Everybody Jam

by Ali Lewis

  I went back to the dunny. I didn’t need to go – I just wanted to look at myself in the bathroom mirror. I looked real hard at my face, turning my head from side to side, so I could see it from all angles. I tried to imagine what a baby with my face would look like, but I couldn’t. All of a sudden I wanted to see Alex. I needed to know if he really did look like me.

  Dad and me drove to the yards at Timber Creek to meet the fellas. They’d finished taking down the yards at Gum Tree and were real near the station – getting ready for the last place they’d muster. Reg and the fellas were waiting for us. The yards at Timber Creek were permanent ones, which Dad and Granddad had built about fifteen years before. It meant we didn’t need to build the fences – they were already there. Dad looked at me and said, ‘Well, we’d better get cracking, I guess.’ It was the last part of the muster – I was going to make the most of it.

  Reg threw the last of his coffee out of his cup onto the ground. He reckoned we’d have a real big mob from Timber Creek because he’d seen some healthy-looking steers. Dad nodded and said he hoped Reg was right.

  Lloyd had already started pumping water from the tanker into the troughs in the yards, and the Barron brothers were unloading the motorbikes from the back of a trailer. Jack walked over and tipped his hat at Dad and me. There was a bit of breeze and Jack looked around at the sky and said, ‘It’s changing.’ Dad shrugged and said he hoped a bit of breeze might help cool things down. Jack said: ‘Drought won’t last for ever.’ Dad said he hoped he was right about that.

  Before I knew it, everyone was ready to go. I was real excited. Reg asked if I wanted to go with Dad or him. Knowing I’d be in school in Alice Springs when Reg and his fellas came back the year after made my excitement slip down into my belly – like when you realise you’ve forgotten to do something.

  I told Reg it was OK – I was going to go with Dad.

  Twenty-nine

  Dad tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Ready to go?’ I laughed and went to give him a dead arm, but he saw me coming and dodged it. I couldn’t wait to get out into the desert to find the cattle – I guess Dad felt the same because he turned the stereo up real loud and shouted, ‘Wooohooo! Here we go!’ The music blasted out into the desert.

  As we crashed over witchetty bushes and big tufts of dry spinifex, we woke everything up – cockatoos flew out of the gumtrees and there were a couple of flocks of galahs, as well as the usual crows. Twice we were fooled by a bunch of big reds. We saw a cloud of dust and went after it – hoping it was a mob of cattle. Dad laughed when he realised we were tailing a couple of kangaroos – he reckoned that if it came to it, we might have to truck them. He said we could live off them, like the Blackfellas did.

  When we hadn’t seen a single cow, I felt a bit worried. I wondered where they were hiding. As soon as I’d thought that, we bounced down a small ravine and on the other side of some bushes at the bottom, found a cow and her calf. When it saw us the calf got up and followed its mum as she tried to get away. We got behind them and moved west in the direction of the yards. It wasn’t much of a mob, but Dad reckoned it was a start. As we went towards the yards, we found a couple more Herefords and Dad drove round to herd them together – that made four, including the calf. I said they didn’t look too bad. Dad agreed. He said he hoped the fellas were having more luck.

  Dad radioed Reg and said, ‘I dunno about you fellas, but we haven’t found much other than a few big reds. Over.’ Lloyd replied to say he’d got a mob of about fifteen, which Elliot was helping him to bring in, and Reg reckoned he had around twenty. For a second I wished I’d gone with Reg, and then felt bad for even thinking it.

  When we got to the yards, our four cattle got lost in among the ones Reg was taking in at the same time. I didn’t mind – it was a bit embarrassing only having four. Dad picked up the radio and told the fellas we’d try going northeast of the yards next. I asked if he’d let me drive. I’d never driven during the muster before. Dad looked me in the eye, and I could tell he was thinking about it. He put the ute into neutral and said, ‘OK – we’ll see how you go.’ I couldn’t believe he’d said yes. Dad walked round to the passenger side, while I quickly climbed across into the driver’s seat – just in case he changed his mind. As he got back in he said, ‘Now remember – it’s not about speed. We could outrun any cow. Just concentrate, keep an eye on the terrain ahead and try not to completely wreck the suspension.’ He switched the stereo off, and when he saw the look on my face he said, ‘You need to concentrate.’ I didn’t argue – I knew it was my chance to show him what I could do.

