‘Lucky Alice.’ Jeremy’s eyes twinkled and Sam laughed guiltily.
‘If you’re planning on doing some long days of driving, Sam, I suggest you eat your pudding and go to bed quick smart,’ Olive said. ‘That cold of yours is sounding worse tonight.’
‘I’ll help him out with his pudding if he’s not feeling up to it,’ said Jeremy obligingly.
The pair of men greatly enjoyed the next two days of checking. As Olive observed to Alice wryly, they seemed to be ‘getting along like a house on fire’. Jeremy quickly developed a liking for the gentlemanly old man, and admired his wealth of knowledge. He was keen to pick the older man’s brains and took every opportunity to do so.
However, by the third morning, Sam’s head cold had got worse. At breakfast, Olive had news for him. ‘After you’ve eaten that, you’re going straight back to bed.’ She looked at him sternly, braced for his protest.
Sam sniffed and said blearily, ‘I’m perfectly able to drive a car. Don’t even have to get out for the gates with Jeremy there.’
‘A day of complete rest is what you need. Do you want that cold to go to your chest?’ In a more threatening tone, she added, ‘If it gets any worse I’ll have to take you back to Dr Wong. He wanted to check up on your heart again soon anyway.’
Sam glared at his porridge. Then he looked up pleadingly and said, ‘What about you two girls? I thought you were busy in the office.’
‘We’re all up to date now, thanks, Pa,’ Alice said.
‘Well, I guess you’ll have to take Jeremy out to check the back country then, Al. I was planning to take some gear and see if we could work out why the Red Gully mill isn’t pumping properly.’ Sam sounded disgruntled.
‘Jeremy and I can do that. You rest up and get on top of that cold.’
Twenty minutes later, after packing the ute with the necessary equipment and with lunch in an esky, Jeremy and Alice set off. Jeremy discovered, to his confusion, that he was pleased to be heading out alone with Alice for the day. He was also a little nervous, and couldn’t work out why.
Alice explained that the back country was her favourite checking circuit and he could tell she was proud to show it off to him. As they drove, he was suitably impressed by the towering piles of rock and the richness of the volcanic soil. They drove through all the bullock paddocks and past the western kurrajong trees that had been lopped for fodder during the last extended dry. They’d had some rain over the last fortnight, so the country was looking fresh, the box trees and other gums thick with shiny new tips and the dense bauhinia trees a mass of dark red pods. Flocks of budgerigars lifted in chattering clouds out of the grass and shrubs as the ute passed by.
They stopped at the Red Gully windmill and Alice went to check the water tank while Jeremy checked the float in the trough. Tank empty, Alice returned and began to hunt around in the tray for the windmill oil and grease. But Jeremy was one step ahead and had already taken them out.
‘Oi.’ He brushed the grimy oil container lightly against Alice’s ear. She spun around.
‘If it was a snake it would’ve bit ya.’ He laughed. ‘You know how to oil windmills?’
‘I’m the Redstone windmill greaser,’ Alice said. ‘With me away at college the last two years, they haven’t been done.’ Then, in Sam’s defence, she added, ‘Pa’s balance isn’t too good anymore.’
As was generally the rule with windmills, a gust of wind arrived on the scene just as they were ready to climb up.
‘The head hasn’t turned into the wind,’ Alice observed.
‘Turntable needs oiling,’ put in Jeremy. ‘If we’re lucky, that could be all that’s wrong with it. That, and those trees that have grown up right in the line of the easterlies.’
Alice took the oil out of Jeremy’s hand and started up the ladder on the tower.
‘I’m coming too. Don’t wanna miss out on the view.’ Jeremy laughed wickedly, looking up at Alice’s jeans-clad bottom which was just above him.
Once they were both up on the narrow square platform, Alice found that, as Jeremy had suspected, the little oil bath on the turntable was bone dry. She topped up all the other baths first, then filled the one for the turntable. She watched as the little woollen wick drew up the oil and began to feed it into the cavity where the steel ball bearings were housed.
The wind had dropped again, and Jeremy and Alice, neither of them shy of heights, stood shoulder to shoulder surveying the bird’s-eye view.
