The Pride of the Peacock

  For some seconds there was silence, then I heard the sound of retreating footsteps.

  The incident had shaken me considerably.

  ***

  When I went down to breakfast next morning, Ezra Bannock was there. I was surprised to see him so soon after last night. He and Joss were at the breakfast table, and Ezra laughed heartily when he saw me.

  “Ah, you’re surprised,” he said. “Well, I thought you and Wattle ought to get together right away. I’ve told her all about it and she’s agreeable. A bit put out at first about leaving me, but she knows it’s what I want so she’ll play. As soon as you’ve had a bite to eat, we’ll go to the stables and I’ll make a formal hand-over. I’d like to be there just to see how you two get along.”

  “Then we’ll go into the town together,” said Joss, “and I’ll show Jessica round.”

  I took to Wattle immediately, as she did to me. I was rather amused by the way Ezra patted her and talked to her.

  “Now, old girl, we’ll see each other often. I’ll be over there and you’ll be over here. I want you to look after this young lady. It’s a bit rough going out here for her, so you’ll look after her, now won’t you?”

  Wattle nuzzled against him.

  “That’s the idea. She’s just come out here, you see, and we want to give her a good impression. There! That’s my girl.” From his pocket he took a lump of sugar and gave it to Wattle. She took it and crunched gratefully.

  When I mounted her she seemed docile enough, but I sensed the fire in her. I leaned forward and chatted to her, trying to give a good account of myself for she seemed to be assessing me.

  As we rode out, Ezra on one side of me, Joss on the other, I felt confident and grateful to the big, rather clumsy man, and I wondered why Isa had married him and what he thought of her behavior.

  Very soon the town came into sight. It was not beautiful by any stretch of imagination. There in the heart of the arid land was a crudely constructed town bordered by a fringe of calico tents. Outside these were trestle tables and benches and on the tables were rather primitive cooking utensils.

  “You’ll have a few surprises,” said Joss. “Remember this is a town which sprang up overnight. The people living in the tents haven’t been here long enough to acquire a more solid dwelling, so they temporarily pitch their tents. Some have wives and families, which is easier for them in a way. The wives cook and mend and there are jobs the children can do.”

  Some of the children came out of the tents to stare at us as we passed into the center of the town, and the dwellings on either side were like little cottages. There was a store where all kinds of goods were sold. I noticed how respectful everyone was to Joss and what curiosity was directed towards me.

  We passed a blacksmith busy at his anvil shoeing a chestnut horse. Joss called out: “Good morning, Joe.”

  “Good morning, master.”

  “This is Mrs. Madden, my wife. You’ll be seeing a good deal of her in the future, Joe.”

  The blacksmith came forward rubbing his hands together.

  “Welcome to the Fancy, Ma’am,” he said.

  “Thank you, Joe.”

  “And happy congratulations if you’ll accept ’em.”

  “I will and thanks again.”

  “’Tis good to see the master wed at last,” commented Joe.

  Joss gave his sudden burst of laughter. “So that’s your opinion, is it?”

  “’Tis well for gentlemen to settle down, master, when they’m no longer boys.”

  “Yes. You see Joe doesn’t mince his words. He’s a wizard with horses, though. In fact he believes they’re more important than anyone else. That’s so, eh, Joe?”

  “Well, master, we’d be hard put to it to do without ’em.”

  “True. Tether the horses here, Joe,” said Joss.

  Ezra alighted and I noticed how he spoke to his horse and didn’t forget Wattle, asking her how she was and if she didn’t think me light as a fairy on her back. “A bit different from old Ezra, eh?”

  I noticed Wattle nuzzling against him lovingly and being rewarded by yet another piece of sugar. He left us and said he would go on to the offices and see us later, and Joss took my arm and we sauntered along what he called The Street. He stopped and introduced me to several people. It was hot and the flies were beginning to pester. Joss grinned as I tried to brush them aside.

  “It’s nothing to what it will be later on in the day,” he said with a certain satisfaction. “You’ll have to be careful of the sand flies. They can give you sandy blight which, believe me, is not very pleasant. And they’re particularly partial to fresh English blood—especially when it’s of the blue variety. You see, they’re used to coarser stuff. So watch out.”

  “I think you’re trying to make me dislike the place.”

  “I just want you to see it in its true colors. I think you had rather a romantic idea in the first instance. You thought we walked around in beautiful sunshine all the time and now and then stooped to pick up a valuable opal.”

  “What nonsense! I did nothing of the sort. Ben had told me so much. I know what hazards miners face. Ben’s accident was enough to tell me that.”

  “Don’t look so angry. People will think we’re quarreling.”

  “Aren’t we?”

  “Just a little friendly banter. But we have to create a good impression. It wouldn’t look good for the newlyweds to be quarreling already.”

  “Good for what?”

  “Business,” he replied promptly. “Friction is not good for the Company.”

  “Do you think of nothing but the Company?”

  “Now and then I think of other things.”

  “I believe it would be better if you allowed me to form my own impressions.”

  “Very well. Form them.”