  Dad didn’t say anything as we followed the fellas into the desert. He held onto the handle above the door and looked out the window. I dunno if he was pretending not to be interested in my driving or if he really was thinking about the desert, but as soon as we were off-road, he didn’t shut up. Look out for that bush … This bit’s always full of holes … careful … What’s that over there? Left. Go left … Go round the trees over there … There’s usually a mob of them in this area … Slow down … it’s not a race … That’s it, now change down a gear … I wished he’d be quiet and just let me do it. But then I spotted a cloud of dust and pointed to it, so he shouted, ‘Go on, Danny, get after them!’ My first mob.

  My heart raced as I dropped down a gear, ready to accelerate to get ahead of them and make them turn round. I went wide and steered round a couple of bushes, before turning hard right and blocking their path. ‘Nice one,’ Dad said, as I eased the ute into second and flanked the cattle, carefully herding them back in the direction of the yards. There were about eight of them. I was watching them and thinking that, apart from one old-looking cow, they weren’t bad. A little thinner than we would have liked, but much better than the ones we’d seen at Cockatoo Creek and Gum Tree Dam. Dad shouted, ‘Don’t let that one get away,’ pointing at a young bull, which was starting to break away to the left. I accelerated forward and got round the side of him. That bull didn’t care that the ute was made of metal and weighed a couple of tons – I guess he must have had as much to prove as I did. He kept coming and as he clipped the front wing with his back leg, the ute jolted and the sound went right through me. ‘Watch it,’ Dad said, ‘he’ll write the ute off.’ I backed off a little but kept up with the bull’s pace so he knew I was still there. He couldn’t get away. After driving along like that for about half a mile, I guess that bull got the message because he went back into the mob. ‘Nice work,’ Dad said.

  Nearer the yard, we met up with Elliot who had a small mob like ours, so we joined up and brought them all in together. Dad kept on with his instructions all the way back. Keep an eye on that one … Watch out for the ravine to the right here … Now into third … that’s it … like I’d never changed gear before. Once we’d herded them past Jack into the yard with the others, we waited for Reg and Rick to get back. As Dad picked up the radio to find out where they were, Reg’s voice came through. He said they had a big mob and could do with a hand to bring them in. I’d turned round and was heading north of the yards before Dad could reply.

  I accelerated up through the gears quickly. The faster we got there, the more chance we had to bring all the cattle in. As we crashed over bushes and bounced out of the cracks in the desert, Dad shook his head. ‘Not so fast,’ he complained. He drove just as fast when he was mustering.

  It wasn’t long before I spotted a dirty mark in the sky to the west. Dad wound his window down to make sure and then he said, ‘I reckon you’re right – that’s it. Let’s go!’ I pushed my foot down and the ute sped forward after the dust cloud.

  A tiny white bull catcher appeared from behind some bushes. It looked like one of Jonny’s toy cars against the big mob it was bringing in. The cattle kicked up so much dust, it looked like a brown wave was rolling along the desert. Dad told me to pull alongside the mob, behind Reg. We’d flank the back while Reg and Rick took care of each side until the others arrived. We didn’t have to wait long. The Barron brothers w
ere soon there on the motorbikes. It felt like a long time since I’d seen a big mob like that. Dad smiled and nodded slowly to himself. I dunno how many were worth trucking – probably not a lot. But I guess that wasn’t the point any more. Knowing there were cattle out there was enough. I felt real proud of them. They might not have been the greatest cattle the station had ever produced – but they were Dawson cattle.

  When we were at the yards and we stopped to watch the last mob thunder past the gates, Dad clapped his hands. Jack and Rick shut the gates behind the cattle and we jumped out of the ute. The smile I had felt like it was bursting off my face. A hot wind had kicked up out of nowhere and it took my breath away. Grit flew around like sharp mosquitoes, so I pulled my hat down to protect my eyes. It was hard to hear anything with that wind and the noise from all the cattle – but there was no mistaking Lloyd’s WOOOOHOOOOO! as he ran round the yards punching the air. Dad laughed at him. Reg came over and, as the two of them watched Lloyd acting like a crazy chook, Reg said, ‘Well, it’s definitely worth celebrating.’ I looked round and watched the other fellas shaking hands and clenching their fists in the air, like a footie team that’s just scored a goal. Man, it felt good. We’d done it. We’d mustered the Dawson cattle!

