Freedom's Land

by Anna Jacobs

  When someone suggested a sing-song on the following Saturday night, a get-together for the whole group, people agreed to it with pleasure. From then on, they kept eyeing the sky anxiously and asking Gil if he thought it’d stay fine.

  The women decided to do a little cake baking, not easy in the camp ovens most were using. But one of the newcomers had proved more skilful than most and she took charge, pulling a face at the lack of eggs and sending her oldest son to the store in Northcliffe to see if they had any.

  The lad didn’t complain. The children were getting used to walking if they wanted to go anywhere and it made a change to go into the tiny town.

  It felt good to be getting dressed up again, Norah thought on the Saturday as she put on a favourite dress she hadn’t worn since they arrived here and made sure Janie and the boys were well turned out. She looked at them all when they were ready, and felt proud of her family. Her eyes lingered on her husband, who’d had a shave and looked positively handsome. He saw her looking and smiled back at her, a look that said he found her attractive too.

  When they set off, he closed the door by hanging the new wire loop over the hook and fixing the padlock to it. Then he held his arm out to Norah.

  She took it with a mock curtsey, but when they set off walking, Janie tried to cling to her other side. ‘Walk with the boys, love.’

  ‘Don’t want to.’

  Norah could feel Andrew’s arm grow tense. But for once she wasn’t going to pander to Janie’s clinging ways. ‘Do as you’re told,’ she snapped. She wanted to arrive at the gathering on her husband’s arm, to look like a married couple, to sit next to him and sing. She’d already discovered that he had a nice baritone voice, and she knew she was a tuneful singer.

  The Cheevers came out of the other half of the humpy just as they were leaving, but the child looked as neglected as ever, with a dirty face that wouldn’t have taken a minute to wash. Lil began complaining after only a few minutes that the track was rough and hurt her feet but Reggie wouldn’t let her go back.

  ‘Let’s speed up,’ Andrew whispered in Norah’s ear.

  She smiled and did so, ignoring pointed comments from behind about unfriendly people.

  Janie trailed behind and Norah decided to let her. It wasn’t dark yet and there were no paths but this one to get lost on. When they turned a corner she smiled as she heard running footsteps behind them.

  ‘I thought she’d not let us out of her sight,’ Andrew murmured then began to talk about his favourite songs.

  Once the Boyds were out of sight, Reggie took hold of Lil’s arm and pulled her to a halt, saying quietly, ‘You wait here. I’m just nipping back to have a quick look round.’

  She stared at him in dismay. ‘You said you’d left all that sort of thing behind.’

  ‘How do you like it here?’

  ‘I hate it.’

  ‘Do you think you’re going to change your mind about that?’

  ‘No, I’m not. I never wanted to come in the first place. It was your stupid idea.’

  ‘I needed to get away from England. I might have ended up in jail if I’d stayed there.’ He looked round them in the moonlight. ‘But I’m not staying in the middle of nowhere, working like a slave. They told us lies about giving us farms. You can sell a farm, but you can’t sell a lump of uncleared land. But if we’re to get back to Perth, we’ll need some money. Now, you walk on very slowly. If anyone comes back say I was taken short. But I doubt they will.’

  Before she could stop him, he set off back.

  She couldn’t hold back a whimper of fear. She hated all those trees, was terrified what might be hiding in the bush. She picked up her daughter, holding the child close and not moving anywhere.

  It seemed a long time till he returned. ‘Well?’ she asked.

  He grinned and tapped the side of his nose. ‘Less you know, less you’ll worry.’

  ‘Reggie, what have you done?’ She was terrified suddenly, because nothing he ever started seemed to turn out as he planned. And if he did something against the law here, if they put him in prison, what would she do then?

  ‘What I’ve done is started collecting for the poor, which means us.’ Whistling cheerfully, he took her arm and hurried her along, in spite of her protests that she couldn’t walk fast and her repeated questions about what exactly he’d done.

  When they got near the campsite, he stopped and shook her like a rat. ‘Don’t forget. Keep quiet about this. You couldn’t walk fast, if anyone asks.’

