by Tony Parsons
‘Look out, Rod,’ Jim called urgently.
Wally, furious at being found out and now the centre of attention, focused all his anger on Rod. He charged at the big man, brandishing the stick he had used on Bonny. Rod stepped to one side and, in a movement too quick for most eyes to follow, applied a hold to Wally that ended with him once again on the ground. Rod bent over Wally, ripped the stick from his hand and threw it away. Wally got up and swung a round-arm punch that missed Rod by a country mile. Rod grabbed Wally by his shirt front and hit first one side of his face and then the other. All Wally could see were stars, and he staggered back against his vehicle. When his head cleared, he saw Rod and Beth bent over his dog. Beth was holding its chain and the frightened animal was trying to hide between her legs. There was a piece of skin missing from Bonny’s forehead where the stick had found its mark.
‘Bloody hell,’ Rod roared. ‘And you call yourself a dog man. You’re not a dog man’s bootlace. You’re not a man at all. I’m taking this dog until it can be handed over to the police.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Wally snarled. ‘That’s theft. She’s my dog.’
‘You don’t deserve to own a dog. I’ll give you a choice. You can give up this dog or I’ll have you charged with cruelty. And I’ve got plenty of witnesses to make it stick,’ Rod said with a voice that expressed his utter loathing of Wally.
Wally realised he didn’t have a leg to stand on. He’d been caught red-handed and the evidence was there for all to see. He stood there seething but helpless.
‘Get in the car, Wally,’ said a quiet voice beside him. He turned and saw a white-faced Bella walking towards the driver’s side of the ute. She was furious with her husband, and ashamed for him, and wanted to get him out of there before he caused any more trouble.
Beth whispered in Bella’s ear, ‘Will you be all right, Bee?’
‘I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, please. He’ll cool down on the drive home,’ Bella replied as she got into the car.
‘You’d better look after Bonny,’ Rod said to Beth, as the Osbornes’ car eventually screeched out of the car park.
‘All right,’ Beth agreed. She hated the thought of any dog being abused. How could a dog perform to its potential while under constant fear of punishment? More than that, though, Beth was now even more worried about her dear sister’s welfare. Would Bella become the object of Wally’s temper, too? The fracas involving Rod and Wally coloured most of the conversation for the rest of the afternoon at the Cudgee oval. That night, the phones ran hot. There was hardly a property in the Half Moon that hadn’t heard the news of what had transpired at the trials.
The following morning, there were quite a few more spectators for the start of the Open Trial, which was to feature dogs that had already won a trial. To the disappointment of the crowd, neither Rod nor Wally were at the ground. Wally had opted to play cricket and Rod was driving back to Sydney. Beth had been bitterly disappointed when Rod told her that he wouldn’t attend the second day. He had said that the trials were supposed to be an enjoyable bush get-together and not a confrontation between two men.
‘It puts your family in an embarrassing situation, Beth,’ was how Rod summed it up.
If Beth gleaned anything from the weekend, it was that Rod couldn’t understand how or why her father and mother had agreed to Bella marrying Wally. What must he think of her family and their judgment? she wondered. Probably not very much, was her forlorn conclusion. She felt very flat on the second day of the trials even though she had run second in the Maiden Trial with Troy the previous day.
The Open Trial was a triumph for Charlie Dillon, whose old dog, Clem, who happened to be the sire of Troy, won the competition with two 90-plus rounds. Charlie actually cracked a rare smile at the presentation because he had not only won the trial with a kelpie but a son of Clem had run second in the Maiden Trial. This made Wally’s intemperate snipe at Beth and her kelpies appear even more foolish.
What concerned Beth most was that Rod had left without making any firm arrangements about returning. He had been very businesslike about Bonny, securing statements from her, Jim and a couple of others to the effect that they had seen Bonny’s condition when he released her from the chaff bag. When he left, he’d asked her to be patient and had repeated his point about her needing to trust him. Beth was quite prepared to wait for him, but for how long? Was she Rod’s girlfriend or wasn’t she? And why did he keep emphasising that she needed to trust him? Obviously he had something he needed to hide for now.
