Poppy Comes Home Read online

  ‘Cutpurse?’ Harry Power snorted.

  ‘Do you know him?’

  ‘I’ve run into him a few times. Nasty man, dat he be.’

  Poppy stepped away from the door, not wanting Harry Power to see her crying.

  ‘Eh, listen up … ye gotta never give up hope,’ the bushranger said. ‘Does Harry Power give up when he’s bin thrown in gaol? Never! If I was to give up hope I might as well be dead.’ Harry Power put his face to the bars. ‘Come closer now, Kal an’ I’ll tell ye a story.’

  Poppy wiped her face with her sleeve.

  ‘’Tis a true story, mind, an’ one I’ll never forget. When I was a young lad, me mudder sent me to de village to buy a loaf of bread,’ Harry Power began. ‘Along de way I stopped for a rest an’ lay down in de grass to watch de clouds go by. I was a bit of a dreamer in dem days. After I’d rested, I continued on me way, but when I felt in me pocket for de money, not a single coin was left. Dey had all fallen out. I ran back lookin’, searchin’ de ground. We was very poor folk ye see, an’ dat bread was all me mudder an’ fadder an’ two sisters would have for supper dat night. As I sat in da dirt cryin’, I heard a noise. When I looked up, I spied a wee rabbit. Its ears turned about an’ its nose was all a twitchin’ like dis.’ Harry Power wriggled his nose at her. ‘Den dat rabbit spoke to me.’

  ‘It spoke to you? But rabbits can’t talk.’

  ‘Dis one was magic. It looked at me an’ said, “Even if de sky be covered in clouds, Harry, me boy, de sun is dere, still shinin’ just as bright,”’ the bushranger said, ‘an’ to dis day I never forgot dem words. Now, nothin’ makes me sad fer very long. I know dat auld sun be still shinin’ up in de sky no matter how dark it gets. So ye just keep yer chin up, lad. Dat sun will shine again fer ye one day. An’ dat Cutpurse, he’ll git his comeuppance too, ye’ll see.’

  ‘I hope so,’ Poppy sniffed. ‘But I just want to get my dog back and find my brother.’

  She said goodbye to Harry Power and walked outside. Looking up at the cloudy midday sky, she thought: Mr Power is right. The sun is shining up there somewhere.

  6

  Snowflake

  IN front of the Town Hall, Poppy looked inside her satchel for some coins that might have dropped to the bottom. Yes, she did have the gold nugget in the little bag around her neck for safekeeping, but she was going to give that to Gus … when she found him. But for now, the most important thing was to find some money so she could eat. Suddenly she remembered the bookshop man and hurried off towards the post office.

  On the way, she glanced into one of the shop windows. She was amazed. There were images of people on glass, beautifully framed in velvet. A picture of a little girl lying in a coffin made her shiver. Her eyes moved onto a pair of white dancing shoes made from the softest leather. They reminded her of her friend, Blossom, who loved to dance. Suddenly, the girl in the dirty cloth dress sprang into her mind. Poppy knew where she had seen that dress before – it was like all the dresses Mother Hangtree had made the girls wear at Bird Creek Mission. Could the girl be one of Poppy’s dear friends? Could it be Blossom?

  Poppy continued on to the bookshop, mystified by the image of the girl. Three volumes of Great Expectations were displayed in the window. It heartened her to see something familiar, something that she loved, so close and real. She pushed open the door.

  A small bell tinkled and a head popped out from behind one of the bookshelves. The bookshop owner emerged carrying a small white dog under his arm. ‘Well, hello there,’ he said. ‘You found the shop all right?’

  Poppy nodded.

  The bookshop owner put the little dog on the floor. It trotted up to Poppy and sniffed her boots and trousers.

  ‘This little fella can be a bit snappy with people at times. He’s old, so be careful.’

  ‘Oh, he’s all right,’ said Poppy, bending down and patting him on the head. ‘I like dogs. He probably can smell my …’ Poppy bit her tongue, feeling a lump rise in her throat at the thought of Fisher.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘My dog, Fisher, was stolen.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, lad.’

  ‘Anyway, sir, I was wondering if you still need someone to help out. My name is Kal. I’m good at dusting and I can stack books on the shelves and sweep the floors, only for a couple of days while I look for my brother.’

