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diff --git a/old/wenev10.txt b/old/wenev10.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8a79fbf..0000000 --- a/old/wenev10.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9667 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of We of the Never-Never -by Jeanie "Mrs. Aeneas" Gunn - -Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the -copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing -this or any other Project Gutenberg file. - -Please do not remove this header information. - -This header should be the first thing seen when anyone starts to -view the eBook. Do not change or edit it without written permission. -The words are carefully chosen to provide users with the information -needed to understand what they may and may not do with the eBook. -To encourage this, we have moved most of the information to the end, -rather than having it all here at the beginning. - - -**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** - -**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** - -*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** - -Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get eBooks, and -further information, is included below. We need your donations. - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a 501(c)(3) -organization with EIN [Employee Identification Number] 64-6221541 -Find out about how to make a donation at the bottom of this file. - - -Title: We of the Never-Never - -Author: Jeanie "Mrs. Aeneas" Gunn - -Release Date: November, 2003 [EBook #4699] -[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] -[This file was first posted on March 3, 2002] - -Edition: 10 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of We of the Never-Never -by Jeanie "Mrs. Aeneas" Gunn -******This file should be named wenev10.txt or wenev10.zip****** - -Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, wenev11.txt -VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, wenev10a.txt - -Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -The "legal small print" and other information about this book -may now be found at the end of this file. Please read this -important information, as it gives you specific rights and -tells you about restrictions in how the file may be used. - -*** -This etext was produced by Geoffrey Cowling. - -We Of The Never-Never - -By Jeanie "Mrs. Aeneas" Gunn - - - - -Dedicated -To - -"The Bush Folk OF THE NEVER-NEVER" - - - - - - -PRELUDE - - - -We--are just some of the bush-folk of the Never-Never. - -Distinct in the foreground stand: - -The Maluka, The Little Missus, The Sanguine Scot, The Head Stockman, -The Dandy, The Quiet Stockman, The Fizzer, Mine Host, The Wag, -Some of our Guests, A few black " boys " and lubras, A dog or two, -Tam-o'-Shanter, Happy Dick, Sam Lee, and last, but by no means least, -Cheon--the ever-mirthful, ever-helpful, irrepressible Cheon, -who was crudely recorded on the station books as cook and gardener. - -The background is filled in with an ever-moving company-- -a strange medley of Whites, Blacks, and Chinese; of travellers, -overlanders, and billabongers, who passed in and out of our lives, -leaving behind them sometimes bright memories, sometimes sad, -and sometimes little memory at all. - -And All of Us, and many of this company, shared each other's lives -for one bright, sunny year, away Behind the Back of Beyond, -in the Land of the Never-Never; in that elusive land with an elusive name-- -a land of dangers and hardships and privations yet loved -as few lands are loved-- a land that bewitches her people -with strange spells and mysteries, until they call sweet bitter, -and bitter sweet. Called the Never-Never, the Maluka loved to say, -because they, who have lived in it and loved it Never-Never voluntarily -leave it. Sadly enough, there are too many who Never-Never do leave it. -Others--the unfitted--will tell you that it is so called -because they who succeed in getting out of it swear they will Never-Never -return to it. But we who have lived in it, and loved it, and left it, -know that our hearts can Never-Never rest away from it. - - - - - - - - - -WE OF THE NEVER-NEVER - - -CHAPTER I - - -To begin somewhere near the beginning, the Maluka--better known -at that time as the new Boss for the Elsey--and I, his "missus," -were at Darwin, in the Northern Territory, waiting for the train -that was to take us just as far as it could--one hundred and fifty miles-- -on our way to the Never-Never. It was out of town just then, -up-country somewhere, billabonging in true bush-whacker style, -but was expected to return in a day or two, when it would be at our service. - -Jack, the Quiet Stockman, was out at the homestead, "seeing to things" -there. The Sanguine Scot, the Head Stockman, and the Dandy, were -in at the Katherine, marking time, as it were, awaiting instructions -by wire from the Maluka, while some of the Company "put finishing touches" -to their New Year celebrations. And every one, with, of course, -the exception of those in Darwin, was blissfully unconscious of even -the existence of the Maluka's missus. Knowing the Maluka by repute, -however, every one was agreed that the "Elsey had struck it lucky," -until the telegraph wire, whispering the gossip of Darwin to the Katherine, -whispered that the "new Boss for the Elsey had been and gone and married -a missus just before leaving the South, and was bringing her along -with him." Then the Sanguine Scot was filled with wrath, the Company -with compassion, while the Dandy's consternation found relief -in a dismayed "Heavens above!" (The Dandy, by the way, was only a dandy -in his love of sweet, clean clothes and orderly surroundings. The heart -of the man had not a touch of dandyism in it.) The Head Stockman -was absent in his camp. Had he been present, much might have been said -on the "advantages of having a woman about the place." The Wag, however, -retained his usual flow of speech and spirits. - -"Buck up, chaps!" he chuckled encouraging!" They're not all snorters, -you know. You might have the luck to strike one of the "ministering angel -variety." - -But the Sanguine Scot had been thinking rapidly, and with characteristic -hopefulness, felt he had the bull by the horns. "We'll just have to block -her, chaps; that's all," he said. "A wire or two should do it"; -and, inviting the Dandy "to come and lend a hand," led the way -to the telegraph office; and presently there quivered into Darwin -the first hint tbat a missus was not wanted at the Elsey. - -"Would advise leaving wife behind till homestead can be repaired," -it said; and, still confident of success, Mac felt that -"ought to do the trick." "If it doesn't," he added, " we'll give her -something stronger." - -We in Darwin, having exhausted the sight-seeing resources of the little town, -were wishing "something interesting would happen," when the message -was handed to the Maluka. - -"This may do as a stopgap," he said, opening it, adding as he -read it, "It looks brimful of possibilities for interested onlookers, -seeing it advises leaving the wife behind." The Maluka spoke from experience, -having heen himself an interested onlooker "down south," when -it had been suggested there that the wife should be left behind -while he spied out the land; for although the Maluka knew most -of the Territory, he had not yet been to the Elsey Cattle Station. - -Preferring to be "the interested onlooker" myself this time, -when we went to the telegraph office it was the Maluka who wired: -"Wife coming, secure buggy", and in an incredibly short space of time -the answer was back: "No buggy obtainable." - -Darwin looked interested. "Mac hasn't wasted much time in makmg inquiries," -it said. - -"Or in apologies or explanations," the Miluka added shortly, -and sent in reply: "Wife can ride, secure suitable mount." - -But the Sanguine Scot's fighting blood was up, and almost immediately -the wire rapped out: "No side-saddle obtainable. Stock horses all flash"; -and the onlookers stared in astonishment. - -"Mac's in deadly earnest this time," they said, and the Maluka, -with a quiet "So am I," went back to the telegraph. - -Now, in the Territory everybody knows everybody else, but particularly -the telegraph people; and it often happens that when telegrams -of general interest are passing through, they are accompanied -by confidential asides--little scraps of harmless gossip not intended -for the departmental books; therefore it was whispered in the tail -of the last message that the Katherine was watching the fight -with interest was inclined to "reckon the missus a goer," -and that public sympathy was with the stockman--the Katherine -had its women-folk and was thankful; but the Katherine knew -that although a woman in a settlement only rules her husband's home, -the wife of a station-manager holds the peace and comfort of the stockmen -in the hollow of her hand. - -"Stock horses all flash," the Sanguine Scot said, and then went out -and apologised to an old bay horse. "We had to settle her hash somehow, -Roper, old chap," he said, stroking the beautiful neck, adding tenderly -as the grand old head nosed into him: "You silly old fool! -You'd carry her like a lamb if I let you." - -Then the Maluka's reply came, and Mac whistled in amazement. -"By George!" he said to those near him, "she IS a goer, -a regular goer"; and after much careful thought wired an inane suggestion -about waiting until after the Wet. - -Darwin laughed outright, and an emphatic: "Wife determined, -coming Tuesday's train," from the Maluka was followed -by a complete breakdown at the Katherine. - -Then Darwin came in twos and threes to discuss the situation, -and while the men offered every form of service and encouragement, -the women-folk spoke of a woman "going bush " as "sheer madness." -"Besides, no woman travels during the Wet," they said, -and the Maluka "hoped she would prove the exception." - -"But she'll be bored to death if she does reach the homestead alive," -they prophesied; and I told them they were not very complimentary -to the Maluka. - -"You don't understand," they hastened to explain. "He'll be camping out -most of his time, miles away from the homestead," and I said, -"So will I." - -"So you think," they corrected. "But you'll find that a woman alone -in a camp of men is decidedly out of place"; and I felt severely snubbed. - -The Maluka suggested that he might yet succeed in persuading -some suitable woman to come out with us, as maid or companion; -but the opposition, wagging wise heads, pursed incredulous lips, -as it declared that "no one but a fool would go out there -for either love or money." A prophecy that came true, -for eventually we went "bush" womanless. - -The Maluka's eyes twinkled as he listened. "Does the cap fit, little 'un?" -he asked; but the women-folk told him that it was not a matter for joking. - -"Do you know there is not another white woman within a hundred-mile radius ?" -they asked; and the Maluka pointed out that it was not all disadvantage -for a woman to be alone in a world of men. "The men who form her world -are generally better and truer men, because the woman in their midst -is dependent on them alone, for companionship, and love, and protecting -care," he assured them. - -"Men are selfish brutes," the opposition declared, rather irrelevantly, -looking pointedly at the Maluka. - -He smiled with as much deference as he could command. "Also," he said, -"a woman alone in a world of men rarely complains of their selfishness"; -and I hastened to his assistance. "Particularly when those men -are chivalrous bushmen," I began, then hesitated, for, since reading -the telegrams, my ideas of bush chivalry needed readjustment. - -"Particularly when those men are chivalrous bushmen," the Maluka agreed, -with the merry twinkle in his eyes; for he perfectly understood -the cause of the sudden breakdown. Then he added gravely: -"For the average bushman will face fire, and flood, hunger, -and even death itself, to help the frail or weak ones who come -into his life; although he'll strive to the utmost to keep -the Unknown Woman out of his environments particularly when -those environments are a hundred miles from anywhere." - -The opposition looked incredulous. "Hunger and death!" it -said. "Fiddlesticks!" It would just serve them right if she went"; -and the men folk pointed out that this was, now, hardly flattering -to the missus. - -The Maluka passed the interruption by without comment. "The Unknown Woman -is brimful of possibilities to a bushman," he went on; "for although she -MAY be all womanly strength and tenderness, she may also be anything, -from a weak timid fool to a self-righteous shrew, bristling with virtue -and indignation. Still," he added earnestly, as the opposition -began to murmur, "when a woman does come into our lives, -whatever type she may be, she lacks nothing in the way of chivalry, -and it rests with herself whether she remains an outsider -or becomes just One of Us. Just One of Us," he repeated, -unconsciously pleading hard for the bushman and his greatest need-- -"not a goddess on a pedestal, but just a comrade to share -our joys and sorrows with." - -The opposition wavered. "If it wasn't for those telegrams," it said. -But Darwin, seeing the telegrams in a new light, took up the cudgels -for the bushmen. - -"Poor beggars," it said, "you can't blame them. When you come -to think of it, the Unknown Woman is brimful of possibilities." -Even then, at the Katherine, the possibilities of the Unknown Woman -were being tersely summed up by the Wag. - -"You'll sometimes get ten different sorts rolled into one," he said -finally, after a long dissertation. "But, generally speaking, there's -just three sorts of 'em. There's Snorters--the goers,you know--the sort -that go rampaging round, looking for insults, and naturally finding them; -and then there's fools; and they're mostly screeching when they're -not smirking--the uncertain-coy-and-hard-to-please variety, you know," -he chuckled, "and then," he added seriously, "there's the right sort, -the sort you tell things to. They're A1 all through the piece." - -The Sanguine Scot was confident, though, that they were all alike, -and none of 'em were wanted; but one of the Company suggested -"If she was little, she'd do. The little 'uns are all right," he said. - -But public opinion deciding that "the sort that go messing round -where they know they're not wanted are always big and muscular -and snorters," the Sanguine Scot was encouraged in his determination -to "block her somehow." - -"I'll block her yet; see if I don't," he said confidently. "After all -these years on their own, the boys don't want a woman messing round -the place." And when he set out for the railway -along the north track, to face the "escorting trick," he repeated -his assurances. "I'll block her, chaps, never fear," he said; -and glowering at a "quiet" horse that had been sent by the lady -at the Telegraph, added savagely, "and I'll begin by losing that brute -first turn out." - - - -CHAPTER II - - -From sun-up to sun-down on Tuesday, the train glided quietly forward -on its way towards the Never-Never; and from sun-up to sun-down -the Maluka and I experienced the kindly consideration that it always -shows to travellers: it boiled a billy for us at its furnace; -loitered through the pleasantest valleys; smiled indulgently, -and slackened speed whenever we made merry with blacks, by pelting -them with chunks of water-melon; and generally waited on us hand -and foot, the Man-in-Charge pointing out the beauty spots and places -of interest, and making tea for us at frequent intervals. - -It was a delightful train--just a simple-hearted, chivalrous, -weather-beaten old bush-whacker, at the service of the entire Territory. -"There's nothing the least bit officious or standoffish about it," -I was saying, when the Man-in-Charge came in with the first billy of tea. - -"Of course not!" he said, unhooking cups from various crooked-up fingers. -"It's a Territorian, you see." - -"And had all the false veneer of civilisation peeled off long ago," -the Maluka said, adding, with a sly look at my discarded gloves -and gossamer, "It's wonderful how quietly the Territory does its work." - -The Man-in-Charge smiled openly as he poured out the tea, proving thereby -his kinship with all other Territorians; and as the train came to -a standstill, swung off and slipped some letters into a box nailed -to an old tree-trunk. - -At the far end of the train, away from the engine, the passengers' car -had been placed, and as in front of it a long, long line of low-stacked -sinuous trucks slipped along in the rear of the engine, all was open view -before us; and all day long, as the engine trudged onwards--hands -in pockets, so to speak, and whistling merrily as it trudged--I stood beside -the Maluka on the little platform in front of the passengers' car, -drinking in my first deep, intoxicating draught of the glories -of the tropical bush. - -There were no fences to shut us in; and as the train zig-zagged -through jungle and forest and river-valley--stopping now and then -to drink deeply at magnificent rivers ablaze with water-lilies-- -it almost seemed as though it were some kindly Mammoth creature, -wandering at will through the bush. - -Here and there, kangaroos and other wild creatures of the bush -hopped out of our way, and sitting up, looked curiously after us; -again and again little groups of blacks hailed us, -and scrambled after water-melon and tobacco, with shouts of delight, -and, invariably, on nearing the tiny settlements along the railway, -we drove before us white fleeing flocks of goats. - -At every settlement we stopped and passed the time of day and, -giving out mail-bags, moved on again into the forest. -Now and again, stockmen rode out of the timber and received mail-bags, -and once a great burly bushman, a staunch old friend of the Maluka's, -boarded the train, and greeted him with a hearty hand-shake. - -"Hullo! old chap!" he called in welcome, as he mounted the steps -of the little platform, "I've come to inspect your latest investment"; -but catching sight of the "latest investment" he broke into -a deafening roar. - -"Good Lord!" he shouted, looking down upon me from his great height, -"is that all there is of her? They're expecting one of the prize-fighting -variety down there," and he jerked his head towards the Never-Never. -Then he congratulated the Maluka on the size of his missus. - -"Gimme the little 'uns," he said, nearly wringing my hand off -in his approval. "You can't beat 'em for pluck. My missus is one of 'em, -and she went bush with me when I'd nothing but a skeeto net -and a quart-pot to share with her." Then, slapping the Maluka -vigorously on the back, he told him he'd got some sense left. -"You can't beat the little 'uns," he declared. "They're just the -very thing." - -The Maluka agreed with him, and after some comical quizzing, -they decided, to their own complete satisfaction, that although -the bushman's "missus" was the "littlest of all little 'uns, -straight up and down," the Maluka's" knocked spots off her sideways." - -But although the Territory train does not need to bend its neck -to the galling yoke of a minute time-table, yet, like all bush-whackers, -it prefers to strike its supper camp before night-fall, -and after allowing us a good ten minutes' chat, it blew a deferential -"Ahem" from its engine, as a hint that it would like to be "getting along." -The bushman took the hint, and after a hearty "Good luck, missus!" -and a "chin, chin, old man," left us, with assurances that "her size -'ud do the trick." - -Until sundown we jogged quietly on, meandering through further -pleasant places and meetings; drinking tea and chatting -with the Man-in-Charge between whiles, extracting a maximum of pleasure -from a minimum rate of speed: for travelling in the Territory -has not yet passed that ideal stage where the travelling itself-- -the actual going--is all pleasantness. - -As we approached Pine Creek I confided to the men-folk that I was feeling -a little nervous. "Supposing that telegraphing bush-whacker decides -to shoot me off-hand on my arrival," I said; and the Man-in-Charge -said amiably: "It'll be brought in as justifiable homicide; that's all." -Then reconnoitring the enemy from the platform, he "feared" -we were "about to be boycotted." - -There certainly were very few men on the station, and the Man-in-Charge -recognising one of them as the landlord of the Playford, -assured us there was nothing to fear from that quarter. -"You see, you represent business to him," he explained. - -Every one but the landlord seemed to have urgent business -in the offfice or at the far end of the platform, but it was -quickly evident that there was nothing to fear from him; -for, finding himself left alone to do the honours of the Creek, -he greeted us with an amused: "She doesn't look up to sample -sent by telegram"; and I felt every meeting would be, at least, -unconventional. Then we heard that as Mac had "only just arrived -from the Katherine, he couldn't leave his horses until they were -fixed up"; but the landlord's eyes having wandered back to the -"Goer, "he winked deliberately at the Maluka before inviting us -to "step across to the Pub." - -The Pub seemed utterly deserted, and with another wink the landlord -explained the silence by saying that "a cyclone of some sort" -had swept most of his "regulars" away; and then he went shouting -through the echoing passages for a "boy" to "fetch along tea." - -Before the tea appeared, an angry Scotch voice crept to us -through thin partitions, saying: "It's not a fit place -for a woman, and, besides, nobody wants her!" And in a little while -we heard the same voice inquiring for "the Boss." - -"The telegraphing bush-whacker," I said, and invited the Maluka -to come and see me defy him. But when I found myself face to face -with over six feet of brawny quizzing, wrathful-looking Scotchman, -all my courage slipped away, aud edging closer to the Maluka, -I held out my hand to the bushman, murmuring lamely: "How do you do?" - -Instantly a chauge came over the rugged, bearded face. At the sight -of the "Goer" reduced to a meek five feet, all the wrath -died out of it, and with twitching lips and twinkling eyes Mac -answered mechanically, "Quite well thank you," and then coughed -in embarrassment. - -That was all: no fierce blocking, no defying. And with the cough, -the absurdity of the whole affair, striking us simultaneously, -left us grinning like a trio of Cheshire cats. - -It was a most eloquent grinning, making all spoken apology -or explanation unnecessary; and by the time it had faded away -we thoroughly understood each other, being drawn together by a mutual -love of the ridiculous. Only a mutual love of the ridiculous, yet -not so slender a basis for a lifelong friendship as appears, -and by no means an uncommon one "out bush." - -"Does the station pay for the telegrams, or the loser?" the landlord -asked in an aside, as we went in to supper and after supper -the preparations began for the morrow's start. - -The Sanguine Scot, anxious to make amends for the telegrams, was full -of suggestions for smoothing out the difficulties of the road. Like -many men of his type, whatever he did he did it with all his heart -and soul--hating, loving, avenging, or forgiving with equal energy; -and he now applied himself to helping the Maluka "make things easy for her," -as zealously as he had striven to "block her somehow." - -Sorting out pack-bags, he put one aside, with a "We'll have to spare that -for her duds. It won't do for her to be short. She'll have enough -to put up with, without that." But when I thanked him, and said I could -manage nicely with only one, as I would not need much on the road, -he and the Maluka sat down and stared at each other in dismay. "That's -for everything you'll need till the waggons come," they explained; -"your road kit goes in your swag." - -The waggons went "inside "once a year--"after the Wet," and would arrive -at the homestead early in June. As it was then only the middle of January, -I too sat down, and stared in dismay from the solitary pack-bag to -the great, heaped-up pile that had been sorted out as indispensable. -"You'll have to cull your herd a bit, that's all," Mac said; and needlework -was pointed out as a luxury. Then books were "cut out," after that -the house linen was looked to, and as I hesitated over the number -of pillow-cases we could manage with, Mac cried triumphantly: -"You won't need these anyway, for there's no pillows." - -The Maluka thought he had prepared me for everything in the way of -roughness; but in a flash we knew that I had yet to learn what a bushman -means by rough. - -As the pillow-cases fell to the ground, Mac was at a loss to account -for my consternation. "What's gone wrong?" he exclaimed in concern. -Mac was often an unconscious humorist. - -But the Maluka came with his ever-ready sympathy. "Poor little coon," -he said gently, "there's little else but chivalry and a bite of tucker -for a woman out bush." - -Then a light broke in on Mac. "Is it only the pillows?" he said. -"I thought something had gone wrong." Then his eyes began to twinkle. -"There's stacks of pillows in Darwin," he said meaningly. - -It was exactly the moral fillip needed, and in another minute -we were cheerfully "culling our herd" again. - -Exposed to Mac's scorn, the simplest comforts became foolish luxuries. -"A couple of changes of everything is stacks," he said encouragingly, -clearing a space for packing. "There's heaps of soap and water -at the station, and things dry here