The Secret Lake Read online

  ‘Tom, I think we’ve found an underground tree!’ she yelled. Carefully she let go of the last rung of the ladder and grasped a couple of short nodules that were sticking out like giant nail-ends from the bark. Dangling one of her feet still lower she found another branch to rest on.

  Soon she discovered there were nodules protruding from all over the place between the branches, making it easy to keep climbing down. ‘Follow me, it’s okay!’ she called. Neither of them had noticed, but the surrounding darkness was turning dim grey.

  After they had descended a little farther Stella stopped.

  ‘I don’t believe this Tom! We’re coming to the outside!’ she shrieked. A pool of light was shining up from below and, as they continued descending, daylight began to surround them.

  ‘Are we in Australia?’ shouted Tom hopefully.

  ‘No idea!’ shouted Stella, who could now hear the birds singing.

  The branches now began thinning out and soon there were only the nodules of the tree trunk left to step and grasp onto. The sun-drenched grass below looked soft, so Stella jumped the final six feet down. Then, as she raised herself from the ground, brushing earth and tiny stones from her knees, she looked up to see the most beautiful lake, surrounded by crimson pink flowering bushes, stretching away in front of her.

  Thud! Tom, complete with binoculars and trowel, landed beside her.

  ‘Told you there was water nearby!’ said Stella triumphantly, pointing at the lake.

  Tom, still breathless, clapped his binoculars to his eyes. ‘Where on earth are we?’ he whispered, scanning from left to right trying to see beyond the trees on the far side. Suddenly he fixed on something moving on the lake. ‘Look at that, Stell!’

  ‘My goodness!’ she murmured. About half way across the lake, a boy in a small boat was rowing frantically in their direction. Stella snatched the binoculars from Tom to get a closer look, almost throttling him.

  The boy in the boat didn’t see them at first because his back was square onto them as he rowed. However, as he drew closer he turned and spotted them. As soon as he hit the bank he clambered out and began to pull the boat high up in the direction of the tree.

  ‘Gi’s a hand wi’ this will yer!’

  Tom and Stella who had only been able to stand and gawp stepped obediently forward and helped him pull the boat right up under their tree. They were speechless, and all the time couldn’t take their eyes off his dirt-smudged face, his ragged brown suit with half-length trousers, and his filthy lace-up ankle boots.

  ‘Naa, don’t you go tellin’ on me will yer – yer never saw me, right!’ he growled.

  Despite his snarl, the boy looked terrified. Stella and Tom shook their heads then stood in silence as he dashed into the woodland behind.

  ‘Where did he come from?’ whispered Tom.

  ‘More to the point, where’s he going?’ said Stella. ‘Did you see the clothes he was wearing?’

  Tom started sniggering. Stella, meanwhile, was staring out across the lake to the far bank in front of the woods where there was a little opening. ‘Quick! Give me those binoculars back!’

  Tom passed them over and Stella clapped them to her eyes.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Oh, no, it’s, nothing,’ Stella said vacantly. But then as she passed the binoculars back she squinted across the lake again. ‘Funny, though, I could have sworn I saw some moles just then!’

  ‘Moles don’t come out in daytime, silly!’ said Tom. ‘Trees don’t grow underground!’ retorted Stella.

  ‘Now, come on, let’s row over!’

  5

  The Children in the Garden

  The boat slid easily back down the bank and Stella held it steady as Tom clambered in. ‘One oar each!’ she commanded climbing in after him. Tom took the left and Stella the right. Their recent family trip to the boating lake in Hyde Park quickly paid off, and they soon worked up a rhythm.

  ‘Where do you think we are, Stell?’ Tom was marvelling at the deep crimson reflections in the water which shattered into pieces as the oars smashed down into them.

  ‘I haven’t the faintest idea,’ she said, ‘but we’ll soon find out! This is the best fun I’ve had since our first day in Hong Kong! Hannah’ll never believe it!’ All the time Stella was looking over her shoulder watching the distant bank draw closer. ‘Nearly there!’ The oars were starting to feel heavy. At a couple of metres from the bank they stopped rowing and let the boat drift slowly in. Stella’s heart raced as they clambered out and pulled the boat clear of the water. Whatever lay beyond was blocked from view by a small wood, but she had already caught the sound of children’s voices on the breeze. A narrow path had been cut through the trees, but she decided it was safer not to use it.

