It was past midnight when the cattle truck laboured through the rain, back up the rutted track to Brumby’s Run. What little gravel might once have been there had been washed away in this deluge. The road ran like a river. Drew tried to angle the truck towards the cattle ramp, and almost lost control as the wheels slipped sideways in the mud. He braked and swore. ‘If I try to get any closer, we’ll slide down the hill and roll.’
‘Well, we’ll just have to unload her here then,’ said Sam. Sure. Just slip a halter on the mad bugger and lead her down the ramp. ‘I’m naming her Whirlwind,’ said Sam happily, her face alight in the dim dashboard glow.
The truck shook as the mare reared and kicked. Drew figured the name suited her. ‘Lunatic’ would have suited her better. What a nightmare it had been, trying to load that horse in the rain and dark. She’d been conveniently yarded on her own, right next to the loading ramp, ready for the doggers to pick up in the morning. And he’d taken his dad’s two heelers along for good measure. Those dogs were tough enough to tackle scrubber bulls straight from the bush. How hard could one brumby mare be? he’d thought. He’d thought wrong.
Jasper whined and wagged his tail. Sam stroked him where he lay on the floor at her feet. ‘Will he be okay?’ she asked.
‘I reckon she’s broken his leg,’ said Drew grimly.
‘It wasn’t her fault,’ said Sam. ‘She was scared.’ Scared? They were the ones who should have been scared. Whirlwind plunged about in the back and the whole truck rattled.
‘Let’s get her out, then,’ he said, not quite knowing how this was going to work. They climbed from the cabin, shielding their faces from the blast of wind and rain. Drew slipped on a head torch, but its beam was swallowed by the rain a few feet from his face. Why the fuck couldn’t the weather just give them a break? There was a spiteful crack of thunder and the wind redoubled its fury. The one saving grace was that the storm had covered their tracks at the race-course.
It was just as he’d thought. The truck was a good ten metres short of the yard. There was only one option, one he’d prepared for as a last resort. Drew grabbed his catching ropes and climbed up on the truck. He could hardly see. Thank God she was pale grey and not black. He considered himself a good aim, but it was extraordinarily difficult to throw the noose over a moving, snaking target in the dark and the storm. It didn’t help that the horse seemed intent on killing him at the same time.
It was only when Jarrang caught wind of his daughter and announced his pleasure with a trumpeting neigh that Drew got his chance. Whirlwind froze at the sound. Drew seized the opportunity to cast one, then two ropes over her head. Moments later she exploded in a rearing fury, but by then it was too late. He had her. Drew pulled the Lewis winch out from under Sam’s feet and heaved the chainsaw from the rear of the cabin. He opened the gate and anchored the winch’s snatch block to a large strainer post at the back of the yard.
Sam appeared beside him. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked anxiously.
‘Yarding your horse for you.’ He retrieved a length of chain from the floor of the truck and fixed it to the ropes around Whirlwind’s neck. He then attached the winch cable to the chain, and started the saw. Its savage snarl joined the roar of wind through the forest. Sam pulled at his sleeve. Drew turned off the saw and handed Sam a torch. ‘Point it here, will you?’ Why the fuck hadn’t he taken the bar off at home? Fitting the adapter in the dark was just about impossible. ‘Hold these, put them in your pockets or something.’ He handed Sam an assortment of washers and nuts. Finally it was done. The chainsaw’s power block was bolted fast to the winch.
The penny must have finally dropped for Sam. ‘You can’t!’ she yelled urgently, struggling to compete with the screaming wind. ‘She hasn’t even got a halter on. She’ll choke to death.’