before you can waltz round twice." - -Hopefulness is always infectious, and before Mac's cheery optimism -the pile of necessities grew rapidly smaller. Indeed, with such visions -of soap and water and waltzing washerwomen, a couple of changes -of everything appeared absurd luxury. But even optimism can have -disadvantages; for in our enthusiasm we forgot that a couple of cambric -blouses, a cotton dress or two, and a change of skirts, are hardly equal -to the strain of nearly five months constant wear and washing. - -The pillow-cases went in, however. Mac settled that difficulty -by saying that "all hands could be put on to pluck birds. -The place is stiff with 'em," he explained, showing what a simple -matter it would be, after all. The Maluka turning out two cushions, -a large and a smaller one, simplified matters even more. "A bird in -the hand you know," he said, finding room for them in the swag. - -Before all the arrangements were completed, others of the Creek -had begun to thaw, and were "lending a hand," here and there. -The question of horses coming up, I confided in the helpers, -that I was relieved to hear that the Telegraph had sent a quiet horse. -I am really afraid of buck-jumpers, you know," I said, -and the Creek looking sideways at Mac, he became incoherent. - -"Oh, look here!" he spluttered, " I say! Oh, look here! -It really was too bad!" Then, after an awkward pause, he blurted out, -"I don't know what you'll think, but the brute strayed first camp, -and--he's lost, saddle and all." - -The Maluka shot him a swift, questioning glance; but poor Mac looked -so unhappy that we assured him "we'd manage somehow." Perhaps we could -tame one of the flash buck-jumpers, the Maluka suggested. But Mac said -it "wouldn't be as bad as that," and, making full confession, placed -old Roper at our service. - -By morning, however, a magnificent chestnut "Flash," well-broken -into the side-saddle, had been conjured up from somewhere by the Creek. -But two of the pack-horses had strayed, and by the time they were found -the morning had slipped away, and it was too late to start until after -dinner. Then after dinner a terrific thunderstorm broke over the settlement, -and as the rain fell in torrents, Mac thought it looked "like a case -of to-morrow all right." - -Naturally I felt impatient at the delay, but was told by the Creek -that "there was no hurry!" "To-morrow's still untouched," Mac explained. -"This is the Land of Plenty of Time; Plenty of Time and Wait a While. -You'll be doing a bit of waiting before you've done with it." - -"If this rain goes on, she'll be doing a bit of waiting at the Fergusson; -unless she learns the horse's-tail trick," the Creek put in. -On inquiry, it proved that the "horse's-tail trick" meant swimming a horse -through the flood, and hanging on to its tail until it fought a way across; -and I felt I would prefer "waiting a bit." - -The rain did go on, and, roaring over the roof, made conversation difficult. -The bushmen called it a "bit of a storm"; but every square inch -of the heavens seemed occupied by lightning and thunder-bolts. - -"Nothing to what we can do sometimes," every one agreed. "WE do things -in style up here--often run half-a-dozen storms at once. You see, -when you are weather-bound, you might as well have something worth -looking at." - -The storm lasted nearly three hours, and when it cleared Mac went -over to the Telegraph, where some confidential chatting -must have taken place, for when he returned he told us that the Dandy -was starting out for the homestead next day to "fix things up a bit." -The Head Stockman however, waited back for orders. - -The morning dawned bright and clear, and Mac advised "making a dash -for the Fergusson." "We might just get through before this rain -comes down the valley," he said. - -The Creek was most enthusiastic with its help, bustling about -with packbags and surcingles, and generally " mixing things." - -When the time came to say good-bye it showed signs of breaking down; -but mastering its grief with a mightily audible effort, it wished us -"good luck," and stood watching as we rode out of the little settlement. - -Every time we looked back it raised its hat, and as we rode at the head -of our orderly little cavalcade of pack horses, with Jackeroo -the black "boy" bringing up the rear, we flattered ourselves -on the dignity of our departure. Mac called it "style," and the Maluka -was hoping that the Creek was properly impressed, when Flash, -unexpectedly heading off for his late home, an exciting scrimmage ensued -and the procession was broken into fragments. - -The Creek flew to the rescue, and, when order was finally restored, -the woman who had defied the Sanguine Scot and his telegrams, entered -the forest that fringes the Never-Never, sitting meekly upon a led horse. - - - -CHAPTER III - - -Bush chivalry demanding that a woman's discomfiture should be ignored, -Mac kept his eyes on the horizon for the first quarter of a mile, -and talked volubly of the prospects of the Wet and the resources -of the Territory; but when Flash was released, and after a short tussle -settled down into a free, swinging amble, he offered congratulations -in his own wimsical way. - -"He's like the rest of us," he said, with a sly, sidelong look at -the Maluka, "perfectly reconciled to his fate." - -Although it was only sixty-five miles to the Katherine it took us -exactly three days to travel the distance. Mac called it a "tip-top -record for the Wet," and the Maluka agreed with him; for in the -Territory it is not the number of miles that counts, but what -is met with in those miles. - -During the first afternoon we met so many amiable-looking watercourses, -that the Sanguine Scot grew more and hopeful about crossing -the Fergusson that night. "We'll just do it if we push on," he said, -after a critical look at the Cullen, then little more than a sweet, -shady stream. "Our luck's dead in. She's only just moving. -Yesterday's rain hasn't come down the valleys yet." - -We pushed on in the moonlight; but when we reached the Fergusson, -two hours later, we found our luck was "dead out," for "she" was up -and running a banker. - -Mac's hopes sank below zero. "Now we've done it," he said ruefuUy, -looking down at the swirling torrent, "It's a case of 'wait-a-while' -after all." - -But the Maluka's hopes always died hard. "There's still the Government -yacht, "he said, going to a huge iron punt that lay far above -high-water mark. Mac called it a forlorn hope, and it looked it, -as it lay deeply sunk in the muddy bank. - -It was an immense affair, weighing over half a ton, and provided -by a thoughtful Government for the transit of travellers "stuck up" -by the river when in flood. An army of roughriders might have -launched it, but as bushmen generally travel in single file, -it lay a silent reproach to the wisdom of Governments. - -Some jester had chalked on its sides "H.M.S. Immovable"; and after -tugging valiantly at it for nearly half an hour, the Maluka and Mac -and Jackeroo proved the truth of the bushman's irony. - -There was no choice but a camp on the wrong side of the river, -and after "dratting things" in general, and the Cullen in particular, -Mac bowed to the inevitable and began to unpack the team, stacking -packbags aud saddles up on the rocks off the wet grass. - -By the time the biUy was boiling he was trying hard to be cheerful, -but without much success. "Oh, well," he said, as we settled down -round the fire, "this is the Land of Plenty of Time, that's one comfort. -Another whole week starts next Sunday"; then relapsing altogether -he added gloomily; " We'll be spending it here, too, by the look -of things." - -"Unless the missus feels equal to the horse's-tail trick" -the Maluka suggested. - -The missus felt equal to anything BUT the tail trick and said so; -and conversation flagged for a while as each tried to hit upon -some way out of the difficulty. - -Suddenly Mac gsve his thigh a prodigious slap. "I've struck it!" -he shouted, and pointing to a thick wire rope just visible -in the moonlight as it stretched across the river from flood bank -to flood bank, added hesitatingly: "We send mail-bags--and--valuables -over on that when the river's up." - -It was impossible to mistake his meaning, or the Maluka's exclamation -of relief, or tbat neither man doubted for moment tbat the woman -was willing to be flung across deep, swirling river on a swaying wire; -and as many a man has appeared brave because he has lacked the courage -to own to his cowardice, so I said airily that "anything better -than going back," and found the men exchanging glances. - -"No one's going back," the Maluka said quietly: and then I learned -that the Wet does not "do things by half." Once they began to move -the flood waters must have come down the valleys in tidal waves," -the Maluka explained. "The Cullen we've just left will probably be -a roaring torrent by now." - -"We're stuck between two rivers: that's what's happened," Mac added -savagely. "Might have guessed that miserable little Cullen was up -to her old sneaking ways." And to explain Mac's former "dratting," -the Maluka said: "It's a way the rivers have up here. They entice -travellers over with smiles and promises, and before they can get back, -call down the flood waters and shut them in." - -"I'm glad I thought of the wire," Mac added cheerfnlly, and slipped -into reminiscences of the Wet, drawing the Maluka also into experiences. -And as they drifted from one experience to another, forced camps -for days on stony outcrops in the midst of seas of water were touched on -lightly as hardly worth mentioning; while "eating yourelf out of tucker, -and getting down to water-rats and bandicoots," compared favourably -with a day or two spent in trees or on stockyard fences. As for -crossing a river on a stout wire rope! After the first few -reminiscences, and an incident or two in connection with "doing -the horse's-tail trick," that appeared an exceedingly safe and pleasant -way of overcoming the difficulty, and it became very evident -why women do not travel "during the Wet." - -It was a singularly beautiful night, shimmering with warm tropical -moonlight, and hoarse with the shouting of frogs and the roar -of the river--a night that demandod attention; and, gradually -losing interest in hair-breadth escapes from drowning, Mac joined -in the song of the frogs. - -"Quar-r-rt pot! Quar-r-rt pot!" he sang in hoarse, strident minims, -mimicking to perfection the shouts of the leaders, leaning with them -on the "quar-r-rt" in harsh gutturals, and spitting out the "pot" -in short, deep staccatos. Quicker and quicker the song ran, -as the full chorus of frogs joined in. From minims to crotchets, -and from crotchets to quavers it flowed, and Mac, running with it, -gurgled with a new refrain at the quavers. "More-water, more-water, -hot-water, hot-water," he sang rapidly in tireless reiteration, -until he seemed the leader and the frogs the followers, singing -the words he put into their mouths. Lower and lower the chorus sank, -but just before it died away, an old buU-frog started every one -afresh with a slow, booming "quar-r-rt pot!" and Mac stopped for breath. -"Now you know the song of the frogs," he laughed. "We'll teach you -all the songs of the Never-Never in time; listen!" and listening, -it was hard to believe that this was our one-time telegraphing -bush-whacker. Dropping his voice to a soft, sobbing moan, as a pheasant -called from the shadows, he lamented with it for "Puss! Puss! Puss! -Puss! Poor Puss! Poor Puss!" - -The sonnd roused a dove iu the branches above us, and as she stirred -in her sleep and cooed softlv, Mac murmured drowsily: "Move-over-dear, -Move-over dear"; and the dove, taking up the refrain, crooned it -again and again to its mate. - -The words of the songs were not Mac's. They belong to the lore -of the bushmen; but he saug or crooned them with such perfect -mimicry of tone or cadence, that never again was it possible -to hear these songs of the Never-Never without associating -the words with the songs. - -The night was full of sonnds, and one by one Mac caught them up, -and the bush appeared to echo him; and leaning half drowsily, -against the pack-saddles and swags, we listened until we slipped -into one of those quiet reveries that come so naturally to bush-folk. -Shnt in on all sides by bush and tall timber, with the rushing -river as sentinel, we seemed in a world all our own--a tiny human world, -with a camp fire for its hub; and as we dreamed on, half conscious -of the moonlight and shoutings, the deep inner beauty of the night -stole upon us. A mystical, elusive beauty. difficult to define, -that lay underneath and around, and within the moonlight--a beauty -of deep nestling shadows, crooning whispers, and soft rustling movement. - -For a while we dreamed on, and then tbe Maluka broke the silence. -"The wizard of the Never-Never has not forgotten how to weave -his spells while I've been south," he said. "It won't be long -before he has the missus in his toils. The false veneer -of civilisation is peeling off at a great rate." - -I roused as from a trance; and Mac threw a sharp, searching glance -at me, as I sat curled up against a swag. "You're right," he laughed; -"there's not a trace of the towney left." And rising to "see about -fixing up camp," he added: "You'd better look out, missus! -Once caught, you'll never get free again. We're all tethered goats -here. Every time we make up our minds to clear out, something -pulls us back with a jerk." - -"Tethered goats!" Mac called us, and the world must apply the simile -as it thinks fit. The wizard of the Never-Never weaves his spells, -until hardships, and dangers, and privations, seem all that make -life worth living; and then holds us "tethered goats"; and every -time the town calls us with promises of gaiety, and comfort, and -security, "something pulls us back with a jerk" to our beloved bush. - -There was no sign of rain; and as bushmen only pitch tent when a deluge -is expected, our camp was very simple: just camp sleeping mosquito-nets, -with calico tops and cheese net for curtains--hanging by cords -between stout stakes driven into the ground. "Mosquito pegs," the bushmen -call these stakes. - -Jackeroo, the unpoetical, was even then sound asleep in his net; -and in ten minutes everything was "fixed up." In another ten minutes -we had also "turned in," and soon after I was sound asleep, -rolled up in a "bluey," and had to be wakened at dawn. - -"The river's still rising," Mac announced by way of good-morning. -"We'll have to bustle up and get across, or the water'll be over -the wire, and then we'll be done for." - -Bustle as we would, however "getting across" was a tedious business. -It took nearly an hour's hustling and urging and galloping before -the horses could be persuaded to attempt the swim, and then ouly -after old Roper had been partly dragged and partly hauled -through the back-wash by the amphibious Jackeroo. - -Another half-hour slipped by in sending the horses' hobbles across -on the pulley tbat ran on the wire, and in the hobbling out of the -horses. Then, with Jackeroo on one side of the river, and the Maluka -and Mac on the other, swags, saddles, pachbags, and camp baggage -went over one by one; and it was well past mid-day before all was -finished. - -Then my turn came. A surcingle--one of the long thick straps that -keep all firm on a pack-horse--was buckled through the pulley, -and the Maluka crossed first, just to test its safety. It was safe -enough; but as he was dragged throngh the water most of the way, -the pleasantness of "getting across" on the wire proved a myth. - -Mac shortened the strap, and then sat me in it, like a child in a swing. -"Your lighter weight will run clear of the water," he said, with his -usual optimism. "It's only a matter of holding on and keeping cool"; -and as the Maluka began to haul he added final instructions. "Hang -on like grim death, and keep cool, whatever happens," he said. - -I promised to obey, and aU went well until I reached mid-stream. -Then, the wire beginning to sag threateningly towards the water, -Mac flung his whole weight on to his end of it, and, to his horror, -I shot up into the air like a sky-rocket. - -"Hang on! Keep cool! " Mac yelled, in a frenzy of apprehension, -as he swung on his end of the wire. Jackeroo becme convulsed -with laughter, but the Maluka pulled hard, and I was soon on -the right side of the river, declaring that I preferred experiences -when they were over. Later Mac accounted for his terror with another -unconscious flash of humour. "You never can count on a woman -keeping cool when the unexpected happens," he said. - -We offered to haul him over. "It's ouly a matter of holding on -and keeping cool," we said; but he preferred to swim. - -"It's a pity you didn't think of telegraphing this performance," -I shouted across the floods; but, in his relief, Mac was equal -to the occasion. - -"I'm glad I didn't," he shouted back gallantly, with a sweeping -flourish of his hat; "it might have blocked you coming." The bushman -was learning a new accomplishment. - -As his clothes were to come across on the wire, I was given a hint -to "make myself scarce"; so retired over the bank, and helped Jackeroo -with the dinner camp--an arrangement that exactly suited his ideas -of the eternal fitness of things. - -During the morning he had expressed great disapproval that a woman -should be idle, while men dragged heavy weights about. "White fellow, -big-fellow-fool all right," he said contemptuously, when Mac explained -that it was generally so in the white man's country. A Briton of the -Billingsgate type would have appealed to Jackeroo as a man of sound -common sense. - -By the time the men-folk appeared, he had decided that with a little -management I would be quite an ornament to society. "Missus bin help -ME all right," he told the Sanguine Scot, with comical self-satisfaction. - -Mac roared with delight, and the passage of the Fergusson having swept -away the last lingering tonch of restraint he called to the Maluka; -"Jackeroo reckons he's tamed the shrew for us." Mac had been a reader -of Shakespeare in his time. - -All afternoon we were supposed to be "making a dash" for the Edith, -a river twelve miles farther on; but there was nothing very dashing -about our pace. The air was stiflingly, swelteringly hot, -and the flies maddening in their persistence. The horses developed -puffs, and when we were not being half-drowned in torrents of rain -we were being parboiled in steamy atmosphere. The track was as tracks -usually are "during the Wet," and for four hours we laboured on, -slipping and slithering over the greasy track, varying the monotony -now and then with a floundering scramble through a boggy creek crossing. -Our appearance was about as dashing as our pace; and draggled, -wet through, and perspiring, and out of conceit with primitive -travelling--having spent the afternoon combining a minimum rate -of travelling with a maximum of discomfort--we arrived at the Edith -an hour after sundown to find her a wide eddying stream. - -"Won't be more than a ducking," Mac said cheerfully. "Couldn't be -much wetter than we are," and the Maluka taking the reins from -my hands, we rode into the stream Mac keeping behind, "to pick her -up in case she floats off," he said, thinking he was putting courage -into me. - -It wasn't as bad as it looked; and after a little stumbling and plunging -and drifting the horses were clambering out up the opposite bank, -and by next sundown--after scrambling throngh a few more rivers-- -we found ourselves looking down at the flooded Katherine, flowing -below in the vaUey of a rocky gorge. - -Sixty-five miles in three days, against sixty miles an hour -of the express trains of the world. "Speed's the thing," cries -the world, and speeds on, gaining little but speed; and we bush-folk -travel our sixty miles and gain all that is worth gaining-- -excepting speed. - -"Hand-over-hand this time,!" Mac said, looking up at the telegraph -wire that stretched far overhead." There's no pulley here. -Hand-over-hand, or the horse's-tail trick. - -But Mine Host of the "Pub" had seen us, and running down the opposite -side of the gorge, launched a boat at the river's brink; then pulling -up-stream for a hundred yards or so in the backwash, faced about, -and raced down and across the swift-flowing current with long, -sweeping strokes; and as we rode down the steep winding track -to meet him, Mac became jocolar, and reminding us that the gauntlet -of the Katherine had yet to be run, also reminded us that -the sympathies of the Katherine were with the stockmen; adding -with a chuckle, as Mine Host bore down upon us. "You don't even -represent business here; no woman ever does." - -Then the boat grounded, and Mine Host sprang ashore --another burly -six-foot bushman--and greeted us with a flashing smile and a laughing -"There's not much of her left." And then, stepping with quiet unconcern -into over two feet of water, pushed the boat against a jutting ledge -for my convenience. "Wet feet don't count," he laughed with another -of his flashing smiles, when remonstrated with, and Mac chuckled -in an aside, "Didn't I tell you a woman doesn't represent business here?" - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -The swim being beyond the horses, they were left hobbled out on -the north banks, to wait for the river to fall, and after another -swift race down and across stream, Mine Host landed every one -safely on the south side of the flood, and soon we were clambering -up the steep track that led from the river to the "Pub." - -Coming up from the river, the Katherine Settlement appeared to -consist solely of the "Pub" and its accompanying store; but beyond -the "Pub," which, by the way, seemed to be hanging on to its own -verandah posts for support, we found an elongated, three-roomed -building, nestling under deep verandahs, and half-hidden beneath -a grove of lofty scarlet flowering ponchianas. - -"The Cottage is always set apart for distinguished visitors," -Mine Host said, bidding us welcome with another smile, but never -a hint that he was placing his own private quarters at our disposal. -Like all bushmen, he could be delicately reticent when conferring -a favour; but a forgotten razor-strop betrayed him later on. - -In the meantime we discovered the remainder of the Settlement -from the Cottage verandahs, spying out the Police Station as it -lurked in ambush just round the first bend in a winding bush track-- -apparently keeping one eye on the "Pub"; and then we caught a gleam -of white roofs away beyond further bends in the track, where -the Overland Telegraph "Department" stood on a little rise, aloof -from the "Pub" and the Police, shut away from the world, yet attending -to its affairs, and, incidentally, to those of the bush-folk: -a tiny Settlement, with a tiny permanent population of four men -and two women--women who found their own homes all-sufficient, -and rarely left them, although the men-folk were here, there, -and everywhere. - -All around and within the Settlement was bush: and beyond the bush, -stretching away and away on every side of it, those hundreds -of thousands of square miles that constitute the Never-Never-- -miles sending out and absorbing again from day to day the floating -population of the Katherine. - -Before supper the Telegraph Department and the Police Station -called on the Cottage to present compliments. Then the Wag came -with his welcome. "Didn't expect you to-day," he drawled, -with unmistakable double meaning in his drawl. "You're come sooner -than we expected. Must have had luck with the rivers "; and Mac -became enthusiastic. "Luck!" he cried. "Luck! She's got the luck -of the Auld Yin himself --skinned through everything by the skin -of our teeth. No one else'll get through those rivers under a week." -And they didn't. - -Remembering the telegrams, the Wag shot a swift quizzing glance -at him; but it took more than a glance to disconcert Mac once -his mind was made up, and he met it unmoved, and entered into a -vivid description of the "passage of the Fergusson," which -filled in our time until supper. - -After supper the Cottage returned the calls, and then, rain coming -down in torrents, the Telegraph, the Police, the Cottage and the "Pub" -retired to rest, wondering what the morrow would bring forth. - -The morrow brought forth more rain, and the certainty that, as -the river was still rising, the swim would be beyond the horses -for several days yet; and because of this uncertainty, the Katherine -bestirred itself to honour its tethered guests. - -The Telegraph and the Police Station issued invitations for dinner, -and the "Pub" that had already issued a hint that "the boys could -refrain from knocking down cheques as long as a woman was staying -in the place" now issued an edict limiting the number of daily drinks per man. - -The invitations were accepted with pleasure, and the edict was -attended to with a murmur of approval in which, however, there -was one dissenting voice: a little bearded bushman "thought -the Katherine was overdoing it a bit," and suggested as an amendment -that "drunks could make themselves scarce when she's about." -But Mine Host easily silenced him by offering to "see what the missus -thought about it." - -Then for a day the Katherine "took its bearings," and keen, -scrutinising glances summed up the Unknown Woman, looking her through -and through until she was no longer an Unknown Woman, while the Maluka -looked on interested. He knew the bush-folk well, and that their -instinct would be unerring, and left the