Jack & Harry (19 page)

‘Now, yu jus' sit easy, I'm gonna walk 'im, ol' Brehardie.' Warri clicked his tongue softly and the horse moved off with Jack clinging for dear life to the saddle pommel and the tuft of mane. ‘Let go 'is mane, Jack, 'e not laik that much eh?' Warri advised.

After a few minutes Jack, realising he was not going to fall headlong to the hard ground, relaxed slightly, beginning to feel the horse's rhythm beneath him. Warri, holding lightly to the bridle, talked to the horse softly as he walked beside its head, reaching out to pat the horse's neck now and then. ‘Yu good 'orse, Brehardie, yu learn Jack good. Jack, 'e good fella, Brehardie.'

Jack was sweating heavily but knew it wasn't only from the heat as Warri walked the horse. Warri also spoke to Jack giving him little tips on balance and controlling the animal. They had walked up the track some distance and returned to the yards three or four times and Jack was beginning to enjoy the experience. ‘Yu take 'im on 'is own now, Jack.' Warri stepped back.

‘But … but.' Jack began to panic. ‘I don't think I'm ready to do that just yet, Uncle Warri. What if he takes off on me?'

Warri chuckled. ‘Jack, yu bin ridin' 'im you'self last two times 'round. I jus' pretend to lead 'im. Brehardie won' take off on yu, Jack, unless yu kick 'im. Make sure yu don' kick 'im. When yu get to end of the track jus' pull little bit on the rein which way yu want to turn, left or right 'n Brehardie 'e know what to do.'

Warri watched Jack take the horse out, turn him easily and walk back, a huge smile on his face, to where he was waiting. ‘Yu got it, Jack, no trouble. Yu do that three, four time more 'n we stop for some tucker. Give Brehardie a spell, let 'im have a drink. I show yu 'ow to get 'is saddle off 'n then me 'n Brehardie teach yu little bit more in the afternoon when it cooler.'

Harry returned at the same time having walked Dolly in the opposite direction to Jack. He was smiling broadly too, and called ‘Yahoo,' to Jack as he reigned to a stop and slid awkwardly from the saddle. The two boys then led their mounts into the yard where Reynold and Warri instructed them on removing the saddles that they then slung over the top rail of the yard.

‘That was great, Jack, wasn't it?' Harry was thrilled at the ride. ‘Beats ridin' a bloody bike. Billy can keep his bike.'

‘You bet, Harry. I was a little scared to start with but it's beaut all right. Trouble is I only feel about three feet tall after gettin' off Brehardie.'

‘Me too,' laughed Harry. ‘It's a funny feelin' all right.'

When they had eaten they all took some time to lie down in the shade until the extreme heat of the fiery sun had subsided. Jack and Harry stretched out on their swags but Warri and Reynold just lay down on the ground with their backs against a tree trunk, hats over their faces to ward of the flies, arms folded across their chests, and dozed.

The late afternoon was spent on the horses. Both boys became more confident as the day wore on and by the time Warri said it was enough for the day they had learned to canter leisurely up and down the track. They did slow to a walk to turn around though, not yet confident enough to do it at a canter. ‘That'll come tomorra' wit' practice,' Reynold said.

Around the campfire that night uncle Warri sat back with his usual rolled cigarette and contemplated the coals. The two boys were exhilarated but weary, legs aching from gripping the saddle. When they closed their eyes they could still feel the rhythm of the horses beneath them.

‘Did we do OK, Uncle Warri?' Jack asked.

‘Yu do really good, Jack, I very good teacher yu know, learn yu to be drover in no time.' He turned to Harry. ‘Yu do good too, Harry, Rennol 'e good teacher laik me. I learn him ev'ry ting 'e knows. Yu bot' quick learners, yu boys. After coupla' more days we ready to 'ead off to Docker River. Yu learn more on the ride too 'cause it take a few days to get there 'n by the time we meet the big mob, yu ready to 'elp out well wit' the drovin, by crikey.'

