Fire in the Glen

Working in shifts the men of the Glenridge Station were keeping an eye out for the mischief maker. Days had gone by and nothing. Jan and Sarah had settled down and a new door had been installed in the house. Life had returned to normal however it was no surprise when Travis got the call from Kelp that the squatter’s cabin was on fire. He persuaded his father to stay with the women and he and Kyle jumped in the jeep and drove around the road to the cabin. By the time they got there the fire trucks were there and the firemen at work.

Travis and Kyle stood at the edge of the clearing. Travis’s expression was blank but inside he was turning. He knew without a doubt who was behind the mischief and the burning cabin before him. He understood…it was over now. He watched the firemen sweating in their gear pumping water from the lake…the cabin didn’t matter it was the surrounding forest that he worried about. If the flames got out of control and made it to his pastures they would burn with nothing to stop it he would lose everything. The guilt that he’d buried for Sweeny rose to the surface as the wind shifted blowing smoke in his eyes. Kyle pulled him out of the way.

Kelp came walking out of the smoke, "they ain’t gonna save the cabin."

"I don’t care about the cabin," Travis answered him wiping his eyes, "I want this whole area grazed down to the ground and fenced in…plant wildflowers or something."

Kelp looked at him strangely, "whatcha reckon Travis…that skin head?’

"I don’t know for sure who did it…it doesn’t matter…it’s gone…it’s over." Travis turned back to the jeep.

"What’s up with him?" Jimmy asked Kyle.

Kyle shook his head, "Sweeny…I think he means the whole thing is now over."

Jimmy looked at the burning cabin, "up in smoke. I’ll stick around for awhile if you want to take him back to the house. Anything gets out of control I’ll call."

"Thanks mate," Kyle answered and followed Travis back to the farm jeep.