'What are you laughing at?'

'It's Thurgoona Street, not Thurgootha Street. Anyway, I must get back to work. Personnel is up on the next floor. What say I call by Hilary's this evening and we go to dinner? You can tell me how you get on with the jobs.'

She looked up at him standing beside the table, thinking that he seemed very nice. 'Okay, I'd like that.'

'Right, I'll see you at seven. Good luck!' Francis called as he walked away.

She watched him leave, a smile on her lips, then folded the Border Mail and headed upstairs to personnel.

The Albury township, being situated on the Murray River, has some of the prettiest streets. Even in the town centre, the streets have leafy trees lining them and the homes are built well, with several rather elegant buildings. It has two hospitals, several banks to choose from as well as doctors, dentists, many hairdressers and an abundance of shops and cafes. The surrounding smaller town residents make their weekly or fortnightly trips 'into town', as they describe it, to do their food shopping and for other supplies.

The original name proposed for Albury by an a.s.sistant surveyor in 1838 was Bungambrawatha, the Aboriginal name for the area. The name was subsequently rejected and it became Albury. The reason the first name was opposed and why Albury came into it is still a mystery.

Another jewel in central Albury is the botanic gardens, opened in 1877. It was originally laid out in the form of a Union Jack: all straight lines.

The Albury Botanic Gardens covers ten acres and has a beautiful collection of trees, the tallest being the Queensland Kauri which reaches 46 metres, among shrubs and flowers as well as a historic monument to Hamilton Hume and a rotunda commemorating Albury's first settler, Robert Brown. The huge gates commemorate Robert Wilkinson, a draper who was mayor from 1903-1905.

The town has gone from strength to strength since 1847 when it boasted a handful of huts, two public houses (inns) and a blacksmith shop, police barracks and a post office.

CHAPTER TWO.

Eileen galloped Lightning across the paddocks of her mother's property.

She had just had an argument with Jeff.

's.h.i.thead,' she cursed aloud. 'Always trying to tell me what to do.'

She urged the horse faster and jumped him over a high fence. A satisfied smile crept over her face. Eileen knew she rode well. She had a very special bond with Lightning. He was in his glory when she rode him hard and provided him a challenge.

She rode further into the hills and finally came to a stop at old Harry's hut.

'Poor old Harry,' she thought. 'I wish you were here. My old mate, you understood me. You listened to me.'

She tethered Lightning to a fencepost and went inside the hut. It smelled musty.

'Oh Harry, if only I knew who killed you.' She looked around the dismal room and tears stung her eyes. 'One thing I know for sure, Harry,' she whispered. 'He was a rotten coward.'

Nothing had changed in the old hut. It was as it had been when Harry had lived there. The only difference was the thick layer of dust which now covered his meagre belongings.

'I must come and clean this place up again. I wouldn't mind living here myself. At least I'd be able to do what I want.' She spoke to herself as she wandered back to Lightning.

She rode away slowly, her thoughts on the old man who had once occupied the hut. He had been her best friend, someone she could confide in. He had listened to her troubles. He was a wise old owl. Eileen missed Harry terribly.

She rode on, coming to the creek that wound through the properties. Her thoughts switched to the night the men had chased the firebug along the dry creek bed.

'Wish they'd caught the mongrel,' she thought.

'Eric wouldn't have had to go through that rotten court case. I can't believe the firebug's got away with all that. He has to be from around here, he knew the place too well... That gives me the creeps.' She was deep in thought as she slowly walked Lightning toward the creek.

There was a small amount of water in the creek. With a gentle nudge of her knees, Eileen urged Lightning forward and paddled him across the creek to the other side. This brought her into the bottom paddock of her mother's property. She had a good view of Centaur Road from here.

The deep meaty rumble of an engine gradually grew louder. She craned her neck to get a better view and spotted a pink Chevrolet slowly making its way along the road.

'Never seen that car before. Wonder whose it is?' she thought. Nudging Lightning with her heels, she cantered towards the road, breaking into a gallop as she saw the car do a U-turn at the corner near her house and slowly head back down the road.

Eileen brought Lightning to a halt at the fence by the roadside and watched as it drew closer. It came to a stop, its engine idling loudly under the bonnet.

The rugged face of the pa.s.senger smiled up at her. 'How ya doin'?' he asked, resting his arm on the car door.

The driver leant across and peered at her. 'G'day.'

'Darcy... Daryl! Wow, love the pink machine!'

Eileen felt her face flush. She had noticed how handsome Darcy was at the club a few nights ago and was envious of Dot being with him and his brothers.

'Yeah, cool isn't she? I haven't seen you since the club the other night. We didn't get to talk much. What're ya doin' today?'

'Um. Not much, just been for a ride up the hill.' She pointed behind her.

'Well, it's still early, wanna come for a drive? I can show ya how this baby moves.'

'I'd like to, but I have to take Lightning back and unsaddle him and rub him down, and that'll take me a little while.'

'No worries. I'll wait out front for ya.'

'Oh... ok.' Eileen couldn't believe it. She smiled brightly and said she would be as quick as she could. She turned Lightning around, her mind in a whirl as she galloped back to the stable.

'I better put some lippy and perfume on,' she thought, smiling to herself.

Darcy spun the Chev around and drove slowly back up the steep rise to the front of the house. A smile hovered on his lips as he watched the way Eileen handled Lightning, his smile widening at the rise and fall of her neat little backside in the saddle.

Mary was excited at the thought of her plans for the evening. She carefully applied her make-up and sprayed herself with her favourite fragrance. She studied her appearance in the mirror.

'Mmm, you'll do nicely, Mary ole' girl,' she told her reflection.

She was slender and graceful in navy blue and white. She looked beautiful.

