Brumbies in the Snow

by Paula Boer

  The last of the daylight had long since gone and the cold night air permeated to Ben’s bones. The insides of his legs had rubbed raw from the travois poles under his calves. Lady snatched at her bit and napped. Ben thought she must be tired from carrying him as well as dragging Francesca on the litter.

  Several times the bark runners had broken into pieces and had to be replaced. As the road passed through cleared land, James had taken a long time to find the messmate trees they needed.

  The tired Englishman stumbled behind Lady, mumbling. “Is that the ranger’s hut?”

  “Yeh. Looks like there’s still people there.” Ben couldn’t wait to pass the burden of the two hikers on to someone in authority and get home. He tried not to think of the warm kitchen and his Mum’s cooking.

  The door opened as they approached. A middle-aged woman wrapped in a knee-length sheepskin coat emerged. She hurried to greet the trio as they trudged into the car park. “You’re safe! Thank goodness. Mrs Naylor rang a while ago. The ambulance should be here any minute.”

  James hugged the woman before stooping to hold Francesca’s hand. “She’s frozen stiff, Marilyn. Can we get her inside while we wait?”

  Ben dismounted and held Lady while James and the woman called Marilyn unfastened the ties around Francesca. With one person on either side of her, they helped her to hop into the warmth of the wooden slab building. Ben felt at a loss as to what to do. “Can I get a hot drink before I go home?”

  Marilyn stopped and looked back over her shoulder, her arm still slung around the injured lady. “Of course, Ben. I’m sorry. Tie your horse up and come on in. Adam will be back soon. We radioed him when your mother called.”

  Fatigue washed over Ben. His arms felt leaden and his legs didn’t want to move. He loosened Lady’s girth and removed her bridle before tying her to one of the pine railings that bordered the steps. “I’ll get you home soon, girl. Have a breather for a bit.”

  He checked her sides to make sure the travois hadn’t rubbed her like it had him. Satisfied that she was okay, he scratched her ears and went inside.

  The warmth enveloped him like a blanket. After the cold night, the inside of the hut seemed stuffy and small. A crackle of a radio hissed in the background. Posters of native mammals, reptiles and insects covered one wall. A large display table in the centre of the room housed specimens of leaves and flowers under glass. Each item had a neat notice next to it stating its Latin name, its common name and where it could be found.

  Ignoring everything, Ben slumped into a moulded plastic chair and stretched his legs out in front of him.

  “Here. Have a mug of hot chocolate. Would you like some cake too?” A young woman presented Ben with a tray. “We’re so pleased you found the hikers. Thanks for helping in the search. It was a good idea to use horses.” From her name badge, Susan was obviously one of the volunteers that ran the Information Centre.

  “Yeh, they know the park well. We ride here a lot.”

  From the way that Marilyn talked to James and Francesca, Ben presumed that she was Mrs Smythe-Waters. The older woman was nothing like he’d imagined Robert’s wife to be. She seemed very nice. Although small, she looked strong and capable, and quietly organised the furniture to make her patient comfortable.

  A cold draught blew in as the door opened. Ben hadn’t heard any vehicles approach, despite the ambulance arriving at the same time as the ranger. Adam took charge and assisted the paramedics stretcher Francesca out to the waiting vehicle.

  Robert Smythe-Waters came in when Adam returned. He stomped over to Ben. “It’s you. I suppose I should thank you for finding my niece. I heard it was someone on horseback.” The burly farmer pulled up another chair and sat on it back to front with his arms folded on its back.

  “Yeh, they were in the old mines. A rock fall caught them. They must have been really lost if they thought they were going to Mt. Evans.” Ben had trouble being civil to the man whom he suspected of lighting the bush fire in the park. He also believed that Mr Smythe-Waters had released the first herd of brumbies that he and Louise had caught in the summer, and he knew for a fact that he’d run over Louise’s bicycle, twisting it beyond repair.

  Robert didn’t reply except for a harrumph.

