Croc Country

by Kerry McGinnis

  ‘Well, I think you’re very talented and I do thank you. You must have spent hours getting it so perfect. It’s Harry to the life! He’s even got a broken beak.’ Tilly was awed by the work’s perfection.

  ‘Yep. It’s a warts and all job with me,’ Connor agreed. ‘I carve what I see. I’m glad you like it. Making things passes the time for me, and right now there’s a lot of it to pass. Incidentally, I think that your stolen wildlife may have left the country. My mate at the station says there was a boat in the inlet – came in last evening and was gone again by daylight before the Customs vessel could get there to intercept it. The timing fits with that stray vehicle. So they collect the cages, make a loop via that new graded track and drive back to Spadgers Creek, where they lay up in the scrub until dark.’ He sighed and scratched at his jaw. ‘You can see the Gulf waters from the homestead verandah, but it’s too far to hear a motor. Which doesn’t rule out them meeting the boat’s runabout on the western edge of the inlet. It’s just too damned easy. They load up the cargo – you’d get it all in a dinghy – and you’re home free. Back at sea by daybreak and no one the wiser.’

  ‘I see. Not much to be done about it then. So they’ll wind up in Asia, the cockies and whatever else?’

  ‘For starters,’ he agreed. ‘Maybe even New Guinea – and who knows from there? America, Europe . . . The world’s a big place. They’ll go where the price is highest.’

  ‘It’s wicked.’ Setting the jar carefully aside, Tilly stooped to pull bok choy and lettuce from the soil. ‘You want some radishes too? I’ll just rinse these off and find a bag. Can you stay for a cuppa?’

  ‘Anytime.’ He followed her housewards. ‘So, how’s the campaign for Sandstone Springs going?’

  She grinned. ‘Deviously. I’m wooing his stomach, Sophie his brain, and Luke’s out with him now hopefully finding plenty of birds. Turns out he’s a twitcher too, which is a stroke of luck. The idea is to make him love the place so much he’ll want to go to bat for us.’

  Connor gave such a shout of laughter that it brought Matt out of the shed. Tilly grimaced to herself and reluctantly waved, calling, ‘Cup of tea, Matt? I’m just putting the kettle on.’

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Binboona had lived up to Sophie’s hopes, providing a smorgasboard of birds for Graeme’s viewing. Most of the dinner talk concerned birds, and Graeme willingly agreed to deliver the black cocky chicks to a suitable home, providing the mail plane would accept them as freight. After the meal he and Sophie retired for a private word in the office, leaving the others in the kitchen.

  Luke, once again wiping up, said, ‘He’s a good bloke. Think he’ll go for it?’

  ‘Fingers crossed.’ Tilly swiped suds from the splashback. ‘There were a pair of Gouldians on the basin again this morning. Did he say?’

  ‘Yep. They were the icing on the cake, because we saw just about everything else today from fairy wrens to jabirus.’

  Matt, at the table behind them, looked up from his chessboard and snorted. ‘Birds! You think he’s gonna spend a million bucks on the place because of birds?’

  ‘Having them can’t hurt,’ Tilly said lightly. ‘Luke, when is Jane coming?’

  ‘The boss is okay with it?’

  ‘Of course. I’m hoping that I can get Mum up for a visit after Jane’s gone, but it’ll take a while to organise things her end.’ Sophie wouldn’t object, and the more Tilly thought about it, the more she realised that she wanted it to happen. ‘So if Jane’s visit is close, I might write tonight.’ She wouldn’t phone – Elaine would say no automatically and then not budge on the decision – but if Tilly laid it all out and let her think about it, she might agree.

  ‘I’ll ring her later and let you know,’ he promised, polishing a pot. ‘She only had one more exam to go last time we spoke. That was a smashing dinner tonight, Tilly. Can your mum cook?’

  ‘She taught me.’

  ‘I’ll take that as a yes.’ His blue eyes were suddenly hopeful. ‘Maybe she’d cook on days when you don’t – do you think?’

  She laughed. ‘You probably couldn’t stop her.’

  ‘Really? In that case I’m gonna be begging her to stay for a year.’

  Tilly pulled the sink plug. ‘Don’t get your hopes up. First I have to convince her to come at all.’