  To her relief, no one said anything and they found seats away from the Boyds, who didn’t even give them a second glance, for all they were neighbours. Suddenly she was glad Reggie was stealing from them. She hated them, hated all these people who looked down their noses at her. But most of all she hated having babies. If it happened again, she was going to do something about it early on. This was the last one she intended to carry.

  The child started crying and she slapped her. ‘Shut up!’

  One of the other women leaned forward. ‘She wants to wee. I’ll take her if you like.’

  Lil smiled and nodded. ‘Thanks. My back’s hurting after that long walk.’ She watched the woman walk away with Dinny. When they came back Dinny was eating a jam butty. Lil wished she had one and wondered if she could pinch a bit of her daughter’s, but the woman kept Dinny sitting by her till she’d finished eating.

  None of the women made an effort to talk to her and after trying to start up conversations, Lil shut her mouth and listened to them. They all seemed good friends, even some of the newcomers.

  Why did she have to be living next to the Boyds? They deserved all they got, stuck-up snobs like them.

  The sing-song got under way, with Pam’s husband Ted as master of ceremonies, Gil having declined the chance to run things. Norah laughed at Ted’s introductory joke, leaned against Andrew who put his arm round her, then joined the singing.

  They sang recent favourites like ‘K-K-K-Katie’ and ‘Alice Blue Gown’, then inevitably went on to songs the men had sung during the war, ‘Long Way to Tipperary’ and ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’.

  She looked sideways at Andrew and saw that his eyes were bright with unshed tears, so took hold of his hand and squeezed it. She hated to think of what the men who’d fought for their country had gone through. There were nights when Andrew tossed and turned, muttering about ‘snipers’ and ‘bombs’. Once he’d yelled, ‘Look out!’ and had curled up in bed, hands over his head.

  Tonight he seemed carefree, for once. He squeezed her hand in return and directed his singing to her and when she joined in, he harmonised effortlessly with her.

  ‘Hallo there!’Ted called when there was a break in the singing. ‘I think we’ve got a pair of star performers here.’ He walked over to them and took Norah’s hand, pulling her to her feet in spite of her laughing protests. ‘How about you two giving us a couple of solos?’

  Andrew looked at her questioningly and she nodded, used to leading the singing in her family. ‘What do you want to sing?’

  ‘Do you know “Roses of Picardy”?’

  ‘Yes. It’s one of my favourites.’

  So they sang it, and it was as if they’d rehearsed, their voices fitted together so perfectly. Why hadn’t they found this out before? She knew the answer. Because they’d hardly had a minute to spare from working.

  When they’d finished, everyone applauded and asked for more, so they did ‘Apple Blossom Time’.

  Not to be outdone, Pete called, ‘Here’s one for Australia!’ and started them off on ‘Waltzing Matilda’. He had such a bad voice that there were calls of protest and Gil started singing loudly enough to drown Pete’s tuneless drone.

  Some songs were sung more than once, others brought tears to people’s eyes and from time to time, someone would make an excuse of needing to use the latrine and leave the group to hide overflowing emotions.

  When the singing died down, Norah still had Andrew’s arm round her. She looked down and s
aw her daughter scowling at her but ignored that.

  As they walked home, they started singing again and the boys forgot their sleepiness and joined in.

  Only Janie remained obstinately silent, which settled it for Norah. She’d made a start, but she wasn’t going to let the matter drop. That child was going to be part of this family, whatever it took.

  Irene and Freddie also walked home arm in arm.

  ‘That was a lovely evening, wasn’t it?’ she said.

  ‘Yes. But—’ He broke off. He’d promised himself not to say anything.

  ‘But what?’ she pressed.

  Suddenly it all came out. ‘But I miss the pictures and chip shops and football matches on a Saturday. Don’t you?’

  ‘Not really. Oh, Freddie, love, I’m so sorry you’re still so unhappy.’

  ‘I didn’t realise how homesick I’d be. It never even occurred to me.’

