Honey shuffled her feet as Louise hefted Francesca’s pack up to her withers. “Can you reach the straps?” She passed the buckle across to Ben.
“Yeh, this will work well. Harry is full of good ideas. I would never have thought to clip these two packs together to make a load for Honey.” Ben snapped together the plastic buckles and used twisted bark rope to secure the bags around the brumby’s chest and girth.
Louise led the mare in a few small circles. “She seems settled enough. It’s a good job I’ve already broken her to saddle.” The padded backpacks sat snugly up against Honey’s withers and didn’t slip at all. One hung either side of her barrel.
Ben tugged on the makeshift arrangement to check that nothing could come loose. “It looks good to me. Mount Jake and I’ll hand you her lead rope.”
The old stockhorse stood ground-tied nearby. He opened his eyes as Louise gathered up the reins. “Wake up, fella. Time to go.”
Putting her left foot in the stirrup, Louise bounced on the ball of her other foot a few times and sprang into the saddle. It had been six months since Louise had ridden the tall bay gelding. She quickly adjusted to his feel, despite having to use Ben’s large stock saddle. The saddle she had been using on Lady didn’t fit Jake so she and Ben hadn’t been able to swap gear. Louise shortened her stirrups a couple of holes. “Okay, I’m ready.”
“Are you sure our things will be safe?” James looked at Honey as she pranced on her rope as Ben led her across to Jake. The packs wobbled, though stayed secure.
Ben nodded. “They’ll be fine. You won’t want to carry them both, so the only other alternative is to leave them here.”
“No, no. We can’t do that.” The Englishman flushed. Doing up the straps of his thick waterproof gloves, he stamped his feet to get the circulation going in his toes. “We’d better get going.”
Louise watched Harry and Ben make final adjustments to the drag behind Lady. The two poles rested in front of her saddle and had been tied to the surcingle for added security. Francesca lay on the woven bark and branches that Harry had constructed. He had also looped woven bark ropes under her armpits and around her thighs. She looked like a giant grub cocooned in her padded jacket and snow-pants.
Even though the wind had dropped off, the sky still looked heavy and threatening. The late afternoon light threw long shadows in the gloom. Louise shivered where she waited on Jake and brushed a drip off the end of her nose.
Ben mounted Lady and asked her to walk forward. The chestnut mare pulled against the heavy weight behind her and tossed her head as she dragged the travois along the ground. Harry had made runners of thick slabs of messmate bark to soften the ends of the poles. They glided over the snow with a swoosh like skis.
“She doesn’t seem frightened.” Louise thought Lady was behaving very well. However, she doubted she would have been able to control her with that rig.
Ben sat easily on the chestnut mare as she stopped and then jerked on again. Looking back over his shoulder, he looked pensive. “I think I need something to protect the saddle. The poles are rubbing the leather. Have you got anything?”
Louise couldn’t think what to use. “No, sorry. Is it doing a lot of damage?”
“Here, use this.” Harry rode up beside Ben and, after rummaging amongst the folds of the pack, handed him a rabbit pelt. The soft fur would be ideal to cover the pommel to protect it from the poles.
After adjusting his gear, Ben set off again. Louise followed on Jake, towing Honey, leaving a good distance between the horses. James walked behind. Harry brought up the rear. Louise was pleased that Francesca had her eyes shut. She didn’t want to have to look into that pained face all the way to the old homestead.
Fortunately the track followed a gentle downward slope. Lady settled in to her new role as harness horse and Honey seemed content to carry the packs.
Where the track widened, James walked up beside Louise. “I never learnt to ride a horse, but my sisters all ride. Of course they don’t have countryside like this to ride in back home.” The middle-aged man looked cheerful now that they were on their way to safety. His night in the caves did not seem to have done him any harm and the hot tea that Harry had brewed had raised everyone’s spirits.
Louise chatted happily as she rode along. “I’ve only been riding here for a while myself. I used to live in a city and learnt to ride at a riding school. That was good, but this is heaps better. Oh look! There’s a small herd of brumbies.”
She pointed off to the distance where a few brown specks stood out against the snow. As they rode closer, Louise could see that the horses were in much poorer condition than when they had mustered back in the summer. Although the wild mob trotted off a short distance, they didn’t take off and gallop away like they had done before.
Up ahead, Lady whinnied loudly.
“She always calls to the wild horses. I wonder what she’s saying?” Louise watched as more mares and foals came over the rise and joined the first mob. The spindly legs of the youngsters didn’t seem strong enough to hold them up in the deep snow. Some staggered and slipped while others stood with their heads down, searching for food.
James kept stride with Jake. “How do they live through such harsh conditions? Does someone put out feed for them?”
“No. Apparently it’s forbidden. The park are happy to collect money from fat horses when they go to the sales in summer, but they won’t look after them the rest of the year.”
Louise remembered the black stallion with the broken leg. “There’s an injured horse near the Information Centre. We were trying to get the ranger to come and help when we heard about you being lost.”
“What horse? You didn’t tell me.” Harry’s legs flapped around the packs as he urged Jenny to draw alongside the stockhorse.
“We should have been rescuing a horse, not people, though I’m glad we found James and Francesca. I would hate to have been trapped in the old mine overnight, even without being injured.”
Harry listened as Louise explained about seeing the brumby with the broken leg. “I know the spot you mean. I’ll go and see what I can do after we get these people help. If nothing else, at least I can put out some oats for him. I’ve still plenty in the sack.”
