by Tony Parsons
Anne cautioned her son against putting too many hopes in his children.
‘They may hate animals, David. You shouldn’t expect that they will automatically be in your mould. You will be very disappointed if they don’t like animals or even the land.’
David looked at her aghast. ‘Not like animals or the land? How could they not, with Dad and me behind them?’
‘There are other forebears, David. My people weren’t on the land. They are artistic and musical,’ Anne said.
‘Ha, I’ll bet any child of mine is land-minded. The Campbells have been landowners for hundreds of years,’ he said.
‘That’s not quite the same thing, dear. From what I can gather about the Campbell family they were also magistrates, soldiers and government officials. You are expecting any children you and Catriona might have to be cast in your own mould. I’m simply cautioning you against setting your hopes too high and being rigid in your expectations.’
But David had no doubt that his children would be land-minded, and based his dreams and future planning on that assumption.
One evening shortly after the two gardens had been completed, he came home to find a smiling Catriona waiting for him. ‘Guess what, darling?’
‘You’re pregnant and we’re not going overseas,’ he suggested.
‘Don’t be a wet blanket, darling. I’m not going to fall pregnant until we come back from overseas. No, we’ve been invited to Poitrel to meet Jean’s mystery man. He’s moved in.’
‘Good heavens. When are we to go?’ he asked.
‘Sunday, for lunch. It’s a kind of buffet lunch. Evidently Julian is quite an accomplished chef. Well, not really a chef in the true sense of the word, but …’
‘You mean he can cook a bit?’ David suggested.
‘Yes, I believe he is quite famous in culinary circles. He wanted Jean to go and live with him but she wouldn’t leave Poitrel, so Julian has come to Poitrel.’
‘Is Mum invited?’
‘Oh, yes. And Kate. Of course, Kate has already made Julian’s acquaintance,’ she said.
Julian Miller was a man of medium height with a thick chest, which suggested some degree of physical strength. His face was strong, or seemed strong because most of it was covered in beard. His eyes were blue and friendly. His hair was worn longish and was more grey than fair as it must have once been. The artist was tidily dressed in blue slacks and a brightly coloured shirt. David liked his handshake, which was firm and strong.
David was also agreeably surprised by the variety of food set out for their buffet lunch. He wasn’t vocal about it but Anne certainly was. And Catriona, who had sampled high-quality foods at many social functions, was extremely appreciative of Miller’s efforts. Julian, who had been apprehensive about his reception from Poitrel’s owners, where he was to reside, suddenly seemed to relax.
Jean, who had also been nervous about the get-together, looked a little bit like the cat who had licked the cream. David had been her major concern; David, and what he would think of Julian.
‘I don’t want you to think I came here to take advantage of the generosity shown to me by Jean and you people,’ Julian said. ‘I wanted Jean to come and live with me, but she loves this place so much she didn’t want to leave. I’d be very happy to contribute to the bills. I’d also be happy to help out at times if you need an extra hand. I can pen up sheep and I can weld. Do a fair bit of welding at times.’
David looked at him with some interest. He wasn’t worried about being paid for electricity or even the phone unless the bill turned out to be exorbitant, but he was impressed that Miller had offered to pay. It was also interesting that the fellow could weld, which was bound to be useful.
Julian displayed some of his paintings to the guests from High Peaks; several of them had been painted in the Mudgee district and were intended for a coming exhibition. Of those he saw, the one that appealed to David most had been painted in the old gold village of Hill End. David looked at this painting for a few moments and nodded.
‘I like this one,’ he said. ‘But I hasten to add that I know nothing about art.’
‘You’ve got a good eye, David,’ Miller said. ‘This painting will sell for a fair bit of money.’
‘Then you can contribute to the electricity and phone,’ David said, and grinned.
Miller laughed. ‘I fell into that.’
‘Julian, if Jean thinks you’re all right – which she evidently does, her being a manhater all these years – you must be a special sort of bloke. We all think a lot of Jean – she has been a part of our family for some time now. We treat people as we find them, Julian. You do the right thing by us and you’ll always be welcome here.’
