At that moment the lone rider yelled out and digging his spurs into his mount, charged past the Governor-General's escort, swinging the sabre wildly above his head. To the astonishment of everyone, and to the outrage of Premier Lang and the official party, Captain Francis de Groot of the New Guard slashed through the ceremonial ribbon with his sabre and declared the Sydney Harbor Bridge open in the name of the respectable and decent people of New South Wales.
Pandemonium broke out. Several policemen charged de Groot and, after a short struggle, pulled him from the saddle and arrested him. When six New Guard bodyguards, who like de Groot, had somehow passed themselves off as part of officialdom, ran to their captain's aid, they too were promptly arrested and taken to Darlinghurst police station.
When de Groot and his New Guardsmen were brought in, one of the policemen on duty was Inspector Edward Proudfoot. As de Groot was loudly defending his patriotic actions and calling them a victory for the anti-Lang forces, Proudfoot was more interested in one of the captain's accomplices.
'You, Fairchild,' he shouted angrily when he recognized Stephen. Proudfoot grabbed Stephen's neck in a huge hand and bundled him into an anteroom. When he'd slammed the door shut behind him, Proudfoot swung a vicious backhand across Stephen's face. 'You don't just bloody learn, do you? You'd think after the last episode, a smart-alec, silver-tailed solicitor like you would drop the New Guard ratbags like hot potatoes.' Proudfoot grabbed Stephen's lapels and drew his face close to his own. 'But you're stupid, Fairchild. You'll get off this one with a small fine and you'll keep on being a troublemaker. I know your kind. But mark my words. I'll get you, you bastard. I don't care how long it takes. I'll get you.'
*
A few days after the opening of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, Molly hurried over to Iris and Joan's cottage with a telegram for Emma. Emma quickly stopped work and opened it. Her heart sank when she read the terse message inside.
REGRET CESSATION OF FUNDING FORCES CLOSURE OF CRESTVIEW STOP YOUR MOTHER TO BE RETURNED TO QUEENSLAND IN SEVEN DAYS AND INSTITUTIONALIZED UNLESS OTHER ARRANGEMENTS MADE STOP SIGNED ENID POTTS
Emma arrived in Armidale by train two days later. When her taxi pulled up in front of Crestview, people were milling around everywhere. She hurried up the driveway and found Miss Potts standing in the front doorway, watching workmen carrying furniture and all kinds of household items outside and loading them into waiting vehicles.
'I came as quickly as I could, Miss Potts,' Emma said. 'What on earth is going on?'
Enid Potts gestured towards the workmen. 'I'm afraid some of our creditors have seen fit to send these gentlemen to take what they can to minimize their losses, Emma.'
'But the Mary Wells Society is a charity, Miss Potts, surely they can't...'
'Oh, but they can Emma. We are a private organization and they have court orders. It's just the times we live in. It wouldn't surprise me if they started taking out beds before we can empty them.' Enid Potts took Emma's hand and squeezed it. 'It's good to see you Emma. I'm so sorry things have turned out this way. Come, let me take you to your mother.'
Kathleen smiled bravely from her wheelchair when Emma entered her room. Emma thought how well her mother looked under the circumstances. They embraced each other tightly.
'My darling,' Kathleen said when they drew apart, 'you mustn't worry about me. The New South Wales authorities are arranging to send me back to Queensland. Apparently I'm their responsibility. I'm sure I'll be well looked after.'
'You won't be going to any sanatorium, Mother,' Emma said quickly. 'Gerald Braithwaite told me most of those places are no better than prisons. You're coming to Sydney with me. We're going to live together again. You, Christopher and me.'
For a moment Kathleen looked overjoyed at the prospect. But then she frowned. 'But how can we? How is it possible?'
Emma smiled reassuringly. 'Things have taken a turn for the better. I have so much to tell you, Mother. I was going to surprise you in a couple of months and come and get you. Now with Crestview closing, we'll just do it a little sooner.'