  ‘Well, you are just the lad I need,’ he replied. ‘My name is Mr Auldwinkle and this is Snowflake.’ The bookshop owner smiled and called the little dog to him. ‘Show Kal what you can do, Snowflake.’

  Snowflake stood on his hind legs and danced in a circle, which made Poppy laugh. Then Mr Auldwinkle told the little dog to sit on his haunches with his two front paws in the air as if he was begging.

  ‘Are you ready to start now, is what Snowflake is asking,’ said Mr Auldwinkle.

  Poppy knelt down and took Snowflake’s two front paws in her hands. They were tiny compared to Fisher’s. She ruffled the white fur and stroked the little dog in the spot just under the chin where Fisher used to like being scratched. ‘Yes, I’m ready, Snowflake.’

  Poppy worked in the bookshop that day, unpacking boxes of new books and putting them on the shelves. How good they smelt, she thought. Mr Auldwinkle asked her what she was doing in Beechworth, and she told him about Gus, and how she had been looking for her brother for months. She didn’t mention about being a mission runaway, and Mr Auldwinkle asked no more questions.

  In the late afternoon, as Mr Auldwinkle was closing the shop, he asked her where she lived.

  ‘Last night, I slept behind your shop, sir,’ she said.

  ‘Behind my shop! But it was freezing last night.’

  ‘I’m used to living out of doors.’

  ‘Well, tonight you are to sleep in my office. Come with me.’

  Mr Auldwinkle gave her blankets and an oil lamp. ‘Wait here,’ he said. Soon he came back with a large book. It was the first volume of Great Expectations.

  The next day, Mr Auldwinkle invited Poppy home to meet his family. It was a small stone cottage on the outskirts of Beechworth with a verandah and a pretty garden. Mr Auldwinkle’s wife and six-year-old-son, Octavius, greeted them at the door. Octavius showed Poppy his rocking horse on wheels. And Poppy told him all she knew about horses – how to hold the reins, how to groom, feed and water them. For Octavius the best part was when Poppy showed him how she galloped on the wildeyed Gideon back at Summerhill.

  Mrs Auldwinkle was a short, thin lady with frizzy hair that looked like it wanted to escape from a bun at the nape of her neck. She had a gentle nature and was a very good cook. Later that night, they ate a delicious roast lamb dinner with potatoes, turnips, pumpkin and plenty of gravy. Poppy had two helpings. And for dessert, Mrs Auldwinkle served a hot apple pie.

  If only Gus and Fisher and Blossom were here to share this with me, she thought. Her chest tightened. It seemed for every new friend she made, she lost an old one.

  A few days later, as Poppy was on her way to the post office for Mr Auldwinkle, she saw Fox, Professor Cutpurse’s assistant, riding down the main street. Poppy’s heart raced as she thought of Fisher. Without thinking of her own safety, she dashed in front of his horse, waving her arms in the air for him to stop.

  Fox’s mount reared up in fright, its two front legs kicking out. Poppy ducked to one side, grabbing hold of the reins at the same time.

  ‘Are ya crazy, kid?’ Fox yelled.

  ‘Where is the Professor?’ she shouted. ‘Where’s my dog?’

  Fox hesitated a moment then said, ‘I don’t know. Your dog just ran off, chewed through the rope an’ disappeared.’

  ‘I don’t believe you, Fox. I saw the rope and it was cut, cut with a knife. Please tell me the truth.’

  ‘I know nuffink about that. Now let my horse go. I got business to attend to.’

  ‘Stop lying! The Professor stole him and you know it. Tell me where he is or … or I’ll call the police and tell them all about Cutpurse an
d how you are selling fake medicine.’

  Poppy was surprised to see the look on Fox’s face change to one of terror. Something must have happened to make him so scared.

  ‘You wouldn’t do that, would you, Kal? We’re friends, ain’t we?’ Fox’s voice and eyes were pleading as he leaned over the neck of his horse toward Poppy.

  ‘Where is my dog? What happened to you and the others?’

  ‘Some men was layin’ in wait for us the next town along,’ Fox said, reluctantly. ‘Must have been someone the Prof had cheated. Raven and I took the horses and escaped, but Professor Cutpurse, he …’ Fox looked grim. ‘They stripped him down to his long johns, threw him in a trough of hot tar, then dumped a load of old turkey feathers all over him. We watched from the top of the hill. Then they burned the wagon.’

