The Call of the High Country

by Tony Parsons

  ‘It’ll be okay,’ David said. ‘It couldn’t be as bad as the one I had on my leg.’

  ‘Maybe not, but it’s more visible. All right, let’s go and face the music.’

  They rode back to the homestead just as the sun was going down behind the range. Surprisingly, Angus Campbell was standing with Anne at the gate of the horse yard. Anne’s eyes were on her son and they widened when she noted the raw wound on his face.

  ‘David, are you all right? What happened? How come you have Catriona’s pony?’ Anne turned to her husband. ‘Andrew MacLeod, you didn’t allow David to ride down that face?’

  ‘There’s jobs to do, Anne. We’ll talk about it later,’ Andrew said. He was watching David closely. If his suspicions were correct, the boy would not be able to unsaddle and carry Jess’s gear. He wanted Anne out of the way so that she would not notice it, too. He turned to Angus. ‘What’s the news on Catriona?’

  ‘The ambulance men said she has a broken ankle and could have a broken rib or two. She has severe bruising, but they don’t know yet whether there is any internal damage. I’ll go to town when we get the horses back. I wanted to be sure everything turned out okay with you people.’

  ‘Yes, everything is fine and Catriona still has her pony. In a few weeks, when the skin grows, she’ll be right as rain.’

  ‘Andy, you go and feed the dogs, and David and I will look after the horses,’ Anne said. ‘Dinner is ready and I am sure David, at least, is ready for it after the day he has had.’

  David stood and looked appealingly towards his father.

  Angus looked on, an unwilling spectator. He realised Anne was about ready to explode. It was an awkward situation and he felt rotten about it.

  Anne was very smart. When David did not immediately reach to unsaddle Jess, she realised there was something amiss. ‘What is it, David? Is there something else wrong with you? Something you haven’t told me?’

  David shrugged. He knew it would come out sooner or later so he might as well get it over with. There was no way he could carry the big saddle and that’s all there was to it. ‘I hurt my shoulder, Mum. I can’t carry the saddle.’

  ‘My God. How bad is it?’

  ‘It’s not too bad. I just can’t use it.’

  ‘You just can’t use it? Right, I’m taking you straight into town. It’s the doctor for you, young man.’

  ‘There’s no need for that, Mum. If we have to go, tomorrow will do. Can’t you just put my arm in a sling?’

  ‘Is it hurting much?’

  ‘Not too much.’

  Anne turned around and glared at her husband. ‘Andrew, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. How could you risk your son’s life for a horse?’

  ‘I asked Dad to let me do it. Cat begged me not to let them put the pony down. Mr Campbell, please tell her that her pony is okay.’

  ‘Go straight inside, David. I’ll have a look at you in a moment. Andrew, you fix the horses.’

  ‘Can we do anything, Anne?’ Angus asked.

  ‘No, Angus, thanks all the same. You and Stuart get your horses loaded and head off. That pony looks as if she needs some treatment. And no doubt Jane will be expecting you at the hospital. If there’s any news on Catriona, please ring us.’

  Angus nodded. ‘Thank you, Andrew and David, for what you did. I don’t know how Catriona got herself into that mess but I plan to find out. I can assure you that she won’t do it again.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be too hard on her, Angus,’ Anne said with a knowing smile.

  Angus held out his hand. ‘A man couldn’t have better neighbours. Thank you all. I’ll find a way to thank you.’

  ‘No call for that,’ Andrew said. ‘Neighbours ought to help each other. That’s the way it’s always been.’

  ‘Hmph. Anne, if there are any medical costs with young David, you let me know. Can’t have you people out of pocket.’

  Andrew helped them load the three horses and then went off to feed his dogs. Anne went back to the house.

  David was inside lying on the sofa. He looked all in. Anne unbuttoned his shirt, took it off and then began to slip his singlet over his head. She noted that his mouth was clamped shut. There was a large red mark on the point of his left shoulder and he could not raise his arm. He would have a huge bruise in the morning.

