'Where've they all been?' Karl and Jeff asked together.

'Sam got a glimpse of a bloke hangin' 'round Ivy Gelding's. He went to approach him and the fella took off. They all gave chase and I think they ended up down the creek. They'll fill us in anyway,' Arthur told them.

Digger was first to reach the waiting blokes. 'b.a.s.t.a.r.d got away. We got a bit of a description but not much; we couldn't get close enough to see his face. Didn't recognize him at all from what we did get ta see.'

'Tall b.u.g.g.e.r, about six foot. Dunno if he had dark hair or if it was a hat on his head. Fit b.a.s.t.a.r.d leapt those fences as easy as anythin' and ran like a hare, he did.'

Sam, who was close behind Digger, bent forward and placed his hands on his knees, taking in gulps of air. 'Whew, I'm not used to runnin' like that. b.l.o.o.d.y winded me, it did!'

'We're gonna have to do whatever it takes to catch this nut. What he's done up here tonight takes things to a whole new level again! He was aimin' to take out the b.l.o.o.d.y valley I reckon. We've gotta do somethin' before there's a tragedy.' Dig gasped, still trying to catch his breath.

'We know, mate. If we'd lost this one, Hamilton Valley would've been in big strife!' Frank Smith declared.

Just then, Eileen galloped up on Lightning. Dawn had sent her with the message from Win.

She told them about the phone call.

'What next! This's got outta hand! Fires are gettin' bigger and now this as well... It puts a whole new spin on everythin'. What a coward the mongrel is; he knew we'd be up here so he terrifies the women. f.u.c.kin' coward!'

'I know, Dig,' Frank agreed 'You blokes get home and find out what was said! The fire's under control now. Me an' the crew'll be here the rest of the night keepin' an eye on things. You blokes go on down, try an' get a bit of shut-eye. You'se look tuckered out!'

'Thanks mate, talk to ya in a couple hours.'

Frank slapped Digger on the back. 'Get goin', an'...Merry Christmas!'

'Yeah, right, same to you mate!'

Win met them as they pulled into the driveway. 'Thank G.o.d you're all safe!' she cried. 'We've been so worried, and then with the phone calls, it's just too awful!'

'C'mon, love, we've got some talkin' to do!' Digger put his arm around her as they trooped inside. He was exhausted. Win only had to take one look at him to see it.

'How's Mum an' Dad takin' all this?' Karl asked.

'Mum's not too bad, but Dad's showing signs of another attack.'

'I hope he's in bed?'

'Yes, Ellie insisted they both go and rest a while ago. I think the doctor should see him though. By the way, where's Francis?' Win asked.

'Francis? I don't know. Last I saw he'd gone off with Des to Harry's,' Digger said. 'Come to think of it, I didn't see them come back. I really don't know.'

'I don't remember seein' either of them.' Karl scratched his head.

'Well, the pair of them came back from Harry's together,' Harvey told them. 'Francis was with Arthur last I saw. Dunno where Des went.'

'Well, he'll get a ride back with Arthur then.' Karl rubbed his eyes.

Ellie came in then and they a.s.sured her Francis was okay.

'Now, tell us about these phone calls!'

They described the calls to the men as best they could.

'I don't s'pose you recognized the voice, by any chance?' Karl asked.

'No, I was so shocked I didn't know what to say!' Ellie replied. 'h.e.l.l, for him to ring here, he must have been watching the house, waiting for you all to leave!'

'Kathy was so shocked, she couldn't speak!'

'Well, we're gonna be tellin' the cops about this. Keith Brewster'll want to talk to everyone about the fire. Dunno if the detectives'll be 'round, seein' it's gonna be Christmas Day, but Brewster'll be 'round for sure,' Digger said. 'We have more than fires to deal with here; we seriously have lunatic on the loose.'

'Yep, and I dunno how we can keep this from Dad. Frank and a few others were with us when Eileen came with the message. The news will get 'round and Dad'll hear about it, so I think we should tell him before he hears it from someone else!'

'Yes, I see your point, Karl. By the time it gets back to Dad, the story will have grown. You know how things have a way of becoming worse as they go from one to another!' Win stifled a yawn.

'What a Christmas this is turnin' out to be!' Digger added. 's.h.i.t Harv, bet you never dreamt you'd arrive to somethin' like this!'

'Well it certainly has been eventful!' Harvey replied, then leant across and gave Ellie a pat on her hand, just as Mary walked in, followed by a very grubby and worn-out Francis.

Mary's gaze went straight to Harvey's hand covering Ellie's. She hesitated for a split second, then walked across and put her hand on his arm and squeezed. 'I'm glad you're back; I was so worried, Harv!' she said sweetly.

Francis glanced around. 'Well I'm b.u.g.g.e.red. Gonna grab a quick shower and I'm off to bed. Why haven't you all hit the hay?'

They filled him in about the calls and then they all agreed sleep was a necessity. The daylight would be breaking through and they still had to face what else the day would bring.

Mary took hold of Harvey's arm as he stood up. 'You all go ahead. I want a word with Harv before we go up,' she said with concealed contempt.

