cats up in the hill behind OâBrienâs place.â
âHarriet wouldnât be allowed,â said Rose-Ann.
âWhatâs a platypus?â asked Harriet.
âIt has feet like a duck, and fur, and it swims in the creek. And I know where the bunyip lives, too. A bunyip,â he went on, addressing the wide-eyed Rose-Ann, âis huge and black, and it howls like thisââ
He threw back his head and emitted a cry so blood-curdling that Rose-Ann turned quite pale.
âThere are no such things as bunyips,â said Harriet triumphantly. âPolly says so.â
âNo oneâs ever seen one,â admitted Charles. âAll the same, Bill Mackenzieâs absolutely sure that one lives in the cave on Maloneyâs Hillâheâs heard it.â
âBill Mackenzie would say anything,â said Aidan scornfully.
âDonât you like him, then?â asked Charles curiously. âHeâs awfully slow, but he wouldnât hurt a fly.â
âI donât like any of them,â muttered Aidan.
Puzzled, Charles stood up.
âCome on, Iâll show you my pet bandicoot. His nameâs Sniffy.â
Sniffy proved to be a rather disappointing creature, being sound asleep in a dark corner underneath the house, and most unwilling to be disturbed. All that was visible was a mound of greyish fur and the tip of a long snout. But Rose-Ann was content to linger and gaze at him, and even plucked up courage to pat his unresponsive back.
Aidan disappeared into the house, and Charles and Harriet were left alone in the quiet garden.
âWhatâs your brother so bad-tempered about?â inquired Charles. âHe doesnât seem to like anything.â
Harriet explained about Paddy Tolly and his friends, adding in conclusion: âSo you see, all the others are waiting to see what Aidan will do. Only I think heâll just do nothing. He hates fighting.â
âIâd punch Paddy myself, if it would help,â said Charles cheerfully. âBut that wouldnât make any difference. Aidan will have to do it. Heâs nearly as big as Paddy, and Paddyâs a coward, anyway. There wouldnât be much fighting, really.â
Harriet stared thoughtfully at the lace gables and at a row of magpies spaced at exactly equal intervals along the ridge-pole.
âSomething will have to be done soon,â she declared. âIf Aidan tells Father that he absolutely hates this school, then Father might decide we ought to go back to London after all. Weâre to give it a six monthsâ trial, you see, and it matters much more about Aidan than about Rose-Ann and me.â
Charles sincerely wanted to help. He liked Harriet, and although he privately considered Aidan more than a little foolish, he still hoped that the other boy might prove to be a good companion. Charles loved company, and friends of his own age were scarce in Barley Creek.
âI think you ought to stay,â he said. âI canât see why anyone would want to go back to London after this. I donât remember much about it myself, but Iâmsure it was awfully dull. If I arranged things so that Aidan just had to fight Paddy, would that help? Iâm certain heâd beat Paddy easily, and then all the others would think a lot of Aidan, and heâd soon get to like the school.â
âIt sounds quite a good idea,â said Harriet gratefully. âDo you think you can do it?â
âJust leave it to me,â said Charles confidently, and Harriet went in to tea feeling that she had found a staunch ally.
Next morning, as she dressed for church, Harriet began to have a few misgivings.
âRose-Ann,â she said to her sister, who was lacing her boots with an air of intense concentration, âhas Aidan ever fought anyone before?â
âBefore when?â asked Rose-Ann in surprise.
âOh, no time in particular,â said Harriet hastily. âI