No Sugar (10 page)

Come on! Come on!

He picks up inji sticks. The Nyoongahs,
SAM
,
JIMMY
and
JOE
,
dance with them.
BILLY
joins in. They dance with increasing speed and energy, stamping their feet, whirling in front of the fire, their bodies appearing and disappearing as the paint catches the firelight. The dance becomes faster and more frantic until finally
SAM
lets out a yell and they collapse, dropping back to their positions around the fire.
JIMMY
coughs and pants painfully.

[
To
JIMMY
] Eh! Eh! [
Indicating his heart
] You wanta
dubakieny
, you know your
koort minditj
.

BILLY
: This country got plenty good dance, eh?

BLUEY
:
Wee-ah
!

JIMMY
: Ah,
yuart
, not too many left now. Nearly all finish.

BILLY
: No, no, no. You song man, you fella dance men. This still your country. [
Flinging his arms wide
] You, you, you, you listen!
Gudeeah
make 'em fences, windmill, make 'em road for motor car, big house, cut 'em down trees. Still your country! Not like my country, finish… finish.

He sits in silence. They watch him intently.
JOE
puts wood on the fire. He speaks slowly.

BILLY
:
Kuliyah
. [
Miming pulling a trigger, grunting
]
Gudeeah
bin kill 'em. Finish, kill 'em. Big mob, 1926, kill 'em big mob my country.

Long pause.

SAM
:
Nietjuk
?

BILLY
: I bin stop Liveringa station and my brother, he bin run from Oombulgarri. [
Holding up four fingers
] That many days. Night time too. He bin tell me 'bout them
gudeeah
. They bin two, three stockman
gudeeah
. Bin stop along that place, Juada Station, and this one
gudeeah
Midja George, he was ridin' and he come to this river and he see these two old womans,
koories
, there in the water hole. He says, what you doin' here? They say they gettin'
gugja
.

He mimes pulling lily roots and eating.

Midja George say, where the mans? They over by that tree sleepin', and Midja George, he get off his horse, and he bin belt that old man with the stockwhip. He bin flog 'em, flog 'em, till that
gudeeah
, he get tired. Then he break the bottle glass spear, and he break the
chubel
spear.

He grunts and mimes this.

And that old man, he was bleedin', bleedin' from the eyes, and he get up and he pick up that one
chubel
spear, and he spear that one
Midja George
.

He demonstrates violently.

And that
gudeeah
, he get on his horse, he go little bit way and he fall off… finish… dead.

JIMMY
: Serve the bastard right.

BILLY
: No, no, no bad for my mob. Real bad. That old man and his two
koories
, they do this next day.

He indicates running away.

Two
gudeeah
come looking for Midja George. They bin find him dead.

Silence.

[
Holding up a hand
] Must be that many day. Big mob
gudeeah
. Big mob politjmans, and big mob from stations, and shoot 'em everybody mens,
koories
, little
yumbah
.

He grunts and mimes pulling a trigger.

They chuck 'em on a big fire, chuck 'em in river.

They sit in silence, mesmerized and shocked by
BILLY
's gruesome story.

JIMMY
: Anybody left, your mob?

BILLY
: Not many, gid away, hide. But no one stop that place now, they all go 'nother country.

JOE
: Why?

BILLY
: You go there, night time you hear 'em. I bin bring cattle that way for Wyndham Meat Works. I hear 'em. Mothers cryin' and babies cryin', screamin'.
Waiwai
!
Wawai
!
Wawai
!

They sit in silence staring at
BILLY
who stares into the fire. Suddenly a night hawk screeches.

SAM
: Gawd, I'm getting out of here.

JIMMY
: Me too!

BLUEY
: Hm, hm, hm, hm,
wee-ah
,
wee-ah
!

They quickly pick up their things and leave.
JOE
remains alone.

SAM
: You comin'?

JOE
: Go on, I'll catch you up. Go on!

JIMMY
: You watch out.

He pinches his throat with thumb and forefinger.

JOE
: I'll be all right.

SAM
: Don't forget the
kaal
.

JOE
: Okay.

They exit.
JOE
looks around, pokes the fire, stands and waits. The moon begins to rise. There is a low mopoke call. He replies with a similar call and gets a reply.
MARY
runs into the clearing. They embrace.

I didn't think you were gunna get here.

MARY
: I bin watchin' youse for nearly half an hour.

JOE
:
Kienya
!

MARY
: I mean listenin', not watchin'.

JOE
: It's all right, wasn't man's business. Did you have any trouble gettin' away?

MARY
: Nah. Topsy's coverin' up for me. I'll just walk in the dinin' room in the mornin'. They won't miss me.

JOE
: [
nervously
] Where you gunna sleep tonight?

They kiss.
MARY
withdraws from him and sits on the log. She begins to cry. He checks that they are alone and sits close beside her on the log.

JOE
: Eh? What's up? Come on, tell me what's up. You been fightin' with someone?

She shakes her head.

Come on! Tell me what's the matter.

MARY
: Mr Neal.

JOE
: Yeah, what about him?

MARY
: He's tryin' to make me go and work at the hospital.