He smiled goodnight to the rest of them and when they were alone in the kitchen, he turned to Mary.

'Ok, Mary, what's this about?'

'Oh come off it, Harvey. You know full well!' Mary said. 'I found out you and Ellie were the first ones to see the fire, so you obviously were outside with her, and she was in her night gown, so what am I supposed to think? And just now, you sat there holding her hand!'

Even though Mary tried to keep her voice low, she couldn't help the slight rise as she finished speaking.

'Mary... are you serious, woman?' Harvey couldn't control the anger in his voice. 'I've known the whole Mason family for years! Ellie and I are old friends and just now she needed comfort. In case you've forgotten, she's just received crazy phone calls! What's wrong with comforting a friend? For Pete's sake! Her family was right there with us!'

'Were they outside with you, too?' Mary hissed. 'Where's your decency, Harv? That's right,' she spat 'you don't have any... I forgot for a minute... Silly me!' She turned and walked out of the room.

Harvey remained alone. 'What's got into her?' he thought. 'She's never acted like this before.' He sat for a while longer and then tiredness won him over. Glancing at the clock made him aware he would get about an hour's sleep. Slowly, he dragged himself up the stairs.

Mary heard his footsteps and quickly dried her eyes. She wished she had controlled her temper.

She climbed into bed quickly and pulled the sheet over her. When Harvey came in, he thought she was sound asleep.

CHAPTER TEN.

All too soon, daylight broke. Everyone was exhausted and would have given anything to sleep longer, but it was Christmas Day and there was plenty to be done. They also had to face the aftermath of last night's fire.

As the sun rose higher, it took on the appearance of a bright orange orb. The smoke hung like a blanket over the valley.

Everyone gathered in the lounge room, wishing each other Merry Christmas and exchanging gifts, determined to keep up good spirits regardless.

The men made their way outside and the women gathered in the kitchen to help Hazel with Christmas lunch.

Emmie, Win and Ellie sat around the big wooden kitchen table, sorting the best silver to set the table, while Kathy and Tammi went over to give Laura her gift and wish Walter and Muriel a Merry Christmas. They had been hoping their son Johnny would be coming home for Christmas and were disappointed he was doing a Christmas gig in Perth and couldn't make it. His band was doing well and Laura would have loved him to be home for Christmas.

She didn't get to see her uncle much at all, with him gallivanting around the countryside with his band.

The topic of discussion, of course, was last night's fire. The subject was on the tongues of every resident in Hamilton Valley.

The fire still smouldered in patches on the hill. Faint shouts from the men echoed down to the valley; they were taking it in turns to check for hot spots. No one wanted another fire today of all days. The sky was hazy and smoke had drifted down, hovering over the homes, stinging nostrils and making eyes water.

Sam, Arthur and their families arrived, closely followed by Jeff, Dawn and Eileen. The women went inside to help with the meal preparation and the men gathered around in the shade of the huge walnut tree that grew in the back yard. They shared cans of cold beer as they discussed the fires.

'Just look what the b.a.s.t.a.r.d's done!' Karl growled.

'The cops'll be searchin' the mess up there now. Let's hope they find somethin' this time!' Digger said.

'We have to come up with a better plan to catch this bloke,' Dave broke in.

'We do, Dad! He's gettin' gamer with each fire he lights. As for the phone calls, well, somethin' here doesn't add up!' They decided to tell Dave about the calls and he had taken the news better than expected. Karl b.u.t.ted his cigarette as he spoke, stood up and paced up and down before turning to the rest of them.

'The calls were made within a coupla minutes of each other, right? Well, think about it. You an' Sam were chasin' the p.r.i.c.k along the creek shortly after the calls were made. The women heard the shouts.' He paused, looking at them.

'So?' Sam asked.

'Think about it, Sam. If the calls were from the firebug, how did he get from the phone box and up to the fire where ya first caught sight of him so b.l.o.o.d.y quick? The nearest friggin' phone box is down at Flynn's shop. The only way he coulda been so fast is if he made the phone calls from somewhere a lot closer!'

There was a split second of silence as they absorbed what Karl had just said.

's.h.i.t!' Jeff swore. 'That means the a.r.s.ehole made the calls from a house near here... b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, it had to be a house close by, one here in the valley...'

'Which can mean only one d.a.m.n thing... the bug lives here... here in the valley!' Arthur said, looking from one to the other.

'The b.l.o.o.d.y mongrel must do, there's no other explanation. He couldn't have made it from the phone box and up the hill so b.l.o.o.d.y fast, he'd have to be superman.' Digger leant forward in his chair. 'The firebug must've made the calls from a house 'round about here then raced up the hill to watch us bustin' our guts fightin' the fire he lit. What he didn't count on was gettin' seen.'

'That's right, he must live in the valley! The b.l.o.o.d.y b.a.s.t.a.r.d's a local!' Karl swore.

All this time Dave sat quietly, listening to everything his sons were saying. Now he stood up and, with a grim look on his face, said, 'You get word to Nat and Rex. We dunno who this fool is, so we have ta be very b.l.o.o.d.y careful who we talk to from now on. We're gonna have to choose who we take into confidence about our plans!'