‘Not a bad place, this Redstone,’ Jeremy said, not bothering to hide the pleasure in his voice.
Alice tilted back her head to look up at him from under the big brim of her hat. The sun illuminated her brown eyes with golden warmth and she smiled. ‘Struth, what a smile!’ Jeremy thought, then grinned back.
‘I’ll give those she-oaks a bit of a trim up,’ he said. ‘That’ll make all the difference to this mill.’
The mill groaned slightly as a soft gust of wind began to turn the head.
‘Good-o.’ Jeremy nodded approvingly and they shuffled further around the platform, away from the slow-turning wheel. They were now facing west, away from the sun. Below was a wide plain, the rugged rusty backdrop of the range contrasting with the yellow-green of the grass. Alice pointed out an enormous old-man kangaroo in bounding, slow-motion flight. He looked as though he’d been carved from the red stone of the range and brought to life. Jeremy watched her watching the roo. He could tell she felt a deep bond with this land and for a moment he was jealous. A place to put down roots. A family that valued her. Lucky bugger.
They made several more stops to check waters and tighten some sagging fences with a star picket or two. Jeremy was impressed by the unique ‘native well’ at the dead centre of Cliff paddock. It consisted of an eight-foot-deep rectangular hole carved in a large flat surface of rock. It was nearly full of mineral-rich blue water which Jeremy tasted curiously. At one end were some roughly hewn steps going down into the water, an escape route for any incautious beast that happened to topple in.
‘Pearler of a skinny-dipping spot,’ Jeremy commented. ‘Bet you’ve had your share of swimming starkers in this little spa, eh, Ali?’
‘Whatever you say, Jeremy,’ Alice answered evasively, turning back to the car.
Late in the afternoon, Alice stopped the ute abruptly alongside a nondescript section of fence line on the boundary with the national park.
‘Why are we stopping here?’ Jeremy asked, looking at her curiously.
‘Come on, I’ll show you.’ Alice motioned into the park with her head. ‘Wasn’t going to, but I’ve decided I will.’ She grinned conspiratorially at Jeremy then opened the ute door to jump out.
‘Holy hell, you’ve got my attention now!’ Jeremy flung open his door and followed Alice’s departing form.
She walked a little further along the fence and held apart two wires for Jeremy to step through. Once on the other side he did the same for her, then pointed questioningly to a narrow pad winding away into the bush. Alice nodded and stopped to hang her hat on the fence, while Jeremy started off along the track.
They walked for a while through open forest country until, quite suddenly, the bush became thicker and damper. Dark green scrub trees, figs, broad-leafed creek trees and even palms began to appear between the gums. The land on either side of them began to rise, and soon they were hemmed in on both sides by rocky ridges. Jeremy could see some spectacular outcrops of weathered red rock through the trees.
The incline of the gully itself slowly became steeper, and the vegetation was so dense with vines that they couldn’t see much on either side of the track. Jeremy noticed that the temperature had dropped considerably. The moist air was full of tangy smells that were new to him. He also noted that the track looked quite well used; as he clumped along with large strides in his heavy workboots he stepped on a large stallion pile. Horses had been through this way.
‘Do you come here much?’ he called back to Alice, who was a little distance behind.
&n
bsp; She hurried up to him and grabbed his arm. ‘Shh!’ She made the sound urgently. ‘Sometimes there are brumbies up here. Go a bit slower and try not to thump along so heavily!’
He looked down into her eager face. Without the big hat she always wore he could see her properly. Her usually serious features were alight with the pure delight of anticipation. Some wispy sun-bleached curls had escaped from her loose plait and her eyes shone. He gazed at her in amazement and felt a little shaken.
‘Are they the scrawny inbred type with oversized heads?’ he asked, trying to regain his composure.
‘Shh!’ Alice said again, and shoved him on with a little brown hand in the centre of his back.
Jeremy suddenly realised that his own heart was pounding with excitement. It was ridiculous. Alice’s mood was so infectious that he was getting worked up over the possibility of seeing some feral nags that wouldn’t rate for dog meat.
The gully became very narrow and the rock walls closing them in were now sheer. Their track merged with a pebbly creek bed; at its centre was a fast-flowing trickle of cold, clean water. They rock-hopped for a short way and then the dense vegetation ended quite abruptly. They stepped out into a natural stone amphitheatre formed by the head of the gully.
