Beyond Frontier - 16. BF Chapter 16

“Nice to meet you both,” Sarah said with a smile, and she gave me a slight wink, to indicated that she remembered me. I smiled as she turned and left.

“Was that a slight kiwi accent I heard from Sarah?” I asked knowing full well that it was.

“Yes, well picked up Anton. She is from New Zealand. She arrived with her 11-year old son three years ago, and works here and lives in a cottage nearby,” Mr Sanderson replied.

“I see. It must be nice to have another woman on the station, Mrs Sanderson,” I commented.

“It is indeed, and such a hard working one too. I don’t know where I would be without her,” Mrs Sanderson replied as we all began to eat.

When everyone had finished eating, Sarah entered to start clearing the plates, and I stood up, “Allow me to assist you, Ms Sarah,” I said, and I saw her blush a little.

“Thank you… Anton, was it?” she replied, as I began to assist with clearing the table and taking the plates into the large kitchen, and placing them onto the table.

Sarah rushed up to me and gave me a big hug, “Oh, Anton, it is wonderful to see you again. How are you and your brothers, and the rest of the crew? Are they all well, and what are you doing here in the middle of nowhere? I saw the strange vehicle parked near the quarters. I had no idea it was you,” Sarah asked all at once softly, and I returned the hug.

“It’s wonderful to see you to Sarah, and quite a surprise too. The boys are doing good, growing very quickly really, and the crew are good too. I went to university and I have two degrees and a master’s degree, although I have only said that I am a zoologist and research scientist so far, but I have a degree in marine science and master’s in environmental science. I still have both yachts, as well as a 57-metre catamaran research vessel. How have you and young Oscar been since I last saw you?” I replied, as I leaned against the table, ready to hear all the news.

“Let me get the desserts out first, and we will chat later,” Sarah said happily. I helped her to carry out the desserts and sat down to eat.

“You have met Sarah before haven’t you,” James whispered to me, and I smiled.

After dinner was competed, I assisted Sarah with clearing away, while the staff headed back to the staff quarters, and the boss and his wife retreated to another part of the homestead. As I helped Sarah with the washing up, we chatted, catching up with each other’s news of the past five years. Once done I wished Sarah a good night and asked her to tell Oscar that I said hello, and then headed back to my vehicle.

Sometime in the night, I woke up to the sound of Roebuck growling. Then she started yapping loudly, so I switched on my torch and shone it outside the swag. I saw this gigantic lizard staring right at me. I saw the veranda light come on, and James came out, holding a large thick stick. “Anton, is it a snake?” I heard him call out as I heard his footsteps come closer.

“No, a bloody big lizard,” I replied, as I tried to quieten Roebuck down, who returned to just growling, as we watched the lizard walk away and disappear into the darkness just before James arrived, in just boxers and t-shirt.

“That would more likely be a monitor lizard. They have a long nose and huge tongue, very sharp claws, and average about 4 feet long or bigger,” James said to me in reply.

“Nice PJ’s, mate,” I commented, as I chuckled a little.

“I suggest you either use the room next to mine or put your swag in the back of your vehicle. There are also plenty of snakes, foxes and wallabies around the homestead complex,” James said to me.

“I think the back of the vehicle will be fine thanks. Sorry to have woken you,” I replied.

“You didn’t. I was returning from the bathroom when I heard Roey yapping, so I grabbed my snake stick and came right over,” James explained.

“Well, thanks for everything. I will just relocate the swag and I will be fine. Goodnight,” I replied, and James headed back inside, and switched off the lights.

A few minutes later, I had the swag positioned on the back tray, and I let Roebuck go to the toilet, before we both returned to bed and soon fell asleep again.

When I woke in the morning it was just after daybreak. I climbed down off the tray and let Roebuck down so she could go to the toilet. I gave her some biscuits and some milk for her breakfast and she ate while I got dressed. Picking up Roebuck once she had finished eating, I slipped on the scarf over her head, and held her against my body, as we walked over to the homestead dining room to get some breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised to see Sarah and Mrs Sanderson happily chatting as they were baking.

“Good morning, ladies. I thought you might like to meet my vicious guard dog. Her name is Roebuck,” I said as I stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

“Aww, she is so cute. So, what was it that she was barking at last night?” Sarah said to me, as she wiped her hands and came over to pat the puppy.

“A bloody big lizard. A monitor I think James called it,” I replied.

“Yes, you have to be careful with them. They have very long and sharp claws,” Mrs Sanderson replied with a big smile.

“Sorry about waking you with her barking. She is a little protective of me. Even growled at James the first time she saw him,” I replied.

Just then a boy came dashing into the kitchen, and racing past the ladies he stopped in front of me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Hello, Uncle Anton. It is great to see you again.” Taking a closer look, I saw a growing boy that I recognised to be Oscar.

“Hello, young Oscar. My word you have grown in the past five years. Are you looking after your mother?” I replied, as I patted his back softly, then leaned down to show him Roebuck, who licked his face, making Oscar giggle. I passed my pup over to him.

“Oh, so you know each other then?” a surprised Mrs Sanderson asked, just as Mr Sanderson entered the kitchen.

“Yes, Ma’am, we do. When Sarah was a school teacher just out of Dunedin, New Zealand about 5 ½ years ago. Oscar is the same age as my youngest brother, Jedd, and went to school with my brothers in Portobello, near Dunedin,” I replied.

