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  “Here we go, Kate,” Chris said, jumping up and walking back along the aisle.

  Then the cockpit door opened and the young man Kate had seen earlier walked out and went straight to her overhead locker. “Everything all right, Mrs Dexter?” he said, looking down at her with a big smile on his face.

  Kate stood up and stepped into the aisle. “Yes, thank you. That was a good flight. I look forward to as good a one when I collect my husband.”

  “Don’t worry, Mrs Dexter. Everything will be organised for him.”

  He took hold of her bag and she followed him down the aisle. As Chris and Kate waited, he opened the door and there was a sudden blast of hot air. They stood back and waited for the atmosphere to equalise.

  “Oh dear,” Kate let out. “I knew it would be hot, but not this hot.”

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “It’s forty-three outside. It feels hotter because you’ve been travelling in a comfortable twenty-six degrees for the past three-and-a-half hours. Once outside your body will soon adjust.”

  Kate gave him a wry smile, thinking you don’t know me and the sun.

  As the two men stepped down the short ladder onto the red dust airstrip with the bags, Kate stood in the doorway for a moment surveying her new environment and as the young man said, acclimatising her body to the heat.

  It was totally different to anything she was used to. Her senses had been assaulted by the biggest blue sky she had ever seen; supported by a mass of burnt red country. She looked for the sun to get her bearings just as Martin had taught her. It was almost overhead.

  She knew from past experience that it was going to burn her up. Chris had already donned a blue desert hat supplied by the company and she too was prepared. She reached into her jacket pocket and brought out the foldable canvas trilby she bought when they were in Spain and pulled it down over her head.

  As she stepped down onto the ground she instinctively looked for the car. It was almost parallel with the plane, but still some distance away. It was an olive green Land Rover, she knew that much; her next-door neighbour had one.

  There was a tall man leaning against the car with one arm casually draped across the roof rack and the other down by his side. His long jeans-clad legs were crossed as if he was not in any hurry to meet them. Kate thought he had to be one of the stockmen; he was too scruffy to be the owner. She walked over to where Chris was standing with her holdall and his medical bag slung over his shoulder.

  This appeared to be a signal for the distant stockman. He kicked the toe of his cowboy boot into the red dust and headed their way. Like the blue sky and the desert, he looked part of the land; one with the Great Sandy Desert that provided him and his family with a steady living.

  Kate had no experience of outback stockmen other than what she saw on television, but judging by them, he was from the same mould. He was big; she could see that. He needed to be if he was going to handle cattle all day. His face was covered by the shadow from his crumpled, tattered, broad-brimmed hat that had probably seen more roundups than Kate had hot dinners; likewise, the long sleeved blue-chequered shirt he was wearing.

  “Mrs Dexter?” he called out, when he finally arrived; touching the tip of his hat in an old-fashioned way, and thrusting the other huge hand in her direction.

  “Oh yes,” she said, relieved as his cultured voice could only mean he had to be the owner. “Call me Kate,” she added.

  “Right…and my name’s Jeff.”

  His eyes quickly moved onto the immaculate young man in the blue uniform and he shook his hand also. “You must be the paramedic,” he said, taking Kate’s bag and turning back to the car.

  “I suppose it’s a bit obvious…my name’s Chris.”

  When they reached the Land Rover, Jeff opened the back door for Kate and helped her inside. He then went around to the rear, opened the boot and dropped her bag inside, before returning to the front. Chris was already sitting in the passenger seat. As soon as Jeff was behind the wheel he turned to Kate. “I’m sorry you had to walk all that way,” he said, starting the engine. “The pilots don’t like the four-wheel drive digging up the runway.”

  “Is that right?” she said.

  “Yeah…they don’t like the ruts.”

  Jeff slipped the Land Rover into gear and moved away from the runway onto a wide dirt road that headed towards a group of buildings in the distance. Within a few moments they were passing through an area of fenced-off spaces. Kate recognised it straightaway from the documentary she’d seen on television. They called it a stockyard. There were no cattle in the pens at present; they were probably out on the range, but the next group of closed pens they passed were full of horses.

  Jeff slowed down as he caught sight of one old stockman waving at him. He stopped and switched off the engine. “Sorry,” he said. “This won’t take a moment.”

  He left the car and walked over to the old man. He seemed irritated about something, waving his arms in all directions until Jeff playfully slapped him on the rump and pushed him back in the direction he’d come from.

  “Can you smell that?” Chris questioned. “You can tell it’s a cattle station.”

  “All I can see is a lot of horses,” Kate said, not impressed.

  “They don’t keep the cattle on the station; they’re out grazing on the range. All those pens are for when they bring them in before they go to the market.”

  “So what do the stockmen do?”

  “Most of them will be out on the range, mustering and chasing up strays.”

  “And those, sitting on the fence over there?”

  “That’s a pen for wild horses. They’re taking turns breaking them in. Then they shift those into another area and use them as stock horses.”

  “You seem to know an awful lot about a cattle station.”

  “Not really. I’m one of those people who like to know what I’m dealing with. So when I found out I was going to a cattle station I got a book out of the library and read all about it; well enough to know what not to do.”

