1988 by Andrew McGahan

Author:Andrew McGahan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2012-11-12T05:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

I woke up worried. It was twelve-thirty. I’d missed the 9 a.m. observation. It wasn’t the observation I was worried about. Once the worst of the hangover had been dealt with, I examined the Toyota. There were branches and leaves caught in the bullbar, and in the grill. I pulled them out. There was also a sizeable dint at the bottom of the bar. I tried to remember. Had it been there before? And if it was new would Vince notice? Damage to national park property. Would he care?

I began wondering about other damage we might’ve done—to the bush alongside the track. I had dim memories of the Toyota barging through the scrub, unstoppable. I got in and drove slowly down the hill. I came across a clear set of tracks, verging into the trees. There were saplings snapped in half, flattened ferns, tyre marks in the undergrowth. The carnage was repeated all the way out to the airstrip, on both sides of the road. Damage to national park property, damage to the national park itself.

Then I saw the strip. All up and down the red gravel expanse there were stark, white skid marks. Some of them, maybe, were made by the planes when they landed—not the circular ones though, or the figure eights, or the dozens of long, straight slashes at either end. Vince would fly in and he’d look down at the strip and he’d see. He’d know.

I drove home and sat on the back verandah. The deck was littered with beer cans and cigarette butts. There were the plates from our dinner, swarming with ants. Underneath the verandah there was already a pile of older cans and bottles. We’d let them drop through the holes rather than clean them away. I felt tired and disgusted. The man with the clipboard was right, we were living like pigs.

A little later I heard Wayne get up and start clattering around the house. I waited for him to come out on the verandah. He didn’t. Instead I heard the Toyota starting. By the time I got out front it was disappearing down the hill. Where would he be going? To review effects of the night, as I had? It didn’t seem likely. I might be concerned, but I doubted Wayne would be.

Eventually it was time for my 3 p.m. observation. I went over and examined the field-book. Wayne hadn’t made the 6 a.m. or the midday. We had a twelve-hour gap in the weather. Darwin, along with everyone else, would not be pleased.

Wayne wasn’t back by evening. I did his 6 p.m. observation and waited. Still no Wayne, even by seven. I sat on the back verandah and sipped on beer. What if he never came back? What if he’d been eaten by crocodiles? Then there were footsteps on the front stairs. There’d been no sound of the Toyota pulling up. Wayne came out to the verandah. He was red-faced and panting.

‘Where have you been?’ I said, ‘Where’s the car?’

He gulped for air.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.