remember?’

  ‘But she’s perfect,’ Reddy said. ‘Her father’s a silvertail – you know, one of those guys who works for the government. And a top-level one at that. If Dulcie sees the spy stuff in Beake’s house, she’ll tell her dad, and bingo! Beake gets arrested and Pearlie Chan lives on to save the pets of the world.’

  Pearlie let out a long growl. The thought of doing anything with that girl, even if it meant saving Pearlie’s own life or the animals she loved, made her feel as wild as a stormy sea. But Reddy was right. Dulcie would never pass up the chance to become the girl who caught the spy. It was a good plan and it might just work.

  ‘Fine,’ Pearlie said through clenched teeth. ‘But you ask her.’

  Reddy grinned. ‘I’ll set it up for Saturday night then. Can you sneak out?’

  ‘I think so. But why Saturday?’

  ‘I heard from Frank that Beake goes to the pub on Saturdays, so we’ll have his whole house to ourselves.’

  Pearlie lay in bed that night thinking about Naoko. The Japanese families who had been arrested were still at Adelaide River, not that far away. But in a few days’ time the government was going to send them south. Pearlie had heard Mr Ito was going to Loveday Camp in South Australia.

  That’s like the end of world, she thought. Now Mr Ito has been interned, everyone’s stopped talking about the spy. They think he’s been caught when actually he’s alive and well and still around! Oooh, I hate that man Beake.

  An air-raid alert wailed. It was a frightening sound. Joey, Pearlie’s brother, began to cry in his cot and Pearlie put her hand out to comfort him. The sirens were going off more and more lately as the big searchlights scanned the night skies for Japanese warplanes. She held her breath listening, waiting for the drone of engines. She’d heard from Dad that the Japanese army was attacking Hong Kong and Penang, and advancing on the Philippines and the Malay Peninsula. The Japanese were winning against the British, Canadian and Indian forces! And now they were heading south towards Australia. They could be here any day, he’d said. He sounded frightened.

  Mum came in and picked up Joey. ‘It’s all right,’ she cooed, rocking him back and forth.

  When the all-clear siren rang out, Mum put Joey back into his cot and bent over to kiss Pearlie’s cheek. ‘Go back to sleep, love.’

  Pearlie was just drifting off ten minutes later when a small shadow, a little bigger than her fist, slipped into her room and jumped onto her bed. ‘Tinto,’ she whispered to the tiny monkey. ‘How did you get out of your cage?’

  Since Pearlie had rescued Tinto from Naoko’s house, he’d been sleeping in a crate by the back door. But lately he’d become an expert at picking locks. The little pygmy marmoset jumped onto her chest, his sweet brown eyes glinting in the dim light of the kerosene lamp.

  ‘I love you, Tinto,’ she said, stroking his mane. And as if he understood, the monkey put his paw gently against Pearlie’s cheek. She lifted the sheet and he snuggled down beside her. His warm body was soft against her nightdress and soon they both fell fast asleep.

  It was the last day of school – not just for the year but for a very long while. Now that it seemed as if there really might be a war with Japan, the Australian War Cabinet had decided that all women and children should be evacuated from the city, and had put a notice in the newspaper saying that everyone should be prepared for when their turn came. Most of the women didn’t want to leave their homes or their husbands behind, but when the evacuation order came through, they had to obey. Not everyone could go at once, and there was no knowing who would be the next to leave – you just had to wait.

  And so Pearlie’s class was growing smaller and smaller. Peggy sat in Naoko’s seat and Reddy had moved up to the front. Dulcie hadn’t left Darwin yet. She boasted that they were waiting to leave on an American luxury liner. But Pearlie didn’t believe it. Dulcie still wore a hat to hide the haircut she’d been given by Pearlie, who was still a bit of a hero for it. Dulcie’s friends had all deserted her and Pearlie didn’t feel a bit sorry. Dulcie’s bullying days were well and truly over.

  Mr Plumber, the school principal, came into the classroom.

  The children stood up. ‘Good morning, Mr Plumber,’ they chanted.

  ‘Good morning, children. I’ve come to wish you all the best for the future. School, as you know, will be closed from today. You will be evacuated to other cities so I’d like to remind you of The Three Rules. Can anyone tell me what they are?’

  Billy Driscoll yelled from the back of the room, ‘Listen for bombs. Run fast. Change your pants!’

  Pearlie grinned at Reddy.

  ‘No,’ said Mr Plumber, looking around to see who had spoken.

  When his head was turned away, Larry Lewis shouted out, ‘Head south. Don’t look back. Lift your knees!’

  Pearlie had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing.

  ‘No!’ said Mr Plumber, jerking his head back to find the culprit. ‘Who said that?’

  ‘Study hard. Be kind to one another and help our parents,’ Peggy said.

  Pearlie rolled her eyes.

  ‘Thank you, Peggy. Now, children, bow your heads while we pray for the safety of our brave men and women who are defending Australia at home and across the sea.’