  Kate laughed. “That sounds like AMINCO training to me.”

  Chris did not get the chance to answer. Jeff returned to the car, started it up and drove on along the dirt road. “Sorry about that,” he said. “You’ll find, Kate, I might have to leave you on occasions, but I’ll find you.”

  “I thought I was going straight to see my husband.”

  “I’m taking you to see the doctor first. Then in between that and you seeing your husband, the teacher wants to see you.”

  That sounded awfully strange.

  CHAPTER 18

  Kate glanced at her watch. It had taken the best part of fifteen minutes to finally leave the stockyard area and return to the undulating dirt road heading towards a large weatherboard building with a tall metal-framed tower standing alongside. It still seemed some distance away, giving Kate the idea this was a huge cattle station.

  As they neared the building she could see the tower was supporting an antenna and one of those round dishes. She recognised it straightaway from the neighbour’s dish two doors down that was supposed to give them better reception. She took her mobile out of her jacket pocket and flipped it open, speed-dialled her house, hoping to surprise the kids, and waited, but nothing, except a message saying no signal. This needed investigating, she thought.

  Looking at the tower, Kate had not noticed that the road ran by the group of buildings at an oblique angle, positioning the first weatherboard so that it blocked her view of the others. As the Land Rover turned alongside she was surprised to see a wooden boardwalk stretching for some distance in front of a long line of similar buildings. All that set them apart was their size. Some corrugated roofs had weathered differently from others, but generally they were like peas in a pod, reminding her of the towns in the old westerns.

  Jeff continued on for a short distance and stopped outside what appeared to be the longest building and Kate was suddenly filled with apprehension.

  He switched th
e engine off and turned to Chris. “This is the medical clinic, Chris,” he pointed out. “Would you like to introduce yourself to Dr Fitzgerald?”

  “I thought I was going to see Martin straightaway,” Kate interrupted.

  “All in good time, Kate,” Jeff answered her with a reassuring smile. “I need to bring you up to date with what happened.” He could see how bewildered she was. “It’s okay, Kate. Believe me. The doctor just wants to have time with Chris to see if he’s happy with the plan to take your husband back to Broome tomorrow.”

  Kate did not look at all happy. She had thought of nothing else since she’d got up this morning and now, when Martin was so close, she had to wait. “I understand,” she said. “It’s early after all. The day has only begun.”

  “That’s fine,” Jeff said, waiting for Chris to leave the car. Obviously Chris was waiting for Kate to accept the situation and he stepped out onto the boardwalk, gave her a reassuring smile and closed the door.

  “Where to now, Jeff?” she said brusquely.

  He turned round in his seat with a furtive expression, “The doctor asked me to have a word with you. Apparently he doesn’t want you raising a lot of questions with Martin, about what happened in the desert or the crash for that matter. If he brings it up, that’s fine, but for now he needs to get over the trauma of sitting with a dead man for a day. He still talks to him, you know. At times he thinks he’s still waiting for the plane to come and rescue them.”

  That was something Kate had not expected. She was all prepared to walk in on him sitting up in bed with a few bandages and his arm in a sling. She knew that much. But Jeff was right. She needed to know a lot more.

  “Thank you for telling me that; I’m ready for that talk,” she said.

  Jeff looked much happier. He was not about to tell her he objected to this preparation discussion with her. He would have preferred his wife handle that; woman-to-woman sort of thing, but for some reason she thought Kate might control her emotions better with a man. His wife was an outback woman, not into city women’s talk or hysteria. He stepped out of the car and opened Kate’s door for her; something he hadn’t done in years and escorted her into the smaller building at the end of the Medical Clinic.

  As it turned out, Jeff decided she would be more comfortable in his office while they wait for Chris and the doctor to settle their business. As they entered the building Kate had the distinct feeling she was stepping back in time: to the Victorian period by the looks of all the old furniture. A young girl, no more than in her early twenties, stood and walked round her antiquated desk.

  “This is my daughter, Ross,” he said, opening the only other door in the room and leaving it open so that Kate could follow him inside.

  “Don’t take any notice of him,” the girl said, shaking Kate’s hand. “You’re Martin’s wife? I bet you thought my dad’s a real grump. He means well though. You just have to realise he’s more used to dealing with surly stockmen.”

  “Actually he’s been a perfect gentleman with me. And the name’s Kate, by the way,” she said, hearing the sound of someone coughing next door.

  Ross nodded with her head tilting towards her father’s office and Kate walked into his room. It was another tableau from the past. He was sitting behind an enormous mahogany desk; one of those with drawers on either side, as if it belonged in a museum along with the rest of the furniture.

  Just as she sat down in a beautiful chair with velvet upholstery, Ross poked her head around the architrave and said, “Tea or coffee, Kate?”

  “Tea please, with milk and one sugar.”

  Jeff let out another of his small coughs, signalling he was ready to bring her up to date. He looked uncomfortable and Kate noticed he had a sheet of paper in front of him. She guessed it was his written prompts, probably composed by his wife, and sat quietly, ready to hear what he had to say.

