A Town like Alice

Curtis said a very rude word.

Chapter 10
    Jean drove the utility slowly up to the tent with Bourneville riding beside her; she took out the gear and stopped it with a sigh of relief. Joe came to her as she sat there. "What's happened to Dave?" he asked. "Didn't he come back?"
    She told him what had happened. "I thought I'd better have a go at driving it up myself," she said. "I've only driven a car about three times before. I don't think I've done it any good, Joe."
    He stepped back. "Looks all right," he said. "Did you hit anything?"
    "I didn't hit anything. I couldn't get the gears in sometimes and it made an awful noise."
    "Do they still work?"
    "Oh, I think so."
    "That's all right, then. What were the creeks like?"
    "Pretty high," she said. "It came over the floor of the cab."
    He grunted. "Get along back as soon as we can. I wish this bloody rain'ld stop."
    She asked, "Is Mr Curtis here, Joe?"
    He nodded. "In the tent."
    "What's wrong?"
    "Got his leg bust," he said. "Compound fracture-that's what you call it when the bone's sticking out, isn't it? I think he's got a broken ankle, too."
    She pursed her lips. "I brought up that trunk with your splints and things."
    He asked, "Do you know about breaks? Ever been a nurse or anything like that?"
    She shook her head. "I've not."
    "I've had a look at it and washed it," he said. "I set it well as I could, but it's a mess. I made a sort of long splint this morning and tied it all down on that. We'll get him down to hospital, soon as we can. It's been done two days."
    They set to work to strike camp. They removed the tent from over the injured man and he saw Jean for the first time. "Hullo, Miss Paget," he said. "You don't remember me. I saw you in Willstown, day you arrived."
    She smiled at him. "You'll be back there in a little while. In the hospital."
    Once as she worked she turned to Joe with a puzzled expression. "Whose land are we on, Joe?"
    "Midhurst," he said. "Why?"
    She glanced at the corral. "What's that for?"
    "That?" he said. "Oh, that's just a place we put the cattle in sometimes, for branding and that."
    She said no more, but went on with her work; once or twice a little smile played round her lips. They worked a blanket underneath the brushwood bed as the man lay upon the ground, and lowered the tailboard of the utility; then, with infinite care and great labour they lifted him on his bed into the body of the truck. The man was white and sweating when they had done and a little blood was showing on his lip where he had bitten it, but there was nothing else that they could do to ease his pain.
    They started off at about nine o'clock, Joe driving the utility, Jean riding in the back with the injured man, and Bourneville following behind, riding and leading the two horses. They passed the bore and went on for about five miles till they came to the creeks. The water was considerably higher than when Jean had crossed a couple of hours earlier.
    They crossed the first without difficulty, though the water was in the cab of the utility and only just below the floor of the truck body on which the sick man lay. They came through that one and went on. At the second creek the water was higher. Joe stopped on the edge and consulted with Jean and Bourneville about the crossing they had made before. It seemed shallower fifty yards above the point where Jean had crossed; Joe sent Bourneville into the water on his horse to sound the crossing. It looked good enough, so he drove the utility into the water.
    It grew deep quickly, and he accelerated to keep her going. The bottom, under the swirling yellow flood, was very rough; the big car went forward leaping from boulder to boulder under the water. Then she came down heavily on something with a crunch of metal, and stopped dead.
    Joe said, "Jesus," and pressed the starter, but the engine was immovable. Oil began to appear on the eddying yellow surface of the water, and slide away downstream in black and yellow tails. He stared at it in consternation.
    Jean said, "What's happened, Joe?"
    "I've cracked the bloody sump," he said shortly.
    He got down into the water from the cab, feeling his way gingerly; it was well above his knees, close on waist deep. He called Bourneville and made Jean pass him a coil of rope from the back of the truck. The utility was only about ten yards from the bank. They made a sort of tandem harness for the three horses with lariats that they carried at the pommel of the riding saddles, and harnessed