  Bobbie, Emily and the Pommie showed up with our lunch. They’d come down to let Dad know Sissy would be allowed home later that day, so she’d stay at Aunty Ve’s for the night and get on the road with Mum in the morning – in time for the end-of-muster party. Aunty Ve was coming too, in her car, to help bring everything home. Dad smiled and said, ‘That’s music to my ears!’ He asked if they wanted to stick around to watch us draft the cattle. They said they would. I looked round and realised the only person missing was Buzz. I reckoned seeing the cattle in the yards would be real good for his training. He needed to get used to being around them if we were going to muster together one day. After lunch I set off back to the station to get him.

  When he saw me he shouted, as though to say, about time – where the hell have you been?

  We set off in a different direction to normal. We went out into the desert to the north of the station – which confused Buzz. He wasn’t sure where we were, so he didn’t run off as soon as I opened the gate. But when we went round the side of the house and set off down the track to the yards, he shook his head from side to side, like the athletes do when they’re limbering up at the Olympics. Then he started to kick his legs and we were off.

  When Buzz saw the yards, all the cattle, the utes and the fellas, he didn’t know which way to turn. He got all jumpy and scared. I panicked a little then. I didn’t want him to hurt anyone. I called to him. He didn’t know where he was meant to go, so he ran back and forth. Before I could grab him, Reg had run forward and Buzz reared up at him.

  I went over as fast as I could, but it was OK, Reg wasn’t frightened of the toughest of bulls, so he wasn’t scared of Buzz. He held Buzz’s neck in his big hands and was whispering something in his ear. Buzz’s ears had gone back – flat to his head and his eyes were so wide, I could see some white. Dad had seen what was going on and before I knew it he was shouting, ‘What the hell’s that camel doing here? This isn’t a bloody playground, Danny …’ I tried to explain it was all part of Buzz’s training, but Dad wasn’t interested. He reckoned he didn’t have time to worry about a camel getting loose in the yards. I felt sick. I didn’t want him to be mad at me. We’d had such a great morning. I tried to get Buzz to come with me – but he was spooked. All the noise from the cattle, the dust and wind – as well as Dad shouting – had made him jumpy.

  The Pommie got down from the back of the ute where she was sitting with Bobbie and Emily to help me with him. I told her I could do it myself.

  The road train arrived, like a clap of thunder. Buzz’s eyes widened and so I kept talking to him and held his neck until I felt him relax again.

  I was watching the fellas working when I noticed Lloyd scrambling to lift his legs up from where he was sat on top of the fence panels. A young bull was going crazy in there and I guess Lloyd was making sure his legs didn’t get in the way. But then, that bull kicked the fence panel, or something because I saw Lloyd’s body jerk back and then suddenly forward and he fell off into the yard.

  As soon as that happened, we all heard a weird sort of a scream.

  The fellas all ran towards where Lloyd had been working. Bobbie was on her feet trying to see what was going on. I jumped down from the tailgate and ran across.

  I climbed onto the fence panel opposite where Lloyd had been. I looked over into the yard, just as Jack and Rick got the wild bull into the race, so I could see Lloyd. He looked like an old bloody piece of cloth on the ground. There was a lot of blood. I guess he’d been trampled. Dad and Reg lifted Lloyd out of the yard. They each had one of his shoulders over theirs. The worst of his injuries seemed to be his right leg – that was where the blood was coming from. Dad cut Lloyd’s trousers open and Reg wrapped a bandage round his leg. It didn’t take long for it to turn red. Bobbie drove over and they helped Lloyd onto the back seat of her ute. He had his hand over his face, which was all twisted up in pain. They shut the door and I heard Dad tell Bobbie to get him to the clinic where Mum worked in Marlu Hill – as fast as you can. As we watched the ute speed off down the track, I saw Emily wave from the passenger seat. Dad shook his head and asked Reg if he thought he should have gone with them. Reg shrugged and said he reckoned Lloyd was in safe hands with Bobbie.

