The Sequin Star (9 page)

Claire clapped and cheered. She exchanged admiring glances with Kit.

‘That was terrifying,' Kit admitted. ‘I thought one of them would fall and be trampled for sure.'

‘But never Rosina,' Claire said.

The grand finale was a Spanish couple, Adella and Carlos, swinging through the air on the double trapeze, high above the net. Lights twinkled up on the tent ceiling like hundreds of stars. The aerialists swung back and forth, somersaulting from one silver swing to another as though they were flying. Then Adella performed a double somersault and Carlos caught her by her outstretched hands. Claire held her breath until they were safely back on the platforms.

The tent lights glowed brighter and everyone stood. The show was sadly, impossibly over. Claire and Kit wandered out into the cool night air. Claire shivered. All around were crowds of people chatting and laughing. Children screeched with excitement. Families discussed their favour­ite moments from the performance. But all those people made Claire feel strangely alone.

Kit glanced about the lot, as though he was looking for something. He seemed to have forgotten Claire. He turned towards the entry to the lot where his limousine was parked. The chauffeur was chatting to a couple of the circus workers.

Kit held up five fingers. The chauffeur nodded and continued his conversation.

‘Well, thank you for the popcorn,' said Claire. ‘I should head back to the caravan.'

Kit remembered his manners and smiled. ‘Goodnight, Claire, and thank you for your company. I hope I'll see you again soon.'

Claire softened and smiled. ‘That would be lovely.'

Claire set off for the caravan but paused part way there and looked back. Kit was wandering between the tents, drinking in the sights and sounds.
Is he really my grand­father?
Claire wondered.
How can I find out? And what is he doing hanging around the circus?

8
Eviction

The next day Alf asked Rosina, Claire and Jem to take all the dogs for a walk early in the morning. There were seven of them, including Jaspar, so the girls had two dogs each on leads, while Jem had the three. Together the three of them sauntered down the main street, taking in the people, houses and sights.

Jem suggested they head left, in the opposite direction to the way they had gone yesterday following Elsie. After a while they branched off the main road and into the residential back streets in search of a park where they could let the dogs run off the lead.

The houses seemed to become shabbier and smaller. There were many signs of neglect, including peeling paint, boarded-up windows and falling-down fences. In a tiny front yard, a woman was hoeing a small vegetable garden. She waved as they passed.

They turned right down another street. Ahead of them was a group of people milling around on the footpath. Three of them wore the navy blue uniforms and caps of police officers. The others were members of a family, with all their furniture piled on the street.

‘Poor blighters,' whispered Jem as they drew closer. Four young children clung about the skirts of the mother, who was desperately trying not to cry. The father stood to the side, his head down and shoulders slumped. They all looked thin and downtrodden.

Two men came from inside, carrying a bed. They piled it on top of the other furniture.

‘What's happening?' asked Claire. ‘Are they moving out? And why are the policemen carrying the furniture?'

‘It's an eviction,' said Rosina. ‘The family obviously hasn't been able to pay their rent, so the bailiffs are moving them out. The police are there to make sure they go without any trouble.'

‘The poor things,' said Claire. ‘Where will they go?'

‘Who knows?' said Jem. ‘Perhaps to relatives . . . or a susso camp. In one town we visited, a family had been camping on the footpath outside their old house for weeks as a protest, with just a tarpaulin thrown over their furniture. Eventually they were persuaded to move when the rain nearly washed them away.'

‘What's a susso camp?' asked Claire. Jem and Rosina exchanged exasperated glances.

‘Jeepers,' said Jem. ‘Sometimes I wonder what rock you've been living under for the last few years.'

‘A susso camp is like a shanty town, where lots of unemployed families live in little huts made of cardboard, sacks and scrap corrugated iron,' Rosina explained. ‘Everyone who lives there is on the susso – you know, the government sustenance payment.'

Claire was still confused but was reluctant to show her ignorance.

‘My mum lives in a susso camp with all my brothers and sisters,' added Jem. ‘Surely you've heard the kids' rhyme:

“We're on the susso now,We can't afford a cow,We live in a tent, We pay no rent, We're on the susso now.” '

Claire shook her head. Rosina and Jem laughed.

‘You're a mutton head,' said Jem. ‘I think my six-year-old sister has more sense.'

‘It's the depression,' said Rosina. ‘So many men have lost their jobs, and there simply isn't any work to be found. The dole gives families some basic food, but no money for rent. Thousands of people have been evicted.'

They strolled past the family and their pathetic pile of possessions. The four woebegone children, with their patched and ragged clothes, watched Claire, Rosina and Jem. The mother wiped her eyes on her apron, which was made from a sugar bag.

Jem glared at the bailiffs. ‘Don't you feel ashamed of yourselves, throwing a family out on the streets with nowhere to live?'

‘Just doin' me job, mate,' said one.

The youngest girl buried her face in her mother's skirts and sobbed. Rosina smiled at the miserable children and gestured to the two dogs on her lead.

‘Twinkles, Sally –
hup
,' ordered Rosina.

The dogs jumped up on their hind legs obediently and began to strut along, their forepaws tucked up. Lula, in her red jacket, scrambled up on Sally's back, clinging onto her collar.

‘Dance,' added Rosina.

The dogs pranced around in tight pirouettes, as though to music. Lula waved her arm in the air like a rodeo rider.

‘Look, Ma,' said the oldest girl with wide eyes. ‘It's a monkey! And dancing dogs!'

Her brother grinned. ‘What else can they do?' The youngest took her head out of her mother's skirts and watched.

‘Flip-flaps,' suggested Jem. He unclipped the leads from his three dogs then sprang into a series of somersaults across the street. The three dogs followed, springing from back paws to front paws to back paws in spinning circles. Lula sprang down and followed their lead.