  “Right, Kate. I’ve already told you of the state Martin was in when the Aboriginal boy brought him in, the fact that he must have spent at least a day with the dead pilot, according to remarks he made, and I might add he is still a little delusional. The doctor says he can see no signs that might indicate a head injury, but he can talk to you about his medical condition when you see him. I’m just alerting you to the fact that it has been difficult discussing the crash with him. As soon as anyone mentions anything to do with that period right up to arriving at the cattle station, he goes into some kind of time warp.”

  “I’ll try to avoid that,” Kate said, just as Ross brought the drinks in.

  She set the tray down on the end of Jeff’s desk. “Thanks, Ross,” he said. Kate also thanked her and she left, closing the door behind her.

  Kate took a sip of her tea. It was very strong and she wondered if it had anything to do with being out there. She then asked the question that was on the tip of her tongue. “You mentioned the Aboriginal boy who brought Martin in.” He nodded, as if that was all he was. “I would like to speak to him if that is possible.”

  “You should run into him,” Jeff commented, taking two gulps from his mug. “He’s been hanging around the Medical Clinic since he brought Martin in. He seems to think he’s bonded to him in some way. He’s another one who doesn’t seem to want to talk about the two days they spent together,” he digressed slightly. “But he can talk when he wants to; the trouble is getting him to shut up.”

  Kate laughed. “I know. I saw all those men sitting on the railing shouting at the riders. It was a wonder they could hear each other.”

  “Oh, they could hear all right. They were betting on how long the rider could stay on the horse. They’re gambling fanatics. They’ll bet on two ants crossing the track in front of them.” Jeff laughed. “In fact it’s the only way I can get them to do some work. All I have to say is, I bet you can’t do something.”

  “You seem to be well organised here.”

  “You’re looking at several generations of hard work. This is the Estate office. Everything is run from here and this is where everyone comes if they have a problem, want to order anything, get paid or need to contact a family member. Next door is the Medical Clinic which you will visit shortly; further up is the General Store, then at the top of the street there’s a non-denominational church and of course we have our small school. On the other side there’s the machine shop where we maintain all our equipment and build new if we need it and further up we have three well-equipped chalets for our paying guests that come to visit each season.”

  “Yes, Chris, the paramedic, told me about your jackeroos.”

  “It was a good idea of my wife’s. It helps with the finances and, if they come up to scratch, it also helps out during round-up time.”

  “You said your church was non-denominational.” He nodded. “What about the Aborigines? What do they worship?”

  “That’s an area I stay away from. Although they love the church, they just like the singing and listening to all the biblical stories. I don’t know if they understand them or even relate to them. I think they just like stories; after all, that’s what their culture is based on.”

  “And where do they live?”

  “The main tribe lives about nine kilometres away beside the Oakover River, but the stockmen I employ live here on the property. They live in the stockman’s shed. That’s what they call it, not me. It’s a big barn-type building down by the stockyard. It has two levels, reasonable quarters, a games room and television.”

  Kate suddenly remembered her mobile.

  “That’s what I was going to ask you,” Kate interrupted. “How is it you get television but no mobile service?”

  “There’s no telephone or mobile out here; we communicate by radio. We have specific contact points around Australia and the medical and teaching authorities have regular channels to us and all the outback stations. As for the television, I had three dish towers put up and they manage to pick up most Australian stations, although it’s a good day when we get anything from further afield.”

  “
You’re quite an isolated community out here. How do you manage with food and supplies? And what about the mail?”

  “Every week a plane comes in from Port Hedland with the mail and whatever we need to keep the General Store topped up. And of course we get the occasional flight, such as yours and the jackeroos in season. My wife always has a standing list of incidentals so she can place an order to be brought in on that flight. You’d be surprised what your plane brought in.”

  “I’m looking forward to meeting your wife.”

  “And she also, but I think it’s time you met our doctor.”

  When Kate followed Jeff out of his office onto the boardwalk she noticed a young Aborigine sitting on the step leading down to the dirt road. He looked to be a lonely individual – unlike all the other stockmen she had seen so far, jesting with each other and busy with their business. He had a slouched appearance, with his gangly legs splayed out and his arms hanging over his knees. She tried to see his face, but it was shrouded below the broad-brimmed hat pulled down over his forehead.

  As Jeff opened the door into Dr Fitzpatrick’s office the boy looked up at her. It was a furtive glance; more of an exploratory inspection. Kate sensed that he knew she was Martin’s wife and she hesitated.

  Jeff took hold of her elbow and escorted her inside. “I can’t let you speak to him just yet. He’s in limbo until I can sort things out with his tribe.”

  Kate said nothing. The last thing she wanted to do was get involved in an Aboriginal feud; if that’s what it was. She could make her point later, even if it meant going through a mediator. She stood to one side as Jeff stepped forward and punched the bell on the corner of an antiquated desk.

  The small room was the same as his office. It too appeared to be stranded in the Victorian period. It was as if she had stumbled into a village from that time that had stayed unchanged till now. Other than a chromium trolley in the corner, containing white enamel dishes covered with green napkins, a small ancient computer with a companion printer, certain personal items on his desk and what looked like a sterilising unit next to a bed against the opposite wall, everything else was made of dark polished wood.