Читать книгу Bush Snipers - Greg Pius - Страница 4

Hera Feelgood was feeling the pressure of new beginnings. The estate manger was trying to make it as easy for her as he good, but the final decisions had to be made by a Feelgood. Hera had her father's power of attorney to act on his behalf, but she had no legal authority to sell anything but the produce of the estate. Neither could she do much more than pay the normal business expenses of running a breeding ranch. The estate had some of the finest breeding stock in Australia. All the stock belonged to Abraham Feelgood! They were hired out for breeding purposes. Abraham Feelgood had purchased a neighboring pastoral property back when he had plans to build the largest stud farm in Australia. Luckily Abraham got distracted by his construction projects in the city.

So the Feelgood estate still had a highly productive pastoral operation. After decades of being heavily subsidized by Feelgood money, this operation was now the main breadwinner for the Feelgood Estate. With most horse racing activities suspended by civil war, the once prosperous horse ranch was now just an expensive hotel for pampered horses. It was the pastoral property that now paid the bills. The beef cattle were grazed on the red soil areas. They were breeder bulls mainly. Disease free, with a breeding line going back one hundred years, this stock was walking gold. All beef grazers were under pressure for more meat to feed a growing army. The civil war had disrupted international trade deals that meant that all beef had to be locally supplied. Feelgood bull calves were auctioned off at incredibly high prices. The Feelgood estate was considered to be the leading bull breeder in Australia.

All this was way over the head of Hera so she had to rely on her estate manager and her grazing stock managers. This meant that Hera had to sit in on meetings usually held in the back of a utility truck. As for attending sale yards this was foreign territory to this city educated woman. Initially the male dominated world of breeders cut her some slack. But Hera knew that she was on a steep learning curve. It was deep water time and Hera felt herself sinking under a flood of new information. Just when she was going down for the last time, something strange happened. Hera was at yet another sale yard, surrounded by the best grazers in the district. One grazer, who had always hated Abraham Feelgood, saw his chance for payback. So he tried to put one over this newbie by saying,

"I've got a chance to increase my herd for an army contract. If you sell me those heifers of yours for a big enough bulk discount then I will take the lot off your hands. Can't make a fairer offer than that now can I? So how about if Miss. Feelgood?"

A memory surfaced in Hera's mind, something her father did at one sale that she had witnessed. This gave her the confidence to reply,

"Mr. Backridge you always were a notorious under bidder. If you want those prime heifers then you will pay the Feelgood premium price like everyone else."

Taken aback at being caught out, Backridge tried to bluff his way back,

"But you can't expect top prices for such heifers. Just look at their size. That's underweight heifers you got there, Miss Feelgood."

Hera saw this bluff and called it,

"Perhaps we should have their weight checked? You know Mr. Backridge I would not be surprised to discover that those heifers are over the required weight not under as you say. Feelgood stock are the best fed top quality stock in this district! That's why I do expect top price for each and every one of our heifers. I will settle for nothing less that the full premium price. And its MRS. Feelgood."

All the hardened grazers around Backridge laughed at his failure to get his own way against a woman. Smarting at the humiliation, Backridge walked away quickly. Hera sunk the knife into his departing shadow, by loudly exclaiming,

"Must be too pricey for his purse I reckon. These are top quality heifers gentlemen. They deserve a top price premium."

With that Hera walked over to the auction pits to instruct her stock sales broker.

When the sale yard auction prices were published, Feelgood heifers came in with the top bids. The money from that deal would pay the bills for the next three months. As Hera was being congratulated by the other breeders, she finally felt like her father's daughter. Abraham Feelgood had wanted a son to take over the estate. He would not train his oldest daughter in even the basics of profitable trading. But Hera had always been stubborn, even when still just a young girl. She had followed her father, listened to his every word and stored up details of every sale yard auction.

Back at the Feelgood Estate business office, the estate manger was just getting off the phone from one of his peers. He had asked him to keep an eye on Hera for him. Now Mr. Simmons was laughing.

After Hera had got back from the sale, she went to see Simmons. Finding him buried in paperwork. Hera apologized and went to leave his office. But Simmons was still smiling broadly as he called her back,

"Mrs Feelgood congratulations on such a successful summer sale result. That's the best price I have seen for a while."

Coming from such a reserved man, Hera knew this was high praise. She replied,

"Thank you Mr. Simmons but it was only possible due to the hard work of the estate staff and your management."

Glowing with pride, Mr.Simmons opened up for once in his life by adding.

"Still there were some sharp bidders at that auction. They only bid what they have to and you made them go to their limit. That takes some doing I can tell you."

Now Hera was glowing with pride. From that moment these two people set up a mutual admiration society. In all future conversations with those in the business, Mr. Simmons would not hear a word said against old Abraham's eldest. Even in private conversations he was often telling old friends to back off from any criticisms of Hera Feelgood. Hera knew she now had a friend and supporter. This helped her to assume the onerous duties of estate owner.