The sides were all of the same red rock, with moss, lacy ferns and small hardy shrubs sprouting out of the face directly before them. Water seeped and dripped from numerous cracks and crevices, the rivulets joining forces with the main flow, which also appeared to be issuing from solid rock. It then ran down over several step-like layers before freefalling into a wide shallow pool just below.
There were no brumbies, but plenty of evidence that they frequented the place. With a flash of iridescent blue, a kingfisher darted across in front of them, alighting on a tiny branch of one of the scraggly bushes growing out of the rock face. Turning its glossy head and bright beady eye, it regarded them with curious suspicion, poised for flight. They watched it in silence until it shot away and out of sight.
Alice flung out her arm with the air of a princess displaying her palace. ‘What do you think?’ Her face was glowing as she looked at Jeremy.
‘Never knew there were places like this so far west.’ Jeremy looked around, trying to avoid the intensity of her gaze. She was so alive here. She’d spoken more to him in the past ten minutes than she’d done in the last two days.
Whether it was some ancient power that emanated from the place, the higher concentration of oxygen or the sound of running water, Jeremy couldn’t tell, but he was suddenly finding this girl overwhelmingly enchanting. He bent down to scoop up some water, which he threw over his head. He hoped the cold dousing would return him to his senses.
‘Blackfellas would’ve prized this joint,’ he observed.
Alice looked at him thoughtfully. After a moment, she revealed that she’d found several tools here: grooved grinding stones and a variety of left- and right-handed stone axes. She’d also found other special places such as this on Redstone itself.
‘You wanna keep that to yourself,’ Jeremy warned.
‘I don’t usually tell people. Pa’s paranoid they’ll turn Redstone into a sacred site.’ Alice’s eyes opened wide and Jeremy laughed.
‘Your secret’s safe with me.’
‘I know.’ She nodded at him.
Jeremy was surprised. ‘Alice, I reckon I haven’t done much to earn your trust. I would’ve thought you’d be a bit nervous coming to a place like this, on your own, with a bloke of my reputation.’
Alice looked at him quizzically. ‘I never take much notice of reputations. I saw straight away that you had a kind eye.’
‘A kind eye? Like a horse?’ Jeremy asked, raising his eyebrows.
Alice nodded. ‘Or a bull. It’s exactly the same thing.’
He laughed. ‘Heck, I’ve never had a girl say that to me before. You must be trying to butter me up.’
‘You can take it as a compliment if you want to. I was just answering your question.’ Alice’s tone was matter-of-fact.
‘You’re too kind,’ Jeremy answered, feeling bemused.
‘I suppose we’d better head back.’ Alice looked around longingly.
Watching her face, Jeremy was suddenly aware of the immense significance this place held for her. He felt humbled and honoured that she’d chosen to bring him here. His gratitude sounded in his voice as he said, ‘Thanks for showing me, eh, Alice. This place is awesome.’
Unexpectedly, Alice dazzled Jeremy with a smile of genuine pleasure, completely disarming him. Fortunately, she started off down the gully before she was able to observe the effect she’d had on him.
Once they had climbed back through the fence, and Alice had once again donned her battered hat, the spell was broken. The tantalising, nymph-like creature was gone and in her place was only quiet little Alice Wilson. Jeremy exhaled in relief. He’d have to be more careful from now on.
Chapter 7
Over the next week Sam’s cold worsened and went to his chest, so he was again confined to bed despite his protests that there was some urgent late branding to be done. Alice and Jeremy spent a few days tordoning tree suckers to thin out the overgrown area of Summerlea paddock. In recent years many of the Redstone paddocks were becoming less productive as thick stands of saplings and woody shrubs began to monopolise large areas of former grazing land. Mustering in these overgrown paddocks was also becoming increasingly difficult.
Alice was thinning out the clumps of smaller weedy trees so that only the larger timber remained. It was a physically taxing job that required continuous walking over rough ground and plenty of axe work, and her grandfather had been putting it off for some years. But Alice and Jeremy were knocking a hole in it, and she knew that while he was laid up, her grandfather would be relieved to think that there were two young and energetic bodies on the place.
