Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [111]
At the Aboriginal camps, there was little to salvage but all had survived by sheltering in thick scrub between the inland sand dunes. Seeing Tyndall, Alf appeared holding the hand of Minnie’s daughter, Mollie. Tyndall passed on the news his missus was all right.
‘Tell ‘er not to come home for a bit. I’m still pickin’ up ’er stuff outta trees,’ he said with a shrug.
Finally Tyndall had to face the inevitable and he turned along the seafront to the offices of Star of the Sea. The building was partially damaged, but intact. Ahmed was asleep on the office floor, his head resting on a rolled-up sail.
Tyndall woke him and together they set out to assess the situation at the foreshore camp. The shed was a total write-off, but it wouldn’t take much to rebuild the simple unlined corrugated iron shed and upstairs crew room. The Bulan was aground well above the high-water mark but the hull was sound.
‘Going to take a lot of bullocks to drag her back to the water,’ observed Tyndall. ‘Reckon that and repairs to the rigging will take a couple of weeks at least.’
They rowed out to the Conrad, one of the few vessels to stay securely anchored during the big blow. She sat low in the water, the main hold flooded. ‘A pump job and some rigging. Got off lightly there, Ahmed.’
‘Good name, Captain. Lucky ship,’ commented Ahmed with a smile.
‘You may be right, Ahmed. A lucky ship.’ Then they rowed over to the Shamrock. She had dragged her anchors and was heeling over slightly, sitting on the bottom at half tide, but the two men were soon able to haul it out into deeper water and reposition the anchors. There was stormwater in all compartments, but little damage.
‘Another lucky ship, Ahmed. The luck of the Irish is powerful too,’ he grinned, aware of just how much import his friend put on superstition.
In all, thirty luggers were lost at sea but the Annabella limped back to Broome under a juryrig, having lost both masts.
Evans was praised for his skill though he modestly claimed a lot of it was luck. ‘As the divers say, when your day is come, you go.’
Weeks were lost while repairs were made and gradually the remnants of the fleet headed out to sea. Yoshi took the Conrad and once the masts and pump were replaced, Evans took the Annabella back to sea. Only the Bulan wasn’t ready. Tyndall said he’d bring the Shamrock out to supply them and pick up shell in a couple of weeks.
Tyndall had said little to anyone about Niah and Maya, but now he broached the subject with Olivia and confessed he longed to know what had happened to them.
They sat in the shadowy twilight of Olivia’s verandah and she reached over and took his hand, hearing the tremor in his voice and realising the depth of his feelings.
‘Maybe we should spread the word a bit more,’ she suggested. ‘Can’t the police or the blacktrackers help?’
Tyndall shrugged. ‘I’ve already mentioned it on the quiet to my mate the sergeant. Out of their territory. Lumped as “blackfella business”.’
Later Olivia decided to talk with Minnie.
‘Captain Tyndall is still upset over Niah and Maya. How would you go about trying to find out where they are?’
‘Why? If Niah ready come back, she come back. But I can send word again. Wally find out.’
‘Wally? Who’s Wally? What do you mean again?’ Olivia demanded. As she studied Minnie’s set and closed face, Olivia began to feel cold shivers run through her. Minnie, jolly, honest, open Minnie was holding something back.
‘Wally one of the mob. Same as me. Sorta cousin.’
‘What does he know about Niah?’
When Minnie didn’t answer straight away, Olivia was insistent. ‘Minnie, you must tell me. It’s important. If you know anything about Niah and Maya, you must tell me.’
‘Niah take Maya find her Dreaming, learn ‘bout her family. Them be all right.’
‘Minnie! You know where they are, why they went?’
‘Me and Alf are townies now. Don’t keep in touch regular with my people. I dunno what happen. Niah unhappy. She ask me what t’do. I tell her take Maya find her people. Niah belong same people. We all same people. Same family.