Flight of the Jabiru (31 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“I can't find anything useful around here,” Lara said to Jiana as they scouted the rear yard of yet another house that appeared to be deserted in the tiny township of Humpty-Doo. The grass around the back of the house was long and dry, but Jiana had already warned Lara to keep an eye out for snakes, so she was tentatively poking around, looking for a bottle of some kind. Chickens were wandering freely and they also spotted skulking cats that were as big as small dogs.

The girls had knocked on several doors in the small community, which as yet had not been bombed, but there were no signs of human life. It looked like the inhabitants had dropped everything and run for their lives, leaving an eerie ghost town. Each house had a rainwater tank, but they hadn't found anything more than a rusty bucket in which to carry water, and that was impractical.

Suddenly they heard the click of a rifle being cocked. “Stop right where you are, you low-life looters.” Lara and Jiana did as they were told and slowly turned, wide-eyed, to find themselves staring down the double-barrel of an old shot gun in the shaky hands of a man wearing faded army fatigues and a battered hat. He immediately reminded Lara of Charlie and he was at least as old. The gun, the uniform, and shaky hands were concerning enough, but what worried Lara more were the very thick eyeglasses he was wearing.

“We're not looters, sir,” Lara said warily. “So please don't point that gun at us.” She hoped he recognized her feminine voice because she wasn't convinced he could see that she and Jiana were women.

“Then what are you doing snooping around my neighbors' homes?” the man asked without sympathy as he waved the rifle threateningly.

“We're just looking for water,” Lara said.

“There's a tank of water right behind you,' the man retorted angrily.

“I know, but we need something in which to carry water,” Lara said nervously. “We've knocked on a few doors, but no one answered.”

“All the townsfolk have evacuated. I stayed behind to guard my place and my neighbors' places from looters.”

“We wouldn't dream of looting, sir,” Lara said, undecided whether he was brave or foolish. “We just want some drinking water to carry with us on the journey home. Can you help us?” She hoped appealing to him softened his heart, at least enough that he wouldn't shoot them.

Sensing that Lara was telling the truth, the man lowered the gun. “How did you get here?”

Lara glanced at Jiana. “On an army truck from Darwin,” she admitted. “It was going to Alice Springs so when it stopped to refuel, we got off and came over here. We want to go home, to Shady Camp billabong. You can appreciate it's a long way and it would be foolish to set off without water.”

“Were you planning on stealing a vehicle?” He raised the gun again.

“No, sir, of course not. We plan to walk home.”

“You can't walk that far,” the man said incredulously, dropping the gun to his side again and looking at the girls as if they were quite mad.

“We have to, sir,” Lara said, feeling suddenly teary and emotional. “We can't get home any other way.”

The old man looked exasperated. He walked towards the girls so that he could study them at close range. “What are your names?”

“I'm Lara Penrose, sir, and this is Jiana Chinmurra. We're teachers in Shady Camp.”

“I'm Leroy Evans, so you can stop calling me ‘sir'. Surely everyone in Shady Camp has evacuated to the south of the country by now.”

“No one in the town evacuated. The men built an air raid bunker, but they're pretty sure it won't be needed as there's nothing of any military significance in a town so small in the wetlands.”

“There's a radio tower not so far from there that the military didn't tell anyone about, so don't be too sure the Japs won't bomb the town,” Leroy said. “How did you get to the city?”

Lara and Jiana were astonished by the news of a radio tower and not sure whether it was true. “We were driven in by Colin Jeffries, the local storekeeper.”

“So why isn't he driving you back?” Leroy glanced around, wondering if Colin was somewhere in the town raiding houses and the girls were decoys.

Lara took a deep breath. “We separated and arranged to meet an hour later where he parked the car, but when we got there the car ... was gone.”

“Gone! He left without you?” He imagined Colin driving away to save himself and thought he must be cowardly.

“No, sir ... Leroy. Colin wouldn't do that. There was a bomb crater in the road where the car had been parked.” Lara's eyes filled with tears. “I have to tell his wife and children that he's not coming home,” she said emotionally. “I can't let them suffer waiting for him.” Her tears spilled over her lashes and ran down her cheeks.

“Now don't cry. I can't take a woman's tears,” Leroy said, shuffling uncomfortably.

While Lara blew her nose, Jiana spoke up. “Have you got something we can carry water in, or not?” she asked impatiently. She was anxious to get under way as the sun was climbing in the sky.

“Something in which to carry water is the least of your problems,” Leroy snapped.

“What you mean?” Jiana retaliated.

“If you were to survive out there, and I have my doubts, it would take days, even a week to walk that distance and you are not prepared. Apart from having no food or water, you are not wearing the correct shoes to walk in the bush and you have no hats for protection from the sun. You might survive,” he said, pointing to Jiana because obviously she was Aboriginal and more adapted to the harsh Australian conditions. “But you don't stand a chance.” He pointed to Lara. “With your blond hair, fair skin, and sandals only fit for town, you wouldn't last half a day, let alone a week.”

“I'm tougher than I look,” Lara said defiantly. “And we're going, no matter what!”

“I can't let you do that,” Leroy said obstinately.

“You can't stop us.”

Leroy lifted the gun again.

“Are you planning on shooting us?” Jiana asked in angry disbelief.

“Of course not. But I'm not letting you walk out of here completely unprepared. If you were two white women, I wouldn't let you go at all. Come with me,” Leroy said insistently. When the girls appeared hesitant he looked frustrated. “If you want to survive, you'll do as I say,” he said crossly.

