登陆注册
15468300000111

第111章 FOUR 1933-1938 LUKE(21)

They turned and walked up the hill again; Luke led her into the exquisitely cool cavern under the house, between the piles. Anne had made a conservatory out of it, stood pieces of terra-cotta pipe of differing lengths and girths upright, then filled them with soil and planted trailing, dangling things in them; orchids of every kind and color, ferns, exotic creepers and bushes. The ground was soft and redolent of wood chips; great wire baskets hung from the joists overhead, full of ferns or orchids or tuberoses; staghorns in bark nests grew on the piles; magnificent begonias in dozens of brilliant colors had been planted around the bases of the pipes. It was Meggie's favorite retreat, the one thing of Himmelhoch's she preferred to anything of Drogheda's. For Drogheda could never hope to grow so much on one small spot; there just wasn't enough moisture in the air.

"Isn't this lovely, Luke? Do you think perhaps after a couple of years up here we might be able to rent a house for me to live in? I'm dying to try something like this for myself."

"What on earth do you want to live alone in a house for? This isn't Gilly, Meg; it's the sort of place where a woman on her own isn't safe. You're much better off here, believe me. Aren't you happy here?" "I'm as happy as one can be in someone else's home."

"Look, Meg, you've just got to be content with what you have now until we move out west. We can't spend money renting houses and having you live a life of leisure and still save. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Luke."

He was so upset he didn't do what he had intended to do when he led her under the house, namely kiss her. Instead he gave her a casual smack on the bottomwhich hurt a little too much to be casual, and set off down the road to the spot where he had left his bike propped against a tree. He had pedaled twenty miles to see her rather than spend money on a rail motor and a bus, which meant he had to pedal twenty miles back.

"The poor little soul!" said Anne to Luddie. "I could kill him!"

January came and went, the slackest month of the year for cane cutters, but there was no sign of Luke. He had murmured about taking Meggie to Sydney, but instead he went to Sydney with Arne and without her. Arne was a bachelor and had an aunt with a house in Rozelle, within walking distance (no tram fares; save money) of the CSR, the Colonial Sugar Refineries. Within those gargantuan concrete walls like a fortress on a hill, a cutter with connections could get work. Luke and Arne kept in trim stacking sugar bags, and swimming or surfing in their spare time.

Left in Dungloe with the Muellers, Meggie sweated her way through The Wet, as the monsoon season was called. The Dry lasted from March to November and in this part of the continent wasn't exactly dry, but compared to The Wet it was heavenly. During The Wet the skies just opened and vomited water, not all day but in fits and starts; in between deluges the land steamed, great clouds of white vapor rising from the cane, the soil, the jungle, the mountains.

And as time went on Meggie longed for home more and more. North Queensland, she knew now, could never become home to her. For one thing, the climate didn't suit her, perhaps because she had spent most of her life in dryness. And, she hated the loneliness, the unfriendliness, the feeling of remorseless lethargy. She hated the prolific insect and reptile life which made each night an ordeal of giant toads, tarantulas, cockroaches, rats; nothing seemed to keep them out of the house, and she was terrified of them. They were so huge, so aggressive, so hungry. Most of all she hated the dunny, which was not only the local patois for toilet but the diminutive for Dungloe, much to the delight of the local populace, who punned on it perpetually. But a Dunny dunny left one's stomach churning in revolt, for in this seething climate holes in the ground were out of the question because of typhoid and other enteric fevers. Instead of being a hole in the ground, a Dunny dunny was a tarred tin can which stank, and as it filled came alive with noisome maggots and worms. Once a week the can was removed and replaced with an empty one, but once a week wasn't soon enough.

Meggie's whole spirit rebelled against the casual local acceptance of such things as normal; a lifetime in North Queensland couldn't reconcile her to them. Yet dismally she reflected that it probably would be a whole lifetime, or at least until Luke was too old to cut the sugar. Much as she longed for and dreamed of Drogheda, she was far too proud to admit to her family that her husband neglected her; sooner than admit that, she'd take the lifetime sentence, she told herself fiercely.

同类推荐
  • 揵稚梵赞

    揵稚梵赞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 平书订

    平书订

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 订讹杂录

    订讹杂录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 霞笺记

    霞笺记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 太上三天正法经

    太上三天正法经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 我家男人不好惹:给爷站住!

    我家男人不好惹:给爷站住!