The next two days were spent on the horses and by the afternoon of the second day Jack and Harry were becoming quite confident and had learned to canter and even galloped for a few hundred yards. They could mount and dismount easily and learned to put the bridles on and saddle up without help but still couldn't get the hang of moving up and down in time with the horses' gait when they trotted. Warri and Reynold showed them how to rub the horses down with a bag at the end of the day and to feed them. They carried buckets from the waterhole in the rocks to fill the cut down oil drums in the yard so the horses had a drink.

On the morning of the third day Warri told them to saddle up and ride with Reynold into town to stock up on some supplies for the trip from the general store. ‘Yu know what to get, Reynold 'n cuzin Wally 'e drive it back eh? Then we pack it right for the 'orses to carry. We'll leave at sun up tomorra' all goin' well.'

Jack and Harry felt important riding beside Reynold as they came into Warburton and slid from the saddles near the general store, tying the horses to a hitching rail in the shade of a couple of gum trees close by. They selected items from the shelves and put them in a pile near the door where the manager noted each of the items and wrote them in a large tattered book, licking the pencil regularly as he did so.

There was canned meat, beans and peaches, tins of golden syrup, condensed milk, bags of flour, salt, sugar, packets of matches, some ‘Havelock' tobacco and cigarette papers for Warri and, of course, a box of tea.

‘How much is all this gonna cost, Reynold?' Harry asked. ‘You got enough money? We can put in a little for our share.'

‘We have to, yes.' Jack reached into his shirt pocket.

‘No need for that.' Reynold put his hand out to stop Jack. ‘Uncle Warri 'e put all this on tick, pay when 'e come back.'

‘But we have to pay our share, Reynold,' Jack insisted. ‘It's not fair otherwise and we'd feel bad eatin' your tucker and not payin' for it.'

‘That all right Jack. Uncle Warri 'e tell me yu boys can 'elp out on the drove and travel wit us but yu don' get no wage jus' your keep. That way yu don' owe nothin' … yu earn it.'

Both boys were astonished at this generosity and knew from what Reynold said that they were obviously accepted by uncle Warri as part of the crew so determined in their minds to be as good as they could be at helping out on the trek.

‘Looks like we're real drovers now, Jack.'

‘Can't believe it, Harry. We've come a long way since leavin' home haven't we? Seems like months ago.'

The mention of home sobered the boys somewhat and they wondered if their parents had received the letters they wrote and what their reaction had been to the news that they had no plans to return to Perth.

‘What would our parents say if they could see us now, Harry?'

‘Not sure, Jack. Don't think they'd be too happy even though they'd be proud that we can now ride.'

Even though the boys had no idea when cousin Wally had been alerted or by whom, the old Ford rattled to a dusty stop outside the store just as they finished checking that they had everything they needed. They loaded the goods onto the tray and mounting up, followed the vehicle on horseback down the track toward uncle Warri's camp, wondering what adventures the next few weeks held in store for them.

Disaster struck four days out of Warburton.

They had risen early on the day of departure and helped load the two packhorses that Warri had turned up with the evening before and distributed the balance of the supplies between them. Swags were roped behind the saddles and they had discarded their bags, leaving them for Wally, and rolled their clothes and personal belongings in a blanket secured with rope. Warri had explained that a
bluey
was easier to carry than a haversack on a horse.

The ride had been easy except for the stifling heat and, of course, the bush flies, but they were even getting used to them now and had developed the bush ‘wave' which they now did unconsciously to keep the flies off their faces.

It was customary to start off each day in the first light before the sun had risen and then to camp for a couple of hours during the intense midday heat under whatever shade they could find before heading off again in the afternoon. They hadn't followed any defined track but trusted that uncle Warri knew where he was going through the arid desert country. They learned to sip sparingly at the water bag, wetting their lips and swilling a mouthful of water around before swallowing it rather than gulping large quantities. This method kept thirst at bay, moistened their lips and also conserved the precious liquid.

Warri, quite uncannily it seemed to Jack and Harry, always found a waterhole each day where the horses could drink and they could top up the waterbags. The boys were not aware that there were markers in the bush known only to the Aboriginal people that pointed to where water was. Over thousands of years of nomadically wandering through the arid, seemingly waterless deserts of outback Australia with no capacity to carry water it was essential for survival to know where water could be found. Quality and quantity varied from hole to hole but it was these holes that Warri either knew from previous journeys or could find by reading the markers, visible to a learned eye from miles away. The markers, or ‘trigs' as white settlers knew them, could consist of a pile of strategically placed rocks or possibly a tree with bark marked a certain way.

