They don"t come out of their nests much.
Waite Courtney smiled and turned back in his seat. Garry"s right, Sean, you can"t tell the difference by their feathers. The male"s a little bigger, that"s all.
, I told you, said Garrick, brave under his father"s protection.
, You know everything, muttered Sean sarcastically. I suppose you read it in all those books, hey? there"s the train. Garrick smiled complacently. Look, there It was coming down the escarpment, dragging a long grey plume of smoke behind it. Waite started the horses into a trot. They went down to the concrete bridge over the Baboon Stroom.
I saw a Yellow fish. It was a stick, I saw it too. The river was the boundary of Waite"s land. They crossed the bridge and went up the other side. In front of them was Lady-burg. The train was running into the town past the cattle sale pens; it whistled and shot a puff of steam high into the air. The town was spread out, each house padded around by its orchard and garden. A thirty-six ox team could turn in any one of the wide streets. The houses were burnt brick or whitewashed, thatched or with corrugated-iron roofs painted green or dull red. The square was in the centre and the spire of the church was the hub of Lady-burg.
The school was on the far side of town.
Waite trotted the horses along Main Street. There were a few people on the side walks; they moved with early morning stiffness beneath the flamboyant trees that lined the street and every one of them called a greeting to Waite. He waved his whip at the men and lifted his hat to the women, but not high enough to expose the bald dome of his head. In the centre of town the shops were open, and standing on long thin legs in front of his bank was David Pye. He was dressed in black like an undertaker. Morning, Waite. Morning, David, called Waite a little too heartily. it was not six months since he had paid off the last mortgage on Theunis Kraal and the memory of debt was too fresh in his mind; he felt as embarra.s.sed as a newly released prisoner meeting the prison governor on the street. Can you come in and see me after you"ve dropped off your boys? Have the coffee ready, agreed Waite. It was well known that no one was ever offered coffee when they called on David Pye. They went on down the street, turned left at the far end of Church Square, pa.s.sed the courthouse and down the dip to the school hostel.
There were half a dozen Scotch carts and four-wheelers standing in the yard. Small boys and girls swarmed over them unloading their luggage. Their fathers stood in a group at one end of the yard, brown-faced men, with carefully brushed beards, uncomfortable in their suits which still showed the creases of long hanging. These men lived too far out for their children to make the daily journey into school. Their land sprawled down to the banks of the Tugela or across the plateau halfway to Pietermaritzburg.
Waite stopped the buggy, climbed down and loosened the harness on his horses and Sean jumped from the outside seat to the ground and ran to the nearest bunch of boys. Waite walked across to the men; their ranks opened for him, they smiled their welcomes and in turn reached for his right hand. Garrick sat alone on the front seat of the buggy, his leg stuck out stiffly in front of him and his shoulders hunched as though he were trying to hide.
After a while Waite glanced back over his shoulder. He saw Garrick sitting alone and he made as if to go to him, but stopped immediately. His eyes quested among the swirl of small bodies until they found Sean. Sean!
Sean paused in the middle of an animated discussion. Yes, Pa. Give Garry a hand with his case. Aw, gee, Pa, I"m talking Sean! Waite scowled with both face and voice. All right, I"m going. Sean hesitated a moment longer and then went back to the buggy. Come on, Garry. Pa.s.s the cases down. Garrick roused himself and climbed awkwardly over the back of the seat. He handed the luggage down to Sean who stacked it beside the wheel, then turned to the group that had followed him across. Karl, you carry that. Dennis, take the brown bag. Don"t drop it, men it"s got four bottles of jam in it. Sean issued his instructions. Come on, Garry. They started off towards the hostel and Garrick climbed down from the buggy and limped quickly after them.
know what, Sean? said Karl loudly. Pa let me start using his rifle. Sean stopped dead, and then more with hope than conviction, He did not! He did, Karl said happily. Garrick caught up with them and they all stared at Karl. How many shots did you have? asked someone in an awed voice.