Miss Potts smiled apprehensively. 'Are you sure, Emma? Please don't try and take on more than you can handle. If you can't look after your mother properly and afford medical attention for her when it's necessary, things could be worse for her in the end.'
'It's all right, Miss Potts,' Emma said. 'Really it is. I have friends in Sydney, wonderful friends. And I've started a little business and have regular money coming in, so I'll be able to have a doctor call on Mother regularly.' Emma turned to Kathleen. 'And that's not all, Mother. Soon we'll be able to bring the twins to Sydney too.'
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Bruce read the new work roster on the notice board. It had been some time since he had been assigned the dirty job of mucking out the milking shed, but now he eagerly awaited the task. When he saw he was listed for dairy duties, he knew his chance had come.
He had worked out his escape plan carefully and decided he would make his move alone. He wouldn’t tell anyone, not even Strickland or Jack. It was better that way. If he were caught and brought back, he knew it would mean the hole. By going alone, only he would have to suffer the consequences. And if he made it to Augathella, Mr Braithewaite would soon get Jack out of the clutches of Brother Lucas. Bruce had ruled out any idea of trying to reach Armidale; it was just too far away.
On the first day in the milking shed, Bruce was careful to go about his tasks as if it were just any normal day. He had long been familiar with the routine. First the cows were brought into the milking shed stalls, where they were tethered and fed their ration of grain. Then the milking started and the milk was put into ten gallon churns which, later in the morning, were taken up to the main gate by horse-drawn wagon to be picked up by the milk truck from the dairy in Toowoomba.
Just before midday Bruce and a helper loaded the churns onto the dray. Then Bruce told the helper to start mucking out while he secured the churns on the wagon. Discreetly, he left a small empty space among the churns near the back of the dray. When the load was secure, Bruce told Brother Josef the milk was ready to go and went to help muck out. A few minutes later, when one of the brothers drove the wagon past the milking shed door, Bruce calmly laid down his shovel and ambled outside.
He casually looked around in every direction as the wagon rumbled by. He saw no one. Everyone on work duty was either inside farmyard buildings or out in the fields. Taking a deep breath, he ran after the wagon and hopped up on the back. In seconds he was out of sight, crouched with his knees tucked up under his chin in the small space he had left between the milk churns
Bruce’s heart pounded all the way up the track to the front gate. When he heard the driver call out to the team to stop, he was afraid that his absence had been discovered and someone had come after the milk wagon to search it. But then he heard a gate creaking and a few moments later the wagon started to move again, and he knew they had reached the road. Silently he slipped off the back of the wagon and into a ditch beside the road.
He watched from behind a clump of wattles while the driver jockeyed the dray into position beside the milk platform. He didn’t stir until all the churns had been rolled off and the wagon had travelled a good way back down the track to the farm. Then he jumped up and ran for his life towards Toowoomba.
Bruce ran and ran, his heart still pounding in his chest. After about ten minutes he saw a vehicle approaching in a cloud of dust. He quickly dropped down into the ditch and waited for it to pass. As soon as the car had roared by, he started running again. He was still running hard when he heard a loud horn blow behind him. Startled, he looked back over his shoulder. There was a truck behind him. Bruce wondered how it had got so close without him hearing it. But it was too late now to dive into the ditch and hide, so he just kept running.
The truck slowed right down and kept pace beside Bruce. It was the milk truck from the Toowoomba dairy. The driver wound down the window. He was a big, unshaven man in a dirty white vest. He grinned down
at Bruce.
‘You planning on running all the way to wherever you’re going, son? Or do you want a lift?’
Bruce grinned nervously. ‘I’d like a lift, please.’
The driver stopped the truck and Bruce got in the cab. As the truck pulled away, the driver appraised his passenger. ‘Those clothes you’re wearing. That’s Hope Farm gear, isn’t it?’
Bruce’s spirits sank.
The driver grinned again. ‘Running away, aren’t you, son?’
Suddenly afraid, Bruce tried to think of something to say. Before he could do so, the driver said, ‘Good on you. From what I hear, that place is little more than a bloody slave camp. Reckon it should be called No Hope Farm.’ The big driver laughed heartily. ‘I can take you as far as Toowoomba.’