Chapter Fifteen
The weeks rolled by and, apart from the occasional brief phone call, Beth had not spoken to Rod since the Cudgee trials. Rod apparently had big things on the go, but she was going mad waiting for him. Fortunately, there were all the usual jobs on the property to keep her occupied, as well as the re-education of Bonny, who was coming along well now after being scared stiff of everything and everyone for the first few weeks at Mattai.
‘That mongrel Wally ought to be castrated so there are no more Osbornes like him, Bonny,’ Beth murmured. She was sitting on a log, her horse tied to a sapling, with Bonny curled up beside her.
Not long after the sheepdog trials, Bella and Beth had met up in Cudgee village. In the privacy of Bella’s car, Beth had finally asked the question that had been worrying her for days.
‘How did you finish up after the trials, Bee?’
‘It was okay. Wally was pretty quiet really. He knows he could be in serious trouble if someone goes ahead and presses charges. He knows he could also be barred from trialling dogs locally,’ Bella said quietly.
‘And so he should be,’ Beth said vehemently.
‘Yes, I know.’
Beth looked sideways at her sister. ‘Are you going to start a family with this man?’ she asked.
‘No, I’m not,’ Bella said firmly, and wouldn’t discuss it further. But this was enough for Beth. Now she was sure that something was amiss down at Glen Avon.
‘Come, Bonny,’ Beth called now as she walked away from the log. For the first few weeks, she had attached a long, light lead to Bonny’s collar so that the dog couldn’t clear away from her when she gave her commands. She had now dispensed with the lead and Bonny was responding well.
Beth went to her horse and took her lunch pack from the saddle bag. ‘Sit, Bonny,’ she said and, when Bonny obeyed, gave her half a meat sandwich. The dog wagged her tail and waited expectantly for more of the same. She had come to realise that her new owner was a person to be trusted and entirely different to her previous owner.
‘What’s a girl to do, Bonny? How long am I supposed to wait for this frustrating man? And how do I know whether he even loves me at all?’
Bonny cocked her head and her brown eyes shone with intelligence. She didn’t understand a word her mistress was saying even though she seemed to be talking to her.
Beth handed her another half-eaten sandwich, which Bonny ate with relish.
‘You’re a gorgeous girl, Bonny. You really are. You only want to please, don’t you?’
Beth’s gaze shifted skywards to where a brown hawk was hovering in suspended animation. She loved the bush and everything that was part of it. If only she were Rod’s wife and they had their own property, everything would be perfect.
‘Why does everything have to be so difficult, Bonny? There’s Bella, the best woman I know, married to a twit – and where is that going to end? And here am I, with this great bloke who doesn’t seem to have a clue about the way I feel.’ Beth had visions of herself and Rod riding with their children on ponies. And before there were children there would be shows and she would be holding their sheep when they competed against her father and Jim.
‘Oh, if only Rod knew how much I want all that to happen,’ Beth sighed. ‘No good dreaming, I guess, Bonny. It will either happen or it won’t. Now, are you going to do a nice cast for me?’ She got up off the log.
Bonny, thus appealed to, looked at her expectantly. ‘You do a nice cast and th
ere’s a last bit of sandwich for you,’ Beth said to her, cajolingly. She had had to teach Bonny a new set of left and right commands and a new stop signal, but the little bitch was coming along well. Kindness had done the trick because Bonny was a bitch who had high compliance and wanted to please. Beth still loved her kelpies because they were so handy about the place, but she saw the day when Bonny would win a sheepdog trial and she was working hard on all her dogs to make sure they were successful.
Meanwhile, there were several young men wanting to take Beth out. For any young grazier looking for a wife, Beth was about the most perfect possible candidate. A young woman who was as handy around the property as Beth, and who was such a stunner to boot, couldn’t expect to be neglected.
When the annual Paul’s Creek dance came up on the social calendar, Beth didn’t lack for aspiring partners. This dance was always special because of the incredible quality of the food. The supper was regarded as incomparable, there being in the area some of the finest cooks in the whole of the Central Tablelands. Indeed, supplying the very best supper had become almost a point of honour for the ladies of Paul’s Creek.
