Brumbies in the Mist

by Paula Boer

  Chapter 8

  Ben raised his hand to the Hardy’s brass doorknocker. Before he made contact, Louise swung the front door wide, beaming. “Happy Christmas for yesterday. Come in, Mum’s almost ready.”

  Kicking off his boots against the step, Ben padded inside in his socks. “Where’s this saddle then?”

  “It’s in the car. Mum! Ben’s here.”

  Mrs Hardy welcomed Ben as she collected her clarinet case from the hallway. “Don’t forget to give me a call when you’re ready to come home. I’ll need half an hour’s notice.”

  Ben followed Louise into the garage and slid into the back seat of the car, next to Louise’s Christmas present. She had rung him yesterday morning, full of excitement about her new saddle. He checked it over. “Cool! You won’t come off Jake again with these panels.”

  Louise turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Don’t remind me. Anyway, that was ages ago. I hope I’ve improved since then.”

  “Yeh, I guess so. But it’s a great saddle. The tooling is really cool. Uncle Graeme has one similar, and it’s really comfy.” Ben flicked at the silver D-rings. “Plenty of spaces to tie on saddle bags and things, too.”

  A worm of envy twisted in Ben’s stomach. He didn’t begrudge his friend such a lovely saddle, but he doubted his parents would ever give him such a fine thing, even if they could afford it. Never mind, he’d buy his own when he sold the youngsters he intended to breed and break in.

  Louise chattered on about her Christmas and what she had given her parents and brother. “And I didn’t forget you. Here.” She handed him a small parcel wrapped in silver paper.

  Feeling awkward that he hadn’t thought to buy her anything, Ben turned the present over in his hands. “Should I open it now?”

  Louise twisted round to face Ben. “Of course.”

  Tearing off the paper, Ben discovered a soft leather pouch, with a slot to go on his belt. Popping open the front flap, he realised it held a watch. He never had any idea of time, as he didn’t like to wear a wristwatch in case it snagged on things when he worked. “Cool! Now I’ll never be late again.”

  His mind had been churning while he’d opened the gift. “Mum and Dad gave me a new set of farrier tools. Would you like my old ones? I know it’s not a new present, but then you can do Honey’s feet whenever you need to, even when she’s at Patti’s.”

  Ben could see from the look on Louise’s face that his idea had been inspired. He relaxed his tense shoulders and inspected the watch again. “This is really awesome. Thanks heaps.”

  “Thanks for the tools. What a great idea, you’re the best friend ever.” Louise straightened back to face the front as the car swooped around a bend.

  There was no sign of Patti when they arrived at Gold River Run, so they caught Honey and Lady. After grooming the dust from their coats, they saddled the horses up. Ben went to admire Louise’s new saddle again. “It fits her really well. That’s a bit of luck, ’cause she’s got such a short back.”

  “Dad says that Patti helped them buy it. Isn’t it beautiful? I’m sure it’s going to be great to ride in.” Louise double-checked the girth before leading Honey away from Lady in order to mount.

  Ben vaulted onto the chestnut mare and thrust his feet into his stirrups. “Let’s hope these two behave today. I expect Lady’ll be a bit fresh as she hasn’t worked recently. How’s Honey?”

  Louise fiddled with her stirrups, adjusting them to the right length. “I worked her a couple of days ago in the indoor arena. She’s very settled.”

  It occurred to Ben that Louise hadn’t had a saddle to use, but maybe Patti had leant her one. Or maybe she had just worked her from the ground. Whatever, Louise sat the brumby with ease. “That saddle looks great. Are you ready?”

  Walking down the driveway, Ben ignored Lady as she danced sideways and tossed her head, but when she laid her ears back at Honey he smacked her with the ends of the reins. “Behave, you neurotic mare.”

  He turned to Louise. “As soon as we get across the road, let’s get a move on. This jogging is annoying.”

  Trotting along the verge of the dirt road, Lady settled into a steady rhythm in front. Ben hadn’t been this way in a very long time. The track ended in a locked gate that gave emergency access to the park and Mt. Evans. “There should be a path we can follow along the boundary of Willowlea. I hope it’s not too overgrown.”

