Jack & Harry (28 page)

He sought out Tom Cooper, expressing his concern.

‘Young Harry and Wandoo haven't showed up yet either, Warri, but I expected them to be a while. If those cattle had wandered a long way off it's possible they may not be back till the morning. Maybe camped up somewhere for the night. I'm not too concerned, they're both good horsemen and Wandoo knows his way around, no worries.'

‘Yu right, Tom. Maybe Jack 'e come 'cross 'em 'n is givin' 'em a 'and, eh?'

‘More than likely, Warri,' Cooper reassured his friend. ‘If they're not here by the morning we'll worry about it then. Can't do much now … it'll be dark soon.'

After tea that night, as the men settled into their swags and blankets, Toffy piled the fire high with wood. He wasn't as relaxed about the lads not returning as Tom Cooper seemed to be. He understood about Harry and Wandoo being slowed down by the cattle but Jack not being back made him uneasy so he decided he would tend the fire for the night, loading it with wood to keep it blazing as a beacon.

When the heat of the day lost its intensity Jack led Dolly close to where Wandoo lay and they both lifted him as gently as they could onto the horse's back. Roping him securely in place his arms on each side of Dolly's neck, head resting on her mane, they mounted up then began the trek back in the direction of the main herd, Wandoo on Dolly between them.

Neither of them looked at the body of the mare as they left, its belly already beginning to swell in the heat. Jack knew the birds that had scattered in terror at the gunshot would soon return for their grizzly feast.

They stopped frequently to check Wandoo was breathing and make sure the ropes were secure. As the sun sank and twilight descended Jack set a bearing on a star low in the sky before them, as Warri had taught him. He was apprehensive about it though, as previously there were no serious consequences if he made a mistake. This time it was life or death.

The star Jack watched climbed steadily through the velvet night sky to become just one of millions of sparkling pinpricks of light, making it difficult recognise. Sometime after midnight he lost sight of it, completely unable to differentiate between it and the other trillion stars. Not mentioning this fact to Harry, Jack kept riding at a steady walk in the direction that he hoped was right, doubt niggling at him.

Toffy woke with a start. Cursing under his breath he looked at the fire that was now just a mass of glowing coals and ash. He rapidly threw small twigs on to the embers and when they caught fire he fed larger branches into the flames. Before long it was crackling, tongues of fire, licking the night, and he settled back on his swag, determined to stay awake. He was thankful when Warri materialised out of the darkness beside him.

‘Bit big for a billy.' He pointed at the fire. ‘Couldn't sleep much. It OK I sit wit' yu little bit, Toffy?'

‘I'd welcome the company, Warri.'

The two men sat without speaking, watching the flames devour the branches, sparks whirling above it, and waited.

‘Look, Jack!' Harry's voice in the silence startled him.

‘What, Harry?'

‘Over there, Jack, to our left. That glow …what is it?'

‘It's a fire, Harry!' Jack said a silent prayer of thanks ‘Long way off but it's got to be the camp for sure.'

‘How come we didn't see it earlier?'

‘Dunno, must have just thrown more wood on it.' They turned in the direction of the glow and Jack mumbled another prayer of thanks that he hadn't led them too far off track and missed the beacon that had obviously been fuelled through the night.

The dogs announced their arrival as they rode into camp just before dawn. Tom Cooper was standing with Warri and Toffy beside the fire and they quickly summed up the situation. Lifting Wandoo down from Dolly they carried him to the wagon to check the extent of his injuries by lantern light. No one asked what had happened until they came back to the fire. Toffy stayed with Wandoo.

‘No broken bones at least,' Tom Cooper said. ‘Just concussed I'd say. Pretty bad, that's for sure, but now he's back Toffy will watch him. Can't do much else out here. Did you find the cattle?'

‘Yeah we did,' Harry answered. ‘They're still out there.'

‘You wanna tell us what happened?' Tom Cooper took his tobacco pouch from his shirt pocket and started to roll a smoke. Warri squatted next to the fire.

