The Outback (5 page)

He knew that the lie was
obvious, but she seemed to accept his attempt to be positive. If he was going
to get anywhere with her it was important that he made a good early impression.
So far he felt that he was succeeding.

‘Most of the guys that
come through here cannot see past the desert,’ she said. ‘They think it is
boring and lifeless, but they are missing out on so much.’

Matt nodded in what he
hoped was a thoughtful way.

‘As soon as we get a
clear night, you’ll see the true beauty of this place,’ she said. ‘You are in
for a real treat, I promise you.’

‘I certainly hope so,’
he replied.

Colin glanced over at
Matt to check on his progress. Matt saw this as a good time to break off the
conversation. He thought it better to play it cool and quit whilst he was ahead
rather than risk jeopardizing all of the groundwork he had put in.

‘I guess I’ll see you at
dinner,’ he told Jenny. ‘Right now we better get this stuff back to the van.’
Then turning to Colin, he added; ‘are you ready?’

The Irishman offered
Rose a shrug and waited for the girls to be out of earshot before responding.

‘I’m readier than you
are, you bastard.’

Though his friend’s tone
was playful, Matt could sense an undercurrent of frustration in it.

‘What’s that supposed to
mean?’

‘This nice guy routine
of yours is never going to work. You need to lay your cards on the table from
the start. If she doesn’t see through your bluff you still run the risk of
becoming the gay best friend.’

‘Don’t go judging me by
your own standards,’ Matt protested. ‘Not everyone is as shallow as you.
Besides which, she is starting to warm towards me.’

‘Is that so,’ said
Colin. ‘In case you haven’t done the math, you aren’t the only guy around here
without regular female companionship.’

Matt had not really
considered that he may have competition. He assumed Stephen and Niall were not
interested, because if they were they would surely have made a move already and
Hiro could barely even speak English. This left only Jonas as a possible rival.

‘You’re referring to our
young German friend, aren’t you?’

‘I will admit that he’s
got less of a chance than you, but if he makes a play for her it could make
things awkward.’

Matt fully understood
the point the Irishman was making. Once a friend stakes his claim on a girl, it
is extremely bad form to try and take her away from him.

‘Do you think I should
let him know that I’m interested in her?’ he asked.

‘Only if you want to
speed up his own advances. Until one of you makes an actual move, it’s a level
playing field; trust me,’ advised Colin.

This certainly gave Matt
something to think about. When they visited the dining block for dinner he
wanted to make sure that he chose a more advantageous seat at the table than
the German. It was obvious to everyone that Colin and Rose had coupled up, so
to establish all of them as a foursome would hopefully convince the others that
Jenny and he would soon be an item too.

Other than the shower
block, the dining hall was the only permanently fixed part of the caravan park.
It was comprised of four large ten seated tables, although only one was covered
with a table cloth and cutlery when Matt entered. The others, though not in
use, did hint towards a time when the town may actually have been frequented by
tourists. Jenny was seated at the end of the table with her sister beside her.
Stephen and Niall were opposite and Colin took the seat next to Rose, leaving
Matt to take the seat facing him. It was not quite what he had hoped for, but
it at least kept Jonas out of the picture.

Last to enter the room
was Celeste. This was the first time that the newcomers had seen her. She wore
a simple vest top and jeans, but had the type of body that required no dressing
up to receive compliments. Stephen was the only one not to stop and stare when
she entered. As she took her seat she brushed a lock of delicately curled
strawberry blonde hair from her face. The slowness of the action suggested it
was not merely for her own benefit that she did this.

Rose reluctantly made
the introductions. It was unlikely she saw the girl as a threat, but it was
obvious to everyone that she did not like her. In fact, Celeste did not inspire
solidarity in either of her female acquaintances. Jonas, however, took an
instant shine to her, which could not have turned out better for Matt. If this
new distraction kept the German preoccupied it would pave the way clear for him
with Jenny.

