Becoming Billy Dare (22 page)

‘I guess he hates me,' said Paddy.

‘He's only acting,' said Clancy mildly.

‘Only half the time. I reckon he got me this job so he could hit me twice a day.'

‘I imagine if you hate someone, you'd want to get as far away from them as possible.'

Paddy snorted and his nose began to bleed again.

‘Look what a pig he's been to me ever since we got to Ballarat.'

‘It's nothing to do with you. Kate told me he has good reasons for being unhappy here. She says he'll buck up when we leave.'

‘What reasons?' Paddy hated to think of Kate taking Eddie's side.

‘Apparently Eddie's father, Tom Whiteley, had a theatre called the Palace here in Ballarat. His first wife was a wild type, came to the goldfields with an English lord and then got herself mixed up with a band of bushrangers and ran off and left him. Old man Whiteley took up with a young girl who was one of the stars of a touring show and they had Eddie but then the Palace burnt down and between the scandal and the fire, Eddie's old man was ruined. At least, that's what he told Kate. He said Ballarat is “steeped in tragedy”.'

‘It sounds like codswallop to me. I bet he made it up to make Kate feel sorry for him.'

Clancy shrugged. ‘seems to have worked, then.'

Paddy stayed backstage after everyone else had left the rehearsal. When he was finally alone in the hall, he walked out onto centre stage.

‘Fight or deliver, pray which do you choose?' he said to the rows of empty seats. He raised an imaginary gun and cocked the pistol, as if he really was playing Lightning Jack. For a moment, he could imagine the place full, every seat taken, the house lights dimmed and hundreds of eyes watching him with rapt attention. It made his skin tingle, to think that he could be the hero at the centre of the story.

When he turned and saw Kate standing in the wings, he blushed and self-consciously ran his hands through his hair. She smiled, which made him blush even more.

‘You'd make a fine Lightning Jack,' she said. She came out onto the stage and spun about, then put her hand to her forehead, pretending to be Ida Golightly. ‘Oh, Jack, you truly are a gentleman and not the rogue they think you. If only Father understood that you are a victim of such cruel injustice!'

Paddy took Kate's hand and looked into her blue eyes. ‘Beautiful Ida, when I see you and think of the happiness that I am denied, I want to challenge the whole world in a fight to the death!'

Kate started giggling and Paddy smiled. When they stood this close to each other, he was aware of how much taller than her he was, of how fragile her hand felt in his. He kept hold of her hand until she blushed and pulled away. She looked at him as if she was puzzled and the silence between them shimmered with things unspoken.

30
Rustlings in the dark

The Ballarat season finished and the company packed up the wagons and set out for Geelong. They took the road south, winding down the long midland highway.

The first night away from town, they pitched camp in an open paddock, under the stars.

Once all the tents were up, Paddy and Clancy built a bonfire and they settled down for a game of cards, but every now and then, Paddy glanced through the flames to where Kate sat beside her mother. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat and when she met Paddy's gaze, firelight reflected in her eyes like gold.

When the fire burnt low, Paddy and Clancy crawled into the small tent they were sharing with two of the other men. It was hot, with so many bodies underneath the thick calico, and Paddy couldn't get comfortable on the narrow camp bed. Finally he gathered up his swag and stepped out into the night. He drew a deep breath of smoky, gum-scented air.

The bonfire had burnt down to a mound of dull, glowing embers and the sky was awash with stars. Around the camp the darkness was thick, except for a stand of giant gums gleaming silver in the starlight.

Paddy heard a rustling sound and then a horse whinnied. He wondered if an animal was fossicking among the camp supplies and he crept closer to the source of the sound. He glimpsed a swirl of white fabric behind one of the wagons. As he stepped nearer, he saw Eddie and Kate, heads close together, whispering.

Quickly, Paddy stepped away, his thoughts racing. Surely, Kate couldn't be interested in having anything to do with Eddie? No, she was above reproach. It was probably a coincidence. Wasn't he wandering around in the dark himself? Maybe the heat had drawn them from their tents and they had simply crossed paths. Paddy felt a little ashamed. He walked away from the camp and spread out his swag in an open field.