  ‘Follow me!’ Stella struck into the woods like a Sergeant Major. Tom pursued, his trowel clutched at his chest, ready for combat. The cool of the woods brought welcome relief; they had both worked up a sweat and Tom’s mouth was parched. Crack, crackle, snap — they continued walking for several minutes. Finally, a curtain of light ahead indicated a clearing.

  ‘We’re nearly through,’ whispered Stella.

  ‘I’m thirsty!’ said Tom.

  ‘Shhh!’ Stella stopped suddenly as the sound of children’s chatter floated towards them from somewhere beyond the clearing ahead. She frowned, then nodded them on. The chatter continued as they crept out through the edge of the wood and into the sunlight.

  ‘There are the children — through there!’ she whispered, pointing through a rhododendron bush. Tom knelt beside Stella and peered through. Beyond a cluster of tree trunks, he spotted two young girls sitting on the lawn with a lady wearing a hat tied under her chin. Judging by how strangely they were dressed the children looked as though they might be going to a fancy dress party.

  ‘LOOK! THERE’S HARRY!’ shouted Tom, jumping up. Harry was streaking across the lawn towards the children and the lady.

  ‘There you are, Harry!’ called the smaller girl.

  ‘Who was that?’ demanded the older one, looking round.

  ‘You stupid idiot! They’ve heard us!’ Stella snapped in a whisper.

  Harry, on hearing Tom’s voice, sped past the children and came hurtling through the trees yapping loudly.

  ‘Harry, boy!’ Tom tried to catch the tip of the dog’s wagging tail, one of Harry’s favourite games, and began having so much fun trying to outwit him he didn’t notice Stella’s sudden silence. ‘Hey, Stell, now we know where he goes to!’

  Tom looked up, but Stella wasn’t listening. Instead she was standing face to face with two girls dressed in bright purple party dresses, complete with embroidered patterns around the neckline and a white lace trim at the knee. The girls, who both had beautifully groomed hair – one blonde and one dark – falling in ringlets to their shoulders and decorated with matching purple ribbons, couldn’t take their eyes off Stella who, by contrast, looked quite a sight in her sky blue T-shirt, cropped skinny jeans and bright blue plimsolls.

  Tom picked up a stick and threw it. Harry ran off again.

  ‘Who are you?’ demanded the taller girl, in a grand voice. She was clearly the older of the two and her blonde ringlets glistened importantly in the afternoon sun. ‘And, what’s more, how do you know Harry?’

  Stella didn’t answer. Instead she fixed her stare on the girls’ black woollen tights and shiny black shoes. How strange that they should be wearing clothes like that on a day like this in a park! Perhaps they were royalty – maybe lost princesses or something?

  Suddenly a woman’s voice was calling.

  ‘Sophie! Emma! Come back now, there’s good girls! We must finish your lesson before tea.’

  ‘Lesson?’ said Tom, indignantly. ‘Why are you having a lesson in the school holidays?’

  ‘What are you talking about, stupid boy!’ snapped the blonde-haired girl.

  The dark-haired girl, who looked friendlier, and was obviously her sister, edged forward and smiled. Her large brown eyes
sparkled with enthusiasm. ‘Mama says the more we learn when we’re young, the better off we’ll be in society.’

  At that moment the rhododendron bush trembled violently and the woman with the hat burst into the clearing. Stella and Tom’s eyes drew like magnets onto her long-sleeved dark green dress that swept across the ground like a curtain, and which squeezed her waist so tightly it looked as if it must hold her breath in permanently.

  ‘My goodness! Who have we here?’ she asked gently. ‘A girl in trousers! Well I thought I’d seen it all!’ Tom frowned and clutched tightly onto his trowel.

  ‘What’s your name?’ blurted out the dark-haired younger girl, smiling at Stella.

  ‘Emma, dear, it’s rude to ask someone’s name without introducing yourself first,’ said the lady.

  ‘Sorry, Miss Walker.’ She turned to Stella again with a friendly smile. ‘How do you do – my name’s Emma Gladstone. I’m ten. And that’s my sister, Sophie – she’s twelve. What’s your name please?’

