The Grub and the Man from Firestone Ranch

By Lock Pollard

The Grub and Roy are on a mission to find the best waves along the east coast of Australia, and Marcy is coming along to sun bake with Roy’s cousin, Jade. But they’re not the only ones heading to the sleepy seaside town of Cromer: Cracking Crazy Christo has escaped from Firestone Ranch, the local mental institution, and has been sighted in the area.

After setting up camp the boys eagerly grab their boards and head down to the river mouth for a surf. Already on the waves are the local surfers, the Barras, and they're very protective about their surfing break; it's made very clear to the pair that they’re not welcome.

Jade suggests they camp on the deserted island across the river and the boys jump at the opportunity to surf untamed waters. But after the best surf of their life their plans for a quiet night of camping are thwarted when a wild brumby destroys their tents. The Grub, born and bred in the country, builds a relationship with the stallion and lures it away so they can get their gear.

With a storm looming and no mobile phone reception the four take refugee in the lighthouse to sleep out the storm. The next morning after another awesome surf the four return to the lighthouse, only to be locked in by Cracking Crazy Christo. He plans to set the lighthouse on fire to stop them returning to Cromer and revealing his hideout.

Fortunately, the four of them are small enough to sneak out of a window and jump over the fire. They're chased down the beach with Christo hot on their heels, desperately trying to stop them getting away. However Marcy stumbles and is grabbed by Christo.

Perhaps sensing danger the stallion has returned and the Grub, who has an uncanny connection with horses, climbs on his back and rides in to save Marcy. Cracking Crazy Christo is no match for the Black Beauty and his fearless rider.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lock Pollard
• Release date: Feb 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9780987482723

Lock Pollard

L.T. Pollard has been writing for young adults and middle grade students since finishing high school. In 2021 his latest book won the Published Author category at the Australian CYA Conference. He has written over 7 books and published articles in travel magazines while he travelled around the world. He is a teacher in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and enjoys going to the beach with his dog. He has a wife and young son, whom he enjoys reading to.

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The Grub and

the Man from Firestone Ranch

By Lock Pollard

Copyright 2013 Lock Pollard

Discover more titles at lockpollard.com

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Chapter 1

Marcy was asleep on my shoulder, her head bobbing with each bump of the bus. There was some drool hanging from her mouth and I watched it lengthen and drop onto my shirt, joining an already large stain. The bus jolted as we turned off the highway onto a smaller road and her head bounced off my shoulder and landed with a heavier thump. She groaned and opened her eyes.

'Hello, sleepyhead,' I said.

'Are we there yet?' she groaned, wiping the drool off her chin.

'Almost. Here comes a sign, let’s have a look.'

I squinted, trying to read the sign in the bus’s headlights. It was a big sign and along with Cromer Beach, our destination, there were a number of cities with corresponding distances listed.

'How far?' Roy asked from across the aisle.

'Ten kilometres,' I answered.

'Cool.'

'Roy, what time are your auntie and cousin meeting us at the bus station?' asked Marcy.

'Six o’clock.'

I looked at my watch; it was 5.30 am. We'd left Horseshoe Bend eight hours ago and the bus had only stopped twice: once at 11 pm for everyone to use the bathroom before they went to sleep; and again at 4.30 am to buy something to eat and go to the bathroom again. The three of us were starting to go a bit crazy from sitting down for eight hours and Roy and I were starting to get impatient. We'd been planning this trip for so long. We were on our way to spend a few days with Roy’s relatives. They lived in the Cromer Beach campground and we'd been invited up for some surfing, camping and laying around.

'What’s your cousin’s name?' asked Marcy.

'Jade,' replied Roy.

'And she’s the same age as us?'

'Yeah,' grunted Roy.

'And what do we call your auntie?'

'I don’t know, just call her Auntie T,' replied Roy, starting to get annoyed.

'Maybe she doesn’t want us to call her that,' said Marcy matter-of-factly.

Roy shrugged.

'And what about your uncle?' continued Marcy.

'Uncle Jim, he's a bit weird sometimes.'

'Well, I’m sure everyone will be nice,' said Marcy before turning away. I could tell Roy was getting annoyed with her. Originally he'd asked me if I wanted to come and then I'd asked if Marcy could come too and he'd reluctantly agreed. I knew he didn’t really want her to come, but I’d argued that he'd be hanging out with his cousin and I'd be left out, so he’d allowed her to join us. Besides just her questioning I could understand why he was annoyed; Marcy and I were sitting together and he was sitting beside a fat, old guy who had his flabby arm hanging over the armrest. Plus, I'd been talking to Marcy more than him: there was only so many times we could speculate what the surf was going to be like when we got there.

Roy's my best friend, we've been hanging out pretty much ever since I moved to Horseshoe Bend; ever since our family moved from the bush to the beach. But Marcy's my girlfriend; she was the very first person I met. I still have dreams about