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  ‘Boges? Ryan? Where are you?’

  ‘Over here! … air pocket … water … rising … ’

  ‘Where’s Ryan?’

  ‘Holding him … knocked unconscious … can’t hold much longer … ’

  ‘Boges!’ I screamed. ‘We’re coming! Hang on!’

  Cal jumped into the water and disappeared. The rope between us tautened. A glassy wave bulged up through the trapdoor, almost sucking me through the opening as I plunged into the freezing water, following in the direction I thought Cal had gone, trying to ignore the shock to my system. I swam out as strongly as I could with my one good leg, following the blurring light I could see on the other side of the cave.

  ‘No! …’ came the wailing voice.

  ‘It’s OK! We’re roped!’ I yelled, my head just above water, and scarily close to the roof of the cave.

  12:12 am

  It was the hardest swim of my life. The raging sea tried to take me down, swirling me around, pulling at my legs and throwing me hard against the walls of the cave. Bit by bit, swallowing water, my head occasionally bashing up against the ceiling of the cave, I just kept heading towards the light and Boges’s voice.

  It seemed a long time before a wave threw me against something soft.

  ‘Cal! Winter! Thank God. Help me with Ryan! I’m losing him!’ Boges screamed over the cacophony of the sea.

  Cal grabbed Ryan’s unconscious body and I managed to pull a big loop of the rope through the water, and wrapped it around him. As I did so, the huge waves smashed the jar that held the torch and we were plunged into complete darkness.

  Groping around, I guided Boges’s hand to the rope behind my shoulders. I felt him grab it. I had no idea which direction to swim in. So with Cal holding Ryan and me towing Boges, I gave three strong tugs on the rope with my grazed hands. Another wave smashed the four of us hard up against the roof of the cave and we were completely submerged. I was caught unaware, and was desperate to get a breath of air. My chest tightened, and I scrabbled at the roof to find an air pocket, but there was none. After all this effort, after finding the trapdoor and the boys, I was going to die in this dark, turgid water. But then, I felt the rope tighten and then a slow strong pull. The water suddenly dropped and I breathed a choking sob of air. Harriet was hauling us in.

  We were a heavy load and the sea was powerful, dragging us in the other direction. The water was almost completely at the top of the cave, and we could only breathe when the sea surged away, leaving a small air space near the roof, before gathering its strength to slam us up against the walls and roof of the cave yet again. I felt Boges swimming and kicking as hard as he could, helping to propel me along and I did the same to Cal, who had a harder job, trying to keep Ryan’s face above the water.

  Finally, my salt-stung eyes saw dim light and I realised we were close by the opening into the cellar near the roof of the cave. I saw Cal push Ryan ahead and a huge sea surge helped to wash them through the trapdoor. I tried to gain a handhold but the stone edges crumbled away and another wave smacked the wind out of me. I frantically reached again, and with Boges hanging on tight behind me, another wave smashed us up and onto the cellar floor.

  I fell in a gasping heap and looked up, blinking and exhausted into a bright light above me.

  And found myself staring into the jaws of a snarling dog!

  12:24 am

  ‘What’s going on?’ I heard Cal say. My eyes focused on Oriana de la Force, Curly and Dragan, restraining the monstrous dog, while Oriana pointed a small silver pistol at us.

  Harriet stood to the side of the iron hook, the rope she had been holding now in Oriana’s other hand. Had she been playing for Oriana’s team the whole time? What little strength I had ebbed out of me and I barely struggled to get up. All our efforts had been completely wasted. We were no match for this armed trio and I couldn’t take my eyes off the silver weapon. The Doberman strained at his leash and Dragan looked as if he couldn’t wait to let his beast rip into us.

  But at least, I thought, Oriana wouldn’t get her hands on the metal box.

  I was wrong.

  ‘How thoughtful,’ Oriana mocked, kicking Ryan’s unconscious body. ‘The brave lad has held onto the prize despite everything!’ It was true. I could see the top of the metal box fastened to Ryan’s chest with octopus straps.

