Barefoot and Lost (49 page)

     The train comes to a stop; have we been seen? The man with the lantern pulls a huge lever, blows a whistle, waves his lantern and the train moves very slowly in the opposite direction. The truck behind us is like a box car, with a running board along its side. We both manage to get on the running board and, between us, open the sliding door, scrambling inside to find it full of cardboard boxes, there is just enough room for us to stand and close the door. I can feel the train gathering speed,

      ‘Hell, that was close, we just made it.’

      ‘I was sure that guard would see us, any idea
Phil
, where we are going?’

      ‘Don’t have a clue but the important thing, it is away from here.’

      ‘Yeah
but we can’t stand like this until we get there, wherever that is.’

      ‘Look, there is space up the top, perhaps we can move some boxes up there and make room for us to sit.’ The boxes are heavy but we manage to create a space and fall asleep exhausted.

    
Dawn
is just breaking, through the gap in the door I can see flat countryside with the occasional tree,
Billy
is still asleep, I’m hungry I wonder how long w
ill it be before we eat again?
The sun is ahead of us and slightly to our right, like it was on the ship when we were watching our progress into Fremantle. That means we must be going towards the East, fantastic, we are on our way to
Melbourne
.

     A beam of sunlight shines through a gap in the door onto the end of one of the boxes; I can’t believe my eyes, ‘Corned Beef,’ product of
Australia
. With difficulty I open a box to find it full of square shaped tins each one with a little key attached for opening it. Opening one I then decide to open another giving
Billy
a shake, I call, ‘Breakfast is served.’

     ‘Yeah
Right,’ I wave a tin under his nose, his eyes spring open then a big smile spreads across his face, ‘Don’t let me do that again, my lip hurts when I smile.’

     We have checked all the boxes we can get to but they are all corned beef. There is nothing to drink, it is so hot in here we have slid the door open a couple of inches to let some air in, but even the wind is hot, my mouth is so dry I’m finding it hard to swallow.

     The train is slowing down,
Billy
looks out, but there is nothing to see, only flat, sandy ground with low bushes dotted here and there. ‘Can’t see why we are stopping, we’re in the middle of nowhere.’ The train blows its whistle, the couplings on the trucks clatter as they slacken and tighten again as the train picks up speed. T
hen we see why we have slowed, k
angaroos, hundred
s of them, large and small red ones
are bounding alongside the train, we are both staring in amazement. ‘Wow I never knew they were so big some are taller than a man.’

     ‘I never knew they could go so fast
Phil
; that is bloody amazing.’ We watch as they turn away from the train soon disappearing into a dip. The train slows again, we look out for more kangaroos, but there is none to be seen. 

     The engine has stopped beside a large tank, on a platform the fireman is connecting a large hose to take on water.

     ‘
Billy
, we need some of that water, any ideas how we can get some?’

     ‘
G’day
lads, where did you spring from?’ We both spin around to see the guard standing there; we have been
so interested in watching the k
angaroos we haven’t heard him walk up.

     ‘Hell, run for it
Phil
.’

     ‘I wouldn’t if I was you, there is nowhere to run to, out there you would die in a couple of hours so best stay put and tell me where you came from and where you think you’re going.’

     ‘Sorry mister we-----’

     ‘
Jesus
, a couple of bloody Poms, how the hell did you get here?’

     ‘We-----’ the guard is about fifty with black curly hair, his weather beaten suntanned face is smiling, and his blue eyes are laughing.

     ‘Hold it, get down and come with me to the guards van, you look as though you could do with a bit of cleaning up and a feed; I’m not going to hurt you and I can’t kick you off the train because, as I said, you would die out there, so let us go to my place and discuss your future Okay’ we both nod and agree.

     ‘I have to go and report to the driver and check that we have taken enough water, you two walk to my van and get inside out of sight, at this stage I don’t want Fred and Albert to know about you until I know the facts, so no funny business, just do as I ask.’ The guard walks towards the engine, leaving us to make our way to his van. Inside there’s an armchair, a bed, and a cooker with a kettle gently steaming on top.

     ‘
Phil
, why do you think he doesn’t he want anyone else to know about us?’

     ‘I have no idea but what choice have we got, can’t run, we will just have to do what he wants?’

      ‘Perhaps he is going to kill us and throw us off the train.’

      ‘I don’t think so; did you look at his eyes?’

      ‘Not really, what’s wrong with them?’

      ‘Nothing, they are kind that’s all; he has kind eyes, believe me, he is a good man.’

     The train starts to move our friend is not back yet, just as I get out of the armchair to see where he is he appears at the door, comes inside and slams it behind him.

     ‘Fancy a cup of tea lads?’ We both nod ‘Yes Please.’

     ‘Oh, you are so polite, milk, sugar?’

     ‘Yes please.’ 

     There are dozens of questions running around in my head but I don’t know which to ask so say nothing.

     ‘Sit on the bed; my name is
Tom
Mooney
,’
Tom
holds his hand out I shake it I’m
Phillip
Snell
.
Tom
offers his hand to
Billy
,   

     ‘I’m
William
Craig
, everyone calls me
Billy
.’

     ‘Right, now we
are friends, tell me how you co
me to be here?’