missus to slip into whichever -niche in their lives they thought fit to place her. And as she slipped -into a niche built up of strong, staunch comradeship, the black -community considered that they, too, had fathomed the missus; and it -became history in the camp that the Maluka had stolen her from -a powerful Chief of the Whites, and, deeming it wise to disappear -with her until the affair had blown over, had put many flooded rivers -between him and his pursuers. "Would any woman have flung herself -across rivers on wires, speeding on without rest or pause, -unless afraid of pursuit?" the camp asked in committee, -and the most sceptical were silenced. - -Then followed other days full of pleasant intercourse; for once -sure of its welcome, bushmen are lavish with their friendship. -And as we roamed about the tiny Settlement, the Wag and others -vied with the Maluka, Mine Host, and Mac in "making things pleasant -for the missus": relating experiences for her entertainment; -showing all there was to be shown, and obeying the edict with cheerful, -unquestioning chivalry. - -Neither the Head Stockman nor the little bushman, however, had made -any offers of friendship, Dan having gone out to the station -immediately after interviewing the Maluka, while the little bushman -spent most of his time getting out of the way of the missus whenever -she appeared on his horizon. - -"A Tam-o-Shanter fleeing from the furies of a too fertile imagination," -the Maluka laughed after a particularly comical dash to cover. - -Poor Tam! Those days must live in his memory like a hideous nightmare! -I, of course, knew nothing of the edict at the time--for bushmen -do not advertise their chivalry--and wandered round the straggling -Settlement vaguely surprised at its sobriety, and turning up in such -unexpected places that the little bushman was constantly on the verge -of apoplexy. - -But experience teaches quickly. On the first day, after running -into me several times, he learned the wisdom of spying out the land -before turning a corner. On the second day, after we had come -on him while thus engaged several other times, he learned -the foolishness of placing too much confidence in corners, -and deciding by the law of averages that the bar was the only -safe place in the Settlement, availed himself of its sanctuary -in times of danger. On the third day he learned tbat the law -of averages is a weak reed to lean on; for on slipping round -a corner, and mistaking a warning signal from the Wag, he whisked -into the bar to whisk out again with a clatter of hobnailed boots, -for I was in there examining some native curios. "She's in THERE -next," he gasped as he passed the Wag on his way to the cover -of the nearest corner. - -"Poor Tam!" How he must have hated women as he lurked -in the doubfful ambush of that corner. - -"HOW he did skoot!" the Wag chuckled later on when recounting -with glee, to the Maluka and Mac, the story of Tam's dash for cover. - -Pitying Tam, I took his part, and said he seemed a sober, decent -little man and couldn't help being shy; then paused, wondering -at the queer expression on the men's faces. - -Mac coughed in embarrassment, and the Maluka and the Wag seemed -pre-occupied, and, fearing I had been misunderstood, I added hastily: -"So is everyone in the Settlement, for that matter," thereby causing -further embarrassment. - -After a short intense silence the Wag "thought he'd be getting along," -and as he movad off the Maluka laughed. "Oh, missus, missus!" and Mac -blurted out the whole tale of the edict--concluding rather ambiguously -by saying: "Don't you go thinLing it's made any difference to any -of us, because it hasn't. We're not saints, but we're not pigs, and, -besides, it was a pleasure." - -I doubted if it was much pleasure to Tam-o-Shanter; but forgetting -he was sober by compulsion, even he had begun to feel virtuous; -and when he heard he had been called a "sober, decent little man," -he positively swaggered; and on the fourth morning walked jauntily -past the Cottage and ventured a quiet good-morning--a simple enough -little incident in itself; but it proved Tam's kinship with -his fellowmen. For is it not the knowledge that some one thinks well -of us that makes us feel at ease in that person's company? - -Later in the same day, the flood having fallen, it was decided -that it would be well to cross the horses in the rear of a boat, -and we were all at the river discussing preparations, when Tam -electrified the community by joining the group. - -In the awkward pause that followed his arrival he passed a general -remark about dogs--there were several with us--and every one plunged -into dog yarns, until Tam, losing his head over the success of his -maiden speech, became so communicative on the subject of a dog-fight -that he had to be surreptitiously kicked into silence. - -"Looks like more rain," Mac said abruptly, hoping to draw public -attention from the pantomime." Ought to get off as soon as possible, -or we'll be blocked at the King." - -The Katherine seized on the new topic of conversation, and advised -"getting out to the five-mile overnight," declaring it would -"take all day to get away from the Settlement in the -morning." Then came another awkward pause, while every one kept -one eye on Tam, until the Maluka saved the situation by calling -for volunteers to help with the horses, and, Tam being pressed -into the service, the boat was launched, and he was soon safe -over the far side of the river. - -Once among the horses, the little man was transformed. In the quiet, -confident horseman that rode down the gorge a few minutes later -it would have been difficult to recognise the shy, timid bushman. -The saddle had given him backbone, and it soon appeared he was -right-hand man, and, at times, even organiser in the difficult -task of crossing horses through a deep, swift-running current. - -As the flood was three or four hundred yards wide and many feet -deep, a swim was impossible without help, and every horse was -to be supported or guided, or dragged over in the rear of the boat, -with a halter held by a man in the stern. - -It was no child's play. Every inch of the way had its difficulties. -The poor brutes knew the swim was beyond them; and as the boat, -pulling steadily on, dragged them from the shallows into the deeper -water, they plunged and snorted in fear, until they found themselves -swimming, and were obliged to give all their attention to keeping -themselves afloat. - -Some required little assistance when once off their feet; just a -slow, steady pull from the oars, and a taut enough halter to lean -on in the tight places. But others rolled over like logs when -the full force of the current struck them, threatening to drag the -boat under, as it and the horse raced away down stream with the -oarsmen straining their utmost. - -It was hard enough work for the oarsmen; but the seat of honour -was in the stern of the boat, and no man filled it better -than the transformed Tam. Alert and full of resource, with one hand -on the tiller, he leaned over the boat, lengthening or shortening -rope for the halter, and regulating the speed of the oarsmen -with unerring judgment; giving a staunch swimmer time and a short -rope to lean on, or literally dragging the faint-hearted across -at full speed; careful then only of one thing: to keep the head -above water. Never again would I judge a man by one of his failings. - -There were ten horses in all to cross, and at the end of two -hours' hard pulling there was only one left to come--old Roper. - -Mac took the halter into his own hands there was no one else worthy-- -and, slipping into the stern of the boat, spoke first to the horse -and then to the oarsmen; and as the boat glided forward, the noble, -trusting old horse--confident that his long-tried human friend -would set him no impossible task--came quietly through the shallows, -sniffing questions at the half-submerged bushes. - -"Give him time!" Mac called. "Let him think it out," as step by step -Roper followed, the halter running slack on the water. When almost -out of his depth, he paused just a moment, then, obeying the tightening -rope, lifted himself to the flood and struck firmly and bravely out. - -Staunchly he and Mac dealt with the current: taking time and -approaching it quietly, meeting it with taut rope and unflinching -nerve, drifting for a few breaths to judge its force; then, nothing -daunted, they battled forward, stroke after stroke, and won across -without once pulling the boat out of its course. - -Only Roper could have done it; and when the splendid neck -and shoulders appeared above water as he touched bottom, on the -submerged track, he was greeted with a cheer and a hearty, unanimous -"Bravo! old chap!" Then Mac returned thanks with a grateful look, -and, leaping ashore. looked over the beautiful, wet, shining limbs, -declaring he could have "done ito n his own," if required. - -Once assured that we were anxious for a start, the Katherine -set about speeding the parting guests with gifts of farewell. -The Wag brought fresh tomatoes and a cucumber; the Telegraph -sent eggs; the Police a freshly baked cake; the Chinese cook -baked bread, and Mine Host came with a few potatoes and a flat-iron. -To the surprise of the Katherine, I received the potatoes without -enthusiasm, not having been long enough in the Territory to know -their rare value, and, besides, I was puzzling over the flat iron. - -"What's it for?" I asked, and the Wag shouted in mock amazement: -"For! To iron duds with, of course," as Mine Host assured us it -was of no use to him beyond keeping a door open. - -Still puzzled, I said I thought there would not be any need -to iron duds until we reached the homestead, and the Maluka said -quietly: "It's FOR the homestead. There will be nothing like that -there." - -Mac exploded with an impetuous "Good Heavens! What does she expect? -First pillows and now irons!" - -Gradually realising that down South we have little idea of what -"rough" means to a bushman, I had from day to day been modifying -my ideas of a station home from a mansion to a commodious wooden -cottage, plainly but comfortably furnished. The Cottage had confirmed -this idea, but Mac soon settled the question beyond all doubt. - -"Look here!" he said emphatically. "Before she leaves this place -she'll just have to grasp things a bit better," and sitting -down on a swag he talked rapidly for ten minutes, taking a queer -delight in making everything sound as bad as possible, "knocking -the stiffening out of the missus," as he phrased it, and certainly -bringing the "commodious station home" about her ears, which was -just as well, perhaps. - -After a few scathing remarks on the homestead in general, which -he called " One of those down-at-the-heels, anything-'ll-do -sort of places," he described The House. "It's mostly verandahs -and promises," he said; "but one room is finished. We call it -The House, but you'll probably call it a Hut, even though it has -got doors and calico windows framed and on hinges." - -Then followed an inventory of the furniture. "There's one fairly steady, -good-sized table at least it doesn't fall over, unless some one -leans on it; then there's a bed with a wire mattress, but nothing -else on it; and there's a chair or two up to your weight -(the boss'll either have to stand up or lie down), and I don't -know that there's much else excepting plenty of cups and plates-- -they're enamel, fortunately, so you won't have much trouble -with the servants breaking things. Of course there's a Christmas card -and a few works of art on the walls for you to look at when -you're tired of looking at yourself in the glass. Yes! There's -a looking-glass--goodness knows how it got there! You ought -to be thankful for that and the wire-mattress. You won't find -many of them out bush ." - -I humbly acknowledged thankfulness, and felt deeply grateful -to Mine Host, when, with ready thoughtfulness he brought a couple -of china cups and stood them among the baggage--the heart of Mine Host -was as warm and sincere as his flashing smiles. I learned, in time, -to be indifferent to china cups, but that flat-iron became one -of my most cherished possessions--how it got to the Katherine -is a long, long story, touching on three continents, a man, -a woman, and a baby. - - - -The commodious station home destroyed, the Katherine bestirred itself -further in the speeding of its guests. The Telegraph came with -the offer of their buggy, and then the Police offered theirs; -but Mine Host, harnessing two nuggety little horses into his buck-board, -drove round to the store, declaring a buck-board was the "only thing -for the road." "You won't feel the journey at all in it," he said, -and drove us round the Settlement to prove how pleasant and easy -travelling could be in the Wet. - -"No buggy obtainable," murmured the Maluka, reviewing the three offers. -But the Sanguine Scot was quite unabashed, and answered coolly: -"You forget those telegrams were sent to that other woman--the Goer, -you know--there WAS no buggy obtainable for HER. By George! -Wasn't she a snorter? I knew I'd block her somehow," and then he added -with a gallant bow and a flourish: "You can see for yourselves, chaps, -that she didn't come." - - - -The Wag mimicked the bow and the flourish, and then suggested -accepting all three vehicles and having a procession "a triumphal -exit that'll knock spots off Pine Creek." - -"There'd be one apiece," he said, "and with Jackeroo as outrider, -and loose horses to fill in with, we could make a real good thing -of it if we tried. There's Tam, now; he's had a fair amount of practice -lately, dodging round corners, and if he and I stood on opposite sides -of the track, and dodged round bushes directly the procession passed -coming out farther along, we could line the track for miles -with cheering crowds." - -The buck-board only being decided on, he expressed himself bitterly -disappointed, but promised to do his best with that and the horses; -until hearing that Mac was to go out to the "five-mile" overnight -with the pack-team and loose horses, leaving us to follow at sun-up, -he became disconsolate and refused even to witness the departure. - -"I'd 'av willingly bust meself cheering a procession and lining -the track with frantic crowds," he said, "but I'm too fat to -work up any enthusiasm over two people in a buck-board." - - -A little before sundown Mac set out, after instructing the Katherine -to "get the buck-board off early," and just before the Katherine -"turned in" for the night, the Maluka went to the office to settle -accounts with Mine Host. - -In five minutes he was back, standing among the ponchianas, -and then after a little while of silence he said gently: -"Mac was right. A woman does not represent business here." -Mine Host had indignantly refused payment for a woman's board -and lodging. - -"I had to pay, though," the Maluka laughed, with one of his -quick changes of humour. " But, then, I'm only a man." - - - -CHAPTER V - - -When we arrived at the five-mile in the morning we found Mac -"packed up" and ready for the start, and, passing the reins to him, -the Maluka said, "You know the road best "; and Mac, being what he -called a "bit of a Jehu," we set off in great style across country, -apparently missing trees by a hair's breadth, and bumping over -the ant-hills, boulders, and broken boughs that lay half-hidden -in the long grass. - -After being nearly bumped out of the buck-board several times, -I asked if there wasn't any track anywhere; and Mac once again -exploded with astonishment. - - - -"We're on the track," he shouted." Good Heavens I do you mean -to say you can't see it on ahead there?" and he pointed towards -what looked like thickly timbered country, plentifully strewn with -further boulders and boughs and ant-hills; and as I shook my head, -he shrugged his shoulders hopelessly. "And we're on the main -transcontinental route from Adelaide to Port Darwin," he said. - -"Any track anywhere!" he mimicked presently, as we lurched, and heaved, -and bumped along. "What'll she say when we get into the long-grass country?" - -"Long here!" he ejaculated, when I thought the grass we were driving -through was fairly long (it was about three feet). "Just you wait!" - -I waited submissively, if bouncing about a buck-board over thirty miles -of obstacles can be called waiting, and next day we "got into the long-grass -country", miles of grass, waving level with and above our heads--grass -ten feet high and more, shutting out everything but grass. - -The Maluka was riding a little behind, at the head of the pack-team, -but we could see neither him nor the team, and Mac looked triumphantly -round as the staunch little horses pushed on through the forest of grass -that swirled and bent and swished and reeled all about the buck-board. - -"Didn't I tell you?" he said. "This is what we call long grass"; -and he asked if I could "see any track now." "It's as plain as a -pikestaff," he declared, trying to show what he called a "clear -break all the way." Oh I'm a dead homer all right," he shouted -after further going as we came out at the "King" crossing. - -"Now for it! Hang on!" he warned, and we went down the steep bank -at a hand gallop; and as the horses rushed into the swift-flowing -stream, he said unconcernedly: "I wonder how deep this is," -adding, as the buck-board lifted and swerved when the current -struck it: "By George" They're off their feet," and leaning over -the splashboard, lashed at the undaunted little beasts until they -raced up the opposite bank. - -"That's the style!" he shouted in triumph, as they drew up, panting -and dripping well over the rise from the crossing. "Close thing, -though! Did you get your feet wet? " - -"Did you get your feet wet!" That was all, when I was expecting -every form of concern imaginable. For a moment I felt indignant -at Mac's recklessness and lack of concern, and said severely, -"You shouldn't take such risks." - -But Mac was blissfully unconscious of the severity. "Risks!" -he said. "Why, it wasn't wide enough for anything to happen, bar -a ducking. If you rush it, the horses are pushed across before -they know they're off their feet." - -"Bar a ducking, indeed!" But Mac was out of the buck-board, -shouting back, "Hold hard there! It's a swim," and continued -shouting directions until the horses were across with comparatively -dry pack-bags. Then he and the Maluka shook hands and congratulated -each other on being the right side of everything. - -"No more rivers!" the Maluka said. - -"Clear run home, bar a deluge," Mac added, gathering up the reins. -"We'll strike the front gate to-night." - -All afternoon we followed the telegraph line, and there the track -was really well-defined; then at sundown Mac drew up, and with -a fiourish of hats he and the Maluka bade the missus "Welcome Home!" -All around and about was bush, and only bush, that, and the telegraph -line, and Mac, touching on one of the slender galvanized iron poles, -explained the welcome. "This is the front gate." he said; "another -forty-five miles and we'll be knocking at the front door." -And they called the Elsey "a nice little place." Perhaps it was -when compared with runs of six million acres. - -The camp was pitched just inside the "front gate," near a wide-spreading -sheet of water, "Easter's Billabong," and at supper-time the conversation -turned on bush cookery. - - - -"Never tasted Johnny cakes!!" Mac said. "Your education hasn't -begun yet. We'll have some for breakfast; I'm real slap-up at -Johnny cakes!" and rummaging in a pack-bag, he produced flour, -cream-of-tartar, soda, and a mixing-dish, and set to work at -once. - - - -"I'm real slap-up at Johnny cakes! No mistake!" he assured us, -as he knelt on the ground, big and burly in front of the mixing-dish, -kneading enthusiastically at his mixture. "Look at that!" as -air-bubbles appeared all over the light, spongy dough." Didn't I -tell you I knew a thing or two about cooking?" and cutting off -nuggety-looking chunks, he buried them in the hot ashes. - -When they were cooked, crisp and brown, he displayed them with just -pride. "Well!" he said. "Who's slap-up at Johnny cakes?" and standing -them on end in the mixing-dish he rigged up tents--a deluge being -expected--and carrieded them into his own for safety. - -During the night the deluge came, and the billabong, walking up -its flood banks, ran about the borders of our camp, sending so -many exploring little rivulets through Mac's tent, that he was -obliged to pass most of the night perched on a pyramid of pack -bags and saddles. - - - -Unfortunately, in the confusion and darkness, the dish of -Johnny cakes became the base of the pyramid, and was consequently -missing at breakfast time. After a long hunt Mac recovered it -and stood looking dejectedly at the ruins of his cookery--a heap -of flat, stodgy-looking slabs. "Must have been sitting on 'em -all night," he said, "and there's no other bread for breakfast." - -There was no doubt that we must eat them or go without bread -of any kind; but as we sat tugging at the gluey guttapercha-like -substance, Mac's sense of humour revived. "Didn't I tell you I -was slap-up at Johnny cakes?" he chuckled, adding with further -infinitely more humorous chuckles: "You mightn't think it; -but I really am." Then he pointed to Jackeroo, who was watching -in bewilderment while the Maluka hunted for the crispest crust, -not for himself, but the woman. "White fellow big fellow fool -all right! eh, Jackeroo?" he asked, and Jackeroo openly agreed -with us. - -Finding the black soil flats impassable after the deluge, Mac -left the track, having decided to stick to the ridges all day; -and all that had gone before was smoothness itself in comparison -to what was in store. - -All day the buck-board rocked and bumped through the timber, -and the Maluka, riding behind, from time to time pointed out -the advantages of travelling across country, as we bounced about -the buck-board like rubber balls: "There's so little chance of -getting stiff with sitting still." - -Every time we tried to answer him we bit our tongues as the buck-board -leapt over the tussocks of grass. Once we managed to call back, -"You won't feel the journey in a buck-board." Then an overhanging -bough threatening to wipe us out of our seats, Mac shouted, "Duck!" -and as we "ducked" the buck-board skimmed between two trees, -with barely an inch to spare. - -"I'm a bit of a Jehu all right I " Mac shouted triumphantly. -"It takes judgment to do the thing in style"; and the next moment, -swinging round a patch of scrub, we flew off at a tangent to avoid -a fallen tree, crashing through its branches and grinding over -an out-crop of ironstone to miss a big boulder just beyond the tree. -It undoubtedly took judgment this "travelling across country along -the ridges"; but the keen, alert bushman never hesitated as he swung -in and out and about the timber, only once miscalculating the distance -between trees, when he was obliged to back out again. Of course -we barked trees constantly, but Mac called that "blazing a track -for the next travellers," and everywhere the bush creatures scurried -out of our way; and when I expressed fears for the springs, Mac -reassured me by saying a buck-board had none, excepting those -under the seat. - -If Mac was a "bit of a Jehu," he certainly was a "dead homer," -for after miles of scrub and grass and timber, we came out at -our evening camp at the Bitter Springs, to find the Head Stockman -there, with his faithful, tawny-coloured shadow, "Old Sool em," -beside him. - -Dog and man greeted us sedately, and soon Dan had a billy boiling -for us, and a blazing fire, and accepted an invitation to join us -at supper and "bring something in the way of bread along with him." - -With a commonplace remark about the trip out, he placed a crisp, -newly baked damper on the tea-towel that acted as supper cloth; -but when we all agreed that he was real slap-up at damper making," -he scented a joke and shot a quick, questioning glance around; -then deciding that it was wiser not to laugh at all than to laugh -in the wrong p]aace, he only said, he was "not a bad hand at -the damper trick." Dan liked his jokes well labelled when dealing -with the unknown Woman. - -He was a bushman of the old type, one of the men of the droving days; -full of old theories, old faiths, and old prejudices, and clinging -always to old habits and methods. Year by year as the bush had -receded and shrunk before the railways, he had receded with it, -keeping always just behind the Back of Beyond, droving, bullock-punching, -stock-keeping, and unconsciously opening up the way for that -very civilisation that was driving him farther and farther back. -In the forty years since his boyhood railways had driven him out -of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and were now threatening -even the Never-Never, and Dan was beginning to fear that they would -not leave "enough bush to bury a man in." - -Enough bush to bury a man in! That's all these men of the droving days -have ever asked of their nation and yet without them the pioneers -would have been tied hand and foot, and because of them Australia -is what it is. - -"Had a good trip out?" Dan asked, feeling safe on that subject, -and appeared to listen to the details of the road with interest; -but all the time the shrewd hazel eyes were upon me, drawing rapid -conclusions, and I began to feel absurdly anxious to know their -verdict. That was not to come before bedtime; and only those who -knew the life of the stations in the Never-Never know how much -was depending on the stockmen's