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Author: langbot
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English[en]
In the distance, I could hear dogs barking. This did not overly trouble me because these dogs would have been just the normal guard dogs at the base. There had not been time to get any bloodhounds up from Melbourne yet. So, unless David or I were stupid enough to make ourselves highly scent-visible, the guard dogs would not find our hide-out before we had moved on. Even so, I knew that I now needed to stay put. Wandering about in the bush at night was likely to attract the attention of any sort of dog. David would just have to fend for himself. I spent an anxious night lying awake on the cold, earthen floor, deep within the tunnel complex, waiting and wondering – just like parents do when their teenagers start going out at night without them. (Though David was hardly a typical teenager.) Morning came – still no David in sight. “Where have you gotten to, ya little flesh-eating bastard?” I said aloud. I waited till mid-day once again before I could no longer stand the anxiety and suspense. I crept towards the mouth of the tunnel and, after listening for a time, ventured a peek out of the entrance. Nothing. There was no sign that the searchers had passed by. That was a relief, of sorts. I waited a further time – an hour or two maybe – and listened. It was a very still, summer’s day. Not even the familiar sound of eucalypt leaves rustling in the breeze. In the bush, in those conditions, any loud sound will carry for miles. If there had been any trucks rumbling along the Scrub Hill road, I would have heard them. If there had been any dogs still searching, I would have heard their barking. There were none. So, what did this mean? Perhaps the search had moved on elsewhere. Perhaps it had been suspended until proper tracker dogs had arrived from Melbourne. Or, more likely, there were now troops stationed in bush ‘hides’, just watching and waiting until I emerged somewhere in the area. They probably had orders to shoot on sight because, after all, this was being treated as a wartime operation. I couldn’t take the risk of emerging just yet. That would have made no sense. I was comparatively safe where I was – for the moment. David would have to fend for himself (unless, as I worried, he had already been picked off by some sniper hiding in the bush – though I had heard no gunfire at all.)
Cornish[kw]
A-dreus an pellder, y hyllyn klywes harthow keun. Nyns en re droblys drefenn nag esa an keun ma saw keun-gwith normal dhiworth an selva. Ny via termyn lowr hwath rag dri goes-keun dhiworth Melbourne. Ytho, marnas Davydh ha my a ve gokki lowr rag bos ‘gweladow’ der agan ethenn, ny gavsa an keun- gwith agan kovva kyns ni dhe asa. Byttele, y hwodhyen bos edhomm dhymm a driga ena. Yn hwirhaval, ow gwandrans oll a-dro dhe’n gwylvos dres an nos a allsa tenna attendyans a oll eghennow a gi. Res bia dhe Dhavydh omwitha. My a dremenas an nos ow kortos yn prederus ha my a’m gorwedh difun war an leur yeyn gwrys a bri, yn town a-berth y’n gowfordh. Yth esen ow kortos hag owth ombrederi – kepar dell wra kerens a dhus yowynk pan dhallethons mos yn-mes hebdha. (Kyn nag o Davydh den yowynk herwydh usadow.) Y teuth myttin – hwath yth esa Davydh mes a wel. “Dhe ble osta gyllys, ‘vastard kig-debror byghan?” yn-medhav yn ughel. Unnweyth arta, my a wrug gortos bys hanter-dydh – hag ena y teuth termyn ma na allsen godhevel an fienas ha preder. My a gramyas troha porth an gowfordh ha, wosa goslowes dres termyn hir lowr, assaya golok skav yn-mes anedhi. Travyth. Nyns esa sin vyth re dremensa an hwithoryon. Difresys en – nebes. My a wortas neb hirra – dres unn our po dew martesen – ha goslowes. An jydh ma yn hav o pur gosel. Nyns esa son del ewkalyptwith hogen, son aswonnys yn ta y’n awel glor. Y’n gwylvos, y’n studh ma, y hallsa bos klywys oll an sonyow ughel a-dreus lies mildir. Mar fia kertys ow rolya a-hys fordh dhe Vre an Krann, my a wrussa aga klywes. Mar fia keun ow hwithra hwath, my a allsa klywes aga harthow. Nyns esa mann anedha. Ytho, pyth a styras an taklow ma? Martesen, an hwithrans re alsa dhe neb-tu arall. Martesen, hedhys o bys pan dhothya goes-keun dhiworth Melbourne. Yn fordh arall, moy gwirhaval, yth esa lemmyn soudoryon ow kortos yn-dann gel, ow mires oll a-dro bys pan dhothyen yn-mes neb-tu y’n tiryow ma. Yn hwirhaval, yth esa dhedha arghadow dhe tenna a-dhistowgh orthiv pan veuv gwelys drefenn bos hemma, wosa oll, oberyans dres termyn a vresel. Ny yllyn na hwath bedha mos yn-mes. Nyns esa skians vyth yn henna. Salow lowr en yn le mayth esa – dres pols. Res bia dhe Dhavydh omwitha (marnas, dell en prederus, ev re via tennys seulabrys gans kelsethor owth omgudha y’n gwylvos – kyn na glywsen tennow-gonn vytholl.)