The Drover's Wife by Leah Purcell

Author:Leah Purcell [Purcell, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760621681
Publisher: Currency Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

YADAKA hands it back to him.

DANNY: Kaw! Thank you.

DANNY enthralled by the spear. YADAKA goes back to the sharpening of the axe.

DANNY copies some of the movements YADAKA did in the spear dance. He’s not very good.

Is it hard bein’ you?

YADAKA: It’s hard for any man in these times, Danny. Just tryin’ to get by is hard enough, let alone looking after a family.

DANNY: Especially when ya got no boots.

YADAKA: What ya mean?

DANNY: A decent man has boots.

YADAKA: What’s that make you and me then?

They both look at their feet and laugh. DANNY’s mood changes.

DANNY: [sombre] I’m supposed to be gettin’ Da’s boots this winter.

YADAKA clocks this. DANNY feels YADAKA watching him and makes light of the moment.

I’ll have to chock the heel though.

DANNY demonstrates his da’s badly bowed left leg.

YADAKA: Shouldn’t disrespect ya da, Danny.

My fathers and their fathers and all the fathers before them needed no boots to be men.

He demonstrates with dance-like moves.

They walked soft upon this earth. Tread lightly for huntin’. Bare foot—quick to take off and run, no hard hide to rub ya feet raw.

It’s not what you have on your feet, Danny, but how you carry ya’self, is what makes a decent man.

Looking with admiration at YADAKA, DANNY nods. YADAKA goes back to sharpening the axe.

DANNY: I wanna be a decent man.

YADAKA: You are a good man, Danny.

DANNY: Ain’t no man, I got no hairs on me balls.

YADAKA: Pardon?

DANNY: Da reckons, ya ain’t a man until ya got hairs on ya balls.

YADAKA: That’s what I thought ya said.

Smiles to himself.

You’re almost a man.

DANNY looks down the front of pants.

DANNY: Still nothin’ there.

YADAKA smiles.

YADAKA: That walkabout you’ve been on, and now this one, shows ya ready.

DANNY: Ready for what?

DANNY, very interested, gives his undivided attention to YADAKA.

YADAKA: … Manhood Ceremony.

DANNY: … Right.

YADAKA: Ya walkabouts are part of it.

You get ya brothers and sister home safely. Do ya tradin’ along the way, and then there would be one more ask of ya.

DANNY: Yes?

YADAKA: Ya first kill.

DANNY stares wide-eyed. YADAKA does spear throwing actions to demonstrate.

To kill swiftly, no sufferin’.

DANNY becomes slightly anxious again.

Killin’s a part of life, Danny.

DANNY: Is that why ya had that collar?

The men hold each other’s look. YADAKA decides not to answer and goes back to sharpening the axe.

YADAKA: I don’t want to bring trouble to ya ma. Best I finish this, be gone before ya da gets home.

DANNY becomes anxious again. YADAKA’s focus is on sharpening the axe.

Long beat.

DANNY: [quietly and with trepidation] There’s boots under the woodheap.

YADAKA stops what he is doing.

YADAKA: What was that?

Beat.

DANNY: I better go bring Dilly in.

DANNY goes to run off but stops.

YADAKA: Yes, Danny?

DANNY turns and sees his mother standing not far off, she is aware of the tension.

DROVER’S WIFE: Have you stretched that hide, yet?

DANNY runs off.

Ya spoilin’ him.

My Joe hasn’t got time to be pickin’ up the pieces of a boy wallowin’ for attention.

Those troopers would’ve crossed the mountain by now.

YADAKA: I’ll get to it then.

He starts for the woodheap.

DROVER’S WIFE: They will be upon us at any time, Black.

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.