Flight of the Jabiru (18 page)

Ruthie and Ritchie came into the pub. Ritchie had a cut on his hand and was crying.

“What've you done, Ritchie?” Betty asked, hoping it was nothing serious.

“It hurts,” Ritchie said, holding his hand up for his mother to examine.

“It's only a scratch. I'll put some iodine on it in a minute,” Betty said. “Children, I'd like you to meet Mr. Marshall. He's a crocodile hunter. Rick, this is Ruthie, our eldest, and Ritchie, our youngest. We have two more sons somewhere, Robbie and Ronnie.”

“They're fishing, mamma,” Ruthie advised.

“G'day, kids,” Rick said. He glanced towards the billabong and frowned. “Your boys don't fish at the water's edge, do they?” he asked Colin.

“They should be on the jetty,” Colin said. “They are, aren't they, Ruthie?”

“Yes, papa,” Ruthie said. “They're with Mr. Westly.”

“Rex will take good care of them,” Colin said. “They know they're not to go near the billabong unless they're with adults or some of the older kids.”

“Glad to hear it. It would be very dangerous for children near the edge of the billabong. Crocs hunt animals drinking from the edge of the water. They hide in the shallows but all they see is a shadow at the water's edge so they don't distinguish people from wildlife. They leap from the water with lightning speed.”

His words reminded Lara of her battle to save Trixie, and she shuddered. Betty trusted Rex with her sons but she still became alarmed. “I'll go and check on them,” she said, hurrying out of the hotel.

“Are you going to catch the monster croc?” Ruthie asked Rick.

Rick glanced at Lara who raised her eyebrow, waiting for a reply. She planned to keep her word but she'd be pleased if Rick was forced to admit that he'd also seen the monster crocodile.

“I'm going to catch as many of the crocs around town as I can,” he said, cleverly avoiding answering the question.

“Papa says there is no monster croc but Uncle Monty says there is,” Ruthie said.

“We'll just have to see what I get in my traps, Ruthie,” Rick said.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

July 1941

Lara glanced at her watch again. It was Monday morning, and exactly eight o'clock. So where were her students? She'd been standing at the open doorway of the classroom for five full minutes and her patience was rapidly being replaced by insecurities that just a few months ago would never have existed.

After tossing and turning for most of the night, listening to the buzzing mosquitoes beyond the net over her bed, she finally gave up the hope of sleep and got up before dawn. After that, the time had dragged, so she was more than eager to begin teaching.

Lara had visited the families of her students the previous afternoon. The parents had been enthusiastic about the start of school, but she hadn't been able to raise the same enthusiasm from her students. This had worried her and kept her awake. She really wanted her pupils to like school because then they'd do well. She felt her reputation was on the line more than it had ever been.

Of the ten students Lara was expecting, the three youngest, Carmel Westly, Sarah Castle, and Ritchie Jeffries, had showed a small measure of excitement at the prospect of attending school. Most of the others had received some schooling, either in Shady Camp or elsewhere, and they appeared to be unhappy with the idea of being confined in a classroom. Overall, the six boys were less motivated than the girls. Lara hadn't been able to raise a smile out of any of them. It was obvious that all they could think about was that they'd miss their freedom and being able to spend most of the day fishing.

Lara checked her watch again and went outside to see if any of the students were on their way. It was now five minutes after eight. Sunlight glistened on the picturesque billabong but she was too distracted to appreciate its beauty. The fishermen had gone out in their boats, so the only boat tied at the jetty belonged to Rick. As she waited he appeared on deck and called to her that he was going to check the trap. She heard the boat's motor start up, then he cast off, and the boat pulled away.

It was seven minutes past eight when Lara saw Betty Jeffries hurrying towards the school with her children in tow. She was holding Ritchie's hand, virtually dragging him along, while the other two boys straggled behind her with Ruthie trying to hurry them up.

“Sorry we're late,” Betty called in a fluster as the distance between them shortened. “I couldn't get my kids moving this morning.”

Lara gave them a welcome smile but inwardly she was sighing with relief. She had started to believe that she'd have no students for opening day.

