Tegan let out a cry, and out of the corner of her eye Laura saw Allie and Robyn rush from the pens behind the ring to help. A steward ran over and tried to get a choke hold around the ram’s neck.
Random wasn’t having any of it, however, and with one final twist he managed to free himself from Tegan’s grasp before running blindly towards the crowd.
‘No!’ Laura gasped. She was still holding Boof as firmly as she could, so she was powerless to do anything.
‘I’ll hold him,’ a male voice called, and she felt a hand grab Boof’s lead with certainty.
Without looking to see who it was, she yelled her thanks and ran after Random. The ram dodged the army of people trying to catch him, changing direction and heading towards the pens.
‘See if you can herd him down the raceway,’ she yelled to no one in particular.
Laura had seen this happen only once before and she knew that, while some people stood back, shock etched in their faces and their feet stuck to the ground, others would be running towards the ram, which would only make things worse.
She got a bead on Random and let out a moan of dismay as she saw him lurch into the air to try and clear a pen. There was a sickening thud as he landed on the other side.
At first, Laura thought everything was okay. Random was in a pen and contained. Her paced slowed. She didn’t want to upset him any more by approaching him with sudden movements.
She heard someone call for the vet. Random was baa-ing loudly and pawing at the ground as if he was in pain.
Then she saw the blood.
‘Bloody hell!’ she shouted, and took off at a run again.
By the time she reached him, a crowd had gathered around the pen and a steward was holding Random by the head. ‘Let me through, please,’ she begged, and the people parted. When she got clear, she could see that blood was coming from Random’s testicles. They’d been ripped in the jump.
‘Oh no,’ she moaned.
Allie, Robyn and Tegan arrived at her side, puffing.
‘The vet’s on his way,’ the steward said to her as she took Random’s lead.
‘Thank you,’ she muttered, unsure what to do.
‘Righto, show’s over,’ the steward called. ‘Back to the judging ring, please, everyone.’
Laura was grateful it didn’t take long for the crowd to disperse, and the embarrassment she felt was soon overridden by her fear for the ram.
She looked at Tegan, who was pale and holding her hand.
‘You okay?’
‘I think so,’ she answered. ‘Laura, I’m so sorry.’
‘Let’s not talk about it now. Allie, I left Boof with someone, can you find him and take him back to his pen?’ She was interrupted by a voice calling her name.
‘Laura! Laura, love?’
She looked up to see Sean and Georgie hurrying towards them. Relief washed over her. She didn’t have to be strong now. Then she shook herself. Of course she did.
‘Dad.’ Her voice cracked a little.
‘It’s okay, it’s okay.’ He hushed her as he’d done when she was small, except she wasn’t crying now. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, Sean was inspecting the ram’s nether regions.
‘Looks nasty, Laurs. I reckon the spermatic cord is haemorrhaging. Can you get him on his back? Need to clamp it. I’ll see if I can hold it together until the vet gets here.’
Laura had feared that since she’d seen the wound. She nodded and, as gently as she could, twisted the ram’s head to make him sink to the ground. She craned her neck to see what Sean was examining and saw the exposed inside of the nut.
‘Oh, you poor darling,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ she whispered soothingly into Random’s woolly head. She stroked her thumbs down his cheeks while the ram shifted with pain and agitation.
Sean was probing the wound with a look of concentration. ‘Got it,’ he said with relief. He turned to the stewards. ‘Get that vet here as quick as you can. This bloke’s in a bad way.’
‘He’s coming,’ the steward answered, as he glanced towards the door. Nothing more was said until the vet ran in.
‘We’re over here!’ Allie yelled, raising her hand.
The vet made his way over. When he was in hearing distance Sean called out: ‘I’m a doctor, but I used to be a farmer. I know animals. It’s the spermatic cord on the left side. Needs pressure and clamping.’
‘Right.’ The vet obviously agreed with the diagnosis because he dug into his bag for clamps and gauze. Sean moved out of the way to let him do his job, and Laura heard him ask after Tegan.