‘Got any better ideas?’ he snapped, regretting his words as soon as they were uttered. ‘Look,’ he said, in what he hoped was a more conciliatory voice. ‘We can’t get the truck close enough to unload her straight through the gate. If we unload her out here without the winch, we’ll never hold her. She’ll go bush, and the first bugger to find that mare will either give her a bullet or run her in for the doggers. Wayne’s bound to post a reward.’ She might have been crying again, but it could have just been the rain. He tried to sound more encouraging. ‘Those ropes have got big leather eyes, so they can’t pull too tight, you know that. It might not be pretty, but I guarantee I’ll get that horse into the yard, safe and sound.’ Sam turned and stared at the truck. ‘I can let her go instead, if you want,’ he said.
‘No,’ she said at last. She turned to face him. ‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Just close the gate once she’s through.’
Sam nodded. Drew fired up the chainsaw motor and the winch ground into action. When it had taken up most of the slack in the cable, he lowered the ramp. Whirlwind was huddled at the back of the truck. She didn’t react when the ropes first grew taut, but as the pressure increased, she began to fight. The indifferent galvanised cable maintained its inexorable pull. It tightened around the mare’s throat, dragging her, choking the fight from her. She took a step forward, then another. Her exhaustion showed. Jarrang neighed again, and Whirlwind finally capitulated. She stumbled into the yard.
Sam yelled with delight, and rushed to close the gate. Drew heaved a great sigh of relief. He ran to shut off the motor and release the catching ropes from the winch cable. Drew shone the torch into the yard. Whirlwind stood drooping and defeated in the corner. The two nooses had loosened, now the strain was off. He’d just have to leave them til morning.
‘She’s shivering,’ said Sam, wiping streams of water from her eyes. ‘She needs a rug.’
Drew shook his head. ‘That horse doesn’t need a rug. She needs some peace.’ And so do I, he thought, feeling a little sick at what he’d done. He pulled Sam into the truck cabin out of the rain. ‘Leave her alone until morning,’ he said. ‘Promise me.’
Sam nodded. ‘I can’t believe we did it,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’ She softly kissed his wet cheek.
Drew’s skin tingled where Sam’s lips had touched it. ‘I can’t believe it either. Now let’s just hope we don’t get caught.’ There was no way to hide the horse. By a stroke of good fortune the yards at Brumby’s Run were set well back, not visible from the house. But if anybody bothered to come looking, they’d find her. No point worrying about that now, though. It was done, the die already cast. ‘I’m going to pack up the winch,’ he said. ‘Then can we please go inside and get dry? Again?’
‘Of course, Your Majesty, Mr King of the Mountains. Yes, we can.’ Sam threw her arms around his neck and kissed him properly this time. She radiated warmth and happiness right through her soggy clothes, and he remembered why he’d embarked on this ridiculous escapade in the first place. Maybe finally she was ready to try again with him?
Drew extracted himself reluctantly from her arms, and jumped out to get the winch. A soft nose nuzzled his hand. ‘Bess? What are you doing out here?’ Hadn’t he left her in the kitchen? Drew stowed the gear back in the truck, hopped in and started the engine, trying not to step on Jasper in the process. The back wheels spun wildly for a few moments, then somehow gained traction. Thank God it was a downhill run to the house.
Drew rounded the hayshed, then slammed on the brakes. The headlights’ beam revealed a car parked in the drive. Sam glanced up at him, an expression of horror on her face. Drew put his finger to her lips and shushed her with a whisper. ‘Stay here.’ He killed the lights and slipped from the cabin.
It was difficult to see in the dark, but he didn’t think he recognised the car. One of those generic Japanese things, a Honda or a Suzuki or something. Bess stood on the porch, tail aloft and waving. Why wasn’t she barking? The dog ran right up to the back door, and with one scratch of the paw, she was in. Drew jumped back in the truck and parked it out of sight behind the hayshed. ‘There’s somebody in the house,’ he whispered to Sam. ‘Stay here.’
‘I’m coming with you,’ said Sam firmly. She jammed her hat further down on her head and hopped out.
‘At least let me go first.’ She fell in behind him, and they approached the rear windows. There was a lull in the storm. The shadow of a figure showed through the kitchen blind. They moved around to the front porch. But as Drew reached for the handle, the door opened. It was Charlie.