It took them nearly a week to get to Busselton and every day Gus tried to work out how he could break into Nance’s security box. He kept himself busy practising juggling and wire-walking, but in the back of his mind he was always thinking of it. At night he’d lie awake and imagine smashing open the box and finally seeing what his dad looked like, but the problem was there was always someone around. He couldn’t find a single chance to get anywhere near it.
Busselton was an old seaside town on the coast, bigger than any they’d played since Albany. They set up in the middle of the business district, in Churchill Park. The caravans were all parked close to each other in a tight circle. Gus woke up early and opened the door to see Hannah standing in her caravan doorway a few metres away from him. She nodded at him and smiled.
‘So strange to be in the middle of a town, no?’ she said. ‘Perhaps you and me and Effie, we can explore this town together. We have reached the Indian Ocean now, and I hear there is good swimming from the jetty. We must try this.’
They set off after breakfast and walked along the sea front. The sea was flat and glassy in the morning sun. There was a kiosk and a restaurant at the foot of the jetty and Gus scribbled a postcard for his mum while Hannah sat drinking coffee and Effie gorged herself on chocolate sundae.
Dear Mum,
I hope you are feeling better. If you can’t come and get me in Perth, that’s okay. Doc says we’re heading North pretty quick, we won’t be there long. I’d rather be in the bush anyway, so it suits me.
Love, Gus
Gus felt uncomfortable reading through the postcard after he’d written it. Something was missing, but he wasn’t sure what. He bought a stamp, stuck it on the card and dropped it into a nearby letterbox without thinking about it too much longer. Then he went into the men’s toilet block to change into his swimming shorts.
There was a long mirror beside the basin and Gus caught his reflection – for a second, he didn’t recognise himself. He couldn’t believe how different he looked. There were a couple of golden brown streaks in his dark hair, which had grown shaggier over the summer. His skin was brown too – darker than he’d ever seen it – but more than anything he couldn’t get over how big his shoulders looked. He held up an arm and flashed a bicep. Back in Melbourne, he had been one of the scrawniest kids in his grade.
Effie laughed at him when he joined her and Hannah on the jetty.
‘You sure look like the cat that just ate the cream,’ she said.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You’re strutting in a really weird way.’ She poked him in the stomach. ‘Stop sticking your chest out like you’re Action Man or something.’
The jetty seemed to stretch almost to the horizon and the man at the kiosk told them it was the longest in the Southern Hemisphere. A kilometre along its length, there was a small gazebo and a long flight of stairs leading down to a platform where swimmers were leaping into the sea. Hannah reached the bottom of the stairs and spread her towel out on the weathered grey decking. Gus slowed his pace and loitered on the stairway, blocking Effie’s path.
‘I’m going to do it tonight,’ he said.
‘Do what?’ asked Effie.
‘Get a hold of that tin of photos. I can’t wait any longer. I don’t care if I get caught. I’ve got to see what my dad looked like.’
‘Boy, I’m sorry I even told you about it. Why don’t you let up? It might not even be your dad.’
‘Maybe it’s not, but I’ve got to know. There’s probably a photo of my uncle Gus, anyway.’
‘Have you found out any more about him?’
‘Nah. How can I? No one wants to talk about him. I reckon he did a bunk – just like my mum. He’s probably living in Sydney or somewhere. I might even have cousins.’
‘If he’s only in Sydney, why didn’t your mum send you to stay with him?’
Gus hadn’t thought that bit through. ‘Maybe he was a sailor who jumped ship or something – maybe he lives in China,’ he said.
‘He could send you a postcard. Your mum must be as cranky as Doc to have a bust-up with both her brother and her parents.’
‘What would you know? You haven’t even met her. I reckon she has bloody good reasons to not talk to Doc. He’s such a bad-tempered old bugger.’
‘What about Nance? She’s okay, isn’t she?’
Gus wasn’t sure how to answer. Nance was unfathomable. ‘I don’t know. All I know is you’ve gotta help me with this, Effie.’
‘How can I?’
‘Let me do the take tonight with Nance, let me do it all by myself.’
‘But I always do it with her.’
‘Make up some excuse not to!’
Hannah’s voice drifted up to them as they stood arguing on the stairs. Effie took the stairs two at a time, flung off her T-shirt, and dived into the sea.
Gus watched her swim under the jetty. The water was a pale turquoise, deeper blue where the shadow of the pylons fell across it. He turned around and ran back up the stairs to the top of the jetty. There was a railing along the edge and he hung his towel on it and stared down into the undulating water. It was over 10 metres to the surface. He hooked one leg over the railing and climbed up, getting to his feet slowly. From down on the platform, Hannah was calling him, her voice full of alarm. He shut his eyes and raised his arms above his head, preparing for the dive. The morning air rushed around him as he pushed out from the railing, spinning in a one and a half turn, cutting the water like a diving sea-bird.
‘Show-off,’ said Effie as he broke the surface. She pushed him back under and they wrestled in the salty water until their lungs were bursting. Gus was first to reach the rusting iron ladder that led back up to the platform. Hannah was waiting for him at the top.
‘So, little flying fish, you want to break your neck and get me in even more trouble than before.’
Gus took the towel she offered him and dried his face.
‘Hannah, I know what I’m doing.’
‘If you know so much, tell me how you got this!’ she said, slapping his feet.
‘Ow!’ He looked down at the red weals of rope burn that stretched across his feet and curved around his ankles.
‘You think I am stupid or something!’ said Hannah. ‘I know how you got these. Rope burn! You have been on the trapeze when you know you are not allowed.’
Gus swallowed hard. He didn’t think anyone had seen him. A couple of days before, Cas had rigged a trapeze on the branch of a gum tree for Effie to practise on. It had been away from the camp, behind one of the trucks, and Gus had mucked around for a little while, getting the rope burn when he tried to drop into an ankle hang.
‘You don’t have to lie to me, Gus, but never, never must you do this without a mechanic. You are a strong and clever boy but you must not take so many risks. If you want to learn trapeze, you must be trained properly.’
‘So you’ll teach me?’ he asked.
Hannah looked away from him, out across the Indian Ocean to the blue horizon. She looked tired and, for the first time, Gus noticed the wisps of grey hair near the nape of her neck.
‘Please, Hannah.’ He touched her lightly on the shoulder.
She sighed. ‘Okay. Better I help you than you break your neck. You are as stubborn as your grandfather and, you know, this will make more trouble for me if he finds out. But also, I cannot help you alone. We need another in our secret. Vytas.’
‘But Vytas is on Doc and Nance’s side. He’ll dob us in for sure.’
‘There are no “sides” in this. If I teach you, I do it for all of us – for you, for me, and for Zarconi’s. But for a little while, we will keep it a secret. Vytas – he knows about secrets and how to keep them. I will speak with him tonight, and soon we will start.’
Gus wanted to crow with pleasure. He dropped the towel and bounded up the stairs to the jetty. A gang of teenagers were doing ‘bombs’ off the railing, but Gus balanced on it with his back to the sea and stretched his arms above his head. For a split second as he cut the air he could imagine he was flying, before the arms of the sea folded around him.