Mary had arranged to meet with Karl in the adjoining town of Wodonga, across the NSW/Victorian border. They were going to an out-of-town restaurant. It gave her a thrill just thinking of their secret affair. She looked good and felt good. Feeling confident, she grabbed her purse and keys, and walked briskly to her car.

In 1851, separation was achieved between northern and southern New South Wales. The border was proposed as the Murrumbidgee River, well north of Albury. Due to a clerical error, the boundary was fixed at the Murray River, the new state was named Victoria and Albury became a frontier border town. The settlement on the Victorian side of the river was originally named Wodonga. It was changed to Belvoir, although both names were used for 20 years. With time the original name stuck and Belvoir was dropped in 1874.

The arrival of the first railroad from Melbourne in 1873 largely spelt the end of the paddle steamer era. The rail line from Sydney reached Albury in 1881. The first railway bridge over the Murray was opened in 1883. Due to differences in the gauge of railway lines between the two states, Albury and Wodonga became changing stations for pa.s.sengers and freight. The standard gauge on the SydneyMelbourne line was not available until 1962.

Harvey closed the folder on his desk and pushed it to one side. He was meeting Ellie at their cabin out at the Weir tonight. He felt himself harden at the thought of the lovely Ellie. Everything about her was beautiful. He could see her naked in his mind. His lips formed a smile at the thought of what the night would bring.

'Ah, Harvey my boy, comin' to Albury sure was the best move you could make,' he thought, feeling very sure of himself.

'No one'll suspect the truth, least of all my s.e.xy Ellie. Everythin's goin' fine and dandy now,' he smirked.

Standing up, he pushed his chair back, grabbed his sports jacket from the back of it and, humming a tune, he sauntered to the door.

'Aah! s.h.i.t!' Karl swore, tucking his hand under his armpit and s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up his face.

'What'd ya do, mate?' Digger called across to him.

'Cut me b.l.o.o.d.y hand.'

'Bad?'

'Nah, but it friggin' hurt!'

They were in the orchard tending the trees.

They had been hard at work since daylight and were feeling very tired. Eric, Des and Sam were also there giving them a hand.

The rich fruit growing area was gradually getting back to normal after the turmoil the firebug had created.

There were still people in the valley who were convinced Eric had been the firebug regardless of the fact that he was acquitted of all charges against him.

Usually at pruning time and then again in the picking season, the people would rally together to lend a hand. Now, because of the rift in the community, the number of helpers had dwindled dramatically.

'Hey Karl, how about we take that ferret of yours up the hill next Sat'dy and do some rabbitin?' Des called out.

Karl had sat down under a tree to wrap his cut hand in his handkerchief. 'That's a good idea. I could do with a nice rabbit stew.'

'I'll come too. I like nothin' better than a day out rabbitin,' Eric called.

Rabbit hunting in the hills surrounding the valley was a favourite pastime with the locals. Before the firebug began his rampage, the men would pack up their rucksacks and take their spotlights and head up into the hills for the weekend. They would leave Friday evening, returning Sunday afternoon grubby and happy to hand over their catch for Hazel to create one of her many delicious meals.

Rabbit recipes were a common thing: baked rabbit, stewed rabbit, all were delicious and cooked mostly on wood fired stoves.

'Ah beautiful blue eyes, every day brings us one step closer.'

He was sitting on a log, basking in the sun, deep in the hills looking at the photo he had pulled from his breast pocket. Saliva dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his hand.

'All these years, you b.i.t.c.h. All these years you made me suffer... Soon it'll be your turn. I'll make you pay for what you did,' he snarled.

Tucking the photo away, he sat gazing into the open s.p.a.ce in front of him.

'It's time ta get on with tha job.' Muttering to himself, he leaned across to a box nearby and began fossicking though its contents.

Darcy dropped Daryl off in Dean Street and he and Eileen were alone in his car.

'Like a drive out to the Weir?'

Eileen nodded and settled comfortably into the seat. 'Gee, this is some car.'

'Yeah, she sure is a beauty.' He patted the dashboard with one hand. 'She's gotta lotta guts too.'

'Well, show me how fast she goes when we get out onto the Weir road,' Eileen suggested. She loved nothing better than the thrill of speed.

They drove across the border and through Wodonga, heading onto the road that led out to the Hume Weir. Darcy put his foot down and the speedo quickly crept up to one hundred miles per hour. The car hugged the road as they shot along flat out.

Eileen felt the adrenalin race through her veins. Darcy concentrated on his driving and kept the speed up along the straight stretch of road until a bend came into view. He eased his foot slowly off the accelerator, bringing the speed gradually back down.

'How was that, eh?' he asked, exhilaration in his voice. He too loved the thrill of a fast car.

'That was absolutely fantastic!' Eileen enthused, flushed with excitement.

'Well, we can do it again sometime if you want. I like a girl who likes a thrill.'

Eileen quickly accepted. She was smiling and blushing as she stared out the window.

He glanced at her, thinking how pretty she looked even with her flushed face.

'Why don't we go to the drive-in tonight?'

'Yeah, I'd like that.' Eileen couldn't keep the smile from spreading across her face.

'I'll shout tea as well,' Darcy offered.

'Oh, ok, but I'll have to find a phone box and give Mum a call or she'll worry if I don't show up for tea.' They arrived at the Hume Weir and Darcy pulled to a stop outside the milk bar. Eileen got out and went to use the phone outside the shop. Darcy watched her and admired the swing of her hips as she crossed the short distance from the car to the phone box. For a fleeting moment, he could imagine those long tanned legs wrapped around him.

'C'mon, Darc, behave,' he thought.

Darkness had closed over the valley and the men had finished for the day and gone home. A figure emerged from the shelter of the gum trees surrounding the dam on the Kia-Ora property. He stood with hands on his hips, legs slightly apart.