Karl nearly said, Six, but changed it quickly. Oh, lots, as many as I wanted. You"ll get gun-shy, my Pa says if you start too soon you"ll never be a good shot. I never missed once, flashed Karl. Come on, said Sean and started off once more, he had never been so jealous in his life. Karl hurried after him. I bet you"ve never shot with a rifle, Sean, I bet you haven"t, hey? Sean smiled mysteriously while he searched for some new topic; he could see that Karl was going to kick the subject to death.
From the veranda of the hostel a girl ran to meet him.
It"s Anna, said Garrick.
She had long brown legs, skinny; her skirts fussed about them as she ran. Her hair was black, her face was small with a pointed chin. h.e.l.lo, Sean Sean grunted. She fell in beside him, skipping to keep pace with him. Did you have a nice holiday? Sean ignored her, always coming and trying to talk to him, even when his friends were watching. I"ve got a whole tin of shortbread, Sean. Would you like some? There was a flash of interest in Sean"s eyes; he half turned his head towards her, for Mrs Van Essen"s shortbread was rightly famous throughout the district, but he caught himself and kept grimly on towards the hostel. Can I sit next to you in cla.s.s this term, Sean? Sean turned furiously on her. No, you can"t. Now go away, I"m busy. He went up the steps. Ann, stood at the bottom; she looked as though she was going to cry and Garrick stopped shyly beside her.
You can sit next to me if you like, he said softly.
She glanced at him, looking down at his leg. The tears cleared and she giggled. She was pretty. She leaned towards him.
Peg-leg, she said and giggled again. Garrick blushed so vividly, and suddenly his eyes watered. Anna put both hands to her mouth and giggled through them, then she turned and ran to join her friends in front of the girls, section of the hostel. Still blushing, Garrick went up the
steps after Sean; he steadied himself on the banisters.
Friulein stood at the door of the boys, dormitory. Her steel-rimmed spectacles and the iron grey of her hair gave her face an exaggerated severity, but this was relieved by the smile with which she recognized Sean.
JAh, my Sean, you have come. What she actually said was, Ach, mein Sean, you haf goM. h.e.l.lo, FrAulein. Sean gave her his number one very best smile. Again you have grown, FrAulein measured him with her eyes. All the time you grow, already you are the biggest boy in the school. Sean watched her warily, ready to take evasive action if she attempted to embrace him as she did sometimes when she could no longer contain her feelings. Sean"s blend of charm, good looks and arrogance had completely captured her Teutonic heart.
Quickly, you must unpack. school is just now starting She turned her attention to her other charges and Sean, with relief, led his men through into the dormitory.
Pa says that next weekend I can use his rifle for hunting, not just targets, Karl steered the conversation back.
Dennis, put Garry"s case on his bed. Sean pretended not to hear.
There were thirty beds arranged along the walls, each with a locker beside it. The room was as neat and cheerless as a prison or a school. At the far end a group of five or six boys sat talking. They looked up as they came in but no greetings were exchanged, they were the opposition.
Sean sat down on his bed and bounced experimentally, it was hard as a plank, Garrick"s peg thumped as he walked down the dormitory and Ronny Pye, the leader of the opposition, whispered something to his friends and they all laughed, watching Garrick. Garrick blushed again and sat down quickly on his bed to hide his leg.
I guess I"ll shoot duiker first before Pa lets me shoot kudu or bushbuck Karl stated and Sean frowned.
What"s the new teacher like? he asked. He looks all right one of the others answered. Jimmy and I saw him at the station yesterday. He"s thin and got a mustache. He doesn"t smile much. I suppose next holiday Pa will take me shooting across the Tugela, Karl said aggressively. I hope he"s not too keen on spelling and things, Sean declared. I hope he doesn"t start all that decimal business again, like old Lizard did. There was a round of agreement and then Garrick made his first contribution. Decimals are easy.
There was a silence while they all looked at him.
I might even shoot a lion, said Karl.
