The mountain that went to the sea (24 page)

`And for Neil Cameron too?'

`And for Neil Cameron, of course, Jeckie. Do you remember the men you met at the airfield the day you arrived? Barton was late calling for you.'

`Yes, of course I do. You tiptoed over and put my shoe on for me.'

`That's why I'm keeping one shoe up there on the ledge now. It's a lucky emblem. Those two men were from the mine and they came in to meet me that day to tell me about the grazing land. They'd even surveyed it for me.'

There was quite a silence as the plane hummed on. Jason moved the controls, and the plane began to lose height.

`If only I'd known — ' Jeckie said regretfully.

`Why? Did you hate me so much for being the villain in the Mallibee war?'

'No. I loved you, Jason. You were such a sweetie to me that day. I was tired and heart-sore. Then you were kind and I realized I'd come into a new world. I could make a new start. But you see — later — liking you so much made

me feel disloyal to the others in the homestead. I hated being that. It made me want to be critical of Andrew and I hated that worse.'

`Why? You'd better tell your favourite Uncle — '

`Uncle, be bothered! You're my dear cousin, and I love you. I didn't want to be critical of Andrew because I wanted, very badly, to carry a torch for him. I couldn't do that in any case because he's . . . well . . . I kind-of think he's in love with Sheila.'

Jason laughed. Really laughed. Jeckie turned her head and stared at him. He was supposed to take her confession seriously.

'So what's funny about that?' she asked indignantly.

'It would be funny if it were true, Jeckie pet. Andrew and Sheila? Oh no, never. Barton is Sheila's cup of tea, if they can both pull it off. They're the same kind. They have everything in common. They enjoy one another, but much more important, they both have a vested interest in a certain share landing up in the right place — with Mallibee Downs Pastoral Company.'

Below them the ground was iron-red dust. Ant hills dotted the earth. Here and there a stand of slim whitetrunked ghost gums broke the dried-out yellow mats of spinifex.

The range wasn't so blue now that they were closer to it, and were flying lower and westwards along its flanks. The mesas were scar-faced and the great blocks of denuded rock were black and a wounded dark rust-red.

'But Andrew?' Jeckie asked at length — hardly daring to frame the question.

Jason glanced at her.

'Andrew is not a man who shows his feelings,' he said.

'It's a bit lonely up there on the heights where Andrew has

to stand on family matters, you know. He's the manager,

and the Ashendens never were an easy lot to be managed.

You and I are two of them, remember. Being lonely has

made Andrew a shy man. Human relations are not always

easy for a shy man, Jeckie. All the same, I thought you

knew what I knew. And what some other people at Morilla

noticed. It was you, my dear girl, Andrew was looking

at — in his very reticent way. He didn't take his eyes off

you unless forced to by some other call to duty. Didn't you notice?'

'No. I kept looking away from him. I liked him . . . so, I didn't want to sort-of — well
— I couldn't show it, coul
d I?'

Jason smiled. 'If you'd had a smattering of Sheila in you, you would have shown it all right, Jeckie.' He paused, then added, 'Andrew wouldn't have liked to be obvious. But people in this district know him very well. He's the king-pin in his quiet way. They all have a tremendous affection for him. They'd even notice from a hundred yards if an ant walked down his cheek. When a man is a king figure it's noticed and recorded every time he blinks his eyes. And it's talked about afterwards, teacup by teacup.'

Jeckie was silent.

'If only he'd danced with me . . . just once,' she said, thinking aloud. 'I would have been walking in heaven for days . .

think he would be shy of asking you to dance, Jeckie. He'd certainly be handicapped by that one share in Mallibee your mother holds. He'll see hell fire before he'd stoop to having any ulterior motive in courting the person he might happen to love. He's also shrewd enough to know that half the population round this Shire have been doing sums about Mallibee — like who should marry who, and for what particular reason.'

'And he would hate that?'

'Of course.'

Again there was silence.

'Jason — please tell me. What shall I do?'
There was quite a thoughtful silence.

'Well,' Jason began judiciously, 'that's what this aeroplane ride is about if you really want to know what oldCousin Jason is up to. I think it is better that Andrew

— now he's come to terms with Westerly-Ann — be the oneto show you what is left of Mallibee Mountain. Not me.He's sad
to see it go but, like the good station-ow
ning

man he is, he thinks the price of its going is worth Jane'shappiness. What happened to Jane hurt him far more thanwhat happened to the Mountain. Besides . . . he gets his

new cattle, doesn't he?' He paused, then added softly, 'If
you handle it the right way. Teckie, he will think it more
than worth it — if he gets the girl of his choice along with Jane's happiness, and the Ashenden rift healed. Three aces in one — that's a good poker hand!'
Jeckie sat up indignantly. 'You mean — if I—' she began.

`Do it your way, Jeckie,' Jason said bluntly. 'That bloody share is a stumbling block, you know. Andrew is a very reserved man. But triggered off? Who knows?'

`I couldn't do anything like that,' Jeckie said desperately. 'I wouldn't. I'm sorry I said anything. You must think — ' she broke off, tears nearly choking her voice.

'I don't think anything. My mind's an absolute blank,' Jason said.

There was silence between them as he brought the plane earthwards, then landed it gently on a cleared runway south of the main cut at the base of Mallibee Mountain.

'I should thank you, Jason,' Jeckie began. 'But — '

`Don't,' he said. 'Climb out over the top, like a good girl. No! You can't take your shoe! Didn't you say you'd hop the whole way? That shoe's mine till I decide different. You'll have to climb, one foot bare, over that rugged heap of rock up to that costean cut in the hillside. I told Andrew I'd land there. He's waiting for us to come in. Can you see him?'

