Nvel Chapter 32

 

Chapter 32

The Whistle

Carmel and Patrick went to The Lickey Hills by bus. They caught a bus known as the inner circle number eight, from where they lived, which took them to Bristol Road where they caught a bus to the Lickey Hills. Patrick had been before with Murdoch and Carmel with the police but they didn't realise how long the journey took by bus from the Bristol Picture House where they boarded the bus.

They saw signs to Bournville where the chocolate was made and it was said the place was, more or less, owned by the Cadbury family who were Quakers and the question a lot of people asked themselves was, is there a place in  Bournville which serves alcohol?

They passed a few hospitals: Selly Oak Hospital, on the way to Bournville, and a huge place called The Woodlands Hospital near Northfield. It was a bit like a trip on a long railroad which passed through villages, which they must have been in the Birmingham of long ago.

'Ring ring' on the bell at every stop. If someone wanted to get off they had to ring the bell once.

It was August, it was humid and the bus had no air conditioning in fact not many people aboard had heard of it.

Eventually they reached their destination and proceeded up Rose Hill. Carmel knew that Finbar was fascinated by a story called 'The Hobbit' which one of the teachers had told his class about and Finbar had asked if he could read it as he asked at Moseley Road Library if a copy was available and it never was: 'Do you think he's hiding up there looking for a – what was is you called them?'

'A hobbit. They're dwarves – not dwarfs – and they're gentle peaceful little people who live in Middle Earth.'

'How would he know all this?'

'Boys at the scouts were reading the book.'

'What about the little people of Ireland?'

'I have no idea.' she said.

Patrick knew the spot where he had found Finbar's harmonica and they walked a bit further up the hill and stopped.

'Where now?' said Carmel.

'We've been up through here – maybe we should go up a bit and look around there?'

'Doug said he thought it was back there.'

'Did he? He has his shite he knew no more than me and I hadn't been here before – let's go as high as we can and walk down.;

it was quite a climb and when they were maybe three quarters of the way to the top they moved in to the trees. It wasn't exactly a forest as there were spaces around.

'Keep your eye on the sun.' said Patrick 'we don't want to get lost.'

They couldn't find anything to encourage them. Every tree looked like the next one and Patrick looked up to the sun.

'We're okay' he said.

'The sun moves' said Carmel 'don't be do sure.'

'No – we move' said Patrick 'but I think we're all right for a while.'

They stood for a moment and listened to the birds and Patrick thought he heard a woodpecker.

'Are you sure?' said Carmel.

'Yes. The one thing I don't hear – or see, as a matter of fact, are the police who are reported to be combing the hills.'

'That's a funny sounding bird' said Carmel 'do you hear it?'

'Yes – I think it's over there' he pointed in a direction.

Peep peep peep peep paa peep peep peep peep pap, they could hear, peep peep peep peep paa peep peep peep peep peep.

They got closer.

Peep peep peep peep paa peep peep peep peep peep – again.

Finbar lay on the ground where Henry had left him. He felt quite groggy and wondered where Henry had got to. Maybe he had gone to get the flute he had promised. Near a tree, there seemed to be a shape on the ground, next to a large stone which had a dip in it and it looked comfortable.

He went to it and snuggled against the stone.

He wondered about Henry. He had given him the whistle and said if ever he needed him to whistle and he would come. The whistle was tucked into his belt and he took it out.

It was a strange whistle, with only one note; a woodman's whistle. It seemed the bark of the twig formed the space for the whistle; but only one note.

How could he get a tune out of it. He hadn't found his harmonica so it must be in Tommy's car or he might have dropped it.

He tried to play a tune on the whistle but it came out like a one note samba: peep peep peep peep paa peep peep peep peep peep and again - peep peep peep peep paa peep peep peep peep peep. He figured it was an 'f' natural. He played and played and he . . . he fell back.

Chapter 33

The Rescue.