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Chapter 6

 

Joe was angry. I had never seen him like that before and if I’m honest it scared me a little. I had been expecting him the night before and had gone to bed disappointed and upset, thinking of him in someone else’s arms. When he showed up at my door early on the Sunday morning, dishevelled and moody, my first reaction was to slam the door in his face but he didn’t wait for me to invite him in, he just pushed past me.  

“That bloody Living! I’ve half a mind to go and shoot him, I knew Ned should not have trusted him!” It took a while for Joe to calm down enough for me to find out what he was so upset about. He told me how he and Ned had spent endless hours working on this long letter, 56 pages in all, that detailed Ned’s grievances and stated the facts of what had happened. They had wanted to get it printed so that everyone in Victoria could read it and know how the police had treated them. One of the reasons they had chosen to rob the bank in Jerilderie was to have Mr. Gill, the editor of the local newspaper, print their letter for them. He had however managed to run away, and when the bank clerk Living had told Ned he would get Mr. Gill to print it for them afterwards, Ned had given the letter to him.  

“But did the bloody bastard give it to Gill?” Joe was pacing the floor, waving his arms, getting enraged again. “No, Gill never saw it but the coppers did, and you can be sure they will never let it see the light of day!” He went on, ranting about the police and Queen Victoria and I don’t know what. He obviously wasn’t expecting me to say anything; in fact I think he had almost forgotten that I was there. I was only wearing a thin nightgown having just gotten out of bed and was starting to feel cold, my feet bare. When I went to pull the blanket off the bed to cover myself, Joe looked at me properly for the first time since he had come in.  

“Jesus Eileen, I’m sorry.” His hand went to his forehead to brush away the tangled curls and he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to barge in here and pour all this over you.” He opened his eyes and pulled me into his arms, wrapping the blanket around me. “I’m just not feeling too well at the moment. I did want to see you… I was going to come by last night…” His voice trailed off and I could feel his body shaking. Suddenly I remembered the package Aaron had given me. 

“Joe, is it that stuff from the Chinamen you are needing?” He pulled away to look at me, clearly surprised. “Because Aaron gave me some to give to you.” I went and got the small packet and pressed it into his hand. The look in his eyes went right through my heart and I found it hard to keep my composure.  

“I’m sorry, lass. I’m so sorry.” He pulled me to him again and spoke against my hair. “I didn’t want you to see me like this.” I could feel his hands trembling as he ran them along my back. I held onto him really tight for a moment. Then I stepped away from his arms.  

“You can stay here if you like.” Even as I said it, I knew he would leave. He shook his head.  

“I will come back soon, I promise.”  

I stood at the door, watching him ride away and despite the blanket wrapped around me I felt a chill all the way to my bones. 

