Barefoot and Lost

by Brian Francis Cox

  ‘May, do you know where Owen and Stan were going today?’

  ‘Coleraine I think, why?’

  ‘That’s what I thought, then who is that over there?’

  ‘Where, I can’t see anyone?’

  ‘About half a mile, see the big clump of trees just to the right of them, the sun is shining on a windscreen or something.’

  ‘I can see it now, who do you think it is?’

  ‘I don’t know, but if it’s not Owen I don’t know who. There is nobody else with a car or a truck, and he won’t have had time to go to Coleraine and back, especially as it is his Rotary Lunch today, he never misses that.’

  ‘What about Bill?’

  ‘He only has a horse and buggy, it doesn’t have windows, I reckon it is someone that shouldn’t be there.’

  ‘Who could they be?’

  ‘Maybe someone stealing sheep, Owen was worried about that when Stan found the fence knocked down.’

  ‘What are we going to do?’

  ‘If we stay close to the fence, under the trees, they may not see us, and then we can watch what they are doing. If they are stealing, I will frighten them away while you gallop back to the homestead and get help.’

  As we get closer I can see a livestock truck with its rear end smashed through the fence. The loading ramp is down, but there is no sign of anybody. Both Taffy and Defor have their heads raised and are sniffing the air. The dogs start to run but stop as soon as I call them, ‘May we had better get down and tie them, can’t have the dogs warning them.’

  Using our stock whips as leashes, we mount again. About half a mile down the paddock I can see three men, with two dogs, driving fifty or sixty sheep. We are now right up to the truck, there doesn’t appear to be anyone with it. ‘Keep watch May, I’m going to see if I can do something to the truck so they can’t drive it.’

  ‘You could let the tyres down.’

  ‘No, I’ll see if I can break the engine then they definitely won’t be able to drive away.’

  The truck is a Dodge, just a bigger version of the Ute. There are no keys in the dash like ours, and, in fact, there is nowhere to put them. ‘Are they still coming, May?’

  ‘Yeah, but they are still a long way off.’ With difficulty I manage to raise the bonnet, the engine is just a bigger version. I try to pull the cable out of the coil but it won’t budge, I try tugging the other end, it won’t move either.

  ‘Phil, hurry, they are getting closer.’ I remember the pliers on my belt; using them as a lever the cable comes away from the coil. Using the same method; I pull the other end out of the distributor. Putting the cable in my pocket, I then quietly close the bonnet and jump down from bumper bar.

  “May, what we have to do now is ride at them as fast as we can and make as much noise as we can, cracking our whips. The sheep will scatter, and the men will come back to the truck to escape, but won’t be able to because it won’t start. I’ll try and keep them here, you ride as fast as you can and get Owen, or Gloria to call the police, okay?’

  ‘Will you be alright?’

  ‘I’ll be fine.’ bending down I untie the dogs, and remount Hero, ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘Yes, I think so, I’m a bit scared, are you sure it will be alright?’

  ‘Of course it will; what could they do? We are on horseback; if they chase us we can outrun them.’

  ‘Yes but supposing they have a rifle they could shoot us?’

  ‘I can’t see them carrying any.’ I am level with the cab and can see, on a bracket in the rear window, a rifle. ‘Quick, hold Hero, leaping into the cab I lift the rifle down and throw it, as far as I can, over the fence into a clump of bushes. ‘Okay, come on, let’s do it.’

  Galloping our horses, cracking our whips and yelling at the tops of our voices, we bear down on the men and their dogs. The sheep scatter and the men run towards the truck.

  ‘Go May, as fast as you can.’ Taffy and Defor try to round up the sheep but I shout at them and drive the sheep further away. I can see two men are raising the ramp, while the third man is trying to start the truck. One of the robber’s dogs is attacking Taffy, Defor comes to his assistance, and the dog runs off yelping. The men have succeeded in raising the ramp, now all three of them are looking under the bonnet. A very tall fat man throws his arms in the air, gets in the cab, goes to the back window to find the rifle missing. He leaps out of the cab and starts to run towards me shouting, almost screaming. As he gets closer I can hear him shouting, ‘You fucking bastard I’ll kill you.’

