Stolen Treasures (2 page)

“Phew,” puffed Cai.

It took ages for Cai to tag someone. Finally he caught Dream. Then Bubbles started a water fight by leaping out of the sea, twisting and smacking down on his back. Soon you could hardly see anything for all the splashing. It was Dream who calmed things down.

“Listen,” she clicked. “I can hear Dad whistling. It’s time for us to go.”

“We should go too,” said Antonia, “Claudia’s expecting us at Sea Watch.”

“One more game,” Bubbles begged but sensible Dream shook her head. “If we don’t go now, Dad might ground us,” she clicked.

Bubbles swam towards Antonia as if to rub her nose goodbye, but at the last moment he somersaulted and smacked the surface of the water with his tail, splashing both her and Cai.

“Bubbles,” said Dream warningly.

“Spoilsport,” clicked Bubbles. “Isn’t she?”

Dream looked offended and Antonia held her breath. It had taken ages to make friends with Dream and she felt torn between the two dolphins. Then Cai whispered something, making Dream smile and Antonia relaxed. It was good to see Cai and Dream getting on.

“Bye, Bubbles,” she said, rubbing her nose against his. “Bye, Dream. Thanks for coming. It’s even more fun when you’re here.”

Dream flushed. “I enjoyed it too,” she said shyly.

Antonia and Cai watched the dolphins swim away, laughing as Bubbles suddenly leapt up and, balancing on his tail on the surface of the sea, turned a full circle.

“The twister,” said Antonia wistfully. “I wish I could do it.”

“You can do everything else,” said Cai.

“Not everything,” Antonia protested.

When Bubbles and Dream were out of sight Antonia and Cai collected their bag of rubbish and swam it ashore. As they waded through the breakers on Sandy Bay beach, the water poured from them, leaving their clothes as dry as if they’d been sitting in the sunshine. The only clue that they’d been in the sea was their damp hair. It was a short walk from the beach to Sea Watch, but the rubbish seemed to grow
heavier with every step and Antonia was glad when they arrived. They sorted the recyclable things into a separate dustbin before going inside the Sea Watch building, a large wooden shed at the end of Claudia’s garden.

Eleanor Jacobs and Karen Holmes, two girls from school, were getting dressed in large plastic aprons and gloves. Next to them was a tall, skinny girl with short curly hair, glasses and freckles on her nose.

“This is Emily Jones,” said Eleanor, pointing at the new girl. “She started in Year Six at Sandy Bay Primary today.”

“Hi,” said Emily, stepping forward and accidentally treading on Antonia’s foot. “Whoops, sorry.” Emily grinned, showing her metal braces. “We’ve been asked to clean out
the guillemot cages. It’s the first time I’ve seen guillemots. They’re so sweet. I’m going to bring my camera tomorrow and take some photos.”

“Hi,” said Antonia, wriggling her squashed toes.

“Poor you, having to come to a new school for the last week and a half of term,” said Cai sympathetically.

“Why have you?” asked Antonia curiously. “It doesn’t seem worth it for one and a half weeks. You’ll have to leave again at the end of term to go to secondary school.”

“Mum and Dad have bought a shop to sell souvenirs to the tourists, so they’re going to be really busy over the summer holidays. We don’t know anyone in Sandy Bay. I came to school to make some new friends, so I won’t
be bored while Mum and Dad are working.” Emily smiled hopefully at Antonia as if she wanted to be friends.

“Emily’s parents have named the shop after her,” said Karen. “It’s called
Emily’s Treasure Chest
.”

“Cool,” said Cai.

“It’s going to be great,” Emily enthused. “Mum and Dad have got all sorts of ideas for original souvenirs. Mum’s going to make them herself. She’s been taking art and craft courses at night school and she’s really good at it.”

Antonia gazed round the room and saw Claudia at her desk. She was on the phone but waved Antonia over.

“Come on,” she said to Cai. “Claudia wants us.”

They walked over, hovering a short distance away until Claudia put the phone down.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, her sea-green eyes crinkling as she smiled. “That was the Sandy Bay Badger Sanctuary. Someone’s brought in an injured badger cub but the sanctuary is completely full, so they rang to ask if Sea Watch could nurse it for a few days until they have a free pen. A lady called Jackie is driving the cub over this evening. Could you two prepare the run in the garden we used when we had the seal? There’s straw in the garden shed.”