‘Can you drop me off at the railway station?’
‘Consider it done.’
The milk truck stopped directly across the street from the Sundowner Hotel. Bruce climbed out, the driver sounded his horn and a moment later Bruce was alone again. He walked into the station and casually strolled down the platform, trying to see where he might gain access to the adjacent sidings. All he needed was a west-bound goods train.
Bruce soon saw there was no access to the sidings from inside the station without being spotted. He went back outside and walked the length of a high brick wall beside the freight yard, trying to find a place to climb over it. Eventually he found a tree with a strong limb which overhung the wall but knew he would have to wait until dark before he could climb it unseen.
He hung around the tree for a long time waiting for the sun to go down. When at last it began to get dark, Bruce started to shin up the tree. Suddenly he froze as a big hand grabbed him by the collar.
‘Better not try it.’
Bruce tried to break free and run, but the big hand held him firmly in its grip.
‘Take it easy, lad. Take it easy. No one’s going to hurt you.’
Bruce looked at his captor. The face seemed familiar.
‘There’s a rail inspector been watching you from the public bar,’ the publican from the Sundowner said. ‘He said he was coming over to catch you in the act. Seems a lot of the swaggies use this tree as a leg-up into the siding yard. But I came over first. I remember you from when you and your brother and sister stayed at the hotel last year.’ The publican raised his eyebrows. ‘Run away from the brothers at Goombungee, have you?’
Bruce nodded.
‘Better come over to the pub, have a feed and tell us all about it.’
Bruce told his story at the kitchen table. While he talked, the publican’s wife made him a stack of sandwiches and gave him a tall glass of milk. When he’d finished, the publican said, ‘I’ll just go and talk to some of the blokes in the bar and see if anyone’s heading up Augathella way.’
The publican returned with a smile on his face. ‘Well, looks like you’re in luck. There’s a brewery truck heading up to Augathella on the beer run first thing tomorrow morning. It stops at most of the pubs along the way, but with any luck you should be there before dark.’
*
Not since the visit of Stephen Fairchild almost a year before had there been such a special guest at Essex Downs. But the elderly man engaged in earnest conversation behind closed doors with Patrick Coltrane was infinitely more important and powerful.
‘With Prime Minister Joe Lyons at the helm of the new United Australia Party in Canberra, we are witnessing the dawn of a new era of government. It will champion everything that conservatives everywhere hold so dear. That is why Queensland needs strong and forceful representation in the Senate, not only to back up Mr Lyons, but also to ensure Queensland plays a role in charting the course that lies ahead. We are facing a critical time in our history. It is not a time for us to send a jobs for the boys senator to Canberra. That is why we would like you to accept our nomination.’
For a moment Coltrane said nothing, savoring the triumph. He looked across at the little man in the huge armchair. How unpretentious he was. Coltrane had admired Royston Silver all his life. To the man on the street, he was just another small town country doctor. But to those who knew him, or to those who aspired to high office, he was a king-maker.
‘I would be honored to accept, Royston.’ Coltrane’s voice took on a rare tone of humility. ‘I can assure you, it is a decision you will not regret.’
‘Oh, I am sure of that, Patrick. And you may well find yourself in Canberra sooner than you think. Although Scullin’s defeat and the calling of a double dissolution took us by surprise and left us no time to make any changes to our Senate representatives, we are expecting a vacancy soon. When it occurs, you will be on your way to the nation’s capital.
Coltrane beamed. ‘I will work hard for Queensland to warrant the confidence you have placed in me.’
‘Queensland needs strong voices like yours in Canberra,’ Silver said. ‘People who will come down hard on the communists and those who thumb their noses at authority. We expect Mr Lyons to remove Jack Lang and his Bolshevik sympathizers within a few months. We also have it on good authority that he will outlaw the communist party and use the White Australia policy to keep foreign agitators from our shores. We need to support him in these matters. We must also press him to adopt our call for sterilization of half-caste Aborigines as a means of eliminating that inferior race. We know we can count on you in that regard, Patrick.’