Harry explained how they had found the cattle beside the waterhole, describing their chase after the steer when he broke away and about Wandoo's horse falling.

‘How did
you
find them, Jack?' Cooper asked.

‘I saw a bunch of hawks circlin' way out and went to find out what was goin' on. Found Harry with Wandoo where he'd dragged him to some shade.'

Warri looked at Jack, nodding his head knowingly.

‘And you backtracked in the dark to find us?' Tom Cooper said but it was more a statement than a question so Jack didn't comment.

‘What about Wandoo's horse? Where's she?'

‘Out there,' Harry answered. ‘Broke a leg in the fall.'

‘Broke a leg?' Cooper looked at Warri. ‘We'll have to go out and shoot her. Can't leave her to die like that.

‘It's done!' Jack said quietly, not wanting to elaborate.

‘Fair enough.' Tom Cooper knew not to press the subject. He was astounded at how these two young lads, just kids from the city, had coped so well with a major disaster. He noticed Jack staring blankly into the flames and understood the emotion that would be flooding his young mind after such a traumatic experience. ‘Here, Jack.' He passed over his tobacco pouch. ‘Feel like a smoke, mate?'

‘Yu know where them cattle is?' Warri spoke for the first time.

‘They'll have stuck close to the water I guess,' Jack answered.

‘Can you find this waterhole again, Jack?' Cooper asked.

‘Sure 'e can,' Warri answered for him.

‘We'll stay here a day or so.' Tom Cooper made a decision after weighing up the situation. ‘Go back and bring those cattle in, get Wandoo's saddle and stuff. It'll also give Wandoo a chance to recover without rattling around in the wagon straight away. Just hope to God he'll be OK. You did real well, lads, real well.' He walked off to advise the rest of the crew about his decision, leaving the boys with Warri at the fire.

‘Yu bloke wanna cuppa?' Warri surprised them by moving to the billy at the edge of the fire and pouring two mugs of tea that he handed to them, something that he had never done before.

‘Yu men rest up today, yu had a long night.' The boys didn't miss Warri's use of the term ‘men' as he had always called them either boys, lads, fellas or blokes … never ‘men' before.

Warri sat staring into the fire. ‘Take a man to do what yu bloke did. Yu no longer boys, eh? Brehardie 'e your 'orse now, Jack.' He held his hand up to silence Jack's protest. ‘Tom Cooper say Brumby 'n yu good team too Harry so Brumby 'e your colt now and Dolly … that fella she make good pack horse for yu two fellas.'

He turned on his heel and faded into the breaking dawn.

Wandoo gained consciousness towards the end of the day, opening his eyes and staring blankly around him at first but then, after a couple of hours or so, was more awake and able to mumble a few words in answer to Toffy's questions about how he felt.

Jack led Tom Cooper and Warri out to the waterhole the next morning leaving Harry to ride the herd. Jack was amazed at the speed of Wandoo's recovery as he was now sitting up having taken a small bowl of beef broth that Toffy had made. He was weak and dazed but Warri had again woven his magic with secret bush remedies plucked from the desert, saying that in a day or so Wandoo would be back on one of the spare horses and a part of the team again. Tom Cooper said that, in the meantime, Wandoo would travel in the wagon.

They found the cattle not far from the waterhole but there was no sign of the rogue steer that had obviously escaped into the wilderness. The men cut the saddle from the dead horse after chasing scavenging birds into the nearby mulga where the black crows insolently cawed in protest at the interruption. The hawks circled far above waiting to return when it was safe. Tom Cooper spared Jack the trauma of being involved with the macabre task, sending him instead to start heading the cattle back to the main herd.

The trek progressed without further incident, following the established stock route forged over many years by drovers like Tom Cooper and those that had gone before him, seeking out waterholes and best feed areas for their mobs.

They came to the Finke River, a brown sluggish stream with the odd deeper waterhole on a few of the bends, and following the river for some miles they eventually crossed the border into South Australia heading for Oodnadatta.