Over the years, the dance’s reputation had got around the country and people from miles around would habitually turn up. The popularity of the event had made it necessary for the hall committee to embark on a fundraising exercise so they could extend the dance floor and kitchen. The fundraising activities included an antique auction sale and a cake drive. A Sydney businessman with a farm at Mudgee gave $50 for three of Mrs Bentley’s chocolate sponges, which were generally conceded to be the best in the country.
Another reason that the Paul’s Creek dance was highly regarded was that scores of romances had originated there. Apart from the night she’d made her debut in Mudgee, Paul’s Creek had been Beth’s first country dance. She’d been escorted by Jim because her father wouldn’t allow anyone else to take her. Beth had been hoping that Rod would take her this year and had mentioned the date to him several times. He hadn’t categorically said he wouldn’t be available, so Beth hung out for him until the very last moment. Then finally, during the last week before the dance, annoyed that Rod hadn’t contacted her, Beth agreed to accompany Wes Saunders. Wes was a quiet young man of medium height with dark wavy hair and a shy smile that women found endearing. He had been raised by a doting mother who’d had her heart set on having a daughter. When a daughter didn’t eventuate, Maisie Saunders poured all her love into her son and only child. Wes had lovely manners and great sensitivity. This put him offside with his blunt, aggressive father, who expected his son to be cast more or less in his own image and take over the property one day, something Wes wasn’t keen on doing.
Dan Stafford was lukewarm about the Saunders family. He didn’t actually dislike them, but nor did he say much in their favour. What did get up Dan’s nose was that they didn’t buy his rams but used rams from down south, which Dan thought was an error of judgment. Dan considered Wes to be a soft sort of fellow who had little chance of becoming a gutsy and respected sheepman.
Beth wasn’t thrilled about going to the dance with Wes but she counted him as a good friend and knew how much it meant to him that she’d accepted his invitation. Besides, this was the most anticipated social event of the year and she couldn’t sit around waiting for Rod forever. It would be degrading to have Jim take her again. Anyway, Jim would be taking Helen, a whole year after they’d first met. That must be some record for him. Bella was sure to be going, too. Wally would cut quite a dash on the dance floor, if he stayed off the booze.
The dance ended up being even more of an event than Beth had expected, when she met Drew Stevens. Drew was a nephew of the estimable John Stevens, one of the leading graziers of the Mudgee district. John’s brother, Peter, was Drew’s father. Peter Stevens owned a decent parcel of land near Coolah and had recently purchased the adjoining property for Drew. It was a kind of welcome-home present because Drew had been jackarooing on a Riverina merino stud for three years and now considered that he knew a bit about sheep. He was a striking young man with thick wavy hair, dark eyes and olive skin that never seemed to burn. He imagined that he was God’s gift to women and had several successful conquests to his credit.
It didn’t take long for Drew to wangle a dance with Beth, who looked stunning in a long dark-red dress that was one of Bella’s creations. He was a confident fellow and Wes Saunders was nowhere near as polished or assured. At the end of their dance, Drew asked Beth if he could call on her the following Saturday. Beth guardedly consented and asked what Drew had in mind for the day.
‘Just to see you and meet your family,’ Drew answered. ‘I have a feeling I’ll be getting to know them very well in the near future.’
So Beth told him to come after lunch and he could have a look at the show sheep and sale rams and then have some afternoon tea. She was reluctant to suggest anything over and above that in case Rod turned up. Not that it would hurt to show Rod that she wasn’t moping about waiting for him. Drew Stevens was full of himself, but apart from that he didn’t appear to be a bad sort of bloke. Beth thought she’d get a second opinion on Drew from Bella and waited for a break in the dancing to quiz her.
It was a warm night and the dancing had made Wally very thirsty. Like most of the other men, he had discarded his jacket. Because he didn’t like Bella dancing with other men, he asked Jim to dance with her and then shot off to the bar for a couple of drinks. It was almost half an hour before he returned and found Bella dancing with a handsome young man he hadn’t seen before. She looked happy and animated and jealousy crawled through Wally’s brain like a maggot in bad meat. He sidled up to Jim and whispered in his ear, ‘Who’s that dancing with Bella?’
