by Tony Parsons
Old Angus and Sarah had retired to the coast and Young Angus now ‘reigned’ in his place. That was what Anne wrote to Andy: He always carries on as though he is a lord of the realm.
That is Angus, Andy wrote in his reply. He’s a mite big for his boots and regards himself as the king-pin grazier of the district. Perhaps he is. He’s certainly got the best cattle, probably the best flock of sheep and one of the best properties for miles around. He’s regarded by some as a silvertail who’s had it all handed to him on a plate. I will say this for Young Angus: snob he may be, but he’s always there when the whips are cracking.
Wilf White was another caller who often turned up when Anne needed a hand with the animals. Wilf had a special kind of relationship with Andy, which stemmed back to the time when Wilf had been very kind to Andy’s mother during the war years. But after his twin brother was killed in New Guinea, Wilf became a real recluse. Andy never charged him a cent for breaking in his young thoroughbreds, and when Andy did his crutching, Wilf paid him in sheep.
Wilf would never visit High Peaks without a box of chocolates or some beef for Anne. In return, she would always send him away with a chocolate cake or a cream sponge because she knew he had such a sweet tooth.
The best times of all were the weekends when Andy was home. Sometimes he didn’t come home for long periods at a time, because as soon as one shed was cut out he would have to go on to the next. These were a long way from High Peaks and he couldn’t get there and back in a weekend. But when he was home, if he was not working in the hills, he and Anne would get up very early and drive off together to a sheepdog trial or campdraft. More often than not they would come home with a nice bonus cheque.
Anne did not have much spare time to consider the changes that had taken place in her life, and when she did it amazed her how smoothly they seemed to have happened. She had been reared in a Sydney suburb and her only contact with animals had been the family dog and a few laying hens. Yet now, at times, she found she was running an entire sheep property.
Andy had often told her that ‘farming is the beginning of everything’, and Anne found herself agreeing with this view more and more. He said that life on the land could be damned hard but also damned satisfying. For him, one of the most satisfying aspects of it was looking at good livestock in prime condition. But Anne knew that what really drove Andy was, primarily, his determination to free High Peaks of its debt and then, ultimately, to acquire Wilf’s property next door. If added together, High Peaks and Poitrel would give Andy the area of country he was seeking, not just for him and Anne, but for the children they hoped to have. Moreover, he was principally a real MacLeod: a descendant of the MacLeods of western Scotland; and he felt he had a duty, like the other MacLeods scattered around the world, to show that he could prosper in a new land. Andy’s father had been one of the few MacLeods who had not bettered himself, and Andy still retained a lot of bitterness about it.
Nearly all the proceeds Andy earned from wool and, to a lesser extent, cattle, went to pay off the bank loan. What Andy earned was paid into a special account that helped to run High Peaks. Anne’s teaching money went towards buying their clothes, food and things for the house.
Their first year together was like one long honeymoon and it seemed to fly as quickly as most honeymoons do. Anne did not take any precautions against pregnancy because she did not see any reason for postponing a family. They would lose her salary if she fell pregnant, but things would be manageable. Andy earned quite a lot of money, but he needed to with the size of his debt. What’s more, there were the iniquitous death duties. A farmer paid taxes all his life and then, when he died, his family had to pay additional taxes. It seemed so unfair.
‘Andy, what would you say if I told you I was going to have a baby?’ Anne asked him one night as they sat in the lounge after dinner. He was reading Country Life newspaper and she was attempting to check school papers.
He put down the paper and looked at her. ‘Well, Anne, I would say that you probably are, you being a straight-up-and-down young woman.’
‘Well, I am. Are you pleased?’
He got up and came across to her. ‘Stand up,’ he said.
She stood up and locked her gaze with his. Slowly, he bent down and kissed her, with all the passion of his first kiss on top of Yellow Rock.
‘I’m awful pleased, Anne. Have you been to see the doctor yet?’
‘No, but I don’t think there’s any doubt.’