  Keeping an eye on him and the others, I give Hero a little nudge with my heels and move further away. The other two shout to their mate climb over the fence and start to run through the forest. Fat man picks up a stone, drawing his arm back, like a baseball pitcher, he throws the stone, I can see it coming straight at me. I attempt to turn Hero, but I’m too late, it misses me by a whisker and hits Hero on his neck. The shock causes Hero to rear onto his hind legs and twist. Not expecting it, I fly out of the saddle and crash to the ground, the wind is knocked out of me and Hero gallops off.

  Trying to regain my breath, struggling to get up, Fat man grabs me by the front of my shirt, drags me to my feet, and lifts me up, with my feet barely touching the ground. His face is a couple of inches from mine, with his saliva spraying all over me he screams,

  ‘What have you done to my fucking truck you bastard tell me or you’re fucking dead.’

  Trying to kick him, he backs away from my boot and stumbles over a log; we both fall to the ground, with me landing on top of him. He is still gripping my shirt and screaming swearing. This big man is throwing me around like a rag doll, I’m sure my head is going to fall off. His abuse suddenly changes to a high pitched scream, which seems to be competing with the growls of Defor, Fat man lets go of me. I scramble to my feet to see Defor, has his jaw locked on Fat man’s fleshy calf, desperately he is trying to kick Defor off, but Defor is not having any of it and is now shaking Fat man’s leg, his screams get louder and his words have become incoherent.

  ‘Defor leave it!!’ But he is still shaking and growling, ‘Defor, come here!!’ Defor hears me and releases his grip. Fat man takes his opportunity and leaps to his feet, he takes a hefty kick at Defor, but Defor is too quick for him and is only caught with a glancing blow. With Defor going crazy, barking, and growling, Fat man decides to follow his mates, with Defor in pursuit, only giving up the chase when Fat man scrambles through the fence into the forest. I’m tempted to go to the truck and find the rifle, just in case he comes back, but think better of it, and decide to hide behind a fallen log, where I can wait and watch until Constable Connelly arrives.

  There is no sign of Hero; it is starting to get dark a couple of times I have been convinced that someone is creeping up on me but it is only the light playing tricks. At last, I can see car headlights in the forest. Looking behind me I can also see Owen’s Ute, bouncing across the paddock, alongside is someone on horseback. As they get closer I can see it is May on Hero. When they come up to me, I can see Stan in the Ute with Owen. May dismounts and says, ‘Look what I have found, really Phil you know you should take better care of your horse?’

  ‘Yeah, right May I’ll try harder, promise.’

  ‘May, this is no time for joking, what happened, where did they go Phil?’

  ‘Into the forest, there were three of them;’ I suddenly feel like jelly and start to tremble.

  ‘Are you alright Phil, how come you got off of Hero?’

  ‘I didn’t, I was thrown off, the fat man grabbed hold of me, he was shaking and shouting at me, he said he was going to kill me, but Defor attacked him. I called him off, when he let go, the man ran away. Defor was great; I reckon he saved me from getting really hurt.’

  Defor leans against me as though he knows I am talking about him. I reach down to pat him and he licks my hand, I go to wipe Defor’s saliva off my hand and notice there is blood in it. ‘I’m okay Owen but I think the robber may be hurt, Defor has blood in his mou
th.’

  ‘Serve the bastard right.’

  A shout comes from the direction of the truck but I can’t hear what is being said. Owen moves the Ute forward to Constable Connelly, who is doing the shouting. May and I follow, I’m leading Hero. May takes hold of my hand, I turn and look at her with a questioning expression, she blushes and says, ‘I’m just making sure, you Pommy bastard, that you don’t get into any more trouble.’ I squeeze her hand but don’t let go, I’m rather enjoying it.

  ‘Yeah right.’ I can feel my neck getting red.

  ‘How many of them were there?’ Owen answers,

  ‘Phil says there were three of the buggers.’

  ‘Well, two down one to go.’

  ‘You’ve caught two already?’