  I heard Boges, sprawled on the floor nearby, swear in despair under his breath as Curly wrenched the box from Ryan and passed it to Oriana.

  ‘Boges, the brain,’ jeered Oriana. ‘You thought you were smarter than me. Big mistake. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got here,’ she continued, putting the small silver pistol away. ‘Winter, I told you I was going to win. You thought you could get away from me, stupid girl.’ She gave me a vicious kick to the ribs. I cried out in pain.

  A massive wave crashed through the trapdoor opening. The whole room trembled with the force, as water sprayed in like a geyser, hurling rocks onto the cellar floor.

  Oriana, water swirling around her ankle boots, picked up one of the rocks and smashed the metal box. It fell apart. With a crow of triumph, Oriana seized the contents—a limp piece of fabric—and held it up to Curly’s powerful flashlight. I saw her expression change from elation to rage.

  ‘What’s this? It’s useless! It’s all rotted! You kids—did you have something to do with this? Where’s the real chart?’

  I couldn’t believe it. After all we’d been through—a bit of rotten vellum! No diagrams, no indications as to where the Windraker lay.

  Wearily, Boges answered her. ‘That’s the chart. It’s been in a sea cave for over a hundred years. We didn’t do anything to it.’

  That just enraged her further. We all got a good kick as she screamed, ‘Get up! You interfering little scum bags! You’ll pay for this!’

  ‘But it isn’t their fault,’ said Harriet, stepping forward, ‘I don’t know who you are but—’ A slap across the face silenced her.

  ‘I don’t know who you are either, you little witch, except that you’re with this lot. Get up the steps now! All of you. Dragan, Curly, take them upstairs while I decide how to dispose of them!’

  Another massive wave shook the cellar and a jet of seawater shot up through the opening in the stone floor, this time almost hitting the ceiling, showering water all over us. The cellar rumbled and groaned.

  ‘Now! Get up there!’ Oriana screamed, the silver pistol back in her hand. ‘I’m going to teach you all a lesson you’ll never forget!’

  We started shuffling towards the stairs. Harriet and Boges were ahead of Cal, who was supporting a now semi-conscious Ryan. Dragan was behind us, his dog growling, ready to race up after us. I couldn’t even think of escape, not with my sides bruised, my twisted ankle aching—I could barely walk. I slowly started up the stairs.

  ‘Get a move on, Curly!’ Oriana shrieked. ‘The water’s rising!’ I heard the whoomp of an enormous wave hitting the underside of the cellar floor, as the furious sea forced tonnes of water upwards.

  Suddenly, there was a massive explosion and the walls of the passageway shook as if an earthquake had hit. I heard a bloodcurdling scream from behind us, suddenly cut short. I spun around but could see nothing in the darkness. Had Captain Greenlowe been storing explosives? I went down a couple of steps to peer back into the cellar.

  I froze, stunned in my disbelief. The middle of the cellar floor had totally disintegrated. There was now only a gaping hole and the foaming, crashing waves! The last thing I saw as the Drowner sucked and pulled back towards the caves was Oriana de la Force’s arms flailing helplessly as the churning water whirlpooled downwards into the cave. The Doberman was swimming crazily nearby. The iron hook rattled wildly with the rope still attached to it. There was no sign of Dragan or Curly at all.

  ‘Run!!’ I screamed up at the others. ‘The cellar’s breaking up! The water’s still coming!’

  I grabbed onto Ryan and Cal, pushing them in front of me, ignoring the pain as we struggled desperately alo
ng the narrow passageway. Ryan stumbled but Cal pulled him onwards. ‘We’re nearly there, come on!’

  Glancing back, I gasped as the raging sea lashed up behind me and flew up in my face. I couldn’t let the Drowner take us now!

  Epilogue

  And so we survived the Drowner, and Perdita was still standing. No-one knew if the Drowner had claimed any lives—but only Curly had been rescued, found clinging to a buoy halfway out of the bay. He’d have a lot of questions to answer with the police once he was discharged from hospital. His wife, Rose, did not wait for his full recovery to pack her bags and leave. She came for a visit before she left.