Once everyone was seated
the food was brought out. The meal was composed of just one course and it was
simple, yet substantial. Since the daily lunch rations would consist of nothing
more than processed cheese sandwiches and a chocolate biscuit, the evening meal
was a treat to be savoured.

As they ate, the young
backpackers talked about their homes and families. They shared traveller’s
tales of adventures past and those yet to come. Not once did they broach the
subject of what had brought them all together in the first place; work. For the
next hour, it was as if they could have been sat at any table, in any hostel,
anywhere in the world.

Chapter 4

The window of the caravan
was permeated by a blinding light. This was followed by a blaring horn, which
had the effect of applying a defibrillator to the dead of night; a sudden shot
of electricity bringing life to the predawn darkness. The work bus had arrived.

‘Jesus Christ!’ said
Colin, but before he could elaborate further he was interrupted by a knock at
the door.

‘It’s Joe,’ said Matt,
peering behind the flimsy curtain that covered the window.

He opened the door
slightly, where he was simply told ‘fifteen minutes’ by his boss.

The two men fumbled to
get dressed in the cramped van. They then hurried along to the shower block to
brush their teeth before joining their workmates outside. It was bitingly cold
and everybody shivered beneath their hastily applied layers of clothing.

‘Nobody warned that we
were on the nightshift,’ said Matt. ‘Please tell me we aren’t expected to get
up this early every day.’

‘It’s a quarter to six,’
said Niall. ‘It’ll be light soon and that will wake you up. We have to start
this early to avoid the worst of the afternoon sun. You’ll quickly get used to
it.’

They all shuffled onto
the bus for the hour long drive to the field where they would be working. There
was no conversation during the journey. Some of them drifted off back to sleep,
whilst others merely stared blindly out of the windows. Matt was in the latter
group. Looking out onto the flattest horizon he had ever seen he could begin to
see signs of why Jenny liked it so much out there. The rising sun painted
thick, even bands of colour along the bottom of the skyline, which contrasted
heavily with the darkness below. As the light increased, kangaroos could be
seen bounding away from the roadside with an almost balletic elegance. It was
the Australia he had previously only dreamed of.

Everyone was woken with
a jolt when Joe pulled the bus off the smooth tarmac of the highway and onto a
rough unsealed road leading to the field. When they arrived, there were two
other vehicles waiting for them. Both automobiles were white, as had been the
vast majority of those parked around the town the previous afternoon. Colour
was an extravagance that it seemed could be done without in rural Australia.
The first car was a dust battered saloon from out of which stepped two
Aboriginal men.

Joe introduced the
Aboriginal men as Sam and Paul. They were father and son. Sam, who was the
elder, drove the tractor and his son Paul would be labouring with the
backpackers. The younger man was greeted warmly by the original workers,
showing that he was one of the gang. The driver of the ute was not as
personable. He had a permanent scowl fixed in place as he looked over the new
recruits.

‘This is Rhett,’ said
Joe. ‘He will be managing things here for the next few months as I have to
attend to business out of town.’

The man did not look
like management material. He possessed harsh, almost feral features and was
dressed in scruffy blue overalls, which were a remnant from some previous
factory job. The garment had a nametag sewn onto it bearing the name of
R
Butler
. Colin gave Matt a nudge in the side and sniggered when he saw it.

Once the introductions were
dispensed with, the backpackers were placed into formation around the tractor
and trailer. Whatever crop once grew in the field had been bulldozed, leaving
behind a load of wooden debris. In order for a new plantation to begin, this
all had to be cleared, which is where the stick pickers came into the equation.

Colin and Hiro were
placed in an advanced wide position covering the flanks. They were to throw
wood in towards the centre, where Matt and Jonas would then deposit it onto a
trailer, which was attached to the tractor. The three girls occupied the
central channel directly behind the vehicle, which carried the least heavy
lifting as they would deposit their wood directly onto the open back of the
trailer. Stephen and Niall had a slightly different job. They were in charge of
lighting the bonfires and taking care of any larger immobile logs that could
not be lifted onto the trailer easily by hand. That left just Paul, who acted
as a floating hand, helping out when and where he was needed.

