The Outback Read Free Page B

caravan held many options.
    ‘If it rains, I’m out of
here,’ he said, pulling away a sheet of cardboard by his bed to reveal a gaping
hole. ‘This place isn’t even watertight.
    ‘You’ll soon change your
tune. After a week in the field you’ll be praying for rain to come and give you
a day off work.’
    ‘Are you kidding me?
Judging by what we saw on the way in I doubt there would be much to do around
here at the height of summer never mind on a rainy day.’
    The Irishman sighed.
    ‘If that’s your opinion
why did you come here in the first place?’
    That was a question that
Matt was beginning to ask himself with increasing regularity. 
    ‘I already told you;
three months of hell is a fair trade off to get another year on my visa.’
    ‘Well, just remember
that those two out there haven’t got advanced language skills and therefore
don’t have the luxury of being able to take a high paying office job in Sydney
or Melbourne. They’re here out of necessity, not luxury, so it’s probably best
not to complain too much around here.’
    ‘You’re asking a Pom not
to whinge. You’ve got more chance of finding a pot of gold at the end of a
rainbow.’
    ‘Well, let’s hope there
are no more of your kin around here then,’ said Colin. ‘Are you coming out to
meet the others?’
    ‘Others?’
    As far as he was aware,
Matt assumed it was just the four of them.
    ‘You didn’t think it
would be just us, did you? Your man said that some of the other vans were
occupied and I don’t think Birribandi attracts many holiday makers.’
     
    ***
     
    Business was not running
smoothly for Joe. He had been just three weeks into a major contract when half
of his workforce deserted him. If he fell any further behind schedule he ran
the risk of being taken off the job, which would be nothing short of a
disaster. Normally he was able to offset his sparse returns taken during the
dry season with the summer harvest. Thanks to one of the worst cyclones in the
past twenty years the previous crop offered scant profits and he was now more
reliant than ever on his off season income.
    Thirty years he had
spent building up his company and he was not prepared to let it fall apart so
easily. He was left with no choice other than having to go to the city to take
up some extra work. This required him to appoint a caretaker to take charge of
the business during his absence. The man he had chosen for the position sat
opposite him at the table. Their meeting was being held at the local pub as
this was the outback, where office space was deemed about as necessary as a
shearing shed was in the city.
    ‘So what do you think?’
Joe asked.
    His companion took a
long draw on a cigarette, which was clasped tightly between his index finger
and thumb. So miniscule was the hand rolled tobacco tube that to any casual
bystander it would appear the man was simply giving his partner an OK sign.
    ‘So long as the four
newbies can handle the strain, we should be able to clear the fields in twelve
weeks.’
    Joe had made the same
estimation. He hoped that advertising for a three month contract, which would
guarantee anyone who took the job a visa extension, would be enough of an
incentive for them to stay.
    ‘I’ve stipulated a
minimum term in the contract so they should all be in it for the long run.’
    ‘The job’s done then.
All that leaves for me to do is to keep them...focused.’
    His counterpart finished
his sentence with a sneer that Joe was not wholly comfortable with. Entrusting
the business to this man was certainly a calculated risk, but a necessary one.
Due to the short notice with which he had to fill the role there was nobody
else in the town with the experience or the know how to do the job. He just
hoped that the decision would not be one he would later come to regret.
    ‘I’ll pick them up on
Monday and get them to work, but after that, they’re all yours.’
    Joe extended his hand
across the table. The other man casually