 Chapter 6Joe 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. |