Flight of the Jabiru (12 page)

“I know,” Betty said, wondering why Lara didn't sound less optimistic considering the huge challenge she faced. “I guess that makes the position as our teacher even less attractive,” she said in a small voice.

Lara caught the worry that Betty was feeling. “It will be challenging, but I'm up to the task if the children work with me. I was told the position came with living quarters,” she said.

“That would be the rectory,” Betty said frowning. She headed for a door to the side of the altar. Lara followed her.

At the door, Betty hesitated. It was clear she was apprehensive. “I intended to clean for you but...”

“I understand you've probably been busy,” Lara said, determined to relieve Betty of the guilt she was obviously feeling.

“Yes,” Betty agreed. “Running a store is a lot of work but...”

Lara opened the door, leaving Betty to follow her into the small sitting room with two easy chairs, a small table, a lamp, and a bookcase that contained just one book, the Holy Bible. The window had a view of the pub and store. Betty followed Lara through to the kitchen. She could see by her expression that she was dismayed at what she was seeing.

“I know the kitchen is tiny,” Betty said. “And it looks unappealing at the moment, but after a clean it will look so much better.”

Lara felt like bursting into tears again so she distracted herself by looking out the window over the sink, where there was a lovely view of the billabong. At least she had something to look forward to, swimming in the cool, inviting waters of the billabong, which were glistening in the afternoon sunlight.

“The bedroom is through there,” Betty said, opening another door. “I did wash the bed linen, but I didn't bring it over yet.”

Lara couldn't hide her feelings as she glanced into the bedroom. There was a single mattress on an iron bed, a bedside table, and a chest of draws. The curtains also needed a good wash. She glanced into the small bathroom, and was equally dismayed. Overall, her living quarters were abysmal. Everything she touched was covered in a thick layer of dust. She was certain it would take days of hard work just to make the place livable.

“Look, Lara, it's time I was honest with you,” Betty said gravely. “There's a reason I didn't put any effort into cleaning your quarters and it's not that I've been too busy.”

“What is it?” Lara didn't know what to think.

“Nobody expects you to take up this position now that you've seen the town and the school. We didn't even tell the children you were coming. That's why they weren't here to greet you. We didn't want them to get their hopes up. At least six teachers in the past three years have come here, taken one look at our little town, and left as fast as they could. This town holds no attraction to a teacher. We're a small community, there are few pupils, and so unless a prospective teacher loves fishing and is hoping for a terribly quiet life, why would they want to be here when there are plenty of positions to be had in the city? There's certainly nothing to hold a young, attractive woman like you.”

Lara had to agree the school was not the best, but her situation was different. “I've never tried fishing, so I don't know how I feel about it,” she said.

“I'll make this easy for you. I'll ask Colin to drive you back to town.”

“That won't be necessary, Betty. I can promise you I'm committed to being here for at least two years,” Lara said.

Betty was clearly astonished. “It doesn't take much to get you drunk, does it?”

Lara might've smiled if she hadn't been facing a two-year jail term. “I can assure you I know what I'm saying, Betty.”

Betty had to clarify. “You're gonna stay for two years, even after seeing the school room, and your living quarters.”

“That's right,” Lara said, turning away from Betty so that she wouldn't see the tears brightening her eyes. She fought the lump in her throat because she didn't want to confuse Betty. She certainly couldn't tell her that she had no choice but to stay, that even though her living quarters were appalling, they were still far better than the alternative, a cell in Hollesley Bay Prison.

“There's something more you should know if you are going to stay here,” Betty said, her tone grave once more. She thought she might as well lay all the cards on the table.

Lara was almost afraid to hear what she had to say. “What's that?” she asked, still admiring the sparkling waters of the billabong through the kitchen window and thinking of the new swimming costume she'd bought in the city.

“You can't swim in the billabong.”

Lara turned to face Betty. “Why not? If you are worried that I'm not a good swimmer, there's no need...”

“That wasn't a floating log near Charlie's boat. It was a crocodile. The billabong is full of them.”

“Oh,” Lara said, her eyes widening. “Can I at least paddle in the cool water?”

Betty shook her head. “Please don't do that. If you go down to the billabong, stay on the jetty. It's the safest place.”

“But you said there are fishermen here. They don't all use boats, do they?”

“Mostly they do. It's not only dangerous in the water; crocodiles will snatch their prey from the river bank, too.”

Lara thought of the children running around unsupervised and felt quite alarmed. “So Monty really did lose his leg to that crocodile above the bar?”

Betty nodded.