    一个私生女的出生,改变了一个家庭的格局与情绪,从未谋面的父亲突然出现,理由竟是商业联姻,灰姑娘不想让人摆布,从小期待童话版爱情的她决定逃婚,而此时,两年前去往加拿大留学的发小回来了,担心父亲追捕的灰姑娘决定找发小帮忙,进入了母亲生前最期盼也是最遗憾的学校,却在那里遇到了三个如小说里恶魔般的校草,处处针对她,只有发小在帮她,时间一长,因为她坚强乐观不服输的性格,她与这几个人之间的关系似乎改变了原来的轨迹,气氛,也变得微妙起来,然而,一些阴险的小狐狸,像猫咪一样,躲在暗处,偷偷地进行着一场又一场毒险阴辣的戏码,无数的议论与暗涌向她袭来,她该如何解决......
  • 创神大帝

    创神大帝

    为什么不能成仙?为什么不能成神?为什么不能成真君、大帝、天尊?只能老老实实做蝼蚁苍生——我打!改天逆命,我即是神,主宰万物沉浮,给天地宇宙英杰升华的空间。主角聂羽穿越到玄幻世界,激发潜能,机缘巧合还是另有安排?进入层层玄妙境界,不断修炼己身,冲破重重阻隔,再造鸿蒙新秩序……感谢阅文书评团提供书评支持!
  • 美女们的别墅

    美女们的别墅

    新书《无上魔体》已经发布,书号2598392,下面有直通车,恳请大家前去一看,您的一个收藏就是对阿膘最大的支持!******遇美不收,天诛地灭!林箫,在校大学生,过往成谜,武力不详,为人低调的他独居于一栋别墅中,却不幸招惹到一票绝色美女,什么【校花学姐】【当红偶像】【无知少女】······甚至还引来一位带着【可爱萝莉】的【极品OL】
  • 孟婆诡汤

    孟婆诡汤

    “我”一直以为我是人,可是好像不是;我一直以为婆婆是人,可是好像不是;我一直以为小古是猫,可是好像不是。。。
  • 蜜蜂公交车

    蜜蜂公交车

    本书内容涉及动物、植物、物理、生物、医学等不同的题材,从不同的角度,以不同的表现手法反映了科学童话的风格和某些写作特点。本书在每一篇作品后面都做了科普链接,把科学性和文学性有机地融合在一起,兼顾到了各个年龄阶段读者的不同需要,能让孩子们在快乐阅读的同时受到科学的启迪。
  • 我的倒贴吸血鬼冤家

    我的倒贴吸血鬼冤家

    OHSHIT!她第一次去酒吧找刺激居然莫名其妙被人给睡了。早上起来,你能理解身旁居然躺着一个陌生男子的感受吗,她唐甜活了二十多年,第一次碰上这种事,早知道就不去酒吧了,怎么办?你说怎么办,跑呗,二话不说,穿上衣服,拿起自己的家当跑啊~8888888888888888学校上班听说有新的老师要来,还是个大帅哥,不跑去看看热闹怎么对得起自己的眼睛啊,诶,等等,这个人怎么这么眼熟呢?像是在哪里见过.你好,大帅哥微笑的向她打招呼,甜甜不禁一愣,一直盯着帅哥脸的眼睛突然一下就闭上,感慨外分的说了一句“泥煤的,眼睛都给我闪瞎了。”*88再一次来到酒吧,感觉四周都变了,为什么都在看着我?奇怪。只是一次相遇,她触碰到了另一个世界,一个属于他的残酷的世界..*
  • 南疆传人在都市

    南疆传人在都市

    在外面混不下去的小渔民刘文,回到了水产丰富,思想封闭的小渔村。一次际遇,不仅让他解决了男人的烦恼,更是手握南疆奇术,从此,他的生活发生了翻天覆地的变化……
  • 封天寂

    封天寂

    被天夺去体肉又如何?我不信天!不信神!不尊天!也不尊神!残破之灵又如何?我不畏险!不畏难!不怕魂陨!也不怕殇!长古匆匆,于他不过谈笑间。分裂太古,傲战洪荒,弹指灭寂神古意,九圣定神展乾坤!棋中局,众生子,他也不过而已,纵使魂消身陨,十转换她也不悔!———【湮生棋外血泪涸】【无劫虚度了尘空】【踏裂九天】【唤你入道】【此生不惜】本书书群:465498626,欢迎加群交流!谢谢大家!
  • 我们三生有幸之tfboys

    我们三生有幸之tfboys

    内容吗就不多介绍了自己看吧...肯定棒棒哒..小主们...
  • 我的老师是冥王

    我的老师是冥王

    “尹茵,我认识你,在你还不认识我的时候。尹茵,我记得你,在你忘了我以后。尹茵,我不怪你,你也要原谅自己。尹茵,你能爱我吗?在我死以后。”