  ‘Commonsense tells me I should take you in to town tonight but perhaps you are more in need of some food and a sleep. I’ll take you in first thing tomorrow. Are you hungry?’

  ‘Too right,’ he said.

  ‘Good. I’ll give you a wash-down since I can’t get that singlet off. Then we’ll have dinner.’

  She didn’t say much through the meal and David knew that she was very angry with his father. She had told him many times that he was a hard bushman who expected too much of his son. David always felt that his mother made too much of a fuss about such things. A fellow had to take some risks. Living on High Peaks wasn’t the same as living in a back yard in town. Having a buster off a horse wasn’t really much different to being bashed up playing footy. But he knew that as soon as he was asleep his mother would argue with his father. Such arguments didn’t occur very often, nearly always concerned him and, though fiery, were usually over in a day or so.

  David’s aunt Kate had explained to him once why his mother got so uptight about his ‘adventures’.

  ‘You see, David, your parents really wanted three or four children, but just before you were born, your mum had an accident. What it meant was that she couldn’t have any more children. So, Davie, you’re it. That’s why you’re so precious. Don’t be too hard on your mum. If you were my son, I would feel exactly the same way she does.’

  That evening, while the three of them were eating dessert, the telephone rang. Anne took the call and listened carefully. When she came back to the dinner table she spoke directly to David and wouldn’t so much as look at her husband.

  ‘That was Mrs Campbell. Catriona is spending a little time in hospital. She would like you to go and see her tomorrow. I told her I would be taking you in to the doctor first thing in the morning.’

  ‘Aw, Mum, do I have to? I hate hospitals and I wouldn’t know what to say to Cat. Couldn’t you go on and see her on your own?’

  David looked pleadingly towards his father but got no help there. Andy knew that the best and quickest way to bring one of these rare domestic arguments to an end was to let Anne have her way.

  ‘No. I’m sure that Catriona intends to thank you for what you did. If you choose to play the hero, you must be gracious when people offer their thanks.’

  ‘Fool of a girl,’ David muttered under his breath.

  ‘What did you say?’ Anne asked sharply.

  ‘I said she’s a fool of a girl,’ David answered sulkily.

  ‘Really. What makes you say that?’

  ‘She should never have tried to ride up that mountain. She was told not to but, no, she had to try and show off her new pony and prove it was as good as ours, and that she could ride wherever we ride. That’s just like the Campbells. They hate to think that anyone owns anything better than they do. Everyone knows what they are like. It’s common knowledge, even at school, that Mr Campbell has a burr in his pants because he can’t beat Dad at the dog trials.’

  ‘I don’t approve of that remark, David,’ Anne replied. ‘I think that there was more to Catriona riding up Yellow Rock than you imagine. I think perhaps she rather likes you, David. I know she is only young, but she is a very grown-up little miss for her age.’

  David groaned. ‘I don’t want to have anything to do with girls, thank you very much.’

  ‘But it is nice to have good friends – boys and girls. I’m actually thinking of inviting Catriona up here for your eleventh birthday.’

  David screwed up his face and groaned again. ‘Aw, Mum, you wouldn’t? It would spoil the whole day. I rode up to Yellow Rock to get away from her. I saw her coming through the gate of Creek Paddock and shot off. Jeez …’

 
‘David, mind your language, please. I happen to think it’s time you mixed a bit more with children your own age. There is more to growing up than training dogs, riding horses and cracking whips.’

  David realised it was no good trying to argue with his mother while she was in that frame of mind. There were times when he could get her thinking his way but this wasn’t one of them. She was crooked on his father for letting him rescue the pony and she wasn’t going to let up.

  Later that night Anne gave David an aspirin for the pain in his shoulder and he fell asleep almost immediately.

  The next morning his shoulder was very stiff and sore and his mother had to help him to dress. They had an early breakfast, which was a silent affair as his mother and father were still hardly speaking to each other. As David got into the car his father gave him a secret wink and he knew he had him onside.

