Blood in the Dust by Swiggs Bill

Author:Swiggs, Bill [Swiggs, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2019-09-18T16:00:00+00:00

Annie had a large pot of stew bubbling on the fire when the camp assembled for lunch. Maree and Betty were the first to arrive, strolling up from the creek where they had been washing dirt through the cradle. The women chatted idly for a few minutes until the men turned up and took their places around the fire. Annie ladled stew into bowls and handed them around. She scowled at her father as he took the choice piece of bread – the one she had been saving for Toby.

‘The pick is worn blunt again,’ Frank said. ‘It’s rounded too much to fix with a file. We still have the other one, but we’ll need to get Blacky Pete to put a point back on this one so we can start tomorrow with one sharp pick,’ he added, using his boot to kick the pick he had carried up from the claim.

‘I’ll take it over,’ Annie said, before anyone else could offer. ‘I’ve got dinner almost ready to go into the pot, so I’ve a little time on my hands this afternoon. It’ll be a good chance to stretch my legs.’

Frank glanced up from his plate. Annie looked at him expectantly. Depending on his mood, the decision could swing either way.

‘All right,’ Frank said.

After the others wandered back to work, Annie spent a little time cleaning up, then went to her tent. She combed out and retied her hair into a tight bun then pulled on a pair of white cotton socks and a stout pair of shoes inherited from her mother. Finally, she put on a fresh, clean bonnet and tied it neatly under her chin, before checking her image in a mirror hanging from the ridge pole.

‘Presentable, Miss Hocking,’ she smiled at her reflection. ‘Presentable.’

Blacky Pete had his blacksmith shop in a gully behind the hill on which they camped. Annie walked up past the horse yard and tossed a greeting to Moonlight and Patch then descended the narrow path into the gully. She revelled in the sunshine on her back and marvelled at a flock of bright-green parakeets that flitted and squawked in the branches over her head.

At the bottom of the gully the bushland gave way to the unrelenting push of humanity. This gully was identical to the one they were camped in. The trail picked its way through a maze of tents and other dwellings.

Blacky Pete had set up his shop on the only piece of flat ground for five miles in any direction. His premises consisted of a large tent with the sides rolled up to dissipate the heat from the forge. Beside the forge, a huge iron anvil sat on a tree stump. Blacky Pete stood at the anvil hammering a point onto the glowing end of a pick. He wore a large leather apron over canvas trousers which had been scorched and holed a thousand times by hot sparks. Every few moments he used a neckerchief to mop the perspiration beading on his forehead.

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.