verdict. - -Dan had his own methods of dealing with the Unknown Woman. Forty years -out-bush had convinced him that "most of 'em were the right sort," -but it had also convinced him that "you had to take 'em all differently," -and he always felt his way carefully, watching and waiting, ready -to open out at the first touch of fellowship and understanding, -but just as ready to withdraw into himself at the faintest approach -to a snub. - -By the time supper was over he had risked a joke or two, and taking -heart by their reception, launched boldly into the conversation, -chuckling with delight as the Maluka and Mac amused themselves -by examining the missus on bushcraft. - -"She'll need a deal of educating before we let her out alone," -he said, after a particularly bad failure, with the first touch -of that air of proprietorship that was to become his favourite -attitude towards his missus. - -"It's only common sense; you'll soon get used to it," Mac said -in encouragement, giving us one of his delightful backhanders. -Then in all seriousness Dan suggested teaching her some of the -signs of water at hand, right off, "in case she does get lost -any time," and also seriously, the Maluka and Mac "thought it would -be as well, perhaps." - -Then the townswoman's self-satisfied arrogance came to the surface. -"You needn't bother about me," I said, confident I had as much -common sense as any bushman. "If ever I do get lost, I'll just -catch a cow and milk it." - -Knowing nothing of the wild, scared cattle of the fenceless runs -of the Never-Never, I was prepared for anything rather than the -roar of delight that greeted that example of town "common sense." - -"Missus! missus!" the Maluka cried, as soon as he could speak, -"you'll need a deal of educating "; and while Mac gasped, " Oh I say! -Look here!" Dan, with tears in his eyes, chuckled: " She'll have -a drouth on by the time she runs one down " Dan always called -a thirst a drouth. "Oh Lord!" he said, picturing the scene in -his mind's eye, "'I'll catch a cow and milk it,' she says." - -Then, dancing with fun, the hazel eyes looked round the company, -and as Dan rose, preparatory to turning in, we felt we were about -to hear their verdict. When it came it was characteristic of the man -in uniqueness of wording: - -"She's the dead finish!" he said, wiping his eyes on his shirt sleeve. -"Reckoned she was the minute I heard her talking about slap-up dampers"; -and in some indescribable way we knew he had paid the woman who was -just entering his life the highest compliment in his power. Then he -added, "Told the chaps the little 'uns were generally all right." -It is the helplessness of little women that makes them appear -"all right " in the eyes of bushmen, helplessness being foreign -to snorters. - -At breakfast Dan expressed surprise because there was no milk, -and the pleasantry being well received, he considered the moment -ripe for one of his pet theories. - -"She'll do for this place!" he said, wagging his head wisely. -"I've been forty years out-bush, and I've known eight or ten women -in that time, so I ought to know something about it. Anyway, the ones -that could see jokes suited best. There was Mrs. Bob out Victoria -way. She'd see a joke a mile off; sighted 'em as soon as they got -within cooee. Never knew her miss one, and never knew anybody suit -the bush like she did." And, as we packed up and set out for -the last lap of our journey he was still ambling about his theory. -"Yes," he said, "you can dodge most things out bush; but you can't -dodge jokes for long. They'll run you down sooner or later "; -adding with a chuckle, " Never heard of one running Mrs. Bob down, -though. She always tripped 'em up before they could get to her." -Then finding the missus had thrown away a "good cup of tea just -because a few flies had got into it," he became grave. "Never -heard of Mrs. Bob getting up to those tricks," he said, and doubted -whether "the missus'ld do after all," until reassured by the Maluka -that "she'll be fishing them out with the indiflerence of a Stoic -in a week or two"; and I was. - -When within a few miles of the homestead, the buckboard took a -sharp turn round a patch of scrub, and before any one realised what -was happening we were in the midst of a mob of pack horses, and -face to face with the Quiet Stockman a strong, erect, young Scot, -who carried his six foot two of bone and muscle -with the lithe ease of a bushman. - -"Hallo" Mac shouted, pulling up. Then, with the air of a showman -introducing some rare exhibit, added: "This is the missus, Jack." - -Jack touched his hat and moved uneasily in his saddle, answering -Mac's questions in monosyllables. Then the Maluka came up, and Mac, -taking pity on the embarrassed bushman, suggested "getting along," -and we left him sitting rigidly on his horse, trying to collect -his scattered senses. - -"That was unrehearsed," Mac chuckled, as we drove on. "He's clearing -out! Reckon he didn't set out exactly hoping to meet us, though. -Tam's a lady's man in comparison," but loyal to his comrade -above his amusement, he added warmly: " You can't beat Jack by much, -though, when it comes to sticking to a pal," unconscious that he -was prophesying of the years to come, when the missus had become -one of those pals. - -"There's only the Dandy left now," Mac went on, as we spun along -an ever more definite track, " and he'll be all right as soon as -he gets used to it. Never knew such a chap for finding something -decent in everybody he strikes." Naturally I hoped he would "find -something decent in me," having learned what it meant to the stockmen -to have a woman pitchforked into their daily lives, when those -lives were to be lived side by side, in camp, or in saddle, or at -the homestead. - - -Mac hesitated a moment, and then out flashed one of his happy -inspirations. "Don't you bother about the Dandy,"he said; "bushmen -have a sixth sense, and know a pal when they see one." - -Just a bushman's pretty speech, aimed straight at the heart of a -woman, where all the pretty speeches of the bushfolk are aimed; -for it is by the heart that they judge us. "Only a pal," they will -say, towering strong and protecting; and the woman feels uplifted, -even though in the same breath they have honestly agreed with her, -after careful scrutiny, that it is not her fault that she was born -into the plain sisterhood. Bushmen will risk their lives for a -woman pal or otherwise but leave her to pick up her own handkerchief. - - -"Of course!" Mac added, as an afterthought. "It's not often -they find a pal in a woman"; and I add to-day that when they do, -that woman is to be envied her friends. - -"Eyes front!" Mac shouted suddenly, and in a moment the homestead -was in sight, and the front gate forty-five miles behind us. -"If ever you DO reach the homestead alive," the Darwin ladies -had said; and now they were three hundred miles away from us to -the north-west. - -"Sam's spotted us!" Mac smiled as we skimmed on, and a slim little -Chinaman ran across between the buildings. "We'd better do -the thing in style," and whipping up the horses, he whirled them -through the open slip-rails, past the stockyards, away across -the grassy homestead enclosure, and pulled up with a rattle of hoofs -and wheels at the head of a little avenue of buildings. - -The Dandy, fresh and spotless, appeared in a doorway; black boys -sprang up like a crop of mushrooms and took charge of the buck-board; -Dan rattled in with the pack-teams, and horses were jangling -hobbles and rattling harness all about us, as I found myself -standing in the shadow of a queer, unfinished building, with -the Maluka and Mac surrounded by a mob of leaping, bounding dogs, -flourishing, as best they could, another "Welcome home!" - -"Well?" Mac asked, beating off dogs at every turn. "Is it -a House or a Hut ? " - -"A Betwixt and Between," we decided; and then the Dandy was presented, -And the steady grey eyes apparently finding "something decent" -in the missus, with a welcoming smile and ready tact he said: -"I'm sure we're all real glad to see you." Just the tiniest -emphasis on the word "you"; but that, and the quick, bright look -that accompanied the emphasis, told, as nothing else could, that -it was "that other woman" that had not been wanted. Unconventional, -of course; but when a welcome is conventional out-bush, it is -unworthy of the name of welcome. - -The Maluka, knew this well, but before he could speak, Mac had -seized a little half-grown dog--the most persistent of all the -leaping dogs--by her tightly curled-up tail, and, setting her down -at my feet, said: "And this is Tiddle'ums," adding, with another -flourishing bow, "A present from a Brither Scot," while Tiddle'ums -in no way resented the dignity. Having a tail that curled tightly -over her back like a cup handle, she expected to be lifted up by it. - -Then one after the other Mac presented the station dogs: Quart-Pot, -Drover, Tuppence, Misery, Buller, and a dozen others; and as I -bowed gravely to each in turn Dan chuckled in appreciation: -"She'll do! Told you she was the dead finish." - -Then the introductions over, the Maluka said: "Ann, now I suppose -she may consider herself just 'One of Us.'" - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -The homestead, standing half-way up the slope that rose from the -billabong, had, after all, little of that "down-at-heels, -anything'll-do" appearance that Mac had so scathingly described. -No one could call it a "commodious station home," and it was even -patched up and shabby; but, for all that, neat and cared for. An -orderly little array of one-roomed buildings, mostly built of sawn -slabs, and ranged round a broad oblong space with a precision that -suggested the idea of a section of a street cut out from some neat -compact little village. - -The cook's quarters, kitchens, men's quarters, store, meat-house, -and waggon-house, facing each other on either side of this oblong -space, formed a short avenue-the main thoroughfare of the homestead- -the centre of which was occupied by an immense wood-heap, -the favourite gossiping place of some of the old black fellows, -while across the western end of it, and looking down it, -but a little aloof from the rest of the buildings, stood the house, -or, rather, as much of it as had been rebuilt after the cyclone -of 1897. As befitted their social positions the forge and black boys' -"humpy" kept a respectful distance well round the south-eastern -corner of this thoroughfare; but, for some unknown reason, -the fowl-roosts had been erected over Sam Lee's sleeping-quarters. -That comprised this tiny homestead of a million and a quarter acres, -with the Katherine Settlement a hundred miles to the north of it, -one neighbour ninety miles to the east, another, a hundred and five -to the south, and others about two hundred to the west. - -Unfortunately, Mac's description of the House had been only too -correct. With the exception of the one roughly finished room -at its eastern end, it was "mostly verandahs and promises." - -After the cyclone had wrecked the building, scattering timber -and sheets of iron in all directions, everything had lain exactly -where it had fallen for some weeks, at the mercy of the wind and -weather. At the end of those weeks a travelling Chinese carpenter -arrived at the station with such excellent common-sense ideas of -what a bush homestead should be, that he had been engaged to -rebuild it. - -His plans showed a wide-roofed building, built upon two-foot -piles, with two large centre rooms opening into each other and -surrounded by a deep verandah on every side; while two small -rooms, a bathroom and an office, were to nestle each under one -of the eastern corners of this deep twelve-foot verandah. Without -a doubt excellent common-sense ideas; but, unfortunately, much -larger than the supply of timber. Rough-hewn posts for the -two-foot piles and verandah supports could be had for the cutting, -and therefore did not give out; but the man used joists and uprights -with such reckless extravagance, that by the time the skeleton of -the building was up, the completion of the contract was -impossible. With philosophical indifference, however, he finished -one room completely; left a second a mere outline of uprights and -tye-beams; apparently forgot all about the bathroom and office; -covered the whole roof, including verandahs, with corrugated iron; -surveyed his work with a certain amount of stolid satisfaction; -then announcing that "wood bin finissem," applied for his cheque -and departed; and from that day nothing further has been done to -the House, which stood before us "mostly verandahs and promises." - - - -Although Mac's description of the House had been apt, he had sadly -underrated the furniture. There were FOUR chairs, all "up" to my -weight, while two of them were up to the Maluka's. The cane was -all gone, certainly, but had been replaced with green-hide seats -(not green in colour, of course, only green in experience, never -having seen a tan-pit). In addition to the chairs, the dining-table, -the four-poster bed, the wire mattress, and the looking glass, -there was a solid deal side table, made from the side of a packing-case, -with four solid legs and a solid shelf underneath, also a remarkably -steady washstand that had no ware of any description, and a -remarkab1y unsteadv chest of four drawers, one of which refused -to open, while the other three refused to shut. Further, -the dining-table was more than "fairly" steady, three of the legs -being perfectly sound, and it therefore only threatened to fall -over when leaned upon. And lastly, although most of the plates -and all the cups were enamel ware, there was almost a complete -dinner service in china. The teapot, however, was tin, and, -as Mac said, as "big as a house." - -As for the walls, not only were the "works of art" there, but -they themselves were uniquely dotted from ceiling to floor with -the muddy imprints of dogs' feet--not left there by a Pegasus -breed of winged dogs, but made by the muddy feet of the station -dogs, as the, pattered over the timber, when it lay awaiting the -carpenter, and no one had seen any necessity to remove them. -Outside the verandahs, and all around the house, was what was to -be known later as the garden, a grassy stretch of hillocky ground, -well scratched and beaten down by dogs, goats, and fowls; -fenceless itself, being part of the grassy acres which were -themselves fenced round to form the homestead enclosures. Just -inside this enclosure, forming, in fact, the south-western barrier of -it, stood the "billabong," then a spreading sheet of water; along its -banks flourished the vegetable garden; outside the enclosure, -towards the south-east, lay a grassy plain a mile across, and to the -north-west were the stock-yards and house paddock--a paddock -of five square miles, and the only fenced area on the run; while -everywhere to the northwards, and all through the paddock, were -dotted "white-ant" hills, all shapes and sizes, forming brick-red -turrets among the green scrub and timber. - -"Well!" Mac said, after we had completed a survey. " I said it -wasn't a fit place for a woman, didn't I ? '' - -But the Head-stockman was in one of his argumentative moods. -"Any place is a fit place for a woman," he said, "provided the woman -is fitted for the place. The right man in the right place, you know. -Square people shouldn't try to get into round holes." - -"The woman's SQUARE enough!" the Maluka interrupted; and Mac added, -"And so is the HOLE," with a scornful emphasis on the word "hole." - -Dan chuckled, and surveyed the queer-looking building with -new interest. - -"It reminds me of a banyan tree with corrugated-iron foliage," -he said, adding as he went into details, "In a dim light the finished -room would pass for the trunk of the tree and the uprights for the -supports of the branches." - -But the Maluka thought it looked more like a section of a -mangrove swamp, piles and all. - -"It looks very like a house nearly finished," I said severely; -for, because of the verandah and many promises, I was again -hopeful for something approaching that commodious station -home. "A few able-bodied men could finish the dining-room in -a couple of clays, and make a mansion of the rest of the -building in a week or so." - -But the able-bodied men had a different tale to tell. - - - -"Steady! Go slow, missus!" they cried. "It may look like a house -very nearly finished, but out-bush, wc have to catch our hares -before we cook them." - -"WE begin at the very beginning of things in the Never-Never," -the Maluka explained. "Timber grows in trees in these parts, -and has to be coaxed out with a saw." - -"It's a bad habit it's got into," Dan chuckled; then pointing -vaguely towards the thickly wooded long Reach, that lay a mile -to the south of the homestead, beyond the grassy plain, he -"supposed the dining-room was down there just now, with the -rest of the House." - -With fast-ebbing hopes I looked in dismay at the distant forest -undulating along the skyline, and the Maluka said sympathetically, -"It's only too true, little un'." - -But Dan disapproved of spoken sympathy under trying circumstances. -"It keeps 'em from toeing the line" he believed; and fearing -I was on the point of showing the white feather he broke in with: -"We'll have to keep her toeing the line, Boss," and then pointed -out that "things might be worse." "In some countries there are -no trees to cut down," he said. - -"That's the style," he added, when I began to laugh in spite -of my disappointment, "We'll soon get you educated up to it." - -But already the Sanguine Scot had found the bright side of the -situation, and reminded us that we were in the Land of Plenty of -Time. "There's time enough for everything in the Never-Never," -he said. "She'll have many a pleasant ride along the Reach -choosing trees for timber. Catching the hare's often the best -part of the fun." - -Mac's cheery optimism always carried all before it. Pleasant -rides through shady forest-ways seemed a fair recompense for a -little delay; and my spirits went up with a bound, to be dashed -down again the next moment by Dan. - -"We haven't got to the beginning of things yet," he interrupted, -following up the line of thought the Maluka had at first suggested. -"Before any trees are cut down, we'll have to dig a saw-pit and -find a pit-sawyer." Dan was not a pessimist; he only liked to dig -down to the very root of things, besides objecting to sugar-coated -pills as being a hindrance to education. - -But the Dandy had joined the group, and being practical, suggested -"trying to get hold of little Johnny," declaring that " he would -make things hum in no time." - -Mac happened to know that Johnny was "inside" somewhere on a job, -and it was arranged that Dan should go in to the Katherine at once -for nails and "things," and to see if the telegraph people could -find out Johnny's whereabouts down the line, and send him along. - -But preparations for a week's journey take time, outbush, owing -to that necessity of beginning at the beginning of things. -Fresh horses were mustered, a mob of bullocks rounded up for a -killer, swags and pack-bags packed; and just as all was in readiness -for the start, the Quiet Stockman came in, bringing a small mob -of colts with him. - -"I'm leaving," he announced in the Quarters; then, feeling some -explanation was necessary, added, "I WAS thinking of it before -this happened." Strictly speaking, this may be true, although he -omitted to say that he had abandoned the idea for some little time. - -No one was surprised, and no one thought of asking what had happened, -for Jack had always steered clear of women, as he termed it. -Not that he feared or disliked them, but because he considered -that they had nothing in common with men. "They're such terrors -for asking questions," he said once, when pressed for an opinion, -adding as an afterthought, "They never seem to learn much either," -in his own quiet way, summing up the average woman's conversation -with a shy bushman: a long string of purposeless questions, -followed by inane remarks on the answers. - -"I'm leaving!" Jack had said, and later met the Maluka unshaken -in his resolve. There was that in the Maluka, however, that Jack -had not calculated on a something that drew all men to him, and -made Dan speak of him in after-years as the "best boss ever I -struck"; and although the interview only lasted a few minutes, -and the Maluka spoke only of the work of the station, yet in -those few minutes the Quiet Stockman changed his mind, and the notice -was never given. - -"I'm staying on," was all he said on returning to the Quarters; -and quick decisions being unusual with Jack, every one felt -interested. - -"Going to give her a chance?" Dan asked with a grin, and Jack -looked uncomfortable. - -"I've only seen the boss," he said. - -Dan nodded with approval. "You've got some sense left, then," -he said, "if you know a good boss when you see one." - -Jack agreed in monosyllables; but when Dan settled down to argue -out the advantages of having a woman about the place, he looked -doubtful; but having nothing to say on the subject, said nothing; -and when Dan left for the Katherine next morning he was still unconvinced. - -Dan set out for the north track soon after sun-up, assuring us -that he'd get hold of Johnny somehow; and before sun-down a -traveller crossed the Creek below the billabong at the south track, -and turned into the homestead enclosure. - -We were vaguely chatting on all and sundry matters, as we sat -under the verandah that faced the billabong, when the traveller -came into sight. - -"Horse traveller!" Mac said, lazily shading his eyes, and then -sprang to his feet with a yell. "Talk of luck!" he shouted. -"You'll do, missus! Here's Johnny himself." - - -It was Johnny, sure enough; but Johnny had a cheque in his -pocket, and was yearning to see the "chaps at the Katherine"; -and, after a good look through the House and store, decided -that he really would have to go in to the Settlement for-- -tools and "things." - -"I'll be back in a week, missus," he said next morning, as he -gathered his reins together before mounting, "and then we shan't -be long. Three days in and three out, you know, bar accidents, -and a day's spell at the Katherine," he explained glibly. -But the "chaps at the Katherine" proved too entertaining for Johnny, -and a fortnight passed before we saw him again. - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -The Quiet Stockman was a Scotchman, and, like many Scotchmen, -a strange contradiction of shy reserve and quiet, dignified -self-assurance. Having made up his mind on women in general, he -saw no reason for changing it; and as he went about his work, -thoroughly and systematically avoided me. There was no slinking -round corners though; Jack couldn't slink. He had always looked -the whole world in the face with his honest blue eyes, and could -never do otherwise. lHe only took care that our paths did not -cross more often than was absolutely necessary; but when they did, -his Scotch dignity asserted itself, and he said what had to be said -with quiet self-possession, although he invariably moved away -as soon as possible. - -"It's just Jack's way," the Sanguine Scot said, anxious that his -fellow Scot should not be misunderstood. "He'll be all there if -ever you need him. He only draws the line at conversations." - -But when I mounted the stockyard fence one morning, to see -the breaking-in of the colts, he looked as though he "drew the -line" at that too. - -Fortunately for Jack's peace of mind, horse-breaking was not -the only novelty at the homestead. Only a couple of changes of -everything, in a tropical climate, meant an unbroken cycle of -washing-days, while, apart from that, Sam Lee was full of -surprises, and the lubras' methods of house-cleaning were novel -in the extreme. - -Sam was bland, amiable, and inscrutable, and obedient to irritation; -and the lubras were apt, and merry, and open-hearted, and wayward -beyond comprehension. Sam did exactly as he was told, and the lubras -did exactly as they thought fit, and the results were equally -disconcerting. - -Sam was asked for a glass of milk, and the lubras were told to -scrub the floor. Sam brought the milk immediately, and the lubras, -after scrubbing two or three isolated patches on the fioor, went -off on some frolic of their own. - -At afternoon tea there was no milk served. "There was none," -Sam explained blandly. "The missus had drunk it all. Missus bin -finissem milk all about," he said When the lubras were brought -back, THEY said THEY had "knocked up longa scrub," and finished -the floor under protest. - -The Maluka offered assistance; but I thought I ought to manage -them myself, and set the lubras to clean and strip some feathers -for a pillow--the Maluka had been busy with a shot-gun--and suggested -to Sam that he might spend some of his spare time shooting birds. - -Mac had been right when he said the place was stiff with birds. -A deep fringe of birds was constantly moving in and about and -around the billabong; and the perpetual clatter of the plovers -and waders formed an undercurrent to the life at the homestead. - -The lubras worked steadily for a quarter of an hour at the feathers; -then a dog-fight demanding all their attention, the feathers were -left to the mercy of the winds, and were never gathered together. -At sundown Sam fired into a colony of martins that Mac considered -the luck of the homestead. Right into their midst he fired, as they -slept in long, graceful garlands one beside the other along -the branches of a