THE DEPRIVED... Chapter 4...Part 18.

A continuation of my book.

It was early the next morning when Sam woke and left the tent, to find Walking Tom already squatting on the ground outside. O’Connor came out of the shack with a bundle of food wrapped in skins and a large skin bag of water from the river. She Who Smiles had woken as Sam had left the tent and now came out of the tent to join the group.
“No.” said Sam, pushing the girl away. “You can’t come.”
“She’ll only follow you if you don’t allow her to go.” warned O’Connor. “And you will find her very useful on your walkabout.” he confided.
Walking Tom seemed impatient to be off and began to walk out into the distance before stopping and turning to look back.
“Off you go.” said the old man, affably. “Otherwise he’ll go without you.”
Sam hefted the food and water over both shoulders and set out to follow Walking Tom, with She Who Smiles walking beside him.

It seemed the Aborigine people had no desire to carry heavy weights or become slaves to others. If asked to help with the carrying they would laugh and walk away and, in this way, Sam had to shoulder his own responsibility. Walking Tom and She Who Smiles could walk all day without stopping for food or drink, seeming to have an extreme of energy and stamina which was a continual surprise to Sam. However they did stop and wait when Sam needed to sit and drink from the skin and take out some food which he chewed as he walked. Again, both of them refused to eat the food Sam offered, finding grubs and eating some of the growth which sprang sparsely from the ground. They sucked pebbles and could go for an extraordinary length of time before Walking Tom dug into the earth and extracted the damp soil from which he extracted the moisture with which he and She Who Smiles quenched their thirst. It seemed to Sam that Walking Tom spent his day wandering aimlessly over the earth, following no particular trail and going round in circles, sometimes stopping at a spot Sam was certain they had visited before. When out on this kind of walkabout Sam had to put total faith in Walking Tom and trusting that the Aborigine knew where he was going. Sam lost track of the days, only understanding the dark at night and the sun of the day.

It must have been some two weeks of wandering before Walking Tom came to a steep rise and climbing to the top he stopped and pointed downwards. Sam stood at the crest of the hill and gazed down at the scene below. The run down to the flatlands below seemed to turn from the red of sandy soil to a carpet of green and down in the distance Sam could make out the buildings of wood and white stone. In the centre of the spread stood a larger building, around which tiny figures walked about, while higher on the grassy slopes beyond were dotted groups of grazing sheep, like small puffs of fluffy clouds against a green sky. Walking Tom pointed down at the sheep with a grin and Sam guessed he meant they had come to steal one. Sam shook his head and Walking Tom frowned, not understanding why they should come all this way and not take something. Sam noted the corral to the fore of the buildings which contained six or seven horses. This was a sizable ranch and he drew She Who Smiles close to his side, to point down at the buildings.
“Sheep!” he said.
The girl looked at him, not understanding.
“Sheep!” he said again, pointing and wildly gesticulating. Then a third time. “Sheep!… Sheep!”
She Who Smiles matched Sam’s pointing finger with her own.
“Sheep.” she said quietly, unsure and looking at Sam for approbation.
“That’s it!” exclaimed Sam excitedly. “Sheep! Sheep! Sheep!”
The girl grinned widely at the praise, calling out the word “Sheep” as she pointed. Walking Tom began to join in, calling out “Sheep!” excitedly till Sam turned round and began to descend back the way they had come. Sam stopped, an idea hitting him and he grasped the girl’s shoulder.
“O’Connor!” he shouted, pointing back the way they had come and indicating his wish to return to the camp.
She Who Smiles shook her head.
“Camp!” urged Sam and pointing again.
Walking Tom seemed to understand and explained the meaning of the word to the girl before setting off, walking way ahead so that Sam and She Who Smiles had to hurry to keep up with him.

