A Penny in Time Read online

  ‘Now,’ his nanna said slowly, digging the penny out of her pocket, ‘let’s see. The first child to hold this coin in her hand.’ She turned the penny over in her fingers, then looked up at Yared with a frown. ‘Are you going to fidget all night?’

  He stopped wriggling. ‘No.’ But the mattress felt strange and flat – nothing like his bed at home.

  ‘Good.’ His nanna pulled herself up straighter. ‘Now, the first child to hold this penny was a young girl called Elsie. The story takes place in 1911 – before aeroplanes and telephones and supermarkets, and a long time before computers.’

  ‘And TV?’ Yared asked.

  ‘Yes, long before that. And now, when you’re quiet…’ She looked hard at Yared. ‘…I’ll begin.’

  He curled up to listen.

  Elsie guided her pony around a thick-trunked old gumtree, then nudged it with her heels and pulled level with her brother.

  ‘Are we going to the ridge or the creek?’ she asked.

  ‘The creek,’ Andrew said. ‘I’ve never shown it to Henry yet.’

  Elsie wrinkled her nose and glanced across at Henry Willoughby, who was keeping pace on Andrew’s other side, his horse’s hooves kicking up puffs of dust. She wished the Willoughbys hadn’t dropped round this morning of all mornings, when the Macalisters had been about to leave on their picnic. She’d been looking forward to the picnic for days and now Henry had ruined it by coming with them.

  ‘Sounds fun,’ Henry said. ‘How big is it? Can we swim there? How about fishing?’

  ‘I’ve fished there once or twice,’ said Andrew.

  ‘Why? Did you bring a rod?’ asked Elsie.

  Henry ignored her. ‘Did you catch much?’

  ‘Oh, a few perch,’ Andrew said. ‘Not much else.’

  They continued riding towards a fence line in the distance, winding past gumtrees and grazing cows, the sun warm on Elsie’s shoulders. Once they’d reached the fence, dismounted and tied their horses to a post, they scrambled through to the other side. They picked their way through the scrub towards the creek and after a few minutes Elsie could hear running water. The leafy old gums that lined the creek came into view and she began to walk faster. She’d always loved exploring with Andrew and had been glad to leave the main group once the last of the picnic lunch had been eaten and the older ones had stretched out in the shade to chat or doze.

  ‘How far is it?’ Henry asked. ‘Are we nearly there yet? Which way from here?’

  ‘It’s just up ahead,’ Andrew said and they came through the trees to a small pool tucked away from the main flow of the creek, where the water lay knee-deep.

  Elsie gazed down at the ripply water and took a deep breath of the damp-leaf smell.

  ‘It hasn’t changed at all,’ she said.

  ‘Why should it have?’ said Andrew.

  Elsie smiled. ‘Well, last time I came here the property was in New South Wales, and now it’s not. I thought everything might have changed.’

  ‘Don’t be a dolt,’ Andrew said with a laugh.

  Henry flicked Andrew with a seedpod. ‘Are we swimming here?’ he asked. ‘Can we jump in straightaway?’

  ‘Well, not swimming, obviously, with Elsie here,’ Andrew said, ‘but we can paddle.’

  ‘Come on then,’ Henry said and began to roll up his trousers and unlace his boots.

  Elsie found a grassy spot beneath a gumtree and sat down to take off her boots and socks. Henry was always in such a hurry, and he asked so many noisy questions. Why did he have to come? she thought. She wished she had Andrew to herself.

  She heard Henry give a yell as he put his foot into the water. ‘Cold!’ he said. ‘Come and try it, Andrew. It will freeze you to death – unless you’re a penguin.’

  Andrew laughed. ‘Oh stop complaining. Anyway, I thought you wanted to be an Antarctic explorer.’

  ‘Not if it’s this cold,’ said Henry.

  Elsie put her socks and boots down beneath the tree and joined the boys in the shallows, bunching the layers of her dress in her hands. She let the cold water lap at her legs and watched it sparkle and ripple in the sunlight. She smiled; she hadn’t really expected much to have changed since she and her mother and sisters had last visited the property, but all the same it seemed strange for it to be in the new Australian Federal Territory. Not that it had happened without warning: it had been over two years since the government had decided on the Canberra-Yass area as the place to build the National Capital, and before that the politicians had been squabbling about it since Elsie had been a baby!

