Free The Tunnels of Tarcoola by Jennifer Walsh Page B

goldfish popped up its head, looked around in goggle-eyed surprise, then disappeared.
    â€˜Oh! Sorry, fishy,’ said David, laughing. He tossed another stone into the pond.
    â€˜Talking to the fishes?’ called Andrea.
    â€˜Yeah, if I say the magic words it’ll turn into a frog.’
    â€˜Come and see what I’ve found.’ Andrea led the way back to the rose garden and the white lady. ‘Isn’t she beautiful?’
    She pulled her camera out of her bag. ‘She’s sort of like Sleeping Beauty, with all those briars.’
    â€˜Mmmm.’ David looked embarrassed.
    â€˜Think of it as art, David!’ exclaimed Andrea, laughing. ‘Come on! I reckon we can get through here.’
    They found a path that led to another statue in the middle of a round pond, now quite dry. This statue was a small boy, also naked, peeing into the pond. He was surrounded by fish with their mouths open, and the whole construction was clearly designed as a fountain. Some of the fish were broken, and the boy was missing an arm.
    â€˜More art!’ said David, grinning.
    Another path curved towards the open space in front of the house.
    â€˜Wait!’ said Andrea. ‘We don’t have to climb through the window any more. I just have to find it . . . ’
    She led the way round another corner. This wall of the house faced the garden, and there were several glass doors.
    â€˜It’s one of these . . . ’ She ran along, peering through dusty glass and trying door handles. ‘Ah, here it is!’
    The door swung stiffly inwards.
    â€˜What did you do?’ asked David.
    â€˜I unlocked it from the inside last time I was here. Come in.’
    They shut the door quietly and made their way through the house and down into the dark central area of the cellar. From there they found the trapdoor quite easily. At the bottom of the shaft, David donned his miner’s cap and adjusted the torch.
    â€˜Pooh, that smell’s bad today!’ said Andrea, joining him.
    â€˜Yeah. Have you brought a torch?’
    â€˜Well, no, but I’ve made a holder for my candles, so the wax won’t drip on my hand.’
    She showed him the cone-shaped object with a rim, like an upside-down witch’s hat, that she had made from cardboard; then she fitted a new white candle into the holder and flicked her cigarette lighter.
    There was a faint whoooosh, and a huge blue-tinged flame leapt up.
    â€˜Turn it off!’ cried David, but Andrea had already snapped the lighter shut. There was an acrid smell of burning hair.
    â€˜Is my hair on fire?’ Andrea was close to panic.
    â€˜No, it’s not burning.’ David touched the soft thick hair that fell over her forehead. ‘Some of the ends feel kind of hard and bristly. I think it’s singed.’
    â€˜Arrrgh! It could’ve just burst into flame!’ Andrea was a bit shaky. ‘What on earth happened?’
    â€˜I don’t know, but it’s something to do with that smell. Let’s see if the air’s fresher in those other tunnels.’
    Apart from the tunnel they had originally discovered, leading to the beach, and the locked door opposite, there were two more openings: the tunnel they had explored the day before, where Andrea had fallen into the hole, and another facing it.
    â€˜Looks like this is the one to try,’ said David.
    â€˜I don’t know,’ said Andrea. ‘I’d rather go back and have another look at that big cathedral cave.’
    â€˜Let’s split up, then,’ suggested David calmly.
    â€˜Okay.’ Andrea prepared her candle, reached for the cigarette lighter again, and hesitated.
    â€˜Maybe I’ll have a quick look at your one first,’ she offered.
    David led the way. The tunnel opened out almost immediately into a small, roundish cave with a narrow opening to one side. David flashed his torch into the opening.
    â€˜Look, someone’s built all