exposing the line of her neck as they bump their way to the homestead five kilometres away.
Chapter Thirteen
Mars is called the red planet because of the reddish colour imparted by abundant iron oxide. Red catches attention. It can be used in a negative way to indicate danger or in a positive way in advertising to gain more sales. In nature it advertises ripeness. Jed and Alex are surrounded by red, from the cerise coloured dust, the rusty-red of the gravel, the complex magenta and maroon tinges of the ranges in the distance and the blazing, diffuse orange-reds of the sunset to the west. Their world of red reflects Jed’s gnawing anger at himself.
They sit on the verandah of the homestead before dinner, each with a bottle of champagne. Droplets of condensation form on the outside of the glass and run down the stem to moisten their fingers as they relax at the end of a long day. The evening sun is tingeing the deep red of the hills with shades of purple that deepen as the sun sinks slowly toward the horizon.
Jed is still upset by his failure to identify a conclusive area to investigate. He is used to success. In the past he operated alone, so the difficulties of the hunt only impacted on him. Although he hides it carefully, self-doubt nibbles away at his confidence and perception of himself as a man. This is what he is good at and he should be celebrating, not seeking excuses for failure.
“I didn’t expect this to be easy,” Alex offers, sensitive to his mood. “Even if we find nothing, I’ve seen sights that will be with me for a lifetime.”
“I’m glad you think so Alex, but I still don’t like it. I can’t see where my assumptions were wrong. It has to be west of Darwin and I can’t believe it would be any further west. It just wouldn’t make sense.”
“We have another chance tomorrow on the way back. At the worst we have to work it through again. We can always make time for another go.” Alex is also disappointed, but recognises Jed’s expertise in this area. After seeing the country of Northern Australia she can appreciate the difficulty of the task even while enjoying the excitement of the hunt. She wouldn’t hesitate to do it again and would even be happy if it went on longer than planned. The whole trip is a pleasant escape from life and men who profess to want her. She has no doubt they desire the image of the successful, confident woman she portrays. There is no way they will even get close.
Jed sees the reflective look in her eyes, but can’t pick what she is thinking. “Let’s change the subject. Can you remember what was on the missing page?” He is intrigued by the letter and the conditions under which it had been written. The letter on its own could be worked into a good article for one of the magazines he writes for on a freelance basis. The Royce mission offers a new angle on the turbulent times at the beginning of the Pacific war that could interest a publisher.
“Honestly, I haven’t read the letter for years. I just copied it without looking closely. All I can remember about the missing page is an image of fire, flickering flames. Deep and vivid reds as in a camp fire.”
“That would make sense in a war zone. He must have been describing something that had an impact on him,” Jed surmises.
‘It can’t be important. You got the gist of what he felt in the rest of the letter.”
“The gist, yes. It would be good to understand it all. Was it cannon fire?”
“No, nothing like that. Too obvious.”
“Machine gun fire, an engine fire?”
“No.”
“A fire bomb? Fireman? Firestorm?”
“No, no and no.” Alex sips her champagne, casting her eyes over the horizon and down the ranges to the dust below the verandah.
Jed sips from his champagne and continues the interrogation. ”Bush fire, firing squad, anti-aircraft fire, buildings on fire?”
“For heaven’s sake, I can’t remember! Let’s just enjoy the view before the sun sets. I may never get back here
Chapter Thirteen
Mars is called the red planet because of the reddish colour imparted by abundant iron oxide. Red catches attention. It can be used in a negative way to indicate danger or in a positive way in advertising to gain more sales. In nature it advertises ripeness. Jed and Alex are surrounded by red, from the cerise coloured dust, the rusty-red of the gravel, the complex magenta and maroon tinges of the ranges in the distance and the blazing, diffuse orange-reds of the sunset to the west. Their world of red reflects Jed’s gnawing anger at himself.
They sit on the verandah of the homestead before dinner, each with a bottle of champagne. Droplets of condensation form on the outside of the glass and run down the stem to moisten their fingers as they relax at the end of a long day. The evening sun is tingeing the deep red of the hills with shades of purple that deepen as the sun sinks slowly toward the horizon.
Jed is still upset by his failure to identify a conclusive area to investigate. He is used to success. In the past he operated alone, so the difficulties of the hunt only impacted on him. Although he hides it carefully, self-doubt nibbles away at his confidence and perception of himself as a man. This is what he is good at and he should be celebrating, not seeking excuses for failure.
“I didn’t expect this to be easy,” Alex offers, sensitive to his mood. “Even if we find nothing, I’ve seen sights that will be with me for a lifetime.”
“I’m glad you think so Alex, but I still don’t like it. I can’t see where my assumptions were wrong. It has to be west of Darwin and I can’t believe it would be any further west. It just wouldn’t make sense.”
“We have another chance tomorrow on the way back. At the worst we have to work it through again. We can always make time for another go.” Alex is also disappointed, but recognises Jed’s expertise in this area. After seeing the country of Northern Australia she can appreciate the difficulty of the task even while enjoying the excitement of the hunt. She wouldn’t hesitate to do it again and would even be happy if it went on longer than planned. The whole trip is a pleasant escape from life and men who profess to want her. She has no doubt they desire the image of the successful, confident woman she portrays. There is no way they will even get close.
Jed sees the reflective look in her eyes, but can’t pick what she is thinking. “Let’s change the subject. Can you remember what was on the missing page?” He is intrigued by the letter and the conditions under which it had been written. The letter on its own could be worked into a good article for one of the magazines he writes for on a freelance basis. The Royce mission offers a new angle on the turbulent times at the beginning of the Pacific war that could interest a publisher.
“Honestly, I haven’t read the letter for years. I just copied it without looking closely. All I can remember about the missing page is an image of fire, flickering flames. Deep and vivid reds as in a camp fire.”
“That would make sense in a war zone. He must have been describing something that had an impact on him,” Jed surmises.
‘It can’t be important. You got the gist of what he felt in the rest of the letter.”
“The gist, yes. It would be good to understand it all. Was it cannon fire?”
“No, nothing like that. Too obvious.”
“Machine gun fire, an engine fire?”
“No.”
“A fire bomb? Fireman? Firestorm?”
“No, no and no.” Alex sips her champagne, casting her eyes over the horizon and down the ranges to the dust below the verandah.
Jed sips from his champagne and continues the interrogation. ”Bush fire, firing squad, anti-aircraft fire, buildings on fire?”
“For heaven’s sake, I can’t remember! Let’s just enjoy the view before the sun sets. I may never get back here
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