“Was he crouching at the water's edge, like I did?” All color drained from her face.

“He was a crocodile hunter. It's a dangerous business.”

Lara wondered if Judge Mitchell knew what he was doing in sending her to Shady Camp billabong.

“Are you still going to stay?” Betty asked apprehensively.

Lara sighed, and hesitated. “Yes,” she said finally. She'd thought the only thing going for the town was the prospect of swimming in the beautiful billabong, but she didn't say so. “I'll be the teacher here for two years,” she added with conviction and a sinking heart.

Betty smiled. “I can't wait to tell my kids about you, Miss Penrose. I'll have to get back to the store now, but I'll send Colin over with your suitcase and the clean bed linen and some stores. Will you eat with us tonight?”

“If you don't mind, Betty, I'd like to get my bearings this evening and clean the bedroom. I'll meet the townsfolk tomorrow. If I could purchase some bread and cheese, I'll make myself a sandwich.” She'd noticed a table and two chairs outside the kitchen window. She'd sit out there until the inside of the rectory was clean.

“Sure. Why don't you come into the pub tomorrow around six? They will all be there. And course you can have some bread and cheese, but for dinner I'll do better than that. I'll send you a nice meal over,” Betty said elated. “If you don't mind waiting until tomorrow morning, I'll help you get this place spick and span.”

“You have the store to run, Betty, so I'll do it,” Lara said. She felt cleaning would work out her frustrations.

“I'd still like to help if we're not busy at the store. Are you really going to stay for two whole years?” She had to ask again.

“Yes,” Lara said again.

Betty couldn't help beaming with happiness. “You've no idea how happy you've made me,” she said. “All I want for my children is for them to learn to read and write. I come from a very small town in Tasmania. I'm the eldest of nine brothers and sisters. My mother was often sick when I was young, so I stayed at home to help her instead of going to school, which was nearly two hours walk away. Colin didn't attend school much, either. His father died when he was young, so he went out to work at age thirteen to help his mother out. Neither of us can read very well, or write very well, but we want much more for our four kids.”

Lara understood. “I'd be happy to help you and Colin to improve your reading and writing, Betty.”

Betty's eyes widened. Impulsively she pulled Lara into a bear hug. “Bless you,” she whispered, tears welling. She released her grip on Lara, who'd felt smothered. “I'll bring you some dinner over later,” she said happily, her broad smile once again lighting her features. As she headed for the door she said excitedly, “Wait till I tell Colin that I can speak Spanish!”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Colin brought Lara's suitcase to the rectory. He told her that the rainwater tank was plumbed into the sink and bathroom, so there was plenty of water because the tank was still full from the last ‘wet'.

“If the tank water ever gets low in the dry season we can pump water from the billabong. I guess that's one of the advantages to living next to a body of water. Another advantage is an endless supply of fish and the occasional roast duck or goose.” After a warning from Betty, he knew better than to mention the disadvantages, one being an abundance of mosquitoes. He'd already let slip about the crocodiles, thanks to Monty, and Betty had been forced to warn her that she couldn't swim in the billabong for her own safety.

Colin then pointed out a camp stove in a battered box on the kitchen bench top. “You can use that for making tea,” he said. “The wood oven works, but it makes the place hotter, so the previous tenant, a teacher who was here for several months, used the camp stove to fry eggs and fish, or boil the kettle. In the dry season she did it outside.”

Lara had noticed the rustic wooden table and seats outside the back door had a lovely view of the billabong. “If you don't mind me asking, why did the previous teacher leave?”

Colin looked mildly uncomfortable. “She fell in love with a baker in the city. I guess his buns won out over this place and our kids.” He laughed at his attempt to joke, but it was forced and awkward.

Colin returned to the rectory with the linen and some stores that included bread, butter in a stone dish, tea, sugar, cheese, and milk fresh from one of the three cows that supplied the town. In his absence, Lara had changed into casual clothes and comfortable shoes and had carried the mattress outside and was beating the hell out of it with a broom she'd found in a closet. She was perspiring profusely, but she felt better for the exertion.

“Let me do that,” Colin insisted. He rarely volunteered to do women's work, but as she appeared to be struggling and she was such a petite woman, he felt compelled.

“No, I'm fine, Colin,” Lara said adamantly, attacking the mattress again. She hoped if she was exhausted that she'd fall asleep and not think about her situation half the night. Colin was forced to stand back for safety's sake. After watching her for just a few moments he decided she was doing more than getting the dust out of the mattress. She was taking out frustrations. He left her to it, but he was concerned. Betty seemed to believe that Lara was going to stay, and he hadn't seen his wife as happy in a long, long time. He didn't want that to change, but he was struggling to feel optimistic. What he'd just witnessed didn't help.