  At the surgery, Dr Fuller examined David’s shoulder closely then turned to him and said, ‘You are a very lucky boy from all accounts. There is nothing serious to worry about, but there is a good deal of bruising and your shoulder will be sore for a few days. It will help if you keep it in a sling, and your mother can make up some ice packs.’

  David was extremely accommodating with Dr Fuller, in an attempt to get out of the surgery as quickly as possible.

  At the hospital, a very subdued Catriona was lying quietly in bed with her mother sitting by her side. Her eyes brightened when she saw Anne and David enter the room.

  Anne had warned David to be especially nice to Catriona as she was feeling down. She had some skin off her face, although David’s face was in far worse shape.

  ‘How are you feeling, Cat?’ he asked.

  ‘Better, thank you,’ she replied. ‘Still sore in some places. I hear you had a buster getting Princess down the mountain.’

  ‘Aw, it was nothing much,’ he said.

  ‘Then why have you got your arm in a sling and such an awful bruise on your face?’ she asked.

  ‘The shoulder is just a bit sore,’ he said. He hated being sick in any shape or form.

  ‘You were very brave to rescue me and even braver to get Princess down. Daddy says it was very bad of me to ask you to try and save her, but I knew they would shoot her if you didn’t try something.’

  ‘The pony’s okay, Cat. You would have been proud of her.’

  ‘Daddy has had the vet out to look at her. He says she’s going to be fine and the hair will grow again. I am so pleased you like her. I won’t be able to ride her for a little while, but when I’m well again, I’d like to bring Princess up and show you what she can do.’

  ‘Aw, well, we’ll see,’ he stuttered. Jeez, was there no getting away from her any more? Couldn’t they leave now?

  ‘David is just a little bit shy with girls,’ Anne explained. ‘What he didn’t say was that he would like you to come up for his birthday,’ she said sweetly.

  David groaned inwardly.

  ‘Anne, how sweet of you,’ Jane Campbell said quickly. ‘Catriona, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? And you should be back to your old self by then.’

  ‘We mustn’t tire Catriona, David,’ Anne said. ‘Your mother will let me know when you are back home and perhaps we could come and see you there.’

  ‘Will you, David?’ Catriona asked.

  ‘Mmm,’ David muttered. He was furious with his mother for suggesting another visit.

  ‘Goodbye, Cat,’ he said as he made for the door, and as soon as he was outside he muttered, ‘Thank goodness that’s over.’

  ‘Really, David, you do go on. It wasn’t so hard, was it?’

  ‘Mum, I hate talking to girls. You had to go and bring me in here when Susan Cartwright broke her leg. She and Cat have got all their snobby friends. They don’t need me.’

  ‘You will have to learn that you can’t always do exactly as you like. Now, would you like me to buy you something special? What about some of that three-coloured ice-cream?’ Anne asked as they got in the car.

  ‘It’s okay, thanks. Can’t we just go back home? I want to talk to Dad about letting me have a bigger horse. Jess is so much better than my pony.’

  Anne threw up her hands in disgust. ‘You come off one horse yesterday and want another today. I give up.’

  ‘Does that mean I can have a bigger horse?’

  ‘It seems that nothing I say makes any difference. By the way, I understand that Mr Campbell is going to recommend you for a bravery award.’

  ‘Why would he do that?’

  ‘For what you did on the mountain, silly boy.’

  ‘Why should I get a bravery award for that? Dad was the one who went down the rope and got Cat up.’

  ‘He had two other men up top. You were on your own, and what you did must have meant a great deal to Catriona at the time. You kept her company until help arrived. I am going to ride up and look at that slide so I can see for myself how foolhardy you were.’

  ‘Well, it’s over and done with now. There’s more to think about than that – like Dawn’s pups, for instance. Dad says I can have the male pick of the litter. I’ll have to study those pups very carefully.’

  Anne sighed. ‘There are more things to life than dogs and horses.’

  ‘Not for me, Mum. Dad says you can spend your whole life and never know all there is to know about those animals, so it looks like I’ll be busy for a long time.’

  Anne sighed again as she ruffled his hair. ‘It looks like you will.’

