Rachel felt a wave of relief that he didn’t want the creamy stallion. They stood and walked back to Eddie and the rangers, who were sitting in the grass, talking softly.
‘Found one?’ Eddie asked.
‘The five greys,’ Mike said. ‘I’ll try for the darkest one. Where’s the best place to drive them?’
Eddie pointed to a grassy area between the trees on a low rise near the lake. ‘They’ll head up there to graze once they’ve had a drink. Go get up a tree. We’ll come behind and push ’em that way.’
Mike gave them the thumbs up. ‘Try to keep them calm.’
‘Yeah, no worries,’ Tony said. ‘We got Spielberg here makin’ a movie, so he’ll go nice and slow.’
The rangers laughed and Dan threatened them with the camera, and then grinned.
Rachel followed her father around the edge of the trees bordering the plain. It was hard to find a tree big enough to hold the two of them, but at last they found a coolibah with strong white limbs and a thick canopy of slender leaves. Mike let Rachel climb up first, and then followed her. He settled himself into the crook, and practised taking aim with his rifle, then looked up at her and grinned. ‘Kind of exciting, eh?’
Rachel grinned back at him: it was. She wrapped her arm around the trunk and peered through the leaves, trying to see the herds.
But there were no horses to be seen. The sun came up and the temperature started to rise. Balancing on the branch, Rachel stripped off her heavy fleece jacket, beanie and gloves. Mike passed up the bottle of sunscreen and she wiped some onto her face and arms, moving slowly and quietly.
‘Shh!’ her father whispered suddenly. ‘I can hear them.’
They both froze and Mike lifted his rifle. Rachel heard the soft thud of hooves, approaching slowly. She saw movement in the trees and the herd of five greys came trotting out onto the plain, their dappled hides lit up by the early morning sunlight. A way off behind them she glimpsed Tony, strolling as if he was out for a casual walk, and Dan, walking and filming at the same time. The other rangers appeared, spread out in a fan shape and moving slowly. The grey horses twitched their ears and looked around nervously, ready to bolt.
Rachel kept still, ignoring the flies trying to land on her face. She saw the lead horse throw up his head, staring in their direction. He suddenly shied and broke into a canter, heading away from the tree. Rachel wanted to groan out loud as the other four swung around to follow. They’d be into the scrub and away in moments.
She heard a shout and Tony and Aaron ran to head them off. Tony waved his arms and the horses propped, frightened, and wheeled around. They were back cantering on a path that would lead them close to their tree. Mike lifted the dart rifle to his shoulder and took aim.
Rachel felt super aware of everything that was happening — the shrieking galahs taking flight, the men running to drive the horses in the right direction, the snort of the animals’ breath as they cantered. She felt her father tense and wondered which one he was aiming for. She didn’t know if she wanted to will the horses to run away from them and escape, or to run towards them and be caught.
There was a soft but dangerous phhht as Mike squeezed the trigger. Rachel saw the dart flash through the air. The leading horse twitched and tossed its head and she saw the dart hanging from its neck as it galloped faster. A perfect hit!
The rangers saw Mike wave and stopped running. Rachel peered after the disappearing horses, willing them to slow down. It took a few minutes for the tranquilliser to work, and that was enough time for the brumbies to get quite a long way off if they were frightened.
Her father scrambled down the tree and Rachel followed as Eddie and the rangers came up to them.
‘Good shot,’ Eddie said.
‘Thanks,’ Mike replied. ‘We’ve got to follow, but not too close. We can’t lose them now one’s been darted.’
‘Spread out,’ Eddie said to the rangers. ‘Don’t scare ’em, eh?’
They set off. Rachel could still see the horses ahead on the plain, but they were headed for the trees. It was hard to keep moving slowly and not break into a run after them.
The herd slowed to a trot and then the lead horse stumbled. Rachel felt a wave of relief. The tranquilliser was working fast. The brumby shook his head, and swayed. The other horses slowed down too, uncertain. Then one of them caught sight of the humans following and snorted. The four that hadn’t been darted broke into a canter again. The fifth stumbled once more, and sank to the ground.