At the same time Rizza came out of her house with her five year old daughter, Carmel. Heavily pregnant, she lumbered towards the church holding Carmel's hand with sweat beading on her face. She apologized for being late, telling Lara that she hardly slept due to her cumbersome size and attacks of leg cramps. Lara took charge of Carmel just as Joyce Castle appeared on her front veranda and told her children to hurry up and get to school. Harry and Tom dragged their feet, while six-year-old Sarah ran to the school with an uncertain smile on her face. Then Patty McLean emerged from her home with her eight-year-old twins, Emily and Vincent. Emily appeared resigned, while Vincent was clearly resentful.

Once Lara had the children settled at their desks, she tested them to see what they knew so that she could plan lessons accordingly. She didn't expect the youngest three to be able to spell or count, but the remaining children who were seven, eight and ten years old, were expected to have some capability. Lara soon realized there was not a great deal of difference in the standard of each child, regardless of age. She'd virtually have to start with basics.

Lara thought the morning would pass quickly but it dragged. She had to constantly keep reminding the boys to pay attention as they gazed longingly out of the window at the billabong, instead of at the blackboard where she'd written numbers up to twenty and the alphabet. The only time the children seemed happy was at morning break when they could go outside, and lunchtime, when they went home for something to eat. By the time it was two thirty and she dismissed them for the day, Lara felt as miserable as they did.

She was sitting at her desk with her head in her hands, when Rick entered the classroom.

“The day wasn't that bad, was it?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Lara sighed. “The boys don't want to be here. They'd much prefer to fish or build forts amongst the trees, or whatever boys do.”

“They'll adjust,” Rick reassured her.

“In the six years I've been teaching I've learned one important lesson. School must be fun! The students should want to be here and it's my responsibility to make that happen. If they don't want to be here, then they won't learn anything.”

“School wasn't much fun when I attended,” Rick said.

“Where did you grow up?”

“Outside Melbourne, in a town called Geelong. I remember some of the school holidays in winter when it was very cold and wet. We couldn't go outside to play so we made up our own games inside. One of my favorites was a fishing game. We cut out shapes of fish in cardboard. We then made a fishing pole using a branch from a tree with a piece of string attached. We made hooks from wire. We put small metal rings through the fish, and then put them in a bucket. We then each had a turn at fishing. The one who hooked the most fish while the other counted to twenty, won. It was great fun and amused us for hours.”

“That's all very well, but it's a game and still fishing, isn't it?” Lara said disheartened.

“I suppose so, unless you can somehow turn it into a game that involves learning,” Rick said. “I don't know how you'd do that, though.”

Lara's features lip up. “What a fantastic idea, Rick. The boys would all have fishing poles, so I could make some fish and put numbers on them. That would be a fun way of teaching them to count. I have a big basket here that's used for storing wood for the stove. I could use that as a pond. I'm sure they'd enjoy that and they'd learn at the same time. You're a genius!”

“I don't know about that. I haven't trapped a crocodile yet.”

“You will.”

“I think the meat I used for bait was too fresh. Apart from that, crocodiles are sometimes cautious. It might take them a few days to accept the cage because it's something new in their territory.”

“Did you trap crocs before you joined the army?”

“Yes, for a time. I came up to the Territory because a mate asked me to help out with running fishing charters on his boat. I wasn't quite twenty but I saved most of my earnings to buy my own boat. Once I bought my first boat, I began trapping crocs, and taking them up the coast where I set them free in small estuaries. The
Shark Bait
is only the second boat I've owned.”

“You really must think of a new name,” Lara insisted. “Now tell me what a barra looks like so I can start drawing.”

“Why not let the kids draw the fish,” Rick suggested.

“Good idea again,” Lara said. “But I don't have any wire to make rings to put through the fish.”

“I can help you with that,” Rick said.

“Thank you. Meanwhile I'll go and visit the children's homes and ask them to bring their fishing poles to school tomorrow.”

Lara didn't tell the boys why they'd need fishing poles, but they assumed they were going fishing and that made them happy. When Lara opened the door to the school before eight o'clock, ten students were outside waiting, the boys with fishing poles in hand and eager expressions on their faces.

“I brought some bait fish, Miss Penrose,” Harry Castle said excitedly holding up a small bucket of tiny baitfish.

“And I've got worms, Miss Penrose,” Robbie Jeffries said.

“You won't need any bait,” Lara said, wrinkling her nose. “Please leave it outside.”

