by Alan Moore
This track goes no-where ‘cept the old well, coupla humpies an’ me camp while I hunt them bloody dogs.’
The way he emphasised ‘my camp’ made Petri feel like a very unwelcome trespasser. Better to collect samples slightly further downstream without upsetting the old bugger. Petri pretended to accept his advice. He rolled up his map and climbed into his vehicle. He leaned out of the window as he started the engine. ‘Thanks for your help. I’ll see if I can find another way.’ He thought he might just turn back if the dogger drove away. However, in the rear-view mirror he saw that he was watched until the ubiquitous dust trail obscured his vision.
A few kilometres further on he pulled over and looked back. No sign of dust from a following vehicle. He needed to think. He turned off the engine and picked up the aerial photographs.
Although out of date by several years they clearly showed a track leading to a cluster of buildings only about 500 metres from where the old drainage should pass. These were obviously the buildings that had once formed the core of the CSIRO Research Station. Yet the grizzled, short-tempered dogger had said that there were no permanent settlements in the area. His claim that the old station was used only as a storage depot seemed strange for such a large set up. In addition, the Cundeelee mob indicated it was still in use by a beekeeper, confirmed by Petri’s visit to the Department of Agriculture in Perth. It just didn’t add up. According to the dogger the other track led to the abandoned well. Like most attempts at finding fresh water in this part of the Great Victoria Desert, it was likely that it had produced only saline water, no good for plants, beast or man. However, Petri knew that the well at the station was unusual in that it had provided water that was at least drinkable.
He studied the aerial photographs closely. The best place to sample would be to follow the ‘forbidden’ track for ten kilometres after it left the main track. It was unusual to find such a hostile person in this extremely remote area. Chance meetings, because so rare, were usually cordial. In the outback people recognised mutual interdependency. Petri wondered if the dogger also kept bees, remembering what he had been told at Cundeelee, or if there was someone else at the old CSIRO station. None of this made sense.
Petri studied the photograph more closely. Even taking into account the age of his maps and photographs, it was quite clear the track had not been abandoned years ago. Petri knew tyre tracks that flattened spinifex and delicate shrubs in virgin desert took years for the scars too heal. But this track showed no sign of recovery. If abandoned years ago, it would not be as clear as it now appeared. It had to be in more constant use. The dogger’s comments did not make sense and the track was undoubtedly the best route for accessing the sampling site. So why did the dogger warn him off so emphatically?
The cluster of buildings at the end of the track also indicated something more substantial than a couple of humpies. Apart from the larger structure, which looked like a house and a large tank on a platform, there was a rectangular patch, cleared of vegetation, and what appeared to be a perimeter fence. There were two smaller buildings that could be sheds and what looked like a paved area.
It was decision time. Was the risk of the running into the dogger worth it? Perhaps he should head back to Kalgoorlie and find more information about the place. Petri just wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to delay the program, but he couldn’t forget the rifle in the back of the stranger’s ute. From where he was he could drive straight through to Kalgoorlie and be there in a few hours. With luck he’d find a seat on the MMA plane in the morning. He’d be in Perth within two days.
Petri decided to stop where he was until dusk and then return to see where the track led. He boiled a billy and, after tea, rested in the shade of the vehicle. He thought about the mysterious dogger. What were the old buildings being used for and why had he been warned off? He had to admit that there was something alluring about his secretive reconnaissance visit. Perhaps it was a little like his father had felt, escaping from Finland.
* * *
Karl Brudos watched the strange looking Toyota until the dust settled before climbing back into his own vehicle.
‘Bloody sticky beakin’ strangers,’ he mumbled to himself as he slammed the door shut. Karl started the engine and headed into the track that, only a short time ago, he told Petri he used only rarely.
Towards dusk he pulled up at the locked gates, hooted and waited. The dog barked and paced from side to side in the tray, the chain preventing him from leaping off. From the central building Katherine and Carolyn, both bare-footed, came running. Isaac, wearing only a singlet, followed.