  Adam came and joined them. “That was a good idea making a litter out of those poles. We would never have been able to get the lady back without your help. Is there anything I can do for you?” The long day of searching seemed to have taken its toll on the ranger. His face looked grey and drawn, and his body draped over the chair like an empty sack.

  Ben started to feel better for the food and drink, and getting warm. “I’m okay, thanks, but that stallion with the broken leg is near here. We need to put it out of its misery.”

  “If it’s a brumby, we don’t interfere with them. It’ll have to fend for itself.” The ranger shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

  “That’s rubbish. You muster the horses every year to manage the numbers. Why can’t you shoot this one to save it from suffering? And you should feed the herds too. They’re starving. We passed several mobs coming in and they’re in terrible condition.” Ben’s anger heated his face bright red.

  He stood up and placed his hands on his hips. “I’ve spent all day helping these hikers instead of breaking in my stallion like I’d planned. You ask what you can do to help, well, help the brumbies that are suffering out there in the park.”

  Robert Smythe-Waters stood and glared at Ben. “Calm down, son. You’ve done a good job today but you must know the park has a non-interference policy. The brumbies will live or die according to nature. They shouldn’t be there anyway. That’s cattle country.”

  Ben’s voice raised as his temper flared higher. “They’d have plenty to eat if you hadn’t burnt it all. You shouldn’t have set that fire. Anyway, it’s not cattle country any more. Those days are over. The park’s for people now. And think how good it’ll look to all the tourists to see starving animals or one in agony from a broken leg.”

  Before Ben could say more, Adam leaped to his feet and tried to calm the pair of them. “Okay, okay. Give me a chance to have something hot to eat and drink and we’ll go and find this stallion. I assume you know where it is?”

  “Yeh, I reckon. It’s on the way home. How are you going to get there? You won’t get a four-wheel-drive through the drifts.” Although Ben felt slightly pacified with Adam’s response, he didn’t want to hang around too long.

  Adam took a gulp of hot coffee. “I’ve got the snowmobile. I'll follow you on that.”

  The snowmobile’s headlight cut through the night. Ben rode alongside Adam so he could see the ground in front of him despite Lady being surefooted in the darkness. At first, Ben found it hard to recognise landmarks with the long shadows cast by the bright beam. Low rises appeared to be steep hillsides and snow-covered boulders looked like crouching animals. Gradually his senses adjusted.

  The snow hadn’t settled deep enough in the trees for Adam to take the snowmobile through the wooded areas, so they wound their way around the spur of land that jutted out onto the plains. Ahead of them, Ben thought he could make out a lone horse with its head down. He pointed the shape out to Adam. “That may be him.”

  Careful not to startle the injured brumby, Adam stopped the snowmobile and turned off the engine. Lady whickered to the young stallion as they approached. He raised his head without moving away. Other than the horse’s ears swivelling in all directions, he didn’t move.

  They approached slowly, keeping their voices low. The wind blew the horse’s tail out behind him and his tangled mane tugged in the air. The ground had been trampled in a small area. No blade of grass poked through the frozen mush of snow and mud.

  “Harry must have been here. There’re oats on the ground. I’m glad he found him.” Ben could see the young horse was in a lot of pain from the dull look of its eye. The brum
by’s ribs stuck out through his matted coat and one foreleg hung limply. He lowered his head again to the ground and no longer seemed interested in the presence of another horse.

  Adam stopped a few metres directly in front of the horse. He loaded the rifle and removed the safety catch. “You’d better take your mare away. We don’t want him to move at the last minute.”

  Ben dismounted and turned Lady around. Although he knew she wouldn’t be scared of the gun as he often hunted rabbits from her, he didn’t want her to distract the brumby.

  Crack! Ben heard a soft thud follow the gunshot as the horse crumpled onto the ground. He led Lady over to where Adam stood examining the body. “How are we going to bury him?”

  “We’re not. And we can’t burn him in these conditions either. Besides, it’s late and we should both get home. It’s been a very long day. The weather and wild animals will have to clean him up.” Adam returned to the snowmobile and revved the engine. “Will you be alright from here without a light?”