Mike broke into a run and they all followed. By the time they reached the collapsed horse, it was unconscious. The other four were gone, the thudding of their hooves disappearing into the distance.
Mike dropped to his knees and examined the horse, lifting one of his eyelids and then taking out a stethoscope to listen to his heart. He was beautifully marked, with dark grey dapples and a nearly black mane and tail. Only when her father had made sure he was all right did he lift the horse’s lip to look at his teeth. There was a moment of silence. Rachel realised Dan was still filming.
‘Well?’ she asked her father.
Mike’s shoulders slumped. ‘I thought he was young, but he’s about eight.’
‘How old you want ’em?’ Eddie asked.
‘About four, ideally,’ Mike said. ‘I didn’t think an eight-year-old would be running in a group of bachelors.’
Eddie shrugged. ‘Not every male can have a herd. You gonna let ’im go?’
Mike looked up at Eddie. ‘You could have him. He’s strong and fast. Good stockhorse.’
Eddie stood looking down at the horse for a few minutes. Eventually he nodded. ‘We’ll take ’im.’ He glanced over at Dan. ‘You can have this one.’
Dan lowered the camera. ‘Nup. I’ll be away at college. Give ’im to Bill.’
Bill groaned. ‘Yeah right. Like I got time for a horse.’
Mike jumped to his feet. ‘Whoever’s having him, we’ve got to be quick. Can one of you get the trailer? We need to get this fella into Mulan fast.’
Eddie nodded at the rangers, and Bill and Steve headed off at a jog in the direction of the camp.
‘Reckon we can try again today?’ Mike asked.
‘Horses are pretty spooked, but we can look for another mob,’ Eddie said. ‘Any luck, you’ll get a shot.’
Rachel looked at her father. His brow was creased with worry. He only had a few weeks to get the horses that the Sheik wanted. It wasn’t a good start.
She stared down at the brumby sprawled on the ground. Her heart was still beating fast. She couldn’t help remembering Cassie’s accident, and the awful sight of horse and rider falling. She closed her eyes to push away the memory.
It took all eight of them to position the mattress on the trailer’s ramp, carefully roll the sleeping horse onto the mattress, and drag it up onto the trailer. Once the horse was loaded they drove him slowly down the dirt road all the way back to the yards in Mulan. Mike sat in the trailer with the horse, giving him another shot of anaesthetic when he started waking up, and Rachel spent the drive craning her neck around to make sure they were both OK. When they arrived, Mike was caked in red dust. The horse was stirring, but still sleepy enough for them to slowly tip the trailer and slide the mattress to the ground.
Rachel looked at her watch. It was already lunchtime, and they’d only managed to catch one horse. They had to make a successful catch every day if they were to get the dozen horses the Sheik wanted — never mind the extra ones that Mike was leaving with Eddie at Mulan to be trained as stockhorses.
‘Can someone stay with this horse while he wakes up to make sure he’s OK?’ Mike asked.
‘Sure,’ Eddie said. ‘Steve, you can stay.’
‘No worries, Uncle,’ Steve said.
They waited till the grey horse had woken up enough to roll onto his chest, before climbing into the troopy and bumping down the track back to the camping area. Mike and Rachel made a quick lunch of sandwiches for everyone and they headed out on foot again
.
The heat of the day had descended and the horses had disappeared. Although the short coolibahs surrounding the lake looked sparse, it was much harder than Rachel had expected to find the brumbies in the scrub. They walked for two hours and she was hoping they’d soon have a rest, when Eddie suddenly halted and held up a hand.
‘Waterhole up here,’ he whispered. ‘Might be some water.’ He gestured at Mike. ‘You go downwind, that way, get up that big tree. We’ll go down the waterhole. If there’s horses there, we’ll drive ’em to you.’
Mike nodded. His face was streaked with sweat and lines of red dust ran down his skin. He and Rachel started walking in the direction Eddie had pointed, and soon they saw one coolibah bigger than the others surrounding it. Mike boosted Rachel up, and then scrambled up himself, puffing.