  ‘Wasn’t difficult, they were walking along the highway, couldn’t explain what they were doing there, Pat is holding them.’

  ‘How come they didn’t do a runner in the truck?’

  ‘Michael, that’s because smart arse here immobilized it.’

  ‘And how did you do that?’ Pulling the cable out of my pocket I show it to him,

  ‘I pulled this out between the coil and the distributor. The fat one was going to shoot me but I had already hidden his rifle.’

  ‘We haven’t got a fat one yet; where did you hide the rifle?’

  ‘I threw it in the bush over there.’

  ‘Well done Phil, I think you should get on home, you have done enough for today.’

  ‘Aren’t you going to look for him?’

  ‘Don’t need to, I know the truck, it belongs to Charlie Cooper over in Dunkeld and he’s a fat bastard, so I reckon he is our man.’ Constable Connelly walks to his car where he picks up the radio hand piece, ‘Zero one to base.’ the radio cackles, a women answers,

  ‘Go ahead Mike.’

  ‘Jill, ring Charlie Cooper at Dunkeld, ask to speak to him, he won’t be there, his missus will probably answer. Don’t say who you are, find out if he went out in his truck today, it’s most important, call me back as soon as you know.’

  ‘Wilko Mike.’

  ‘That should nail the fat bastard. If his wife says he took the truck he can’t tell me it was stolen.’

  ‘Constable Connelly, how do you know it is his truck, there is no name on it?’

  ‘I know Phil, I know the number, and I even know the chassis and engine numbers Charlie has been my main suspect for the sudden increase in livestock rustling in this area couldn’t prove it but, thanks to you two, I have him nailed now.’

  ‘Supposing his wife says the truck is stolen?’

  ‘I have that covered May, one of the accomplices is Charlie’s brother-in-law, and that is too much of a coincidence, anyway I have two excellent eye witnesses.’

  ‘Is that all Michael, do you need us for anything else?’

  ‘No Owen, you can get on your way; Phil, you had better give me that coil cable’ handing the cable over, I’m trying not to be, but I feel very smug; Stan calls out,

  ‘I’ve found the rifle.’

  ‘Great Stan, don’t touch it, leave it where it is.’

  ‘Righty ‘ho Mike.’

  ‘Come on Stan, let’s get back. Phil, follow us, keep you head below his head, then you won’t get it knocked off if he goes under any low branches.’

  ‘Okay, thanks Owen.’

  ‘You know Phil; it is not often you get two heroes together.’

  ‘Don’t forget May, if I’m a hero so is she.’

  ‘My God, three heroes now I feel very humble, what about you Stan?’

  ‘Me Boss, I feel more humble than humble, if that’s possible.’

  ‘Yeah, know what you mean. Come, let’s get back, and tell Glorr all about it, she will be worried sick’

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  May has been gone for three weeks; Charlie Cooper was picked up just outside Strath’ later that night by Constable Connelly.’ Charlie was trying to thumb a lift, when he saw that it was a police car that had stopped, he tried to run but was soon caught. At the police station, when confronted with the evidence, he pleaded guilty and asked for five other livestock thefts to be taken into account, he also asked to be taken to the hospital to have a very nasty wound on his leg treated. Charlie and his accomplices are being held on remand, in Hamilton. Constable Connelly says that May and I are to be given an award. I’m not sure I want one but May will, it will give her proof that she is the best. She doesn’t need to prove it to me, I know

  Being back at school I only get a chance to ride Hero on weekends but, everyday, between getting home from school and milking, I have been standing at the gate of the holding paddock where he grazes, calling Hero. Eventually he came to me, and then I fed him a carrot. He is now without fail, waiting for me and gets a sugar lump or a carrot. This evening I just stood there with my empty hands held out; he sniffed both my palms and then put his nose in my pocket where the carrot was. I love him and I think he likes me.

  Stan has on a couple of occasions, to give him exercise has taken him out instead of Lucy, Stan reckons, but I already know, that I am very lucky to have such a wonderful horse as my own.