Harry and Robbie happily complied, assuming that Lara already had the bait organized.

“What will we do while the boys are fishing, Miss Penrose?” Ruthie asked.

“You'll be fishing, too,” Lara said.

“I don't like fishing,” Ruthie argued.

“I promise you'll like it,” Lara said. “Now take your seats, children.” She passed out paper, colored pencils, and scissors. “I want you all to draw three fish on the paper I've given you and color them in. They can be any color or shape. Then cut them out with the scissors. I'll help Ritchie and Carmel.”

“Aren't we going to the billabong?” Tom Castle asked with a frown.

“Do as I've asked and I'll show you what we'll be doing. I want to see some very pretty fish, or maybe some of those famous barramundi fish I've heard so much about.”

Puzzled, the children did as they were told, while Lara made rings with the wire that Rick had given her. She then asked the children to bring their fish to her desk, while she numbered them and put a ring through them. After doing that, she tossed them in the big basket in front of her desk.

“Right, get your fishing poles, children,” she said.

The boys worked out what they were going to be doing and began to moan, so Lara gave the girls the first go at fishing, using the boys fishing poles. Each was timed, given one minute to try and catch as many as they could. Ruthie went first, and then Sarah, and finally Carmel. While the boys sulked, the girls had great fun. As they pulled a fish out, they were asked what number it had written on it and it was recorded. It was a little bit tricky, but Ruthie hooked three and Sarah, two. Carmel also caught two but one fell off the hook as she pulled it out. The other girls magnanimously decided it could still be included in her score.

Initially, the boys watched the girls with complete disinterest, except for Ritchie who was eager to try, but slowly their ‘boredom' turned to curiosity, and then eagerness to give fishing from the basket a try. Their competitiveness quickly took hold, and they tried to outdo each other. Without realizing it, they had a really good time and learned to count.

After morning break, the children returned to the classroom begging Lara to let them ‘fish' again.

“All right,” she said. “But you found it easy, so this time you must wear a blindfold.”

They loved the idea. After catching a fish, one of the other children had to read out the number, which Lara recorded. After lunch Lara asked the boys about the fish they'd caught in the billabong and found out they knew quite a lot about different fish. She expanded the topic to include the birdlife to see what they knew about that subject. They all had something to contribute, even the girls. By the end of the day, they'd had a wonderful time. The older children could count to thirty without making mistakes, while the youngest could count to twenty. They were also excited about what they might be doing the following day.

“I'm not sure yet but don't be late to school,” Lara said.

Lara was still smiling while making tea when Rick appeared at the open back door.

“I see the day went well,” he said, duly noting her good mood.

“It did, thanks to you,” she said. “Now I have to work out something fun to do tomorrow. I was thinking I might get them to draw animals that would be simple to spell. Like cat, bat, and dog, and perhaps fish. I will write the name of the animal on what they draw. It would be a simple and fun way for them to learn to spell.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Rick said.

“Thank you again for your help, Rick. You really saved the day.”

“Making my childhood game a learning experience was your idea,” Rick said.

“I wouldn't have thought of doing something like that. Is there anything I can do for you to show my appreciation, within reason of course?”

“Well, if it has to be within reason, I have some fish that needs to be cooked,” Rick said with a mischievous grin.

“You want me to cook your dinner?” She couldn't believe he'd have the nerve to ask something like that.

“We'll be sharing,” Rick said, his dark eyes warming. “I hate eating alone, don't you?”

Lara had felt lonely the past few days. She was so used to sharing dinner with her father. “Okay, as long as you fillet the fish.”

“Filleting is my specialty,” Rick said, smiling. “I'll fetch the fish.”

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Lara was busy making batter for the fish. Margie had told her how to do it when she met her the first time at the pub.

“That was quick,” she said, and looked towards the open door. “Oh, hello, I thought...”

“I was someone else,” Doctor Jerry Quinlan said.

“Yes, what can I do for you, Doctor Quinlan?”

“It's Jerry. I was in town checking on Rizza, so I thought I'd see how you are. You haven't had any more fainting spells or dizziness, have you?”

“No, and before you ask, I don't wear corsets or girdles, or anything else that's restrictive.”

Jerry smiled. He'd already noticed her figure didn't need any assistance. “Good to hear. How's the school going?”