The Christmas of Adventure

©2015 June E.

Philip, Dinah, Jack and Lucy-Ann are excited at the prospect of spending their first Christmas together, but by Christmas Eve all their plans lie in ruins. Things get even worse when a severe snowstorm brings the country to a standstill and leaves Bill snowbound, hundreds of miles away. Forced to fend for themselves in Bill's remote moorland cottage, rumours abound of a strange and terrifying creature lurking in the woods nearby... and with a ruthless thief on the loose, striking at night and stealing birds from the local Sanctuary, the scene is set for a frightening and perilous adventure. Can they stop the thief before it's too late? Or will Kiki be the robber's next victim?

Chapter 14: 'I'm worried that she might just pine away and die.'

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Harry led the children to a battered old green Ford car. The sides were splattered with dried mud, and the windscreen looked as if it hadn't been washed for years. Inside, the seats were covered with bird magazines, odd bits of leather, sacks of bird food and the remains of old packed lunches. Harry looked at the debris as if it was the first time he had noticed it.

'I tend to be so busy with the birds that I just don't bother with other things,' he explained. 'Why waste time cleaning the car when I can go on a forest walk with a kestrel or a red kite?'

'Why, indeed!' said Jack to himself, resolving to have an identical car when he was grown up. 'And anyone who doesn't like the mess... can walk!'

The drive to the bird sanctuary was a short one, and within a few minutes the children were piling out of the vehicle and standing in front of a set of tall iron gates, on which was fixed a large white board bearing the words 'Moorland Bird Sanctuary' in dark green letters. Harry unlocked the gates and beckoned the children inside. Then he drove the car through the open gate, and asked Jack to replace the padlock securely.

'I don't want any strangers wandering in and doing mischief,' he explained.

The sanctuary was in a beautiful setting, just on the outskirts of Moorland Wood. A wide gravel pathway led to a sweeping snow-covered lawn, with rows of wooden benches arranged at one end.

'That's where I do the flying displays on open days,' said Harry. 'People pay sixpence each and they can watch the display and learn about birds of prey. The money I earn goes towards looking after the birds – food, vet's bills and suchlike. I only keep rescue birds – I don't hold with breeding birds and keeping them in cages. Whenever possible, if a bird recovers its condition and stands a good chance of survival, I release it back into the wild.'

Jack looked a little uneasy.

'I have a pet parrot,' he volunteered, looking a little worried. What would Harry think of him? Would he still take him seriously as someone who really loved birds?

'Well, Kiki's more like one of the family really... and she is never kept in a cage,' Jack continued. 'Usually she comes with us everywhere, but I don't think it's right to bring her out of doors in this wintry weather.'

'Don't you worry, lad,' said Harry, putting his hand on Jack's shoulder. 'I've got the measure of you, right enough. Breeding wild birds to keep in cages – that's what I object to. But having a parrot as a companion, and giving it a good life with lots of freedom and fresh air – that's not the same thing at all.'

Harry led the children down a little track that lay at right angles to the main path, towards another padlocked gate.

'This leads to the bird enclosures,' he explained.

He reached for the padlock, and was just about to insert the key when he gave a loud exclamation.

'This lock's been tampered with!'

And sure enough, the lock was marked with deep scratches and gouges, as if someone had tried to cut through it with powerful cutters.

'Thank goodness they didn't manage to open it!' growled Harry, his expression a mixture of anger and concern.

Then, his face grew puzzled.

'I locked this gate at half past five yesterday afternoon,' he said. 'So the villain who tried to break this lock must have been here sometime yesterday evening, or during the night.'

'Perhaps they left some footprints in the snow,' said Dinah, looking about in all directions.

But the path was a muddled, jumbled mass of footprints – their own!

'I'm afraid we've destroyed any footprints made by the intruder,' said Dinah, sadly. 'Our five sets of feet have churned up the snow so much, the path is just a big mass of footprints now.'

'Well whoever it was has gone,' said Harry, 'and the most important thing now is to check the birds, clean out their enclosures and give them fresh food and water. Come along, let's set to work.'

The children had a glorious morning. The sanctuary housed birds of all kinds, for people from all over the county brought sick or injured birds to Harry so he could nurse them back to health. There were enclosures for birds of prey, as well as indoor cages for smaller, domestic birds. Indeed, no bird was too common or plain to be beneath Harry's attention.

Harry gave them a tour of the birds.

'This is Barney,' he said, showing them a beautiful barn owl. The owl had a pure white breast and tawny gold wing feathers. Barney opened one eye and looked at the children without much interest.

'Barney was stolen from his nest when he was just a chick, because a child wanted a pet owl,' Harry continued, 'but his parents soon realised that they couldn't look after him properly and so they brought him to me. He's been with me for six years now.'

'Are you going to release him back into the wild?' asked Lucy-Ann, feeling sorry for the poor bird, all alone in his enclosure.

'He wouldn't survive,' said Harry sadly, shaking his head. 'He was brought up in captivity and has never had to catch his own food or sleep outdoors – he wouldn't be able to feed himself and would soon starve. I've grown very fond of Barney – he draws quite a crowd when I have an open day, he loves to fly in the display area. He brings in quite a bit of money for the sanctuary – people are happy to pay for the chance to be so close up to an owl.'

'I don't know what makes me more angry,' said Jack, with a frown, his cheeks flushing as red as his hair. 'The spoiled brat who whined for an owl as a pet, or the stupid parents who should have known better!'

Seeing that Jack looked really upset, Harry hastily moved on to the next enclosures, showing the children a merlin falcon, a goshawk and a long-eared owl. Then they came to an enclosure with a single red kite; it looked quite forlorn, its head hanging down sadly and its feathers looking rather ragged and scruffy.

'This is Clarissa,' said Harry. 'I've had her since she was a fledgling. Some egg thieves disturbed her nest and killed her parents; luckily she was found later the same day and brought to me.'

'Why does she look so sad and out of condition?' asked Jack, concerned.

'She's missing Rory, her mate,' explained Harry. 'Someone broke in to the sanctuary about three weeks ago and stole Rory. Since then she's been pining for him. Red kites mate for life, you see. She's lost her appetite... I'm worried that she might just pine away and die – that is, unless I get Rory back.'

Harry gave a big sniff as he said these words, and reached into one of his many coat pockets, pulling out an enormous and rather grubby red handkerchief.

'I've got a bit of cold,' he explained, blowing his nose loudly into the handkerchief. But Lucy-Ann noticed his eyes glistening.

'I think Harry is pining for Rory too,' she thought.

Suddenly, Jack couldn't bear it any longer.

'How can people be so cruel!' he said fiercely. His cheeks grew scarlet once again, his fists clenched, and his eyes blazed with fury. 'I need some fresh air!'

And with that, Jack stomped out of the enclosure and made off over the snow-covered lawn, and through the trees beyond. He didn't stop until he reached the perimeter fence. He wanted to get as far away as possible so that he could be alone and cool off.

'He'll be all right in a minute,' said Lucy-Ann, seeing Philip and Dinah looking worried. 'He just feels things so deeply, and can't bear cruelty to birds.'

'Hang on a minute,' said Dinah in a confused tone. 'Listen, Jack's shouting something.'

Jack emerged from between the trees.

'Whatever is he doing now?' continued Dinah. 'He's waving his arms like a lunatic!'

'FOOTSTEPS!' yelled Jack. 'I can see huge footsteps in the snow! Come and see! And someone's cut a hole in the fence!'

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