To Chase the Storm: The Frontier Series 4

BOOK: To Chase the Storm: The Frontier Series 4
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Peter Watt has spent time as a soldier, articled clerk, prawn trawler deckhand, builder’s labourer, pipe layer, real estate salesman, private investigator, police sergeant and adviser to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. He has lived and worked with Aborigines, Islanders, Vietnamese and Papua New Guineans and he speaks, reads and writes Vietnamese and Pidgin.
Good friends, fine food, fishing and the vast open spaces of outback Queensland are his main interests in life. Peter lives at Finch Hatton in Queensland and is currently working on the sequel to his novel
Papua
.
Peter Watt can be contacted at
www.peterwatt.com

Excerpts from emails sent to Peter Watt since his first novel was published:

‘At last Australia has its own Wilbur Smith! Keep on writing (PLEASE!).’ Mike, Australia

‘Thanks for coming to the rescue. I have just finished all of Ken Follett’s books, have read all of Clive Cussler’s books, and then was stumped for someone new.’ Noel, South Africa

‘I have read the novels and series of many authors including Wilbur Smith, Bryce Courtenay, Jeffrey Archer and Jean Auel and right down to Len Deighton’s spy series and thoroughly enjoyed them all. But the enjoyment I derived from your trilogy surpassed all of the aforementioned . . . don’t make us wait too long for another novel.’ Martin, Australia

Also by Peter Watt

Cry of the Curlew
Shadow of the Osprey
Flight of the Eagle
Papua

TO          
CHASE
   THE
STORM

PETER
WATT

For my much loved aunt Joan Letitia Payne, nee Duffy,
of Tweed Heads, one of Duckie’s Daughters

 

 

 

 

First published 2003 in Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
This Pan edition published 2004 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street, Sydney
Reprinted 2004
Copyright © Peter Watt 2003
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in
writing from the publisher.

 

 

National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

 

 

Watt, Peter, 1949–.
To chase the storm.

 

 

ISBN 0 330 36485 5.

 

 

I. Title.

 

 

A823.4

 

 

Set in 11.5/13 pt Bembo by Post Pre-press Group
Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group

 

 

Papers used by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd are natural,
recyclable products made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The
manufacturing processes conform to the environmental
regulations of the country of origin.

 

These electronic editions published in 2007 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney 2000
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced
or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any
person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any
form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying,
recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the
publisher.

 

 

To Chase the Storm
Peter Watt

 

 

Adobe eReader format 978-1-74197-167-5
Microsoft Reader format 978-1-74197-368-6
Mobipocket format 978-1-74197-569-7
Online format 978-1-74197-770-7
Epub format 978-1-74262-403-7

 

 

Macmillan Digital Australia
www.macmillandigital.com.au
Visit
www.panmacmillan.com.au
to read more about all our books and to buy
both print and ebooks online. You will also find features, author interviews and
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Contents

Acknowledgements

PROLOGUE

END OF A CENTURY

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

A NEW CENTURY

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-THREE

TWENTY-FOUR

TWENTY-FIVE

TWENTY-SIX

TWENTY-SEVEN

TWENTY-EIGHT

TWENTY-NINE

THIRTY

THIRTY-ONE

THIRTY-TWO

THIRTY-THREE

THIRTY-FOUR

BIRTH OF A NATION

THIRTY-FIVE

THIRTY-SIX

THIRTY-SEVEN

THIRTY-EIGHT

THIRTY-NINE

FORTY

FORTY-ONE

FORTY-TWO

FORTY-THREE

FORTY-FOUR

FORTY-FIVE

FORTY-SIX

FORTY-SEVEN

FORTY-EIGHT

FORTY-NINE

FIFTY

FIFTY-ONE

EPILOGUE

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Acknowledgements

A
s always, my special thanks for the hard work of turning a manuscript into a novel go to my publisher at Pan Macmillan Cate Paterson, ably assisted by Chris Mattey, my editor Simone Ford and patient copy editor Jan Hutchinson. For the artwork my thanks again to Deborah Parry and, for the ongoing support with regards to publicity, to Jane Novak. Special thanks go to an old friend – also my agent – Geoffrey Radford of Anthony Williams Management. I would like to extend my thanks to Rea Francis of RF Media for her continuing support as well as Brian Cook from the Manuscript Appraisal Agency. For ongoing technical advice from my old mate Phil Murphy in Cairns, my many thanks. Also to my sister and brother-in-law, Kerry and Ty Mckee, for helping in the transfer from Tweed Heads to Finch Hatton. To my wonderful mother, Elinor Watt, and all my family for their unstinting encouragement to keep writing – I cannot
thank you enough. To my old
wantok
Robert Bozek and Nadine, whose flow of information in cyberspace keeps me up to date on so many matters, my thanks.

Since the publication of my last novel,
Papua
, I have lost three very important people from my life. I would like to acknowledge their importance to me personally and professionally. My wonderful agent, Tony Williams, who passed away October of 2002: I will miss his company and conversation as much as his sound advice. To his sister Leonie and family in Perth I send my heartfelt thoughts. Beverley Harper, a truly great writer in this genre, also passed away last year. I will miss the times we spent around the barbecue laughing at ourselves and discussing the ins and outs of being authors. Fortunately Bev lives forever in our memories and in the words she has written. Finally, my aunt Marjery Leigh passed away last year and I will miss the support she gave me when I was struggling. Like some of my Aboriginal friends, I believe that their spirits now shine as brightly as stars in the constellation of the Southern Cross. We see them forever.

Not least of all my love and gratitude goes to Naomi Howard-Smith. She is there when times get hard.

And he sees through the rents of the scattering fogs
,
The corroboree warlike and grim
,
And the lubra who sat by the fire on the logs
,
To watch, like a mourner, for him
.

‘The Last of His Tribe’, Henry Kendall

 

PROLOGUE
1899

T
he woman wore an old cotton shift that recorded the circumstances of her life. It had been torn and patched many times and the red dust of the brigalow scrub plains had turned the once white dress to a deep pink.

BOOK: To Chase the Storm: The Frontier Series 4
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