Lara and Jiana glanced at each other and then followed Leroy to his house, which was not far from where they were. When they got to the front porch of his modest, wooden dwelling, built on low stumps, the girls hesitated to follow him inside. Regardless, Leroy went inside without them.

“We should run ‘way now,” Jiana whispered to Lara.

Lara had been thinking the same thing. Leroy was definitely an odd and unpredictable character.

Listening, the girls heard him rummaging in a room somewhere in the back of the house.

“If we run, he'll probably track us down and shoot us,” Lara whispered.

“He's maybe gettin' rope to tie us up,” Jiana suggested.

“Do you think so?” Lara asked in alarm.

“What else he be doing?” Jiana asked.

“You're right. Let's make a run for it,” Lara said.

The girls turned to go and then squealed in fright. Right behind them was a very large Alsatian dog and he seemed determined they were not going to get past him.

“I see you've met Levi,” Leroy said as he came out of the house with his arms full.

The girls jumped in fright at the sound of his voice and turned to face him.

“Does ... he bite?” Lara asked.

“Only if he has to,” Leroy said, dropping shoes and hats in front of the girls. “This stuff belongs to my wife. I reckon she's the same size as you,” he said looking at Lara's feet.

Lara gaped at the shoes, more like small boots with laces, which were old-fashioned even by granny standards. “We can't take your wife's belongings,” she explained, but her expression said something completely different.

Leroy observed the look on her face. “Louise has no more use for them. She's been wheelchair bound for five years.”

“Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, but even so...”

“Her things might not be fashionable these days, but she was a good bush woman in her day, so trust me, these shoes are practical for walking.”

“My sandals are quite comfortable,” Lara insisted.

“What good is comfort when your feet are exposed to spiky grass and bamboo? Your skin will be cut to ribbons in no time. Even if that didn't happen, after a few bites from fire ants you'll be wishing you were in the middle of a bombing.” He disappeared into the house again.

Lara looked at Jiana. “Is that true, about fire ants?”

“Bites from fire ants hurt badly,” Jiana admitted, looking down at her own feet, which were two or three sizes bigger than Lara's. “Those shoes won't fit my big feet,” she suggested, but she was wearing practical sandals that were closed in. Lara's were open and strappy. “But you try them on.”

With Levi panting as he watched them, Lara sat on the step to the small porch and tried the shoes on. They were a perfect fit, even if they were the ugliest shoes she'd ever seen. Both girls put the broad brimmed hats on. Leroy appeared again, this time carrying water canteens, a compass, a map, and a rucksack. He looked approvingly at Lara's feet, then spread the map out on the porch and studied it. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” Lara insisted and Jiana nodded.

“You can't change your mind half-way because you'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere and there's no one out there to come to your rescue, other than a few Aborigines.”

“We know what we're doing,” Lara stated with more confidence than she felt. “We want to get home.”

“I haven't any food to give you, so you'll have to live on bush tucker for up to a week.”

“We know that,” Lara said, although she hadn't thought much about what that entailed.

Leroy looked at Jiana. “Are you capable in the bush?” He'd noticed by her speech that she was educated and had been schooled by whites. “Can you find food and water?”

Jiana nodded. “'Cause I can. I'm Larrakia.” She hadn't had to find food when she lived with the Carltons but she'd managed on her way home and had been helped by Aboriginals she'd met along the way. She'd also learnt quite a bit about bush tucker since living with her family again. She was confident they wouldn't starve.

“All right then,” Leroy said. He gave the girls directions using the map. “I've got enough fuel in my vehicle to drop you a good way along the Arnhem Highway. I can't buy any more gas because it's being rationed for the military.”

“Oh, thank you, Leroy, that would be a huge help,” Lara said, feeling contrite for thinking the worst of him.

“Don't thank me because I'm not sure I'm doing you a favor. You've got a lot of billabongs to get around on the way home, and creeks and rivers to cross, so be wary of crocs. I have a little first aid kit, which I've put in the rucksack. You probably know about bush medicine,” he said to Jiana.

“We be fine,” she said confidently.

Leroy didn't share her confidence. “Well take the first aid kit anyway. It might still come in handy.”

Leroy opened a small garage that looked like it wouldn't withstand a stiff breeze, and brought his vehicle out. It was a Ford, the same model as Colin's, but that is where the comparison ended. Leroy kept it in immaculate condition and took great pride in the fact that it had done many miles without giving him any trouble. They set off down the Arnhem Highway, which was near deserted as convoys of army trucks and private vehicles were going south on the Stuart Highway, to Alice Springs.

“How bad was it in the city?” Leroy asked as he drove at quarter of the speed that Colin usually drove. “I saw the planes heading to Bachelor.”

“It was pure Hell,” Lara said truthfully, wishing he'd drive a bit faster. “Jiana and I were on Stokes Hill when the first planes came over and began bombing the harbor. We hid in bushes. We had a front row seat to the horror taking place in the harbor. We'll never get those images out of our minds.”

“I've seen war, so I know what you mean,” Leroy said. “You never forget.”

“We were told that more than two hundred people were killed in the first raid,” Lara said. “It would have been so much worse if most of the people hadn't already been evacuated.”

“I insisted my Louise go, although she didn't want to because I was staying.”

“Why did you stay, Leroy? It's better to lose a few possessions that your life,” Lara said.

“It's the principle. Looters are the lowest of the low. Besides, someone has to feed all the pets and livestock left behind, including horses. It's not right to let them starve to death.”

“You have a good heart, Leroy,” Lara said and she meant it.