  ‘This is a beautiful old house,’ Rose said, ‘it’s wonderful to see it full of life again.’ She sighed, then went on, ‘A month ago, I overheard my husband talking on the phone and he mentioned your name, and about how the Drowner would lead to Captain Greenlowe’s treasure. I wanted to let you know what was going on here but I was afraid of Curly and his new friends. I knew you were in danger. I found your address in his papers and scribbled the note on the old clipping of the last Drowner. I’m sorry, I hoped the clue would be enough.’

  I took her hand and squeezed it, ‘Thanks, Rose,’ I said. ‘I know you were only trying to help.’ My mind was finally at ease now that the countdown had ended.

  In the following days, there were more surprises to come. The jigsaw that Repro had so expertly put together revealed another of Perdita’s secrets. The puzzle was actually an enlargement of an old photograph of the house in its earlier glory. The building in the middle of the grove looked like some kind of elaborate marble construction, topped with a figure and a plaque. Could it be a grave?

  Boges took a photo of the finished puzzle. He enlarged the image on the camera’s screen, until we could just make out one of the words … Perdita.

  Harriet gasped. ‘So she didn’t run away. The dark version of the story must be true. She’s still here.’

  A shiver of horror ran through me. I felt sad for what had happened back then, but also strangely relieved that the mystery was finally solved.

  The very next day, Harriet spotted the sepia portrait of Perdita in my bedroom. ‘Why have you got a picture of my great grandmother on your wall?’ she asked.

  ‘Your great grandmother? No, that’s Perdita Greenlowe, Captain Greenlowe’s lost daughter.’

  ‘But I have exactly the same portrait upstairs in my bedroom. Right down to the pearl earrings.’

  When Harriet brought over the portrait of her great grandmother, Blanche Abercrombie, and we placed it next to the photograph of Perdita Greenlowe, we could both see … it was the same young woman! Harriet and I looked at each other. ‘Look, I brought this, too. I found it just the other day as I was packing up the house.’

  Harriet showed me an old wooden jewellery box, containing a brooch and a hair slide, and also a piece of parchment.

  When I opened it up, my eyes went wide. ‘Harriet, you’re not going to believe this,’ I said, ‘but I think this is the title deed transfer showing Perdita Blanche Abercrombie left the Perdita house to her daughter—my grandmother, Ruby!’

  ‘So if Perdita Greenlowe and Blanche Abercrombie are the same person—’ I started to say before Harriet threw her arms around me.

  ‘They are! They are! It means we’re related. It means we both have family after all—each other!’

  Tears sprang to my eyes. ‘So Daniel Abercrombie and Perdita Greenlowe did run away with each other. She must have started to use her middle name, Blanche. They married and had children!’

  ‘And here we are,’ said Harriet, ‘a couple of generations later. Winter, you don’t know what it means to me.’

  ‘Oh, I do, I do!’ I said, hugging her tight.

  Cal and Boges stood smiling at us. I burst out laughing and crying all at once.

  ‘I don’t want to interrupt your family reunion,’ said Boges with a grin, ‘but this raises a very big question.’ I suddenly understood what he meant. ‘Who on earth is buried in the grove?’

  Before I could say anything, Ryan burst back inside yelling. ‘Hey, guys! One of those huge cypress trees was uprooted by the cyclone. It’s made a clearing almost right to the middle. We can get through now and see the grave!’

  The tree had cut a swathe through the tangle of the undergrowth and fallen across the once-white marble tomb, opening a wide crack across the top.

  ‘Let’s take a look inside the tomb. There might be a nameplate on the coffin,’ I said. ‘Maybe it’s Captain Greenlowe who’s buried here. Who’s up for having a look inside?’

  ‘I am,’ said Cal stepping forward.

  ‘No, let me,’ said Ryan. Then we all pushed forward to peer through the crack.

  ‘Huh? There’s no coffin!’ Harriet cried. ‘I knew it!’

  Instead of a coffin there was a small, brick-lined room.