“A badger cub,” said Antonia, excitedly.

The next hour flew past, as Antonia and Cai prepared for the cub. Antonia desperately
wanted to wait for it to arrive, but when she rang home Mum said tea was nearly ready so she wasn’t allowed to stay.

“But…” argued Antonia.

“No buts,” said Mum firmly.

Disappointed, Antonia set off along the seafront, the quickest route back. The shops stayed open later at this time of year to catch the tourist trade. Antonia wove her way through the crowded pavement until a sign in a shop window caught her eye.

“
Opening tomorrow, Emily’s Treasure Chest—original souvenirs that won’t leave you broke
,”she read.

Curiously, Antonia stared at the small display in the window. The gifts were certainly original. Who’d think of buying a
toilet-roll holder as a souvenir! It was pretty though. Antonia stepped forward for a better look, then gasped. Was that…no, it couldn’t be. She had to be mistaken. Antonia pressed her nose against the window, staring at the shop display in disbelief.

A
fter tea, Antonia played in the garden with her little sister, Jessica. They made a camp with blankets, pegs, sun loungers and an old washing line. Jessica had just gone indoors to get her dolls when Sophie arrived.

“Hi,” said Antonia. “How are the cat pictures coming along?”

“Great,” said Sophie. “I found a huge old tabby asleep under a tub of geraniums. The plants made him look like he was wearing a flowery hat. It was so funny. I made loads of sketches. I wanted to start painting the picture tomorrow but now I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re not going to be here! That’s what I came round to tell you. Mum and Dad are pulling me out of school to go on holiday. It’s a last-minute thing. Dad realised if we don’t go now we won’t get one. Once the school holidays start he’ll be too busy running art classes for the tourists.”

Sophie’s dad was an artist and he also taught people how to paint.

“Oh,” said Antonia. She smiled wanly and
tried to sound pleased for Sophie, but she was going to miss her friend. “Well, have a good time. Where are you going?”

“Jersey,” said Sophie. “Don’t look like that! It’s only for a week. I’ll be back before the end of term and I’ll bring you a souvenir.”

Antonia shuddered, remembering the souvenirs in
Emily’s Treasure Chest
.

“You don’t have to buy me anything,” she protested. “Just send me a postcard. And I’m pleased for you. Really I am. I hope you have a brilliant time.”

“Thanks.” Sophie hugged Antonia. “I wish you could come with us. I asked Mum if you could but she didn’t think your mum would let you have the time off school.”

“She wouldn’t,” agreed Antonia.

“Sophie!” cried Jessica, staggering across the lawn, her arms full of dolls. “Have you come to play with us?”

“Sorry, Jess, not today. I’ve got to go and pack,” said Sophie hurriedly. “See you soon, Antonia, and remember not to call for me tomorrow.”

That night, Antonia lay in bed thinking about
Emily’s Treasure Chest
. The more she thought about it, the more uncertain she became. Could she have been mistaken about the souvenirs? Maybe they weren’t what she’d thought they were. Antonia tossed in her bed, wishing her racing brain would switch off and let her get some rest. It was gone midnight before she got to sleep and she woke early with her brain still whirring.

“This can’t go on,” she thought, groggily pulling on her yellow checked school dress.

Determined to find out for sure, Antonia left for school earlier than usual, to go and have another look in the window of
Emily’s Treasure Chest
. She hoped that she’d been wrong about the souvenirs on sale. However, standing outside the shop’s window, Antonia’s hopes were dashed.

Emily’s parents had been busy. The window display was finished and the shelves were crammed with souvenirs. There was the toilet-roll holder with starfish ends, light pulls made from seahorses, small dishes made from scallop shells and a strange-looking object fashioned from a sea urchin. A sign hanging from one of the shelves left Antonia
in no doubt as to where the gifts came from:

Our marine souvenirs are handmade from the genuine items
.

“It should say, animals have died to make these gifts,” said Antonia in disgust. It wasn’t right that Emily was allowed to come to Sea Watch, pretending to care. Claudia should ban her.

Antonia hurried to school, anxious to share her news with Cai. She found him in the playground talking to Toby. His brown eyes shone with excitement as Antonia hurried towards him.

“I can’t wait for you to see the badger cub,” he called as she approached. “Her name’s Stripes. She’s so cute and not a bit shy. I gave her a bottle of milk last night and
when she’d finished, she kept nudging my hand for more.”