  Men wearing cabbage tree hats to keep off the sun and others in straws on the brims of which were attached corks which danced as they walked—again a precaution against the flies—were going to and from the field which lay stretched out beyond the township. I looked at the dried-up land and the shafts and piles of mullock which had been dug up that the land might be explored.

  “There are two thousand people here,” Joss said rather proudly, “so there have to be traders to supply them. The Trants’ Cookshop has been a great success already, I’ve gathered.”

  “I’d like to meet the Trants,” I said.

  “I’ll have a word with them now. They’ll expect it.”

  We went on and there in one of the wooden dwellings I met James and Ethel Trant. James was seated on a stool at the door peeling potatoes, and he scrambled to his feet when he saw Joss.

  They shook hands.

  “I was sorry to hear what happened,” said Joss.

  James Trant nodded. “We’re getting on all right now though. We’re making quite a success of this.”

  “And it’s a good thing for the town, they tell me.”

  “We like to think so, sir. We were lucky to find a place. Mr. Bannock suggested it and it works.”

  “Good. This is my wife. I’m taking her round to have a look at the place.”

  James Trant shook hands with me and said: “Welcome to Fancy Town.” He added that he would go and tell Ethel.

  Ethel, wrapped in a large apron, came out wiping floury hands on a cloth. I was introduced to her and Joss and I repeated how sorry we were to hear of their misfortune and how we had discovered it when we had spent a night at the burned-out inn.

  “Don’t do to look on the black side,” said Ethel. “There’s not much hope of saving a wooden house when you’re in the Bush, and it had been so dry…the grass was ready to flare up if you so much as looked at it. When I saw that the fire was getting a hold, I knew we hadn’t a hope. Well, we’ve been lucky. As soon as Mr. Bannock said why shouldn’t we have the c
orner place and turn it into a cookshop, we got going. It’s the very thing they wanted at the Fancy. Things are not so bad now, are they, James? I used to take such pride in feeding them. They could eat like horses, those cattlemen and miners. They’d come to me tired out with a day’s riding and longing for a taste of the sort of food they’d had at home. Stews they loved and there was always roast beef. A lovely bit of sirloin…that was the favorite…red and juicy; and they loved my potatoes done in their jackets. Done in the coals they couldn’t be beaten. And a good beef stew swimming with onions and dumplings, and damper to go with it…and of course tea with everything.”

  James interrupted by saying that as long as the field continued to yield good opal they were sure of a living.

  “May it be for a good many years to come,” said Ethel fervently.

  “It will,” Joss assured her.

  “The funny thing was,” said Ethel, “that it was only a few days before the fire that this man came along.”

  “What man?” said Joss sharply.

  “Him who’d been with Desmond Dereham in America. He said Desmond had never stolen the Green Flash and that all the time it had been here in Australia. I wondered if that had brought us bad luck.”

  “What utter nonsense,” said Joss sharply.

  “That’s what I tell Ethel,” agreed James.

  “Well, it seemed funny to me. Whenever that Flash is about there’s bad luck. Look at Mr. Henniker. Who’d have thought that accident would have happened to him.”

  “Accidents happen to anyone at any time,” retorted Joss tersely.

  “But you see, he had the Flash all the time if this man was right…and then he had the accident and now he’s dead.”

  Joss said angrily: “If that sort of talk goes on you’ll have no cookshop. All this nonsense about ill luck has got to be stopped, and I’ll put an end to it.”

  James and Ethel looked crestfallen, and I felt sorry for them and angry with Joss.

  I said gently: “I’m sure nobody takes that sort of thing seriously.”

  “But they do,” snapped Joss, “and it’s got to stop.”

  I smiled apologetically at James and Ethel and Joss said: “We must be going.”

  When we were out of earshot I said: “Need you have been so curt?”

  “There is every need.”

  “Those poor people have suffered a dreadful tragedy and you can’t even be civil to them.”

  “I’m being kind to them. Talk like that could make the price of opals slump and cookshops with them. It’s something we have to fight against.”

  “I see. Being cruel to be kind.”

  “Exactly, and you object to it?”

  “It’s a mode of self-righteousness which I particularly dislike.”

  “I’ve discovered something.”

  “What?”

  “That there’s a great deal about me that you particularly dislike.”

  I was silent and he went on maliciously: “You’ve burned your boats, I’m afraid. You’ve accepted the conditions of Ben’s will. Just think…all this…and me too…You’ve accepted us. You’ve made your bed and now you must lie on it…” Again that mocking laugh. “Though I have to admit that’s a rather unfortunate analogy in the circumstances.”

  I said angrily: “I came out this morning determined to like everything. It’s you who are spoiling things.”

  “Isn’t that how it’s always been? Now had Ben produced a pleasant gentleman for you instead of me, all might have been as merry as a marriage bell—as you see I’m in a quoting mood today.”

  I said: “I think we should at least try to behave in a gracious manner, whatever resentments we feel for having been pressed into a situation distasteful to us both.”

  “I believe that’s a good old English custom.”

  “It’s not a bad one.”