  Louise moved up next to Ben where the road widened enough for two horses. “Honey’s shying at every leaf and twig. I guess it’s because she’s never been here before. Is this all Mr Smythe-Waters’ place?”

  “Yeh, on our right it is. I think it’s still Patti’s on the left. We’ll have to ask her.” Ben reined Lady in as they came to the corner of a barbed wire fence. From the wheel marks, it was obvious that a vehicle had recently used the easement alongside the fence.

  Louise jumped off Honey. “Hang on a minute. I think I’d better tighten this girth. I’m going to let the stirrups down another hole, too. I don’t feel very safe with the way she’s behaving.”

  “They’re certainly feeling frisky. They must be getting plenty of fresh grass at Patti’s.” Ben waited while Louise sorted out her tack. A warm breeze blew feathery clouds across the blue sky. The air seemed full of birdsong.

  Gazing through the band of trees into the lush paddock on the other side of the fence, Ben admired the fat stock grazing on knee-deep grass. “This wet summer has certainly helped put condition on the cattle.”

  After remounting, Louise agreed. She pointed out an echidna crossing the trail ahead of them. “Everyone’s fat. Look at him waddle.”

  The park side of the fence consisted of thick timbered country. Ben pondered that a trail had been cut on this side of the fence and not on the landholder’s side, but maybe it had been cleared by the fire brigade for access or to enable them to back burn in the event of a wild fire. “Are you okay to canter up here?”

  “As long as you don’t go too fast.”

  The horses didn’t need any encouraging. Ben let Lady surge ahead but kept her in control. He knew she’d settle after a good run. Slowing only slightly to cross the main fire trail, they thundered along the grassy path until they reached the corner of the park boundary.

  Ben slowed to a walk while Louise caught up. “Do you remember riding down here? That’s the way we came from Mt. Evans when we found the petrol can after the fire. See, there’s the cattleman’s hut.”

  Louise looked around her. Standing up in her stirrups, she pointed. “Look, horses! That’s a big herd. I didn’t know Mr Smythe-Waters had so many.”

  Ben rode up to the fence and shaded his eyes with his hand. Lady whinnied and pricked her ears. Understanding dawned on Ben as a grey stallion answered Lady’s call with a shrill neigh. “That’s the wild brumby herd.”

  “But what are they doing in a paddock?” Louise tightened her reins as Honey picked up on the excitement and snorted as the wild horses stopped grazing and bunched together.

  Walking Lady along the fence line, Ben inspected the surroundings. “Now we know why Mr Smythe-Waters fed the horses in the winter. Remember he had to repair the fence after the court case about the fire? He’s obviously coaxed the horses onto his property with the hay, then rebuilt the fence around them.”

  He rode up to the corner. “And here’s a one-way gate a bit like the one we built in the ravine. Uncle Graeme says he uses them to catch stock coming in to water. It looks like there’s been oats put out here.”

  The recent vehicle tracks also confirmed that someone had been working there. “No wonder we never saw the herd in the park. They’re trapped.”

  “We’d better tell Mr Cartwright. He’ll make Mr Smythe-Waters let them go, won’t he?” Louise frowned as she watched the wild herd move away towards the creek.

  Ben shook his head. “How will he prove they’re brumbies?
They won’t have brands, or if they do, it’ll be Willowlea’s. He can claim he bred or bought them. I always thought he wanted to stop our muster so he could have the horses for himself.”

  Ben shortened his reins and headed away from the fence. “I doubt there’s anything we can do, but we should tell someone. Let’s go find Dad where he’s working at Currawong Creek. I want to see what’s going on there anyway.”

  The rumble of a bulldozer carried clearly as Ben and Louise approached the site where men worked to cut a channel from the Dalrymple River. Mounds of earth piled in long lines, with a backhoe digging out boulders and rolling them out of the way. Another earthmover pushed clay into the gaps, forming a levy bank. The earthworks made an ugly gash in the landscape, with bulldozer track marks tearing up the delicate grasses and native flowers of the catchment.