There was silence while everyone watched the vet work. Sean poked and felt Tegan’s hand before proclaiming it was nothing but a bad sprain.
‘Should get some ice for it,’ he said, looking around as if hoping a bag would materialise.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Tegan answered in a low voice.
It didn’t take long for the work to be completed. The vet finished by giving Random an injection for long-term pain relief. Then, handing over a packet of antibiotics, he told Laura to see her own vet as soon as she returned home. ‘I haven’t castrated him, because I don’t think the testicle has been damaged beyond repair. You still might be able to use him with a small mob of ewes, but see what your vet says when he examines him.’ He started to pack up. ‘He’ll be a bit sleepy for a while.’
‘Thank you,’ Laura said, sitting with the ram’s head in her lap. She offered him her hand. ‘Thank you so much.’
He shook it and nodded to the rest of the gathering, before leaving.
‘Well, that buggered the trip, didn’t it?’ Sean sighed, sinking down next to his daughter.
‘Too bloody right,’ she said. ‘You girls okay?’
They nodded mutely, but Laura could see the shock on their pale faces. ‘That’s the problem with showing animals. They become so much like our friends and then we’re devastated when they get hurt. Sorry you had to go through that. I should have been holding him, Tegan, especially since he can be difficult at times. It was an unfortunate accident.’ She took a breath. ‘Are the other boys all right?’
Robyn nodded. ‘They’re okay. A couple of other breeders gave us a hand and we got Boof back in his pen. Jack and Mr Darcy are fine.’
‘Okay, well how about we try to shift Random into the back of the ute where he’ll be more comfortable. Good thing today was the last day. We can head home tomorrow and get him in a paddock so he doesn’t catch anything from the dirty straw.’
Random was a dead weight and it took the help of four strong men to help shift him and settle him in fresh bedding.
‘Sorry for your bad luck,’ one of the men said as they moved off, and the others nodded.
‘Thank you again,’ Laura called out. The men waved. ‘Well, then, that’s finished. Is it too early for a drink?’ she smiled weakly.
‘No, it’s certainly not,’ Georgie answered as she put her arm around Tegan. ‘Come on, let’s head over to the Stockman’s. I’ll shout you all. You deserve one.’ She shepherded the girls towards the bar opposite the ram pavilion and the others followed.
Sean fell in beside Laura. ‘Don’t worry, love. These things happen. It’s not the end of the world.’
‘I know, Dad. Just makes me feel horrible.’
‘Yeah, I know.’
Then Laura stopped short. ‘You guys go on. I just need to thank the stewards and the people who helped us. I didn’t before. Allie, who was the man who helped you get Boof back into the pen? Did he tell you his name?’
Allie tried to remember. ‘No, he didn’t. But he did say he was from down our way.’
‘Really?’ There was only one other stud near Nambina.
‘I know who it was,’ Robyn piped up. ‘I’ve only seen him at the golf club bar, though. Never talked to him. It was your neighbour, Laura. Josh Hunter.’
‘Josh Hunter?’ For a moment Laura couldn’t speak.
Why had he helped out when Meghan was so o
penly trying to ruin her?
Laura left feeling very uneasy.
Chapter 14
1937
Thomas pushed hard on the brush, as Mac had instructed, scrubbing away any trace of the greasy lanoline on the shed floor so the wool wouldn’t stick to it next time. His back usually ached doing this job, but today he didn’t really feel it. Since Elizabeth Ford first made her appearance a week earlier, he could think of nothing else. Her knowledge of sheep and wool both fascinated and intimidated him, as did her beauty and confidence. He found himself looking forward to the Adelaide Show even more, but with apprehension. In short, he’d never felt like this before.
He tried to remain focused on the job at hand. They’d finally finished the shed and were planning to head off in the morning. Mac said you could tell it was the end of the season because all the blokes were getting a bit chirpy and excited about heading back home. The constant ribbing from his workmates had proved that point, but made him withdraw even further.
