Chris Blake - Outback Outlaw

The clapping grew louder. Some of the audience began whistling and stamping their feet. Backstage, Tom switched on the music and tugged the rope to lift the curtain. The dancers ran on stage and started their routine.

“I wish people could see me,” Zuma said, tickling Chilli’s ears. “I’ve got heaps of talent. I could have won this competition standing on my head.”

“Oh yeah?” whispered Tom, out of the side of his mouth. “How?” Zuma had been brave and clever during their adventures, but she hadn’t shown Tom a special talent.

“For your information, I’m a fantastic gymnast,” said Zuma “Watch this!” She put Chilli on the floor, took a step forward and launched herself into a handstand.

Right where the caretaker had just mopped the floor.

Zuma squealed as her hand slipped on the wet surface. She toppled into Tom, who stepped back into Mr Jenkins’s bucket, knocking it over and sending soapy water flooding out across the stage. Immediately, one of Break Quake skidded and crashed into another dancer. Both of them landed on top of a girl, who was spinning on her back at the front of the stage. As the dancers slid about, Mr Braintree rushed on stage to help, only to lose his footing and go tumbling to the floor. The performance was ruined.

“Oh noooo!” Tom moaned. As Mr Braintree looked over towards him, the teacher saw the overturned bucket at Tom’s feet. His eyes narrowed.

Behind Tom, Zuma had picked herself up, a guilty expression on her face. She grabbed a rope and pulled on it. Everyone was staring at Tom in stunned silence, so no one noticed when the curtain seemed to come down on its own.

Mr Braintree stood up and wiped bubbles from his eyes. Break Quake were slowly getting back to their feet. All of them were glaring at Tom. They walked offstage without a word.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Mr Braintree growled at Tom. “Right now, we’ve got a show to save.” He disappeared in the same direction as the dancers.

Zuma looked at Tom and smiled nervously. “I’m … er … I’m sorry,” she said.

Tom picked up the bucket. “So, you’re a brilliant gymnast, are you?” he said glumly.

“I forgot about the wet floor,” Zuma mumbled. “I’m really sorry.”

Tom sighed. “At least things can’t get any worse,” he said.

At that moment, thunder rumbled across the stage. A cloud appeared over Tom’s head. A narrow rainstorm began to fall on him like a spotlight. He groaned.

“I think you spoke too soon,” said Zuma.

Together, they looked up. Rolling clouds had blotted out the stage lights. Tlaloc’s face appeared in the clouds, his eyes bulging angrily.

The rain god opened his mouth to speak, revealing a line of sharp fangs. “I see you are shaking with fear, mortal,” he bellowed.

Trying not to show his fear, Tom stood up straight. “Actually, I’m laughing at how silly you look,” he replied.

Tlaloc snarled. “Soon you will be quivering with terror,” he hissed between clenched fangs. “You have been lucky so far, but luck cannot last forever. You will never find the next gold coin. Zuma is doomed!”

A sparkling mist rose up and a swirling wind blew across the stage. Glancing at Zuma, Tom saw she was holding Chilli tightly. Tlaloc’s strange mist swirled round him, and then the stage began to disappear as they travelled through the tunnels of time.

Suddenly, the mist vanished. Tom blinked. Shading his eyes from the fierce sun, he saw he was standing in a field of dry-looking grass with a few trees dotted about. Low, craggy hills stretched into the distance. The ground was red and dusty beneath his feet. Everywhere Tom looked there were sheep – hundreds and hundreds of sheep. He had never seen so many sheep in his life.

“Phew, it’s hot!” said Zuma. “Where are we?”

Tom turned round. The Aztec girl was still holding on to Chilli, but the blue paint was gone. She was wearing cord trousers, dusty boots and a long-sleeved shirt with a waistcoat over the top. Her feathered headdress had also vanished. In its place was a large straw hat. Zuma’s long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the black pendant that hung round her neck.

Looking down, Tom saw he was wearing a similar outfit. He thought hard. History was his favourite subject, but their clothes didn’t tell him much about where Tlaloc had sent them this time. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Or when. People have been wearing trousers, shirts and waistcoats for hundreds of years.”

“So much for your amazing brain power. Maybe we could—” Zuma stopped talking and squealed. “Hey, what’s that thing?”

Tom spun round. A grin spread across his face as he saw an animal bouncing across the field. “ That ,” he laughed, “is a kangaroo. Which means we’re in Australia, and explains why it’s so hot.”

“Aus-where?” Zuma looked puzzled.

“Australia. It’s a big continent on the other side of the world from Mexico,” said Tom. His face lit up with excitement. “I’ve always wanted to go there. Everyone says it’s amazing. It’s got loads of plants and animals you can’t find anywhere else in the world and—”

Zuma held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t get carried away, Brains,” she said. “We’re here to find my coin, not for a holiday.”

“OK, OK,” said Tom. “Shall we start by asking your necklace for help?”

Zuma nodded. The black pendant round her neck was magical. The stone gave them clues about where to find Tlaloc’s golden coins. She held up the pendant and said the rhyme that made the stone work:

“Mirror, mirror, on a chain,

Can you help us? Please explain!

We are lost and must be told

How to find the coins of gold.”

Tom and Zuma huddled over the necklace, waiting for a reply. Sure enough, spidery silver writing began to appear on the surface of the black disc:

In a time when outlaws raised a cheer,

Look for the man who knows no fear.

Listen out for a merry song

Follow the trail to the billabong.

Now that you are getting warm,

Seek out the loud bang in a storm.

Four more coins and then you’re free

The swag’s beneath a cabbage tree.

Zuma groaned. “Just once it’d be nice if it told us where to find the coin, rather than talking in riddles.”

Tom grinned. “That would be too simple,” he said. “Plus it’s fun trying to work out what they mean. Who do you think ‘the man who knows no fear’ is?”

“Maybe it’s him,” Zuma replied. She pointed to a man in the next field.

“I’m sure Tlaloc won’t have made it that easy,” said Tom.

“It’s worth a try,” Zuma told him. “Even horrible angry rain gods like Tlaloc make mistakes sometimes.”

Tom and Zuma walked across the stubbly field towards the man Zuma had spotted. Chilli ran at a sheep, barking. Then he quickly jumped into Zuma’s arms when it charged.

“Don’t worry, Chilli,” Tom laughed. “That sheep’s never seen a Chihuahua before – he doesn’t know how tough and brave you can be.”