  “What a mess. I hope this is worth it to save Jackstown.” Ben couldn’t believe the amount of destruction he could see, with trees knocked over and pools of mud swilling into every hollow.

  Honey snorted, her neck arched and ears swivelling backwards and forwards. Louise kept back from the heavy machinery. “Honey doesn’t like the bulldozers.”

  “Let’s ride around the other side and see if we can find Dad.” Ben turned Lady away from the work and splashed her through the flooded shallows. Pleased to see that Honey followed, he kept walking wide to avoid the activity, still amazed at the amount of destruction going on.

  The noise made conversation difficult as they rode towards the other end of the channel near Currawong Creek. Ben spotted the old Naylor ute, then recognised his father’s battered felt hat bobbing on the other side.

  Mr Naylor straightened up and wiped his greasy hands on his overalls. “It’s alright for you out riding while I fix this machinery. Why aren’t you helping fill sandbags with the rest of them?”

  Ben hadn’t realised how much work was going on to save Jackstown. A pang of guilt became a lump in his throat. “Do you reckon I could help? I thought you were driving machinery.”

  “What does it look like? There’s always manual work to do. We could do with all the hands we can get.” He gruffly greeted Louise before turning back to rummage in his toolbox on the back of the ute.

  Ben squirmed in his saddle. There was no way he was going to tell his father about a bunch of wild horses when there were more serious matters to deal with. He looked across at Louise, pleased she had Honey under control. “Do you reckon you could lead Lady home? I think I’d better stay and help Dad.”

  Louise stroked her brumby’s neck. “But Lady always attacks Honey. I don’t think I’ll be able to cope with them both.”

  Ben had already dismounted and undone the lead rope from around Lady’s neck. “Of course you can. You’ll be alright with that new saddle.”

  Passing the lead rope to Louise, he didn’t look at her face. He knew he was asking a lot because Lady could be a handful, but he couldn’t enjoy going for a ride when he should be helping the men. “You’ll be fine. I’ll call you later.”

  Mr Naylor walked up to Louise with a handful of spanners. “Give Mrs Naylor a call when you get to Patti’s, would you? Ask her to bring some tucker out here. A lot of these volunteers didn’t think to pack any lunch. What do they reckon, that we’ve got a café out here?”

  Ben and his father turned and walked away, failing to see the fear on Louise’s face as Lady bit at Honey’s neck.

  Chapter 9

  Honey tossed her head. Lady snapped again at the brumby’s neck with bared teeth, causing her to take a step back. Louise’s arm jerked on the lead rope. “Ben, this isn’t going to work. What if I drop the rope and lose her?”

  Ben stopped and turned. “She won’t go far. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

  Louise realised she had no choice. Shortening the rope to bring Lady’s head near her knee, she urged Honey back along the track to Goldriver. The bulldozers continued to roar but the buckskin mare was more concerned about the horse next to her than the heavy equipment.

  Squelching through the mud, the horses niggled at each other every step of the way. “Stop it, you two. Why can’t you get on?” Louise considered riding Lady and leading Honey, but feared that if Honey pulled free, she’d gallop away in the park like she had done in the winter.

  Trying to control Honey with one hand, she held Lady’s rope in the other. Honey tried to run from Lady, who used her shoulder to crash into the younger mare. Louise jabbed the chestnut in the shoulder with her toe. “Get back, Lady. Why must you be so bossy?”

  Pulling both horses up to a halt, Louise sat deep in her saddle and tried to relax. She thought about the lesson that Patti had taught her, relaxing her lower back and feeling her horse under her. When both horses stood quietly, she asked Honey to walk on, trying to keep a loose rein and use only her seat and legs.

  The mares settled into an uneasy stride, but Louise could see from their swivelling ears that they weren’t comfortable with each other. She lengthened Lady’s lead rope in the hope the mare would drop behind, but instead, the part-Arabian used the opportunity to surge ahead. Louise yanked Lady back to her knee, her left arm starting to ache with the constant tug-of-war.

  When she reached the track alongside the new fence, Lady started to dance and pull harder. “You’re not cantering here, no way.”