  Stella shook her bedraggled blonde hair off her face. She was determined not to appear nervous. ‘Stella. I’m eleven. This is my brother Tom. He’s eight.’

  ‘I’ll be eleven quite soon!’ said Emma.

  ‘Not for another month actually!’ sneered Sophie.

  ‘That’s quite enough, Sophie!’ said Miss Walker. She crouched down in front of Tom and Stella. ‘But, dears, where are you from? Is your mama or papa here with you?’ Stella felt her cheeks start to burn and began to get a sick feeling in her tummy. She gripped her right wrist, feeling with her thumb for her friendship bracelet. But it wasn’t there.

  ‘Why are you wearing those funny clothes?’ demanded Sophie. ‘And what’s that thing?’ She was pointing at Stella’s iPhone which was poking out of her jeans pocket.

  Miss Walker stood up and rounded on her.

  ‘Sophie, this is your last warning for rudeness! I really don’t want to have to tell your mama!’

  ‘I know!’ shrieked Emma, suddenly jumping with delight. ‘You’re my best friend Lucy Cuthbertson’s cousins from Australia – aren’t you? Your father was the Governor, wasn’t he? She told me you were moving back!’

  She eyed them hopefully as everyone paused for thought. Tom started to open his mouth, but something stirred in Stella.

  ‘That’s right!’ she cut in. Then she delivered Tom such a piercing glare that he swallowed his words on the spot.

  6

  The Boy Thief

  ‘Oh well now, how exciting! Do come and have a cool drink with us!’ said Miss Walker. At the mention of fluid Tom perked up again. ‘I’m sure the girls would love to hear all about Australia. Do you have a governess over there?’ They all trooped out onto the lawn.

  ‘A governess? Oh, yes!’ Stella fixed another glare on Tom. Tom, his thoughts focused on cold juice, nodded solemnly.

  As they all helped Miss Walker move the rug and a pile of leather bound books into the shade of a tree, Stella found herself glancing at the row of houses on the far side of the lawn.

  ‘Is there something wrong?’ said Sophie suddenly.

  ‘Hey, there’s our house!’ shouted Tom, pointing.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ said Sophie. ‘That’s our house!’

  Stella laughed and quickly shook her head. ‘Don’t be silly, Tom. Our house is in Australia!’ She then clenched her teeth and gave poor Tom such a fierce look he thought he would burst into tears.

  ‘So, Australia!’ Miss Walker smiled as she handed round glasses of fruit juice poured from a jug under the tree. ‘What’s it really like over there?’

  Tom looked at the ground in bewilderment. Stella felt her cheeks start to burn again. Try as she might, all she could picture was the shape of Australia, which she knew resembled a dog’s head.

  ‘Well...’ she faltered. An image of the Sydney Opera House popped uninvited into her head just as shouts came sailing across the lawn from the direction of the houses. They all looked up to see a man in a dark uniform and hat running towards them, closely followed by another man wearing rolled-up shirt sleeves and braces. A little farther behind came an elegant blonde-haired lady in a long yellow skirt and beautiful white blouse.

  ‘You all right, Miss?’ wheezed the man in the uniform looking all around. Miss Walker stood up in a fluster. ‘Only there’s been another theft. Crawley ’ere saw a young ruffian in the garden, but ’e got away. Looks like ’e’s run off with some silver. Mrs Gladstone’s coin purse is missin’ too. She’s in a right state.’

  The man called Crawley arrived panting. He immediately narrowed his dark eyes at Tom. ‘A good beatin’, that’s what he’ll get when I catch ’im!’

  Tom felt himself shaking.

  Finally the beautiful woman caught up. ‘Sophie! Emma! Thank goodness you’re all right!’

  ‘Mama!’ shrieked Emma jumping up with Sophie. Sophie and Emma’s mother flung her arms around her two children while Stella marvelled at her flowing skirt and elaborate hair arrangement. The man in the dark uniform glanced down at Tom and Stella then back at Miss Walker.

  ‘It’s a young lad we’re after, about this one’s age.’ He eyed Tom again. Tom swallowed hard and tried to look angelic.

  ‘My goodness, who are these children, Miss Walker?’ said Mrs Gladstone. Immediately she freed Sophie and Emma from her grasp.