Andy sat down on a chair and put Anne on his knees.
‘What did I ever do to deserve you?’ she asked and kissed him on the cheek.
‘Other way round, Anne. Couldn’t believe my eyes the first time I saw you. There, I thought, is the girl for me. I was right, too. I’m the lucky fellow.’
‘I disagree, but we won’t argue about it. And now I’m going to have a baby. Can we manage? I mean, you might not be able to go away as much, at least until I’ve had the baby.’
‘And not for a while after, either. I’ll try and do a bit more locally and maybe up the horse and dog sales. We’ll manage, and you’re not to worry your head about money. We aren’t broke.’
The fact that Anne was going to have a baby was the best bit of news Andy had heard for a long time. Now there was going to be a child on High Peaks. Having children on the place would make everything worthwhile. He wished his mother were alive to see it. She and Anne would have got on so well. Boy or girl, it didn’t matter, although if he were given the choice, he would like a son first. A son and then a daughter.
Chapter Five
According to Jane Campbell, Anne had had a good pregnancy. Jane had been very sick when she was carrying Stuart. If it hadn’t been for her strong desire to have a daughter, she might never have tried to become pregnant again. As fate had it, Jane fell pregnant just a couple of months after Anne.
Andy had not gone away shearing that year, not to the big Queensland sheds. He had stayed close to home and was there with Anne every night. Towards the end of the pregnancy, Anne had trouble convincing him to go away for even a day at a time. She assured him that if the pains started she would ring Angus or Jane who would come for her at any notice.
At this time, Andy had an outstanding blue and tan male dog called Ring which he reckoned might be the best trial dog he had owned. There was a big trial at Forbes, and Andy thought Ring was plenty good enough to at least take out the Maiden award if not win the double of the Maiden and the Open. If he left very early in the morning, he could work the Maiden and be home the same night. Anne pressed him to go. The baby was not due for another fortnight and Shaun Covers had assured them that he would feed up that day.
Andy was in two minds because although he wanted to win the trial for the kudos it would bring him and his dogs – and the money would come in handy – he was very reluctant to leave home with the baby so close. He was also concerned about the location of a low-pressure system off the New South Wales coast. He listened to the weather forecasts and reckoned there might be a fair bit of rain due.
It had actually started to rain when he left – not heavily, but the sky was leaden and he thought it would probably set in. The rain followed him to Forbes, and when he arrived he found that there were so many dogs entered in the big Maiden event he would not be working until the next morning. He almost decided to scratch Ring then and there and drive back home. Instead he went down the town and rang Anne with the news that if he wanted to work Ring he would have to stay the night, as they would be starting at seven-thirty the next morning in order to get all the dogs through. Anne assured Andrew that she would be fine and that she would get Shaun to stay the night.
He rang again that evening and Anne told him that she was quite well, but a bit worried about the rain. It had been raining quite heavily all day and it was forecast to continue doing so. Shaun would stay and milk the cow and do the other morning jobs before going home.
Andy was camping at the showground and the rain was coming down fairly heavil
y. He again almost decided to give the trials away and drive home through the night. The creek at High Peaks was a horror in big rain. Several times it had covered the bridge and on two occasions they had been cut off for a couple of days. If that should happen this time and the baby decided it was time to be born, there could be real trouble. He finally decided that seeing he had stayed the day he might as well see the trial through.
It was a wet, gloomy showground when the handlers who had camped there got up next morning. Andy had not come prepared to camp, except that he always carried his swag with him. He reckoned he’d work Ring and then have breakfast down the town before heading off. The other handlers wouldn’t hear of that, and he was soon set up with steak and eggs and a big pint of tea. He loved the friendliness of sheepdog workers. It made trialling a very satisfying sport. They really are a great bunch of fellows, he thought.