Before long the old homestead came into sight. Ben halted near the yards. “I wish the radio had worked. I don’t suppose there’s much point waiting here. I’ll take James and Francesca on to the Information Centre via the road. You may as well take Honey home if you think you can manage on your own.”
Louise looked at her brumby standing quietly beside Jake. “Yes, I’m sure we’ll be okay. Harry is going to see if he can find that stallion, so he’ll be with me part of the way.”
James thanked Louise and Harry for their help and promised to come and collect their packs soon. “I expect Francesca will need some time in hospital. I’ll get Robert to drive me to Ben’s farm when he can. Have a safe ride home, and thank you again.”
Louise enjoyed riding Jake, especially now that Ben had gone on to the Information Centre. She always felt a bit self-conscious riding any horse other than Ned in case her riding skills let her down. Lady could be very feisty, and Jake unpredictable. For now he behaved himself well, with Honey ponying along by his side.
Harry wobbled beside her on Jenny, humming loudly. The mule’s ears flopped in rhythm with her step, so that she and Harry seemed to move like a jelly on a plate. The rolls of sacks, ropes and other odds and ends strapped to Jenny’s sides added to the effect.
Louise realised she knew very little about Old Harry. Now seemed like a good time to ask him a few questions. “How long have you had Jenny?”
Harry brought his gnarled fingers to his lips. “Let’s see now. Would be the last time we had a bad winter like this. Must be ten years ago. She belonged to an old friend of mine in Goldriver, a blacksmith he was. He died, and there was no-one to look after her.”
“Didn’t he have any family?”
“Nope. He just left a note to say she was to come to me.” He patted the mule on the neck. “We’ve been together ever since. She’s made my life much easier. I ride into Goldriver once a month now for supplies. I can’t walk the distances in the park that I used to.”
Louise couldn’t help her curiosity. “How long have you lived in the park? I didn’t think anyone was allowed to camp here for long.”
Old Harry stroked his beard with one hand while waving the other in the air. He didn’t bother holding onto the rope that attached to Jenny’s headcollar. “That’s true, but I make sure no-one can find me to kick me out.”
He cackled as he continued to wave his arms around. “This is all my garden. I’ve lived here longer than it’s been a park.”
“Wow! That’s ages. Don’t you want to live nearer a town?” The thought of living off the land fascinated at the same time as frightening Louise. She didn’t think she’d be able to cope through all weathers, particularly such a hard winter as this.
“Nope. I find what I need out here. The animals keep me company and I help those in trouble. I’ve no time for most other folk.”
The land rose and fell as the two riders travelled across the spur that provided a short cut to the old road. Louise concentrated as she led Honey through a stand of trees; she didn’t want to lose the brumby again. Once, Honey tried to go the opposite side of a tree to Jake and panicked when the rope pulled taught.
Clear of the obstacles, Louise started asking questions again. “Do you have any family? Aren’t you lonely?”
Harry harrumphed. “I’ve a brother that lives way down south. He’s not interested in the bush. My real family is Jenny, and Lucky. That’s the wombat I saved from an old rabbit trap. He lives with me most of the time.”
Louise thought it would be great to have a pet wombat. Before she could question Harry further, he stopped Jenny with a short whistle.
“I’ll cut across here and go find that black stallion. You’ll be alright now with them two, won’t you?” Not waiting for an answer, Harry clicked Jenny on and headed down the slope without even looking back.
A pair of crows gave a plaintive ‘aaarrrggg’ overhead. The cold ate through Louise’s jodhpurs despite her woolly tights underneath. The forest loomed in the dark afternoon; she didn’t fancy riding through there on her own. Watching Harry disappear in the dusk, she told herself she was being silly, so shook herself into action and squeezed Jake forward.
By the time she reached Tumbleford Farm it was completely dark. Grateful that Jake could see better than her, Louise rode into the yard. With difficulty, she undid the walkers’ backpacks from Honey and let them drop to the ground. After lugging them into the barn she fed and rugged the horses. Leaving them to eat their dinner, she went over to the house.
Before Louise could knock on the door Mrs Naylor welcomed her in. “I’ve some hot soup waiting for you. Don’t stand there getting cold. No point waiting for Ben to finish with the horses.”
“Actually, he’s not here. We found James and Francesca. He’s taken them to the Information Centre for help. Francesca has hurt her leg.” She told Mrs Naylor all that had happened while she warmed her hands around a mug of pea and ham soup. Her clothes steamed as she toasted herself in front of the fire.
Mrs Naylor let her finish her story about Lady being nasty to Honey and her having to ride Jake home. “I’ll ring the parks people and let them know Ben is on his way in case he’s not there yet. That way they can have an ambulance waiting and radio for the other search crews to come home.”
Louise had forgotten all about the other people looking for the lost hikers. “Of course. We didn’t have any way of contacting anyone. The radio wouldn’t work. How will you get hold of them?”
“The parks have radio repeaters on the highest peaks. They’ll have left people at strategic points to relay messages. The vehicle radios are more powerful than that hand-held you carried. Don’t worry, they’ll get the message.” She wiped her hands on her apron as she walked into the hall to the telephone.
When she returned, Louise had started to doze off in the tatty armchair by the fire. She jolted awake. “Did you get through to them?”
“Yes, and I spoke with your Mum. She’s on her way to pick you up. I also told her how well you did, riding Jake and leading Honey.”
She must have seen the look of horror on Louise’s face, because she held up her hand and continued. “I know you’re not supposed to ride him. That’s why I explained the situation. I think you’ll be allowed to ride him in future. Now have another mug of soup while we wait for everyone else. I won't relax until they're all home safely.”