  The whole class was giggling as they bowed their heads, and Pearlie was still grinning when a movement caught her eye. ‘Oh no,’ she breathed as a little head appeared at the window.

  Tinto had picked the lock of his cage again!

  She looked around to check if anyone else had seen him. Everyone’s head was bowed as Mr Plumber continued his prayer.

  Using her hands, Pearlie tried to shoo Tinto away. The little monkey hopped through the window and scampered along the desks towards her. He reached Reddy and stopped, but not long enough for Reddy to grab him. Reddy shrugged and mouthed ‘sorry’.

  Some of the children began to squeal when they saw Tinto. They’d all heard about him but had never met him.

  As Mr Plumber and Miss Lyon looked up, Pearlie opened the lid of her desk and pushed Tinto inside. She closed the lid quickly and rested both arms on it, pretending nothing had happened.

  ‘What is going on?’ Mr Plumber said.

  Silence filled the classroom except the scratching sounds coming from Pearlie’s desk. Everyone sat up straight and tried to put on serious faces.

  Pearlie didn’t want to leave Tinto inside her desk for too long. She was scared he would suffocate so she lifted the lid a crack to let in some fresh air.

  ‘Pearlie!’ Miss Lyon said. ‘What do you have there?’

  ‘Nothing, Miss Lyon,’ Pearlie said quickly.

  But just then Tinto screeched and squeezed through the crack. He climbed up onto Pearlie’s shoulder and sat looking imperiously around the room.

  ‘Aww . . . he’s so cute,’ said Peggy, putting her hand out to touch him.

  ‘Pearlie Chan, get that monkey out of here immediately!’ Mr Plumber demanded.

  ‘Yes, Sir,’ Pearlie replied. But as she stood up, Tinto did an unexpected thing. Instead of sitting happily on Pearlie’s shoulder as he usually did, he jumped down onto the floor and ran towards Miss Lyon.

  Miss Lyon screamed with fright, which made Tinto change direction and find the nearest pole to climb. Only it was not a pole at all. It was the inside of Mr Plumber’s wide trouser leg.

  Miss Lyon’s hands flew up to her mouth as she stared helplessly at Mr Plumber, who was hopping around on one leg, trying to shake the monkey loose.

  ‘Tinto, please come out,’ Pearlie called as she ran up to the front of the class.

  ‘Come out, come out! Tinto, please come out!’ she heard Billy Driscoll shout behind her.

  The whole class roared with laughter.

  A minute later Tinto fell to the floor, did a neat somersault and scampered through the window.

  ‘Pearlie Chan,’ Mr Plumber said darkly, ‘take that monkey home at once! Then, my office!’

  ‘I’m sorry, Mr Plumber . . .’ Pearlie said, hot with embarrassment.

  She found Tinto in the rubbish bin sharing food scraps with the crows. The crows flew up to the branches and cawed in protest when Pearlie arrived.

  ‘You’re a naughty boy,’ she said. ‘And on the last day of school.’

  Tinto looked up at her as if to say, But I only wanted to be with you.

  Pearlie sighed. She could never be angry at the little monkey for long. She lifted him up and gave him a cuddle. ‘I know it’s boring in your cage while I’m at school, but after today, we can be together all the time.’ She kissed the top of his head and walked quickly home.

  After double-locking Tinto inside his cage with some chopped apple, Pearlie returned to school to see Mr Plumber. She was scared but the secretary winked at her and whispered, ‘It’s the last day of school. What can he do?’

  Pearlie felt better after that. Mr Plumber yelled at her for a bit, then sent her back to class.

  For the rest of the day, laughter echoed around the schoolyard. Nobody would ever forget that last day of school, when a monkey ran up Mr Plumber’s trousers.

  I still don’t trust you, Dulcie McBride, Pearlie thought to herself when Dulcie arrived at Beake’s house on Saturday night. But she had to admit that Dulcie did look the part. She was dressed all in black, and her yellow hair – what was left of it – was all tucked up under a beret.

  Stepping softly in a crouch and keeping to the shadows, Dulcie joined Reddy and Pearlie. She nodded to them both and said, ‘So you think Beake’s a spy?’

  ‘We KNOW it,’ Pearlie said. ‘We even had proof, some photographs, but they didn’t turn out.’

  ‘So we have to get more,’ Dulcie said. ‘Or something different.’

  ‘We need something you can show your dad,’ Reddy said. ‘And then he can tell Colonel Mitchell. Then Beake will be arrested . . .’

  ‘And we’ll be heroes!’ Dulcie smiled.

  ‘That’s not what this is about,’ said Pearlie.

  Dulcie flared. ‘Oh? So why don’t you tell me what it is about, Little Miss Self-sacrifice?’ She pushed up to Pearlie. Pearlie stood up straight and stuck out her jaw.

  Reddy stepped between them, making shushing noises. ‘Come on, you two. We have a job to do. You can be heroes – or not – later.’ He elbowed them apart, and turned them to look at the house.