This time they didn’t have to wait long. Rachel heard the thud of hooves and moments later a herd broke through the trees close by. It was a large group, mostly adult chestnuts and bays, with a few foals and yearlings. They were starting to slow down, thinking themselves safe from Eddie and the others. Without time to get out his binoculars, Mike quickly scanned the group and raised the rifle. As the horses wheeled around in response to the movement, he fired. Rachel saw the dart hit a tall chestnut with two white feet and a star on its face.
The brumbies were close together, running as a tight mob, and Rachel lost sight of the one that had been darted.
‘Hope it’s not a nursing mare,’ Mike muttered as he scrambled down the tree and held out a hand to help Rachel. ‘Don’t know how we’ll deal with a foal.’
They set out in pursuit, Rachel coughing at the dust the hooves threw up. Eddie and the rangers emerged from the bush and joined them. The horses were out of sight, and the humans fanned out, jogging.
Rachel spotted something up ahead on the red dirt and pulled at Mike’s sleeve. He squinted and then clapped her on the shoulder. ‘Well done.’
They ran up to the horse, who had sunk to the ground and was lying still. It was a mare, but there was no foal around, Rachel was glad to see. Mike anxiously checked her heartbeat, breathing and eyes before opening her mouth to look at her teeth.
‘Well?’ Rachel asked.
He sat back on his haunches and wiped his forehead dispiritedly. ‘I’ve done it again. It was so quick, I didn’t have time to have a good look. I reckon this one’s about seven or eight.’
‘Bad luck,’ Eddie said.
‘It’s a good age for a stockhorse,’ Mike said, getting to his feet. ‘You want her? I’d like to have another one in the yards rather than letting her go. The grey will get too stressed on his own.’
Eddie shrugged. ‘We’re gonna have plenty of stockhorses by the time you get anything for your Sheik.’ He gestured to Dan, whose video camera was still running. ‘Your turn. Quit filming and get the trailer.’
They had to go through the whole exercise again: waiting for Dan to come back with the troopy, gently manoeuvring the unconscious horse onto the mattress and into the trailer, and bumping along the dirt roads to the yards, with Mike sitting in the back and getting even dustier. He had to give the chestnut a second shot of tranquilliser to keep her asleep, and Rachel could see how worried he was when they arrived.
The grey they’d caught earlier was pacing around the yards, neighing every few minutes in the direction of the lake. Rachel was glad he’d have another horse for company. Even their horses at home could become distraught when left alone, and she supposed that wild horses would find it terrifying.
They backed the trailer up to the gate and two of the rangers kept the grey stallion away while they unloaded the chestnut mare. The rest of them grunted and strained to slide the mattress out of the trailer and onto the ground, but the mare didn’t stir.
‘She all right?’ Eddie asked, as the rangers leaned over the fence, watching.
Mike crouched by her side and listened to her heart again, his filthy face creased with worry. Rachel went around to the mare’s head and sat down, stroking her neck and arranging her mane.
‘She’s still with us,’ Mike said. ‘But I’ll stay here till she wakes up.’
Her father stayed sitting by the mare and Rachel didn’t move either. She stroked and stroked the mare’s neck, marvelling at her glossy coat. Her mane was long and a bit tangled, and Rachel gently loosened the knots. She was aware of the light changing, and of people moving around. The grey trotted back and forth along the fence, calling for his friends and ignoring the feed that had been put out for him. He probably doesn’t even know what it is, she thought.
‘Please wake up now,’ she whispered to the mare. ‘Please.’
It was getting cold as the sun began to set, but Rachel was sweating with worry. ‘Is she going to be OK, Dad?’ she whispered.
He shook his head. ‘I don’t know. She’s been out a long time.’
Rachel ran her hand down the mare’s neck again, and felt a flicker of movement under her hand. Her head whipped around and she saw the mare’s eyelid twitch.
‘Dad! She moved!’
‘Quick, get up. Give her room.’
Rachel jumped to her feet and her father pulled her away from the mare as she stirred, lifted her head from the ground and nickered. She sounded so much like Rapscallion that Rachel wanted to run to her and stroke her again. But of course the mare was wild, and having a human nearby would only frighten her more.