‘Ignore them. They’re only having a laugh,’ Mac had said. Thomas knew that unless someone had been through the amount of ridicule and abuse he had, they wouldn’t understand what the teasing did to a bloke. He’d rather just be invisible. Still, if Elizabeth was to notice him, maybe he needed to get up a bit of confidence, a bit of courage.
When he finished scrubbing, he stood and stretched. On a table were Mac’s books, neatly stacked and ready to be packed away. He walked across and ran his hands over where Elizabeth’s had been, then looked about the shed. This place had been his turning point. He’d learned more during his time here than in any other shed.
He straightened and tried to stand tall. If he was going to succeed, his desire for invisibility had to stop here. With one last glance around and a nod to the Aboriginal boy who was finishing the last of the sweeping, he walked out. He was ready to be a new man.
‘Sorry, boys,’ Mr Ford called, after darkness had fallen. ‘This is the last of the beer. Might be time to hit the hay.’
There was a chorus of disappointment from the men who were left at the camp fire. They’d been laughing at one of the ringer’s kelpies. Jacko, the sullen head stockman, had a wonderful singing voice and the shearers had managed to get him to sing ‘Danny Boy’. The trouble was, every time he opened his mouth and struck his first note, his dog broke into a howl.
Tez was rolling around on the ground, laughing so hard he could barely talk, while the rest of the men had given up reciting bushman’s poetry and were trying to sing to get the poor dog howling again.
‘Oh, Danny . . .’
‘Oh, oh, ohhhh,’ the dog wailed mournfully.
There was a fresh round of laughter and Thomas couldn’t help but join in. The dog looked bemused at the attention.
‘That’s it, fellas,’ Mr Ford reiterated. ‘Time to wind it up for the evening.’
Gradually, the men made their way back to camp with calls of ‘good night’.
‘I got an idea,’ Clarrie whispered to Thomas. ‘You game?’
Thomas looked at him then, remembering he was supposed to be a new person, nodded quickly.
‘Come on, Tez. Gecko, you in? We’re going to the pub.’
‘What, so you can get drunk and try to fight someone again?’ Tez asked. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘They’ll be shut,’ Jock said. ‘It’s well and truly after six.’
Clarrie just tapped the side of his nose and turned towards the track that led to a small siding not three miles away.
‘Get away with you. You want another drink too, you know ya do,’ he called over his shoulder. One by one they followed. Clarrie was right—they weren’t ready for the night to end.
The pub was indeed shut, but Clarrie led them around the back anyway. ‘Come on!’ he cried. ‘I’m damned thirsty after that walk. The publican won’t mind. We’ve got an agreement.’
Thomas rolled his eyes but stayed quiet.
‘What sort of agreement?’ Tez asked.
Clarrie didn’t answer. He’d found the back door unlocked and was now holding it open so they could enter.
Inside it was dark, but Clarrie seemed to know where he was going, so they followed him in single file. In the main bar he lit a gasoline lamp.
‘Righto, who wants a drink?’ he asked. ‘Just leave the money on the bar for Bert to collect in the morning.’
He took a glass from the shelf and poured a beer, then another and another.
A door swung open and a man in striped pyjamas stood in the frame, holding a lantern.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ he asked.
Thomas noticed there wasn’t any fear in his voice. It was as if he was used to unexpected midnight visitors.
‘Nothing for you to worry about, Berty,’ Clarrie answered. ‘Just getting me mates a few drinks.’
‘Clarrie? That you?’ the man asked.
‘Yeah, mate, it’s me.’
There was a silence as Bert stood there, taking them in.
‘Well, then, make sure you leave your money on the counter.’
‘I always do. Now get outta here. There might be a blue heeler around here somewhere, waiting to yank yer licence.’
Thomas thought a policeman turning up was probably a long shot, considering they were miles from the nearest town and this was only a small railway siding.
‘We’re just here to have a few and play some cards,’ Clarrie said.
The publican turned and left, shutting the door behind him.
Clarrie raised his glass. ‘Don’t worry, boys. As I said, previous arrangements.’ He winked. ‘Cheers.’