  It was dark, and very still. A masked owl hooted.

  The flywire door was banging in the wind. Reddy took out his lucky penknife from his back pocket and went up the steps.

  Pearlie whispered, ‘When Nao and me broke in, the door was padlocked on the . . .’

  But before she’d finished her sentence, Reddy had it open.

  ‘How’d you do that so fast?’ Dulcie asked admiringly.

  ‘I didn’t,’ Reddy said, switching on his torch and folding his penknife away. ‘It was already open.’

  ‘That’s strange,’ Pearlie said. ‘Beake would never be so careless. The darkroom’s over here.’ She led the way across the kitchen. When she passed the cupboard under the sink where she had hidden the last time they snuck in, her body gave a little shudder.

  Opening the door to the darkroom, she told Reddy to shine his torch inside.

  Pearlie gasped. The room was empty.

  Only a broom stood alone in the corner. Gone were the trays of chemicals on the counter, the photographs pegged along the string and the camera equipment. All that was left of Beake was the smell of his pipe tobacco.

  Dulcie put her hands on her hips. ‘Huh! I knew it. I bet you made the whole thing up just to get attention. You’re such an idiot, Pearlie Chan.’

  ‘I didn’t ma– ’ Pearlie began to say.

  ‘Oh, Beake’s real enough,’ Reddy said to Dulcie. ‘I seen him with my own eyes. Let’s look at the rest of the place.’

  Pearlie heard Dulcie make little sounds of protest, but she followed them through the house to the main room. Sure enough, that was empty, too. Beake had gone!

  Turning to Reddy, a big smile on her face, Pearlie said, ‘I’m safe.’

  Dulcie stamped her foot impatiently. ‘I’m going home to bed.’

  But Reddy wasn’t smiling.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Pearlie asked.

  ‘The question is, has Beake left Darwin? Or has he just moved house because he knows we’re onto him?’

  ‘Oh peanuts, I never thought of that,’ said Pearlie in a slump again.

  ‘Ah ha, now this is getting a bit more interesting,’ said Dulcie.

  ‘If anyone knows anything about where Beake’s gone, it’d be Mr Spiros,’ Reddy said. ‘He knows everything that goes on in this town.’

  ‘You’re right,’ said Pearlie. ‘I’m working for him tomorrow, I’ll ask him then. Oh, I hope Beake’s gone for good.’

  ‘I hope he’s still here. Then we can watch him being arrested,’ said Dulcie.

  There was the soft pad of footsteps coming through the house and they all turned, alarmed. Reddy flashed his torch in the direction of the sound.

  Standing in the beam, head drooped almost to the floor, was a thin red kelpie.

  ‘Hey, that’s Rusty,’ Pearlie said. ‘Rusty! Here boy,’ she called, patting her leg.

  The dog came towards her, barely
able to walk, his tail between his legs.

  ‘Whose dog is he?’ asked Dulcie.

  ‘He used to belong to the Tompkins. They left him behind when they got evacuated,’ said Reddy. He felt Rusty’s ribs. ‘He mustn’t have eaten for days, poor fella.’

  ‘How could Beake be so cruel?’ Pearlie said, kneeling beside Rusty and stroking the dog’s mangy fur.

  ‘It’s happening a lot,’ said Reddy. ‘And it’ll happen more and more. Folks can’t take their animals with them when they go.’

  Pearlie frowned.

  ‘I heard the government’s ordered people to shoot their pets before they get evacuated.’ Dulcie’s tone sounded gleeful.

  Could Dulcie really be that heartless? Pearlie wondered. Or is she just being awful because she knows how much I love animals?

  ‘What’s going to happen to you now, old fella?’ Reddy said, stroking Rusty under the chin.

  ‘I’m taking him home,’ said Pearlie without a moment’s hesitation.

  ‘You’ve already got that smelly monkey. Are you going to save every pet in Darwin?’ said Dulcie.

  Pearlie turned her back on Dulcie, leant across and whispered in Rusty’s ear. ‘You’re going to live with me and Tinto and my chooks.’ She rubbed his neck and Rusty licked her face in return.

  As they walked out onto the road, Reddy said, ‘I’ll be busy helping my uncle for the next few days. When you find out from Mr Spiros about Beake, let me know, won’t you, Pearlie?’

  Pearlie nodded. ‘Come on, Rusty,’ she said to the starving dog.

  ‘I’ll see you around, Reddy,’ she heard Dulcie say in an overly sweet voice.

  Pearlie didn’t wait to hear Reddy’s answer. She walked away quickly, leading Rusty home.

  Pearlie pushed open the back gate and went into their yard. ‘Hello, little man,’ she whispered to Tinto as she unlocked his cage. ‘I got you a new friend. His name is Rusty.’

  Tinto climbed onto Pearlie’s shoulder, eyeing Rusty suspiciously.

  ‘Don’t worry. You’re still my best boy,’ she cooed tickling him under the chin.