  ‘I am glad we have a creek like this,’ Elsie said and swished her feet through the water.

  ‘Well we won’t have it for much longer, you know,’ Andrew said, scrambling onto a moss-covered rock.

  Elsie frowned. ‘Why not?’

  ‘No-one’s allowed to own land in the Australian Federal Territory – we’ll have to sell it back to the government. We can still live here, but it won’t really be ours anymore.’

  Henry picked up a stick that had been floating nearby and began flicking it through the water, sending cold droplets towards Andrew.

  ‘Unless they want to build here,’ he said. ‘Then we’ll all have to move.’

  He waded further out, still dragging his stick through the water, and Andrew jumped down from the rock and headed after him. Elsie followed as far as she could without wetting the frilled hem of her dress, then watched as the boys waded around inspecting rocks, throwing sticks and splashing each other. She wished her dress was shorter, or that her legs were longer; then she’d be able to join them out there.

  After a while she heard Henry suggest that they explore along the bank, and the two boys splashed back out of the pool. Elsie followed, stopping for a moment when she reached the grass to shake the water from her feet. The grass felt warm and firm after the cold, rocky creek bed.

  ‘Coming, Elsie?’ Andrew called over his shoulder as he and Henry began making their way upstream.

  She hurried along the creek bank after them, picking her way over roots and around prickly bushes, and wished again that the Willoughbys hadn’t come on their picnic. Now instead of exploring with Andrew all she got to do was tag along after him and Henry. It wasn’t fair, Elsie thought. Henry could see Andrew whenever he wanted, but she only visited three or four times a year. She loved those visits, when she could go riding and bathing and see all her brothers again, instead of living in Sydney with only her sisters for company. Not that her sisters were nasty, Elsie thought as she finally caught up with Andrew and Henry, but they were all old, and only interested in dress patterns and garden parties. Kate was the youngest and even she was sixteen now, which was three whole years older than Andrew.

  ‘Oh look, there’s a log across the creek up ahead,’ Henry said, pointing to a fallen gumtree further up the bank. ‘We could probably climb across it if we tried.’

  ‘But it doesn’t reach far enough,’ said Elsie. One end of the log sat on their side of the creek, but the other disappeared underwater two-thirds of the way across.

  Henry paid no attention, but walked to the log and gave it a kick. ‘It’s strong enough to hold us, anyway,’ he said. ‘You want to try, Andrew?’

  ‘We could,’ Andrew said. ‘We might be able to climb into that tree from the end of the log.’

  Elsie squinted up at the tree Andrew meant. Its branches overhung the creek and if the boys stood on the log, just before it dipped underwater, she thought they might just be able to jump and pull themselves into its branches, then scramble down its trunk to the far bank. Elsie knew she’d never be able to do it though; she wouldn’t be tall enough to reach the branch, and climbing trees was impossible anyway with layers of skirts and petticoats.

  ‘Why don’t we keep going on this bank?’ she asked. ‘There might be something else to see, like a platypus’s burrow or another wading pool.’

  ‘No, let’s cross the creek,’ said Henry. ‘Coming, Andrew?’

  ‘But…’
Elsie said, trying to think of more excuses, ‘but you might fall in.’

  Henry clambered onto the end of the log and took a few steps forward, arms outstretched. Andrew began to climb up after him.

  ‘Wait, Andy,’ Elsie said, tugging his arm. ‘What am I supposed to do? I can’t get across.’

  Andrew stopped, frowning slightly. ‘Oh. You can’t, can you? Well don’t worry, we’ll come back. Just wait for us here.’

  He pulled himself onto the log and began to shuffle after Henry. Elsie placed one hand on the smooth bark to climb up after him then saw the drop to the water and stopped. There was no point trying to get across; she was sure she wouldn’t make it. She watched the boys moving further away, her hands on her hips, trying to think of a way to make Andrew stay behind. Then one hand slipped down to her pocket and she suddenly remembered what was inside.

  ‘Wait, Andrew,’ she called. ‘Do you want to see my new penny?’