That was David, full on and to the point. No messing about, no prevarication.
‘I understand you, David,’ Miller said.
Later, as they were leaving, Jean kissed David on the cheek. ‘Thank you, David. Julian was a wee bit apprehensive about how he would be received. He is a very nice man,’ Jean said.
‘You deserve no less, Jean,’ David said.
Later, as he was sitting with Catriona in their lounge room, David looked up at her and grinned.
‘What is it, darling?’ Catriona asked.
‘Would you like to be kissed by a fellow with a beard?’ he asked.
‘What a very odd question. I’ve never given the matter any thought,’ she answered.
‘I shouldn’t think it would be a very enjoyable experience. You’d think Jean would ask Julian to shave it off,’ David suggested.
‘Julian might see his beard as part of his artistic persona, darling. But to answer your question, no, I don’t think I’d like to be kissed by a bearded man. On the mouth or anywhere else.’
‘That’s what I thought you’d say,’ David said.
Catriona looked at him for some time and then dropped her eyes. ‘Poor woman,’ she said. ‘Jean was very anxious that you approve of Julian, darling. It means a lot to her. I think she has big hopes for this relationship.’
‘Well, Julian seems all right, but time will tell. He offered to help out and maybe I’ll take him up on his offer some time,’ David said, and went back to reading his paper.
David was finding that Catriona had added a new dimension to his life. Quite apart from the physical aspect of their relationship, which was very enjoyable, Catriona had so quickly become a part of all he did that he could not conceive how he would manage without her. For a person who had lived in the shadow of a tough, hard bushman and who had little time for girls generally, this was a considerable about-face.
To her credit, Catriona realised that David had scant time for socialising and for females who flitted from one social function to another. What Catriona had always wanted more than anything else in life was David MacLeod. She had been prepared to defy her parents to marry him and, at one stage, had even been prepared to fall pregnant to him out of wedlock. David had been so disturbed by that suggestion that never again did she offer that avenue to him.
Catriona wanted to be with David every hour of the day, to be part of everything he did. She realised that these early years of their marriage would be crucial in establishing the kind of partnership she hoped would endure for the rest of their lives. Pregnancy and children would all too soon prevent her from being totally involved with David’s activities. She realised she would have to manage things very carefully when the children came on the scene. There was always the possibility she could employ a nanny so that she could spend more time with David. It was too early to broach the subject, but she was determined not to be tied to the house. It was not that she proposed to neglect their children, but was concerned not to let motherhood infringe on her time with her husband. These were early ruminations but they were underpinned by her love for David, and by the fact that she was certain he was going to be a great man in the pastoral scheme of things. She wanted to be at his side as much as she possibly could be.
One project Catriona had taken on was
planning the itinerary for their overseas trip. When it was well in hand, Angus suggested that if she and David were agreeable, he and Jane would like to accompany them, for there were many things he could show David. Catriona was dumbstruck but could hardly reject the proposition out of hand. She had a very good idea that her father wanted David to select a border collie for him. Angus had been after a top border collie all his life and who better to select it than David MacLeod? Yet the proposition had its pluses. A few years back Angus would not have considered accompanying David anywhere. Was this her father’s absolute acceptance of David? It seemed to be. He would be introducing David to members of the Campbell family in Scotland, and this had to be real approval of his son-in-law.
When Catriona told David of her father’s offer to accompany them overseas there was silence for a while, as David considered all angles. Angus had been very fair to him since the wedding. He had set him up with some very good Hereford cows and he had introduced him to his sheep classer, Hugh Pfeffer, who had been very helpful. If they knocked back this proposition Angus would realise it had been him and not Catriona who had made the decision.
In fact, Catriona was less than thrilled with her father’s idea. She knew very well that her mother would decline to tramp through heather up hill and down dale while David and Angus inspected dogs and cattle. Jane Campbell would want to visit shops and art galleries and craft outlets and she would expect her daughter to accompany her. This was not at all what Catriona had in mind. She wanted to take David to Glencoe and Skye and stay at small out-of-the-way lodges and hotels and maybe, just maybe, take in a sheepdog trial. But she could not very well refuse her father’s offer.