  They walked in silence for a few minutes, then he saw the tears on her cheeks and stopped to kiss them away. ‘It’s not your fault, Irene love. It’s your health that matters most to me. I’ll get over the homesickness and we’ll make a good life for ourselves here.’

  ‘Yes. It’s very boring work, isn’t it, clearing the trees?’

  ‘Tedious. It’s not so bad when you’re working with the group, but when you’re on your own with nothing but those damned trees . . .’ He broke off, shrugging. ‘Has to be done.’

  ‘When you’ve finished the group clearing, you’ll be working on our own block and we’ll be together more. Maybe you’ll be happier then? I could help you sometimes with the clearing.’

  ‘I wouldn’t let you. It’s back-breaking work. I can’t believe they’ll only be paying me four pounds ten shillings an acre for it.’

  ‘But you don’t have to fell the bigger trees and—’

  ‘I have to fell every tree under eighteen inches in diameter and clear the roots so that the land is in a ploughable state before I get my money. You can’t help with that! And I have to ringbark every tree over that size.’

  She didn’t say anything, just walked on beside him, head bent.

  ‘Then I have to haul all the trees into piles for burning. And I don’t have a horse and cart for that.’

  ‘I thought the men were going to work together to do that. I heard Andrew saying he’d work with you.’

  ‘I can’t keep up with him! He’s big and strong. I’m not.’ He saw the distress on her face and closed his mouth tightly, holding in his anger. He’d said too much already. It wasn’t her fault, she hadn’t known what it’d be like here any more than he had.

  At the door she raised one of his hands to her lips, kissing it gently. ‘I feel guilty for spoiling your life.’

  He pulled her close and sighed. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything.’

  ‘Of course you should. We don’t keep secrets from one another.’

  But they did keep secrets, he thought as he continued to hold her, rocking her slightly. At least, he had secrets. She might know he wasn’t happy but she would never know how deep that unhappiness went. He was facing a lifetime of work that offered nothing to stimulate his mind.

  He was already wondering if they could simply walk away and seek work in the capital. Surely in Perth life would be more interesting?

  Only they had so little money. And the country air suited her. How could he even suggest that?

  When the Boyds got home, they found the padlock on the door smashed by Andrew’s own axe, which lay on the ground to one side. He stood in the doorway holding up the hurricane lantern and they saw their possessions scattered over the bare earth floor.

  ‘Stay outside, kids.’ He didn’t wait to see if they obeyed, but went inside, going straight to their trunk, which had also been locked. This lock too was smashed and the trunk nearly empty because things had been flung out of it.

  ‘Keep back.’ He fumbled through the things still left in the bottom then hunted through the mess on the floor. When he looked up, his face was drawn. ‘It’s gone,’ he said. ‘Our money’s been stolen. Every single penny.’

  ‘Oh, Andrew love.’ She ran to hold him for a moment, and he clung to her, then put her aside.

  ‘I’m fetching Gil. Don’t touch anything till we come back, leave it just as it is.’

  Reggie and Lil had left early, but there was no sound from the other half of the humpy.

  What sort of neighbour, he wondered, didn’t come out to help in times of trouble?

  He was quite sure in his own mind that Reggie had done this.

  But how did you prove it?

  12

  Norah and the children stayed outside the humpy. She went in and pulled a blanket off the bed, then put the three of them to lie on the hay in the store shed. She stayed near the humpy door, the axe beside her for protection, though she was quite sure she wouldn’t need it. Whoever had done this wouldn’t be coming back because they’d already got what they wanted. Like her husband, she felt sure Reggie had done it, because no one else in the group seemed other than honest and friendly.

  There were no noises from their neighbours while she waited for her husband to return. That in itself was unusual. There were usually arguments before the Cheevers got to sleep, and they didn’t seem to care who heard them. Once they did get to sleep, Reggie snored. Lil would occasionally poke him awake and tell him to shut up, then they’d quarrel again. There was no snoring now.

  Norah felt bitter acid roil in her stomach at the thought of those two lazy devils profiting from her and Andrew’s hard work and frugality.