  Graeme left the following day. Sophie, who saw him off, returned from the airstrip without the cocky chicks, the pilot having agreed to take them.

  ‘So what do you think?’ Tilly asked. ‘Do you reckon the WPA’ll go for the plan?’ She hadn’t passed on Connor’s news about the suspected poachers’ boat, reasoning that there was nothing Sophie could do by knowing. Somewhat guiltily, she acknowledged that keeping silent also helped prevent Matt from learning that his part in it had been uncovered.

  Sophie shook her hair back, her plain, suntanned face thoughtful. ‘Realistically? I think we’ve a good chance of getting the go-ahead. Outback tourism is growing every year, and the public is more aware these days of what’s been lost, so they’re interested in seeing what we’re managing to save. Which means there’s a good return for expended dollars. The WPA might mainly be about the environment, but the board are business people too. So it’s obvious to Graeme what a drawcard the springs could be. He agreed with me that the place would pack people in.’ Sophie spread her hands. ‘He seemed genuine enough, Tilly, didn’t you think? I doubt he would have said that unless he favoured the development.’

  ‘I liked him too.’ Tilly nodded. ‘I suppose it’s a matter of wait and see. Incidentally, Jane will be flying in next week. And I wondered, Soph, what do you think about me seeing if Mum could come up?’ She went on to outline her plan, not neglecting to slip in the bit about getting Elaine to cook for them, adding, ‘Mind you, I doubt I’ll manage to persuade her, but I think it’s worth a try.’

  ‘Of course it is,’ Sophie said energetically. ‘It’d be good for you both. Respite care is there to be used, and so I’ll tell her. You write, then I’ll give it a week and ring her, just to help make up her mind.’

  ‘Bless you, Soph!’ Tilly gave her cousin a hug. ‘I really hope she’ll come. I’ve been thinking back, and I don’t believe I’ve seen her more than three or four times since my wedding – and not too often before, either.’

  ‘It’ll be good for you both,’ Sophie declared. ‘Heaven knows Elaine must need a break. Her life can’t be easy.’

  ‘No.’ Guilt smote Tilly. She had been so focused on her own tragedy that she had forgotten her mother’s. Watching the slow destruction of a spouse through dementia was probably worse than losing that spouse outright. From now on, she promised herself, she would be more mindful of the fact. Just because she had no love for her stepfather didn’t mean that Elaine hadn’t. Could you still love the husk, she wondered, once the mind that made it a person was gone? Were memories enough, or was it simply duty that kept the habit of caring going?

  Sophie broke into her ruminations. ‘So what’s Luke got planned for today?’

  ‘Oh, he volunteered to do the camp duties this morning, then he’s going to pick me up and we’re heading out after lunch.’ She grimaced. ‘Working on that old fenceline near Blooms Rock, which means rusty wire again.’ It was something that the rangers toiled at between other duties. ‘Matt’s got the kitchen today.’

  ‘Be sure and take gloves then. And it wouldn’t hurt, next time you’re in town, to check if you need a booster shot for tetanus.’

  ‘It’s on my list,’ Tilly said. ‘Meanwhile, I think I’ll prepare Jane’s room. Save myself some time later.’

  The day, long awaited by Luke, finally dawned and Jane arrived. She was every bit as pretty as Tilly remembered and seemed a pleasant, conversable person. Her unfortunate experience hadn’t turned her against the bush either. Tilly, asking how she felt about camping now, received a laugh and a brilliant smile from her.

  ‘It couldn’t happen twice,’ she said. ‘I admit it put me off a bit at first, but I decide
d I was being silly. Like never getting into a car again because you once ran into a post. Luke says nothing’s ever worried him and he never uses a tent.’

  Love was not only blind, Tilly thought, but infinitely suggestible. ‘So,’ she said, ‘you know I’m a trainee ranger now under Luke? Which means – I’m sorry – but I’ll be playing gooseberry when you two go anywhere.’

  ‘Yes, it was in his letters.’ She grinned impishly. ‘He’s told me a lot about you.’

  ‘Really? Like what?’

  The girl tipped her head considering, her brown eyes sparkling. ‘Well, that you’re a marvellous cook, you have absolutely no sense of direction, and you’re really good with hurt, and baby, animals.’