Ring was the second dog to work that morning and fourth last of the Maiden dogs. He took the dog for a run in the rain, thankful that he had brought his wet-weather gear. Ring was a real show-off dog. It was as if he knew he was a king-pin trial dog. It was a sin, having made the trip to Forbes, not to allow such a dog to display his talents. Ring didn’t give a fig for the rain. Once he sighted sheep he was majestic. A man would be a heel not to let him work. Yet deep down he realised he should get the hell out of Forbes. There would always be another trial but there was only one Anne.
The sheep were a bit doughy and disinclined to run in the rain. This didn’t give Ring the best chance to show off his footwork and holding ability. It was really a very easy trial for him after the touchy hill-country wethers he had worked on High Peaks. He still managed to come out with a score of 96, which was seven points higher than the other leading dog.
‘A great run, Andy. You’ve got a dog there you could take to Canberra,’ Hugh Shorter said as Andy and Ring came off the ground. Hugh worked kelpie and border collie-cross dogs and owned a property east of Goulburn.
‘Don’t know that I will ever get to Canberra, Hugh. I’ve got a lot of commitments at home.’
‘That’s a real shame. You’re the best kelpie handler around. You should give it a go.’
‘Right now I’ve got to head for home. Our first baby is getting close and we’ve got a bugger of a bridge to cross. I sure don’t like the look of this rain.’
‘Congratulations, mate. I hope it all works out. Pity you have to leave, though. Ring would have been a good chance to take the double.’
‘I’ll be happy to win the Maiden this time,’ Andy said.
Of the last three dogs, one was disqualified for crossing and the other two didn’t score very well, so Ring came out the winner.
Delighted as he was with his success, Andy couldn’t get away quickly enough. The rain was belting down and he was as worried as he could be about it. He had been a fool to leave Anne even for a minute.
He called her before he left Forbes and heard that it was absolutely pouring at High Peaks. The creek seemed to be up and it was roaring worse than she had ever heard it.
Andy didn’t like the sound of that. ‘Listen to me, Anne. You get out of there! Get Shaun to drive you into town and take a room at the Federal. Stay there and I’ll see you tonight.’
‘Jane rang and suggested I go over to Inverlochy,’ Anne replied.
Andy did a quick mental check of the creeks between Inverlochy and Merriwa. ‘No, it’s too risky. The only place for you is in town. If that creek comes up and you need to get to the hospital in town, you won’t get in from Inverlochy. Is Shaun still there?’
‘He’s down looking at the creek now,’ she said.
‘Tell him I said he’s to take you to town. Pack up now. Tell him to come back when he can and feed up. If not tonight, tomorrow. I might get stuck in town for a day or so. This could be flood rain.’
‘All right, Andy. Now tell me, how did you go at the trials?’
‘Ring won the Maiden, but I’ll tell you all about that later. I have to leave now.’
Anne hung up the phone and went out on to the front verandah. It didn’t take long for the first big gust to hit her. She shivered and looked first at the road that led out the front gate and down to the creek, and then she turned her eyes towards Yellow Rock. She could see the road as far as the dip to the creek but beyond that everything was hidden by mist and rain. Yellow Rock was completely obscured, hidden by an impenetrable curtain of mist. There was so little visibility it looked as if there were no mountains at all.
Presently Shaun appeared through the rain. Although he had driven down to the creek, he now returned on foot.
‘Where’s your ute, Shaun?’ Anne asked as he came up the front path.
‘Down near the creek. I’m afraid it’s stuck down there. I just couldn’t get it to start.’
‘Oh, dear. I really needed you to get me to town. I was going to stay at the Federal.’
‘We could always take the truck, except it might be a bit rough for you,’ he said.
‘How is the creek?’ she asked.
‘The water is just running over the bridge, but I reckon it’s rising. This is the heaviest rain I’ve seen here.’
‘Let’s go and get the truck then, quickly.’
But the battery of the truck was dead flat. ‘Bugger it,’ Shaun said vehemently. ‘Missus, we’ve got a problem. I reckon you had better ring Angus and see if he can come and get you.’