With everyone in place,
it was time to begin. Rhett and Joe remained by the vehicles to talk over their
plans, whilst the tractor pulled away at a comfortable pace for the pickers to
keep up. Even though the days were hot, they did take time to get going. The
early morning was cool and everyone took to the work with enthusiasm, if only
to keep the blood flowing and generate some heat.

Conversation was light
to begin with. Rose and Jenny were clearly not at ease with the Canadian girl
around them and the boys were too busy concentrating on learning their job.
Although Matt was placed closer to the girls, he soon became envious of Colin
and Hiro. They both threw with reckless abandon as they simply had to move the
wood with the security of knowing that whatever they missed could be later
picked up by somebody else. Those around the trailer were not afforded such
luxury.

‘They got the easy job,’
said Jonas, who had noticed the same thing. ‘Do you think they will swap with
us after our break?’

‘Would you?’ asked Matt,
who was behind Hiro and struggled to keep pace as the Japanese man kept on
adding to the already substantial debris in his catchment zone.

‘I see your point,’ the
German conceded. ‘Maybe if we ask one of the bosses they will make them swap.’

Matt glanced back to
where Joe and Rhett remained locked in conversation over some plans that they
had lain out on the bonnet of the ute. Neither man seemed particularly interested
in the heavily guarded motorcade as it advanced across the field.

‘I wouldn’t bet on it,’
he replied. ‘They have a strange mentality in these parts. Complaining would
almost certainly guarantee that we end up doing this job until the day that we
leave here.’

‘So let’s have fun
then,’ said the German. ‘Maybe they move us to the easy job as punishment.’

Their conversation was
interrupted by a voice from behind. The girls had previously been so quiet that
Matt had almost forgotten they were there.

‘I hope you boys aren’t
struggling,’ teased Rose. ‘We girls will be counting on you if we need help,
won’t we Jen?’

Her sister ignored the
insinuation. Although she did not struggle physically, she was focused mentally
on the job in front of her. This was an attitude that could not have contrasted
more heavily with the third girl in the group. Celeste could not have been any
more disengaged from the task at hand. She ambled lazily behind the sisters,
stopping only to shift the most obvious objects that could not justifiably be
left alone. If the girls complained about her not pulling her weight, she
ignored them. If one of the guys complained, she would simply flirt with them
until the indiscretion was long forgotten.

‘I would gladly help
out,’ said Matt. ‘The only trouble is that I cannot leave my post while Hiro
continues to provide so much work for me.’

‘Maybe you should switch
sides with Jonas,’ Rose suggested. ‘I don’t think that Colin is much of a
workaholic.’

She gestured to where
Colin was lazily throwing wood in toward the centre, whilst a bewildered Paul
tried to demonstrate how he should be doing it. The German was quick to prove
that he, however, was pulling his weight. He deposited two logs together onto
the top of the trailer, which took it to capacity. The young Aboriginal man
immediately noticed this and jogged over whilst signalling for his father to
kill the engine.

‘Who wants to unhook the
trailer?’ he asked.

Although Jonas was the
closest, he made no effort to volunteer himself, so Matt stepped forward. If
first impressions counted, he decided that he may at least try to look keen on
his first day at work. Paul explained the procedure to him. The trailer was
released by pulling a simple leaver, but the real skill was in the timing. Once
the connection was broken it was imperative to get out of the way as quickly as
possible. The tractor would reverse, which tipped the trailer into an upright
position, depositing its contents onto the dry soil. When all of the wood was
offloaded, Sam would accelerate forward to right the trailer, which was then
reattached by pulling the lever in the opposite direction. With practice the
sequence could be completed in mere seconds.

‘Too easy,’ declared
Matt, proudly displaying his grasp of the Aussie vernacular as well as the
instructions given to him.