  ‘But what about Fisher?’ Poppy was desperate.

  Fox seemed apologetic. ‘Well, just before we left Beechworth, the Professor, he sold your dog.’

  ‘Sold Fisher?’

  ‘Dogs are worth big money to miners cos they guard the claims. Your dog being as big as he is would ’ave fetched a pretty penny.’

  Poppy’s cheeks burned. ‘Do you know who he sold him to?’

  Fox glanced up at the sky as big raindrops began to fall. ‘All I knows is it were a pack of Welshmen. Look, kid, I’m sorry, but I gotta go.’

  Poppy stepped back in a daze. She barely noticed Fox galloping away. All this time she had imagined Fisher was with the Professor. But now to learn that he had sold him to a bunch of miners who might drink too much whiskey and treat Fisher cruelly, this was too much to bear.

  ‘Is there something wrong, Kal?’ Mr Auldwinkle asked as Poppy returned to the bookshop, drenched from the rain.

  ‘I saw one of Professor Cutpurse’s helpers. He told me the Professor sold Fisher.’

  ‘Oh dear,’ Mr Auldwinkle said. ‘Did he tell you who to?’

  Poppy stood up and walked to the window. She stared out onto the busy street. ‘Some Welsh miners bought him. I hope they won’t be cruel …’

  ‘Good dogs are hard to come by, so don’t worry about that. They would have paid a high price for him,’ said Mr Auldwinkle. He picked up Snowflake and fondled the dog’s ears. ‘I’ll ask around and see what I can find out.’

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ Poppy said. But, deep inside, she knew Fisher was probably gone forever.

  7

  Little Girl Lost

  POPPY picked her way between the boulders and bushes. She was taking a shortcut back to town after checking out another mining encampment for news of Gus or Fisher. Even though she had left the bookshop not long after lunch, the camp had been further away than she’d expected, and now her return was accompanied by the long shadows of evening.

  The shortcut took her up a steep incline to a hill topped with bare rock.

  She picked her way carefully along a faint path, a sense of foreboding growing within her.

  Suddenly, not far away, a shadow shifted, lifted and stood. A large figure, black but for a strange plumage, barred her way. Poppy’s heart quavered. Was this one of the strange giant birds of Aboriginal legend? It seemed to have two legs and two wings. It took a step towards her. Then, chilling her to the bone, it spoke.

  It spoke her name.

  ‘Kal.’

  Poppy fell back on her bottom, then started scrabbling backwards on her seat. The figure moved, reaching out, trying to grab her. She managed to stand, then found a heavy stick and waved it at the figure. ‘Stop right there,’ she ordered, trying to make her voice sound brave and commanding.

  ‘Kal, it’s me, your old pal!’

  ‘Professor Cutpurse?’ Poppy lowered the stick and took a closer look. It was hard to make him out in the dark of evening, but it was definitely the Professor. Black tar covered everything except two white circles around his eyes. And stuck deep into the tar, all over his body, were feathers – big feathers and little feathers. A jumble of emotions swamped her. She wanted to laugh, she wanted to strike him for stealing Fisher. But she also felt sorry for him.

  ‘Can you help me, Kal? Get me some food. Rob someone if you have to.’ His voice was pitiful.

  But Poppy didn’t want to have anything more to do with this man.

  ‘Kal, where are you going? Kal …’ Professor Cutpurse said as Poppy walked away. He kept calling after her until she rounded a large mound of boulders, then his voice slowly faded away.

  The next day, as Poppy left the post office, she saw a flash out of the corner of her eye. A flash of dirty cream cotton. The girl! Poppy turned and immediately began to follow her. She had scurried behind a building. Poppy rounded the corner and saw her in the distance. ‘Wait!’ she called.

  The girl turned. Poppy gasped. Could it be?

  She rushed forward and put her arms around her best friend. She could feel her bones through the thin cotton dress. ‘Oh, Bloss, what happened to you?’

  Blossom smiled weakly. Her brown eyes seemed to have grown larger and held a haunted look.

  Poppy took Blossom by the hand and led her down the street. She bought cheese and bread and a bottle of cherry cordial from the money Mr Auldwinkle had given her. Then they sat under a tree by Spring Creek. Poppy had so many questions she wanted to ask her friend but she let her eat first. Poor Blossom was half starved.

  After they were both full, Blossom told Poppy her story.