  Honey’s coat was creamed in nervous sweat, her lank mane tangling in Louise’s hands as she tried to prevent her from trotting. “Stop it, you two.”

  In exasperation, Louise halted Honey and slid off, knocking Lady in the nose with her legs as she did so. The mare flinched back, snorting with eyes wide. “Sorry, but you’re in the way.” Louise stood and regained her breath.

  After adjusting the stirrups on Ben’s saddle, she mounted Lady, keeping Honey on the opposite side. Lady pulled on the reins and started to jog, and Honey dropped behind her. Louise’s right arm felt tugged out of its socket.

  As Honey dropped further behind, Lady lashed out with one hind leg, catching the brumby in the chest. Honey ran backwards, almost pulling Louise out of the saddle. Turning Lady around, Louise just managed to hang on to the lead rope. “This is crazy.”

  Angry with herself for being unable to control the two mares, Louise slid off Lady and calmed them both down. She started to walk with one on either side of her. It would be a long hike back to Gold River Run, but she couldn’t think how else to get there safely. Lady continued to dance on the end of the reins until with a squeal, she reared and pulled away from Louise. Realising she was free, Lady galloped along the fence line, heading back to Goldriver.

  Louise stood and looked at the departing mare. She hoped the horse stopped before the road. Visions of Lady being hit by a truck or being brought down by the dangling lead rope crossed her mind. To make matters worse, Honey pranced at Louise’s side, unhappy that her companion had fled. Not feeling confident of riding the green mare under the circumstances, Louise walked as fast as she could in pursuit of the chestnut.

  With immense relief, she found the mare grazing along the track verge where the forest ended. Easily catching Lady, she finally walked up the driveway, exhausted from worry and her feet sore from walking so far in riding boots. Her arms seemed twice as long as usual. The mares still sniped at each other, despite Louise walking between them. Louise dripped from the heat, humidity, and feeling inadequate. She couldn’t even lead two horses without one getting away, let alone ride one and lead another.

  Patti came out of her house with another woman as Louise towed the mares into the wash bay. They rushed across to her as she tied the mares well apart and started to unsaddle Honey.

  “What’s happened? Where’s Ben?” Patti helped Louise by untacking Lady, slinging the saddle on to a nearby rail.

  “He’s fine. He’s stayed with the men at Currawong Creek to help with the sandbagging.” Louise’s flushed face started to cool as she turne
d on the hose and washed Honey down.

  “Thank goodness. When I saw you leading both horses I thought there’d been an accident.” Patti fetched the sweat scraper from the hook on the wall.

  They worked in unison as Louise washed the mare. “These horses look as if they’ve worked hard. Is that why you were leading them? What have you been doing?”

  Louise shook her head. “No, they’ve tried to fight each other all the way home. Leading them was the only way I could control them. Then Lady reared and escaped. Luckily I caught her before she reached the road. I don’t know what got into her.”

  “I’m surprised she didn’t play up on the way out. That area is notorious for biting flies.”

  “We cantered up the fence line going the other way, because the track was freshly made. I guess they went too fast to get bitten.” Pleased that there was a reason for Lady’s sudden flight, Louise felt slightly better.

  The other woman crossed over from her car where she had gone to put boxes away. “Hello. I’m Marilyn. You must be Louise.”

  Ben had told her that Mrs Smythe-Waters was much nicer than her husband, but Louise still found it hard to associate this pleasant woman with the bully she had met at the ranger’s office a year ago. She greeted her while continuing to wash the horses, remembering how, after James and Francesca had been rescued from the old mines, Mrs Smythe-Waters had baked cakes and biscuits for Harry. The memory triggered what she and Ben had seen earlier in the day, and she wondered again why there were brumbies in Willowlea’s paddocks. She couldn’t think of a way to ask without giving offence, so she thought she might ask Patti later.

  Patti and Marilyn said their goodbyes as Louise continued to strap Lady. She suddenly remembered what Mr Naylor had asked her to do. “Patti, could I use your phone to ring Mrs Naylor? Mr Naylor has asked for food to be taken out to the volunteers.”