A slight cooling breeze rippled through the long grass. Paddy lay on his back under the blaze of stars and wondered what he would have whispered to Kate if it had been him and not Eddie that had bumped into her in the dark. He'd never thought about wanting to talk to a girl before. He imagined Kate was the sort of girl you could tell everything to. She would sit and listen with her head inclined and that half smile on her lips that made her look so beautiful. Paddy tried to imagine talking to her as if she were his sister, as Clancy had instructed, but Paddy had never been able to tell Honor any of his thoughts or dreams. It would be different with Kate.

In Geelong, the troupe took rooms in an old hotel in Ryrie Street. When they'd finished helping unload the wagons, Kate, Paddy and Clancy hung over the balcony and watched the passing traffic.

‘It's good to be out of the scrub and in a decent town again,' said Clancy.

‘I rather liked the scrub, myself,' said Paddy.

‘No audiences in the bush, old bean,' said Clancy.

Kate looked at them and laughed. ‘You two boys are like Tweedledum and Tweedledee. You never seem to agree about anything. Do you think you could agree to accompany me on a walk? I rather fancy seeing the bay.'

‘I think we could definitely agree on that,' said Paddy.

Kate was very quiet on the long walk down to the beach but she listened attentively as Paddy and Clancy argued about which was better, the city or the country.

When they reached the Eastern Beach, they discovered there were two bathing pavilions that stretched far out into the water. If there was nothing else they could agree on, both Paddy and Clancy agreed they should all go for a swim. They walked Kate down to the Ladies' Baths and then raced each other to the men's.

Paddy's hired bathing costume fitted him perfectly but Clancy had trouble keeping the straps of his from sliding off his shoulders. Paddy knotted them at the back so they could both dive off the deep end. When Paddy hit the icy seawater he felt as if he was going down forever, the blue green drawing him deep. As he kicked himself upwards and broke the surface, he felt the pull of old memories. He could almost imagine Dai would haul him out of the sea and onto the deck of the
Lapwing
. It was months since he had thought of Dai, and the memory caught him off guard. He still couldn't think of the past without the darkness threatening to swallow him. He swam to the rusty iron ladder and scrambled back onto the boardwalk.

‘We'd better put our duds back on,' he called to Clancy. ‘We told Kate we'd meet her outside the Ladies' Baths at three.'

‘But we'll be early,' complained Clancy.

Paddy ignored his complaints and hurried back to the change room.

They wandered down the length of the beach towards the women's baths. Suddenly, Clancy went pale.

‘I think we should go back to the hotel,' he said.

‘Why?' asked Paddy, shielding his eyes from the glare.

‘I don't think Kate would appreciate us interrupting.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘For god's sake. Look over there, you dunce,' said Clancy crossly, grabbing Paddy by the arm and pointing.

Paddy stared, his heart sinking. Ahead of them was a long jetty and beneath it, in the shadows, two figures were locked in a passionate embrace. It was Kate and Eddie.

‘Wait. We should rescue her!' said Paddy.

‘She doesn't look as though she needs rescuing,' said Clancy.

‘But the police, if they see them behaving like that in broad daylight, they might arrest them!'

‘Good,' said Clancy, dragging Paddy away. ‘Come on. Let's go. It's none of our business.'

That night the backstage area was electric with tension. As they took their places on the stage, Kate and Clancy argued fiercely, in breathless, angry whispers.

Kate started singing to cue the beginning of the scene, and the curtain started to rise. Suddenly, Kate's song turned into a scream and the audience roared with laughter. Then Paddy saw what had happened. The hook at the bottom of the curtain had caught on Kate's dress. Though she struggled to free herself, the dress rose inexorably along with the curtain until her skirts were up around her head and her bare stomach was exposed to all the audience.

Eddie rushed to Kate's side and ripped her skirts down. There was a tearing of fabric and Mr Bowman began shouting at the stagehands. The curtain descended again and the audience started booing while Kate was led offstage, weeping inconsolably.

‘At least she didn't catch fire,' said Clancy, with a touch of malice. 'minnie Muggeridge took fire – dancing too close to the gaslights at the foot of the stage and poof, her dress went up in smoke. Terrible.'

‘Don't even talk about it,' said Mrs Bowman. ‘You'll bring worse upon us.' She shuddered and reached over to touch a nearby chair. Paddy couldn't imagine that things could get any worse than this.

