The Race to Kangaroo Cliff by Smith Alexander McCall

The Race to Kangaroo Cliff by Smith Alexander McCall

Author:Smith, Alexander McCall [Smith, Alexander McCall]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adventure, Childrens
ISBN: 9780857909329
Amazon: B07BLC2TR7
Goodreads: 39699134
Publisher: BC Books
Published: 2018-04-05T07:00:00+00:00


Fee did not see Poppy again until they were well on their way to Cairns, where the Tall Ships race was due to begin. She found her sitting by herself at the foot of one of the masts, shaded from the sun by the shadow cast by the main boom. Fee saw at once that there was something unusual about the other girl’s manner. Poppy was usually cheerful and enthusiastic; now, though, she looked downcast and worried.

Fee sat down next to her friend. “Something wrong?” she asked.

Poppy shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said. “I’m just fine.”

But Fee could tell that she was not. She wondered whether Poppy was upset at having to say goodbye to her parents in Sydney. You can get used to being away from home – almost to the point of not thinking about it all that much – but then something brings it all back to you and you start to feel homesick. “You can tell me, you know,” she said. “Are you missing your mum and dad?”

The question seemed to surprise Poppy, who looked up suddenly. “Missing them? Of course I miss them. Everybody misses home, don’t they?”

“So, is that what’s making you look so miserable?” asked Fee.

Poppy looked down at the deck once more. It seemed as if she were debating with herself whether or not she should take Fee into her confidence. Then she raised her eyes and Fee could see that she was close to tears.

“It’s so unfair,” said Poppy. “It wasn’t my fault, you know. It wasn’t my fault at all.”

Fee had heard about the diving incident – news spreads like wildfire on a ship – but she did not know the details. Was this what Poppy was talking about? But surely Poppy had nothing to do with what happened, thought Fee. Hadn’t it all been to do with Amanda getting caught by a giant clam – or something equally odd?

She waited for a moment to see if Poppy was going to say anything more. When she did not, Fee asked her to tell her exactly what had happened. Was it true that Amanda had almost drowned because her leg had been caught in the jaws of a giant clam?

Poppy frowned and shook her head. “It wasn’t like that at all,” she said. “I’ve heard those stories of divers being trapped that way – but it’s impossible, you know. It would be hard to fit your leg inside. But you could get a belt or a strap caught. That’s what happened to Amanda.”

Fee shivered. The idea of being caught so far under water and being unable to get up for air was the very worst kind of nightmare.

“Thomas saved her life, you know,” Poppy continued. “We both looked for her and then he shared his air with her while she came up. He was a real hero.”

Fee agreed. But why would anybody have blamed Poppy for this? What had it got to do with her? If anything, she deserved to be praised for her part in the rescue.



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