I lit the fire and put the water on the boil to make myself some tea. Since it was Sunday, it was my day off and the empty hours stretched ahead of me. I had hoped to spend the day with Joe, I had been looking forward to having some real time together with him, after the brief and all too few meetings we had had over the summer. I had been angry with him when he didn’t show up the night before but now I just felt sad. The look in his eyes when I gave him the packet haunted me; I had always seen Joe as strong and capable and his vulnerability took me by surprise. I understood enough to know that he needed whatever was in that packet and even though it wasn’t quite clear to me what that might mean exactly, I had no choice but to accept it. I loved him; this was who he was. My beautiful Joe. And I put my head in my hands and cried. 

~~~ 

The next day I was back at work behind the bar at The Vine. I was grateful it was a busy night; I didn’t want to think about Joe and how much I missed him. I poured drink after drink, smiled and joked and managed not to think about him for a while until someone started singing ‘The Ballad of Kelly’s Gang’: “High above the mountains so beautiful and grand, four young Australian heroes in bold defiance stand, in bold defiance stand my boys, the heroes of today, so let us stand together boys and shout again hooray!” I knew it was one of the many songs that Joe had written; it had become a favourite at The Vine of late, and would be sung especially loud if a copper happened to wander in. Most of the customers were Irish and appreciated a good rebel song and they seemed to have adopted Joe’s ballad as a kind of anthem.  

“Are you Eileen Ryan?” I knew straight away the man was a copper, even though he wasn’t wearing a uniform. There was just something about the way he carried himself and the way he spoke that gave it away immediately. I hadn’t noticed him entering the bar and felt a small stab of fear but didn’t let it show.  

“Yes. And who might you be, to be asking me that?” There was a look of distaste on his face, like he would rather have been just about anywhere else, and he winced when a group in the corner got into an especially spirited version of “Kelly’s Gang”.  

“I’m Constable Jackson. I have been told that you are quite friendly with a certain outlaw.”  

I looked him in the eye. “And you have come to cart me off to the lockup, is that it?”  

He gave me an ingratiating smile. “Now now, there’s no need for that kind of talk. If you did happen to have any information on the whereabouts of any of the outlaws, I could make it worth your while to share it, in total confidence of course.” 

I gave him a sweet smile. “You mean like letting you know when I next expect to have them in my bed, so you could finally catch them? Maybe I could even tie them to the bed, to make it easier for you. In total confidence, of course.” The two men sitting at the bar listening to our conversation burst out laughing and Constable Jackson’s face darkened. 

Mr. Vandenberg appeared suddenly by my side. “Is there a problem, Eileen?”  

I turned to him and said: “This gentleman here is from the police. He seems to think I consort with outlaws.”  

The look on Mr. Vandenberg’s face didn’t change when he addressed the copper. “This is a public bar, we don’t ask people who they are when they’re buying a drink.”  

The copper sneered. “I’m not talking about her serving drinks to outlaws, I’m talking about her sharing her bed with them!”  

Mr. Vandenberg retorted: “And I suppose you would have proof, to be repeating these sorts of stories?” He was quite indignant.  

The copper looked slightly uncomfortable. “I cannot reveal the source of my information.”  

Mr. Vandenberg snorted. “Why am I not surprised? You should know better than to listen to idle gossip. I will thank you not to insult my barmaid any further and if you’re quite finished, you can leave these premises.” The copper glared at me before turning on his heel and walking out, to the accompaniment of a raucous chorus of Joe’s song: “They rode into Jerilderie town at 12 o’clock at night, aroused the troopers from their beds and gave them an awful fright. They took them in their nightshirts, ashamed I am to tell, they covered them with revolvers and then locked them in a cell!” 

“Eileen, you better be careful. It seems someone wants to get you into trouble.” Mr. Vandenberg’s face was grave and I tried not to show how shaken I was. It was Joe I worried for, what if the police decided to start watching my place? I needed to speak to Tom Lloyd, so that he could warn Joe. As if summoned by my desperate thoughts, in through the door walked Tom.  

“Is something wrong, Eileen? I saw that copper leaving.” His eyes quickly scanned the bar before settling on my face.  

“He said someone told him I’m friendly with a certain outlaw,” I said quietly.  

Tom’s face hardened. “And we all know who talks to coppers.” I knew what he was thinking but despite how I felt about Aaron, I didn’t want to believe he would tell the coppers about me and Joe. “Did Aaron tell you that his engagement to Kate is off? Mrs. Byrne is quite upset with him, he’s stolen a horse from them as well and she’s taking him to court about it. Would be just like Aaron to get back at the Byrnes in this fashion.” I stared at Tom. I had last talked to Aaron only a few days earlier and he had said nothing about any problems with the Byrnes. Considering his usual openness about his affairs, it did seem a bit odd. “I will tell Joe to be more careful, in case the police decide to start watching your place.” I felt reassured by Tom’s calm manner.  

“Is he… all right?” I searched his eyes. There was compassion and understanding in them and he took my hand and held it briefly.  

“He’s fine lass, don’t worry. You will see him very soon. We might have to find a safer place for you if the coppers start making a nuisance of themselves. I will talk to Joe.”  

It was always like that with Tom Lloyd. Just talking to him calmed me down and made things seem a lot less bad than I had thought they were. He became a true friend to me and stood by me through all the hard times that were yet to come. 



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