Flash Of Orange

Wait here, says the spotted-tailed quoll.

What for? asks Du Fresne.

Me, says the quoll. I won't be long.

He is an agile climber.

He climbs up the peppermint gum.

Not surprisingly, there are no birds in the peppermint gum.

The quoll comes down again.

Looks like it's just you and me, says the quoll.

Did you spot anything useful while you were up there? asks Du Fresne.

No, says the quoll. But I wasn't looking.

Go back up, says Du Fresne.

The quoll speeds up the peppermint gum again, and looks out through the peppermint branches.

What kind of thing would count as useful? calls the quoll.

Signs of a struggle, says Du Fresne. Feathers. Or the bird itself, in the distance.

The quoll comes back down.

I thought I saw a flash of orange on the far side of the lagoon, says the quoll.

That is unlikely, says Du Fresne.

I have good eyesight, says the quoll.

But the orange patches are small, says Du Fresne. You are more likely to have seen a flash of green or yellow.

I saw a flash of orange, says the quoll. Why don't we use the canoe to float over?

Du Fresne doesn't fancy being in the canoe with the quoll.

It's quite a large quoll.

But he overcomes his qualms, and scrambles into the paperbark canoe.

The quoll leaps in after him.

The canoe bobs and almost tips over.

Steady! says Du Fresne. Find a spot to sit down and don't wriggle

This is good, says the quoll. But how do we move it?

Oars would be ideal, says Du Fresne. But as we have no oars, we'll push off, and take our chances.

He reaches out with his dominant claw, and pushes off from the embankment.

The canoe floats out into the lagoon.

This was meant to be our reward, says the quoll.

I know, says Du Fresne. We'll have to think of another one.

How about oars? says the quoll.

A pertinent suggestion.

The canoe has stopped dead in the middle of the lagoon.

I suppose you can swim? says the quoll.

No need, says Du Fresne. A light breeze is getting up. We just need to be patient.

The quoll is not usually patient.

He now regrets joining the search party. 

What if there is no light breeze getting up (he can't feel it)  and the two of them are stuck in the middle of the lagoon for a very long time?

What will he eat?

Could he see himself eating a lobster?