by Anna Jacobs
It was a long drive back and all the time his thoughts went round and round, but they always came back to the group settlement scheme. He hadn’t expected to feel so much a part of it, so determined to make it succeed. Now, he realised in surprise, he was committed to staying in Northcliffe and making a new life for himself. But to do that properly, he needed a wife to help him run the farm he would create with the sweat of his own brow.
He pushed that thought hastily aside. It was the first time he’d seriously contemplated remarrying, though God knew there were enough spare women around after all the wartime losses, and more than one had shown him she wouldn’t be averse to his attentions.
Thinking of marriage brought back painful memories of Mabel. It also made him smile. She’d have told him to find another wife, for heaven’s sake and stop shilly-shallying about. Nothing if not practical, his Mabel.
And he hadn’t had the urge to drink himself senseless since he’d come here, not the slightest flicker of it. That was good – wasn’t it?
They’d have to get a cemetery authorised in Northcliffe and the sooner the better. Others would die and it was a long way to go to bury your dead. There wasn’t much in the new town at the moment, though people were starting to come in. Some would fail and leave, but others would stay.
He drove through Northcliffe, idly noting the progress on one of the new buildings in the town centre.
When the rough camp came into view, it felt as if he was coming home. Some of the groupies still ate together there, others preferred to cook their own food and eat as a family.
He had to swallow hard because he got a lump in his throat at the mere sight of Irene laughing at something Norah said. Andrew went up to join them, and when Janie saw it she pushed between him and his wife. That lass did cling to her mother. She made her feelings about the marriage all too plain. You couldn’t help noticing it.
His eyes lingered on Irene. The sunlight made her red hair gleam like fire. He wondered idly if it’d be warm to the touch. Her laughter pealed out suddenly as Norah said something else. He loved to hear that laugh.
Somehow he had to help make this place feel like home to all these Poms, as well. They hardly knew one end of a cow from the other, but had bravely travelled to the other side of the world to set up dairy farms.
And he was going to make it all work in spite of the bungling in Perth. He was thankful that someone up there knew his job every time a consignment of supplies came through safely, but he never relied on them, didn’t dare.
After the meal was over, Gil gathered the adults together and told them the bad news that he’d been keeping to himself. ‘They’re sending the rest of the families in this group down here in two days’ time. They’ve not sent any more humpies, though, so I’m afraid you’re going to have to share your humpies.’
There were murmurs of disappointment, groans, even the odd curse, though the men didn’t usually swear in front of the women.
‘I can let you have the tents again if you want to put the children in those, or sleep in them yourselves, but there will be more than two families in each. We’re in autumn now, so we’ll have to have them all under cover. When it starts to rain, the tents won’t be very pleasant to live in. We just have to hope they’ll send us the materials for the rest of the humpies before then.’
He didn’t dare hope that they’d send men to build the proper farmhouses yet. They weren’t the only group starting up and they were the one some idiot in Perth had added as an afterthought, without making proper provision for them, so he’d guess they came last on every list.
He turned away, then swung back as something occurred to him. ‘I need a volunteer either to drive my horse and cart into Northcliffe or the truck, which I have to return.’
Andrew raised one hand. ‘I could drive the truck.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Susan said at once. ‘There are things I need to buy.’
There were angry mutters at this.
‘Any other women like to go into town?’ Gil asked.
Every single one put up her hand.
‘We’ll draw lots, then. It’s the only fair way.’
‘But I spoke first!’ Susan yelled, her voice even shriller than usual.
Gil glared at her. ‘We do things in the fairest way we know in this group.’
But when they drew lots and he pulled out the winning number, it was Susan’s, to his annoyance. For a minute he debated pretending it was someone else’s, but by then Pete had peered over his shoulder and called out the number.
Susan smirked at him, ignoring the way the other woman scowled at her.
‘You’d better get a list of what other people want buying,’ Gil said curtly. ‘Anyone going into town will have to do the shopping for the rest.’
She shrugged. ‘All right.’
The other women gave her their lists and money, some of it wrapped in bits of rag. Two women shook their heads when Gil asked them if they wanted anything buying.
‘Can’t afford it.’
‘Got to watch the pennies.’
He nodded sympathetically. These families hadn’t turned up their noses at his possum stew, as some had. They ate anything put before them and glad of it.
‘We’ll be leaving at eight o’clock in the morning,’ he warned Susan. ‘If you’re not ready on time, I shall leave without you.’
‘I’ll be ready, don’t worry.’
The following morning she was waiting next to the table they all sat round and on which the women prepared food. It was made from some of the smaller trees they’d felled, rough-hewn in two, and then fixed to pieces of trunk he and Pete had dug into the ground. They’d planed the cut sides as best they could, but it wasn’t a smooth surface by any means.
He gestured to the truck. ‘There you are, Andrew. I’ll take old Daisy here and we’ll come at her speed.’
‘Can I go in the truck?’ Susan asked at once. ‘I’ve a lot of things to buy.’
Gil looked at Andrew, who shrugged. ‘If you want. You’ll be riding home in the back of the cart, though, so I don’t know why you’re dressed so fancily.’
