Tell Me of Love

By Rosa Lee Lloyd

(Previous chapter)

Chapter 6

Synopsis: Julie Ridgehaven, who has been attending college in California, is called back to her home in Sydney, Australia, because her fiance Ron McLaren is lost in the bush. Julie’s friend Betz Condon has accompanied her to Australia, and the girls go with members of the Ridgehaven family on an expedition to search for Ron. Also in the party are Aunt Isabelle, who had once promised to marry Dr. George; and Wally Ridgehaven, Julie’s cousin, who has become interested in Betz. The women take over the housekeeping duties at the Ridgehaven station in the bush, and the men set out in search of Ron.

Julie lay on the straw mattress in the bunk across from Betz, weeping silently into her pillow. Everything in her world was a threatening black cloud.

Knowing how Betz felt about Wally was almost more than she could bear. Grandfather and all the family would blame her for bringing Betz to Australia. Aunt Isabelle would be disturbed, and Julie wanted every happiness for her now that she had found Dr. George again. She looked so much improved; she had even eaten a fairly good dinner.

Where is Ron? her heart repeated over and over. The only answer always terrified her. In the daytime she was able to control her thoughts, but here in the darkness they tumbled relentlessly across her mind. Ron was out in that vast wilderness alone, maybe hungry or dying of thirst and exposure; fighting with dingos or poisonous snakes or — her breath sighed in fear — maybe down in some old mine hole, trying to climb up, slipping down again, down, down, down!

“Oh, no!” she cried out, frantically. “No! No! No!”

Betz sat up, calling to her: “Julie, listen, dear. Try not to think about it. It hurts too much. Let’s say our prayer again. Remember Big Dan told us we must have prayerful faith in their success.”

“I know,” Julie answered. “Oh, Betz, I pray every minute, all day, all night.”

Betz got out of bed and knelt beside her. “Julie,” she whispered. “You know something? You’re tops in my book. I love everything about you. I really want to be like you are, courageous and lovable and full of music. Don’t give up, Julie. None of us could take it if you broke down. Wally said today. …” Her voice stopped suddenly.

“Go on,” Julie prodded her. “What did that redhead say about me? Tell me,” she demanded.

Betz wet her lips.

“Well,” she went on. “He said you are really Grandfather Ridgehaven’s very favorite. The apple of his eye. He holds you way up there on a pedestal, sort of a pattern for his grandchildren to follow.”

“How — how real crazy!” Julie said, but a little warm feeling beat in her heart. “Grandfather loves each of us just the same.”

Something bumped against the door, whimpering and pawing at it.

“Casey Jones! Let him in, Betz. He’s been gone ever since we met the plane. He can sleep on the foot of my bunk.”

Casey Jones would not lie down. He whirled and pulled at Julie’s bed covers. Then he growled and ran back to the door again, pawing against it.

“It’s the screeching cockatoos that make him act this way. Did you ever hear such a hideous racket?”

Both girls went to the window. The big white-trunked gum tree was outlined in the moonlight. Its branches were swinging with the screeching cockatoos.

“The Aborigines call them demented souls,” Julie told Betz. “Sometimes they carry on this way for hours. Let’s put wool in our ears and try to sleep. Tomorrow is a big day. Here, Casey, come up on my bed.”

He barked and growled, running to the door again. Then he came back looking up at Julie.

“Let him out,” Betz coaxed. “You put his dinner on the porch. Maybe he’s hungry. He seems frantic to get out. Only he wants you to go with him.”

“The cockatoos upset him,” Julie said. “Maybe a run in the yard will soothe him.”

Julie opened the door, and Casey Jones bolted out into the night, barking at the cockatoos. She leaned back against the wall hoping she had done the right thing. She didn’t want anything to happen to Ron’s dog.

“Ta ta for now,” Betz said, imitating Wally, as she climbed into her bunk.

“Ta ta for now,” Julie repeated. But she could not sleep. Casey Jones should be right here on the foot of her bed, safe from harm.

She arose, stepped into her slippers, shouldered into her dressing gown, and went out into the night determined to bring him back with her.

The cockatoos had stopped their wild screeching, the only sound was the faraway sighing of the wind through the bush. The moon was a bright crystal ball in the sky; its light brightened the house, chased out shadows from the yards and silvered the grayish shearing sheds.

This place had been a part of her life, Julie thought. Grandfather thought each one of his family should come to one of his family should come to one of his stations at least once a year, so they would appreciate the work and hardship that made the Ridgehaven money. He was so right, she thought. She couldn’t be wasteful when she remembered how precious the smallest luxury was out here. A bright piece of ribbon would make Geena happy for days, and a bright plaid skirt was a valued possession, kept for special celebrations in the township. And water! Julie could never waste water. Not the tiniest drop!

A chiming laugh came to her on the night breeze. She tiptoed toward the verandah. Dr. George and Aunt Isabelle were seated on the steps in the moonlight. Their heads were close together. They were making up for all those long, lost years.

Julie could hardly breathe as she went back to her room. They would have so little time together, she thought. There was so much to be said and remembered.

Before she closed the door, she whistled softly for Casey Jones, but he did not come to her. Where had he gone? she wondered with a worried frown.

She lay back in her bunk wondering if she would ever sleep peacefully again. Once, when she had been so excited about the closing day of school, she had told Grannie she could not sleep at night. Grannie had patted her head, answering in her whimsical way. “Then don’t be afraid to stay awake. Listen to what the night has to tell you.”

Grannie must have had her problems, too, Julie thought.

She drifted off into restless sleep, when a knock on the door brought her bouncing awake. She hurried to answer, so Betz would not be disturbed.