  Gil came back with him, surveyed the mess and cursed under his breath. Then he looked at the partition and raised his voice. ‘I’ll find out who it was, Andrew lad. I won’t give up till I get your money back.’

  There was still no sound from the Cheevers.

  Gil beckoned Norah and Andrew outside and moved away out of hearing. ‘What do you reckon?’

  They all looked at the Cheevers’ half of the humpy.

  ‘I reckon it was them,’ Andrew said. ‘Who else could it have been? And he’s stupid enough to mess on his own doorstep. But how do we prove it?’

  ‘You stay here and keep an eye on things. I’m going to fetch Pete and a couple of the other men. We’ll search them and their half, and if we don’t find the money, we’ll search the whole bloody block if necessary. If they come out, stop them going anywhere.’ He raised his voice. ‘I’ll be back as soon as it’s daylight and we’ll see if we can find any footprints. The ground’s still soft. Don’t walk about outside and mess it up.’

  He moved away, walking more noisily than he usually did, calling out farewells.

  An hour later Norah saw the light of two lanterns bobbing about in the distance, coming gradually closer, and nudged her husband.

  Gil led the others to the doorway and gestured to the mess. ‘That’s what Andrew found.’

  The three men standing behind him let out low rumbles of angry sound.

  ‘Right. We’ll do it now,’ Gil said quietly.

  ‘Do what?’ Andrew asked.

  ‘Search him and his humpy.’

  ‘Isn’t it against the law?’ Andrew worried. ‘We have no real grounds for our suspicions, after all.’

  ‘It’d take too long to get the police here. We look after ourselves in the country, because you can’t rely on the police getting to you in time when something goes wrong.’ He moved to the next door and hammered on it so hard it rattled. Then he tried to open it. There was no lock on the door, but it didn’t budge. ‘They must have something jammed against it. Hoy! Open up, Cheever!’

  There was the sound of someone moving around inside, then Reggie called out in a slurred voice, ‘Who’s that? What’s the matter?’

  Gil held up his lantern. ‘You know damned well who I am.’

  ‘Oh. It’s you, Gil. What do you want? It’s the middle of the night.’

  ‘I want the money.’

  Silence then, ‘What money?’

&
nbsp; ‘The money you stole from Andrew.’

  ‘I never.’

  ‘Prove it. Open that door and let us search your humpy.’

  There was a mutter of voices, the words not clear but the tone argumentative, then Lil shouted, ‘Why are you picking on us?’

  ‘Because you’re the only ones who could have stolen it.’

  ‘We were at the sing-song with everyone else tonight.’

  ‘How do you know it was stolen tonight?’ Gil asked.

  There was no answer to that.

  Jack had left his temporary bed in the hay and spoke from behind his father. ‘You might have set off at the same time, but you got there a long time after us. We’d had something to eat and started singing by the time you got there.’

  ‘I can’t walk quickly in my condition,’ Lil said. ‘We set off at the same time as the Boyds.’

  Gil banged on the door with one clenched fist and kept on banging: thump, thump, thump. ‘Open up.’

  ‘All right, all right. But you won’t find anything.’

  As soon as the door opened, Gil dragged Reggie out by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the corrugated iron of the house, then searched him carefully. ‘I’ll go on looking till I do find it, believe me. Come outside, Lil, and bring the child with you.’

  She came out with a blanket wrapped round her. ‘I don’t know why you’re picking on my Reggie. He didn’t do nothing.’

  Gil looked at Norah. ‘Keep your eye on her and the kid. Don’t let her move away.’

  She nodded.

  The men went inside the humpy, hanging a hurricane lantern on a hook on one of the beams. They left one man outside to keep an eye on Reggie, who sat on a log and folded his arms, staring at them defiantly.

  Lil smirked at Norah. ‘They won’t find anything.’

  Norah didn’t reply. She was waiting to see what the men discovered.

  There wasn’t much to search and it took them only a few minutes to check everything the Cheevers owned, throwing their possessions out of the door one by one.