After the Dance
Ashley MacGregor
Copyright 2010 A. MacGregor
Smashwords edition
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Cover photo of High St Northcote, Australia by T Beckett, 1900.
After the Dance
Eliza was on her way home from the dance. Past the gas lights which were being extinguished by the gas lighter. Up High St where cable trams waited for the cable to start up in the morning. She knew this street very well. Every Saturday night she went to the dance, met her friends and her beau Arthur, and always came home by midnight. Her feet would barely touch the footpath. But tonight when Eliza looked at her watch, she saw it was one o’clock. Her steps became heavier. She had dallied with Arthur too long after the dance, it had felt like just a moment. She thought about the trouble she would be in.
From the zenith the full moon illuminated her destination, the Northcote fire station. For all her eighteen years she had lived in the station. Her father, Frank, was the fire chief and he kept everything in top order, from the polished brass to the groomed Clydesdale which pulled the fire cart. The station ran like clockwork and Eliza was comfortable with her ordered life.
As she neared the station, she said to herself, “I wonder if Dad is waiting for me, he always waits out by the side gate for me to return, in his uniform.” But she couldn’t see him tonight. A light shone from the station window. “He’s probably waiting inside.” Eliza plodded along the street, trying to slow time down.
Frank had a strong round chin and smiling eyes. The English accent he brought with him from the Isle of Wight hadn’t waned and he expressed his happiness by singing English songs. One of his favourites was ‘Sons of the Sea’. When not in the watch room or inspecting the officers and equipment, he tended to his garden of vegetables and flowers. The locals were just as proud of the fire station as Frank and Eliza, and her mother and brother too. It was the Clydesdale that attracted most interest, the way he responded to the fire bell by coming out of his stall, getting into the shafts and standing while the harness was lowered onto him. When the doors opened, he was like Hercules pulling the cart to the fire.
There were fire alarms placed around the district which were connected to the fire station. A job Eliza enjoyed was walking around Northcote with her father to inspect the alarms.
“Let’s go up this street Dad,” said Eliza, “you’ll hear that lady playing the piano.”
“Oh yes, she is very good.” When they neared the house, Frank waited and listened to the music. Eliza wasn’t sure if he knew this was Arthur’s sister playing, or if he noticed Arthur peeping through the curtains.
“Come along dear, there’s more alarms to check, and we must be back in time for Mother’s cooking.”
The moon shone down on Eliza, even the man in the moon looked stern that night. She thought about her father getting angry with her. It was rare for him to become heated. False alarms were the only thing she had seen anger him. When an alarm was set off, the bell rang and the horse and men started to prepare. Frank would be in the watch room seeing which alarm had been activated. He opened the doors and the team went out. When they arrived and there was no fire it would become clear some practical joker had set it off. The team came back with Frank still wild.
“I’ll strangle the culprit when I catch him. Interfering with our work, what if there was a real fire now? He’ll be strung up for the damage he’s caused. I’ll catch him one day and he’ll plead to be strung up.” Eliza, her mother and little brother usually stayed upstairs in the house when there was a false alarm.
Eliza muttered, “He’s still not waiting outside.” But she imagined his ‘false-alarm’ face pointing at her and she started shaking. He was always outside waiting for her, since he was usually on duty on the weekend. He was probably seething already, thinking about a punishment.
“Perhaps he will ground me. Maybe the dances will be banned. I couldn’t bear that. The dance is the highlight of the week. I love talking with my girlfriends about what they would wear and who they want to dance with.” She thought about her Mum always helping her with her dress and doing her hair. And Dad always saw her off saying, “You’re looking very beautiful as usual, dear.”
The boys sparkled in their black ties and polished shoes. Of course, she mainly danced with Arthur. He was so romantic, bringing her posies and writing her love letters. Although one had been a little disappointing, he had just written ‘I love you’ many times. She already knew that, she wanted to read more. At the end of the dance there was always Auld Lang Syne signaling that it was almost midnight and all were expected to go straight home. And every night she did. Except this night when Arthur seemed to make time stand still.
“He couldn’t ban the dance. Maybe tennis on Saturday would go.” Eliza played every Saturday in the summer with her friends. The courts were near the station on the edge of the paddocks that surrounded Northcote. It wasn’t a very even court, but wayward bounces only increased their fun. By the end of summer the court was very brown. And a lot of the fires Frank attended were grass burning in the paddocks. She would hate to have no tennis.
When it was hot Eliza and her friends would go down to the river and hire a row boat. They would take a picnic and the boys would do the rowing. The girls made them row a long way, it must have worn them out, but the boys’ faces were all smiles, they had their girls with them. She would miss the rowing if her father chose this to ban.
“What would I say to my friends if I can’t go out? The embarrassment would be too much to bear.” Eliza started to quiver.
The worst would be not seeing Arthur. She didn’t know if her parents approved of him, but he came from a good family, his father was a real estate agent and they lived in a big house. And they had a car. Not many people had cars but Arthur said one day most people would have one. And he thought the Clydesdale would be replaced by an engine soon enough. He could fix anything and wanted to be a motor mechanic. She also got on very well with his four sisters. “I hope I haven’t spoilt everything,” she cried.
Her fate was close now. She looked around in case her father was nearby. He wasn’t, so she went through the gate. In the backyard the light from the station lit up her white dress. Trembling, Eliza stepped through the door into the bright light. Near the stable she saw her father standing, still in his uniform and cap on his head. He had a dower look on his face and he had his head bowed a little. Her heart was thumping and her legs were like jelly.
When he noticed Eliza, his expression instantly changed. “Eliza dear! Good dance tonight?” he beamed at her. “Come and look at what I have here.” Eliza ventured over. There was a lad tied up in the stable. “Every Saturday night I’ve been snooping around outside hoping to catch the culprit making these false alarms. And tonight I caught him!” Frank gave him a kick and the lad looked up in fright. He was skinny and all legs and arms. His clothes were disheveled. The stable would be his bedroom until the police came tomorrow.
Frank tuned away from the lad and said with a smile. “This calls for a celebration, dear. Let us go upstairs and have a cup of your Mother’s best tea.”
***
Also by Ashley MacGregor at Smashwords:-
In Too Deep
Who killed George Duncan? The answer lies amidst the Greek Islands. Conrad and Jane Tyndale are on holidays in the Aegean but the empty nesters soon discover clues to the mysterious drowning of law professor George Duncan 40 years ago in Adelaide – a murder never solved. But in the Greek Islands the old suspects are living in secret. As a former prosecutor, and one-time friend of Duncan, Conrad can’t resist the chase; finding the killer could be his greatest triumph. Travelling through the Aegean and in Adelaide they come across more suspects but with each one, more questions are raised. Soon, a motive for the murder becomes clear – Duncan became involved in espionage and was protecting an incredible secret. But the Tyndales have woken a sleeping tiger, now it’s too late for them, they are in too deep. When a suspect is murdered, their house is ransacked and Jane is kidnapped, Conrad realises he is next. The only thing saving them is Duncan’s secret. It’s a secret people have died protecting, and the Tyndales have found it. The final solution surprises even them.