by Janet Woods
‘I’ll have Esmé to keep me company.’
‘If you do move in there and need to pick up anything from town let me know . . . though we can raid the company store of what’s left. Are you sure you want to stay there?’
‘I’ll see what state the place is in first. I left some canned food and milk in the cupboard, and there’s flour in a tin. We might stay for a few days then move back to Melbourne and sign on with the agency again. At least Esmé can have the experience of living in the bush.’
‘Take the truck over tomorrow so you can give the place the once-over. Make sure the pump’s working and you’ve got everything you need. I’ll lend you the pedal radio from the nursing post in case you need to get in touch urgently.’
‘Thanks, Ben, you’re a brick.’
When they were on their way to the nursing post, Esmé told her, ‘Ma said we can both stay with her in Melbourne, if we like . . . help her out a bit. It won’t interfere with us looking for work.’
Minnie made a face at her. ‘You’re forgetting one thing . . . Wally might turn up and remember he’s my husband.’
‘Oh, of course . . . I’d forgotten about him. Then again, he may have gone to Singapore on the Horizon Queen. He was scared of his own shadow when I saw him, and expecting a visit from John Teagan, I believe.’
‘No wonder . . . he’s been seeing Teagan’s younger sister.’
‘Don’t you mind?’
‘I’d pay her to take him off my hands if I had any money. I just wish he’d left me the car. He’s probably sold it.’
‘Still, it’s nice to know we have somewhere to stay in Melbourne while we’re waiting for work,’ Esmé told her. ‘Wally told his mother that he loves you, and the other woman means nothing to him.’
‘Wally tells people what he thinks they like to hear. He knows that his mother and I get on together, and telling her I have his undying love will stop her nagging him. He’s a cheat and a liar, Es. I can’t understand how Ma keeps getting taken in by him.’
‘He’s her son, Min . . . he’s all she’s got left and she loves him.’ Saying that made Esmé think of Livia. She’d filled the role of a mother figure, and love for her sister came as a strong surge.
‘I suppose, but what if he turns up at Ma’s while we’re there?’
‘We’ll sleep in the room with the twin beds and the bolt on the inside of the door.’
‘A good idea.’
Over the next couple of weeks it was sad watching the remainder of the workers depart, some on foot with their children in tow, their carts or vehicles piled high with household goods they were unwilling to leave behind.
Minnie hugged them all and wished them luck.
Ben put the sides up on the truck, and those with only themselves to think about piled into the back, quiet and thoughtful, already looking worried at the thought of what lay ahead.
Then it was their turn. Ben left them at the gate to Wally’s homestead. ‘I don’t like leaving you here by yourselves, so I’ll drop in every day to see how you’re going. If you need anything you must let me know.’
The state of Victoria had impressed Esmé with its lush vegetation and soaring mountains, but nothing could have prepared her for the ramshackle building in front of her. ‘Wally bought this?’
‘He inherited it from his uncle.’
The thought was too awesome for words, and a giggle tore from Esmé’s mouth. ‘That husband of yours must be the world’s biggest loser.’
Minnie grinned. ‘He said he was going to settle down and grow vegetables, but the first lot of seedlings he planted disappeared overnight and he lost heart. I think the rabbits ate them.’
Their grins became laughter as they gazed at each other, and soon they were doubled up. From somewhere in the scrub a kookaburra joined in.
‘I can’t remember the last time I had a good laugh,’ Minnie said, holding her aching stomach. ‘Here’s something else funny. Wally is convinced his uncle stashed a fortune in gold down a snake-hole under the veranda.’
That started them laughing all over again.
Minnie fetched the key from the ledge over the door, which opened with a creak. Something scuttled in the shadows.
The hair on the back of Esmé’s neck prickled as she stared at it. ‘I hope that wasn’t a spider.’
‘So do I. I’d hate to meet one that size.’
‘It’s got scales. It might be a snake.’
Minnie peered at it, her eyes growing accustomed to the gloom. ‘It’s got legs, so it’s a stumpy-tailed lizard. It’s not venomous, but make sure you don’t get bitten because its mouth is full of bacteria.’ Minnie picked it up, and, ignoring its warning hisses, placed it outside. ‘Off you go; you’re more bark than bite.’