When everyone had a drink in front of them, Thomas pulled out a deck of cards and began shuffling them expertly. ‘Who’s for a game?’ he asked.
‘Where’d you learn to shuffle like that?’ Clarrie asked, unable to hide his admiration.
Thomas shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Just always have been able to.’
‘Reckon you should try and get a seat on a poker game in one of the pubs. You’d probably win a fistful of money.’
Thomas grinned. ‘Don’t reckon that’s my thing.’
An hour later, Clarrie lay on the floor where he’d fallen after nodding off on his feet, and Gecko was slumped at the bar. Only Frankie and Jock still had drinks in front of them and they’d be the last, for everyone’s pocket was empty.
‘Bloody good cut-out,’ Tez slurred, then he howled like the dog had earlier in the night. There were a few snorts of laughter, then everyone went quiet.
‘So, Thomas. What’s in store for you now?’ Jock asked as he stared into his empty beer bottle.
Thomas shuffled the pack of cards and then put them in his pocket. ‘I’m going to Adelaide with Mac,’ he said. ‘He’s judging at the show there.’
Jock took another sip. ‘So what’s your story? Where did he find you? You’ve never told us anything about your life before here. We’ve travelled together for months and you’re as much of a mystery as when Mac arrived with you.’
Thomas shrugged. ‘No mystery. He picked me up down south and brought me with him. Nothing to tell.’
‘Nothing to tell, my foot,’ snorted Jock. ‘You’ve got a history. I know you have. Everyone of us here has a history. Why do you think we single blokes flit from one shed to another? We haven’t got roots, we just ride on to the next shed. Take Clarrie here,’ he nodded at the snoring man. ‘Ever considered why he drinks until he falls asleep, even though he knows it’s going to happen and he’ll end up covered in bruises? And Tez. How he knows how to handle Clarrie when he does? And why he stays away from his family farm?’ He waved his bottle around. ‘Ah, yes, everyone’s got a history. But I’ll tell you one thing, Thomas, whatever your last name is. If you ever go wool classing and have your own shed, I’d work under you any day. You’ve a skill. I can see Mac’s training you up. When everything is said and done, if you’ve been schooled by him, I’d work with you. Whatever your history is.’ He drained his glass.
; ‘I’m heading off.’ Jock glanced around. ‘Who’s coming with me?’ He laid the last of his money on the counter. ‘Clarrie’s got a good deal here. Wouldn’t mind knowing how he got it.’ He paused while he negotiated getting off the bar stool. ‘See? History.’
With that he turned and swayed from the room, leaving Thomas feeling pleased at his words. He knew now he had a goal to aim for.
Chapter 15
2008
Laura sat at her office desk, reading an email from Tim Burns, the vet. It didn’t make any sense. She’d started the day hoping to put the events of the previous week behind her. Until she received the email from Tim.
Trying to ignore the flutter of uneasiness in her stomach, she read the email for the fifth time.
Dear Laura,
I have examined Random, your merino ram, and can confirm that the treatment he received from the show vet was exemplary.
On further examination, I believe . . .
Laura looked up as she heard voices, then knocking. The students stood in the open doorway, their faces bright with expectation.
‘Morning,’ she said and moved around her desk to sit in the meeting area.
The room was set up so that, when she sat at her desk, she had a view out the window. There was a small lounge space with a coffee table and four comfy chairs where she could chat with her students and any business visitors to Nambina. A whiteboard hung on the wall, with the farm outline drawn on it. Within the boundaries, the fences were marked and all the paddocks identified by name. The livestock living in each paddock were noted, as were the cropping paddocks. Whenever animals were moved into a different location or some other change occurred, the information would be recorded immediately on the whiteboard. This was the control centre of the farm.
‘Morning,’ chorused the girls.
‘How’s Random?’ Robyn asked.
‘He’s a bit sore and sorry for himself, but he’ll be okay,’ Laura said, settling into her usual chair at the small table and gesturing for them to join her. ‘It’s early days, but Tim thinks we’ll be able to breed from him after all. He’s still an in-patient, though, at the vet’s in town.’ She smiled.
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