JOE
: Well, what's wrong with that?

MARY
: Everything.

JOE
: You get better tucker.

MARY
: It's more than that, Joe.

JOE
: What d'ya mean?

MARY
: When Mr Neal sends a girl to work at the hospital, it usually means…

JOE
: Means what?

MARY
: That he want's that girl… for himself.

JOE
:
What?

MARY
: Everyone know, even the
wetjalas
.

JOE
: Rotten, stinkin', lowdown bastard. I'll kill him!

MARY
: Joe…

JOE
: I'll smash his head in with a
doak
!

MARY
: Joe, listen!

JOE
: Filthy pig. You not goin' anywhere near that hospital!

MARY
: If I don't, he reckons he'll send me back home.

JOE
: Home? Where?

MARY
: Wyndham. He reckons he send me up home 'coz I'm a give girl.

JOE
: Like hell you are.

MARY
: I don't want to go up there to marry no old man.

JOE
: You're meant to be gettin' married to me.

MARY
: Mr Neal not gonna let us get married.

JOE
: [
exploding
] Jesus! [
Indicating running
] We're doin' this tonight, right this fuckin' minute.

MARY
: Joe, you'll get in big trouble!

JOE
: I'll get in bigger trouble if I have to chip that walrus-faced bastard. I'll kill him.

MARY
: Joe, listen! Where we gunna go?

JOE
: Home, Northam.

MARY
: What about your mum and dad?

JOE
: We'll tell 'em now, come on, come on.

MARY
just stands there.

Come on. I'm gunna show you my country. Got a big river, swans, beautiful white swans.

JOE
picks up his shirt and a billy of water, which he tips on the fire. He leads
MARY
off into the darkness.

Long Pool Camp, Moore River, night. Dogs bark.
JOE
and
MARY
appear as shapes in the darkness.
JOE
tries to quieten the dogs. He approaches the tent.

JOE
: Mum, Dad? You wake?

He looks back at
MARY
, who stands alone.

Mum, Dad!

MILLY
: Hmm, who is it?

JOE
: It's only me.

MILLY
: It's Joe.

The tent lights up as a match is struck and a hurricane lamp lit.

SAM
: What's he want?

He crawls out.

Where you bin? We been home for hours.

MILLY
appears behind him.

JOE
: Mary's with me.

MILLY
takes the lamp and goes to
MARY
.

MILLY
: Mary! You should be in the compound.

JOE
: She ain't goin' back there.

JIMMY
appears, sleepy and dazed.

JIMMY
: What's goin' on?

JOE
: It's only me,
kongi
!

MILLY
: She can't stay here, Joe, she's a compound girl.

JOE
: I know, Mum, we're runnin' away—tonight!

SAM
: Now? What for?

JOE
: 'Cause Neal's givin' Mary a bad time.

SAM
: Can't be all that bad.

JOE
: Neal's after her for himself. He's tryin' to make her work in the hospital and he keeps sayin' he's gonna send her back to her lot to marry some old man—and he won't give no permission for us to get married.

MILLY
: [
comforting
MARY
] There's gotta be some other way than clearin' out.

JOE
: Only other way's to stiffen that bastard in the dark.

He goes to
MARY
.

MILLY
: They'll catch you sooner or later, son, and you'll go to gaol.

JIMMY
: That right, neph, you clear out. Gaol's
yuart
, only a
wetjala
thing. Don't worry about it.

MILLY
: No, I'll do the worryin'.

SAM
: Where's Granny?

MILLY
: She's stoppin' with Aunty Wooleen.

She picks up a camp oven and breaks damper and crams it into a billy.

There's a bit of
merrang
, it's all we got.

She gives it to
MARY
.
SAM
gives
JOE
a blanket. He begins to roll it.

Where will you go?

JOE
: [
smiling
] Northam. I'm gonna show Mary the swans. Well, 'bye Dad, Uncle Jimmy! Say goodbye to Gran.

He moves towards the tent. His mother stops him.

MILLY
: Don't wake the kids. Less they know the better.

JOE
: [
kissing her
] Bye, Mum.

MARY
kisses
MILLY
,
then she and
JOE
walk away swiftly. They look back and wave, then vanish into the darkness.
MILLY
cries quietly.

JIMMY
: [
calling after them
] You can jump the rattler 'bout half a mile outside a' Mogumber. Keep to the gravel country. Trackers won't find your tracks.

The Superintendant's Office, Moore River Native Settlement, day.
MR NEAL
is sitting at his desk reading the
West Australian,
10 April 1933. The headlines read, ‘Government Routed', ‘Three Ministers Defeated', ‘Labor Majority of Ten', ‘Premier Loses Northam Seat', ‘Two To One For Secession'.
MATRON
enters.

MATRON
: I've got some news for you.

NEAL
: I know. I've read it, a bloody massacre.

MATRON
is pleased, almost gloating.

Premier's gone in Northam… Looks like a majority of about ten…

A bloody Labor Government.

MATRON
: That's the good news… Two natives appear to—

NEAL
: [
interrupting
] The only good news is the referendum: two to one.