gum-tree, each with its head snugly tucked away -out of sight. - -"Missus want feather!" Sam said, with his unfathomable smile, -when Mac flared out at him, and again the missus appeared -the culprit. - -The Maluka advised making the orders a little clearer, and Sam -was told to use more discretion in his obedience, and, smiling -and apologetic, promised to obey. - -The lubras also promised to be more painstaking, reserving only -the right to rest if they should "knock up longa work." - -The Maluka, Mac and the Dandy, looked on in amusement while -the missus wrestled with the servant question; and even -the Quiet Stockman grinned sympathetically at times, unconsciously -becoming interested in a woman who was too occupied to ask -questions. - -For five days I "wrestled"; and the only comfort I had was in -Bertie's Nellie, a gentle-faced old lubra almost sweet-faced. -She undoubtedly did her best, and, showing signs of friendship, -was invaluable in "rounding up" the other lubras when they showed -signs of "knocking up." - -On the morning of the sixth day Sam surpassed himself in obedience. -I had hinted that breakfast should be a little earlier, adding -timidly that he might use a little more ingenuity in the breakfast -menu, and at the first grey streak of dawn breakfast was announced, -and, dressing hurriedly, we sat down to what Sam called "Pump-pce-King -pie with raisins and mince." The expression on Sam's face was -celestial. No other word could describe it. There was also an -underlying expression of triumph which made me suspicious of his -apparent ingenuousness, and as the lubras had done little else -but make faces at themselves in the looking-glass for two days -(I was beginning to hate that looking-glass), I appealed to the Maluka -for assistance. - -He took Sam in hand, and the triumph slipped away from beneath -the stolid face, and a certain amount of discrimination crept into -his obedience from henceforth. - -Then the Sanguine Scot said that he would "tackle the lubras for her," -and in half an hour everywhere was swept and garnished, and the lubras -were meek and submissive. - -"You'll need to rule them with a rod of iron," Mac said, secretly -pleased with his success. But there was one drawback to his methods, -for next day, with the exception of Nellie, there were no lubras -to rule with or without a rod of iron. - -Jimmy, the water-carrier and general director of the woodheap -gossip, explained that they had gone off with the camp lubras for -a day's recreation; "Him knock up longa all about work," he said, -with an apologetic smile. Jimmy was either apologetic or -condescending. - -Nellie rounded them up when they returned, and the Maluka suggested, -as a way out of the difficulty, that I should try to make myself -more attractive than the camp lubras, which Mac said "shouldn't -be difficult," and then coughed, doubtful of the compliment. - -I went down to the Creek at once to carry out the Maluka's suggestion, -and succeeded so well that I was soon the centre of a delighted -dusky group, squatting on its haunches, and deep in fascinations -of teaching an outsider its language. The uncouth mispronunciations -tickled the old men beyond description, and they kept me gurgling -at difficult gutturals, until, convulsed at the contortion -of everyday words and phrases, they echoed Dan's opinion in queer -pidgin-English that the "missus needed a deal of education." -Jimmy gradually became loftily condescending, and as for old Nellie, -she had never enjoyed anything quite so much. - -Undoubtedly I made myself attractive to the blackfellow mind; -for, besides having proved an unexpected entertainment, I had -made every one feel mightily superior to the missus. That power -of inspiring others with a sense of superiority is an excellent trait -to possess when dealing with a black fellow, for there were -more than enough helpers next day, and the work was done -quickly and well, so as to leave plenty of time for merry-making. - -The Maluka and Mac were full of congratulations. "You've -got the mob well in hand now," Mac said, unconscious that he -was about to throw everything into disorder again. - - -For six years Mac had been in charge of the station, and when -he heard that the Maluka was coming north to represent the owners, -he had decided to give bullock-punching a turn as a change -from stock-keeping. Sanguine that "there was a good thing in it," -he had bought a bullock waggon and team while in at the Katherine, -and secured "loading" for "inside." Under these circumstances -it was difficult to understand why he had been so determined -in his blocking, the only reason he could ever be cajoled into -giving being "that he was off the escorting trick, and, besides, -the other chaps had to be thought of." - -He was now about to go to "see to things," taking Bertie, his -right-hand boy, with him, but leaving Nellie with me. Bertie had -expressed himself quite agreeable to the arrangement, but at the -eleventh hour refused to go without Nellie; and Nellie, preferring -the now fascinating homestead to the company of her lord and -master, refused to go with him, and Mac was at his wits' end. - -It was impossible to carry her off by force, so two days were -spent in shrill ear-splitting arguments the threads of Nellie's -argument being that Bertie could easily "catch nuzzer lubra," and -that the missus "must have one good fellow lubra on the staff." - -Mac, always chivalrous, said he would manage somehow without Bertie, -rather than "upset things"; but the Maluka would not agree, -and finally Nellie consented to go, on condition that she would -be left at the homestead when the waggons went through. - -Then Mac came and confessed a long-kept secret. Roper belonged -to the station, and he had no claim on him beyond fellowship. -"I've ridden him ever since I came here, that's all," he said, -his arm thrown across the old horse. " I'd have stuck to him -somehow, fair means or foul, if I hadn't seen you know how to -treat a good horse." - -The Maluka instantly offered fair means, but Mac shook his head. -"Let the missus have him," he said, "and they'll both have a -good time. But I'm first offer when it comes to selling." So the -grand old horse was passed over to me to be numbered among the -staunchest and truest of friends. - -"Oh, well," Mac said in good-bye. "All's well that end's well," -and he pointed to Nellie, safely stowed away in a grove of dogs -that half filled the back of the buck-board. - -But all had not ended for us. So many lubras put themselves on -the homestead staff to fill the place left vacant by Nellie, -that the one room was filled to overflowing while the work was -being done, and the Maluka was obliged to come to the rescue once -more. He reduced the house staff to two, allowing a shadow or -two extra in the persons of a few old black fellows and a piccaninny -or two, sending the rejected to camp. - -In the morning there was a free fight in camp between the staff -and some of the camp lubras, the rejected, led by Jimmy's lubra-- -another Nellie--declaring the Maluka had meant two different lubras -each day. - -Again there was much ear-splitting argument, but finally a compromise -was agreed on. Two lubras were to sit down permanently, while as -many as wished might help with the washing and watering. Then the -staff and the shadows settled down on the verandah beside me to -watch while I evolved dresses for two lubras out of next to nothing -in the way of material, and as I sewed, the Maluka, with some -travellers who were "in" to help him, set to work to evolve a garden -also out of next to nothing in the way of material. - -Hopeless as it looked, oblong beds were soon marked out at each -of the four corners of the verandah, and beyond the beds a broad -path was made to run right round the House. "The wilderness -shall blossom like the rose," the Maluka said, planting seeds -of a vigorous-growing flowering bean at one of the corner posts. - -The travellers were deeply interested in the servant wrestle, -and when the Staff was eventually clothed, and the rejected green -with envy, decided that the "whole difficulty was solved, bar Sam." - -Sam, however, was about to solve his part of the difficulty to -every one's satisfaction. A master as particular over the men's -table as his own was not a master after Sam's heart, so he came -to the Maluka, and announced, in the peculiar manner of Chinese -cooks, that he was about to write for a new cook for the station, -who would probably arrive within six weeks, when Sam, having -installed him to our satisfaction, would, with our permission, -leave our service. - -The permission was graciously given, and as Sam retired we -longed to tell him to engage some one renowned for his disobedience. -We fancied later that our willingness piqued Sam, for after giving -notice he bestirred himself to such an extent that one of our visitors -tried to secure his services for himself, convinced we were throwing -away a treasure. - -In that fortnight we had several visitors, travellers passing -through the station, and as each stayed a day or two, a few of the -visits overlapped, and some merry hours were spent in the little -homestead. - -Some of the guests knew beforehand of the arrival of a missus -at the station, and came ready groomed from their last camp; -but others only heard of her arrival when inside the homestead -enclosure, and there was a great application of soap, and razors, -and towels before they considered themselves fit for presentation. - -With only one room at our disposal it would seem to the -uninitiated that the accommodation of the homestead must have -been strained to bursting point; but "out-bush" every man carries -a "bluey" and a mosquito net in his swag, and as the hosts slept -under the verandah, and the guests on the garden paths, or in their -camps among the forest trees, spare rooms would only have been -superfluous. With a billabong at the door, a bathroom was easily -dispensed with; and as every one preferred the roomy verandahs -for lounging and smoking, the House had only to act as a -dressing-room for the hosts and a dining-room for all. - -The meals, of course, were served on the dining-table; but no -apology seemed necessary for the presence of a four-poster bed -and a washing stand in the reception-room. They were there, and -our guests knew why they were there, and words, like the spare -rooms, would have been superfluous. - -Breakfast at sun-up or thereabouts, dinner at noon and supper -at sun-down, is the long-established routine of meals on all -cattle-runs of the Never-Never, and at all three meals Sam -waited, bland and smiling. - -The missus, of course, had one of the china cups, and the -guests enamel ware; and the flies hovering everywhere in dense -clouds, saucers rested on the top of the cups by common consent. -Bread, scones, and such thing were covered over with serviettes -throughout all meals while hands were kept busy "shooing" -flies out of prospective mouthfull. - - -Everything lacked conventionality, and was accepted as a matter -of course; and although at times Sam sore]y taxed my gravity -by using the bed for a temporary dumb waiter, the bushmen showed -no embarrassment, simply because they felt none, and retained -their self-possession with unconscious dignity. They sat among -the buzzing swarms of flies, light-hearted and self-reliant, -chatting of their daily lives of lonely vigils, of cattle-camps -and stampedes, of dangers and privations, and I listened -with a dawning consciousness that life "out-bush" is something -more than mere existence. - -Being within four miles of the Overland Telegraph--that backbone -of the overland rout--rarely a week was to pass without someone -coming in, and at times our travellers came in twos and threes, -and as each brought news of that world outside our tiny circle, -carrying in perhaps an extra mail to us, or one out for us, -they formed a strong link in the chain that bound us to Outside. - -In them every rank in bush life was represented, from cattle-drovers -and stockmen to the owners of stations, from swag-men and men -"down in their luck" to telegraph operators and heads of government -departments, men of various nationalities with, foremost among them, -the Scots, sons of that fighting race that has everywhere fought with -and conquered the Australian bush. Yet, whatever their rank or race, -our travellers were men, not riff-raff, the long, formidable stages -that wall in the Never-Never have seen to that, turning back -the weaklings and worthless to the flesh-pots of Egypt, and proving -the worth and mettle of the brave-hearted: all men, every one of them, -and all in need of a little hospitality, whether of the prosperous -and well-doing or "down in their luck," and each was welcomed -according to that need; for out-bush rank counts for little: -we are only men and women there. And all who came in, and went on, -or remained, gave us of their best while with us; for there was -that in the Maluka that drew the best out of all men. In life we -generally find in our fellow-men just what we seek, and the Maluka, -seeking only the good, found only the good and drew much of it -into his own sympathetic, sunny nature. He demanded the best -and was given the best, and while with him, men found they were better -men than at other times. - -Some of our guests sat with us at table, some with the men, and some -"grubbed in their camps." All of them rode in strangers and many -of them rode out life-long fnends, for such is the way of the bushfolk: -a little hospitality, a day or two of mutual understanding, and we -have become part of the other's life. For bush hospitality is -something better than the bare housing and feeding of guests, -being just the simple sharing of our daily lives with a fellow-man-- -a literal sharing of all that we have; of our plenty or scarcity, -our joys or sorrows, our comforts or discomforts, our security -or danger; a democratic hospitality, where all men are equally welcome, -yet so refined in its simplicity and wholesomeness, that fulsome -thanks or vulgar apologies have no part in it, although it was -whispered among the bushfolk that those "down in their luck" -learned that when the Maluka was filling tucker-bags, a timely -word in praise of the missus filled tucker-bags to over-flowing. - -Two hundred and fifty guests was the tally for that year, -and earliest among them came a telegraph operator, who as is the way -with telegraphic operators out-bush invited us to "ride across -to the wire for a shake hands with Outside"; and within an hour we -came in sight of the telegraph wire as our horses mounted the stony -ridge that overlooks the Warloch ponds, when the wire was forgotten -for a moment in the kaleidoscope of moving, ever-changing colour -that met our eyes. - -Two wide-spreading limpid ponds, the Warloch lay before us, -veiled in a glory of golden-flecked heliotrope and purple -water-lilies, and floating deep green leaves, with here and there -gleaming little seas of water, opening out among the lilies, and -standing knee-deep in the margins a rustling fringe of light reeds -and giant bulrushes. All round the ponds stood dark groves of -pandanus palms, and among and beyond the palms tall grasses -and forest trees, with here and there a spreading colabar festooned -from summit to trunk with brilliant crimson strands of mistletoe, -and here and there a gaunt dead old giant of the forest, and -everywhere above and beyond the timber deep sunny blue and -flooding sunshine. Sunny blue reflected, with the gaunt old trees, -in the tiny gleaming seas among the lilies, while everywhere upon -the floating leaves myriads and myriads of grey and pink "gallah" -parrots and sulphur-crested cockatoos preened feathers, or rested, -sipping at the water grey and pink verging to heliotrope and -snowy white, touched here and there with gold, blending, -flower-like, with the golden-flecked glory of the lilies. - -For a moment we waited, spell-bound in the brilliant sunshine; -then the dogs running down to the water's edge, the gallahs and -cockatoos rose with gorgeous sunrise effect: a floating -gray-and-pink cloud, backed by sunlit fiashing white. Direct to the -forest trees they floated and, settling there in their myriads, as -by a miracle the gaunt, gnarled old giants of the bush all over -blossomed with garlands of grey, and pink, and white, and gold. - -But the operator, being unpoetical, had ridden on to the "wire," -and presently was "shinning up" one of its slender galvanised iron -posts as a preliminary to the "handshake"; for tapping the line -being part of the routine of a telegraph operator in the Territory, -"shinning up posts," is one of his necessary accomplishments. - -In town, dust, and haste, and littered papers, and nerve-racking -bustle seem indispensable to the sending of a telegram; but when -the bush-folk "shake hands" with Outside all is sunshine and -restfulness, soft beauty and leisurely peace. With the murmuring -bush about us in the clear space kept always cleared beneath those -quivering wires, we stood all dressed in white, first looking up at -the operator as, clinging to his pole, he tapped the line, and then -looking down at him as he knelt at our feet with his tiny -transmitter beside him clicking out our message to the south -folk. And as we stood, with our horses' bridles over our arms -and the horses nibbling at the sweet grasses, in touch with the world -in spite of our isolation, a gorgeous butterfly rested for a brief -space on the tiny instrument, with gently swaying purple wings, -and away in the great world men were sending telegrams amid -clatter and dust, unconscious of that tiny group of bushfolk, -or that Nature, who does all things well, can beautify even -the sending of a telegram. - -In the heart of the bush we stood yet listening to the clatter of -the townsfolk, for, business over, the little clicking instrument was -gossiping cheerilly with us--the telegraph wire in the Territory -being such a friendly wire. Daily it gathers gossip, and daily -whispers it up and down the line, and daily news and gossip fly -hither and thither: who's "inside," who has gone out, whom to -expect, where the mailman is, the newest arrival in Darwin and -the latest rainfall at Powell's Creek. - -Daily the telegraph people hear all the news of the Territory, -and in due course give the news to the public, when the travellers -gathering it, carry it out to the bushfolk, scattering it broadcast, -until everybody knows every one else, and all his business and -where it has taken him; and because of that knowledge, and in -spite of those hundreds of thousands of square miles of bushland, -the people of the Territory are held together in one great -brotherhood. - -Among various items of news the little instrument told us that -Dan was "packing up for the return trip"; and in a day or two he -came in, bringing a packet of garden seeds and a china teapot from -Mine Host, Southern letters from the telegraph, and, from little -Johnny, news that he was getting tools together and would be -along in no time." - -Being in one of his whimsical moods, Dan withheld congratulations. - -"I've been thinking things over, boss," he said, assuming his -most philosophical manner "and I reckon any more rooms'll only -interfere with getting the missus educated." - -Later on he used the servant question to hang his argument on. -"Just proves what I was saying" he said. "If the cleaning of one -room causes all this trouble and worry, where'll she be when she's -got four to look after? What with white ants, and blue mould, -and mildew, and wrestling with lubras, there won't be one minute -to spare for education." - -He also professed disapproval of the Maluka's devices for making -the homestead more habitable. "If this goes on we'll never learn -her nothing but loafin'", he declared when he found that a couple -of yards of canvas and a few sticks had become a comfortable lounge -chair. "Too much luxury!" and he sat down on his own heels to show -how he scorned luxuries. A tree sawn into short lengths to provide -verandah seats for all comers he passed over as doubtful. He was -slightly reassured however, when he heard that my revolver practice -had not been neglected, and condescended to own that some of the devices -were "handy enough." A neat little tray, made from the end of -a packing-case and a few laths, interested him in particular. -"You'll get him dodged for ideas one of these days," he said, -alluding to the Maluka's ingenuity, and when, a day or two later, -I broke the spring of my watch and asked helplessly, "However was I -going to tell the time till the waggons came with the clock?" -Dan felt sure I had set an unsolvable problem. - -"That 'ud get anybody dodged," he declared; but it took more -than that to "dodge" the Maluka's resourcefulness. He spent a little -while in the sun with a compass and a few wooden pegs, and a sundial -lay on the ground just outside the verandah. - -Dan declared it just "licked creation," and wondered if "that 'ud -settle 'em," when I asked for some strong iron rings for a curtain. -But the Dandy took a hobble chain to the forge, and breaking the links -asunder, welded them into smooth round rings. - -The need for curtain rings was very pressing, for, scanty as it -was, the publicity of our wardrobe hanging in one corner of -the reception room distressed me, but with the Dandy's rings and -a chequered rug for curtain, a corner wardrobe was soon fixed -up. - -Dan looked at it askance, and harked back to the sundial and -education. "It's 'cute enough," he said. "But it won't do, boss. -She should have been taught how to tell the time by the sun. Don't you -let 'em spoil your chances of education, missus. You were in luck -when you struck this place; never saw luck to equal it. And if it -holds good, something'll happen to stop you from ever having a -house, so as to get you properly educated." - -My luck "held good" for the time being; for when Johnny came -along in a few days he announced, in answer to a very warm -welcome, that "something had gone wrong at No. 3 Well" and that -"he'd promised te see to it at once." - -"Oh, Johnny!" I cried reproachfully, but the next moment was -"toeing the line" even to the Head Stockman's satisfaction; -for with a look of surprise Johnny had added: "I--I thought you'd -reckon that travellers' water for the Dry came before your rooms." -Out-bush we deal in hard facts. - -"Thought I'd reckon!" I said, appalled to think my comfort -should even be spoken of when men's lives were in question. -"Of course I do; I didn't understand, that was all." - -"We haven't finished her education yet," Dan explained, -and the Maluka added, "But she's learning." - -Johnny looked perplexed. "Oh, well! That's all right, then," he said, -rather ambiguously. " I'll be back as soon as possible, and -then we shan't be long." - -Two days later he left the homestead bound for the well, and as -he disappeared into the Ti-Tree that bordered the south track, -most of us agreed that "luck was out." Only Dan professed to -think differently. "It's more wonderful than ever," he declared; -"more wonderful than ever, and if it holds good we'll never see -Johnny again." - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -Considering ourselves homeless, the Maluka decided that we should -"go bush" for awhile during Johnny's absence beginning with a -short tour of inspection through some of the southern country -of the run; intending, if all were well there, to prepare for -a general horse-muster along the north of the Roper. Nothing -could be done with the cattle until "after the Wet." - -Only Dan and the inevitable black "boy" were to be with us on -this preliminary walk-about; but all hands were to turn out for -the muster, to the Quiet Stockman's dismay. - -"Thought they mostly sat about and sewed," he said in the quarters. -Little did the Sanguine Scot guess what he was doing when he -"culled" needlework from the "mob" at Pine Creek. - -The walk-about was looked upon as a reprieve, and when a -traveller, expressing sympathy, suggested that "it might sicken -her a bit of camp life," Jack clung to that hope desperately. - -Most of the nigger world turned up to see the "missus mount," -that still being something worth seeing. Apart from the mystery -of the side-saddle, and the joke of seeing her in an enormous -mushroom hat, there was the interest of the mounting itself; -Jackeroo having spread a report that the Maluka held out his hands, -while the missus ran up them. and sat herself upon tbe horse's back. - -"They reckon you have escaped from a "Wild West Show," Dan said, -tickled at tbe look of wonder on some of the faces as I settled -myself in the saddle. We learned later that Jackeroo had tried -to run up Jimmy's hands to illustrate the performance in camp, -and, failing, had naturally blamed Jimmy, causing report to add -that the Maluka was a very Samson in strength. - -"A dress rehearsal for the cattle-musters later on," Dan called -the walk-about, looking with approval on my cartridge belt and -revolver; and after a few small mobs of cattle had been rounded up -and lookcd over, he suggested "rehearsing that part of the performance -where the missus gets lost, and catches cows and milks 'em." - -"Now's your chance, missus," he shouted, as a scared, frightened -beast broke from the mob in hand, and went crashing through -the undergrowth. "There's one all by herself to practice on." -Dan's system of education, being founded on object-lessons, was -mightily convincing; and for that trip, anyway, he had a very -humble pupil to instruct in the "ways of telling the signs of water -at hand." - -All day as we zigzagged through scrub and timber, visiting -water-holes and following up cattle-pads, the solitude of the bush -seemed only a pleasant seclusion; and the deep forest glades, -shady pathways leading to rhe outside world; but at night, when -the camp had been fixed up in the silent depths of a dark -Leichhardt-pine forest, the seclusion had become an isolation that -made itself felt, and the shady pathways, miles of dark treacherous -forest between us and our fellow-men. - -Tbere is no isolation so weird in its feeling of cut-offness as that -of a night camp in the heart of the bush. The flickering camp-fires -draw all that is human and tangible into its charmed circle, and -without, all is undefinable darkness and uncertainty. Yet it was -in this night camp among the dark pines, with even the stars shut -out, that we learnt that out-bush "Houselessness" need not mean -"Homelessness"-- a discovery that destroyed all hope that "this -would sicken her a bit." - -As we were only to be out one night, and there was little -chance of rain, we had nothing with us but a little tucker, a -bluey each, and a couple of mosquito nets. The simplicity of -our camp added intensely to the isolation; and as I stood -among the dry rustling leaves, looking up at the dark -broad-leaved canopy above us, with my "swag " at my feet, -the Maluka called me a "poor homeless little coon." - -A woman with a swag sounds homeless enough to Australian ears, -but Dan, with his habit of looking deep into the heart of things, -"didn't exactly see where the homelessness came in." - -We had finished supper, and the Maluka stretching himself luxuriously -in the firelight, made a nest in the warm leaves for me to settle -down in. "You're right, Dan," he said, after a short silence, -"when I come to think of it; I don't exactly see myself where -the homelessness comes in. A bite and a sup and a faithful dog, -and a guidwife by a glowing hearth, and what more is needed to make -a home. Eh, Tiddle'ums?" - -Tiddle'ums having for some time given the whole of her heart to -the Maluka, nestled closer to him aud Dan gave an appreciative -chuckle, and pulled Sool'em's ears. The conversation promised -to suit him exactly. - -"Never got farther than the dog myself," he said. "Did I Sool'em, -old girl? "But Sool'em becoming effusive there was a pause until -she could be persuaded that "nobody wanted none of her licking -tricks." As she subsided Dan went on with his thoughts uninterrupted: -"I've seen others at the guidwife business, though, and it didn't -seem too bad, but I never struck it in a camp before. There was -Mrs. Bob now. You've heard me tell of her? I don't know how it was, -but while she was out at the "Downs" things seemed different. -She never interfered and we went on just the same, but everything -seemed different somehow." - -The Maluka suggested that perhaps he had "got farther than the -dog" without knowing it, and the idea appearing to Dan, he "reckoned -it must have been that." But his whimsical mood had slipped away, -as it usually did when his thoughts strayed to Mrs. Bob; and he went -on earnestly, "She was the right sort if ever there was one. I know -'em, and she was one of 'em. When you were all right you told her -yarns, and she'd enjoy 'em more'n you would yourself, which is saying -something; but when you were off the track a bit you told her -other things, and she'd heave you on again. See her with the sick -travellers!" And then he stopped unexpectedly as his voice became -thick and husky. - -Camp-fire conversations have a trick of coming to an abrupt end -without embarrassing any one. As Dau sat looking into the fire, -with his thoughts far away in the past, the Maluka began to croon -contentedly at "Home, Sweet Home," and, curled up in the warm, -sweet nest of leaves, I listened to the crooning, and, watching the -varying expression of Dan's face, wondered if Mrs. Bob had any -idea of the bright memories she had left behind her in the bush. -Then as the Maluka crooned on, everything but the crooning -became vague and indistinct, and, beginning also to see into the -heart of things, I learned that when a woman finds love and -comradeship out-bush, little else is needed to make even the -glowing circle of a camp fire her home-circle. - -Without any warning the Maluka's mood changed, " There is nae luck -aboot her house, there is nae luck at a'," he shouted lustily, -and Dan, waking from his reverie with a start, rose to the tempting -bait. - -"No LUCK about HER house!" he said. "It was Mrs. Bob that had no -luck. She struck a good, comfortable, well-furnished house first -go off, and never got an ounce of educating. She was chained to -that house as surely as ever a dog was chained to its kennel. But -it'll never come to that with the missus. Something's bound to -happen to Johnny, just to keep her from ever having a house. Poor -Johnny, though," he added, warming up to the subject. "It's hard -luck for him. He's a decent little chap. We'll miss him"; and he -shook his head sorrowfully, and looked round for applause. - -The Maluka said it seemed a pity that Johnny had been allowed to go -to his fate; but Dan was in his best form. - -"It wouldn't have made any difference," he said tragically. -"He'd have got fever if he'd stayed on, or a tree would have fallen -on him. He's doomed if the missus keeps him to his contract." - -"Oh, well! He'll die in a good cause," I said cheerfully -and Dan's gravity deserted him. - -"You're the dead finish!" he chuckled, and without further ceremony, -beyond the taking off his boots, rolled into his mosquito net -for the night. - -We heard nothing further from him until that strange rustling -hour of the night that hour half-way between midnight and dawn, -when all nature stirs in its sleep, and murmurs drowsily in answer -to some mysterious call. - -Nearly all bushmen who sleep with the warm earth for a bed will -tell of this strange wakening moment, of that faint touch of -half-consciousness, that whispering stir, strangely enough, only -perceptible to the sleeping children of the bush one of the -mysteries of nature that no man can fathom, one of the delicate -threads with which the Wizard of Never-Never weaves his spells. -"Is all well my children?" comes the cry from the watchman of -the night; and with a gentle stirring the answer floats back "All is -well." - -Softly the pine forest rustled with the call and the answer; and as -the camp roused to its dim half-consciousness, Dan murmured sleepily, -"Sool'em, old girl" then after a vigorous rustling among the leaves -(Sool'em's tail returning thanks for the attention), everything -slipped back into unconsciousness until the dawn. As the first -grey streak of dawn filtered through the pines, a long-drawn out -cry of"Day-li-ght" Dan's camp reveille rolled out of his net, -and Dan rolled out after it, with even less ceremony than he had -rolled in. - -On our way back to the homestead, Dan suggesting that the "missus -might like to have a look at the dining-room, "we turned into -the towering timber that borders the Reach, and for the next -two hours rode on through soft, luxurious shade; and all the while -the fathomless spring-fed Reach lay sleeping on our left. - -The Reach always slept; for nearly twelve miles it lay, a swaying -garland of heliotrope and purple waterlilies, gleaming through -a graceful fringe of palms and rushes and scented shrubs, touched -here and there with shafts of sunlight, and murmuring and rustling -with an attendant host of gorgeous butterflies and flitting -birds and insects. - -Dan looked on the scene with approving eyes. "Not a bad place to ride -through, is it?" he said. But gradually as we rode on a vague -depression settled down upon us, and when Dan finally decided he -"could do with a bit more sunshine," we followed him into -the blistering noontide glare with almost a sigh of relief. - -It is always so. These wondrous waterways have little part in that -mystical holding power of the Never-Nexer. They are only pleasant -places to ride through and leave behind; for their purring slumberous -beauty is vaguely suggestive of the beauty of a sleeping tiger: -a sleeping tiger with deadly fangs and talons hidden under a wonder -of soft allurement; and when exiles in the towns sit and dream -their dreams are all of stretches of scorched grass and quivering -sun-flecked shade. - -In the honest sunlight Dan's spirits rose, and as I investigated -various byways he asked "where the sense came in tying-up a dog -that was doing no harm running loose." "It waren't as though she'd -taken to chivying cattle," he added, as, a mob of inquisitive steers -trotting after us, I hurried Roper in among the riders; and then -he wondered "how she'll shape at her first muster." - -Ihe rest of the morning he filled in with tales of cattle-musters -tales of stampedes and of cattle rushing over camps and "mincing -chaps into saw-dust " until I was secretly pleased that the coming -muster was for horses. - -But Jack's reprieve was to last a little longer. When all was -ready for the muster, word came in that outside blacks were in all -along the river, and the Maluka deciding that the risks were too -great for the missus in long-grass country, the plans were altered, -and I was left at the homestead in the Dandy's care. - -"It's a ill wind that blows nobody any good," the Maluka said, -drawing attention to Jack's sudden interest in the proceedings. - -Apart from sterling worth of character, the Daudy was all contrast -to the Quiet Stockman: quick, alert, and sociable, and brimming over -with quiet tact and thoughtfulness, and the Maluka knew I was -in good hands. But the Dandy had his work to attend to; and after -watching till the bush had swallowed up the last of the pack-team, -I went to the wood-heap for company and consolation. Had the Darwin -ladies seen me then, they would have been justified in saying, -"I told you so." - -There was plenty of company at the wood-heap, but the consolation -was doubtful in character. Goggle-Eye and three other old black -fellows were gossiping there, and after a peculiar grin of welcome, -they expressed great fear lest the homestead should be attacked -by "outside" blacks during the Maluka's absence. "Might it," -they said, and offered to sleep in the garden near me, as no doubt -"missus would be frightened fellow" to sleep alone. - -"Me big mob frightened fellow longa wild black fellow," Goggle-Eye -said, rather overdoing the part; and the other old rascals giggled -nervously, and said "My word!" But sly, watchful glances made me -sure they were only probing to find if fear had kept the missus -at the homestead. Of course, if it had, a little harmless bullying -for tobacco could be safely indulged in when the Dandy was busy -at the yards. - -Fortunately, Dan's system of education provided for all emergencies; -and remembering his counsel to "die rather than own to a black -fellow that you were frightened of anything," I refused their offer -of protection, and declared so emphatically that there was nothing -in heaven or earth that I was afraid to tackle single-handed, -that I almost believed it myself. - -There was no doubt they believed it, for they murmured in admiration -"My word! Missus big mob cheeky fellow all right." But in their -admiration they forgot that they were supposed to be quaking -with fear themselves, and took no precautions against the pretended -attack. "Putting themselves away properly," the Dandy said -when I told him about it. - -"It was a try-on all right," he added. "Evidence was against you, -but they struck an unexpected snag. You'll have to keep it up, -though"; and deciding "there was nothing in the yarn," the Dandy -slept in the Quarters, and I in the House, leaving the doors -and windows open as usual. - -When this was reported at dawn by Billy Muck, who had taken no -part in the intimidation scheme, a wholesome awe crept into -the old men's admiration; for a black fellow is fairly logical -in these matters. - -To him, the man who crouches behind barred doors is a coward, -and may be attacked without much risk, while he who relies only -on his own strength appears as a Goliath defying the armies of -a nation, and is best left alone, lest he develop into a Samson -annihilating Philistines. Fortunately for my reputation, only -the Dandy knew that we considered open doors easier to get out of -than closed ones, and that my revolver was to be fired to call him -from the Quarters if anything alarming occurred. - -"You'll have to live up to your reputation now," the Dandy said, -and, brave in the knowledge that he was within cooee, I ordered -the old men about most unmercifully, leaving little doubt in -their minds that "missus was big mob cheeky fellow." - -They were most deferential all day, and at sundown I completed -my revenge by offering these rulers of a nation the insult of -a woman's protection. "If you are still afraid of the wild blacks, -you may sleep near me to-night," I said, and apologised for -not having made the offer for the night before. - -"You've got 'em on toast," the Dandy chuckled as the offer was -refused with a certain amount of dignity. - -The lubras secretly enjoyed the discomfiture of their lords -and masters, and taking me into their confidence, made it very plain -that a lubra's life at times is anything but a happy one; -particularly if "me boy all day krowl (growl)." As for the lords -and masters themselves, the insult rankled so that they spent -the next few days telling great and valiant tales of marvellous -personal daring, hoping to wipe the stain of cowardice from their -characters. Fortunately for themselves, Billy Muck and Jimmy -had heen absent from the wood-heap, and, therefore, not having -committed themselves on the subject of wild blacks, bragged excessively. -Had they been present, knowing the old fellows well, I venture -to think there would have been no intimidation scheme floated. - -As the Dandy put it, "altogether the time passed pleasantly," -and when the Maluka returned we were all on the best of terms, -having reached the phase of friendship when pet names are permissible. -The missus had hecome "Gadgerrie" to the old men and certain -privileged lubras. What it means I do not know, excepting that -it seemed to imply fellowship. Perhaps it meant "old pal" or "mate," -or, judging from the tone of voice that accompanied it, "old girl," -but more probably, like "Maluka," untranslatable. The Maluka was -always "Maluka" to the old men, and to some of us who imitated them. - -Dan came in the day after the Maluka, and, hearing of our "affairs," -took all the credit of it to himself. - -"Just shows what a bit of educating'll do," he said. "The Dandy -would have had a gay old time of it if I hadn't put you up to their -capers"; and I had humbly to acknowledge the truth of all he said. - -"I don't say you're not promising well," he added, satisfied with -my humility. "If Johnny'll only stay away long enough, we'll -have you educated up to doing without a house." - -Within a week it seemed as though Johnny was aiding and -abetting Dan in his scheme of education; for he sent in word -that his "cross-cut saw," or something equally important, had -doubled up on him," and he was going back to Katherine to -"see about it straight off." - - - -CHAPTER IX - - - -Before the mustered horses were drafted out, every one at the homestead, -blacks, whites, and Chinese, went up to the stockyard to "have -a look at them." - -Dan was in one of his superior moods. "Let's see if she knows -anything about horses, " he said condescendingly, as the Quiet -Stockman opened the mob up a little to show the animals to better -advantage. "Show us your fancy in this lot, missus." "Certainly," -I said, affecting particular knowledge of the subject, and Jack -wheeled with a quick, questioning look, suddenly aware that, -after all, a woman MIGHT be only a fellow-man; and as I glanced -from one beautiful animal to another he watched keenly, half expectant -and half incredulous. - -It did not take long to choose. ln the foreground stood a magnificent -brown colt, that caught and held the attention, as it watched -every movement with ears shot forward, and nostrils quivering; -and as I pointed it out Jack's boyish face lit up with surprise -and pleasure. - -"Talk of luck!" Dan cried, as usual withholding the benefit of -the doubt. "You've picked Jack's fancy." - -But it was Jack himself who surprised every one, for, forgetting -his monosyllables, he said with an indescribable ring of fellowship -in his voice, "She's picked out the best in the whole mob," -and turned back to his world amoug the horses with his usual -self-possession. - -Dan's eyes opened wide. "Whatever's come to Jack?" he said; -but seemed puzzled at the Maluka's answer that he was "only getting -educated." The truth is, that every man has his vulnerable point, -and Jack's was horses. - -When the mob had been put through the yards, all the unbroken -horses were given into the Quiet Stockmas's care, and for the next -week or two the stockyard became the only place of real interest; -for the homestead, waiting for the Wet to lift, had settled down -to store lists, fencing, and stud books. - -It was not the horses alone that were of interest at the yards; -the calm, fearless, self-reliant man who was handling them was -infinitely more so. Nothing daunted or disheartened him; and in -those hours spent on the stockyard fence, in the shade of a -spreading tree, I learnt to know the Quiet Stockman for the man he -was. - -If any one would know the inner character of a fellow man, let -him put him to horse-breaking, and he will soon know the best or -the worst of him. Let him watch him handling a wild, unbroken -colt, and if he is steadfast of purpose, just, brave, and -true-hearted, it will all be revealed; but if he lacks self-restraint, -or is cowardly, shifty, or mean-spirited, he will do well to avoid -the test, for the horse will betray him. - -Jack's horse-breaking was a battle for supremacy of mind over mind, -not mind over matter a long course of careful training and schooling, -in which nothing was broken, but all bent to the control of a master. -To him no two horses were alike; carefully he studied their -temperaments, treating each horse according to its nature using -the whip freely with some, and with others not at all; coercing, -coaxing, or humouring, as his judgment directed. Working always -for intelligent obedience, not cowed stupidity, he appeared at times -to be almost reasoning with the brute mind, as he helped it to solve -the problems of its schooling; penetrating dull stupidity with -patient reiteration, or wearing down stubborn opposition with steady, -unwavering persistence, and always rewarding ultimate obedience -with gentle kindness and freedom. - -Step by step, the training proceeded. Submission first, then an -establishment of perfect trust and confidence between horse and -man, without which nothing worth having could be attained. - -After that, in orderly succession the rest followed: toleration -of handling, reining, mouthing, leading on foot, and on horseback -and in due time saddling and mounting. One thing at a time -and nothing new until the old was so perfected that when all was -ready for the mounting from a spectacular point of view the mounting -was generally disappointing. Just a little rearing and curvetting, -then a quiet, trusting acceptance of this new order of things. - -Half a dozen horses were in hand at once, and, as with children -at school, some quickly got ahead of the others, and every day -the interest grew keener and keener in the individual character -of the horses. At the end of a week Jack announced that he was -"going to catch the brown colt," next day. "It'll be worth seeing," -he said; and from the Quiet Stockman that was looked upon as a -very pressing invitation. - -From the day of the draughting he had ceased altogether to avoid -me, and in the days that followed had gradually realised that -a horse could be more to a woman than a means of locomotion; -and now no longer drew the line at conversations. - -When we went up to the yards in the morning, the brown colt was -in a small yard by itself, and Jack was waiting at the gate, -ready for its "catching." - -With a laugh at the wild rush with which the colt avoided him, -he shut himself into the yard with it, and moved quietly about, -sometimes towards it and sometimes from it; at times standing -still and looking it over, and at other times throwing a rope or -sack carelessly down, waiting until his presence had become -familiar, and the colt had learned that there was nothing to fear -from it. - -There was a curious calmness in the man's movements, a fearless -repose that utterly ignored the wild rushes, and as a natural -result they soon ceased; and within just a minute or two -the beautiful creature was standing still, watching in quivering -wonder. - -Gradually a double rope began to play in the air with ever-increasing -circles, awakening anew the colt's fears; and as these in turn -subsided, without any apparent effort a long running noose flickered -out from the circling rope, and, falling over the strong young head, -lay still on the arching neck. - -The leap forward was terrific; but the rope brought the colt up -with a jerk; and in the instant's pause that followed the Quiet -Stockman braced himself for the mad rearing plunges that were coming. -There was literally only an instant's pause, and then with a -clatter of hoofs the plungings began, and were met with muscles -of iron, and jaw set like a vice, as the man, with heels dug into -the ground dragged back on the rope, yielding as much as his -judgment allowed--enough to ease the shocks, but not an inch -by compulsion. - -Twice the rearing, terrified creature circled round him and then -the rope began to shorten to a more workable length. There was -no haste, no fiurry. Surely and steadily the rope shortened (but -the horse went to the man not the man to the horse; that was to -come later). With the shortening of the rope the compelling power -of the man's will forced itself into the brute mind, and, bending -to that will, the wild leaps and plungings took on a vague suggestion -of obedience--a going WITH the rope, not against it; that was all. -An erratic going, perhaps, but enough to tell that the horse had -acknowledged a master. That was all Jack asked for at first, and, -satisfied, he relaxed his muscles, and as the rope slackened -the horse turned and faced him; and the marvel was how quickly -it was all over. - -But something was to follow, that once seen could never be -forgotten the advance of the man to the horse. - -With barely perceptible movement, the man's hands stole along -the rope at a snail's pace. Never hurrying never stopping, -they did on, the colt watching them as though mesmerised. -When within reach of the dilated nostrils, they paused and waited, -and slowly the sensitive head came forward snuffing, more in -bewilderment than fear at this new wonder, and as the dark -twitching muzzle brushed the hands, the head drew sharply back, -only to return again in a moment with greater confidence. - -Three or four times the quivering nostrils came back to the hands -before they stirred, then one lifted slowly and lay on the muzzle, -warm and strong and comforting, while the other, creeping up -the rope, slipped on to the glossy neck, and the catching was over. - -For a little while there was some gentle patting and fondling, -to a murmuring accompaniment of words the horse standing still -with twitching ears the while. Then came the test of the victory-- -the test of the man's power and the creature's intelligence. -The horse was to go to the man, at the man's bidding alone, without -force or coercion. "The better they are the sooner you learn 'em -that," was one of Jack's pet theories, while his proudest boast-- -his only boast--perhaps was that he'd "never been beaten on that yet." - -"They have to come sooner or later if you stick at 'em,' he had said, -when I marvelled at first to see the great creatures come obediently -to the click of his tongue or fingers. So far in all his wide -experience the latest had been the third day. That, however, was -rare; more frequently it was a matter of hours, sometimes barely -an hour, while now and then--incredulous as it may seem to the layman-- -only minutes. - -Ten minutes before Jack put the brown colt to the test it had been -a wild, terrified, plunging creature, and yet, as he stepped back -to try its intelligence and submussion, his face was confident -and expectant. - -Moving slowly backwards, he held out one hand the hand that had -proved all kindness and comfort and, snapping a finger and thumb, -clicked his tongue im a murmur of invitation. - -The brown ears shot forward to attention at the sound, and as -the head reached out to investigate, the snapping fin,ers repeated -the invitation, and without hesitation the magnificent creature -went forward obediently until the hand was once more resting on -the dark muzzle. - -The tmsting beauty of the surrender seemed to break some spell -that had held us silent since the beginning of the catching. "Oh, -Jack! Isn't he a beauty ?" I cried unconsciously putting my -admiration into a question. - -But Jack no longer objected to questions. He turned towards us -with soft, shining eyes. "There's not many like him," he said, -pulling at one of the flexible ears. "You could learn him anything." -It seemed so, for after trying to solve the problem of the roller and -bit with his tongue when it was put into his mouth, he accepted -the mystery with quiet, intelligent trust; and as soon as