Meanwhile Hannah Feelgood was in seventh heaven. She spent all her waking hours, when not minding Mossy that is, at the horse ranch. A love of horse riding came to Hannah at an early age. Her father had her in a saddle by the time she was six years old. Riding lessons followed. Pony club camps came after that as did gymkhanas. Hannah was a quick learner! Finally Hannah was given her own horse. It was a mare that Hannah loved more than any other animal. That mare was now retired to pasture but Hannah was given its foal from birth. This horse was now three years old. Hannah rode it every day now, grooming it herself and refusing any help at feeding times. The horse treated Hannah more like its mother than its rider.

It was almost time to introduce Mossy to riding. So Hannah looked over the yearlings. One female seemed ideal. It was very mild tempered and was already eating from Mossy's hands. Not that this surprised Hannah. All the horses went tame around Mossy. It was like she was some sort of infant horse whisperer. Within one month she knew all their names., their favorite food and their habits.

Hannah was helping Hera by looking after the owner's duties on the horse ranch. There was not a lot to do even with the breeding programs all suspended due to the civil war. Still there was a few tough decisions that only an owner's representative could make. Some horses had to be retired to pastures. Other horses had to gelded. Some even had to be put down. This was one duty that distressed Hannah. But when a horse put its leg into a rabbit hole, sometimes that leg bone broke badly. Now the horse would be in extreme pain. So the local vet had to be called. The adults all accepted this as necessary. But one little girl cried her eyes out every time it happened. She won the hearts of even hardened horse men when she went up to the suffering horses and hugged their necks. Holding on till the very last minute, Mossy would sign a song of love to that horse. Afterwards they could all see her little heart ache for the lost of one of her animal friends.

Taking Mossy to the local river crossing, Hannah tried to explain the death of horses. She started with,

"Mossy you know that your horse friend would never have got better."

Mossy nodded her head but said stubbornly,

"But I would have nurse it for ever and ever."

Hannah tried another tack when she said,

"But Brutus was a champion jumper. He would never be able to jump again. How would you like to never be able to jump?'

Mossy's face became a picture of concentration. Finally she replied,

"You are right Hannah! I would hate to never be able to jump. Brutus was the best at jumping."

Sticking with this winning argument, Hannah said.

"Yes and he will be jumping now in horse heaven."

Mossy's face lit up with a smile as she said.

"Yes I can see him jumping. Look there he is so big and strong. Brutus is calling to me."

Alarmed at this, Hannah looked quickly at Mossy's face. The signs were all there, Mossy was having an attack. Calling fron help, Hannah pick up a now unconscious Mossy and ran towards the stables.

A well hidden Lieutenant Doras was filling in time before the killing started. She was enjoying recalling how she had shown up all those men in that courtroom. In a male dominated army, Doras loved nothing better than getting one up on a bunch of ego driven males. Her conversation with Adam Champion had revealed how much she enjoyed rubbing their noses in the dirty business of sudden death. Doras had been pulled up by Champion as she left a still stunned court martial. Champion had quietly drawn her into a vacant interview room to ask,

"Why did you save me?

Doras had laughed derisively before answering,

"Men! You're all alike. Its always about you isn't it? Well for your information it had nothing to do with saving your worthless life. I wanted revenge on those officers. Each one has tried to hold back by career. Well their own career's are now looking shaky. Imagine they tried to railroad an innocent army officer. One who had served his country with valor overseas in many black ops missions. Its scandalous. Ha! I would love to see their faces when they tell the Governor General that they ruined his big moment. Ha! Ha!"

Champion was still confused, so he asked,

"You said you saw Cain Flint kill our spymaster!"

Doras said in an exasperated tone of voice,

"Of course I had to say that to scuttle their little plan. I did see Cain Flint assassinate someone but it was not Yves Machel."

Champion could not let it rest, so he asked,

"Who then? Why say it was Machel he shot?'

Doras now got a tremble in her voice when she said,

"Flint killed the woman I loved. Just like all men, he used her then threw her away. Not happy with that he also killed her. I saw him do it but could not stop him. I raced to hear my lover's last words. She died very slowly."

Champion now began to see an answer, he said,

"So you plan to kill Flint yourself."

Doras nodded violently before saying,

"I will kill Flint slowly and painfully! And you are going to help me do it. Don't shake your head at me. You will help me or I will have a sudden bout of honesty and withdraw my eyewitness statement. That will certainly get you dishonorably discharged from the army. It might also get you tried for murder. Face it I own you now. You will do exactly what I tell you to do!"

Back in her ambush hideout, Lieutenant Doras smiled her evil smile. She thought to herself,

"That's one male who will prove handy!"

Doras believed that he will make for good bait when she was ready to kill Flint.

All thoughts of that revenge were driven from her mind however when her forward scout gave the signal that the convoy was finally approaching her position. Now the killing could begin.