‘Wait a tick and I’ll see what he says,’ she said, heading towards the house. She reappeared a few minutes later and Shaun could tell from the frown on her face that it was bad news. ‘I can’t make it out. The phone is dead. It was quite all right when Andy rang a while ago.’
‘The wind has got a lot stronger since then. It’s either twisted the wires or else they’ve come down completely,’ Shaun suggested.
He looked up at the heavily pregnant woman, the wife of the man he most admired and respected in all the district. ‘Not to worry, Mrs Mac. I’ll saddle a horse and scoot down to Inverlochy,’ he said with a quick smile to try and ease her obvious concern.
‘Would you, Shaun? It will be a nasty ride in this rain,’ she pointed out.
‘I’ve got good rainskins.’
‘What will you do after that?’ she asked.
‘It might be best if I come back here while you’re gone,’ he said. ‘If this rain keeps up, Andy might not get back here for a couple of days. There’s dogs and horses to feed and Moss has a big litter of valuable pups on her.’
‘Thank you, Shaun. We really do appreciate this. There’s plenty of food for you and the dogs. You know where it all is, just help yourself.’
‘Righto, Mrs Mac. Well, I’ll saddle up and be on my way. We’ll be back inside an hour, so you just sit tight.’
He put a saddle on one of Andy’s mares and cantered her down to the creek. There was now more than a foot of water over the bridge. The creek was definitely rising – and fast. Shaun rode the mare into the water and was immediately thankful for the quality of Andy’s horse. The water was rushing across the bridge at frightening speed, and nobody could have crossed away from the bridge. The mare’s legs did not create too much resistance in the water so he simply had to keep her in the middle of the bridge to make his way across. When he reached the far side he turned and looked back at the crossing. Soon no car would be able to make it over. Angus would need to bring his truck quickly. Shaun turned and put the mare to a fast canter, with the rain beating endlessly into his face.
Angus Campbell had been trying to raise Anne MacLeod by telephone but her phone line was dead. He walked out on to the front verandah and looked up the road towards High Peaks. All he could see now was a grey wall of rain. As he watched and worried about what he should do, a single horseman appeared out of the mist and deluge.
Seeing Angus on his front verandah, Shaun rode up the drive and dismounted at the front steps.
‘G’day, Mr Campbell. Jeez, what a bugger of a day. Talk about rain. Never seen anything like
it.’
‘G’day, Shaun. What are you doing here? Is there trouble up at High Peaks?’
‘I reckon. My ute’s on the blink and the truck has a flat battery. The creek is running like hell, must be getting close to two feet over the bridge by now. I need to get Mrs Mac to town. Andy reckons it isn’t even safe to bring her here, in her condition.’
Angus Campbell knew what was required of him. As he turned away, Shaun added a final caution.
‘You’ll never cross the bridge in a car.’
Angus turned back to him. ‘It’s that bad?’
Shaun nodded. ‘I reckon you could do it okay in your truck, but come maybe a couple more hours and even that wouldn’t make it.’
Angus nodded his acknowledgement. ‘I’ll get the truck. We can look after your horse here and you come back with me. That all right?’
‘Sounds like we’ve got ourselves a plan.’
Anne had all her things packed and ready to go. She had actually been packed for days and had only to add a toothbrush and extra clothes for her stay at the Federal. She filled the combustion stove and then went back to the front verandah to wait for Angus.
It was then that she heard the pup crying. Perhaps Mossy had heard the horse leaving and had climbed out of her kennel to investigate. Sometimes a pup attached to a teat could get dropped outside the kennel and left there. A small pup would die of exposure in this weather. She could not possibly leave it.
She donned her coat, stowing a towel beneath it, and put on her galoshes and wide-brimmed hat. This was not easy in her condition. The rain hit her in great welts as she plodded towards the dog yard. The dogs were all in their logs and kennels except for Moss, who was standing over one of her pups. The rain was streaming off her sides down onto the shivering, crying pup.