‘I like to look my best when I go out.’
She might think she looked good with her hair frizzed like that, but Gil thought she looked like one of those women who hung around in pubs looking for a fellow and possibly even charging money for her favours. And why was she wearing a coat when it was pleasantly warm today? It wasn’t flattering, made her look fatter. And what did she have in that bag of hers? It didn’t look empty to him.
Argh, what was he doing thinking about her? He had far better things to occupy his mind with.
He watched Andrew drive off, noting how capably he drove the truck.
When Daisy clopped into Northcliffe Gil shook his head. Call this a street! It would be a mud patch in winter unless they put in some better drainage. The horse came to a halt in front of the store without needing to be told. There was a motor car parked to one side and he wondered who was visiting.
Andrew came out to greet him. ‘I’ve returned the truck to its owner and made my family’s purchases. If you don’t need any help, I’d just like to see how exactly they’re building that house. I’ve no experience of weatherboard and if our houses are going to be built of it, I’d like to see how it’s done. Give me a yell if you need me.’
Gil nodded and watched for a moment or two as Andrew started chatting to a man working on a new weatherboard house on one of the town blocks that had been sold recently. Someone had made a quick start on building. He admired the way Andrew always tried to learn new skills, wished all the groupies were like him.
Of Susan there was no sign.
Gil put a nosebag on his horse and went inside the store. As he started giving his order, he looked round again for Susan, because this was the only place she could be, surely? There was the sound of voices from the rear and he walked in that direction, stopping when he saw her standing outside chatting to a stranger, presumably the
owner of the small motor car that was parked nearby.
Indignation rose hotly in him. She was flirting, had opened her coat and laid a hand on one hip, posing to show off her figure. The man was smiling down at her, openly eyeing the curve of her breasts.
‘Can’t abide married women who flirt,’ Gil muttered.
‘Did you say something?’ the shopkeeper asked as he stood a 150-pound sack of flour next to the counter, and added a 72-pound bag of sugar, then a wooden packing case of the huge tins of jam and another of tins of corned beef, followed by a sack of onions.
‘No. Just thinking aloud.’ Gil turned back to finish his order. ‘Did she put in her orders?’ he asked, gesturing to the couple still talking outside.
‘Yes. I’ve got everything ready over there. She hasn’t paid me yet, too busy giving him the glad eye. He only came to see if there was any way to make money out of us, but when he saw that the town hadn’t really got going yet, he said he’d changed his mind and would come back in a year or two. He’d be long gone if he hadn’t met her. I doubt we’ll ever see him again. He’s a townie, that one, not the sort to settle in a place that needs work to make it worthwhile.’
‘I can see that.’
‘I’ll give you a hand to load these on the cart.’ The storekeeper laughed. ‘I don’t mind you not paying me till afterwards. You’re hardly likely to run out on me, are you?’
‘You think not?’
‘Nah. I can tell the ones who’re going to stay by now – well usually. There are one or two who surprise you, but mostly it’s obvious.’
There were a lot of tins of food. Gil hadn’t realised how much the women would be ordering and began to worry about the weight.
‘That poor old horse of yours is going to be tired out by the time you get back.’
‘We’ll walk beside her going back.’ Gil slapped Daisy’s side affectionately then frowned as he remembered Susan’s unsuitable shoes. He hoped she’d bought or ordered some more sensible ones. As he picked up the first crate of goods, he heard the stranger’s car start up and drive off and thought good riddance to that sleazy fellow.
When they were loaded and ready to leave, he signed for the group’s official goods, paid for his personal purchases, then went to find Susan, annoyed that she was keeping them waiting. She should have been keeping a watch out for when he was ready to leave.
But she wasn’t at the rear of the store and the stranger had driven off now.
‘Has she paid you for the extra orders?’ he asked as he walked towards the front of the store again.
‘Not yet.’
Perhaps she’d gone to relieve herself. Gil waited. Five minutes passed. But there was still no sign of her. Angry now, he strode across to the women’s latrines and called out, ‘Are you all right, Susan?’
There was only silence.
‘Is anyone in there?’ No answer, so he peered round the canvas screen, ready to duck back. But no one was there.
He went back to the store where Andrew was waiting. ‘Have you seen Susan?’
‘No, she hasn’t come this way. I thought she was inside the store.’
They hunted up and down the street and it was a man up on the roof frame who asked, ‘You looking for a young woman with frizzy hair?’
‘That’s the one.’
‘She drove off with the fellow in that car.’
‘She what?’
‘Saw them driving off about half an hour ago. She’ll be well on her way to Pemberton by now.’
Gil stood stock still, gaping up at him, then pulled himself together and thanked him before rejoining Andrew. ‘She’s legged it.’
‘What?’
‘That Susan. She’s run off with the fellow driving that car. And unless I’m very much mistaken, she’s taken the money the other women gave her.’
Andrew let out a low whistle. ‘Hell!’
‘I’d better go and pay for what they’ve bought.’
‘Do you have enough money.’
‘Yes. But some of them are going to be hurt by this when they have to pay twice.’
