Ben grabbed Snip’s reins and led him across to the railing where Harry usually tied Jenny. Although he had seen many dead animals he had never seen a dead person. The image of Harry’s lifeless eyes staring at the sky remained imprinted on his brain. The old hermit must have recently died as the crows had yet to find him. Ben remembered the flock they saw on their way in. “We need to find something to cover him and get help.”
Louise tied Honey alongside the gelding and joined Ben at the closed door to the hut. “It doesn’t feel right walking in without knocking. I wonder if it’s locked?”
“I’ve never been inside. Let’s see what we can find.” Ben turned the handle, which must have at one time been a knob from an old brass bedstead. The heavy timber door swung open with ease. Expecting a gloomy interior Ben was surprised that the single room had plenty of light from clear sheeting in the roof as well as several windows. The place was clean and tidy.
Louise snuck in behind him. “Look at all these books! There must be thousands.”
Bookshelves lined all four walls wherever there wasn’t other furniture, with hardbacks and paperbacks three or four deep in places. Tomes reached to the ceiling and stacked in piles around a hand-carved chair covered in thick cushions. The small open fireplace had a neat stack of kindling on one side and a large basket of firewood on the other. Wrought iron fire tongs and a poker hung from a nail at the side of the whitewashed chimney breast.
Pivoting where he stood, Ben took in the cosy room, a small metal-framed bed covered in quilts in one corner. “I’ll grab a couple of these.”
Leaving Louise standing in the hut, Ben returned to the grave and covered the old man and his mule’s head. “That’s all I can do for now. We’ll be back with the State Emergency Service.” It didn’t matter to Ben that Harry could no longer hear him; he felt he had to say something to reassure his old friend.
When he returned to the hut he summoned Louise from where she perched on the edge of Harry’s chair flicking through one of his books. “These are mainly poetry. There are notebooks too. I didn’t know he was a writer.”
“Never mind that. We need to ride to the information centre. That’s the nearest place. Hopefully Mr Cartwright will be there, else one of the volunteers can telephone the SES.” Without waiting for an answer he went outside.
Seeing Lucky snuffling in the bushes, the tame wombat that Harry had rescued from a trap, Ben realised there might be other animals that Harry was helping; the powerful owl for one. Crossing the clearing he found the bird in a cage at the edge of the forest. Knowing he couldn’t carry the owl with him, and that the ranger would probably have to destroy the bird as there was nowhere else for it to be cared for, Ben opened the cage. The bird no longer wore the splint on its leg, though it didn’t seem to want to put any weight on the injury. “I hope you’ve recovered enough to fend for yourself.”
Louise came out of the hut nestling a small bundle in her arms. “This little possum was next to Harry’s bed in a basket. What are we going to do with it?”
Ben couldn’t think about saving the tiny creature at the moment. “Put it back for now. Maybe one of the park volunteers can take it. We need to get going.”
“We can’t just abandon the animals that Harry was caring for. It would be different if he was still alive, but he’d not thank us for putting his body before these animals which need help.” Ben guessed that Louise’s anger helped her deal with the tragedy. “Okay, let’s see what we can find. I’ll look around and see where Harry kept any food. I know he always cooked outside so there’s no kitchen.”
Around the back of the hut Ben found a lean-to shed containing a couple of forty-four-gallon drums. He lifted their lids, which had been weighed down with rocks. In one he found packets of flour, sugar, and other dried goods. The other held a selection of vegetables including a large sack of potatoes and a string bag of carrots. A wooden box held an assortment of tinned food.
Not finding any meat, Ben searched around the clearing. Encountering a narrow well-worn track he followed it into the trees. A gurgling came to his ears. Amongst a tumble of rocks a tiny creek burbled out of the ground. “Louise, come and look at this.”
Ferns of all types grew around the rocks. Crystal clear water trickled over a small contraption. Louise looked at the odd machinery in confusion. “What is it?”
“It’s a hydro generator. Like your dad is going to build, but much smaller. Harry must have used it for lighting or something. And this spring would be great drinking water.” Ben was amazed at how sophisticated the setup appeared. The old hermit seemed to have everything he needed on his doorstep.
Louise reminded him that they were searching for food. “Is there any meat anywhere?”
Following the stream a short way down the hill Ben wasn’t surprised to find an enamel tub anchored in a deep hole. Opening up the tight lid he peered inside. “Nature’s own cooling system. Here’s a bit of mince. We can use this for the owl. There was milk powder in one of the barrels. We can make some up for the possum.”
After feeding and freeing the animals, Ben and Louise mounted up and headed back along the track to the Dalrymple River. Once there they made good time cantering along the riverbank. Although the summer grass had browned on the hillsides, along the watercourse it remained green and springy. The horses kicked up their heels and hooned along as their riders gave them their heads.