  “Sure. Lady knows the way and the moon is coming up. This wind is at least blowing the snow clouds away.” Ben wondered whether he could push Adam about feeding the brumby herds that searched for food along the river. Before he could say anything, Adam asked him a question.

  “Sorry, what was that?”

  “You mentioned Old Harry. How do you know he brought the stallion those oats?” Adam let the snowmobile idle as he quizzed Ben.

  “He was with us when we found the hikers. When we told him about the stallion, he said he’d find him and give him something to eat. Louise has gone back to the farm.” He decided not to say that Honey had escaped.

  Adam looked puzzled. “How did you meet up with him?”

  Ben realised Adam didn’t know about the part that Harry had played in them catching and taming the brumbies earlier in the year. “I met him months ago when I got bucked off and a pig gored me. He found Snip and stitched up my leg. He’s a great guy. Louise and I went looking for him when we heard about the lost hikers.”

  “So you know where he lives?”

  Aware that Adam might try to kick Harry out of the park, Ben decided not to say too much. “I’ve been there, but I couldn’t find it on my own.” That, at least, was true. “He actually found us when we stopped for lunch.”

  Adam nodded without looking convinced. “Well, have a safe ride home. Your father should be home soon too. I called the search off after your mother rang the centre. Thanks for all you did today.”

  Ben said goodbye. As he rode past the black stallion, the lifeless body seemed tiny compared to the magnificent horse that he remembered from the day he and Louise had come across the two colts back in the summer. He thought of Brandy safely back at the farm, fed and well cared for. Although he hadn’t had a chance to back him this weekend, at least his horse didn’t have to forage through the snow for what little feed did exist. He wondered how many of the wild horses would die this winter, through either starvation or accident.

  Chapter 9

  The heat from the radiators in the classroom made Louise drowsy. She leant her head on her hands and thought about the brumbies in the park. The screen saver came up on her laptop and mesmerised her, horses cantering across the monitor in an endless stream, manes and tails flying. It seemed wrong that she should sit in a boring lesson about how the Australian political system worked when horses starved out in the elements. She’d rather be throwing out hay, or even mucking out Honey’s stable.

  The end of the day couldn’t come soon enough. Louise gathered her books into her bag and raced out to the cycle racks. Despite rarely seeing Ben at school as he was in the year ahead, she spotted him with a group of boys near the lockers. His conversation drifted over to her on the breeze.

  “…were trapped in the old mine. We had to dig them out with our bare hands. Then I dragged the woman…”

  Louise had enjoyed the attention on Monday when she had been welcomed at school as a hero in finding the lost hikers; now she’d tired of telling the story. No-one cared about the stallion with the broken leg that had caused them to contact the ranger in the first place. No-one asked about how the brumbies fared in the terrible weather. All the conversation centred on the stupid walkers who weren’t even where they were supposed to be.

  She unchained her bike and, having pushed it to move through the slush, jumped on board. The cold air on her face made her skin tingle. She pedalled hard to keep warm, though her house was only on the other side of town.

  Louise turned into her driveway. After propping her bike up on its stand in the garage, she went inside.

  “Hello?” She dragged off her hat, scarf and coat as she popped her head into the lounge. No-one was there.

  Mrs Hardy appeared from the music room. “Don’t leave your bag in the hallway. How many times do I have to tell you? You must be frozen. Do you want a cup of tea? I’m about to make one.”

  “No thanks. I’ll make myself a slice of toast.” Louise picked up her bag and threw it through the doorway of her bedroom before heading to the kitchen.

  “Did you get your test results today?” Mrs Hardy followed Louise and filled the kettle. She bustled about getting out cake and biscuits.

  Louise fumbled in her back pocket for the crumpled envelope. “Here they are. I haven’t opened them.” Despite knowing what they said because her teacher had talked to her about the poor results, she didn’t let on.