‘You’re brave.’
‘Living here has taught me what’s safe to handle and what’s not, and that most things run away if they hear you coming. If you’d rather, we could go straight to Melbourne.’
‘It would be nice to have a bit of a rest from Ma. Let’s stay. We might be able to find the gold.’
‘If you think I’m sticking my hand down a snake hole you can think again. Wally can keep his secret stash.’
The romance of communing with nature wore thin after the first week. They began to run out of food, and they lived on pancakes, porridge and eggs for two days before Ben delivered some canned goods to see them through. Tinned peas had never tasted so good, and they feasted on preserved fruit.
‘I’m going into Melbourne in a week or so. Let me know if you want a lift,’ Ben said.
Minnie gave him a relieved smile. ‘I’ll let you know now. We most definitely will.’
To keep themselves busy they cleared the undergrowth away from the house and whitewashed the inside walls. They generally tidied the place up, though there wasn’t much they could do in the way of repairs.
When they had a rainy day the roof leaked and they put buckets and bowls around to catch the drips. A windy day nearly ripped off the sheet of corrugated iron and it flapped up and down, making a horrific screeching noise that put their teeth on edge, and kept them awake all night. But the rain filled the water barrel, so the water lost its brackish taste.
The next morning dawned fresh and bright, with a stiff breeze rattling everything. ‘I’d better try and repair the roof while we can,’ Minnie said, the doubt in her voice all too evident. ‘Make sure you hold the ladder steady, because I’m scared of heights.’
Esmé took the hammer and nails from her. ‘You hold the ladder and I’ll do the repairs. I don’t mind heights, and besides, I’m wearing slacks. I helped build a chicken house and Chad allowed me to hammer in a nail, so I’m experienced.’
When Minnie started to laugh, Esmé grinned. ‘It happened to be a very superior chicken house, fit for a royal rooster.’
The roof wasn’t all that high, but the beams creaked when she put her weight on them, and she didn’t feel very safe.
‘Be careful, Es,’ Minnie called, her worried voice contributing to her uneasiness.
The sheet of iron was so flaked with rust and full of holes it was hardly worth the cost of a nail, let alone several. Still, it was all they had. Esmé set to work, banging nails in where she could. They went in easily. The beams underneath were spongy, and offered no resistance. The wind would soon loosen them again, but it might last until they left. After that it was Wally’s problem.
She gazed down at Minnie. ‘It might be better if we put weights on the roof. Could you pass up those flat stones from the path?’
‘I’ll try, but they’re heavy and I’ll need two hands, so I won’t be able to get up the ladder.’
‘If you take the washing line down we can use that. Hand me up one end, then tie a stone to the other one and stand back. We’ll only need about four, So I’ll try and haul them up one by one.’
The wind brought a faint droning sound, but when Esmé turned her ear upwards towards the sound it had gone, lost in the noisy thrash of the
foliage flaying in the wind. It was probably a bee flying past her ear. Her hammering had disturbed all sorts of small creatures, lizards, beetles, and spiders, swooped on by birds taking advantage of the unexpected snacks on offer.
Minnie’s hand appeared over the gutter with its rope offering. Esmé grabbed it, and a couple of minutes later she began to haul on the rope. The stone was heavier than she expected, but it came smoothly. Just as she was about to heave a sigh of relief it caught on the gutter and stayed there.
She needed to put some weight into this operation. Crawling up the beam she stood upright, and with her legs apart, braced herself and tugged. The stone moved, but didn’t quite make it over the lip of the gutter. It fell back, knocking a plank from the wall, and nearly jerking her arms out of their sockets.
When she swore, Minnie giggled. ‘I didn’t know you were familiar with such language, Lady Es.’
‘Stand well back, Min, I’m going to have to drop it if I don’t manage it this time.’
Using all her weight she dug in her heels and gave a prolonged heave on the rope. The stone slipped over the gutter and on to the edge of the roof. Strength spent, Esmé stopped for breath. Before she had time to congratulate herself there came an ominous crack from the beam, and it fell, still attached to the roofing sheet, bent and buckled beyond repair. She slid down the corrugated iron gathering splinters of rust and fell through the attic into the house space below, accompanied by a dozen decades of debris and dirt.