‘Indeed you can,’ Coltrane said solemnly. He rose to his feet. ‘This calls for a celebration. May I get you a drink?’
‘Perhaps a small whisky.’
As Coltrane poured two generous measures, Silver said, ‘There are just a few other assurances we require from you, Patrick, before your endorsement is confirmed officially.’
‘And what would they be?’ Coltrane clinked his glass against Silver’s. Both men sipped and swallowed.
‘You must be prepared to spend a great deal of time in the Australian Capital Territory,’ Silver said almost apologetically. ‘Canberra is a barren, windswept hole but it might be quite tolerable if they ever finish building it. And it’s a miserably cold, brain-addling place in winter, which might account for some of the extraordinary decisions that men in power have made there. And you will also have to put aside some of your private commitments. In the past there have been too many senators absent when important bills have come before the Upper House. That is something we simply cannot tolerate when our country is in crisis.’
‘I understand perfectly, Royston. I will make the necessary arrangements. My son, Elliot, now runs the old McKenna property north of here. I shall also have him oversee the station manager here at Essex Downs which will allow me to devote all my time to the Senate. As it happens Elliot is coming down here tomorrow, so we will work out the new arrangements then.’
‘Excellent.’ Silver swirled the whisky around in his glass. ‘Just one more thing. You don’t need me to tell you that politics can be a dirty game. More than one fine man has been brought down by mud-slingers airing dirty linen. So if there are any dark skeletons in your cupboards, which can’t survive scrutiny in the light of day, please tell me now.’
Coltrane downed his whiskey and poured himself another. He took a long swallow. ‘I’ve done nothing in my life to be ashamed of. There are those, I know, who would like nothing more than to destroy me. After all, there would be few men in my position who have not made enemies along the way. But there is nothing anyone can pin on me that would compromise me as a senator.’
‘Good. Now, to change the subject. I wonder if I may ask your personal advice on a financial matter?’
‘Of course.’
‘In these times it can be difficult to make sound investments with so many once strong companies in trouble. So I have decided to liquidate the major portion of my stocks and bonds portfolio. Very shortly I shall have a very large amount of cash to invest. Your reputation as a successful land speculator is well known. If I were to invest in land, what would you suggest?’
Coltrane stared thoughtfully into his glass. ‘These days the key to successful land speculation is knowledge, inside knowledge. It’s not enough to just place your funds somewhere and hope for the best. With inside knowledge, one can follow the time honored buy cheap and sell dear formula. For some time I’ve invested heavily in land offered to me by VMP under favored conditions. In return for investing large sums, I am privy to information before it becomes public knowledge. I have had a long and special relationship with the company’s general manager, Frank Peables. I would be happy to introduce you to him. Under the circumstances, it’s the very least I can do.’
‘I would appreciate that, Patrick.’ Royston Silver smiled politely. ‘I really would.’
*
Laura was disappointed when Royston Silver told her he was unable to stay for dinner at Essex Downs. But she was glad his visit had put her husband in such a good humor.
Coltrane continued drinking after Silver left. By dinnertime he had consumed more than half a bottle of Scotch. By the time the meal was over, he was well into his second bottle of claret. It was then the dogs started barking outside the house. Above all the commotion, Coltrane heard the rumbling of a motor vehicle, then bright headlights shone in the yard outside. He walked unsteadily to the front door and opened it wide.
A truck loaded with beer barrels stood in the yard. Its driver, unwilling to get out of the cab and test the friendliness of the barking dogs, leaned out of the window and shouted, ‘Mr Coltrane?’
‘Yes.’ Coltrane stood in the doorway, hands grasping the door frame to steady himself.
‘I drove your nephew up from Toowoomba.’
The driver’s voice was loud enough for Laura to hear inside the house. She rose quickly, brushed past her husband and hurried across the yard to the truck. When Bruce climbed out of the cab, she embraced him tightly.
The Light Horseman's Daughter Page 20