he was -freed from it, almost courted further fondling. He would let no one -but Jack near him, though. When we entered the yard the ears -went back and the whites of the eyes showed. "No one but me for -a while," Jack said, with a strange ring of ownership in his -voice, telling that it is a good thing to have a horse that is yours, -and yours only. - -Within a week "Brownie" was mounted, and ridden down to the House -for final inspection, before "going bush' to learn the art of -rounding up cattle. "He'll let you touch him now," Jack said; -and after a snuffing inquiry at my hands the beautiful creature -submitted to their caresses. - -Dan looked at him with approving eyes. "To think she had the -luck to choose him too, out of all that crowd," he said. - -"We always call it instinct, I think," the Maluka said teasingly, -twitting me on one of my pet theories, and the Dandy politely -suggested "It might be knowledge.'" - -Then the Quiet Stockman gave his opinion, making it very clear -that he no longer felt that women had nothing in common winth -men. "It never is anything but instinct," he said, with quiet -decision in his voice. "No one ever learns horses.'' - -While the Quiet Stockman had been busy rearranging his ideas -of womankind, a good many things had been going wrong at the -homestead. Sam began by breaking both china cups, and letting -the backbone slip out of everything in his charge. - -Fowls laid-out and eggs became luxuries. Cream refused to rise -on the milk. It seemed impossible to keep meat sweet. Jimmy lost -interest in the gathering of firewood and the carrying of water; and -as a result, the waterbutts first shrank, then leaked, and finally lay -down, a medley of planks and iron hoops. A swarm of grasshoppers -passed through the homestead, and to use Sam's explicit English: -"Vegetable bin finissem all about"; and by the time fresh seeds -were springing the Wet returned with renewed vigour, and flooded out -the garden. Then stores began to fail, including soap and kerosene, -and writing-paper and ink threatened to "peter out." After that -the lubras, in a private quarrel during the washing of clothes, -tore one of the "couple of changes" of blouses sadly; and the mistress -of a cattle-station was obliged to entertain guests at times -in a pink cambric blouse patched with a washed calico flour-bag; -no provision having been made for patching. Then just as we were -wondering what else could happen, one night, without the slightest -warning, the very birds migrated from the lagoon, carrying away -with them the promise of future pillows, to say nothing of a mattress, -and the Maluka was obliged to go far afield in search -of non-migrating birds. - -Dan wagged his head and talked wise philosophy, with these disasters -for the thread of his discourse; but even he was obliged to own -that there was a limit to education when Sam announced that "Tea -bin finissem all about." He had found that the last eighty-pound -tea-chest contained tinware when he opened it to replenish his -teacaddy. Tea had been ordered, and the chest was labelled tea -clearly enough, to show that the fault lay in Darwin; but that -was poor consolation to us, the sufferers. - -The necessities of the bush are few; but they are necessities; -and Billy Muck was sent in to the Katherine post-haste, to beg, -borrow, or buy tea from Mine Host. At the least a horseman would -take six days for the trip, irrespective of time lost in packing up; -but knowing Billy's untiring, swinging stride, we hoped to see him -within four days. - -Billy left at midday, and we drank our last cup of tea at supper; -the next day learned what slaves we can be to our bodies. Because -we lacked tea, the interest went out of everything. Listless -and unsatisfied, we sat about and developed headaches, not thirsty-- -for there was water in plenty but craving for the uplifting -influence of tea. Never drunkards craved more intensely for strong -drink! Sam made coffee; but coffee only increased the headaches -and cravings, and so we sat peering into the forest, hoping for -travellers; and all we learnt by the experience was that tea is -a necessary of life out-bush. - -On the second evening a traveller came in from the south track. -"He wouldn't refuse a woman, surely," every one said, and we -welcomed him warmly. - -He had about three ounces of tea. "Meant to fill up here meself," -he said in apology, as, with the generosity of a bushman, he offered -it all unconditionally. Let us hope the man has been rewarded, -and has never since known what it is to be tealess out-bush! -We never heard his name, and I doubt if any one of us would know -the man again if we saw him. All we saw was a dingy tuckerbag, -with its one corner bulging heart-shaped with tea! - -We accepted one half, for the man had a three-days, journey -before him, and Sam doled it out so frugally that we spent two -comparatively happy days before fixing our attention on the -north track, along which Billy would return. - -In four and a half days he appeared, carrying a five-pound tea-tin -on his head, and was hailed with a yell of delight. We were -all in the stockyard, and Billy, in answer to the hail, came there. - -Dan wanted a "sniff of it right off," so it was then and there opened; -but as the lid flew back the yell of delight changed to a howl -of disappointment. By some hideous mistake, Billy had brought RAISINS. - -Like many philosophers, Dan could not apply his philosophy to himself. -"It's the dead finish," he said dejectedly; "never struck anything -like it before. Twice over too," he added. "First tinware and now -this foolery "; and he kicked savagely at the offending tin, sending -a shower of raisins dancing out into the dust. - -Every one but Dan was speechless, while Billy, not being a slave -to tea-drinking, gathered the raisins up, failing to see any cause -for diisappointment, particularly as most of the raisins fell -to his share for his prompt return. - -Hle also failed to see any advantage in setting out again for -the Katherine. "Might it catch raisins nuzzer time," he said, -logically enough. - -Dan became despondent at the thought. "They're fools enough for -anything," he said. I tried to cheer him up on the law of averages, -as Goggle-Eye was sent off with instructions to travel "quick-fellow, -quick-fellow, big mob quick-fellow," and many promises of reward -if he was back in "four fellow sleeps." - -For two more days we peered into the forest for travellers but -none appeared, and Dan became retrospective. "We might have -guessed this 'ud happen," he said, declaring it was a "judgment on -the missus" for chucking good tea away just because a fly got into -it. Luck's cleared right out because of it, missus," he said; -"and if things go on like this Johnny'll be coming along one -of these days." (Dan was the only one of us who could joke -on the matter.) - -"Luck's smashed all to pieces," he insisted later, when he found -that the first pillow was finished; but at sundown was inclined -to think it might be "on the turn again," for Goggle-Eye appeared -on the north track, stalking majestically in front of a horseman. - -"Me bin catch traveller," he said triumphantly, claiming his -rewards, "Me bin come back two fellow sleep"; and before we -could explain that was hardly what we had meant, the man had -ridden up. - -"Heard you were doing a famish here, sitting with your tongues -hanging out," he laughed, "so I've brought you a few more raisins." -And dismounting, he drew out from a pack-bag a long calico bag -containing quite ten pounds of tea. - -"You struck the Wag's tin," he said, explaining the mistake, as -every one shouted for Sam to boil a kettle instantly, and with -the tea came a message from the Wag himself: - - -"I'll trouble you for my raisins "; and we could almost hear the Wag's -slow, dry chuckle underlying the words. - -Mine Host also sent a message, saying he would "send further supplies -every opportunity, to keep things going until the waggons came -through," and underlying his message we felt his kindly consideration. -As a further proof of his thoughtfulness we found two china cups -imbedded in the tea. He had heard of Sam's accident. Tea in china cups! -and as much and as strong as we desired. But in spite of Mine Host's -efforts to keep us going, twice again, before the waggons came, -we found ourselves begging tea from travellers. - -Our energies revived with the very first cup of tea, and we went -for our usual evening stroll through the paddocks, with all our old -appreciation; and on our return found the men stretched out on the -grass beyond the Quarters, optimistic and happy, sipping at -further cups of tea. (Sam's kettle was kept busy that night.) - -The men's optimism was infectious, and presently the Maluka -"supposed the waggons would be starting before long." - -It was only March, and the waggons had to wait till the Wet lifted; -but just then every one felt sure that "the Wet would lift early -this year." - -"Generally does with the change of moon before Easter," the traveller -said, and, flying off at a tangent, I asked when Easter was, -unwittingly setting the homestead a tough problem. - -Nobody "could say for certain." But Dan "knew a chap once who -could reckon it by the moon" and the Maluka felt inspired to work -it out. "It's simple enough," he said. "The first Friday-- -or is it Sunday?--after the first full moon, AFTER the twenty-first -of March." - -"Twenty-fifth, isn't it?" the Dandy asked, complicating matters -from the beginning. - -The traveller reckoned it'd be new moon about Monday or Tuesday, -which seemed near enough at the time; and full moon was fixed -for the Tuesday or Wednesday fortnight from that. - -"That ought to settle it," Dan said; and so it might have if any -one had been sure of Monday's date; but we all had different -convictions about that, varying from the ninth to the thirteenth. - -After much ticking off of days upon fingers, with an old -newspaper as "something to work from," the date of the full moon -was fixed for the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth of March, unless -the moon came in so late on Tuesday that it brought the full to the -morning of the twenty-sixth. - -"Seems getting a bit mixed," Dan said, and matters were certainly -complicated. - -If we were to reckon from the twenty-first, Easter was in March, -but if from the twenty-fifth, in April--if the moon came in on -Monday, but March in either case if the full was on the twenty-sixth. - -Dan suggested "giving it best." "It 'ud get anybody dodged," he said, -hopelessly at sea; but the Maluka wanted to "see it through." -"The new moon should clear most of it up," he said; "but you've -given us a teaser this time, little 'un." - -The new moon should have cleared everything up if we could -have seen it, but the Wet coming on in force again, we saw -nothing till Thursday evening, when it was too late to calculate -with precision. - -Dan was for having two Easters, and "getting even with it that -way"; but Sam unexpectedly solved the problem for us. - -"What was the difficulty?" he asked, and listened to the explanation -attentively. "Bunday!" he exclaimed at the finish, showing he had -fully grasped the situation. Of course he knew all about Bunday! -Wasn't it so many weeks after the Chinaman's New Year festival? -And in a jargon of pidgin-English he swept aside all moon discussions, -and fixed the date of "Bunday" for the twenty-eighth of March, -"which," as Dan wisely remarked, "proved that somebody was right," -but whether the Maluka or the Dandy, or the moon, he forgot -to specify. "The old heathen to beat us all too," he added, -"just when it had got us all dodged." Dan took all the credit -of the suggestion to himself. Then he looked philosophically -on the toughness of the problem: "Anyway," he said, "the missus -must have learnt a bit about beginning at the beginning of things. -Just think what she'd have missed if any one had known when Easter -was right off! " - -"What she'd have missed indeed. Exactly what the townsman misses, -as long as he remains in a land where everything can be known -right off." - -But a new idea had come to Dan. "Of course," he said, "as far as -that goes, if Johnny does turn up she ought to learn a thing or two, -while he's moving the dining-room up the house"; and he decided -to welcome Johnny on his return. - -He had not long to wait, for in a day or two Johnny rode into -the homestead, followed by a black boy carrying a cross-cut saw. -This time he hailed us with a cheery: - -"NOW we shan't be long." - - - -CHAPTER X - - -It had taken over six weeks to "get hold of little Johnny "; -but as the Dandy had prophesied, once he started, he "made things -hum in no time." - -"Now we shan't be long," he said, flourishing a tape measure; -and the Dandy was kept busy for half a day, "wrestling with -the calculating." - -That finished, the store was turned inside out and a couple of -"boys " sent in for "things needed," and after them more "boys" -for more things; and then other "boys" for other things, until -travellers must have thought the camp blacks had entered into a -walking competition. When everything necessary was ordered, "all -hands" were put on to sharpen saws and tools, aml the homestead -shrieked and groaned all day with harsh, discordant raspings. -Then a camp was pitched in the forest, a mile or so from the homestead; -a sawpit dug, a platform erected, and before a week had passed an -invitation was issued, for the missus to "come and see a tree -felled." Laying thee foundation-stone," the Maluka called it. - -Johnny of course welcomed us with a jovial "Now we shan't be long," -and shouldering a tomahawk, led the way out of the camp into -the timber. - -House-hunting in town does not compare favourably with timber-hunting -for a house, in a luxuriant tropical forest. Sheltered from the sun -and heat we wandered about in the feathery undergrowth, while -the Maluka tested the height of the giant timber above us with shots -from his bull-dog revolver bringing down twigs and showers of leaves -from the topmost branches, and sending flocks of white cockatoos -up into the air with squawks of amazement. - -Tree after tree was chosen and marked with the tomahawk, -each one appearing taller and straighter and more beautiful than -any of its fellows until, finding ourselves back at the camp, -Johnny went for his axe and left us to look at the beauty around -us. - -"Seems a pity to spoil all this, just to make four walls to shut -the missus in from anything worth looking at," Dan murmured as -Johnny reappeared. "They won't make anything as good as this -up at the house." Johnny the unpoetical hesitated, perplexed. -Philosophy was not in his line. "'Tisn't too bad," he said, -suddenly aware of the beauty of the scene, and then the tradesman -came to the surface. "I reckon MY job'll be a bit more on the -plumb, though," he chuckled, and, delighted with his little joke, -shouldered his axe and walked towards one of the marked trees, -while Dan speculated aloud on the chances a man had of "getting -off alive" if a tree fell on him. - -"Trees don't fall on a man that knows how to handle timber," -the unsuspecting Johnny said briskly; and as Dan feared that -"fever was her only chance then," he spat on his hands, and, -sending the axe home into the bole of the tree with a clean, -swinging stroke, laid the foundation-stone--the foundation-stone -of a tiny home in the wilderness, that was destined to be -the dwellingplace of great joy, and happiness, and sorrow. - -The Sanguine Scot had prophesied rightly. There being "time -enough for everything in the Never-Never," there was time for -"many pleasant rides along the Reach, choosing trees for timber." - -But the rides were the least part of the pleasure. For the time -being, the silent Reach forest had become the hub of our little -universe. All was life and bustle and movement there. Every day -fresh trees uere felled and chopping contests entered into by -Johnny and the Dandy; and as the trees fell in quick succession, -black boys and lubras armed with tomahawks, swarmed over them, -to lop away the branches, before the trunks were dragged by -the horses to the mouth of the sawpit. Every one was happy and -light-hearted, and the work went merrily forward, until a great pile -of tree-trunks lay ready for the sawpit. - -Then a new need arose: Johnny wanted several yards of strong string, -and a "sup" of ink, to make guiding lines on the timber for his saw; -but as only sewing cotton was forthcoming, and the Maluka refused -to part with one drop of his precious ink, we were obliged to go down -to the beginning of things once more: two or three lubras were set -to work to convert the sewing-cotton into tough, strong string, -while others prepared a substitute for the ink from burnt water-lily -roots. - -The sawing of tbe tree-trunks lasted for nearly three weeks, -and the Dandy, being the under-man in the pit, had anything but -a merry time. Down in the pit, away from the air, he worked; -pulling and pushing, pushing and pulling, hour after hour, in -a blinding stream of sawdust. - -When we offered him sympathy and a gossamer veil, he accepted -the veil gratefully, but waved the sympathy aside, saying it was -"all in the good cause." Nothing was ever a hardship to the Dandy, -excepting dirt. - -Johnny being a past-master in his trade, stood on the platform -in the upper air, guiding the saw along the marked lines; and as he -instructed us all in the fine art of pit-sawing, Dan decided that the -building of a house, under some circumstances, could be an -education in itself. - -"Thought she might manage to learn a thing or two out of it," -he said. "The building of it is right enough. It all depends what -she uses it for when Johnny's done with it." - -As the pliant saw coaxed beams, and slabs, and flooring boards -out of the forest trees I grew to like beginning at the beginning -of things, and realised there was an underlying truth in Dan's -whimsical reiteration, that "the missus was in luck when she -struck this place"; for beams and slabs and flooring boards -wrested from Nature amid merrymaking and philosophical discourses -are not as other beams and slabs and flooring boards. They are -old friends and fellow-adventurers, with many a good tale to tell, -recalling comical situations in their reminiscences with -a vividness that baffles description. - -Perhaps those who live in homes with the beginning of things -left behind in forests they have never seen, may think chattering -planks a poor compensation for unpapered, rough-boarded walls -and unglazed window frames. Let them try it before they judge; -remembering always, that before a house can be built of old -friends and memories the friends must be made and the memories -lived through. - -But other things beside the sawing of timber were in progress, -Things were also "humming" in the dog world. A sturdy fox-terrier, -Brown by name, had been given by a passing traveller to the Maluka, -given almost of necessity for Brown--as is the way with fox-terriers -at times--quietly changed masters, and lying down at the Maluka's -feet, had refused to leave him. The station dogs resented his -presence there, and persecuted him as an interloper; and being -a peace-loving dog, Brown bore it patiently for two days, hoping, -no doubt, the persecution would wear itself out. On the third day, -however, he quietly changed his tactics--for sometimes the only -road to peace is through fighting--and, accepting their challenge, -took on the station dogs one by one in single combat. - -Only a full-sized particularly sturdy-looking fox-terrier against -expert cattle dogs; and yet no dog could stand against him. One -by one he closed with them, and one by one they went before -him; and at the end of a week he was "cock of the walk," and lay -down to enjoy his well-earned peace. His death-stroke was a -flashing lunge, from a grip of a foreleg to a sharp, grinding grip of -the enemy's tongue. How he managed it was a puzzle, but sooner -or later he got his grip in, to let go at the piercing yell of defeat -that invariably followed. But Brown was a gentleman, not a bully, -and after each fight buried the hatchet, appearing to shake hands -with his late adversary. No doubt if he had had a tail he would -have wagged it, but Brown had been born with a large, perfectly -round, black spot, at the root of his tail, and his then owner, -having an eye for the picturesque, had removed his white tail -entirely, even to its last joint, to allow of no break in the spot; -and when the spirit moved Brown to wag a tail, a violent stirring of -hairs in the centre of this spot betrayed his desire to the -world. It goes without saying that Brown did not fight the -canine women-folk; for, as some one has said, man is the only -animal that strikes his women-folk. - -Most of the battles were fought in the station thoroughfare, -all of them taking on the form of a general melee. As soon as -Brown closed with an enemy, the rest of the dogs each sought -an especial adversary, hoping to wipe out some past defeat; -while the pups, having no past to wipe out, diverted themselves -by skirmishing about on the outskirts of the scrimmage, nipping -joyously at any hind quarters that came handy, bumping into -other groups of pups, thoroughly enjoying life, and accumulating -material for future fights among themselves. - -Altogether we had a lively week. To interfere in the fights only -prolonged them; and, to add to the general hubbub, the servant -question had opened up again. Jimmy's Nellie, who had been -simmering for some time, suddenly rebelled, and refused to -consider herself among the rejected. - -We said there was no vacancy on the staff for her, and she -immediately set herself to create one, by pounding and punching -at the staff in private. Finding this of no avail, she threatened -to "sing" Maudie dead, also in private, unless she resigned. -Maudie proving unexpectedly tough and defiant, Nellie gave up all -hope of creating a vacancy, and changing front, adopted -a stone-walling policy. Every morning, quietly and doggedly, -she put herself on the staff, and every morning was as quietly -and doggedly dismissed from office. - -Doggedness being an unusual trait in a black fellow, the homestead -became interested. "Never say die, little 'un," the Maluka laughed -each morning; but Dan was inclined to bet on Nellie. - -"She's got nothing else to do, and can concentrate all her thoughts -on it," he said, "and besides, it means more for her." - -It meant a good deal to me, too, for I particularly objected to -Jimmy's Nellie partly because she was an inveterate smoker and -a profuse spitter upon floors; partly because--well to be quite -honest--because a good application of carbolic soap would have -done no harm; and partly because she appeared to have a passion -for exceedingly scanty garments, her favourite costume being a -skirt made from the upper half of a fifty-pound calico flour bag. -Her blouses had, apparently, been all mislaid. Nellie, unconscious -of my real objections, daily and doggedly put herself on the staff, -and was daily aml doggedly dismissed. But as she generally managed -to do the very thing that most needed doing, before I could find her -to dismiss, Dan was offering ten to one on Nellie by Easter time. - -"Another moon'll see her on the staff," he prophesied, as we -prepared to go out-bush for Easter. - -The Easter moon had come in dry and cool, and at its full the Wet -lifted, as our traveller had foretold. Only a bushman's personal -observation, remember, this lifting of the Wet with the full -of the Easter moon, not a scientific statement; but by an insight -peculiarly their own, bushmen come at more facts than most men. - -Sam did his best with Bunday, serving hot rolls with mysterious -markings on them for breakfast, and by midday he had the homestead -to himself, the Maluka and I being camped at Bitter Springs -and every one else being elsewhere. Our business was yard-inspection, -with Goggle-Eye as general factotum. We, of course, had ridden out, -but Goggle-Eye had preferred to walk. "Me all day knock up longa -horse," he explained striding comfortably along beside us. - -Several exciting hours were spent with boxes of wax matches, burning -the rank grass back from the yard at the springs (at Goggle-Eye's -suggestion the missus had been pressed into the service); and then -we rode through the rank grass along the river, scattering matches -as we went like sparks from an engine. As soon as the rank grass -seeds it must be burnt off, before the soil loses its moisture, -to ensure a second shorter spring, and everywhere we went now -clouds of dense smoke rose behind us. - -That walk about with the Maluka and "Gadgerrie" lived like a red-letter -day in old Goggle-Eye's memory; for did he not himself strike -a dozen full boxes of matches? - -Dan was away beyond the northern boundary, going through the cattle, -judging the probable duration of "outside waters" for that year, -burning off too as he rode. The Quiet Stockman was away beyond -the southern boundary, rounding up wanderers and stragglers among -the horses, and the station was face to face with the year's work, -making preparations for the year's mustering and branding--for with -the lifting of the Wet everything in the Never-Never begins to move. - -"After the Wet" rivers go down, the north-west monsoon giving -place to the south-east Trades; bogs dry up everywhere, opening -all roads; travellers pass through the stations from all points of -the compass--cattle buyers, drovers, station-owners, telegraph -people--all bent on business, and all glad to