Black Gold: Part 2

By JULIA OWEN, Illustrator KAI BRETHOUWER

There was a scream and a thud as Ollie, his arms windmilling, went flying backwards into the flower bed.

"Jeez, Rimu, thanks a lot." Ollie moaned and sat up.

"That's okay." Rimu leant on the window sill looking down. "What are you doing here? It's still the middle of the night."

Ollie stood, rubbing his elbows. "No, it's not. It's time to get going. Now let me in."

Rimu jumped back as Ollie vaulted headfirst through the window, falling with a clump onto the floor.

"Ollie! Keep it quiet. Dad's still asleep. In fact most of the country is still asleep. The birds aren't even up."

"You know the saying 'the early bird catches the worm'. That's us. Are you ready?" Ollie grinned, his hair was like a mop that stuck up everywhere.

"Yeah, I'm ready. But we still have to wait till Dad wakes up. Anyway, I don't like worms." Rimu yawned, stretching. "In fact, I could do with another hour's kip."

He crawled back into bed, pulling the covers up to his head.

Publisher: Scholastic, $13.95
Age group: 9-12 years