Frog Whistle Mine Read Free Page B

it. A view that was supported by a very sharp beak and thick, powerful legs armed with a set of knife-like claws.
    This is a weka , Tony continued to read. It is a flightless bird that once lived all over New Zealand. Now it is found only in a few places and is listed as threatened. They are very inquisitive and will hunt through your belongings, looking for things of interest. Sometimes they will carry small objects away which they usually drop nearby. Please do NOT feed them. They will be healthier if they find their own food. Help us protect these friendly, playful birds.
    ‘That’s what wrecked your caravan,’ said Lofty. ‘You should feel privileged. It happens to very few people nowadays. We have weka around here, but you won’t find them in too many other places. Unfortunately, if we don’t do something about it, they’ll probably disappear from here too.’
    ‘What kills them?’
    ‘Humans mainly, and the things that we do. We run over them in cars, kill them with poisons, destroy theplaces where they live, and some people even kill them intentionally because they think they’re pests. Just thirty years ago there were probably millions of them. Now there are only a few thousand. So you’d better not think of getting revenge against them, or you’ll have me and Betty to deal with.’
    Tony thought of the shadow he had seen moving in the scrub. Could it have been a weka? Perhaps, although at the time his impression had been of something bigger. However, that door had definitely been closed. There was no way a weka could have opened that, so maybe there was someone in the scrub.
    Lofty held out the duvet cover. ‘I’ll put this in the laundry for you.’
    When he had left, Tony turned to the rest of the board. Alongside the weka warning was a large map showing the region stretching from Westport in the north to Pancake Rocks in the south. Charleston was in the middle. All the left side of the map was sea and most of the right was Paparoa National Park. The most prominent feature was a bit jutting out into the sea near Westport called Cape Foulwind. Tony chuckled when he thought of how it could have got that name: maybe some explorer had farted while sailing past, and had then felt that the event should be recorded for all people to enjoy.
    Next came a map of the local area. The lodge was easy to find—the big arrow labelled YOU ARE HERE helped. It was from there that Tony found the gold-mining days were not forgotten. There were lots of walks that took you toimportant places from the past: cemeteries, watercourses, dams and mines—heaps of mines. All these places were linked by a network of tracks that either started or finished at a small keyhole-shaped bay called Constant Bay. Tony noted that several of the tracks joined up with the lodge. There was plenty for him to explore.
    He moved to the windows, thinking that he should be able to see some of these features. The view caught him by surprise. The lodge was perched on a small hill that overlooked the rest of Charleston. In the centre foreground were two small bays with narrow entrances to the sea.
    ‘Boring, isn’t it?’
    He turned to find Rose beside him. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I think it looks interesting. I’m going to explore all of that.’
    Rose turned up her nose. ‘But there’s nothing there, except old stuff, prickly plants and mud. I know. I walked to that bay once. It was horrible. I got lost and ended up on top of a cliff. I never want to go there again. I could easily have fallen and been smashed to death.’
    Tony smiled. ‘Sounds great.’
    Rose continued to stare out the window. Tony took the chance to study her. She was slightly bigger than he was—taller and broader, but not fat. He found her quite attractive with her dark hair and brown complexion. However, it was the eyes that he studied most. They really would have been beautiful if they were not tinged with red and still wet with tears. He could see she was still upset and