  He stopped inching forward. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Mrs Baker gave me a new penny this morning,’ Elsie said. ‘An Australian one. I was going to show it to you. Do you want to see?’

  ‘Alright,’ Andrew said and Elsie started to smile. ‘I’ll look later.’ And he began shuffling after Henry again.

  Elsie frowned at the boys’ backs as they moved further along the smooth wood. Why was Andrew only interested in things Henry suggested? It didn’t seem fair, when she’d been looking forward to spending time with him.

  Henry came to a stop just before the log dipped underwater, and Elsie watched him jump and grab the branch of the overhanging tree, then scramble up onto it. Next Andrew reached the end of the log and prepared to jump. Elsie bit her lip as he sprang upwards, half hoping he’d make it safely and half hoping he’d find it too hard and come back.

  ‘Well this is certainly one way to get exercise,’ she heard Andrew say, panting, as he hauled himself onto the branch beside Henry.

  ‘It’s good training for you,’ Henry said and began clambering towards the trunk of the tree. ‘You want to go into the army, don’t you?’

  ‘I was thinking of it,’ said Andrew. ‘They’re opening a military college at Duntroon soon. Of course, I would take over the property, but Doug or Walter will do that.’

  The two boys dropped onto the far bank and scanned the nearby bush, then set off towards a clump of acacia trees with twisted seed pods hanging from their branches.

  ‘See you later, Elsie,’ Andrew called with a wave as they disappeared into the scrub.

  Elsie watched until they were out of sight then took a deep breath and began to make her way back downstream. If the boys were going to go off on their own, she thought, then she wasn’t going to sit there waiting for them. So what if Andrew was more interested in Henry than in her? She didn’t care!

  After a few minutes of marching she came once more to the shallow wading pool and found a flat rock near the edge where she could sit and dangle her feet in the water. She frowned down into the pool, through the clear water to the rocks and sand. She’d thought that the picnic today would be fun, but now here she was on her own while Andrew and Henry explored together.

  Elsie pulled out the penny Mrs Baker had given her and clenched her fist around it. She felt like throwing it as far as she could through the trees. She’d thought Andrew would be interested in it; it was so new and shiny – almost exactly like the British pennies she was used to, but with a different design on the back. She opened her fist and looked down again at the bright copper coin, then traced her finger over the words “Commonwealth of Australia – 1911”. Elsie knew the penny would have been minted only a few months before; one of the very first Australian pennies. She started to smile. She liked the thought of that.

  When her feet began to go numb Elsie climbed back up the bank and pulled her socks and boots on again. She wandered over to some gums with scribbly markings on their bark, picked up a stick and began to draw in the dirt below. She’d heard there would soon be a competition for people to design the new National Capital, and with her stick she sketched streets and houses, shops and schools. She imagined them all being built nearby, where the Campbells’ and Sullivans’ properties were. Just as long as the government didn’t decide to build on the Macalisters’ own land, she thought. She didn’t want to think of that happening.

  After a while Elsie heard the boys calling to each other and supposed they must be returning. She shrugged and kept on scribbling; they’d just have to come and find her themselves. She was tracing lines to mark a railway station when she heard a startled yell and a splash. She dropped her stick and ran towards the sound.

  Spiky banksia branches tried to catch at Elsie’s clothing and twisted roots made her stumble as she hurried upstream towards the boys. Everything was quiet now, but she still ran as fast as she could. When at last she reached the fallen log the boys had crossed, she came to a sudden stop. Andrew floundered in the swirling water, clinging to the log, while Henry lay on the branch above looking down.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Elsie called. ‘What happened?’

  ‘My ankle… my leg,’ said Andrew. ‘I hit a rock.’

  Henry shifted on his branch. ‘Can you use it? Do you think you can get to the bank?’

  Elsie looked at Andrew more closely and her stomach tightened; his face was white and strained and she noticed streaks of pink appearing near him in the water before being swept away downstream. She couldn’t tell how badly he was hurt, but something was definitely wrong.

  ‘I… I don’t… I’ll try,’ he said.