Colin came back at sunset. Lara had managed to get the ‘dust-free' mattress back inside and had made up her bed. She'd also swept the bedroom floor and had been on her hands and knees washing it with a bucket of water and a cloth. The chest of drawers had been wiped down and so had the bedside table and lamp. She vowed to take down the curtains and wash them first thing in the morning, then start on the rest of her living quarters.

“Are you sure you want to eat alone on your first night in Shady Camp?” Colin asked. “Meal times are rowdy affairs in our place, but I'm sure you're used to noisy children. You're more than welcome to eat with us until you've made this place homely.” He was holding a covered plate of food that smelt very good, but he didn't feel right leaving her alone when she'd only just arrived and the rectory was so gloomy.

Lara doubted the rectory would ever feel ‘homely. “Thank you for the invitation, but I'll eat and then go straight to bed if you don't mind,” she said. “I want to get an early start tomorrow morning with the cleaning. As soon as it's done then I can begin cleaning the school house and preparing it for my pupils.”

“Our kids are excited about meeting you, especially Ruthie. She's our eldest and the only girl,” Colin said. He was exaggerating. In reality Ruthie had expressed only mild curiosity because she preferred spending time with kids from the local Aboriginal community. They'd tried stopping her, unsuccessfully. The boys weren't keen on being confined in school for hours, so they whined at the prospect of losing the time they enjoyed building forts in the bush, climbing trees, and fishing with the older kids. “We promised them they could meet you tomorrow. I hope that's all right.” Colin had actually insisted that they stay close to home the following day so that they could meet her and even threatened them with a good hiding if they didn't.

He took two oil lanterns out of a cupboard and lit them for her. The glow softened the dismal kitchen, but made it no less uninviting. Almost immediately, moths appeared, drawn to the light.

“Of course. I'm looking forward to meeting them,” Lara said with one eye on the moths, which were enormous. Children always cheered her up. They looked at the world in such an uncomplicated way.

“Betty knows you'll be busy in the morning,” Colin said. “Her mornings are also hectic. She's up before the sun every day, milking the cows, feeding the chickens, and collecting eggs. Then she gets the kids up and feeds them. By eight o'clock she's baking bread and after that she does the washing. Then there are customers to serve. But as soon as she finds a minute she'll come over here and help you.”

Lara came to the conclusion that Colin wasn't much help to his wife. “It sounds like Betty has more than enough to do,” she said, but it was clear her husband felt no remorse about that and no intention of lightening her load. Colin obviously had the hide of an elephant. No hinting or nagging could penetrate.

“I'll be cleaning all day,” she said. “But I'll need a break, so perhaps I could meet the children in the afternoon.”

Lara was woken just before daylight by the beautiful sounds of birds calling from the trees, and the honking and quacking of the geese and ducks on the billabong. For the first time since arriving in Shady Camp billabong, she smiled. When she went into the kitchen to fill the kettle the first thing she noticed were dead moths on the sink. She cleared them away and then happened to glance through the window at the billabong, where several boats were tied to the jetty. The water reflected the pastel colors of the dawn sky, where the few clouds were glowing in soft pinks, gold, and streaks of mauve. She gasped in awe at such a breathtaking sight and it occurred to her that this modest, tiny Methodist church must have the best view of God's creation in Australia. She thought it was a terrible shame that the church wasn't used for services.

Lara took the kettle of water outside to where she'd left the camp stove. After lighting the stove, she sat down and admired the view. She'd felt hot all night, and had been harassed by mosquitoes, but surprisingly, sitting in the shade of the rectory, it was pleasantly cool. Ducks and geese were congregating on the riverbank, preening in the morning sun. Lara remembered what Betty had told her but it seemed impossible to believe that a crocodile would leap from the water and take one of the unsuspecting birds, throwing such a peaceful scene into violent chaos.

After making tea, Lara drank it and ate another cheese sandwich. When she went inside to wash her plate and cup she caught sight of men with fishing rods near the water's edge. One by one, they set off in their boats from the small jetty. Some used oars and rowed silently away while others had outboard motors that shattered the silence, sending birds into flight, including the magnificent Jabiru. Lara gaped at the enormous wingspan of the Jabiru and the perfect pattern of black-upon-white feathers as the bird soared effortlessly and silently above the billabong. When the fishermen were gone, the birds returned and so did the serenity.

