Maralinga by Judy Nunn

Author:Judy Nunn [Nunn, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: C429, Extratorrents, Kat
Publisher: Random House Australia
Published: 2009-01-21T13:00:00+00:00

Norman was right about Harold Dartleigh: he was bored; it was too long between bombs and he needed some R and R. He too couldn’t wait to get away from Maralinga, but, unlike Norman, he wouldn’t have to wait three months.

Just one more test to go, Harold thought as he stared out of the Land Rover’s passenger seat window at the endless desert rolling by. Just four more days until the final firing in the Buffalo series and then he’d be on a plane home. He’d been counting the days for some time now. He would need to return to Maralinga every several months or so – one must maintain a presence – but Gideon would keep him regularly posted, and his trips would be brief, no more than a week or so. Of course, there would be Operation Antler, the second of the major test series next year, but that was thankfully a whole ten months away.

The plains of spinifex were giving way to salt pan territory now, none of which in the least impressed Harold. God, it was a hellhole, he thought. He’d been stuck in this primitive wasteland for over four wretched weeks and it had been altogether too long. He frankly didn’t know how the men bore it.

‘How much longer do you have to go, Dan?’ he asked.

‘Quite a distance, sir.’ The question took Daniel by surprise, he’d been deep in thought. ‘We’re only halfway to Yalata – at least another three hours. We’ll pick up speed when we get to the Eyre Highway.’

‘No, no, lad,’ Harold said with a touch of impatience, ‘I mean how much longer do you have to serve at Maralinga?’ The boy seemed rather distracted, he thought.

‘Oh, I see. Sorry, sir, I misunderstood. Another six months – my posting’s up the end of April.’

‘Six months!’ Harold gazed out the window. The stark, parched red earth with its salt-encrusted surface looked to him like some hideous lunar landscape. ‘Goodness gracious,’ he murmured, more to himself than to Daniel, ‘how on earth will you bear it?’

‘I rather like the geography of the desert, sir.’

‘You do?’ Harold turned to stare at his driver. The boy was insane. ‘Why?’

‘It’s so extraordinarily primitive.’

‘Yes, it’s certainly that.’

‘And it’s so varied.’

‘Really?’ Harold once again looked out the window. He couldn’t quite see the variation himself. But then Dan was a sensitive lad. Such an attractive quality in a young man, he thought. ‘Perhaps I suffer a touch of agoraphobia,’ he said, ‘but there’s just a little too much space for my liking.’

He settled happily back in his seat, prepared for a chat. The boy’s company would alleviate the boredom of the scenery – it was why he’d chosen Dan, after all. Imagine being locked in a car for six hours with Ned Hanson! And then another six hours all the way back!

‘A whole six months, eh? You’ll be chafing at the bit by the time you get off the plane, I warrant.’

‘I daresay you’re right, sir,’ Daniel replied. ‘It’ll be good to be home.

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