  ‘They’re Lucy Cuthbertson’s cousins from Australia, and I guessed first!’ said Emma triumphantly. ‘She told me they might be coming. I didn’t know it would be so soon!’

  ‘Well I never! I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!’ said Mrs Gladstone, peering down her nose. ‘If that’s how they dress their children in Australia then all I can say is—’

  ‘Look, I’m sorry to interrup’, ma’am. But if we want to catch this thief–’

  ‘Oh, yes, of course, do carry on, constable.’ The policeman (for it was now obvious that this is what the man in uniform was) knelt down.

  ‘Now, this is important, an’ especially for you nippers.’ He looked at each of the children in turn, as if trying to see inside their tiny minds. ‘Did any of yer see a boy in the gardens in the last hour? Looks kinda scruffy. Tatty brown clothes.’

  Tom leaned forward, about to say something, then felt Stella’s sharp finger in his ribs. The children solemnly shook their heads in turn as the policeman counted round them again. ‘Looks like ’e probably got away,’ he grumbled, standing up.

  Mrs Gladstone gathered up her skirt and shot a cold glance at Miss Walker. ‘Children, I’d like you inside please!’ she said. ‘I never did have much to say for studying in the garden, and we can’t have you out here with a ruffian roaming the grounds, can we?’ The children’s faces dropped. So, Stella noticed, did Miss Walker’s. ‘Constable, I count on you to give the place a thorough search – twice over. Crawley, you go too.’

  ‘Yes, ma’m.’ Crawley bowed his head. The policeman delivered Mrs Gladstone an icy smile, then headed off into the gardens with Crawley in his wake.

  ‘Well now, what are you two waiting for?’ snapped Mrs Gladstone. Tom and Stella scrambled to their feet. ‘Go on then! Off you go now, back to Lucy’s. And if I were you I’d ask that mother of hers to lend you some half-decent clothes. You certainly can’t be seen out in London dressed like that!’

  Constance Gladstone then turned and marched off across the lawn with her children and their governess trotting behind, like sorry puppies.

  7

  The Time Tunnelers

  The moment they were out of sight Tom turned on Stella. Tears of frustration clouded his eyes. ‘That is our house!’ he said crossly. Why did you go and say we live in Australia? I’m going to tell mum!’ He lurched forward as quickly as Stella tugged him back.

  ‘Tom, listen,’ she said firmly, ‘you’re forgetting something aren’t you? The lake? The hole we climbed down? Don’t you see?’ Tom looked bewildered. Stella paused, trying to think of how to make him understand. She took in a deep breath. ‘Tom, look, I do thi
nk that is our house, but, well, not at the moment. Look, don’t ask me how, but that tunnel we found seems to have taken us back to our garden in past time. That’s why everyone’s wearing those funny clothes!’

  ‘You’re bonkers!’ said Tom.

  ‘No I’m not!’ said Stella. ‘I think the boat you dug up in our garden came from this time – I think it’s the one we rowed across the lake on today! Our garden must have had a lake that dried up!’

  Tom, who had started chipping with his trowel at the bark of the tree, stopped what he was doing and slowly turned to Stella. ‘Wow!’ he said brightly, his brown eyes almost doubled in size. ‘We’re really in the past? That’s so cool!’ He then gave his big sister the biggest of grins.

  Stella, who was thinking what a fantastic adventure this was, put her arm around Tom and kissed his cheek. ‘Come on, let’s go home. We’ll come back another time.’

  Moments later they were heading back through the woods towards the lake, sucking on fruit polos and laughing about the ladies’ ridiculous long skirts.

  ‘I wonder what happened to Harry?’ said Tom, as they retraced their path.

  ‘I wonder where that boy we saw’s gone?’ said Stella. ‘He must be the thief!’ And she sucked thoughtfully on her sweet.

  To Stella’s relief the little boat was still there when they emerged onto the lake bank. Tom sat opposite her peering towards the far side through his binoculars as she rowed them back. He was starting to feel hungry, and they had left their lunch boxes by the log up on the mound.

  ‘You first,’ said Stella. They stood at the foot of the tree they had come down. Stella gave Tom a leg up and he quickly grasped onto a nodule and started climbing. Stella followed him up into the shade of the vast branches.