     ‘We scaped frm a ‘ome smewhere and------’

     ‘Hold it I can’t understand a word you’re saying, slow down and speak English.’

     ‘I’m sorry,
Billy
comes from
Northern Ireland
, and nobody understands him.’ I then tell
Tom
everything from my Mum being killed, then Barnardos to the ship, my new parents in
Melbourne
, the brutal brothers at Blendoon and all about our escape. 

     ‘That is some story, perhaps you should write a book.’

     ‘What are you going to do with us; you won’t send us back will you? Please don’t send us back to Blendoon.’
Tom
doesn’t speak for quite awhile, appearing to be deep in thought; he takes a sip of his tea.

     ‘I’ll tell you what I am going to do and why I’m doing it, okay.’ We both nod almost as though our heads are connected. ‘In a couple of hours we will be in Kalgoorlie, where we stop for two hours while we lose some rolling stock and gain some, almost doubling our length----’

     ‘Wow that must make it a mile long.’

‘---Just listen, you can ask questions later, I need to work this out as I go along; now where was I, oh yer, we also gain another loco, and yes we will be nearly three quarters of a mile long  Kalgoorlie is a tough Gold mining town, not a good place for two young boys.’ 

     We then set off for Port Augusta, a two day journey, where I rest up for three days before I head back to
Perth
. Port Augusta is another tough town and again not good for you, my sister in law Gertrude lives there, I can hand you over to her, she will take you on to Adelaide which is a very nice city,
full of good people, where Gertie
will hand you over to the Salvation Army, they will treat you right.’ 

    
Tom
stops talking, I can see his brain working, and he takes another sip of tea. ‘Yer, that’s it, that is what we will do.’
Tom
goes into deep thought again, I sip mine,
and it
is cold and soothing as it trickles down my parched throat. I croak

     ‘
Tom
, why are you helping
Billy
and me?’

     ‘Because I know what you are running away from, you see I’ve been there.’

     ‘Wot inner ‘ome?’

     If you said
Billy
, what I think you said, yes, I was in a home; my mother was unmarried when I was born, her dad was a strict Catholic man and a prominent person in their town, he couldn’t afford the scandal so he kicked her out of the house. She had to work hard to keep me but, when I was nine, she got TB and died, her dad still would have nothing to do with me, so I was put into a home run by the
Christian
Brothers
. From then, until I
was
kicked out at fourteen, I was beaten daily by half of the brothers. During the night I was taken to the bed of another brother, where he looked after me for his own satisfaction, so as I see it, this is pay back for me I’ll do anything to keep you from those Bastards.’

     ‘We don’t even know how we ended up with a load of Fenian’s, we’re both Proddies.’ 

     ‘Then you’ll get on well with the Salvo’s.
Billy
why can’t you speak like that all the time I understood every word you said.’

     ‘Dunno I fought I did’

     ‘
Tom
, why do you want to keep us secret from the driver?’

     ‘Because they may not agree with what I’m doing and make me hand you over to the police, they would have to send you back to Blendoon.’

     ‘
Tom
, we will do anything you say, thank you, I can’t believe we have been so lucky.’

     ‘Well it is not all over yet, the two hours in Kalgoorlie could be a problem but I’ll work something out don’t worry, but you must do everything I say, I could lose my job if the Company thought I was as
sisting you to runaway. I have my
wife
Karen
and two girls back home, I can’t afford to be out of work so, if you are discovered, I will make out I have just found you and you will have to accept whatever happens, agreed.’ Tom holds out his hand, I shake it.

     ‘Agreed,’
Tom
offers his hand to
Billy
,
Billy
takes his hand with both hands,

     ‘Yer’re a bleeding, star agreed.’

     ‘When did you last eat?’

     ‘We opened a couple of tins of corned beef for breakfast.’

     ‘Fair dinkum; Christ, it gets worse; I could get sacked for nicking the goods.’

     ‘But you didn’t, we did.’

     ‘Yeah
, but you’re not here, remember?’ Another period of deep thought, ‘Right, this is what you do, when we get to Kalgoorlie I’ll put you back in that truck and lock you in, it is going all the way to Port Augusta, while you are there---what did you do with the empty tins?”

     ‘They are still there.’

     ‘Good, while you are in the truck put the empties back in the box, put some full ones on top and bury the box at the bottom of a stack, do you think you could manage that?’

    ‘Yeah we’
ll do that’

    ‘Good, that way hopefully, the missing tins won’t be discovered until someone opens the box that could be anywhere and months away and I won’t be blamed.’
Tom
opens a cupboard beside the cooker, taking out a frying
pan;
he calls over his shoulder, ‘
Eggs,
and
bacon do yer?
’

    
It is dark when
we come to a halt in
Kalgoorlie
, armed with a beer bottle full of sweet tea and two cheese sandwiches each, we are made to walk behind
Tom
, where he helps us back into our truck. ‘Sort those tins out, I’ll come back for you just before we leave, don’t worry, there will be a lot of shunting as the yard men sort out the rolling stock, but stay quiet and you’ll be okay, right, see you.’ We both whisper okay,
Tom
slides the door shut and fastens the lock, I feel trapped, I hope he doesn’t have an accident. I hear
Tom
call, ‘
Fred
you and
Albert
need anything, I’m going to
Mrs.
Nevershuts
?’