Rain May and Captain Daniel by Catherine Bateson Page A

in really close to the shallow water right near where we were. I know I squeaked, because Daniel elbowed me gently. We all peered down and we could just see the flat tail. No white tip. And then it moved into a patch of late sunshine and we saw it more clearly nosing around and then it must have heard something and with a little flip completely disappeared into deeper, shadowed water.
    â€˜Well,’ Daniel’s dad said after a long silence, ‘we’ve seen it, kids.’
    â€˜Are you sure it was really a platypus?’ Daniel asked. ‘If only we’d had a really good look.’
    â€˜It was a platypus,’ Daniel’s dad said firmly. ‘Definitely a platypus. No white tip. No ears. And shy. A rat would have just come up for a second look at us.’
    â€˜Wow, we’ve seen it, Daniel, we’ve seen it!’
    â€˜I can’t believe it,’ Daniel said. ‘I just can’t believe it. It all happened too fast.’
    â€˜I know what you mean,’ his father said, putting an arm around him, ‘but the more time you spend watching wild things, the more practised you get at seeing them, so eventually your eye adapts to their speed. But it was, it was truly a platypus. You’ve joined an exclusive club, kids. Not many people these days have seen a platypus in the wild. Let’s go up and tell Mr Beatty, shall we?’
    While the Doctor had a drink with Mr Beatty, Daniel and I went over how we’d seen it.
    â€˜We could go on safaris,’ I said. ‘Not the shooting ones, of course — but to see other animals. I’d like to see an echidna, Daniel. You said you’d seen one.’
    â€˜Dad and I did. And it saw us and dug down really quickly. But before it could disappear, Dad grabbed it and flipped it over. They’ve got these great claws, Rain — they’re pretty amazing.’
    Mr Beatty made us tomato soup from the can, which tasted delicious, and we dunked thick white bread into it. Then he let us toast marshmallows in his fireplace and we took it in turns to hold the toasting fork. The marshmallows were best when the tops went quite brown and the whole thing threatened to wobble off the fork and fall straight into the fire so you had to open your mouth quickly and almost burn it to catch the marshmallow. Then Mr Beatty and Daniel played a game of chess while the Doctor beat me at dominoes.
    Mr Beatty had this ancient fluffy cat who sat on my lap the whole time purring. He didn’t even move when I leaned forward to toast the marshmallows. And the house, which was tiny, smelt faintly of old toast and woodsmoke and there were photos on the wall of Mrs Beatty who had died years before. When Mr Beatty saw me looking at them he brought out a photo album with all sorts of old photos in it, old cars and ladies in big hats and little boys in sailor suits.
    When we left, Mr Beatty gave me a little china statue of a girl. He said she reminded him of me, even though she was wearing a dress and her hair was all neat curls. He gave Daniel a book on astronomy.
    â€˜Got to start off-loading stuff,’ he said. ‘I’ll be eighty-eight next year. Even the Doc here doesn’t think I’ll last forever.’
    â€˜You’ve still a good few years left in you,’ Daniel’s dad said as they shook hands at the door.
    â€˜Ah, it’s that spring water. Best thing for a man, eh?’ And Mr Beatty winked at us.
    â€˜This has been one of the best nights of my life,’ I whispered to Daniel as we drove back home. ‘I’ll remember it forever, won’t you?’ I had the china statue in my lap. The girl’s hair felt smooth under my fingers, and even though it was dark I knew her dress was pale blue, a blue Mr Beatty called duck-egg.
    â€˜Yes,’ Daniel said, ‘I will. First the platypus and it’s the first time I’ve ever come close to beating Mr Beatty at chess.’
    â€˜See,’ I