‘That’s Drew Stevens. He’s an old Shore boy. He’s coming to have a look at our rams next Saturday.’
‘More likely to look at Beth,’ Wally snarled.
Beth, between dances, had given her brother a lightning-quick rundown of what had happened with Drew. Later, when Wally went back to the bar, she finally had the chance to ask Bella what she thought of Drew.
‘Oh, he seems all right. Pretty confident, though. And to be honest, he doesn’t really measure up to Rod.’
‘Yes, but Rod’s not here.’
‘I’m well aware of that, but don’t be too hard on him, Beth. He’s obviously got important commitments at the moment, and I don’t get the feeling he’s avoiding you.’
‘Well, Drew has asked if he can see me again so I told him he could come on Saturday afternoon.’
Bella rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘I think Drew might be a little hard to shake, Beth. Just watch it.’ She herself had been taken in by Wally, who was all front and not much else, and she didn’t want her sister to go down the same track. Especially when there was a bloke like Rod Cameron in the offing.
Beth was very thoughtful on the way home from the dance.
‘Did you enjoy the night, Beth?’ Wes asked when they were nearly back to Mattai.
‘Yes, thank you so much. I had a great time, and the supper was fantastic, wasn’t it?’
‘It always is,’ he replied, and then added, ‘You must be tired. You couldn’t have missed a dance. It must be great to be so popular.’ Wes sighed. He was a bit concerned that Beth had so many fellows after her. She was so lovely it wasn’t any wonder. But tonight there’d been one, in particular, who had seemed more than ordinarily attracted to her.
‘It isn’t all beer and skittles, Wes,’ Beth said and touched him lightly on his left arm.
When she got out of the car she kissed him gently on the cheek and thanked him for escorting her. ‘Thanks again for a lovely night, Wes.’
Wes drove off feeling a little better but still perturbed about Drew and his impact on Beth.
Drew Stevens drove to Mattai in a new yellow Falcon utility. He was dressed to kill in white moleskins, a blue checked shirt and dark-navy tie, R. M. Williams boots and a white Akubra. It was a classic outfit for a member of the squattoc
racy – which by blood he was.
Dan accompanied Beth and Drew through the ram shed, which housed some special sale rams. Drew immediately got up Dan’s nose by voicing the opinion that, although he didn’t know a lot about superfine-wool sheep, he thought the rams would be bigger than they were. ‘Maybe a bit of Riverina blood would give them a bit more size,’ he said cockily.
Dan looked at him, saw that he was serious and stormed out. He reckoned his sheep had plenty of size for fine-wool sheep. They might not be as long in the legs as Riverina sheep but they were good-bodied sheep nevertheless. Dan was disgusted. Stevens was a swank. He dressed like one and spoke like one. If he had come to Mattai in the hope of making Beth his girlfriend, Dan would soon put an end to that nonsense. Drew Stevens simply wouldn’t do for his daughter.
Later, after Drew had departed, Dan tackled Beth head-on about the issue. ‘You’re not really interested in that young smart alec, are you?’
‘Not seriously, Dad. He might be all right for a few dates but that’s all.’
‘I’d prefer that you didn’t see him at all.’ Dan’s mouth was set in a grim line.
‘I can decide for myself now, Dad,’ Beth said firmly.
‘That’s right, you can. But, while you live under my roof, you remain my responsibility. I don’t want you wasting your time with a smart-talking fellow like Drew Stevens.’
Beth looked at her father and shook her head. ‘You haven’t liked anyone who’s tried to ask me out. It’s a pity you didn’t have the same view about Wally Osborne as you’re taking now with Drew and those others.’ Beth thought she might as well make a fight of it now rather than let Dan get his usual upper hand.
‘What do you mean by that?’ Dan bristled.
‘Wally’s an absolute creep, but he fooled you with his aristocratic background.’
‘Now, hang on a minute, Beth,’ Dan said coldly, angry that his daughter was questioning his judgment. ‘You shouldn’t say things like that about your brother-in-law. Wally is a good manager and Bella isn’t going short of anything. Look at all the stuff Wally’s bought her – expensive jewellery, clothes, holidays…’