For some reason, the walk back to camp seemed to take even longer than the going as Walking Tom stopped at each small outcrop of rock and small shrub, to touch them as if putting their where-abouts in his mind, like a memory-map. Sam noticed that the girl did the same thing at each turn, as if measuring the distance. At last they reached the rise which overlooked the camp and Walking Tom stopped to stare down at the camp with some apprehension, sniffing at the air as if scenting what lay ahead. There seemed to be a strange quietness below, with no fire burning and as they began to descend Sam made out the two figures of Jim Who Whistles and John No Longer who squatted on the ground in front of the shack. There was no sign of O’Connor or Bag Of Bones and Sam hurried his step to catch up with Walking Tom who had now reached the shack and, after some speech with the others, squatted down with them, not saying a word or did any of them look up as Sam passed on entering the shack.
Sam found the old man laid out on the bed of skins with his mouth wide open and his eyes sightless. Sam put his ear to the old man’s mouth and heard no breathing. He picked up the old man’s wrist and lifted the arm, to let it fall back lifeless on the bed. Sam stared down at O’Connor and shrugged. There was little he could do except bury him. Lifting up the body Sam brought it out into the open and stood there, looking at the men who had now begun to gather their weapons and slowly walk away.
Bag Of Bones came out of the first tent and spoke briefly to She Who Smiles before hurrying off to join the three men as they continued to walk away from the camp. She Who Smiles squatted down by the tent and began to chant as Sam carried the old man’s body round to the back of the shack and, putting the body down, began to scoop out the loose soil with the shovel. He worked in the shade until there was a hole deep enough before placing O’Connor’s body in and, giving a last brief look before scooping the soil back, he stamped it firmly down with his feet. Returning to the shack, Sam cut himself a slice of lamb and began to chew, determining what he should now do.
Having finished eating, he lay down and closed his eyes, falling asleep and not aware of She Who Smiles who had crept into the shack and now lay beside him.

Sam woke with a start, gathering his wits about him as he lay there and placing each piece of the day before in his mind. Raising his head, he rose and walked over to where O’Connor used to sleep. No. It wasn’t a dream. The old man was really dead.
Outside, She Who Smiles had got a fire going and was cooking food. Sam watched her through the open door, his mind racing as he knew what he had to do. There was no hurry. Sam sat and ate before taking a leisurely stroll down to the river where he and O’Connor had always come. He took up the pan from the bank and tossed it from him, watching as it spun through the air and bounced to a stop then rolled back down the side of the bank to fall into the water and sink. Returning back to the shack, Sam entered and pulled the old tin trunk from its place and began to dig with his hands at the soil till he withdrew the tin box from the earth. She Who Smiles sat outside the door, watching Sam with serious eyes. Sam set the box down on the table and sat himself as he lifted the lid to expose its contents. He drew out the leather pouch and opened it, pouring out the gold nuggets into his hand and after counting them began to refill it again and weighing the pouch in his hands before tucking in into his shirt. Next he took out the old and faded paper, making out the words ‘Ticket of Leave’ printed at its heading and he folded the paper carefully before putting it into his trouser pocket. Sam took his time in cutting up the meat and wrapping it in the skin and tying it so that he could sling it over his shoulder when he would leave. Laying the parcel of food on the bed, he took the water skin and went back to the river where he filled it. She Who Smiles continued to sit outside the shack and watch Sam as he made preparations to leave and when he finally came out of the shack with the food and water slung over his shoulders, he bent down and offered her a hand to lift her up.
“Sheep.” he said, pointing out into the distance.
The girl looked at him blankly and Sam pointed out once more.
“Sheep!” he said in a more determined voice.
He said the same word to her again and again until she suddenly said… “Sheep!” and pointed a finger with him into the distance, her eyes lighting with understanding.
Sam began to walk up the rise and she followed him. As they descended the other side the girl took the lead, walking with a certainty. Sam noted that she stopped in a similar way to how Walking Tom had and she had stopped to touch and smell each rock and shrub, following the scent at every part of the way. The only difference this time was that She Who Smiles ate and drunk the food and water that Sam offered.