“That would explain all the chatter coming from the kitchen during and after dinner last night,” Mrs Sanderson commented. “Yes, ma’am, it does,” I replied, and Sarah laughed.

“You always were a well-mannered young man. I hope that rubbed off onto your brothers too,” Sarah said to me, and I smiled and nodded my head.

“So, are you going to tell everyone a bit more about yourself, or are you keeping it secret, because of what happened to you and the family?” Sarah said to me, and I sighed loudly.

“I don’t know, Sarah. I would like to just forget about it really,” I replied.

“Ah, now I remember why your name is familiar. You are the young man that owns a trimaran yacht, and you were being chased by a South American drug cartel. Then you became marooned on a remote island west of Hawaii,” Mr Sanderson announced.

“Yes, sir, that is me, and I would prefer to just forget all about it. That is all over now thank goodness, and I have spent the past few years trying to get settled into a new life, without being chased half way around the world,” I replied.

“I see. So, what is the reason you are out in the middle of nowhere on a cattle station then, when you are a seaman,” Mr Sanderson asked.

“Well, sir, I have had a breakup in a long-term relationship recently, and I needed some time to myself to get over it, so I decided to do some land travel,” I replied.

“What about Neale and Jedd?” Oscar said as he looked up to me from the floor, where he was playing with Roebuck.

“Our grandfather is taking care of them at the moment, but he wants me back soon, as he is getting too old to look after two growing boys,” I replied.

“I see. Well, you are welcome to stay here as long as you need, and help out when you can,” Mr Sanderson said to me.

“Sit down everyone and I will get some tea and some freshly baked scones. Oscar, take the pup back to the cottage, and give him some water. I will be over there shortly,” Sarah announced.

“See you later, uncle Anton,” Oscar said with a smile as he carried Roebuck in his arms through the dining room and out of the building.

“Would it be ok if you and Oscar can look after the pup while I am working?” I asked Sarah.

“Not a problem at all. He can join us in the school room too,” Sarah replied.

“Every two hours, just say time for toilet, and she will go to a nearby tree to do her business, and return,” I said to Sarah, who had washed her hands and was now serving hot scones, with jam and cream, and hot tea.

“There you are. I was wondering where you got too,” James said as he appeared at the door, and spotting the scones he sat at the kitchen table. Sarah laughed.

Mrs Sanderson was busy preparing a cooked breakfast for everyone, as the rest of the staff arrived and sampled some of the scones. “Ok out of the kitchen. Breakfast will be ready shortly,” Mrs Sanderson announced, and we all moved to the dining room next door.

When Mr Sanderson entered some time later, he sat down in his usual spot, and looked around the table. “Joe, I will need you for some mustering today. Take Michael with you in one of the buggies, so you can get familiar with the area. James and Anton, you take the other buggy. We are going to the centre west paddock, so make sure they are both fully fuelled, and that you have two-way radios and the supply boxes with you. I will be scouting in the helicopter,” the boss announced,

“This will be fun. You will enjoy this,” James said to me.

“Why will it be fun mustering cattle in buggies?” I asked in reply.

“Not cattle. We are after wild goats,” Joe replied with a crooked smile, and I saw James smile broaden. We finished our breakfast and headed over to the machinery shed where we found two buggies with rear engines and open roll bars. I helped James load a large metal box into the space at the front which we tied down with straps. I was about to ask him what was in the boxes.

“They contain water, first aid kit, spare fuel, tyre repair kit and some tools,” James said before I could say anything. I just smiled. I noticed a spare wheel was attached to the roof of the buggy, which had bars all around it, and metal guards covering most of the wheels. “Those are to stop cattle and goat sharp horns puncturing the tires, when they get a little steamed with us pushing them around,” James explained, as he climbed into the driver’s seat and fastened his safety harness. I did the same.

Just then I could hear the helicopter starting up nearby. James and Joe started up the buggies and we were soon racing off down a main track. We saw the helicopter fly over us and disappear out of sight. Taking my hat off I placed it at my feet so it wouldn’t blow off and get lost in the scrub as we picked up speed. About twenty minutes later, we approached a set of yards, and I spotted the boss adjusting the gates to how he wanted them. I saw the helicopter nearby with someone sitting in the passenger seat. We slowed down and drove around the yards and down a laneway, which opened up into a large paddock.

Joe headed to the right, and James turned to the left, and a few minutes later the helicopter raced over us then turned right towards the middle of the paddock. “Buggy one, Joe, check under that small ridge. There may be some hiding just behind it,” we heard a young voice say on the radio.

“That is Ben, the boss’s oldest son. He is home on holidays from boarding school. He is almost 15 years old,” James shouted to me over the noise of the buggy and the wind.

I spotted some goats and pointed them out to James, who grabbed the radio mike. “Ben, this is buggy two. We have found a small herd to the west, about two hundred metres from the fence. From a distance I would say about 50 in total. Over,” James shouted.

“Roger that, buggy two. Push them towards the centre of the paddock. Over,” came Ben’s reply.

“Buggy one to Boss, we have about one hundred under the ridge. We are pushing them towards the centre of the paddock. Over,” we heard Joe say.

“Roger that, Buggy one,” we heard Ben reply.

A long hour later, both groups of goats were now together near the middle of the paddock. “Buggy two, there is another hundred or so towards the middle near the back fence. Joe, push what you have towards the yards,” we heard Ben say, and James indicated me to answer.