THE DEPRIVED...Chapter 4...Part 19.

A continuation of my book.

Sam wondered if she had to follow the Aborigine way when Walking Tom was with them, as if she had been afraid to step outside of her culture. It appeared the girl did not take as long as Walking Tom to arrive at their destination so that it was sooner than Sam expected when they crested the rise to stare down on the timber and white-walled buildings below. She Who Smiles pointed downwards with a wide grin.
“Sheep!” she exclaimed.
Sam lay the rest of the food and water on the ground beside her then stood up and pointed back the way they had come.
“Camp!” he said.
The young girl looked back to where Sam’s finger pointed, her expression one of bewilderment. Sam turned her to face in the direction he had pointed and picking up the food and water, he gently pushed her away. She Who Smiles stood still in bewilderment and turned as Sam left her there. She watched as he began to walk down the hill towards the grazing sheep. She Who Smiles sat down and watched as Sam continued to walk. Sam did not look back.

The sheep continued to graze, not moving as Sam passed through them until a couple of sheepdogs came running towards him barking loudly. The figures by the house began to group together, their faces turned upwards, to watch as Sam stooped to stroke the dogs then, with both dogs at his heels, he walked to the bottom of the hill and towards where the people, a man, woman and two children waited as Sam came up to them. Behind the family came several Aborigine men who gathered to watch as Sam neared.
“Hallo.” said Sam.
The children, a boy and a girl, moved behind the man who now stood with a guarded look. The man said nothing and waited.
“I have walked quite a way with a tracker and need to buy a horse and someone who can guide me towards the coast.” said Sam.
The man looked over Sam’s shoulder, up towards the hill.
“Where’s your tracker?” he asked.
“He ran away.” lied Sam easily. “He was afraid that you might shoot him.”
“I will shoot whoever stole one of my sheep a while back.” growled the man.
His manner was easier, noting that Sam had no weapon and stood alone, too far from any hidden men who might suddenly swoop down on them.
“My name’s Arkwright. James Arkwright and this is my wife Jane. And here are my two children, Jimmy and Victoria.” said the man as he drew the children out from behind him.
Sam offered the man his hand, which was shook heartily along with an offer to enter the large building, which was cool and easy to the eye. James Arkwright stayed outside to give the men instructions before following the others into the house. The room was long and with a large fireplace at one end while at its centre stood a table with chairs placed around it.
“Sit down.” instructed James before asking Jane to prepare some food.
“It’s most unusual to see a man coming out of the bush on his own.” said James as the men sat.
Sam knew the man was angling after an explanation .
“I was working a small place with a friend, looking for gold. My friend died and I was left on my own with just a tracker who guided me here. I could not stay on my own so I upped sticks and walked away. I decided to make my way back to England if I could.”
The children were sent out of the house to play while Jane, having made the meal and placed it in front of Sam, left to join the children outside.
“Have you served time?” asked James quietly, looking at Sam’s ill-fitting clothes.
“I served my time in Fremantle.” answered Sam. “And I have my ticket of leave.”
Saying this, Sam drew out O’Connor’s ticket of leave and showed it. James nodded. It did no good to question a man’s past. There were not many who chose to come to this God forsaken land by choice. A man could travel far and wide before meeting another man who had settled out of love for the harshness of the life.

Having eaten and sat at the table talking for some time, James took Sam on a tour of the buildings, the bunkhouse for the boys with a small outhouse which served as a place where they could cook, even though the Aborigine boys preferred to cook on a fire out in the open. Sam was shown the paddock with the ponies and the storeroom and sheering room. Though Sam seemed interested in whatever he was shown, he was more interested in buying a horse and getting the help which would see him arrive safely in a port town in which he could buy his passage back to England. However Sam also knew it would not pay him to appear too keen to make the purchase of the horse or to get away from this place so he spent the rest of the day in talking and relating what news he could remember of his time in London, even embellishing it for the sake of winning over the rancher.
“It’s been a while since we had visitors.” said James. “The only time I get to see anyone is when myself and the boys take some livestock to sell in the small town of Catcheroo, which is over a weeks trail and even then it’s scarcely what you can call news. So it’s good to hear of England, even if it is years old.”
Sam was glad the talk was not around his time spent in prison, nor did James talk of his time spent in servitude and of the marriage which bore him children.
“I hope you’ll be spending a few days here Sam before you set off.”
“Thank you, James.” answered Sam. “But I would like to visit the town of Catcheroo at some time, to get some decent clothes and see if I can change some gold for real money.”
“Well, that’s easily done.” laughed James. “If you rest up for a couple of days then I can have the boys round up some sheep and we can all go to town. It’s earlier than I anticipated but it will be good to get away for a couple of weeks.”
“I’d be happy to help out while I’m here.” offered Sam.
“What I want to do is look at any cattle on offer.” enthused James. “Sheep are alright but it’s the cattle where the money is.”

Sam spent the next two days in helping out with rounding up the sheep and marvelling at the way the dogs worked, racing up and down as they worked to a whistle. He watched how James slaughtered the sheep which were then salted and stored. It was a whole world away from the life he had experienced with O’Connor, living day by day and pinning hopes on the Aborigines for food. Here the Aborigines worked as labourers, wearing shirts and trousers and having more than a smattering of English. They slept in a clean bunkhouse on wood-built bunks and with mats on the floor. In the quiet of the evenings the men would sit inside at the table along with the children with lanterns lit and listen as Jane would read passages from the Bible. Sam felt the peace and calm of the place, sitting outside in the quiet of the night. Jane had tried to coax him inside, to sit as she read but Sam smiled before refusing. Jane had felt at times there was a reticence to talk to her, as if he avoided being near her or giving direct eye-contact but put it down to his years of being alone. With this in mind, she did not try to push Sam into joining them and even staying out of the way when it was time to sit at the table to eat. She would make her excuses and remain in her room till the meal had been eaten.

It was six o’clock in the morning when Sam climbed up on the seat next to James who cracked the whip which caused the horse to pull the cart out of the ranch, followed by two of the Aborigines who drove a dozen sheep before them. James turned to wave goodbye to Jane and the children before keeping the cart to a slow pace as it moved out into the countryside beyond.
It took seven days of slow crossing, through scrubland and patches of grass and small trees, interspaced with lengths of red-soiled desert before they came at last to the town of Catcheroo. One of the sheep had died on the trail and the boys had skinned it, understanding the hide was theirs to sell on reaching town.
The town itself was disappointing to Sam, just a small dusty main street lined with shacks on either side and having two larger buildings in the centre and opposite each other, which served as trading stores that bought and sold everything, each store trying to outbid and outsell the other.
“Them’s the Tolliver brothers.” explained James. “They came here and built up the town and they shared everything at that time. Then came Louisa George, a woman from Ireland and the brothers fought bitterly over her attention. The thing was, Louisa George went off with a rascal, one of them bushrangers and the brothers still held their frustration and anger to such a degree that they built their own stores across the street from each other and now try to outdo each other in business which works fine for the likes of me as you will see.”