Karl wound down the window and tossed a bunch of keys in front of the gates. ‘Hurry up, ya stupid cow! ‘aven’t time to sit waitin’ for ya ta move ya arse!’
Katherine stretched through the gate wire, picked up the keys and undid the lock. As she opened the gate Karl drove forward, almost knocking her over. He put his hand out of the window and Katherine put the keys into his open palm. She closed the gate and replaced the lock and chain.
Karl pulled up outside the central building and yelled at her, ”ave ya done ya chores? I’m hungry an’ I want me grub. Now.’
‘Yes, all done. And the tank is full. I pumped water this morning. I’ll get tea ready now.’
‘Git a move on. Unload them boxes on the back an’ careful with the traps.’
Karl walked past Katherine as she hurried towards the vehicle and gave her a hearty slap on her behind, laughing as he said, ‘With the boss away you and me’s gunna ‘ave some more fun, eh?’
‘I really don’t want any trouble, Karl. Please. I’m doing all my work and not being a problem. Please. Think of the children. Don’t make trouble for us, or Benjamin.’ She emphasised his name.
‘Ya’d better believe it, ya stoopid bitch. Ya’ll do jist as I say. An’ I can ‘andle me mate, don’ you worry ‘bout that.’ He laughed as he went up the steps two at a time and into the main building.
* * *
Dusk settled and the last rays of light turned the scattered trees and bushes into stark silhouettes. Petri arrived at the junction and decreased his speed as he proceeded down the track. When he was about a kilometre from the buildings he stopped, switched off the lights and continued on in semi-darkness. He looked at his watch. It was just on seven and light was fading fast. He pulled into the bushes and brushed away the tyre tracks before setting off on foot towards the buildings.
He could just make out the perimeter fence, two metres high with a chained gate. It seemed a strange sort of set up but Petri thought that if the dogger kept supplies some sort of security might be necessary. The distinct chug-chug-chug of a diesel generator broke the evening silence. Cautiously he walked towards the sound. As he drew nearer it was joined by the sound of human voices. He was still too distant to hear what was being said but a male voice was shouting. A dog barked.
Petri moved off the track into scattered scrubby bushes and spinifex. He wanted the occupants to remain ignorant of his presence. There was no knowing what to expect from the pugnacious dogger and his family. He dropped to a prone position near one of the small sand ridges that provided some relief to the generally flat land. He was now only a short distance from the entry road, close to a point where the perimeter fence changed direction and where the locked gates were situated.
It was now too dark to discern details. Regardless, he knew that he’d never be able to reach the creek without making his presence obvious. Perhaps on foot, but he was going to need the auger, and that meant taking the four-wheel drive.
He was just about to go back to his vehicle when someone came out of the building. The figure silhouetted against the interior light showed that it was a woman.
The dogger had a wife? Petri thought she might be more approachable than her aggressive husband. A second figure emerged from the building. It was a child, crying and running to its mother. The woman turned, picked up the child and went back into the building.
From where Petri was lying, c
lose up against the fence, he could hear raised voices from inside. There was a loud slap then the door flung open. The woman emerged followed closely by the child. She held the upper part of her torn dress with one hand and what appeared to Petri to be a bundle, or perhaps another smaller child, in the crook of her other arm.
Petri was now certain that it wasn’t a good time to make contact with the dogger or his wife. He headed back to his vehicle, trying to think of a way to resolve his dilemma. Perhaps if he made contact in the morning he could persuade them to let him through to sample the creek, especially if he spoke to the wife. After all, he had already come down the track and seen the station. Legally he knew there was little they could do to stop him since he was on legitimate business. Even so, the dogger’s attitude and the gun made him hesitate. He had to work out how best to approach them.
He started the walk back to his vehicle.
