Free The Outback by David Clarkson Page A

Hiro,
meanwhile, were sat on the back of the tractor. The German was talking
animatedly, which was quite common for him to do. Hiro did not seem to be
listening too intently. Although he probably would not have understood much if
he did. He was preoccupied with staring at Celeste who was pacing up and down
with a cigarette about twenty feet or so from the tractor. She, too, liked to
keep her distance.
    Even in her scruffy work
clothes the French Canadian oozed sensuality. Matt had known many girls like
her in the past. If they were on the coast she may even have been the kind of
girl that he would have gone for, but not here. In such a close knit environment
a girl like that could only spread discord. When living in such a tight
community harmony took precedence over hormones.
    The sisters were
standing at the front of the tractor cab with Sam and Paul, laughing and joking
with the two generations of indigenous men. This was the group that Matt wanted
to be party to, but as he approached, he was called over from elsewhere.
    ‘Hey, Matt,’ Jonas
hollered. ‘How are you doing; this job is good - yes?’
    Matt was left with no
choice but to join the German and his Japanese companion. It would have been
rude of him not to.
    ‘It’s certainly a lot
easier,’ he replied. ‘A little on the quiet side though. Do you not miss having
anyone to talk to?’
    ‘Sometimes, but it is
also good to have one time.’
    The expression was not familiar
to Matt; he assumed that it was a German saying.
    ‘How about you?’ he
asked, turning to Hiro. ‘Do you like working alongside the girls?’
    The Japanese man was
clearly still distracted by Celeste and averted his attention only long enough
to give a brief answer.
    ‘Is good,’ he replied,
whilst nodding his head enthusiastically. ‘They talk fast, but if concentrate,
I understand.’
    ‘That’ll be Rose,’ said
Matt. ‘She could talk for England that one.’
    Hiro again nodded before
refocusing his attention on the Canadian girl. Being unable to keep up with
most of the conversations that went on, Matt could understand why he chose to
occupy his attention with a more visual stimulus and there were few sights more
stimulating than Celeste.
    ‘What do you think they
will plant here when the field has been cleared?’ Jonas asked.
    It was not a question
that Matt had given much thought to, but what they were doing had to have some
purpose. Although what crops could possibly grow in such a dry wasteland he
could not begin to guess.
    ‘Perhaps they will just
litter it with more wood,’ he joked. ‘That will keep the stick picking industry
going strong.’
    ‘That is what I think
too,’ replied Jonas, oblivious to the sarcasm as ever. ‘People would not come
to this town otherwise, so this is how they bring us in.’
    ‘And then what?’ Matt
asked, interested to see if his companion was going anywhere worthwhile with
his theory. ‘Our contribution to the local economy is a lot less than what they
are paying us for the job.’
    ‘They breed with us,’
Jonas answered, triumphantly.
    ‘They breed with us?’
    ‘Think about it. This
town is tiny. There are only about two hundred people, which means they are
all, how do you say - relative.’
    ‘You mean everybody’s
related,’ Matt corrected. ‘There may be one or two potential inbreeds about (he
was thinking about Rhett in particular), but I don’t think it’s become a
pandemic just yet.’
    ‘You wait and see,’
Jonas promised. ‘The local girls will be queuing up outside of my door before
long; all wanting my strong Deutsch seed.’
    Jonas’s seed was the
last thing Matt wanted to think about. On the other hand, it was reassuring for
him to discover just how immature the young German was. With a sophisticated
girl like Jenny he did not think that he had much to worry about in regards to
any rivalry from Jonas’ quarter. As conceited as it sounded, he knew that he
was the one with more to offer the