Significantly, it was his mother whom David thought of first. ‘If your parents are to come with us, we’d have to ask Mum too,’ he said.
‘I agree, darling. Well, what am I to tell Daddy?’ Catriona asked.
‘If you have no objection I dare say Angus would be some help,’ David said.
‘I have been overseas, darling,’ Catriona reminded him.
‘I’m well aware of that, Cat. The point is that Angus has been very fair to me since the wedding and I wouldn’t like to do anything to offend him. I’d prefer it was you and I but I’m not going to make an issue of it. If they want to come with us, let them come.’
When invited to join the overseas party Anne declined the offer. ‘Thanks for the offer but I saw the UK when I was young and much fitter than I am now. I’d prefer to stay to look after my garden. And I’ll talk to Nap and Clancy every day, David.’
David had told her in confidence that he didn’t really want to make the trip but Catriona wanted them to have it before they started a family. He didn’t like leaving the properties, and Nap, especially, would miss him. Anne thought that no other young man in Australia would think of his dog when he had the opportunity to travel overseas with a lovely young wife like Catriona. But that was her son.
David grinned sheepishly. ‘Nap is such a knowing old cuss that he will worry if I don’t talk to him every day,’ he said.
‘Nap survived for three years without you so he’ll survive a few weeks. I’ll take him titbits every day.’
Before the overseas trip there was one very big event that both families, including Kate and Jean and even young Greg Robertson, had to attend. This was the Australian premiere of the film The Call of the High Country, based on the story of David’s life. The story began when David was a very small boy and concluded the day he won the National sheepdog trials with his brilliant dog Clancy. Of course, it was also a love story because it involved the young Catriona and her rescue from Yellow Rock and her eventual marriage to David.
The MacLeod and Campbell party travelled to the bright lights of Sydney for the premiere. It was a night and an occasion they would all long remember. They had arrived at the theatre in limousines but the foyer of the building was set up much like the interior of a shearing shed. There were bales of High Peaks wool and a couple of fleeces on a wool-rolling table. But perhaps the pièce de résistance was the presence of David’s two great red-and-tan kelpies, Nap and Clancy, watched over by Greg Robertson in genuine ringer’s clobber. Greg was enjoying every minute of the great occasion, the more so because he had been a witness to, and part of, one of the most dramatic scenes in the film. There was a solid phalanx of people around Greg and the dogs because apart from the actors who played the lead roles, the kelpies were the real stars of the film. David had been reluctant to allow his dogs to go to Sydney but he was assured they would be protected by security officers for the whole time they were away. And when Greg Robertson went inside to join the MacLeod family in the theatre, a husky security officer took over care of Nap and Clancy.
David, sitting between his wife and mother, and with Kate beside her sister and the Campbell family next to her, felt his heart beat faster as the lights faded. The huge screen was suddenly filled with Yellow Rock. It was a mind-blowing entree to the film and had particular significance because of what was to come. There was the small Catriona on her grey pony riding up the mountain to meet David and to display her riding prowess, only to meet with disaster. And then there was the young David riding for dear life to bring help to the injured girl. By her side was the first kelpie to appear in the film. David felt his mother grip his arm as the Andrew on-screen went down on the rope to rescue Catriona. This was one of many very moving scenes throughout the film. Another was when David tied a message to Nap’s collar and sent him back to High Peaks so that Anne could organise help for Kate who had broken her leg on Wallaby Rocks. This feat brought media teams to the property and made Nap the most celebrated dog in the country.