The mare scrambled to her feet and looked around, realising she was trapped and surrounded by people. She went to rear, but her legs were too unsteady and she wavered. The grey stallion, seeing her awake, called out to her and trotted over. The mare laid her ears back and tried to kick him, but couldn’t manage it. He squealed at her and snapped.
‘They don’t know each other,’ Mike said. ‘But it’s better they’re together. She’ll be all right. Come on, Rach, let’s get back to camp.’
It was nearly dark, Rachel saw with surprise. As Mike put an arm around her shoulders, she felt how exhausted she was. She could barely keep her eyes open.
‘Big day,’ Eddie said. She looked up at him and he gave her a friendly smile. ‘You’re pretty good with them horses.’
‘Not bad at all,’ her father said, and Rachel felt a moment of pride. She snuggled closer to him and gave Eddie a tired smile in return.
‘I’ll run you back to camp,’ Eddie said.
Rachel and Mike climbed into the back of the troopy and Eddie started the engine.
‘Hell,’ Mike said, as the ranger let out the clutch. ‘Nine hours of horse catching and we’ve got nothing to show for it. We must do better tomorrow. You’ll have to help me choose, Rach.’
‘OK, Dad,’ she said. As they began bumping down the track, she heard the grey’s desperate neigh echo in the night.
Chapter 8
It was much harder to wake up before dawn on the second morning. Rachel wanted to snuggle down into her sleeping bag and stay there for at least another hour, preferably two. But Mike was up cooking them a big breakfast — they’d been too tired to eat a proper dinner the night before, and had only gulped down muesli with powdered milk before falling into bed.
‘Rise and shine,’ he called. ‘Don’t let your eggs get cold!’
Rachel reluctantly slid out of the swag, shivering. How could it be so hot during the day and so cold at night? She cleaned her face with a wet flannel and pulled on her warm clothes. They were dusty from the day before, but there wasn’t much water near the campground and she reckoned they wouldn’t be doing a wash anytime soon.
The eggs and toast made her realise how hungry she was and she gulped down her hot chocolate and asked for a refill. They both ate about double what they’d eaten the morning before, making extra slices of toast over the fire and eating them smothered in butter and Vegemite. Rachel thought she’d never tasted anything so delicious.
It was starting to get light around the campsite, but there was no sign of Eddie and Tony and the rangers. Mike paced restlessly up and
down for a while, and then came to a decision.
‘We need more time to check out the horses anyway, now I know that they tend to look younger than they are,’ he said. ‘Let’s do some scouting. Eddie will find us when he gets here, and by then we’ll have chosen some.’
Rachel was glad of the chance to walk with just her father. The sky lit up with the coming sunrise and a huge flock of big grey brolgas flew overhead, calling with their harsh cries. She could see the tiny shapes of lots of black swans in the distance on the lake, and several mobs of horses making their way down to drink.
She clutched her father’s arm and pointed. ‘Dad! There’s dingoes!’
He lifted the binoculars to look, and then handed them to her. Two dingoes were trotting along the edge of the lake, looking like they were flowing through the long grass. One was black, the other a very pale cream. Rachel remembered the sign at the campground, with the story of the two dingoes that helped create the lake in ancient times. They were black and white too.
‘It’s like the story,’ she said.
‘I think that’s a good omen for today,’ Mike said. ‘Now let’s find us some horses.’
The closest mob contained four bays and two cream horses. The creams were hard to see in the pale grass in the soft morning light, but the bays stood out darkly against the pink sky. Rachel and her father crouched down in the grass and examined them through the binoculars.
‘What about the second one?’ Mike said. ‘He’s got good conformation.’
‘I dunno, Dad,’ Rachel said. She couldn’t take her eyes off one of the cream horses. ‘What’s that funny mark on the mare?’
She passed him the binoculars. He peered into them and gave a soft whistle. ‘Rachel, you’re brilliant.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘That’s called a bloodstained horse. A true sign of Arab bloodlines. The legend goes that a powerful Sheik rode his mare into battle in the desert. Although he won the fight, he was terribly injured and his loyal mare carried him all the way back to his camp, with his blood running down her shoulder. Only the bravest of her descendants carry the mark. We’ve got to try for her.’
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