* * *
Petri was woken early by the sound of an approaching vehicle. It was the dogger. Petri readied himself for trouble but the vehicle drove straight past without slowing. He was glad that he had driven his vehicle well into the scrubby bush to make his camp difficult to see.
Petri decided to take a chance. If the dogger was gone all morning, and the wife was amenable, he might be able to collect his samples before the man returned. He packed up camp in record time and headed for the station, arriving at the locked gates within minutes.
The place was silent. The distinct and comforting noise of the generator was missing. Not even the morning bird chorus had started. He hooted to attract attention.
Katherine was trying to fix her dress that Karl had torn during the assault the previous evening when she heard a car horn blast. She looked up. She hadn’t heard Karl leave the compound earlier.
Not wanting to upset him or give him any cause for anger, she hurriedly pulled the bed away from the door and looked out. She was shocked to see Karl’s ute gone and a very unusual looking vehicle outside the gate. If not another mate of Karl’s or Benjamin’s, it could be her opportunity to escape.
She dropped the dress, not caring about her lack of clothing, ran from building barefooted, Carolyn running beside her.
Petri got out of his vehicle and walked up to the gate. He could hear the woman screaming something not quite comprehensible. His eyes opened wide with surprise at the wild looking woman with large bruises on her arms and exposed upper body. His carefully planned explanations for the reasons for being there were lost as his eyes and mind focussed on her breasts and bruises. He opened his mouth to speak the words were stopped by the breathless shout of the woman as she ran up to the gate and grabbed at the wires.
‘Please, help us! Please, I need help.’
P etri stuttered, ‘Why, what’s the matter? Are you okay? What’s happened? Has your husband beaten you?’ He was reluctant to become embroiled in a domestic situation out in the bush.
‘He’s not my husband. I’m a prisoner here, both me and my children. That man is a psychopath. Just look at what he’s done to me,’ she said, pointing to her bruises.
‘The dogger’s not your husband? What are you doing here? What do you mean, a prisoner?’ Petri was doing his best to avert his eyes from the woman’s exposed body but the large bruises were clear.
‘It’s a long story, goes back years. I really and desperately need to get out and I don’t know how. I was kidnapped. I’m a prisoner. Karl’s going to be back soon. He left his dog in the building so he’s not gone for long. He doesn’t usually go out this early. I beg you, please help me! We’re not safe, not me, not my children. I’ll get the children; we must get away from here as fast as we can. Karl’s really very dangerous. He’s got a gun and —’
‘Yes, I know. I met him yesterday and I saw the gun in his ute. He went down the track about ten minutes ago. That’s why I came. I thought you were his wife and I could get your permission to collect —’
‘We must hurry. I’ll get the children.’
‘How do we open the gate, have you got a key?’
‘No, I don’t. I’ll get some things and try and climb over. You take the children. I’ll pass them over to you. Please.’ She turned and raced back to the building she had come out of earlier.
Doubts circled around in Petri’s head. If she was truly a prisoner, should he just break down the fence? What if she was the weirdo? She seemed desperate enough for her story to be true. And her accent clearly indicated she was not of the same ilk as the dogger.
Katherine, half running out of the building, led the girl and carried a smaller child in a blanket. She now wore a long, loose kaftan-like dress but remained with bare feet, as did the children.
‘Carolyn, wait here with Isaac while I get something to climb on to get over the fence,’ she said. Carolyn took Isaac’s hand and nervously looked through the fence at Petri. Katherine turned to go.
‘No, wait.’ Petri was now convinced she was telling the truth. The way in which she dealt with the children convinced him she certainly was not crazy. ‘I’ll break the gates with my ute.
Just move right back.’
He put the Toyota into four-wheel drive and, using the substantial ‘roo bar, pushed gently against the gates. They put up little resistance and, with a grinding noise of metal, bent then parted as the chain snapped. Petri had hardly moved forward when Katherine was opening the passenger door and thrusting the children into the cabin.