  “You set me an example. Pretend that all is well. It’s a great help. Who knows in time you may enjoy being here among the shafts and the gougers. And one day this is going to be a real town with a town hall, a church and a steeple. We’ll get rid of the shacks and build proper houses, and the calico tents will be gone. It’ll be more to your taste then.”

  “Perhaps,” I said.

  “Here are the Company’s offices,” he told me as we came to quite the most impressive building in the township. “You’ll want to know what goes on in here, as you are now part of it. It’s no use despising what you have a share in, is there? You’ll gradually find out what goes on, but this morning I’ll content myself with introductions.”

  “I hope they won’t feel resentful towards me.”

  “Resentful towards my wife! They wouldn’t dare!”

  We entered the building. It was good to get out of the sun and enjoy a little respite from the flies.

  There were several rooms in which people were working. Again I was aware immediately of the effect Joss had. There was no doubt that they were all in great awe of him. Ezra had gathered some of the heads of departments into the boardroom, and there they were introduced to me.

  “Mrs. Madden is one of our new directors,” Joss explained.

  There were six men present, including Ezra and Jimson Laud. Of the others I felt particularly drawn to Jeremy Dickson, blond, fresh-faced, and not long out from England. Perhaps it was for that reason that we seemed to have something in common.

  Joss explained to me that mining was only the beginning of the industry: there was expert sorting into categories and snipping and putting the stones on facing wheels; all these tasks had to be performed by experts. One mistake could mean the loss of a great deal of money.

  “These gentlemen,” he explained, “are all experts in their various fields.”

  As we sat around the table, he told them the terms of Ben’s will and that Ben’s shares in the Company had been divided equally between himself and me, which made me of course an important figure.

  He turned to me. “You will no doubt want to acquaint yourself with all that goes on here…that’s if you decide to take an active part. It’s a decision you won’t want to make in a hurry. You can of course always allow me to take care of everything for you.”

  “I feel I want to be able to take my place here with the rest of you,” I said.

  My decision was applauded.

  “In that case,” Joss went on, “we’ll have a run through of what has been happening during my absence. That should teach you something.”

  I sat there while they talked. Secretly I found a great deal of it beyond my comprehension, but I was determined not to allow Joss to score over me. I had already made up my mind that I was going to take my place in the Company and show these men, who I was sure had made up their minds that I would soon tire of it, that I could grapple with problems as well as they could.

  When they had talked for about an hour and I was very little wiser at the end of it, Joss asked if I would like to see some of the departments or would prefer to return to Peacocks. If the latter was my choice he would send someone back with me.

  I said I would see the departments. Jeremy Dickson was told to take me around. Afterwards he could ride back with me to Peacocks, for Joss would be engaged at the township for the rest of the day.

  With Jeremy Dickson I saw how opals were sorted in one room and in another put under the facing wheels. I watched the men at work, and Jeremy pointed out how quality was recognized. I learned to distinguish pieces likely to contain first-, second-, or third-class opal from what was merely what they called “potch.” This was Jeremy’s particular forte.

  I was fascinated by the snippers, who were able to cut away worthless stone and, by means of whirring wheels which had to be used with the utmost care while the worthless layers were removed, reveal the beautiful colors beneath. One false move, it was explained to me, and a precious opal could be lost.

/>   Later I was to see opal revealed in all its flashing beauty when the worthless stuff was whittled away; and men almost weep with frustration when a stone on which they had been working proved to be sand-pitted through and through, making worthless the beautiful stone which otherwise could have brought a handsome price on the markets.

  It was a most interesting day, but one thing I knew Joss was right about: it would have been a mistake for me to try to absorb too much at once. After the heat and my experiences I was ready to go back to Peacocks.

  Wattle was submissive as I mounted her, and although I had the impression that she was trying me out, I didn’t think I had offended her so far.

  I enjoyed talking to Jeremy Dickson, who told me about his home in Northamptonshire. He was the son of a curate, which immediately made me sympathetic—I suppose reminding me of Miriam and her Ernest. He had come out to Australia eight years previously and had thought he might make a fortune out of gold as so many people had before him. However, he had not done very well at this and suffered many disappointments. Then he had discovered opal and these stones had begun to exert their perennial fascination over him. He met Ben Henniker in Sydney and in characteristic manner Ben had taken a liking to him and offered him a place in the Company. He had worked hard and soon found he had special skills which impressed Ben. Three years ago he had been put in charge of the department.

  “And you enjoy the life out here?” I asked.

  “I love opals,” he replied. “They do something to me. I can’t express how I feel when I see the colors emerging. I could never find anything to do which would give me the same pleasure.”

  “Don’t you miss Northamptonshire?”

  “One always dreams of home. There is, of course, a lot one misses, when the day’s work is over mostly. But Ben was always aware of that and he did his best to keep us happy. We often had invitations to Peacocks. Ben used to ask us to dinner to discuss business and there were occasions when we’d all gather together there and have parties. We missed him very much when he went to England, but your husband carried on in the old tradition and when he went Home I was invited to call by the Lauds, which I found very enjoyable.”