‘Ma, they're the kids from the circus,' said the eldest, jiggling up and down with excitement. ‘Remember? We saw the parade? They're the girls who were riding the elephants.'

A smile lit up the worn face of the mother. The bailiffs were now carrying out a large armchair. They propped it down on the pavement to watch the dogs' antics.

‘
Hup
,' said Claire to the dogs she was leading.

The white poodle barked at her. The tan-and-white terrier sniffed the ground and wagged his tail. The children laughed.

‘She's an apprentice dog trainer,' explained Jem, with a twinkle in his eye. ‘She's not very good yet.
Hup
, girls.'

Immediately, Claire's two dogs jumped up on their hind legs and strutted along, looking very proud of themselves. Claire grinned and shrugged.

Everyone was so focused on the dogs' tricks that at first they didn't notice what was happening.

A commotion sounded from further up the street. Claire glanced in its direction, startled. A large crowd of rowdy people was approaching. The men carried crowbars and pick handles. They saw the policemen on the pavement and began to run towards them. The policemen unbuckled their truncheons and pulled their revolvers.

‘Oh no,' said Jem. ‘Looks like trouble. We'd better scram.' He whistled to his three dogs and clipped the leads back onto their collars.

Rosina spun around and started walking in the opposite direction, her dogs following closely.

‘The kids,' said Claire, gesturing to the family by the furniture. ‘They shouldn't be here.'

The mother looked terrified. She scooped the youngest up in her arms. Hugging the children to her, she hurried towards the three friends.

‘Can we help?' asked Rosina. ‘We need to get out of here fast.'

The woman nodded. Rosina picked up the next youngest child. Claire took the hand of the eldest girl and hurried back the way they had come.

Jaspar barked loudly at the coming threat, his hackles raised.

‘It's okay, boy,' Jem soothed. ‘We'll be all right.'

Jem glanced back. The menacing crowd had surrounded the house, and the men were flinging rocks at the policemen. The children's father was taking refuge behind his furniture. Two men in the mob looked familiar.

‘Hey, that's Flash Frank and Roy,' cried Jem. ‘What are they doing in the middle of an eviction riot?'

‘No time to worry about that,' said Rosina. ‘Let's go.'

The group hurried back towards the main road, escorting the family to a friend's house nearby. As the three friends walked away, the mother stood on the front veranda, her children clustered around her. She looked cowed and beaten. Claire felt so sad for them.

That evening after the show, Claire sat with Rosina and Jem beside the campfire. They were sipping on hot cups of tea, sweet with condensed milk.

Frank and Roy wandered past on their way from the cookhouse. Roy had a nasty bruise on his forehead, while Frank had a black eye.

‘Are you all right, Frank?' asked Rosina. ‘That eye looks nasty.'

Frank grinned. ‘Oh, it's nothing really. Roy and I just got into a bit of a spat with some townies earlier.'

‘I know,' said Jem. ‘We saw you both at the eviction in town today.' Roy looked guilty, but Frank just nodded.

‘We heard about it at the pub yesterday,' Frank said. ‘Sounded like they could use some help. A family with young tackers getting chucked out of their home – it's just not right. Some of the blokes thought we should go and protest.'

‘What happened?' asked Jem. ‘Looks like you got roughed up a bit.'

‘The coppers attacked us with blasted batons,' explained Roy. ‘We fought 'em off, but then the police pulled their revolvers and threatened to shoot. We scarpered out of there.'

‘What about the family?' asked Rosina. ‘Did the protest work? Did they get their house back?'

‘Nah,' said Frank. ‘We just wanted to show them that they can't trample all over battlers without a fight.'

‘Do you know what will happen to the family now?' asked Claire.

‘They're staying with rellies for a few days,' said Roy. ‘But they'll probably end up at one of the susso camps. There's nowhere else for them to go.'

‘The old man got the sack a couple of years ago,' added Frank. ‘He was a digger. He fought for this country and now he's chucked out in the streets like a mongrel. It's a bleedin' disgrace.'

Jem and Rosina exchanged glances. Jaspar growled softly, uncomfortable with the tension in the air.

‘It's tough,' agreed Rosina, ‘but people will pull together and help them. The family will be all right.'

‘Not if those snooty New Guard nobs have their way,' retorted Frank. ‘I reckon they'd sooner shoot the workers than help them.'

Frank and Roy stumbled off towards their own campfire.

‘What was that all about?' asked Claire. ‘Frank seemed pretty heated.'

Jem nodded. ‘He's had a tough life. He gets narky sometimes.'

‘He was a digger who fought in the Great War,' explained Rosina. ‘He came back and settled with his family on a block of land provided by the government. When the depression hit, he lost everything.'

‘Frank's family lives in Newcastle,' Jem added. ‘He joined the circus a couple of years ago and worked just for food and a spot in the camp. Whenever there's any spare money, he sends it to his wife and kids.'

‘Sometimes he just gets really angry about life,' said Rosina. ‘I wish he wouldn't. It doesn't change things.'

Jem picked up his violin, which was lying in its case behind him. ‘What does change things is some good music,' he suggested. ‘And I know just the lad for the job.'

Jem struck up a melodious tune, his bow flying over the strings. Claire smiled and settled back in her chair, her feet on the ring of stones around the fire. A number of the other circus performers came closer to listen. Jaspar lay by the fire, his head to one side, and whined.

Lula jumped down and began to sway and jiggle to the music. Rosina began to sing in a voice that was strong and clear. It was an old folk song about love and loss and hope.

The singing, the music, the fire and the company all filled Claire's heart. It made her feel something bigger than just herself. It made her feel strong.