Antonia had completely forgotten about the badger cub and was pleased to hear some good news. She listened to Cai until he’d run out of things to say, before finally telling him about
Emily’s Treasure Chest
.

“It’s awful,” she finished. “Claudia mustn’t let Emily help out at Sea Watch any more. She doesn’t care about sea life at all.”

“If you’re right, then yes, it is awful,” said Cai. “But banning Emily from Sea Watch won’t help. Far better that she comes along and finds out what we do. Helping at Sea Watch might show Emily that it’s wrong to take things from the sea.”

“But her parents are killing sea creatures!”
said Antonia, her fingers straying to her dolphin charm.

“Are you sure?” Cai persisted. “Lots of shells and things are collected after the animals have died.”

“There’s too much stuff in the shop for that,” Antonia argued.

“Let’s see what Aunty Claudia says,” said Cai, placidly. “After all, it’s not Emily’s fault. It’s her parent’s shop.”

Antonia didn’t want to fall out with Cai, so she let the matter drop. The thought that Claudia would sort things out tonight made Antonia feel slightly happier. Eleanor and Karen couldn’t come to Sea Watch after school and to Antonia’s annoyance, Emily asked if she could walk there with her and
Cai. It was impossible to say no. On the way, Emily talked nonstop and asked tons of questions.

“I joined Sea Watch mostly to make friends but also because I love dolphins. Eleanor and Karen have seen them in the bay. Have you?”

Cai grinned at Antonia.

“Occasionally,” he said.

“I’d love to see a dolphin. I’m saving up so that one day I can go to Florida and swim with them.” Emily chattered on hardly pausing for breath.

Gritting her teeth, Antonia nodded and smiled.
Not long now
, she thought. Antonia was confident that when Claudia found out about Emily’s parents’ shop she would stop her from coming to Sea Watch.

But Antonia was disappointed. Claudia listened carefully to Antonia’s news and then said, “This is exactly the type of person Sea Watch needs. By sharing our work with Emily, we can show her the damage her parents are causing and hopefully she will persuade them to change their ways. Sea Watch isn’t just about caring for the sea. It’s about educating others to care for it, too.”

“But…” Antonia felt awkward about wanting to mention the uneasy feeling she had about Emily.

Antonia was a very powerful Silver Dolphin with extra magical skills because her birthday was on midsummer’s day. She had something that Claudia called a sixth sense. It meant knowing certain things without being told
them, and Claudia had it too. Antonia was conscious that her sixth sense was getting stronger. She was convinced it was telling her that there was something bad about the girl.

You’re wrong about Emily
.

Antonia jumped as she heard Claudia’s voice inside her head.

Trust me
.

Claudia stared deeply into Antonia’s eyes until Antonia felt slightly giddy.

I do trust you
, she thought.

Then you must give Emily a chance. Promise me?

Antonia tried to look away but Claudia’s gaze held her. Then suddenly she smiled so warmly that Antonia would have promised her anything.

OK. I promise, I’ll give Emily a chance
.

Well done, Silver Dolphin
.

Claudia winked at Antonia then steering her towards the door, she spoke aloud, “Come and see the badger cub, she’s gorgeous.”

T
here was no shortage of volunteers wanting to with Stripes. Everyone had heard about the badger cub and they followed Claudia outside to see her. Claudia insisted that the cub was handled as little as possible.

“Stripes isn’t a pet,” she explained. “When she’s better, she’ll be returned to the wild.
She’s more likely to get hurt again if she becomes too confident around people.”

To Antonia’s delight, Claudia chose her to see to Stripes while Cai and Emily were asked to clean out the guillemots. Antonia felt a slight pang of jealousy that she hadn’t been paired with Cai, but quickly realised she was being mean. She waved at Cai and Emily as they disappeared indoors to start work.

“The badger sanctuary sent lots of things for Stripes,” said Claudia. “Come with me and I’ll show you where everything is.”

Antonia followed Claudia back inside the Sea Watch building to the small kitchen area.

“That’s her bottle sterilising.” Claudia pointed at a dainty bottle sitting in a jug of clear liquid on the worktop. “It doesn’t need
rinsing. Just give it a shake dry, then pour the milk in up to the line. Warm it in the microwave, then shake the bottle again to make sure there aren’t any hot spots.”