  ‘When you left,’ she began, ‘Mother Hangtree didn’t know what to do. The family you were supposed to go to were still hanging around waiting, so she sent me away with them instead.’

  Poppy tensed. ‘I thought they were going to Sydney town.’

  ‘They changed their minds and moved to Rutherglen, close to Wahgunyah.’ Staring down at the piece of bread in her hand, Blossom went on. ‘They were so cruel, Poppy. If I didn’t wash the clothes properly I had to wash them all over again. And if I broke something, the father would beat me.’ Blossom shuddered. ‘I hated them. The only thing that kept me there was the thought that we might be close. You said you were going to Beechworth and I knew it wasn’t far from Rutherglen.’

  Poppy touched Blossom’s arm. She felt guilty that Blossom had taken her place. She took off her jacket and placed it around Blossom’s shoulders. There were bruises and welts on her neck and back. ‘I’m sorry, Bloss – ’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ Blossom replied. ‘Mother Hangtree was going to send me to a family anyway.’

  ‘How did you escape?’ Poppy asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

  ‘One night, there was a big fire in the house. The father locked me in the shed … that’s where I had to sleep. Then he went to fight the fire.’ She smiled. ‘But I climbed out the window as the big house burned down.’ Blossom stared into the distance. ‘I stood for a while, hidden behind some trees, watching the flames, and I felt happy … is that wrong, Poppy? Will I be punished and not go to Heaven for having such bad thoughts?’

  ‘No, Bloss, you’ll be forgiven … Go on.’

  ‘So then I ran away and came to Beechworth. When I heard you singing The Bellbird Song at the performance the other day, I wanted to rush up and hug you. I was so happy.’

  ‘I saw you too, but then you were gone.’

  ‘I was scared. I thought you might be a servant to that show man …’

  ‘Professor Cutpurse.’

  ‘Yes. I didn’t want to work for any cruel people ever again.’

  ‘That horrid man stole my dog!’ Poppy said. Then she sighed with the memory of the tarred and feathered figure. ‘But he’s been paid back now.’

  Blossom looked at Poppy’s clothes, a puzzled expression on her face. Poppy explained. ‘I had to dress like a boy to stay away from danger. But don’t tell anyone I’m a girl, Bloss. And don’t ever call me Poppy - my name is Kal, now.’

  Blossom shook her head. ‘Did you find Gus?’ she asked.

  ‘He’s here, I know he is,’ Poppy replied. And when I’ve found him and found my dog, Fisher, too, we
’ll build a home for all the orphans of Bird Creek. I have a big gold nugget, Bloss, and it’s worth a lot of money. And maybe we’ll find my father. He sent me a letter. So you see, there’s nothing to …’ It was then that Poppy noticed Blossom’s lip quivering. ‘What’s the matter?’ she asked.

  ‘Bird Creek … it’s been shut down.’ Blossom looked away.

  ‘What! No, that can’t be!’ Poppy stood up.

  ‘The government and church people didn’t think Mother Hangtree was running it properly, so they closed it.’

  ‘But what about little Daisy and Tobiah and Juniper and all the others? What became of them?’

  Blossom shook her head sadly. ‘I don’t know,’ she whispered.

  This was one thing Poppy never imagined - that Bird Creek would be gone and she would never see the children again. It had always been there – the school house, Mother Hangtree’s residence, the dormitories, the big kitchen. And Alice, the cook, and her husband Charley, what happened to them? And what of the Spirit Tree. Who would take care of it now? The dream of a home for all the orphans used to make her smile. But it was gone.

  In silence, Poppy and Blossom walked to the bookshop, arms about each other.

  ‘Well, there you are, Kal,’ Mr Auldwinkle said as they came through the door.

  Blossom stood shyly behind Poppy.

  ‘This is my best friend, Blossom. Bloss, this is Mr Auldwinkle.’

  Snowflake stood up in his basket, stretched and trotted over to Blossom. She bent down to pat the little dog.

  ‘Come in and sit down, Blossom,’ Mr Auldwinkle said. He snapped open the lid of a jar and offered biscuits around.

  Snowflake gobbled his up quickly and so did Blossom. But Poppy still held on to hers.

  Mr Auldwinkle looked at her with bright eyes. ‘I have had an idea, Kal … about your dog.’

  Poppy looked at Mr Auldwinkle.