Later that evening, after the show had finally run its course, Paddy found himself alone with Eddie in the men's dressing room. They didn't speak, silently removing their stage make-up, ignoring each other's presence.

Finally, Eddie spoke. ‘You hate me, boy, don't you?'

Paddy pretended to be busy removing his pencilled eyebrows.

‘Hate's a very strong word,' he answered, trying to sound indifferent, though he knew his voice bristled with dislike.

‘I don't care what you or that Lytton brat think of me,' said Eddie. ‘And you can tell your weasely mate that if he thinks he can bully Kate into avoiding me, he'd better think again.'

‘One word to her father and you'll be out of this company, and good riddance to bad rubbish,' said Paddy.

Eddie laughed. ‘And where would the company be without me? Without Lightning Jack? Without me and Kate, there is no show.'

‘Mr Bowman wouldn't care. If he knew what you were up to, he'd be glad to see the back of you.'

‘So you're going to tell him, are you, you and that bloody Clancy. You'll ruin everything out of sheer malice.'

‘You're the one that's ruining everything,' shouted Paddy. He felt tears of rage threatening to overwhelm him. He leapt to his feet, pushing his chair to the floor. It happened in an instant. His fist caught Eddie on the cheekbone with a satisfying smack.

When Clancy came into the dressing room, he stared in amazement at the figure of Eddie Whiteley, sprawled unconscious on the floor. Paddy stood over him, his face pale, his eyes blazing.

‘Good Lord, old bean!' said Clancy. ‘You haven't killed him, have you?'

31
Becoming Billy Dare

Ted Bowman wasn't happy about his leading man having a black eye, but neither Eddie nor Paddy would explain how he came by it.

When the Geelong season finished, the troupe moved on to Winchelsea. Even though it was only November, the days were blazing. Every performance was a torment for Paddy. Dressed in his thick woollen uniform with layers of padding to fatten him up, he dripped with sweat. And each night, when it came to the scene where Eddie punched him, either his lip or his nose dripped blood that mingled with the sweat. By the time they reached Colac, Eddie's bruise had faded but Paddy was sporting a seriously swollen lip.

Farmers from all over the district were in Colac for the agricultural show and Mr Lytton was busy all morning, selling tickets for a week's performances. After the tent was erected, Paddy and Clancy went into town and gave out handbills advertising the show to the people who were milling at the showgrounds. When they arrived back at the camp, they found it in uproar.

Everyone was gathered around the campfire where Mrs Bowman sat weeping.

‘the scandal, the scandal,' moaned Mrs Bowman, putting her head in her hands and bursting into tears. 'my poor Kate, my poor, silly child.'

‘We'll have to go after them. Get her back before they do anything rash,' said her husband.

‘It's too late for that,' moaned Mrs Bowman. ‘they've caught the train at least two hours ago. They'll be in Melbourne by now.'

‘Damn the girl,' roared Mr Bowman. ‘What about the show? I've already sold out for the first three nights. Half the bloody town will turn up tonight and we've nothing to give them! They'll tear the tent down. Damn that Eddie Whiteley! I'll have his hide when I catch them.'

‘We can't afford to not do anything,' said Lytton, taking off his hat and running his hand through his thinning hair. ‘It would be the ruin of us.'

Clancy stepped forward and put a hand on his father's arm.

‘Father, we can still do the show without Eddie and Kate. Paddy and I know all their lines.'

‘And which of you will play Ida, may I ask?'

Clancy sighed. ‘I will. It's not as if I haven't played a girl before. You know Mother can make me look at least as pretty as Kate.'

Mr Lytton managed a grim smile.

‘You might make a fine Ida, but Paddy's too young to play Lightning Jack. He's just a strip of a boy.'

‘He can, Father, I know he can. He's taller than me. He's easily as tall as Eddie. We could pad out his jacket a little and he'd be a better Lightning Jack than Whiteley ever was.'

‘the handbills all have Whiteley on them and the posters.'

‘We'll make an announcement. Billy Smith in the role of the bushranger Lightning Jack.'

‘Clancy's right,' said Paddy. ‘I can do Lightning Jack just as well as Eddie. But not as Billy Smith. Call me Billy Dare.'