Ellie Featherbill All Alone

Chapter Five Journey to the Island

Jess stepped carefully onto the raft, followed by Goldie and Lily.

Each swan took a silvery ribbon in her beak and started pulling the raft along.

The river was quiet apart from birdsong and the hum of insects. Lily trailed a hand in the water.

“This would be a lovely ride,” she said, “if only we weren’t so worried about Ellie and the Boggits.”

Goldie pointed upstream to where the river forked. “We’re almost there,” she said.

“But which way?” asked Jess. “Left or right?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Goldie said. “The right side goes around an island and joins up with the left side. This is as far as the river goes.”

Lily’s eyes widened. “So the source must be on that island!” she said.

Goldie nodded. “It’s hidden, right in the center of Mystery Maze.”

Jess and Lily exchanged a glance. Mystery Maze! That sounded fun!

The island was bordered by a high, thick hedge. The swans towed the raft toward the shore and they drifted along, curving around the bank until Jess gave a shout.

“The barge!” she cried. “It’s moored up ahead.”

Lily shaded her eyes from the sun. “It looks quiet,” she said. “The Boggits are probably already in Mystery Maze, searching for the river’s source.”

“Come on,” said Jess. “Let’s get there first and stop them from polluting it.”

Goldie held her back. “What about Ellie?” she said. “She’s probably hidden herself somewhere on board. Silvia,” she called, “stop the raft beside the barge, please.”

The swans pulled them silently through the water, until the raft bumped gently against the bank, right next to the barge.

Goldie, Jess, and Lily jumped ashore, calling their thanks to the swans. Then they climbed carefully aboard the barge and began searching for Ellie. The Boggits had messed it up so much during their journey up the river, it looked like a different boat. Furniture had been hauled out of the cabin and thrown around the deck. Squashed food and crumbs coated the roof and there were huge dirty footprints all over the place.

Lily made a face, stirring a pile of garbage with the tip of her shoe. “What a disgusting mess those Boggits made!”

They searched for the duckling, calling softly, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Poor Ellie! She must be so scared. And it’s her birthday, too!” Goldie said sadly.

“Don’t worry,” said Lily, taking the cat’s paw in her hand. “We’ll do our best to make it up to her.”

Jess jumped ashore again. “To do that, we’ve got to find her first,” she said, turning left. “Let’s try this way.”

“You won’t find Ellie over there,” came a small voice.

The girls and Goldie looked around but they couldn’t see anybody.

“Who said that?” asked Lily.

“I did! Look down here!” called the little voice.

“Oh, it’s Dotty Redcoat!” exclaimed Goldie, peering at a sunflower stalk. Sitting there was a little smiling red ladybug.

“Hello, Goldie,” said Dotty.

“Hello, Dotty! These are my friends, Jess and Lily,” said Goldie. “Did you say that you know where Ellie Featherbill is?”

“Yes, I do,” said Dotty. “I saw her sneak away from the barge when the Boggits weren’t looking. She went into the Mystery Maze.”

Lily looked horrified. “How will a little duckling find her way around the maze? She might be lost in there forever!”

Goldie smiled. “She’ll be fine,” she said. “One of the Featherbills’ duties is to check that the source of the river is clean and pure. Ellie will have been there many times. In fact,” she went on, “she’ll probably go straight there, thinking it’s a safe place to hide from the Boggits.”

“That’s good,” said Jess. “But what if the Boggits sneak along behind her? She’ll lead them straight to the source!”

“Then we’d better hurry. Thank you for your help, Dotty,” said Goldie.

“You’re welcome! I hope you find her,” replied Dotty, before fluttering away.

The three friends entered Mystery Maze. Lily could feel her heart beating more quickly, and she and Jess shared a worried glance. Could they find their way through the maze before the Boggits? Goldie looked worried, too, her tail twitching nervously from side to side.

“Let’s look down here,” she said, leading the girls through the hedges.

They moved quietly, trying to head toward the center, but the high walls of the hedge twisted and turned until they had no clue which direction was which.

Soon they were completely lost!

Lily groaned as they reached yet another dead end. “What are we going to do?” she asked. “No matter how hard we try, we’re never going to find Ellie!”