As they cut across to the track leading to the information centre a droning overhead caused Ben to look up. A small helicopter banked and swept out of sight behind a rise. “That must be what they’re shooting the brumbies from. It would need to be something like a mustering chopper to get down among the trees.”
Louise trotted alongside. “Don’t remind me. Did your mum ever speak to Mr Cartwright about it?”
“Yeh, and some of the other farmers in the area. No-one wants the cull except Mr Smythe-Waters.” Ben’s temper flared at the thought of the landholder.
“What about Eve? She won’t be going to Harry’s now.” Louise gulped to swallow a sob.
Ben hadn’t had time to think about all the implications of Harry’s death. “I’ve no idea. I can’t keep her. Dad is furious with me for not selling Brandy to Jake Flemington. He threatened to call him up today and sell him without my permission.”
“Ben! You didn’t tell me that. That’s awful. Can he do that?”
“I suppose so. There’s no paperwork for Brandy and I’m under eighteen. Don’t worry, I don’t think Mum will let him.” Ben didn’t feel as sure as he hoped he sounded.
When the friends rode into the car park Snip shied at the purple and white helicopter whose blades still rotated as they wound down. The black gelding danced sideways as Ben steered him to the tree where they usually tied the horses. “How come Honey is so calm around that thing? She might not be if she knew the destruction it’s causing.”
After she dismounted Louise stroked her mare on the nose. “Don’t listen to him. You’re not a brumby any more. You’re my special lady.”
Leading the way Ben ran up the steps and inside. A few tourists peered over maps on the far side of the room. A young man chatted with the ranger at the counter. Clearing his throat to interrupt, Ben waited for the men to look his way.
“Young Naylor. What can I do for you? I’m glad you’ve come in, actually, as I’ve some news for you.” Adam Cartwright introduced the person he was talking to as the pilot of the helicopter.
Ben wasn’t interested in polite conversation. “Harry’s dead. We’ve found his body. We came straight here for help.”
The ranger’s demeanour changed from casual to official. “Where is he? Has he had an accident? Are you sure he’s dead?”
Louise butted in. “It looks as if he had a heart attack or something trying to bury his mule. He’s in a big hole at his hut.”
Taken aback, the ranger ran his hand through his hair. “How did you find him? I didn’t think you knew where he lived?”
Ben didn’t think this was the time for questions. “We didn’t, but recently he told us how to find him. Can you help or do we need to ride home for my dad?”
A hush came over the other people in the room. Someone screwed the lid on a thermos. Another stooped to tighten his bootlaces. Adam scratched his head. “Of course. I’ll ring Maggie at the Goldriver store. She’ll know how to contact his family. Meanwhile, we need to retrieve his body.”
Ben had a sudden thought. “I don’t think you’ll be able to get a vehicle in. The track is only wide enough for a horse. Or a mule.”
The pilot pointed outside. “I can get him in that if there’s a clearing close by.”
Seeing that this was the obvious solution, Ben tried not to think of this man as the murderer of the brumbies. “Yeh, the hut is in a big enough clearing to land in, I think. How will you find it?”
The pilot nodded towards Ben. “There’re two seats. If you show me where he is, I’ll transport him to Crowhurst airport where the funeral director can meet me. I’ll come back for you, or your friend here can bring your horse, whichever you like.”
Louise grabbed Ben’s arm. “I’d rather not go back there. If you fly back I can take the horses back to your place. I can ride Honey back to Patti’s tomorrow.”
The ranger thumbed through a phone book and made a few calls. When he hung up from the last one he joined Ben who sat on the steps outside with the pilot. Louise had already ridden on her way. “While we wait for the funeral directors to get back to us, there was something I wanted to share with you.”
Ben wondered if the news was about the brumbies. He looked across at the pilot. The man didn’t show any emotion.
Adam squatted down next to them on the steps. “You were right about that logging. I had it checked out. Not only is it in the park, it’s a special reserve. There’s apparently a breeding pair of powerful owls there, as well as the rare yellow-bellied gliders.”
Hoping that the owl he rescued hadn’t lost his mate, he told the ranger about finding the bird. “I let it go. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“That’s alright. If it’s still there we can catch it again. If it isn’t, I guess it can cope for itself.” Before he could say more a volunteer came out of the centre and handed him a message. “You’re all set to go. There’ll be an ambulance waiting for you at Crowhurst. The body will have to go to the hospital first. Maggie is going to contact the old guy’s brother.”
Taken aback, Ben rose to his feet. “I didn’t know he had a brother.”
The ranger nodded. “Nor did I. I rarely spoke to him. I think he was worried I’d try to kick him out of the park, but I never minded him being there. He helped a lot of animals.”
“So who was trying to get him out?” Ben knew the answer before he even finished asking the question. “Don’t tell me, Mr Smythe-Waters.”