Chapter 22 STOMP

[image error] There was only one way to deal with a massive meal and that was to sleep it off. It didn’t last long as carolling magpies and the freedom of a clear blue sky beckoned. The sun glistened through rain drops hanging from a million different leaves, a wonderland of beauty too inviting to miss.

The pups lolled down the path, still sleepy, unsure if it really was the warmth of the sun seeping into their bones. A young magpie ruffled its feathers on a tree branch nearby and spread its wings, hanging itself out to dry with closed eyes luxuriating in the sunshine. The feel of water droplets falling upon the pup’s faces after brushing past the long grass, enlivened them with playful energy. By the time they reached the bottom they were bumping each other, nipping at their tails and stirring up trouble for a chase. They ran in and under and over fallen trees. Jumping from rock to rock and splashing through muddy puddles.

Finally, the Bogon moths had emerged, a good sign of more sunshine to come, Billy reasoned. They filled the air, enticing the pups to jump at them and bark loudly.

Billy was laughing at their antics when Larry suddenly bounced off his back. He’d bent over to pick some blackberries when Larry jumped from a rock to Billy to the trunk of a fallen tree. Billy stood up in surprise, which was unfortunate for Moe because he was right behind Larry. He slammed into Billy’s back and dropped to the ground. Billy picked him up, put him back on the rock and encouraged him to try again. He wasn’t keen but with Larry barking at him from the tree trunk, he just couldn’t resist. Larry then led the way around for another go.

Life was like this for the next week while Billy waited for word from his mum, playing with the pups and getting to know them better, teaching them new tricks and honing their hunting skills. All he really wanted to do was get on with his Walkabout and explore the world of the whitefellas. He wanted a closer look at the noisy aeroplanes flying in and out of the city, to check out the skyscrapers dominating the skyline and to meet some more people. Yet here he was still stuck in the bush. He’d been on constant look–out for a sign, any sign, but if there was one thing he knew for certain, he needed to wait. He didn’t think he could handle another one of his mum’s painful lessons.

Tug–of–war was another of the pup’s favourite games. They’d pick up a stick and take off with it, challenging the others to take it from them. Moe always won, until Larry and Curly got together. Billy got in on the action too and pretended to let all three of them drag him along the ground. He had no idea of the benefits of encouraging them to do this until he woke one morning to the sounds of them grunting and groaning in exertion. They’d killed a large Swamp wallaby and were dragging it into the cave for him to cook.

They often went off by themselves to hunt, bringing back all manner of things to share with him. He redid their stripes regularly to increase their success, and at the same time, helping him figure out who was who. They were just the best little buddies to have around.

He often heard them puffing and panting up the trail long before they ever got to the top so he’d lay in wait, ready to scare them as they came past. They thought it was great fun and started doing the same back to Billy, which was unfortunate because he was horribly outnumbered and they had no end of energy. They leapt from behind rocks, out of tree branches and on top of him at night.

One of their daily excursions was to Refuge Bay — a secluded little beach not far from the cave. If Billy timed it right, as the tide receded, the beach was full of Soldier crabs that the pups loved to run down and stomp on. Billy noticed seagulls following their crab crushing escapades for a free feed so he held Larry back one day to hide in ambush behind a rock. Larry caught on straight away and launched like lightning when one came close enough. He had his first bird and strutted around all afternoon with it in his mouth, making Curly and Moe totally jealous.

Fish drove the pups nuts with a constant stream of mullet swimming along the water’s edge just out of reach. They pawed at the water, charged in from the beach and eventually started diving in from the rocks. But they were never able to master a decent dive with belly flops being the best they could do. Billy was more successful, using his fishing twine and hooks that he kept tied around his upper arms. He didn’t get to eat any of them though because the pups kept savaging his fish.

Cobar told him how he used to catch fish in a tide pool when he was young, making Billy wonder if he could set one up here. He’d been watching the tide, rising and falling. It was really intriguing to him as there were no tides in the Wollemi’s rivers. They flooded but nothing as regular as a tide. He remembered something about Cobar telling him how when the Rainbow Serpent breathed in, the tide came in, and when it breathed out, the tide went out. That’s how everyone knew that all was well with the Rainbow Serpent. It was enough of an explanation for Billy when he was little, but now that he was a man on his Walkabout, he wanted a better explanation.

He gathered rocks while he thought about it, lining them up along the water’s edge and building a small wall that stopped just below his knee. He fashioned the wall into a U shape, with the bottom of the U closest to the water. The side of the rocks with all the little barnacles and tube worms and things he faced in, so when the tide came in, it covered the pool and attracted the fish to peck at the rocks and hide behind them. When the tide went out, they were trapped in the pool and easy prey for the pups. And great entertainment for Billy — watching the pups scramble about trying to catch them in the shallows.

In the meantime, Billy went back to fishing off the rocks. He could have used his four–pronged fishing spear but he loved fishing with a line. And this time, he got to wrap his catch in seaweed and paperbark and cook it over a small fire on the beach.

Life wasn’t all a barrel of laughs with three lively little pups though — he woke one morning to find they’d knocked his heavily barbed spear into the fire. He was far from impressed as it had taken him a week to carve the special hardwood barbs. It wasn’t a total loss however as the main shaft still remained intact. He sharpened the end to a point and hardened it in the fire.

They also chewed on his poncho whenever the mood took them. He’d put it out of reach but now that they were such good climbers, there was nowhere safe. He decided to do the opposite and leave it right under their noses, and then rouse on them anytime they so much as licked it. Larry and Moe were sitting in a huddle looking mischievous one afternoon so Billy threw his bag over so it landed right under their noses. Larry huffed out a knowing sigh, picked it up and dumped it right back in Billy’s lap, on top of Curly’s head.



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