  In just over six weeks I will have been at Gadoona one whole year. I cannot believe my luck to have been taken in, and treated like a son, by two wonderful people. When I am riding out, on my own, I often think about my life. Mum is just a memory, of a kind person that kissed me goodnight and told me off when she thought I wasn’t behaving myself. I can’t really remember what she looked like. Gran; I remember her clean pinny and her big chest that nearly suffocated me when she hugged me. And how we both, hugged each other and cried, when Mum was killed. Also the happy times, when we laughed until we cried.

  After Gran died I was happy with June and Reg, even though I always felt they were being kind because they felt sorry for me, and were being that way out of loyalty to Gran. I don’t miss Jet, Defor is so much better, he is intelligent, and works hard, Jet only slept, walked, and peed.

  In Hastings I never felt the way I do here at Gadoona. Here I feel as though I belong, I feel that I am part of a family. Gloria said, when I came here, ‘Phillip won’t want to run when I start mothering him.’ How right she was, I Love her so much. I don’t remember my Dad at all, I have no idea what he looked like, and I understand what May meant when she said, ‘Not even a photograph.’ Owen is the best Dad any child could want, he sometimes calls me son. I know he only means it in general terms but, nevertheless it gives me a glow when he says it.

  Jack has been home for the odd weekend, treats me like a brother and has insisted, several times, that I am not a replacement for Adam, telling me that Adam was a spoilt brat, and if he hadn’t have had that tantrum in the boat, he would still be alive today.

  Lambing is almost over. On the weekend I went out with Stan, very early. We didn’t take the dogs because they scare the ewes; somehow they aren’t worried by the horses. It is amazing to see the lambs born; how the mother licks her baby clean, then they stand on wobbly legs and find their mums teat. How they know where to look, and what to do, beats me.

  It is sad when a lamb is born dead, with the mother licking it, trying to make it get up. Sometimes a ewe has twins, but the mother only wants one, so she keeps kicking the other one away. We came across a ewe that had died; the lamb was okay and trying to get to the teat. Stan picked it up, took it to a ewe who’s lamb was dead, he wiped the live one clean, then rubbed the afterbirth off the dead lamb onto the live one, then laid him on top of the dead lamb. Stan held the ewe until she licked the lamb and, in no time, the lamb was sucking like mad on her teat, both as happy as can be.

  We have a pen in the barn with six orphans in it, four are girls. Owen said, you were an orphan once so it is your job to be their mummy, so now, every four hours I have to feed them cow’s milk from a contraption Stan rigged up, it is a plank with holes in it, suspended between two trestle’s. Beer bottles, with rubber teats on the end, are poked upside down through the holes. I can feed
six lambs at once; it is amazing to watch their tails wiggling as they suck.

  At first it was every two hours, I got fed up with going back to bed, so I wrapped myself in a blanket, with a tarpaulin over and slept in the pen with the lambs. They snuggled up like I was their mum. I have continued to be mum, and have an alarm clock but, I must admit, I have not heard it go off, it is usually the lambs that wake me, in particular, one of the rams I have named Rod.

  I tried getting out of going to school this morning, on the pretext that my babies need their mum, but Gloria said she was quite good at being a mum. I couldn’t argue with that, so I have sat through my lessons, trying hard to keep awake. Mr. Granville held me back after school and asked what was wrong, I told him about the lambs. He has given me some home work and told me to come back next week, when I am able to pay attention.

  My daily visit to the post office gives me four letters for Owen and a thin blue one that looks a bit like the letter I sent to Pop, from St S’s. It has Airmail printed across the top and is addressed to me. Turning it over I can see it is from Mr. S. Cohen.

  I want to rip it open but can’t see how. It has printed on the edge, tear here, but I don’t like to in case I ruin it. There is still nothing from Rachel and Billy hasn’t replied to mine. I find that I’m thinking of May more often than I do Rachel, but I have never felt the flutter in my stomach when I see May, like I did when I saw Rachel, what does that mean?

  Gloria opens Pop’s letter with a kitchen knife slipped under the flaps. Inside it tells me that he is so pleased that everything has worked so well for me, and that June and Reg have moved to Bexhill. He doesn’t have their address but he bumped into June in Hastings, and has given her mine.