  ‘No sense of direction! Just because I got lost and drove the wrong way once,’ Tilly said indignantly. ‘You do know there are about fifty million tracks all over Binboona? And not a signpost among them? I bet Daniel Boone’d get turned around too.’

  ‘Are there?’ Jane was intrigued. ‘Why so many? Do stations need lots of roads? Luke said it was a cattle property once.’

  ‘About thirty years ago,’ Tilly agreed. ‘But the roads had nothing to do with the property owners. Some mining company made them for mineral exploration. They stop and start and run in all directions. What makes it confusing is that the station incorporated bits of them into their own roads – which we use – so you can be driving along and there’s a sudden choice of tracks. Luke,’ she added bitterly, ‘says you ignore the ones that aren’t headed east or north or wherever you’re going. Huh! All very fine if you happen to know which direction that is.’

  ‘I see.’ Jane nodded. ‘That’s like my dad – he always knows which way to unscrew nuts and jar lids and I never do. It must be a male thing. Never mind, Luke thinks you’re great anyhow.’

  ‘He’s not bad himself,’ Tilly said and was rewarded with a brilliant smile.

  Jane was only staying for a week, so Tilly spent most of her time with her and Luke, except when it was her turn in the kitchen. Wearing gloves, their visitor gamely collected wood, helped roll up long strings of rusted wire, filled and lumped away buckets of ash from the donkey heater at the camp, and learnt to feed the youngest joey.

  ‘You all work really hard. I had no idea,’ she said one evening, trimming split and ragged nails. ‘I feel like I’ve run a marathon today.’

  ‘Oh, you toughen up after a while,’ Tilly answered. ‘I’m just coming good now myself. You should clip your nails really short – even the gloves won’t stop them breaking. So, just one more day. When will you two lovebirds meet again?’

  ‘Christmas, I guess.’ Her pretty mouth drooped. ‘It’s a long time to wait.’

  ‘But it’ll pass,’ Tilly encouraged. ‘It’s only six months. You do know Luke is absolutely crazy about you?’

  ‘He’s wonderful,’ she said, sighing. Tilly, eyeing her wide brown eyes and the delicate flush on her cheeks, felt a pang for her youth and ignorance of what life could do to dreams as the girl continued. ‘We’re getting engaged at Christmas. He said we’ll marry when I finish my degree. I’d chuck it tomorrow, but he said no, it’s important and I have to finish.’

  ‘It’s good that he’s prepared to wait,’ Tilly agreed. ‘Patience is one of his strengths.’

  Jane giggled. ‘Like silence is Matt’s? Does that man ever manage more than a sentence at a time?’

  ‘Not often.’ Matt had been mostly absent during the week, hauling fuel from the Alloway Roadhouse, at the station collecting meat, or digging a pit for the new set of toilets that were going in at the camp. He was present for breakfast and dinner and gone for the rest of the day. ‘He’s not a ranger,’ Tilly explained, ‘so his work is different. Oh, we share the chores – the cleaning and the wood, stuff like that – but he mostly looks after the machinery, keeps things running about the place.’

  ‘Mmm.’ Jane got up to peer through the window, Matt’s character forgotten. ‘I wonder what Luke’s doing? He said he’d only be five minutes.’

  ‘And it’s been all of six.’ Tilly smiled. ‘He won’t be far.’

  The following morning when the three of them finished at the camp, Tilly dried her hands and dropped the towel back behind the seat. ‘That’s practically walking,’ she said, wrinkling her nose. ‘Remind me to put it in the wash tonight. So, what next, oh master?’

  ‘The fenceline again, but first,’ he added, cutting off both hers and Jane’s groans, ‘I thought we’d take a quick swing by Sandstone. Show Jane the springs and the caves. She knows about Sophie’s plans and wants to see the place. Maybe next time she comes north it’ll all be done and we can stay there. There’s an old track near the caves that’ll bring us out pretty close to the fence, so we might as well have a squint at it in passing. It’ll only take an hour. What do you reckon?’

  ‘You’re the boss.’ Tilly shrugged over Jane’s eager rejoinder.

  ‘Oh, yes, please. I’ve heard so much about them. I’ll just check how much film I have left in my camera.’

  ‘And I need to find my sunnies. I left them here somewhere yesterday,’ Tilly said. She found them near the laundry tubs and quickly returned to the vehicle.