  Then, I dunno what made me look into the yards, but when I did, I saw some of those damned wild horses in there. There was this real dark stallion, throwing his ragged mane back, rearing up, trying to clear the fence, but he didn’t have enough space in there to get a proper run at it. His back legs caught against the metal and he brought down the fence panel. Then suddenly the sound of hooves on metal was deafening as horse after horse and then the cattle ran out of the yards. Before I could tell Dad what was going on, I realised they’d taken down almost a whole side of the yard. It was like everything was against us. I turned round to get Dad and saw Reg run to his bull catcher. I reckoned he’d seen what was happening and was going to head the cattle off. I started to wave and shout at the fellas, but they didn’t seem to hear me.

  As Reg started the engine of his bull catcher, it coughed and spluttered. That’s when I remembered Buzz. I must have let go of him when I ran across to see what had happened to Lloyd. I quickly looked round. He wasn’t with the Pommie – she was standing on her own next to Elliot’s ute. I was scared Buzz was going to get run down in all the chaos around us, but I couldn’t see him – he’d gone. I had a terrible feeling in my belly when I saw a tornado of dirt kicked into the air where the cattle were escaping. They were stampeding back out into the desert, like sand in a real big egg timer.

  I shouted Buzz’s name, but against the wind, the noise from the cattle and the engines, it was useless. Then I saw him – he was in among the mob outside the fence. I only saw him for a second and then he was gone – like he’d been swept away by the tide. I ran over to the nearest vehicle – it was Elliot’s ute. The Pommie was in the way, I shouted at her to move as I got in the driver’s seat. The keys were in the ignition, so I started the engine. The ute was moving when the Pommie grabbed the door handle, it swung open and hit her leg. She screamed a little – a bit like that noise dogs make when you accidentally stand on them. I braked – scared I’d really hurt her – but then she jumped into the ute and shut the door. I had no business taking Elliot’s ute – I hadn’t asked him, so I knew I’d be in trouble for it, but I didn’t care. Buzz was the only thing on my mind.

  I skidded in the dirt as I accelerated – that was when the Pommie screamed for a second time. ‘It’s Buzz!’ I shouted, like that would make her stop. I wondered how I’d find him among all the cattle and dust. I punched the steering wheel, slammed on the brakes and shouted, ‘DAMNED HORSES!’ I swore I’d take Jonny’s gun and shoot every last one of them.

  I slipped the ute back into fi
rst gear and I decided to pull away from the mob, out into the open desert. I went back on myself and headed round the other side of the yards, accelerating quickly through the gears. The Pommie didn’t say anything, but I could tell by the way she was gripping the side of her seat, she thought I was gonna kill us both. I was driving so fast, that we shot over witchetty bushes like they were blades of grass. As I got into top gear I saw Dad’s face flash by – he had his hand in the air. I kept my eye on the dust cloud ahead. Buzz was inside it somewhere – I had to find him.

  As we got closer to the mob I tried to wind my window down. The glass was stiff and the handle was awkward. It screeched a bit and then the glass fell down inside the door panel. With the window nowhere to be seen, I looked through the gap where it had been and tried to search the mob for Buzz. It was real hard looking for him and driving at the same time. I could see cattle everywhere – ears, horns, udders, brown and white hides … But no Buzz. ‘Where is he?’ I asked out loud.

  I told the Pommie to take the wheel, so I could concentrate on looking for Buzz while she steered. As she reached for the wheel, our hands touched. I don’t think I’d ever touched a girl’s hand before – except for Mum’s, or Grandma’s, and that was when I was a little kid, so it didn’t count. The Pommie stared straight ahead as I glanced back at her. I forgot Buzz for a second – Liz’s mouth had taken over my thoughts. Her lips were pushed together because she was concentrating so hard on driving. She had a little wrinkle on her forehead between her eyes and when the sun caught against the sweat on her face, she kind of sparkled. I dunno – it looked a bit like that glitter stuff Emily stuck on everything.