At last the hunt was ready. Mrs Sowerbery had placed objects all over the grounds and the children hurried outside - to promptly hurry back inside and fetch coats. Even in the summer, the winds on the moors were bitter. They had already decided on forfeits; if the girls won, the boys would have to wear pink dresses, heels and makeup for a day, if the boys won, the girls had to run around the moors in short sleeves and shorts for half an hour. And so, the hunt began.
There were three objects on the list - since Mrs Sowerbery didn't want the children out in the cold too long. The first object was a ladle with a gold handle. Robin and Mary headed round the west of the house, the boys headed round the east. It was fairly simple to find. The boys found it hanging on the wall round the side, but it was quite far up, so Dickon who was the tallest and strongest lifted up Tommy, who was the smallest and the lightest. Multiple times it was just out of reach, and multiple times Tommy nearly fell of Dickon's shoulders. But finally, he grabbed hold of the prized possession and threw it down to Colin, who put it in the bag, and ticked 'ladle' off on the scorecard. 'What's next?' Tommy asked, reading over Colin's shoulder.
'A pack of frozen peas.' Robin told Mary, after the gave up on the ladle. Mary didn't question the strange object, just got down on hands and knees and scrabbled around by the bushes. Robin didn't question this strange antic, but joined in searching. At last they found it, pushed under a particularly thorny bush. 'Here we go.' Mary said, passing the pack of vegetables to Robin, who threw it in the bag, and ticked it off. 'Final item is...'
'Tomatoes?' Dickon read, very confused and slightly panicked as they had spent a long time looking for the peas.
'Who cares? Let's find it. Soon we'll be nice and warm, and the girls will be on the moors.' Tommy cried, looking forward very much to a victory, which he was certain of. Colin and Dickon looked at each other in realisation.
'The moors!' cried Robin and Mary in unison, taking off for the heather and brambles that lay beyond the gates. It was still Craven property, just slightly off the beaten track. They dashed out, and to their dismay, saw the boys a small bit behind them. 'Lucky we don't live in the 1800's, otherwise we'd have to do this in petticoats and skirts.' Robin laughed, in jeans and a warm jumper.
'Yes, but in whatever century it's still hard work.' Mary puffed, panting heavily. Robin laughed and pulled her up. The boys weren't too far behind, and they needed to find the crate of tomatoes. Sure enough there was a patch of red in the distance, and Robin took off sprinting. 'You go ahead, I'll just wait here.' Mary cried after her, collapsing on a rock.
'You go ahead, I'll stay here.' Colin cried after Dickon and Tommy's running figures, and he collapsed amongst the briars. Dickon was ahead, only a bit behind Robin, and Tommy was not far behind. Both teams had their eyes on the prize - which was a crate of tomatoes - but everyone wanted to succeed. It was Robin who reached the crate first. With surprising strength, she lifted up the crate and rushed back to Mary. Tommy sighed in defeat, but Dickon chased after her with the hopes of tripping her up and snatching the tomatoes, but Robin was too quick. The tomatoes went in the bag, and the tick on the sheet. There was nothing he could do, and everyone knew it. As the girls skipped back to the manor, the boys trudged back, trying not to think about their upcoming pink, frilly ordeal.