Dr. George stood there smiling his big, warm smile. “Can we talk, Julie?” he asked, in a low voice.

She shut the door behind her and followed him outside to the verandah.

“We won’t disturb anyone out here,” he said. “Now that those cockatoos have gone, we can hear each other.”

“Have you seen Casey Jones?” she questioned.

“Say! That dog ran down the road barking at the cockatoos. Haven’t seen a sign of him since. Dogs like to get out at night.”

“I wish he’d come back,” she said, wistfully. “He’s Ron’s dog. Grandfather gave him to Ron on his fourteenth birthday.”

“I remember,” Dr. George said. “I remember so many things about the Ridgehavens, Julie. They have really been my family, too, ever since I was in the University.”

Neither spoke for a moment, and yet there were so many things to be said. She knew Dr. George had something important to tell her about Aunt Isabelle. He was leaving at dawn with Big Dan, Uncle Geoffrey, and Uncle John. He would want her to know Isabelle’s condition.

Her heart rebelled against it. She did not want him to tell her the cold, hard, medical facts. She wanted to hold on to hope and faith and all of life for her. And yet, she must know so she could help her. She had to face it.

She shivered with cold. The night breeze, as always in the bush, had a misty chill as if the wind had gathered moisture from the faraway ocean or unknown billabongs and sprinkled the air at night. It offered compensation for the daytime heat.

The moonlight came brightly through the branches of the big gum tree where the cockatoos had been.

“Why do they screech that way?” she asked.

“Nobody knows,” he answered. “Maybe the Aborigines are right.”

His face was uplifted, etched against the moonlight. Julie noticed his broad forehead, his heavy dark hair, graying at the temples, and his strong, generous mouth.

He looks peaceful, she thought, incredulously. Even happy. What has happened to make him reconciled to all this?

“Dr. George,” her voice faltered, but she went on determinedly. “Tell me — about Aunt Isabelle. She seems so much improved — almost herself again since she has been here with you. I couldn’t understand why Grandfather had her come with us, but I believe I do now.”

Dr. George nodded. “Your grandfather is a very wise man, Julie. He has lived a long time and knows much about life. Sometimes it’s difficult for you young people to agree with his decisions, but he always has your happiness in mind. John Robert Ridgehaven is the kind of man who will admit his mistake, if he makes one.”

Julie’s dark brows worried together. “I think he has made one with Wally,” she told him. “Have you not noticed how he and Betz have found something special in each other?”

“I noticed,” he said, simply. “Who could help it? There is magic in the air between them.”

“Did Aunt Isabelle notice it?” she persisted.

“She did.”

“Did it worry her?” Julie went on. “Was she angry because I had brought Betz from America?”

“On the contrary,” Dr. George laughed. “She simply made the remark that Wally had met his match at last. She realizes that Wally is a fun-loving clown who hasn’t made up his mind what he wants to do or be,”

“So is Betz,” Julie said. “She wants every new thing that comes along. Now she wants to marry Wally, and he’s engaged to Sue Ellen.”

Dr. George thought this over carefully. “Well — that will work out, Julie. Don’t let it worry you.”

“But it does. Dr. George!” Her voice rose tearfully. “I’m so disturbed. About everything. And everybody!”

“I know,” he said. “That’s understandable. We’re all on edge, Julie. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. Don’t hesitate to tell me how you feel. It will help to let it out.”

“You know what Ron means to me,” she said, her voice breaking. “I have never loved anyone but him, never wanted anyone but him. I’ll just die — if you don’t bring him back to me. I’ll just die, too.”

The smile faded from Dr. George’s face. He straightened his shoulders, folding his arms across his chest. In a flash he was the sober, professional doctor again.

“No, you won’t die, Julie. People don’t die merely because they want to. You are a Ridgehaven. They don’t give up that easily.” His eyes were very kind. “I hadn’t planned to tell you this at this time, but maybe I should. It will give you hope and courage and something to cling to. Sometimes patients in Aunt Isabelle’s condition have what we call remissions, or regressions, in medical terms. The disease simply fades away and the patient is well. There is no explanation for it. I have reason to believe this might be happening to Isabelle.”

Julie could hardly breathe as she looked up at Dr. George. The bleak despair in her eyes disappeared. They were luminous with hope.

“Oh, Dr. George!” she whispered. “Thank you for telling me.

“We must wait to know for certain,” he added cautiously. “Do not discuss it with her nor anyone else. We must watch her constantly. That is why I have been to the township and sent a telegram to Carolyn Bridges asking her to come here and take charge of Isabelle while I am away. Have Wally meet her plane at noon tomorrow.”

“I will. Dr. George. We’ll all be happy to have Carolyn here. I met her on the jet coming over.”

“She gets around a lot. I just hope she is in Perth to receive the cablegram. Don’t tell Isabelle anything to disturb her,” he continued. “See that she has good, nourishing food. Did you notice that she ate her dinner tonight?”

“Oh, I did. Everybody did. She’s been so thin — almost starving.”

Dr. George nodded. “She told me she was hungry for the first time in months. That is a good sign and one reason for my hope. She should have some fresh meat. Maybe you and Cleo can figure that out.”

“How would mound turkey be? You know, the wild ones that are plentiful in the bush?”

“Red meat is better,” he said. “But we can’t be choosers out here. The sheep are forty miles away. Lamb or mutton stew would nourish her.”

“We’ll have meat, Dr. George,” Julie promised, “if I have to shoot a kangaroo. We can go out to the sheep in one of our jeeps. Miles don’t mean a thing out here. Dr. George.”

“Quite right,” he said. “Miles don’t mean a thing if you’re helping someone you love. Take care of her for me, Julie. And I will do everything in my power to bring Ron back to you.”

(To be continued)