Only Killers and Thieves(27)

“Mary? What for?”

“She’d love this. Hardly remembers the last proper rain.”

Billy laughed. “Be too busy milking, the way Daddy talks.”

“She’s not so happy about it. Neither’s Ma.”

“They needn’t worry. It won’t come off.”

Tommy looked at him. “We’re starting after Christmas, he says.”

“That’s the rum talking. Don’t get hooked in.”

“You don’t think he’ll do it? What about them water troughs?”

Billy swiveled sideways on the rock, finished his mouthful, and swallowed. “If you’ve not worked it out yet, let me tell you: Daddy’s full of shit. He’s had years to dig them ditches. He gave up on dairying because he thought it was too hard. He’s lost both his stockmen, sold his mob for boiling down, now he’s acting like everything’s different because a bit of rain fell.”

“The drought’s not his fault.”

“No, but what’s he done about it? Look at John Sullivan. Same drought, same soil, and I’ll bet he’s sitting just fine up there.”

“We ain’t nothing like Sullivan. The two can’t be compared.”

“We’re something like him. Could be, anyway. Bloke even comes down and offers his help and Daddy’s too proud to take it. Or stupid, it’s all the same. Imagine some blackboy speaking to Sullivan like Joseph did, or people treating his missus the way they did you and Ma in town.”

Tommy stared out over the waterhole. “I wouldn’t trade places for nothing.”

“Horseshit, you wouldn’t. All that cattle. That land.”

“It ain’t worth it. You’ve seen how he is. What he does.”

“That wasn’t him, it was Noone.”

“Same thing,” Tommy said.

“How is it?”

“Daddy said Sullivan’s the one that called Noone in.”

“Christ, you sound as soft as him. When I get my own run—”

“Daddy ain’t soft. Neither am I. And you need money to buy a run, you know.”

“I’ll find it.”

“Oh, you reckon? Where at?”

“I’ll go shearing, down south. Or to the diggings if I have to.”

“The Song brothers did that and never came back.”

“Song brothers? From town?”

“Mia told me. When I got your rubber band.”

“Stole it, you mean. And that knife.”

“She put it in the book.”

“Not the knife she didn’t.”

Tommy sat there brooding. He felt bad about the knife but couldn’t figure how to make things right with Song. He had no money to pay for it, too long had passed to pretend he’d taken it by mistake, and he didn’t want Mia thinking of him as a thief.

“I’ll set that straight one day,” he said. “Or you can, when you’re rich.”

Billy was watching him carefully. “You’ve not shut up about that girl since you got back from Bewley—you’re sweet on her, aren’t you?”

“Am not. She was kind to us, that’s all. Gave credit when no one else would.”

“Sweet on a chink, Tommy!”

Billy nudged him playfully; Tommy nudged him back, then ate in silence, ignoring the smirks and glances his brother gave.

“You ever wish we’d gone to school, Billy?” he said finally.

“School? What for?”

“She said she liked it. You learn more than just reading.”

“You only want to go because she does. What’s her name again?”

“Mia—but that’s not it. There’s about twenty of them there.”

“They’re welcome to it,” Billy said, flicking at the flies. He fell quiet a moment. “So this girl, d’you reckon she was sweet on you too?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. She didn’t even know who I was.”

“What did you talk about, then?”

“Just that. And school. She said me and Mary should go.”

“What about me?”

“You just said you didn’t want to.”

Billy shrugged. Tommy picked up a stone and tossed it into the pool, watched the ripples spread. A crescent of shadow fringed the water, peeling left to right. Insects danced across the surface, rose, and fell again.

“What was so special about her anyway? Why d’you like her so much?”

“No reason. I just liked watching her. Had hair as black as tar.”

“What was she doing, then?”

He hesitated before he answered: “Sweeping.”

“Sweeping? Sweeping what?”

“The floor.”

“Sweeping the floor!” Billy shouted, and his laughter echoed around the walls. Tommy shoved him but he wouldn’t stop laughing, so he shoved him harder and Billy slipped off the ledge and down into the shallows. “Sweeping!” he howled again, then ran away laughing as Tommy slid down and chased after him, splashing into the pool. When he caught him they briefly wrestled, throwing and holding each other under, before they came to a stalemate and drifted apart in a hesitant truce.