Sam had scheduled the branding for the Tuesday. Their last round of mustering had been done just before Christmas, when Alice had arrived home for good. At the time, a mob of more than thirty calves had been overlooked; they’d been hiding with their mothers in the suckers at the western end of Top Cedar Tree paddock. Since then, Sam had been watching these cleanskins grow bigger by the week, and the prospect of branding the monsters was daunting for the tired old man.
On Tuesday morning, Alice went to his bedroom with his breakfast on a tray. She sat at the foot of the bed and smiled encouragingly at him.
‘I’m sorry, Alice,’ he said irritably. ‘Been worse than useless this last fortnight. Have to put off those bloody calves again.’
‘Actually, Pa, I was going to suggest that we still do the branding. I think Jeremy and I might manage, now that the dogs are working so well.’
He shook his head. ‘Recipe for disaster, Ali. Those Top Cedar Tree cows are sly old snakes. That’s why we missed ’em, even with the three old fellas helping.’
But Alice wasn’t put off. ‘Jeremy’s keen. I’ve just spoken to him. It’ll be good to get it done so you can rest up without worrying about it anymore.’
He still looked dubious. ‘I reckon you’ll just blow it and reinforce their bad habits. There’s a few rogues in there that have escaped one too many times already.’
Alice’s face fell in disappointment. Her grandfather softened his tone a little and went on, ‘It’s your call, Alice. You make the decisions around here now – you don’t need my permission.’
‘Don’t be silly, Pa. Of course we won’t do it if you’re worried. There’s always the endless amount of tordoning to do instead.’
Just then Alice heard Jeremy’s cheerful voice in the kitchen. He was baiting her grandmother with some kind of nonsense and she was biting back. She looked at her grandfather and his eyes twinkled with amusement.
‘Others having a secret meeting?’ she heard Jeremy ask after a while. ‘Hey, Alice, I’ve loaded the ute and saddled the horses,’ he called. ‘What’s keeping ya? I’m keen for a bit of galloping.’
Alice looked apologetical
ly at her grandfather. He winked at her. ‘Looks like you’re going mustering.’
Alice drove the truck with the horses on board to Cedar Tree stockyards, and Jeremy followed in the ute with the branding gear. The air was already hot on their faces as they rode out into the paddock with the dogs trotting along behind.
‘We’ll split up here, Jeremy,’ said Alice, reining in Bingley. They had reached a thick stand of tall poplar box trees, the closest cattle camp to the yards. ‘I’ll go towards the dam – that’s where most of the cattle should be at this time of day and I’ll have the dogs.’
‘I’ll have Ace, but!’ Jeremy exclaimed. ‘Don’t underestimate my stumpy offsider.’ He glanced fondly at his tubby blue dog, who was busily sniffing Lydia’s bottom.
Alice looked too, unconvinced. ‘First, could you ride around to the southern corner? There are often a few head sheltering there in the creek. Come along through the suckers near the back fence line, and make a bit of noise so any cows hiding there will run this way. Then work your way back towards the dam where I should be holding the main mob.’
‘Righto, boss. Sounds like a plan.’ Jeremy saluted and cantered off.
When Alice came over the small rise behind the dam, she was pleased to see a large number of cattle in the vicinity. Some had already come to water and the others were feeding their way towards it. They were still quite spread out so she sent her dogs out wide and descended slowly towards the dam on her horse. It didn’t take long for the cows to notice the dogs skirting them at a distance and they began to mob up at the water’s edge. As soon as Alice saw them begin to move she stopped her dogs where they were, still a fair way from the cows. The dogs knew that their job now was to sit motionless until further notice. Alice, too, stopped her advance and Bingley dropped his head to nibble the grass.
While she waited for Jeremy to come in from the back of the paddock, Alice found her thoughts returning to her grandfather, as they had frequently in recent weeks. On Alice’s return from college, her grandmother had gently informed her that he’d been having chest pains on and off for several months. She wondered whether he was giving up, now that she was home and Jeremy was there to help. It was a terrifying thought. Redstone without her grandfather at the helm would be like a boat without a captain.
Redstone Station Page 5