There was a single schoolroom to accommodate the youngest upwards of both s.e.xes. Double desks; on the walls a few maps, a large set of multiplication tables and a picture of Queen Victoria. From the dais Mr Anthony Clark surveyed his new pupils. There was a hushed antic.i.p.ation; one of the girls giggled nervously and Mr Clark"s eyes sought the sound, but it stopped before he found it. It is my unfortunate duty to attempt your education, he announced. He wasn"t joking. Long ago his sense of vocation had been swamped by an intense dislike for the young: now he taught only for the salary. It is your no more pleasant duty to submit to this with all the fort.i.tude you can muster, he went on, looking with distaste at their shining faces. What"s he saying? whispered Sean without moving his lips.
Shh, said Garrick.
Mr Clark"s eyes swivelled quickly and rested on Garrick. He walked slowly down the aisle between the desks and stopped beside him; he took a little of the hair that grew at Garrick"s temple between his thumb and his forefinger and jerked it upwards. Garrick squeaked and Mr Clark returned slowly to his dais. We will now proceed. Standard Ones kindly open your spelling books at page one. Standard Twos turn to page fifteen.... He went on allocating their work. Did he hurt you? breathed Sean. Garrick nodded almost imperceptibly and Sean conceived an immediate and intense hatred for the man. He stared at him.
Mr Clark was a little over thirty years old, thin, and his tight three-piece suit emphasized this fact. He had a pale face made sad by his drooping mustache, and his nose was upturned to such a degree that his nostrils were exposed; they pointed out of his face like the muzzle of a double-barrelled shotgun. He lifted his head from the list he held in his hand and aimed his nostrils straight at Sean. For a second they stared at each other. Trouble, thought Mr Clark; he could pick them unerringly.
Break him before he gets out of control, You, boy, what"s your name?
Sean turned elaborately and looked over his shoulder.
When he turned back there was a little colour in Mr Clark"s cheeks. Stand up. Who, me? Yes, you.
Sean stood. What"s your name? Courtney. Sir! Courtney, sir. They looked at each other. Mr Clark waited for Sean to drop his eyes but he didn"t. Big trouble, much bigger than I thought, he decided and said aloud, All right, sit down. There was an almost audible relaxation of tension in the room. Sean could sense the respect of the others around him; they were proud of the way he had carried it off. He felt a touch on his shoulder. It was Anna, the seat behind him was as close as she could sit to him. Ordinarily her presumption would have annoyed him, but now that small touch on his shoulder added to his glow of self-satisfaction.
An hour pa.s.sed slowly for Sean. He drew a picture of a rifle in the margin of his spelling book then rubbed it out carefully, he watched Garrick for a while until his brother"s absorption with his work irritated him.
Swat, he whispered, but Garrick ignored him.
Sean was bored. He shifted restlessly in his seat and looked at the back of Karl"s neck, there was a ripe pimple on it. He picked up his ruler to prod it. Before he could do so Karl lifted his hand as if to scratch his shoulder but there was a sc.r.a.p of paper between his fingers. Sean put down the ruler and surrept.i.tiously reached for the note.
He held it in his lap, on it was written one word.
Mosquitoes Sean grinned. Sean"s imitation of a mosquito was one of the many reasons why the previous schoolmaster had resigned. For six months old Lizard had believed that there were mosquitoes in the room, then for the next six months he had known there were not. He had tried every ruse he could think of to catch the culprit, and in the end it had got him. Every time the monotonous hum began the tic in the corner of his mouth became more noticeable.
Now Sean cleared his throat and started to hum.
Instantly the room was tense with suppressed laughter.
Every head, including Sean"s, was bent studiously over a book. Mr Clark"s hand hesitated in writing on the blackboard but then went on again evenly.
It was a clever imitation; by lowering and raising the volume Sean gave the effect of an insect moving about the room. A slight trembling at his throat was the only sign that he was responsible.
Mr Clark finished writing and turned to face the room.
Sean did not make the mistake of stopping, he allowed the mosquito to fly a little longer before settling.