  The toast popped up, giving Louise a chance to turn her back on her mother. She took her time buttering the single slice and slathering it with peanut butter.

  “If this is what comes of you going riding every weekend, you’ll have to stop going.” The tone of Mrs Hardy’s voice didn’t invite argument. “These results are terrible, Louise. Haven’t you been doing any work at all? It says here that you haven’t handed your homework in on time all term.”

  Louise joined her mother where she sat at the table. “I’m sorry, Mum, I try. This school does things differently to the last one. I can’t seem to get the hang of what they want.”

  Mrs Hardy made a disparaging sound as if she didn’t believe her daughter. “That may be, but you could always ask your father or me for help. Your brother doesn't have any trouble, even with all his band practice. In future, no more horses on Saturdays, and you can only go to Ben’s on Sunday if I see all your homework done beforehand.”

  “But Mum! It's not the same as for Dean. I’m trying to break in Honey, and one day a week isn’t nearly enough as it is. And we lost all last weekend because of those stupid people getting lost.”

  “Enough. If one day a week isn’t sufficient, you’ll have to get rid of the horse. Make up your mind which it’ll be. School work comes first.”

  Saturday dragged by. Louise struggled at the desk in her bedroom to finish off her assignment on the chemical properties of cleaning fluids. Boring, boring, boring. Ben had obviously been disappointed when she spoke to him at school on Friday and explained she wouldn’t be able to come to the farm today.

  She thought about what he would be doing. Was he working Brandy? Perhaps he had gone for a ride in the park? What was Honey doing? Would the mare have forgotten all her lessons from having a week off?

  Lessons. The word reminded Louise she had to finish her homework.

  The following morning, having gained her parents approval, Louise rode over to Mirraburra. A thick layer of cloud hung low in the sky though no wind rustled the trees. Despite Everywhere looked grey and dismal, Louise felt in high spirits. Hopefully by the end of the day she would have ridden Honey.

  Brandy’s head stuck out over the stable door as Louise propped her bike up in the hay shed. She wandered over and stroked his nose. “Hello, boy. Where’s Ben?”

  “I’m in here.” The voice came from behind the liver chestnut stallion.

  Louise peered into the gloom of the stable. “What are you doi
ng?”

  Ben straightened up and came over to the half door. “Trying to get the mud off his fetlocks. They’re caked solid. I’d go and catch Honey if I were you, she’s filthy too.”

  “What did you get up to yesterday?” Louise wanted to find out how far behind she was with her horse. She hoped Ben hadn’t already backed Brandy.

  “Chores. Dad decided that if you had to do homework, I should do farm work. I guess I’ve been getting a bit behind with helping out. Come on, hurry up, let’s not waste today.”

  Louise didn’t need any further encouragement. Grabbing a headcollar from the hook in the tack room, she went out to the home paddock to look for Honey. She needn’t have worried about finding her; the buckskin mare stood at the rack tugging out long wisps of meadow hay. Ben had been right, she would need a lot of grooming. “Look at you. You must have been rolling in the muddiest spot you could find.”

  Slipping the rope around the mare’s neck, Louise gave her a scratch on the crest before buckling on the headcollar. “I’m glad you don’t try to run away any more. I think you know where you’re well off.”

  After leading her into the stable next to Brandy, Louise went and retrieved a grooming box and Honey’s saddle and bridle. Although Ben had made up a bridle for her, Louise used Ned’s saddle. Fortunately it fit the brumby’s broad back perfectly.

  Ben came and looked over the stable door. “You can have the round yard if you like. I had a chance to work Brandy a bit in the week. Maybe we can try leading them out again this morning, and back them this afternoon?”

  “Okay.” Louise quickly finished grooming her horse before saddling her up. She left the bridle off and led her out to the round yard.

  Once in the rubber-sided enclosure, Louise left the mare and stood in the centre. She raised the lunge whip in her right hand and set Honey off at a walk anti-clockwise around the yard. After a few laps, she changed the whip to her other hand, walked in front of the horse, and turned her in the other direction.