  Making shooing motions at them, Luke headed for the driver’s seat. ‘All aboard then.’

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Grading, Tilly mused, certainly made a difference. They sped along quickly to the point where the road diverged, then lurched and twisted over the narrow side track, getting ever closer to the line of cliffs until the green blob of Sandstone Springs appeared at their foot. Jane eyed them, impressed, the yellow and ochre of the rock face vivid in the morning sun. ‘Wow! Look at the colours. I bet you’d get a view from up top.’

  ‘It’s not as high here as the river escarpment,’ Tilly observed, studying it. ‘I could climb that. Why don’t we, Luke? If the scheme goes ahead, maybe we could have a marked trail to the top for those who want to hike. Something you could suggest to Sophie.’

  ‘Or you could,’ he said. ‘Your idea.’

  ‘You’re the ranger – for now I’m just the help.’

  Jane grabbed his arm. ‘Oh, let’s climb up. It’ll make a marvellous photo.’

  ‘After I’ve had a dekko maybe,’ Luke squinted upwards. ‘I don’t want either of you falling.’

  ‘While your natural male superiority is going to see that you don’t?’ Tilly teased. ‘Get over yourself, mate. Let’s go.’

  The view from the top proved to be worth the effort. The back of the cliff rolled downwards studded with snappy gum, boulders and spinifex, for all the world like a huge mound that had been sliced in half. The path they found was relatively easy; the exposed rock lay in broken sheets that made for steep but safe climbing.

  ‘Like a neverending staircase for giants,’ Jane panted, as they neared the top. She wiped sweat from her flushed face and paused to snap a quick photo. ‘Whose mad idea was this?’

  ‘Well, not mine,’ Luke said. His breath, Tilly noted, was annoyingly under control. ‘You okay, love? You want to stop?’ He took Jane’s arm to help her on.

  ‘Course not!’ She flashed him a grin. ‘We’re almost there.’

  A cool blast of wind hit them as they made their last steps, and Luke whistled as they all stared about at the distant range and the pewtery gleam of the river glinting far over like a fugitive thread between the trees. Below, the ground debouched into a valley carpeted with red gravel from which the sunlight glinted.

  ‘They look man-made.’ Jane pointed down at shrunken, straight-edged sections of ground, their edges marked by lines of yellowed feed.

  ‘Mining tracks,’ Luke said.

  Tilly shot a covert glance south-east but the pinnacles of the Lost City were little more than a smudge on the horizon. ‘They’re everywhere. They go to the old camps and, I suppose, prospecting sites.’

  ‘Sometimes you see overgrown pits beside them,’ Luke added. ‘Dunno why – too big for rubbish pits – so maybe they were testin
g the ground, or digging up specimens.’

  Making the whole network a boon for poachers, Tilly thought, wondering who had first seen the possibilities it presented. Was it Matt? He had been here three or four years, Sophie had said. But if he’d worked long in the north, he could well have known about the roads and applied for his job because of them. She must mention the idea to Connor when next they spoke.

  Luke was getting restless; he was always conscientious about time. ‘Seen enough?’ he asked. ‘Let’s go down.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘We might have lunch, then head on for a quick look at the caves before we start work.’

  Tilly groaned. ‘I think he likes pulling down fences,’ she confided to Jane. ‘Are there any more after this one?’

  ‘Nope. And there’s only about thirty kay of wire left in it. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the last ten of them are through thick wattle scrub. That’ll be really hard work.’

  ‘I believe you.’ Tilly sighed.

  It wasn’t until their vehicle braked to a stop outside the main cave that Tilly remembered the snake. Finding no way to mention it without relating the whole saga of her visit with Connor, she just hoped to God it had found another home. She alighted reluctantly from the cab saying, ‘That’s an awfully dark-looking hole. I don’t suppose we have a torch?’

  ‘Under the seat,’ Luke said. ‘Not that it matters – there’s nothing to see except bats. And I’m warning you now, it’s like a sauna inside.’

  ‘You’ve been here before then?’ Jane asked.

  ‘I had a quick look once, but it was summer and there was a storm brewing. Really, I just stepped inside and out again – I didn’t even see the bats, just heard them moving around. You’re not scared of them, are you?’