  Chapter Nine

  The long Christmas holidays were over and David had gone back to school. This would be the last year he would spend at the little school at the foot of the range. The following year he would travel by bus each day to the high school in town. David had recovered from his injury after a couple of weeks of enforced idleness. The most his mother had allowed him to do was crack a whip using his good arm.

  During this time Dawn had her pups. There were six in all, three of each sex. They were now over six weeks of age and had reached the mischievous stage. Two of the male pups were black and tan and one was red and tan. Of the females, two were blue and tan and one was black and tan.

  The pups had grown a lot in the last week. David had not had much time to watch them after school because he had been so busy with his other chores. He fed the chooks, fed and watered the horses and then let the dogs off for a run before feeding them, too. Andy seldom arrived home before dark and he was often away for days at a time, either shearing or breaking in horses. His mother milked a cow in the morning so the calf had to be penned each night. His mother also spent days, sometimes weeks, back teaching, which augmented the family income.

  It was Saturday morning and David had wolfed down his breakfast so he could get out to the pups as fast as he could. Also, today was his eleventh birthday and his worst fears were about to be realised: Catriona would be arriving for lunch. He could not understand why his mother seemed so pleased about Catriona’s visit. She was humming and singing a treat.

  The truth was that Anne loved her son to distraction, but at times it was a relief for her to turn to another female for companionship; and, lately, Catriona had come to be like a daughter to her.

  David’s concern was not just about the few tedious hours he would have to spend with her at lunchtime, but also about the strong possibility that the Campbells would reciprocate the invitation and that he would have to attend Catriona’s birthday party. He had seen some of Catriona’s girlfriends at the show and they were a silly, giggly lot who chattered on about nothing. He simply had to think up some excuse to get out of that.

  The day was very special in more ways than one. Not only was it David’s birthday, but his father, who usually had only the weekends to do stock work, would be close by. On days such as this, Andy repaired things about the house and sheds and even, to David’s greatest delight, worked on a whip. Andy MacLeod had quite a name as a whip-maker, so it was no wonder young David had learned to crack one almost as soon as he could walk.

  David sat
down on a big block of box timber beside the wood heap and watched the pups. He was particularly taken with the bigger black and tan male. He was the first pup to negotiate the woodpile and now sat on the uppermost block of wood with his head cocked to one side as he watched the other pups. He had an old-dog way about him, or, as his father would say, he had ‘dogality’ written all over him.

  David knew he had to make his choice soon because two male pups had already been booked. He knew his father intended to keep one of the bitches, probably the blue and tan with the peculiar rosette of hair on her forehead.

  Time flew by as he watched the pups. He was mostly looking for early evidence of ‘eye’. One pup would crouch down behind a block of wood and ‘eye’ off a mate. Some pups would show this eye at a very early age. It didn’t necessarily mean they were the best pups, but it did often indicate that they were more focused than those which wandered aimlessly about. David was so engrossed in watching their antics that he didn’t even notice his father approach.

  ‘Made your selection yet, Davie?’

  ‘I like the big black and tan male best. He reminds me of Glen but he’s even bigger than Glen was at the same age. What do you think, Dad?’

  ‘It’s a gamble, but I prefer the biggest pups. I thought I would keep that blue and tan bitch,’ he said, pointing to the pup David had suspected he would choose.

  David nodded sagely. He could have bet his last-year’s pocketknife that his father would have chosen her. He was getting to know the way Andy’s mind worked.

  Father and son sat side by side on blocks of wood, watching the pups contentedly. Presently, the pup David had had his eye on climbed down off the top of the woodheap and began ‘eyeing’ the other pups. He ran from one block of wood to the other and crouched down like an old dog.

  ‘That pup has got something,’ Andrew said at last.

  ‘Yes, he’s the one I want. Can I have him today so he’s a real birthday present?’

  ‘Okay. We’ll let the others go,’ Andrew said as he noticed the sudden arrival of Angus Campbell’s red truck. It made its way down the track and stopped just near the horse yard.