  ‘Maybe he dug out a family vault?’ I wondered. ‘Help me move this marble slab.’ We pushed the smaller half of the cracked marble lid out of the way, and looked more closely at the small chamber. As we watched, one of the bricks moved. Then it fell out. A trickle of water started behind it as more and more bricks crumbled. The falling tree had done more than just break the lid of the marble tomb, it had undermined the retaining wall of the underground room. Now the banked-up water was pouring out, but instead of filling the room, the water was disappearing like an underground river.

  ‘That must be stormwater,’ Boges said. ‘The grove must act as a huge drain.’

  ‘I hate to think of all that water just going to waste,’ said Harriet sadly.

  ‘I don’t get it, what’s the point of this underground room?’ Cal asked.

  ‘It would have been a perfect place to hide a smuggler’s booty,’ I said. ‘Who’d look under a tomb?’

  ‘But he already had the cellar at the end of the secret passageway to hide goods in. This is weird.’

  ‘Well, he went to a lot of trouble to hide it,’ I said.

  ‘And we know Perdita Greenlowe wasn’t buried here in 1926,’ said Harriet, ‘because she married my great grandfather, Daniel Abercrombie.’

  The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when we drove Harriet back to her house later that day. ‘What’s that noise?’ I asked.

  ‘That sounds like water,’ said Harriet. ‘The culvert under the road must be overflowing.’

  Boges stopped the truck and we climbed out. An amazing sight met our eyes. Close to Abercrombie House, where the dried-out gully had been, a gushing river now flowed past the house, carrying swirling branches and leaves along with it as it raced past the fence line, towards the cliff.

  Harriet stared in disbelief. ‘The river! It’s started to run again!’

  My mind jumped, linking two events—the sudden flood under the fake tomb and the restored watercourse. Captain Greenlowe’s curse on Abercrombie House suddenly made sense to me!

  ‘Harriet! That’s what the room under the tomb was for! Captain Greenlowe deliberately bricked up the watercourse so that it couldn’t flow to Abercrombie House!’

  Harriet blinked. ‘That’s why our river dried up?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said, nodding vigorously.

  ‘He must have done that right after Perdita ran away with Daniel Abercrombie,’ Ryan said, ‘to destroy the Abercrombie family’s property and punish the man who’d won his daughter’s heart.’

  ‘But the river is running again. His curse is broken!’ Harriet broke into a crazy dance. ‘I don’t have to sell the farm!’

  I felt Cal slip an arm around my waist. ‘After all these years, you two have brought the families together again.’

  Finally, I had not only my friends but family too, my very own estate and nothing more to fear. Although I couldn’t help but wonder if Oriana de la Force and Dragan might have survived the Drowner and been washed ashore somewhere. I forced myself to put her out of my mind once and for all.

  It took a while to tell Cal everything that had happened and at first
he was really angry with me for not having kept him in the loop. ‘You promised,’ he said.

  ‘Cal, sometimes promises have to be broken. You needed to be at flight school, and we needed to figure out the mysteries here. Please try to understand.’

  Eventually he calmed down. ‘OK, OK,’ he said, ‘you’re forgiven.’ Then he grinned. ‘You guys did do a pretty fantastic job. Between us, I think we could just about take on the world!’

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  Text copyright © Gabrielle Lord, 2012.

  Cover design and internal graphics by Nicole Stofberg.

  Cover copyright © Scholastic Australia, 2012

  Cover logo designed by Natalie Winter.

  Cover photography: boy and girl by Nicholas Verso and Bill Bachman © 2011 Circa Media and Movie Network Channels; path along cliff © istockphoto.com/Isaac Koval; storm approaching © istockphoto.com/Brian Pamphilon; storm surf © istockphoto.com/Andreas Arnold; wave © istockphoto.com/Tolga Tezcan; house on cliff © istockphoto.com/Greg Bethmann.

  Internal photography and illustration: newspaper clipping background on page 173 © istockphoto.com/spxChrome; title deed background on page 143 © istockphoto.com/Valerie Loiseleux; large crack in tomb in epilogue © istockphoto.com/Dan Eckert.

  This electronic edition published by Scholastic Australia Pty Limited in 2012.

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