‘Don’t get cocky,’
warned Paul. ‘If you do not move out of the way before the tractor reverses,
things could get very messy. Last year a fella broke his back in a tractor
accident not too far from here.’

The Aboriginal’s
statement grabbed Matt’s full attention. He knew that the job would be boring,
but he never expected it to be dangerous as well.

‘Are such accidents
common?’ he asked.

‘Not the serious kind,
but you could easily lose a finger or a thumb if you aren’t quick enough.’

‘Are you kidding me? Is
nobody here the least bit concerned about health and safety?’

‘Of course,’ said Paul.
‘If you die it can take up to a week for the boss man to get a replacement. A
lot of work can be lost in a week.’

Matt had no response. He
was completely dumbfounded by Paul’s remarks, much to the amusement of the
young Aboriginal.

‘You white fella’s are
priceless,’ Paul said, before giving the Englishman a reassuring pat on the
back. ‘With dad driving that tractor you have nothing to worry about. He’s done
this most of his life and he never hit nobody yet.’

‘Glad to hear it,’
replied a much relieved Matt. ‘We should probably make up a rota though. It’s
only fair that everyone gets their turn.’

By the time the second
load was filled the group had been working for close to two hours so they took
the opportunity to have their first break. Talk immediately turned toward the
stranger who would be taking charge the next time that they started work.

‘Have any of you seen
that guy before?’ asked Colin, who then lit a cigarette before taking a
prolonged drag.

‘He’s never been here
while we were working,’ replied Stephen, who took the lighter from Colin.
‘There is something familiar about him though, that I cannot quite place.’

‘I don’t trust him,’ said
Colin. ‘I think he’s an ex-con.’

All eyes turned toward
the Australian. Rhett was in his early fifties, but could have passed for
twenty years above that. It was fair to say that the years had not been kind to
him. His skin was worn and creased, with thick grey stubble spread over it like
moss on the bark of a tree. From this unkempt mess around his mouth, a small
white stick was visible.

‘He looks more like a
cop,’ said Matt. ‘Didn’t Kojak used to suck on a lollipop like that?’

‘That’s not a lollipop stick,’
said Colin. ‘It’s a cigarette.’

‘That’s ridiculous. It’s
much too small to be a cigarette. How could anybody even roll one that small?’

‘Like I said; I think
he’s an ex con.’

Matt failed to make the
connection that his friend had.

‘So he’s running low on
tobacco. That’s not illegal, is it?’

‘It’s a prison rollie.
Convicts always roll them that tightly. Obviously it’s a habit that sticks.’

Matt still failed to
make a connection.

‘I think you’re just
being paranoid. You can’t go accusing people of things because of the way they
roll their cigarettes. We should at least give the guy a chance.’

‘I wasn’t accusing
anyone of anything,’ said Colin. ‘I was only making an observation, that’s
all.’

‘Maybe your man Paul
knows something about this guy,’ suggested Niall. ‘We could ask him.’

The young Aboriginal was
still stoking the most recent bonfire when he was called over to shed some
light on the mystery man.

‘Do you know anything
about the new gaffer over there?’ asked Niall.

Paul did not give an
immediate response. He instead looked to his father for guidance. The struts of
the tractor cab obscured the older man’s face, so the group could not see what
gesture he made to his son. Paul nodded his understanding before speaking to
the backpackers.

‘He’s the new boss man.
That’s all you need to know.’

Nobody was convinced.

‘Come on, Paul,’ urged
Rose. ‘You obviously know something. We’re all friends here, so there’s no harm
in sharing whatever it is that you know with us.’

‘There’s nothing to
tell,’ he insisted.

Before anybody could
badger the Aboriginal further Joe signalled that the break was over and for
everyone to return to their positions around the tractor.

The next few hours
passed quickly and they had all worked up large appetites by lunchtime.
However, the final section after lunch would prove to be the toughest part of
the day. With the sun at its highest point in the sky there was to be no escape
from its energy sapping rays.