  He began pulling himself along the log towards Elsie, hand over hand, but his movements were slow and clumsy. Elsie clenched her fists and willed him to keep coming, but even as she watched he was slowing down. Eventually he stopped and just clung to the slippery wood while the water swirled around him, tugging at his clothes. One arm slipped and dangled in the current. Elsie gasped. What if it swept him away? Without thinking she scrambled onto the end of the log, sat down and started shuffling towards him.

  ‘Hold on!’ she shouted. ‘Don’t let go, Andrew.’

  The smoothness of the bark made it difficult to grip and as Elsie wriggled forward she had to concentrate on her balance. The log seemed to stretch forever and before she was halfway to Andrew she saw his head begin to droop against the wood. She tried to ignore the water gurgling below her and focused on Andrew’s face. All she knew was that she had to reach him before he lost his grip completely.

  At last she was close enough to grab Andrew’s arm; she looked up at Henry, still stretched on the branch above.

  ‘Help me,’ she said. ‘I need help.’

  ‘I can’t,’ said Henry. ‘If I jump down now I might knock you off.’

  ‘Then what do I do?’

  ‘Can you drag him to the bank?’

  Elsie glanced over her shoulder at the smooth wood stretching away and took a deep breath. She changed her grip on Andrew’s arm and shuffled backwards a few inches, then pulled him through the water towards her.

  ‘It’s alright, Andrew,’ she said. ‘It’s not far to the bank.’

  ‘G…Good,’ said Andrew. ‘Can’t… feel… my leg.’

  Elsie edged further backwards and dragged Andrew with her, then shuffled backwards again. His face was very pale and she tried not to think of what would happen if she overbalanced now.

  ‘Keep going,’ Henry called. ‘It’s alright, you’re getting closer.’

  Her brother seemed to be growing heavier all the time, but Elsie gritted her teeth and kept shuffling along the log, pulling Andrew with her. Finally she reached the bank and left him lying in the shallows while she clambered down to the ground.

  There was a rustling noise and then a thump as Henry dropped from the branch. Elsie looked up to see him teeter on the log for a moment then catch his balance and begin crawling towards her. She splashed into the creek to grab Andrew’s arms, and as soon as Henry reached her they half-carried, half-dragged him up the bank and
into a patch of sunshine between two gums. He lay soaked and shivering, his face white and his eyes closed, and a deep gash on his left leg dripped blood onto the grass.

  ‘I think he’s fainted. We need to stop the bleeding,’ Henry said and began struggling with his coat.

  ‘Wait,’ said Elsie. ‘Use this.’

  She pulled off one of her petticoats and together they tore it into strips, then Elsie knelt beside Andrew and wrapped the bandages tightly around his wound. He groaned and muttered as she worked but the bleeding seemed to slow.

  ‘I’ll go for help – get them to bring the dray,’ Henry said. ‘You stay and make sure he’s alright.’

  Elsie finished tying the last of the strips. ‘I’ll go,’ she said.

  ‘Why? I can get there faster.’

  ‘But we’ll have to lead them back here and I know the way better.’

  Henry frowned for a moment then said, ‘Alright. Be quick.’

  Elsie scrambled to her feet and began to run through the scrub back towards their picnic site. She ducked under branches, dodged tree roots and hurried through patches of prickly grass, and before long she was panting. Her dress felt hot and heavy and her throat was dry. She tried to force her arms and legs to move faster, all the time remembering Andrew’s white face and the bright red blood running onto the grass.

  When Elsie reached the fence line she squeezed through the wires and untied her pony, her hands fumbling at the rope. She scrambled onto its back and urged it through the trees. If only Andrew’s leg didn’t grow worse while she was away. If only he didn’t lose too much blood. At last she burst out upon the relaxed scene of the picnic; Annie and Kate were seated on the tartan rug with Henry’s brother Albert, while her own brother Keith was stretched under a tree talking to Grace Willoughby.

  ‘Andrew’s hurt. Bring the dray,’ Elsie gasped and the peacefulness was shattered.

  Within minutes Keith had reharnessed the horses, Annie had bundled the blanket into the back of the dray and Elsie was trotting ahead, leading the way to the nearest gate and on to the creek to find Andrew. The horses seemed to be moving incredibly slowly and all Elsie could think of was Andrew’s white face, but when they finally reached the boys her heart gave a leap, for Andrew sat propped against a tree, talking quietly to Henry.