The Golden Acorn - Catherine Cooper [87]
‘Pigswill!’ exclaimed Jack.
‘It’s all we’ve got, unless you want to go digging for worms!’
THAT WHICH WAS LOST
Jack closed his eyes before plunging his beak into the trough of swill. He knew he had to eat.
‘It’s not that bad,’ said Camelin when he saw Jack pulling his face.
‘It’s not that good either.’
‘When you’ve finished I’ll tell you what we’ve decided to do.’
‘Who’s we?’
‘Me and Medric.’
‘Medric?’
‘Didn’t I tell you? We’ve got some inside help.’
‘You didn’t.’
‘Well, you know Gerda’s mate who went missing?’
‘Yes, but what’s that got to do with us getting the cauldron plates back?’
‘Gerda’s mate’s here.’
‘Here!’
‘Soldiers captured him and brought him to Maximus a few weeks before they started burning the groves. They’d probably have eaten him but Maximus wanted him to guard the shrine.’
‘I don’t understand. Why would Maximus need a goose as a guard when he’s got a fort full of soldiers?’
‘A goose is special; it honks loudly if it’s disturbed. Nora once told me that a flock of geese saved Rome from being attacked. Medric used to be Nora’s watchgoose before the soldiers took him. That’s why Gerda does it now.’
‘I still don’t see how it helps us.’
‘Maximus has his own reasons for not using soldiers to guard the shrine; it’s where he keeps his stash. Only Medric knows where it is and he’s not going to raise the alarm when we’re inside the shrine.’
‘That’s great but it’s the cauldron plates we need, not a stash of gold.’
‘I’m coming to that but you keep interrupting me. While you were in the quadrangle I went back on the office roof so I could find out what was happening. That’s when I heard what Drusus had to say. Maximus wasn’t pleased; he gave him a double guard duty for keeping the plate. When Drusus left it all went quiet and I had to drop down onto one of those barrels so I could see inside the window. Maximus took the basket with all the metal things inside and tipped them out. Then he sorted everything into piles. There were brooch pins, daggers and some more plates in there. He laid all the plates out on the table, matched our three together and tossed the rest back in the basket.’
‘Is that when he sent for me again?’
‘Yes, but I didn’t know you spoke Latin?’
‘I don’t.’
‘Well the guard told Maximus you’d asked for water.’
‘I did. I know a few Latin words but I can’t speak it and I couldn’t understand what Maximus was saying.’
‘Well, Maximus said that a night without food or water should improve your memory since he knew you could understand his questions and chose not to answer.’
‘Thanks for getting me out of there. I dread to think what he’d have done in the morning.’
‘When you’d gone he spoke to centurion Titus Antonius again. He asked him about the plates and about me. Maximus thinks they must be really important if someone sent a thief into the camp to steal them. He told Titus Antonius he’d keep them safe until he found out who you were, how you got into the fort without being seen and why you stole the plate.’
‘That means we’ll never get them back.’
‘Naw, just the opposite.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Guess where he’s put them?’
‘I’ve no idea.’
‘In the shrine! He’s got a hidey-hole and Medric knows where it is. He saw Maximus put something large and heavy into it. Now that we know where the plates are the rest’s going to be easy.’
Camelin started hopping around. He looked disappointed when Jack didn’t join in.
‘What’s the matter?’
Jack sighed.
‘I’m worried what might happen if I get caught again. They’ll search the whole camp once they find I’m missing.’
‘Come on then. If we go back now we can be on our way home before they miss you.’
They flew back to the roof of the Camp Prefect’s office. Camelin looked down into the shrine area. Before he could call Medric they both heard one of the guards from the quadrangle cry out. They looked to see Titus Antonius running into the quadrangle. It was Drusus who stood next to the post.
‘The prisoner has gone!’
‘Escaped?’ asked Titus Antonius.
‘Gone,’ replied Drusus in disbelief. ‘The irons and tunic are still here but he