She bounced off a bed, automatically flinging out an arm to save herself. A sharp crack sent pain ratcheting into her arm, neck and shoulder and she screamed out with the agony of it. Bombarded by falling bits and pieces, she reached out with her usable hand and managed to grab up a pillow. She held it over her head until everything stopped dropping on her. The iron sheet tipped sideways on to her, and something heavy landed on it and pinned it there.
There was a scrabbling sound nearby, and a scream from Minnie. ‘Es, are you all right? I’ll never forgive myself if you’re dead.’
‘I’ll never forgive you either.’ Esmé’s laughter bordered on hysterical, but she couldn’t stop herself. At the same time, tears trickled down her face. ‘I managed to get the stone up.’
Minnie gave a hiccup. ‘Congratulations. I wouldn’t have suggested we whitewash the walls if I’d known you were going to demolish the place.’
‘Whatever you do, don’t pull on that rope if you see it. And if you can get to the pedal radio to call for help, I’d be grateful. If not, you’ll have to go to the mine and ask Ben. Don’t try and move me from under this pile of junk by yourself. You might bring the rest of it down.’
‘Do you have any injuries, Es?’
She was beginning to feel a bit shaky, and the pain was making itself known to her. ‘Quite a few, I’d say. I think my left arm is broken, and possibly my collarbone, and a rib or two. I don’t know about the rest, though I can wriggle my toes. The bed took the brunt of it, but everything hurts.’ Her teeth began to chatter. ‘I’m beginning to suffer from shock, so don’t be too long.’
Minnie bit back a sob. ‘All right, Es, just lie there and take it easy. I’m sorry I made a joke out of it.’
‘Be thankful for small mercies. That sheet of iron could have cut my head off.’
Minnie was back in a few minutes. ‘The radio is useless. Hold tight, love. I’ll be as quick as I can.’
Esmé felt alone after her friend had gone. Her heart pounded and her mood went from despair, to hysteria, then back to despair again. Above her the beam supporting the stone creaked. The pile of splintered planks, iron sheets and broken glass gave an occasional creak as it settled. Dust rose in the air and was either whipped away by the wind, or threatened to choke her.
Part of the pillowcase had been ripped off, and the rag was hanging on a nail not far from her face. With one arm trapped and the other one useless, she managed to grab it with her teeth when it was blown in her direction. After a short tug of war it loosened from the nail and she was able to draw it down through the small opening above her. It settled on her face, where, clenched between her teeth, it would act as a makeshift filter.
Her chest ached, but she couldn’t move. Just as well really, because she felt broken into pieces. She seemed to be wedged in, though she could see daylight and clouds racing across the sky through a tiny gap. Under her was something soft . . . the mattress off the bed, she thought, and was thankful for small mercies. Now and again her body began to shake and her teeth chatter. Coldness crept into her limbs and weariness crept through her body. She closed her eyes, and then jerked them open again. She mustn’t go to sleep. She drifted off again, then jumped when she heard the truck.
There was a crunch of footsteps, then, ‘Stone the crows! That’s a work of art. How did she manage to bring that lot down on her?’
It wasn’t Leo’s voice, it was his brother’s.
Leo’s voice came next, laconic, but with an unmistakable fear in it. ‘Beats me.’ She smiled when he said, ‘Esmé, love . . . if you’re still conscious, talk to me.’
Nobody else could say her name like that. Opening her dust-encrusted eyes she spat out the rag and croaked, ‘Leo . . . how did you get here so quickly?’
‘Alex and I came to pay you both a surprise visit. We bought lunch with us, and were on our way out here in Ben’s truck. We nearly ran over Minnie, who was running so fast in the opposite direction she overtook a kangaroo. She said you’ve done yourself a bit of damage. Is there any neck trauma, d’you think?’
It wasn’t as casual a question as it sounded. ‘I don’t think so, Leo. My toes and fingers still work. At a guess my left arm is broken and my collarbone and ribs are damaged. There’s a bit of shock thrown in, and splinters and bruises, I expect. It’s all so heavy, and there’s hardly any space to expand my chest, so I can only take shallow breaths.’