Lara decided she was going to clean like a woman possessed, as she couldn't abide dirty living quarters. Taking a chair into the living room, she stood on it so that she could take down the curtains. She wasn't all that shocked to see spider webs behind them, but when the biggest spider she could imagine scuttled across the wall, she nearly had a heart attack. Its dark body was the size of her palm. Gasping in terror and shaking, with the chair rocking beneath her feet, she managed to jump to the floor just before it tipped over. Screaming, she ran into the kitchen. After a few moments of trying to rid her mind of the image of such a huge spider, she dared to peek through the door just in time to see the spider go out through the open window. She dashed to the window and promptly slammed it shut.

Relieved, but still shuddering in revulsion, she cautiously took down the rest of the curtains and set about washing them, which sadly did little to improve the state they were in. Then she began cleaning the living room. She swept one side and then moved the chairs enough to get into the corners. When she got down on her hands and knees with a cloth, something ran over her hand and disappeared under a chair. She screamed again. It was then she noticed other creatures she'd disturbed scuttling across the floor, strange bugs, and enormous ants that she'd never seen before. Screaming she ran outside, hysterically brushing herself down and swiping her hair like someone demented. She had no idea she was being watched from the store by Colin and Betty, or what a comical sight she made.

“What is she doing?” Colin asked his wife.

“I'd say she's met some of the insect population,” Betty said with some amusement. She recalled her first days in The Territory and her similar reaction to the local bugs.

“She'll be heading to the store for bug spray any minute,” Colin said chuckling.

Sure enough, Lara stormed into the store a few minutes later to find Colin and Betty behind the counter, barely containing their amusement. Betty had lined up all the sprays and powders she had for bugs. Before Lara could speak, she told her what they were and how they were used.

“This is Mortein Spray,” she said, showing Lara a hand pump attached to a container of liquid insect spray. “This is Fly Tox powder, and this is Moth Crystals.”

“Which one is best for very large spiders?” Lara asked breathlessly. She examined her hand, looking for bite marks because she was sure it was another spider than had run over the top.

“Large spiders?” Betty queried with feigned innocence.

“The biggest spider that I've ever seen was behind the living room curtains,” Lara said, knowing she'd have nightmares for weeks. “Its body was the size of my palm and I'm sure another one ran over my hand while I was kneeling on the floor.” Just thinking about it made her squirm.

Betty glanced at Colin. “It can't have been a Wolf Spider,” she said.

“Or a Barking Spider,” Colin added, keeping a straight face.

“No, they don't come out of their burrows unless they are disturbed or they're flooded in the wet,” Betty said. “I'm guessing it was a Huntsman. Some of them get quite large.”

“They do,” Colin agreed casually.

Lara blinked. She almost wished she didn't know the spiders' names, as that made them sound even more terrifying. “Which spray will kill them?”

“You'd need a whole tin of Mortein to knock out a big Huntsman, but I wouldn't advise killing them,” Betty said seriously.

“Why not?”

“If you kill a Huntsman the mate always comes looking for it. It's best to just leave them alone. They won't hurt you, I promise, and they eat plenty of mosquitoes.”

“You expect me to live with spiders!” Lara was aghast.

“Not all spiders, but Huntsmen are okay.”

“I'll take all this stuff,” Lara said, still shuddering. “If I can't get rid of the bugs, you can do it, Colin,” she said.

“Me?”

“Yes, you!” Lara paid Betty and then scooped her purchases in her arms and headed back to the rectory.

Colin and Betty looked at each other, and then burst out laughing.

“She's going to smell like Mortein for weeks,” Betty said when she could take a breath. Tears were streaming down her face.

After spraying in every corner, and regaining a modicum of composure, Lara decided she'd tackle the bathroom where she found geckos hiding under the sink and behind the shower curtain. Although they weren't as frightening as some of the bugs and spiders, the idea of sharing the bathroom with them did not appeal to her. However, she couldn't bring herself to spray them, as they were lizards that she didn't classify as creepy-crawlies, and Betty had assured her that they didn't bite. She tried to shoo them out through the window, but they scuttled onto the high ceiling and peered at her defiantly. She threatened them with the broom, but she couldn't reach them so she was forced to clean with a wary eye.

By the time Lara got to the kitchen, it was much warmer and she was exhausted and wet with perspiration. She'd already bathed twice, with an audience of four geckos, but any physical exertion caused her to break into a sweat again. She could barely tolerate thinking about the summer ahead when the humidity was going to be one hundred percent.