'The timin' of every b.l.o.o.d.y fire fits with a local knowin' our routines. We're gonna have ta make a few changes, outsmart the b.a.s.t.a.r.d and put him behind bars!' Arthur said.

'Well, I've been thinkin,' Jeff said. 'And what I suggest is we do stakeouts. Two of us spend a coupla hours every night patrolling the properties, then the next two take over, an' so on. Take it in turns so we all at least get a bit of shut eye.'

'That's a d.a.m.n good idea, mate,' Sam agreed. 'We'll pair up and patrol each property from dusk til dawn, that way we're sure to catch the p.r.i.c.k. Havin extra cops comin' through has done nothin'.'

Dave coughed and gave a short gasp for air, waving his hand as Karl leapt to help him into his chair. 'I'm alright,' he managed to say, sitting himself down. 'What I suggest,' he continued, 'is, apart from family, confide only in Nat an' Rex. If this b.a.s.t.a.r.d is a local, we don't want to be handin' him information. So best not to bring in any other local blokes, not even Frank. Not sayin' it's him but they tend ta talk after a few beers down there at Sars.'

They all agreed with Dave and agreed to start on the nightly patrols that very night.

Digger flipped the top off another can of beer, took a long swig, burped and brought the conversation to the phone calls. 'Now, about these phone calls, my concern here is how far will the b.l.o.o.d.y lunatic go? Remember when Ellie was followed home after the pictures, and Kathy was certain someone was in the orchard? And then again, when Ellie thought someone was watchin' her out here?'

'Yep, and Win, she was sittin' out here the night the shed went up. He must've been watchin' her an' waitin' for his chance to get in an' light it,' Sam added. 'Like you, Dig, I wonder how far he'd go to frighten them. Will he harm the women? Is this what he's leadin' to? It's a grave concern, that's for d.a.m.n sure.'

'Well, I think for safety's sake that none of them should go anywhere alone. Just to be sure. Whoever this bloke is, he's not the full quid. He can't be, to run 'round settin' the place on fire an' scarin' the c.r.a.p outta women!' Arthur cleared his throat. 'I'm gonna keep my shotgun loaded from now on!'

'Well, that's not a bad idea, Arthur. Reckon we all should do the same.' Dave gave another chesty cough. 'It'd be a good idea to leave a rifle with the women too, when we're all out in the orchards. They all know how to use one and it'd make them feel a h.e.l.luva lot safer!'

'That Father Damien's a weird one,' Francis broke in. 'He's always just appearin' from nowhere, and he's been at every fire so far.'

'Francis is right. Think about it. Father Damien's been at every fire. He's just appeared; no one sees him arrive. He's just there, and he ran up the hill without any effort. We saw him at old Harry's, remember Francis?' Des reminded him.

'Surely you don't think he's the firebug!' Dave exclaimed, chuckling. 'h.e.l.l, I don't like the silly little man, but I just don't think he's the firebug. Really can't see him leapin' those fences even if he can run! Still, I have to agree he's strange alright.'

'Well, we can't rule him out just because he's a man of the cloth,' Digger replied.

'I reckon after last night's fire, there'll be tongues waggin' and fingers pointin' all 'round the valley,' Karl said, stubbing out another cigarette. 'Mine's pointin' right at Chancellor. He fits the description. Wonder where he was last night?'

Hazel waddled out and called them in for Christmas lunch. She had a beautiful spread prepared and no matter what had taken place last night, they all looked forward to it.

Although the gloom of the firebug's terror hung over them, they kept up the spirit of Christmas. All talk of the fires was taboo during their lunch. Hazel and the women had prepared an amazing feast. Hazel and Ted joined the family at the dining table and donned paper Christmas hats from the bon bons. They all laughed at the silly jokes they also got from them.

They all were firm believers that Christmas was a time to rejoice... a time for generosity, joy, togetherness and most of all... love!

After lunch, everyone was sated with good food and drink and again they went out to laze in the shade of the huge walnut tree.

'Sing for us, Win, love. Silent Night, it's my favourite,' Dave asked, coughing.

Win looked at her father; a feeling of concern niggled at her. 'Okay, Dad.' She sat beside him and sang the beautiful carol for her father.

Francis went inside and came back with his father's violin, and Win sang a few more carols for them, accompanied by Francis. The violin had belonged to Denby, Francis's father. When he died, Ellie had given it to Francis and he treasured the beautiful instrument.

'It's wonderful to all be together,' Emmie said absently as she plucked the last of the withered blooms from her gardenia bush.

The afternoon pa.s.sed pleasantly. Eventually, it was time for everyone to leave for home.

Karl caught Sam and Arthur's attention before they left. 'Take care tonight. Don't take any risks. I wouldn't put it past this bloke to light another one tonight just to make a total disaster of Christmas!'

'We'll be right, mate. I'm goin' up the hill with Des and Eric as soon as we get home and change. Nat an' Rex'll be up there. I'll pull 'em aside an' fill 'em in on everythin',' Sam told him.