Another arresting scene depicted the bushfire started by the two Missen boys, made more compelling by the fact that the fire scenes were totally genuine. They had been shot by a camera crew at the scene of the fire. David felt his hand gripped by Catriona as the fire came up the hill and then enveloped the ridge in smoke and flame. David was on the ridge trying to save Poitrel sheep and they had thought him gone. Catriona had been screaming hysterically and Andrew had thrown a mug of water in her face. And then they had ridden through the still-burning logs and smoke and found David, Nap and Clancy in the big cave. Nap had taken sheep there at David’s direction. But Clancy’s pads had been badly burnt. The story focused on the battle to get Clancy right for the National sheepdog trials and of how they had had to put a boot on one foot.
Clancy had gone on to record a perfect score of 100 in the final, which clinched for him the great trial. But what the MacLeod family were thinking of was not the trial but the man who lay buried on a knoll above the High Peaks homestead. Andrew MacLeod was very close to them that night. He had set the standards of his kelpies so high that it was possible for David to win the trial he had set his heart on, and thus repay his father for all he had done to build a future for his son. The family were all in tears after the scenes of the National Trial in Canberra.
The film came to a close with another spectacular scene of Yellow Rock with the eagles floating above it and David and Catriona riding down its face, two red-and-tan kelpies running behind them.
‘Crikey,’ Greg Robertson exclaimed as the lights came up. ‘What a mighty picture.’ Greg reckoned that the day David MacLeod employed him had been the luckiest day of his life.
‘It was lovely, David,’ Kate said as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.
‘It wasn’t bad,’ David admitted. Some of the film had been over-played in his opinion, but the bush part of it had been dead right.
After the film they were taken by the limousines to the after party laid on for the cast and crew. Everyone seemed to be on a high about the film, and it was thought to have the makings of an international success. The following day, after all the celebrations were over, the Merriwa party went back to their respective properties and life settled back into more or less normal routines. Catriona pasted the newspaper and magazine stories about the film into her scrapbook and t
hen concentrated on preparing for their overseas trip.
Stuart Campbell drove David and Catriona, Angus and Jane down to Sydney and brought the car back. He would be there to meet them on their return. Stuart, married now, was very much in his father’s mould – he would never set the world alight but would always be dependable and a careful manager for Inverlochy.
The long-awaited trip was almost all that Catriona had hoped it would be. There were times when she had to compromise and stay with her mother while David and Angus shot off to look at dogs and cattle but there was time, too, for her and David to go off together and explore wild and lonely places. For David one of the most memorable places they visited was Glencoe.
‘It gives you the shivers to think that maybe some of your ancestors could have been involved in the murder of the MacDonalds right here,’ David said, after Catriona had explained the circumstances of the massacre.
‘Whew, I wouldn’t like to be here in winter.’
They met many Campbells, picnicked by the shore of Loch Ness and at almost the exact spot on Culloden Moor where Bonnie Prince Charlie had watched the English slaughter his clansmen and his hopes so many centuries ago. That was before he had fled with a huge price on his head and, after weeks of moving and hiding, was ultimately taken off by ship for France. Despite the reward, not a person had betrayed him.
Then it was over the sea to the stark beauty of the Isle of Skye before coming back to look at border collies. A chance meeting with a shepherd in a Pitlochry pub sent David and Angus off to nearby Loch Tummel. On a small farm owned by a keen but as yet relatively small-time breeder and handler, David found not a male dog but a bitch, Nell, that he reckoned was just what Angus needed. Angus had wanted a male dog but David convinced him to take the bitch – there was a lot about this dog that David liked and he felt that with a bit of kelpie blood, her progeny would quite likely suit Australian conditions. Her owner wasn’t really keen to sell the bitch and so he put a high price on her. He knew that American breeders would pay that kind of money but he wasn’t sure about Australians – all he knew about Australians was that they had a huge lot of sheep, they were keen on cricket and were ‘bonny fighters’, according to his father, who had fought in the war with them. Angus paid the asking price for Nell and they took her back to London and arranged for her to be flown to Australia where she would have to remain in quarantine for three months. That done, they forayed out into the counties of England and looked at picturesque villages and Hereford cattle and more picturesque villages and more Hereford cattle, followed by the English Royal Show.