‘Go, go, just go,’ she cried even before she was completely inside. Her foot was bleeding where she had caught it on the damaged wires of the gate but she seemed unaware of either her pain or appearance. Petri started to reverse for a three point turn, hoping to reach the main road before the dogger, who was obviously the cause of the woman’s distress and intense fear, decided to return down the track.
Less than five hundred metres from the Factory compound driving became difficult and Petri stopped. ‘Hang on a sec, there’s something wrong. I think we’ve got a puncture.’ In reversing over the gates some of the broken metal had put a stake through the tyre. ‘Gotta stop and fix it. Sorry.’
The woman groaned painfully, then quickly said, ‘I’ll help.’
Leaving the children in the ute the two of them got busy with the jack. They worked in silence, conserving energy to change the tyre fast. She was putting the flat tyre back into its cradle under the vehicle and Petri tightening the last of the nuts on the spare when they heard it: the sound of an approaching vehicle.
‘Quickly, get inside and put your head down. Keep the children down too. If it’s your Karl he may not realise what’s happened. Once he’s passed I’ll get in. Meanwhile I must get this jack down. Hurry.’
The three were almost invisible, huddled down together on the passenger side. Katherine made herself as small as possible but it was very cramped with the three of them almost under the dashboard. To make space she shoved all of Petri’s maps and things on to the driver’s side.
She had just organised herself and ‘shooshed’ Carolyn when she heard Karl pull up. Isaac kept silent. He had already learnt the consequences of not being quiet when a man was around.
Karl leaned out of his window. ‘It’s you agin, eh? Thought I told ya ta bugger off. Wadda ya doin’ down this way eh? Shit, don’t ya city blokes listen to anythin’ we tell ya?’
‘I thought I’d see if this track went anywhere past your camp. I thought I could get to the creek without going through your place. It doesn’t seem to go beyond where you’ve got your ‘roo skins drying, so I was just on my way back. Big place you got there, for a camp. I got a puncture so I was just fixing it. I’ll be on my way and —’
Karl turned and was just about to drive off when he leaned out of the window again. ‘Bloody stickybeakin’ I reckons. Don’ let me see ya aroun’ these parts agin or I’ll shoot ya, just like the fuckin’ vermin ya is.’
Petri waited for the dogger to drive off. He did not want to get into the vehicle in case the others were seen when he opened the door.
The dogger’s engine revved as he prepared to drive away. Then unexpectedly it quietened. Why was he stopping again? Petri turned to see what had caught the man’s attention.
There, bounding down the track, was the dog.
W hat the bloody hell!’ Karl looked at his excited dog, so pleased that he had found his missing master that he started barking between bounds.
Petri made a rapid move and opened his door, hastily trying to get into the seat only to find a heap of maps, books and papers. He watched he dogger turn in their direction. He must have seen the three fugitives. Petri tried to grab the falling clutter and climb into the vehicle.
Petri gasped with the sharp blow to the back of his head. As he slumped to the ground he vaguely heard screaming, children crying and a dog barking. Then all went quiet as a velvet blackness enveloped him.
* * *
Petri found himself lying in a darkened room. His hands were tied tightly behind his back. It took him a while to recall what had happened. His head ached but since he could both see and remember he felt that probably not too much damage had been done. It was hot, the walls of corrugated iron were almost too hot to touch. Light filtering through small holes revealed it was a storeroom. Boxes of tinned food lined the walls.
He went unsteadily to the door and tried to push it open with his shoulder. It didn’t budge. From the pattern of shadows he could see there were a couple of bolts on the outside. He knew he was in trouble. In all of the situations he had faced in his life, he had never experienced anything like this.
He could hear the man shouting and the woman responding. He never did find out her name or the full story behind her claim to be a kidnap victim. He wondered if it was all true or just some sort of set-up. Perhaps to steal his four-wheel drive?
No, that was unlikely. She seemed genuine enough, and genuinely terrified of the dogger. He needed a plan.