Reynold had shown the boys how to make damper from flour, salt and water then to bake it in the coals. They had dined on canned meat and beans for the first two nights and breakfast and lunch consisted only of damper washed down with strong black billy tea. ‘This damper, 'e OK.' Warri took another bite. ‘Yu boys gettin' to be good cooks, eh?'

They were stiff and sore for the first two days, hardly able to walk at the end of each day but gradually the aches eased and the stiffness receded from their muscles. By the third day on the road they felt fit and were both aware that they had trimmed pounds from their bodies and were becoming tanned from exposure to the sun. Harry had burned a little at first due to his light skin but soon his arms and face turned a golden brown highlighting his freckles, while Jack's skin became like mahogany. Reynold had commented jokingly one morning that Jack was turning so dark that nobody would question him when he called Warri,
uncle.

Days spent continually in the saddle had been good for their confidence on the horses, both gaining experience and able to ride reasonably well. Reynold had even begun to coach them in using a stock whip, something he said they would need to master for the cattle drive. Both boys felt like seasoned bushmen and Warri was pleased with their progress but knew they had a lot more to learn before they were competent enough on horseback so that he could safely let them ride out alone.

When the billy was filled on the third evening Warri had commented that they were getting short of water as the last hole was dry, yielding only damp clay. He said he knew there was a waterhole not far from where they were camped and Reynold could head off to it early the next morning and suggested that the boys go with him for the ride.

Jack woke and looked over to see that Harry was not lying on his swag. Curious to know where he was he got up and rolled his swag, tying it ready for slinging over his saddle, and went to find him. The sun had not yet risen but there was a pre-dawn light in the east. The fire was not alight and he could see Reynold and uncle Warri stretched out beside the fire, heads resting on the saddles that they used for pillows.

He was baffled that Harry was not around then, to his surprise, he noticed that Dolly was missing so he quickly walked back to Harry's swag. There was a note pinned to it that he had previously missed in the darkness. He read and re-read the note before running to where Warri and Reynold were, calling out to them as he ran. They woke asking what he was yelling about and he told them that Harry was missing. Jack held the note out to uncle Warri.

‘Yu read 'im out, Jack,' Warri said. ‘Eyes 'e not so good for readin' yu know.' Jack was unaware that Warri had never learned to read and could only just write his name. ‘What 'im say?' He sounded concerned.

Jack read the note aloud.

Gone to find the waterhole. Took the two big waterbags. Thought I would earn me keep and save Reynold a trip. Get the fire going Jack. Be back soon.

It wasn't signed.

Warri said nothing, just stood and went to the fire and started to stir the coals and throw twigs on it.

Reynold looked at Jack, his eyes clouded with concern. ‘Jack, this not good. He could get lost easy out there.'

‘But uncle Warri said the waterhole was close by; he should find it shouldn't he?'

‘But what direction 'e go, Jack?' Warri asked from the fire. ‘Yu see 'im leave?'

‘No, I just found the note, I didn't see him leave. I suppose we better go look for him.'

‘No point in that, Jack.' Reynold sounded older than his years ‘We could ride 'round in circles for hours 'n still not see 'im.'

‘We jus' wait 'n see if 'e come back soon.' Warri didn't look up from where he was fanning the fire into a blaze. ‘Maybe we lucky 'n 'e not get lost. Harry no fool really 'n should be able to backtrack to the camp if 'e not gone too far. Doubt 'e find water though … hard to see. Need to know jus' where to look to find 'im,' Warri stated unemotionally.

‘He was only tryin' to do us a favour, uncle Warri, he didn't mean any harm by goin' off.'

‘That true, Jack. Harry good fella and tink 'e do right but do stupid ting. All's we can do is wait.' Warri busied himself with heating what was left of the tea in the billy.

‘Can't we do somethin', Reynold?' Jack was worried after what uncle Warri had said.