`Yes . . .' She broke off. Then asked, 'Is he waiting for us?'

`Sure. I told him I'd bring you over and asked him to be bang there on the track round about this time.'

Jeckie lifted her hands above her head, gripped the edges of the Perspex cover, and swung herself on top of the plane, then slid over the side to the ground. She half waved to Andrew, then began to scramble over the broken rock towards the hillside. She did not hear Jason drop to the ground behind her and she forgot she had one shoe on and one shoe off. She was so used to being part-shoeless anyway.

She stopped once to take off her other shoe, then went scrambling on in stockinged feet.

`Andrew! Andrew!' she called. 'Why are you so far away up there?'

'Hold on, Jeckie. I'm coming.' His voice came back,

strangely concerned — probably because of her shoeless feet scrambling over the broken rock.

He slid downwards on the loose gravel, stepped over one boulder and clambered over yet another outcrop.

'Don't come any further, Jeckie,' he called. 'You'll cut your feet.'

She stopped short. The rocks were sharper than she'd dreamed. Jason had indeed kept his threat and taught her a lesson. She changed from one sore foot to the other as Andrew came down to her. He caught her with one hand. Then suddenly the other arm was holding her to steady her. He looked down at her and she looked up at him

'Why on earth did you do that ... ?'

'You mean about my shoes? Well . . . Jason has one. He says it's a lucky symbol. And he wanted to teach me a lesson about kicking my shoes off. I just took the other one off to match . . . If you know what I mean. Andrew, would you mind keeping your arm round me till I stop feeling giddy?'

'Why are you feeling giddy, Jeckie?' His eyes never left her face.

'Because you have your arms round me.'

'You have the loveliest eyes, Jeckie. Turquoise blue.' Her eyes didn't leave his.

'My mouth's all right too, isn't it?'

'Very beautiful,' he said. She hardly heard him, be spoke so softly. She clung to him and would not let him go.

Suddenly he bent his head and h
is lips touched hers: the touch of a butterfly's wing.

Jeckie's arms crept up round his neck, and their eyes met. Suddenly the kiss became a real kiss. His arms slid right round her, and held her to Wm.

He lifted his head and looked at her ruefully. Then he smiled — a beautiful, brilliant, heart-knocking smile — right into her eyes.

'Thank goodness,' she said soberly. 'I just hoped it would come off, but I was terrified ...'

'Terrified? Of me?'

'Oh no. Just something Jason told me to do. Of course, I said I wouldn't. But I did. It must have been . . . well . . . something to do with my shoes. And walking on

broken rock. And handling it properly. The walk, I mean. I suppose he meant . .

Andrew took Jeckie's shoe. It was dangling behind his neck because, for the sake of steadiness, Jeckie still held one arm round his neck. Tightly too. With her spare hand she pushed back one truant lock of hair from her face.

`Jason still has the other shoe?' Andrew looked puzzled. 'Does he think it's his good luck symbol? And why the devil did he let you scramble over that rock?'

Jason came up from below the rocky slopes.

`To teach her a lesson,' he said. They hadn't noticed his arrival. 'You can take it — shoe and all — from here, Andrew. Here it comes. From me to you. Catch —'

The shoe came swinging through the air and Andrew caught it with one hand.

`Excuse me,' said Jason. 'I'm off to see if the train's due to come through. I told Jeckie you'd bring her along, Andrew. I'll see you two later.'

They could hear the sound of his boots clambering around the rock butts and scrabbling along the lower gravel track.

But they were still looking at one another.

`Jeckie. Dear Jeckie,' Andrew said. 'Sit on that rock. I'm about to put your shoes on. When I've done that, please promise me never to take them off again.'

`Not even when I go to bed?'

He looked up as he slipped her shoes back on her feet. This time Jeckie looked down.

`Nobody wears shoes in bed at Mallibee,' he said gravely. `You will marry me I And stay at Mallibee for ever, won't you, Jeckie?'

Jeckie sighed. 'Thank you so much for asking me, Andrew. I think I would have died, if you hadn't.'

Far away in the distance, round the cutting in the side of the range, came the piercing whistle of the two diesel engines drawing the waggons.

Andrew took Jeckie's hand and pulled her up into his arms again. He kissed her quickly.

`Come on,' he said. 'Let's go and see the train taking more of our ore to the sea. Maybe somewhere else in

the world Mallibee Mountain — all in bits and pieces — will be helping make thousands of other little mountains — of steel.'

`And for us there's a new green valley instead?'

He looked at her quickly. `So Jason told you about that too, did he?'

`Yes. The mine's geologist — the one who surveyed the valley—Jason and I, we all arrived at the airfield at the same time. That's why he said my shoe was his lucky symbol.'

'I think you were the lucky symbol,' Andrew said. He took her hand as they clambered over rocks along the path. 'I'll take charge of your lost shoes in future — except when it's bed time, of course. You can leave them on the carpet under the bed then.'

The bathroom's the best place for shoes. That way I don't even have to think about them. Out of sight, off my feet, and out of mind!'

They laughed. Suddenly Andrew's arms went round her again. And he kissed her again.

'I love you very much,' he said soberly. 'Can you be patient— till I find all the right words?'

`I don't want any words, Andrew —'

The second diesel whistle from beyond the hill shrilled through the air.

`Let's say goodbye to the Mountain first, shall we?' he said. 'It has far to go.'

`All the way to the sea.'

`Then after that . . .

`Yes,' Jeckie said quietly. 'Then after that — over the sea and far away l'

The train came round the sweep of the hill.

'Goodbye, Mallibee Mountain! Goodbye! Goodbye!'