The White Girl by Birch Tony;

Author:Birch, Tony;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Published: 2019-05-07T05:41:59+00:00

Odette knocked at Henry’s gate. The padlocks were missing, as was the heavy chain. Henry didn’t answer. Odette pushed the gate open. Not wanting to startle him, she called Henry’s name. When nobody answered she made her way through the yard. She could hear the distinct sound of a shovel hitting dirt. She followed the sound and found Henry digging a hole about three feet long by a foot wide. Laying in the dirt, next to the hole, was Rowdy. His coat was matted and his body looked as hard as stone. His swollen tongue hung from the side of his open mouth. Henry briefly looked up at Odette before returning to the grim task. Sissy, who held a fear of dead animals, stood back.

‘Henry, I’m so sorry,’ Odette sighed, looking down at the poor dog. ‘What happened to him?’

Henry ignored her and continued digging the hole until he was satisfied the walls of the grave were straight. He dropped the shovel to the ground, walked over to Rowdy, lowered his head and whispered a prayer, ending with an Amen. He lifted the dog in his arms and cradled him to his chest before gently lowering the animal into the hole. He bowed his head.

Not wanting to interfere with Henry’s privacy, Odette walked across to where Sissy was standing and waited until he’d filled in the hole and patted the last shovel of soil into place. It was only then that Odette’s earlier question appeared to register with him.

‘He was thrown a bait,’ Henry explained. ‘This morning, the wind had turned and I could smell him. Must have been dead for all this time I thought he was missing.’ Henry walked to the bonnet of a car wreck and returned with a piece of rotten meat in his hand. ‘I found this bait on the roof of one of the tractors. Thrown over the fence, it must’ve been. There’s glass all through it. There must’ve been another bait he ate, I reckon. That’s what killed him. You know who it was, don’t you, Odette?’

Remembering what she’d witnessed at the Kane farm, Odette had no doubt who had poisoned Rowdy.

‘It was that Kane boy,’ Henry said. ‘Would be nobody but him. That boy, he’ll have to pay for this. They’ve got bad blood in them, the Kanes.’

‘Not all of them,’ Odette said, thinking not only of George Kane, but of her granddaughter too. Although she understood Henry’s feelings Odette worried that revenge would only bring him more trouble. ‘I think you should let this rest,’ she advised.

‘Sorry Odette, but I can’t do that.’

Henry hurled the piece of meat back over the fence. He looked across the yard at Sissy. The sight of the dead dog had distressed her.

‘What are you here for?’ he asked Odette. ‘Have you had more trouble with Sissy’s bike?’

‘No, the bike is working fine. I came here on other business,’ Odette said. ‘But it can wait. Now is not the time.’

‘The time is fine with me, Odette. Rowdy’s gone and he won’t be back.

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