‘It could be worse. We’ll soon have you out of there my brave girl.’ His voice was kind and concerned. It made her want to cry.
‘Don’t encourage me to snivel, Leo, because I’m not far from a fully-fledged bout of hysterical self-pity. And be careful of any rope that’s hanging down. It’s tied to a paving stone that’s still balanced on the edge of what’s left of the roof.’
‘Yeah, we know about it, sweetheart. I’ve stood Alex under it, so if it falls and lands on his head it will simply bounce off.’
Alex said something rude, to which Leo laughed. ‘Your language is usually more colourful than that, brother.’ He addressed her again. ‘What position are you lying in, Es?’
‘On my back, but I don’t know what direction.’
‘North, by north east, judging by your voice,’ and she giggled, despite the pain she was in. ‘Now . . . Alex and I are going to lift this stuff off of you. We’ll be as careful as we can.’
She heard the rumble of the truck engine. ‘Is Minnie going somewhere?’
‘To get my bag from the plane, and to let Ben know what’s happened.’
The load became fractionally lighter when they lifted the first beam. ‘How are you doing, Es?’
‘I don’t know. I’m all right, I think.’ But it hurt like hell when she breathed, and her broken arm was an agony. She couldn’t even move her good arm across to support it, because something prevented it.
‘We’re going to remove an iron roofing sheet next. You might like to close your eyes against dust and rust flakes.’
‘My back is already full of rusty splinters.’
With the iron sheet gone her world lightened a little bit more. Cautiously, she opened her eyes a chink and caught a glimpse of sky through a gap. Leo’s face blotted it out, and one blue eye gazed through the hole at her. ‘Hello, sweetheart.’
She sniffed, and her eyes swam with tears, so she didn’t trust herself to speak in case she started to howl and couldn’t stop.
‘It won’t take too long now. We’ll remove the small stuff next. Everything is balanced, like a house of cards and seems to
support everything else. There is a beam pinning you to the ground. Once we can get access to it, Alex is going to support the beam with the Jack from the truck, while I pull you out. The bad news is . . . it will hurt like hell. Can you move, at all?’
‘Marginally. I seem to be wedged in by the beam, which is pressing on my chest and obstructing my breathing. My good arm is under it, with the forearm sticking out the other side. It’s trapped, but I can move it. I just can’t bring it through to where the rest of me is.’ She was well aware of what would happen if the prop carrying the weight of the beam collapsed. ‘I think the beam might be balanced on the remains of the bed, which is supporting it at the high end.’
‘All right, love. When the weight of that beam is lifted from you, try and use your good arm as a splint for the injured one. I don’t want to damage you any more than you are, but I’ve got no choice than to pull you out, because you’re in too precarious a position, as it is.’
And indeed, there came another warning crack from above, and a shower of debris rained on them.
Her voice wobbled when she said, ‘I think I’m lying on a mattress, that might make things easier. Leo . . . please don’t put yourself in any danger.’
‘This gives me an opportunity to play the hero and impress you,’ he said, and his voice moved away. ‘Right, let’s get on with this, Alex. She’s barely hanging on to herself as it is.’
She didn’t want him to impress her by putting himself in danger. If anything happened to him she’d never forgive herself for being so stupid.
It seemed ages before the weight was lifted from her chest. She managed to bring her left arm through and cradled her broken arm with it. She’d begun to shake, and with teeth chattering, said, ‘I’m ready, Leo.’
Steadily dragged out by her feet, she tried not to scream at the pain of being moved. She groaned, and felt sick when she emerged, shaking uncontrollably. Opening her eyes she panicked. ‘I can’t see anything.’
‘There’s a handkerchief over your face.’ He removed it. ‘Is that better?’
Covered in dust, Leo and Alex smiled at her with the same smile, and she thought inconsequently that they must have been double trouble when they were children, but how wonderful to have such fine sons. Taking up each end of the thin mattress they carried her outside away from the house, just as the truck arrived. The mattress was slid on to the tray.