‘I’m glad I didn’t have to depend on a woman like her to buy our things.’
Gil nodded. It was the first bit of luck his companion had had. That was the only good thing about today. The Boyds were all right, at least.
They drove back mainly in silence, walking to ease the load on Daisy. Neither of them was looking forward to getting back.
When they arrived at the camp, they found four families gathered for their midday meal, the adults sitting on chunks of log round the big table, the children standing up to eat. They could have taken their food and cooked it individually, but these were the more sociable folk and the women had voted to share the cooking. They’d not have been able to do that if they weren’t living on fairly close blocks and luckily, the main camp was in the centre of the group’s blocks.
Gil looked at Andrew. ‘I’ll take Bert aside and tell him about his wife. You get yourself something to eat. I’ll tell the rest of them after dinner.’
Bert had been tucking into a plate of stew, but when he saw the two men and no sign of his wife, he got up and came across to them. ‘Where’s Susan?’
‘Let’s walk over to the creek to talk,’ Gil said.
Something about his expression must have warned Bert that it wasn’t good news. He turned pale, but said nothing, falling in beside the foreman and digging his hands into his pockets.
They walked in silence to the creek, then Gil said bluntly, ‘She went off with a fellow in a car. He was going to Perth, we think.’
‘Couldn’t you have stopped her?’
‘She’d been gone half an hour before we found out.’
Bert cursed and closed his eyes for a minute or two, then looked down at the water, rocking forward and backwards, changing his weight from heels to toes, not speaking.
‘Are you going after her? I’ll drive you into Pemberton tomorrow if you want.’
‘No. She can go to hell as far as I’m concerned.’
Another silence then suddenly words poured out of Bert. ‘She was unfaithful to me during the war, but her family persuaded me to give her another chance and she was all lovey-dovey, so I thought we could get over all that. But now it’s happened again, only this time she’s run off, and I won’t even try to get over it.’
Gil hesitated, but knew he had to say it. ‘There’s something else.’
‘What else could there be?’
‘She’s taken the money with her that people gave her for their orders. I had to dip into my own pocket to pay the man at the stores.’
Bert closed his eyes, saying in a low voice, ‘I’ll pay everyone back. I’ve got— Oh, no!’ Suddenly he was off running along the track as if all the hounds of hell were after him.
Andrew came up to ask, ‘What’s he doing?’
Gil shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Will you go after him, make sure he’s all right? I’ve got to tell the rest of them what’s happened.’
There was dead silence when he explained what Susan had done. He couldn’t think of anything else to say, so went to get the food that had been kept for him. But it tasted like sawdust. Afterwards he took his plate and scraped the leftovers into the big bowl for burying later, then went over to stand near the cooking fire, staring down at the flames, wondering what the hell was going to happen next.
Andrew hurried along the track after Bert, who had a nearby block, one of the best around. He found him inside the humpy, tossing things aside, not caring where they landed as he hunted through his trunk. Guessing what the other was looking for, Andrew stepped back and waited, still keeping an eye on him.
When he’d emptied the trunk, Bert continued to kneel there, staring down into it, hardly moving a muscle, then he groaned and buried his face in his hands.
Andrew cleared his throat and moved forward.
Bert looked up at him. ‘She didn’t leave me even a shilling. Not even – a lousy – shilling.’
&nb
sp; ‘I’m sorry.’
‘I rue the day I married her. I’m not going after her and I’m not taking her back this time.’
‘What are you going to do?’
‘Soldier on. See what I can make of life here.’ He made a broad gesture with one hand.
‘It’ll be hard on your own.’
‘I’m not staying on the land.’ He began to put things back inside the trunk, but only his things. Anything feminine was tossed into a pile.
‘Looks like we’ll be having another sale,’ he said when he’d finished, his voice harsh with anger. ‘Maybe some of the others have enough money to buy these, or will take them in lieu of the money she stole. Some of these clothes are new, not even worn yet.’
‘Won’t she – want them back?’
‘She might. She won’t be getting them, though. I intend to pay back every single penny she stole.’
Andrew put one hand on the other man’s shoulder and squeezed gently. There was nothing he could say. He helped carry the clothes down to the group then went across to Norah. ‘Anything you fancy among that lot? She didn’t leave him with a penny.’
‘I’m bigger than her, so her clothes won’t be any use to me. But I could unravel that cardigan and knit it up again as a sweater for one of the boys.’
Unfortunately, few of the others had any money to spare, so the sale went badly.
Bert gathered the remaining clothes together in silence then turned to face them all, clutching the crumpled pile of clothes to his chest. His voice was choked, his face white and set. ‘I’ll keep these till I can find a way to sell them. I will pay back what she stole, every single penny, however long it takes.’
Gil stepped forward. ‘I’ve paid for the purchases, so it’s me you owe.’
There was a sigh of relief from some people.
Bert gestured to the small pile of coins on the table. ‘There’s the first payment, then. Let me know how much I still owe you.’
‘All right.’
The other stared at him for a moment. ‘Do you trust me? You’re not afraid I’ll run off like she did?’
Gil held one hand out. ‘I trust you. We’ll shake on it.’