get moving after the -long compulsory inaction of the Wet; and lastly that great yearly -cumbrous event takes place: the starting of the "waggons," with -their year's stores for Inside. - -The first batch of travellers had little news for us. They had -heard that the teams were loading up, and couldn't say for certain, -and, finding them unsatisfactory, we looked forward to the coming -of the "Fizzer," our mailman, who was almost due. - -Eight mails a year was our allowance, with an extra one now -and then through the courtesy of travellers. Eight mails a year -against eight hundred for the townsfolk. Was it any wonder that -we all found we had business at the homestead when the Fizzer -was due there ? - -When he came this trip he was, as usual, brimming over with news: -personal items, public gossip, and the news that the horse teams -had got most of their loading on, and that the Macs were getting -their bullocks under way. Two horse waggons and a dray for far -"inside," and three bullock waggons for the nearer distances, -comprised the "waggons" that year. The teamsters were Englishmen; -but the bullock-punchers were three "Macs"--an Irishman, a Highlander, -and the Sanguine Scot. - -Six waggons, and about six months' hard travelling, in and out, -to provide a year's stores for three cattle stations and two -telegraph stations. It is not surprising that the freight per ton -was what it was--twenty-two pounds per ton for the Elsey, and -upwards of forty pounds for "inside." It is this freight that makes -the grocery bill such a big item on stations out-bush, where -several tons of storces are considered by no means a large order. - -Close on the heels of the Fizzer came other travellers, with -the news that the horse teams had got going "and the Macs had -"pulled out" to the Four Mile. "Your trunks'll be along in no -time now, missus," one of them said. "They've got 'em all aboard." - -The Dandy did some rapid calculations: "Ten miles a day on good -roads," he said: "one hundred and seventy miles. Tens into that -seventeen days. Give 'em a week over for unforeseen emergencies, -and call it four weeks." lt sounded quite cheerful and near -at hand, but a belated thunderstorm or two, and consequent bogs, -nearly doubled the four weeks. - -Almost every day we heard news of the teams from the now constant -stream of travellers; and by the time the timber was all sawn -and carted to the house to fulfil the many promises there, -they were at the Katherine. - -But if the teams were at the Katherine, so were the teamsters, -and so was the Pub; and when teamsters and a pub get together it -generally takes time to separate them, when that pub is the last -for over a thousand miles. One pub at the Katherine and another -at Oodnadatta and between them over a thousand miles of bush, -and desert and dust, and heat, and thirst. That, from a teamster's -point of view, is the Overland Route from Oodnadatta to the Katherine. - -A pub had little attraction for the Sanguine Scot, and provided -he could steer the other Macs safely past the one at the Katherine, -there would be no delay there with the trunks; but the year's stores -were on the horse teams and the station, having learnt bitter -experience from the past, now sent in its own waggon for the bulk -of the stores, as soon as they were known to be at the Katherine; -and so the Dandy set off at once. - -"You'll see me within a fortnight, bar accidents" he called back, -as the waggon lurched forward towards the slip-rails; and the pub -also having little attraction for the Dandy, we decided to expect -him, "bar accidents." For that matter, a pub had little attraction -for any of the Elsey men, the Quiet Stockman being a total -abstainer, and Dan knowing "how to behave himself," although he -owned to having "got a bit merry once or twice." - -The Dandy out of sight, Johnny went back to his work, which -happened to be hammering the curves out of sheets of corrugated -iron. - -"Now we shan't be long," he shouted, hammering vigorously, and when -I objected to the awful din, he reminded me, with a grin, that -it was "all in the good cause." When "smoothed out," as Johnny -phrased it, the iron was to be used for capping the piles that -the house was built upon, "to make them little white ants stay -at home." - -"We'll smooth all your troubles out, if you give us time," he -shouted, returning to the hammering after his explanation with -even greater energy. But by dinnertime some one had waddled into -our lives who was to smooth most of the difficulties out of it, to -his own, and our complete satisfaction. - -Just as Sam announced dinner a cloud of dust creeping along -the horizon attracted our attention. - -"Foot travellers!" Dan decided; but something emerged out of the dust, -as it passed through the sliprails, that looked very like a huge -mould of white jelly on horse-back. - -Directly it sighted us it rolled off the horse, whether intentionally -or unintentionally we could not say, and leaving the beast to the care -of chance, unfolded two short legs from somewhere and waddled -towards us--a fat, jovial Chinese John Falstaff. - -"Good day, boss! Good day, missus! Good day, all about," he said -in cheerful salute, as he trundled towards us like a ship's barrel -in full sail. "Me new cook, me--" and then Sam appeared and towed -him into port. - -"Well, I'm blest!" Dan exclaimed, staring after him. "What HAVE -we struck?" - -But Johnny knew, as did most Territorians. "You've struck Cheon, -that's all," he said. "Talk of luck! He's the jolliest old -josser going." - -The "jolliest old josser" seemed difficult to repress; for already -he had eluded Sam, and, reappearing in the kitchen doorway, waddled -across the thoroughfare towards us. - -"Me new cook!" he repeated, going on from where he had left off. -"Me Cheon!" and then, in queer pidgin-English, he solemnly -rolled out a few of his many qualifications: - -"Me savey all about," he chanted. "Me savey cook 'im, and gard'in', -and milk 'im, and chuckie, and fishin' and shootin' wild duck." -On and on he chanted through a varied list of accomplishments, -ending up with an application for the position of cook. "Me sit down? -Eh boss?" he asked, moon-faced and serious. - -"Please yourself!" the Maluka laughed, and with a flash of -white teeth and an infectious chuckle Cheon laughed and nodded -back; then, still chuckling, he waddled away to the kitchen and -took possession there, while we went to our respective dinners, -little guessing that the truest-hearted, most faithful, -most loyal old "josser" had waddled into our lives. - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -Cheon rose at cock-crow ("fowl-sing-out," he preferred to call it), -and began his duties by scornfully refusing Sam's bland offer of -instruction in the " ways of the homestead. - -"Me savey all about," he said, with a majestic wave of his hands, -after expressing supreme contempt for Sam's caste and ways; so Sam -applied for his cheque, shook hands all round, and withdrew smilingly. - -Sam's account being satisfactorily squared," Cheon's name was then -formally entered in the station books as cook and gardener, at -twenty-five shillings a week. That was the only vacancy he ever -filled in the books; but in our life at the homestead he filled almost -every vacancy that required filling, and there were many. - -There was nothing he could not and did not do for our good, -and it was well that he refused to be instructed in anybody's ways, -for his own were delightfully disobedient and unexpected and -entertaining. Not only had we "struck the jolliest old josser going," -but a born ruler and organiser into the bargain. He knew best what -was good for us, and told us so, and, meekly bending to his will, -our orders became mere suggestions to be entertained and carried -out if approved of by Cheon, or dismissed as "silly-fellow" with -a Podsnapian wave of his arm if they in no way appealed to him. - -Full of wrath for Sam's ways, and bubbling over with trundling -energy, he calmly appropriated the whole staff, as well as Jimmy, -Billy Muck, and the rejected, and within a week had put backbone -into everything that lacked it, from the water-butts to old Jimmy. - -The first two days were spent in a whirlwind of dust and rubbish, -turned out from unguessed-at recesses, and Cheon's jovial humour -suiting his helpers to a nicety, the rubbish was dealt with amid -shouts of delight and enjoyment; until Jimmy, losing his head -in his lightness of heart, dug Cheon in the ribs, and, waving -a stick over his head, yelled in mock fierceness: "Me wild-fellow, -black fellow. Me myall-fellow." - -Then Cheon came out in a new role. Without a moment's hesitation -his arms and legs appeared to fly out all together in Jimmy's -direction, completely doubling him up. - -"Me myall-fellow, too," Cheon said calmly, master of himself -and the situation. Then, chuckling at Jimmy's discomfiture, -he went on with his work, while his helpers stared open-eyed -with amazement; an infuriated Chinese catherine-wheel being -something new in the experience ot a black fellow. It was a -wholesome lesson, though, and no one took liberties with Cheon -again. - -The rubbish disposed of, leaking water-butts, and the ruins -of collapsed water-butts, were carried to the billabong, swelled -in the water, hammered and hooped back into steadfast, reliable -water-butts, and trundled along to their places in a merry, joyous -procession. - -With Cheon's hand on the helm, cream rose on the milk from -somewhere. The meat no longer turned sour. An expert fisherman -was discovered among the helpers--one Bob by name. Cheon's -shot-gun appeared to have a magnetic attraction for wild duck. -A garden sprang up as by magic, grasshoppers being literally chased -off the vegetables. The only thing we lacked was butter; and after -a week of order and cleanliness and dazzlingly varied menus, we -wondered how we had ever existed without them. - -It was no use trying to wriggle from under Cheon's foot once he -put it down. At the slightest neglect of duty, lubras or boys were -marshalled and kept relentlessly to their work until he was -satisfied; and woe betide the lubras who had neglected to wash -hands, and pail and cow, before sitting down to their milking. -The very fowls that laid out-bush gained nothing by their subtlety. -At the faintest sound of a cackle, a dosing lubra was roused by the -point of Cheon's toe, as he shouted excitedly above her: " Fowl -sing out! That way! Catch 'im egg! Go on!" pointing out the -direction with much pantomime; and as the egg-basket filled to -overflowing, he either chuckled with glee or expressed further -contempt for Sam's ways. - -But his especial wrath was reserved for the fowl-roosts over his -sleeping quarters. "What's 'er matter! Fowl sit down close up -kitchen! " he growled in furious gutturals, whenever his eyes -rested on them; and as soon as time permitted he mounted -to the roof and, boiling over with righteous indignation, -hurled the offending roosts into space. - - -New roosts were then nailed to the branches of a spreading -coolibar tree, a hundred yards or so to the north of the buildings, -the trunk encircled with zinc to prevent snakes or wild cats from -climbing into the roosts; a movable ladder staircase made, to be -used by the fowls at bedtime, and removed as soon as they were -settled for the night, lest the cats or snakes should make -unlawful use of it (Cheon always foresaw every contingency); -and finally, "boys" and lubras were marshalled to wean the -fowls from their old love. - -But the weaning took time, and proved most entertaining; -and while the fowls were being taught by bitter experience to -bend to Cheon's will, the homestead pealed with shoutings and -laughter. - -Every evening the fun commenced about sundown, and the entire -community assembled to watch it; for it was worth watching-- -fowls dodged, and scurried, and squawked, as the staff and the rejected, -under Cheon's directions, chivied and danced and screamed between -them and their desire, the lubras cheering to the echo every time -one of the birds gave in, and stalked, cackling and indignant, -up the ladder into the branches of the coolibar; or pursuing -runaways that had outwitted them, in shrieking, pell-mell disorder, -while Cheon, fat and perspiring, either shouted orders and cheered -lustily, bounded wrathfully alter both runaways and lubras, -or collapsed, doubled up with uncontrollable laughter, at the squawk -of amazement from fowls which, having gained their old haunt, -had found Jimmy there waiting to receive them. As for ourselves, -I doubt if we ever enjoyed anything better. A simple thing, perhaps, -to amuse grown-up white folk--a fat, perspiring Chinaman, and eight -or ten lubras chivying fowls; but it is this enjoyment of simple -things that makes life in the Never- Never all it is. - -Busy as he was, Cheon found time to take the missus also under -his ample wing, and protect her from everything--even herself. -"Him too muchee little fellow," he said to the Maluka, to explain -his attitude towards his mistress; and the Maluka, chuckling, -shamefully encouraged him in his ways. - -Every suggestion the missus made was received with an amused: -"No good that way, missus! Me savey all about." Her methods -with lubras were openly disapproved, and her gardening ridiculed -to all comers: "White woman no good, savey gard'n," he reiterated, -but was fated to apologise handsomely in that direction later on. - -Still, in other things the white woman was honoured as became -her position as never Sam had honoured her. Without any -discrimination, Sam had summoned all at meal-times with a -booming teamster's bell, thus placing the gentry on a level with the -Quarters; but as Cheon pointed out, what could be expected of one -of Sam's ways and caste? It was all very well to ring a peremptory -bell for the Quarters--its caste expected to receive and obey -orders; but gentry should be graciously notified that all was -ready, when it suited their pleasure to eat; and from the day -of Sam's departure, the House was honoured with a sing-song: -"Din-ner! Boss! Mis-sus!" at midday, with changes rung at -"Bress-fass" or "Suppar"; and no written menu being at its service, -Cheon supplied a chanted one, so that before we sat down to -the first course we should know all others that were to come. - -The only disadvantage we could associate with his coming was -that by some means Jimmy's Nellie had got on to the staff. No one -seemed to know when or how it had happened, but she was there, -firmly established working better than any one else, and Dan was -demanding payment of his bets. - -Cheon would not hear of her dismissal. She was his "right -hand," he declared; and so I interviewed Nellie and stated my -objections in cold, brutal English, only to hate myself the next -moment; for poor Nellie, with a world of longing in her eyes, -professed herself more than willing to wear "good fellow clothes" -if she could get any. - -"Missus got big mob," she suggested as a hint; and, although -that was a matter of opinion and comparison, in remorse I -recklessly gave her my only bath wrapper, and for weeks went to -the bath in a mackintosh. - -Nellie was also willing to use as much carbolic soap as the -station could afford; but as the smoking and spitting proved more -difficult to cope with, and I had discovered that I could do all -the "housework " in less time than it took to superintend it, -I made Cheon a present of the entire staff, only keeping a lien -on it for the washing and scrubbing. The lubras, however, -refused to be taken off my visitor's list and Cheon insisting -on them waiting on the missus while she was attending -to the housework, no one gained or lost by the transfer. - -Cheon had a scheme all his own for dealing with the servant -question: the Maluka should buy a little Chinese maiden to wait -on the missus. Cheon knew of one in Darwin, going cheap, for ten -pounds, his--COUSIN's child. "A real bargain!" he assured the Maluka, -finding him lacking in enthusiasm; " docile, sweet, and attentive, -and "yes, Cheon was sure of that" devoted to the missus," and -also a splendid pecuniary investment (Cheon always had an eye -on the dollars). Being only ten years of age, for six years -she could serve the missus, and would then bring at least eighty -pounds in the Chinese matrimonial market in Darwin--Chinese wives -being scarce there. If she grew up moon-faced, and thus "good-looking," -there semed no end to the wealth she would bring us. - -It took time to convince Cheon of the abolition of slavery throughout -the Empire, and even when convinced, he was for buying the treasure -and saying nothing about it to the Governor. It was not likely -he would come in person to the Elsey, he argued, and, unless told, -would know nothing about it. - -But another fat, roundabout, roly-poly of humanity was to settle -the servant question finally, within a day or two. "Larrikin" -had been visiting foreign parts at Wandin, towards the west, -and returning with a new wife, stolen from one "Jacky Big-Foot," -presented her to the missus. - -"Him Rosy!" he said, thus introducing his booty and without further -ceremony Rosy requested permission to "sit down" on the staff. -Like Cheon she carried her qualifications on the tip of her tongue: -"Me savey scrub 'im, and sweep 'im, and wash 'im, and blue 'im, -and starch 'im," she said glibly, with a flash of white teeth -against a babyish pink tongue. She was wearing a freshly washed -bright blue dress, hanging loosely from her shoulders, and looked -so prettily jolly, clean, capable, and curly-headed, that I -immediately made her housemaid and Head of the Staff. - -"Great Scott!" the Maluka groaned, "that makes four of them -at it! "But Rosy had appealed to me and I pointed out that it was -a chance not to be missed and that she was worth the other three -all put together. "Life will be a perennial picnic," I said, -"with Rosy and Cheon at the head of affairs "; and for once -I prophesied correctly. - -Rosy, having been brought up among white folk, proved an adept -little housemaid and Cheon looked with extreme favour upon her, -and held her up as a bright and shining example to Jimmy's Nellie. -But the person Cheon most approved of at the homestead was Johnny; -for not only had Johnny helped him in many of his wild efforts -at carpentry, but was he not working in the good cause? - -"What's 'er matter, missus only got one room? "Cheon had said, -angry with circumstances, and daily and hourly he urged Johnny -to work quicker. - -"What's the matter indeed!" Johnny echoed, mimicking his furious -gutturals, and sawing, planing, and hammering, with untiring energy, -pointed out that he was doing his best to give her more. - -Finding the progress slow with only one man at work, Cheon suggested -the Maluka might lend a hand in his spare time (station books -being considered recreation); and when Dan came in with a mob -of cattle from the Reach country, he hinted that cattle could wait, -and that Dan could employ his time better. - -But Dan also was out of patience with circumstances, and growled out -that "they'd waited quite long enough as it was," for the work -of the station was at a deadlock for want of stores. They had been -sadly taxed by the needs of travellers, and we were down to our -last half-bag of flour and sugar, and a terrifyingly small quantity -of tea; soap, jams, fruits, kerosene, and all such had long been -things of the past. The only food we had in quantities was meat, -vegetables, and milk. Where we would have been without Cheon -no one can tell. - -To crown all, we had just heard that the Dandy was delayed in a bog -with a broken shaft, but he eventually arrived in time to save -the situation, but not before we were quite out of tea. He had -little to complain of in the way of welcome when his great piled-up -waggon lumbered into the homestead avenue and drew up in front -of the store. - -The horse teams were close behind, the Dandy said, but Mac was -"having a gay time" in the sandy country, and sent in a message -to remind the missus that she was still in the Land of Wait-awhile. -The reminder was quite unnecessary. - -There was also a message from Mine Host. "I'm sending a few -cuttings for the missus," it read. Cuttings he called them, -but the back of the waggon looked like a nurseryman's van; -for all a-growing and a-blowing and waiting to be planted out, -stood a row of flowering, well-grown plants in tins: crimson -hibiscus, creepers, oleanders, and all sorts. A man is best -known by his actions, and Mine Host best understood -by his kindly thoughtfulness. - -The store was soon full to overflowing, and so was our one -room, for everything ordered for the house had arrived--rolls -of calico heavy and unbleached, mosquito netting, blue matting -for the floors, washstand wvare, cups and saucers, and dozens -of smaller necessities piled in every corner of the room. - -"There won't be many idle hands round these parts for a while," -a traveller said, looking round the congested room, and he was -right, for having no sewing machine, a gigantic hand-sewing -contract was to be faced. The ceilngs of both rooms were to be -calico, and a dozen or so of seams were to be oversewn for tbat, -the strips of matting were to be joined together and bound into -squares, and after that a herculean task undertaken: the making -of a huge mosquito-netted dining-room, large enough to enclose -the table and chairs, so as to ensure our meals in comfort-- -for the flies, like the poor, were to be with us always. - -This net was to be nearly ten feet square and twelve high, with a -calico roof of its own drawn taut to the ceiling of the room, -and walls of mosquito netting, weighted at the foot with a deep -fold of calico, and falling from ceiling to floor, with a wide -double overlapping curtain for a doorway. Imagine an immense -four-poster bed-net, ten by ten by twelve, swung taut within -a larger room, and a fair idea of the dining-net will have been -formed. A room within a room, and within the inner room we hoped -to find a paradise at mealtime in comparison to the purgatory -of the last few months. - -But the sewing did not end at that. The lubras' methods of washing -had proved most disastrous to my meagre wardrobe; and the resources -of the homestead were taxed to the utmost to provide sufficient -patching material to keep the missus even decently clothed. - -"Wait for the waggons," the Maluka sang cheerily every time he -found me hunting in the store (unbleached calico or mosquito -netting being unsuitable for patching). - -Cheon openly disapproved of this state of affairs, and was inclined -to blame the Maluka. A good husband usually provides his wife -with sufficient clothing, he insinuated; but when he heard -that further supplies were on the bullock waggons, he apologised, -and as he waddled about kept one ear cocked to catch the first sound -of the bullock bells. "Bullocky jump four miles," he informed us; -from which we inferred that the sound of the bells would travel -four miles. Cheon's English generaUy required paraphrasing. - -Almost every day some fresh garment collapsed, and I bitterly -regretted my recklessness in giving Jimmy's Nellie the bath -wrapper. Fortunately a holland dress was behaving beautifully. "A -staunch little beast," the Maluka called it. That, however, had to -be washed, every alternate day; and, fearing possible contingencies, -I was beginning a dress of unbleached calico, when the Maluka, -busy among the stores, came on a roll of bright pink galatea ordered -for lubras' dresses, and brought it to the house in triumph. - -Harsh, crudely pink, galatea! Yet it was received as joyfully as -ever a woman received a Paris gown; for although necessity may -be the mother of invention, she more often brings thankful hearts -into this world. - -A hank of coarse, bristling white braid was also unearthed -from among the stores, and within three days the galatea had -become a sturdy white-braided blouse and skirt, that promised -to rival the "staunch little beast" in staunch-heartedness. - -By the time it was finished, Johnny and the Dandy had all the -flooring boards down in the dining-room, and before the last nail -was in, Cheon and the Maluka had carried in every available stick -of furniture, and spread it about the room to the greatest possible -advantage. The walls were still unfinished, and doors and window -frames gaped; but what did that matter? The missus had a dining-room, -and as she presided at her supper-table in vivid pink and the pride -of possession, Cheon looked as though he would have liked to shake -hands with every one at once, but particularly with Johnny. - -"Looks A1," the Ma1uka said, alluding to the stiff, aggressive -frock, and took me "bush" with him, wearing the blouse, and a holland -riding skirt that had also proved itself a true, staunch friend. - -Dan, the Quiet Stockman, and the Dandy, had already gone "bush" -in different directions; for with the coming of the year's stores, -horse-breaking, house-building, trunks and waggons had all stepped -into their proper places--a very secondary one--and cattle had come -to the front and would stay there, as far as the men were concerned -until next Wet. - -Cattle, and cattle only, would be the work of the "Dry." Dan -and the Quiet Stockman, with a dozen or so of cattle "boys" to help -them, had the year's musterings and brandings to get through; -the Dandy would be wherever he was most needed; yard-building, -yard-repairing, carting stores or lending a hand with mustering -when necessity arose, while the Maluka would be everywhere at once, -in organisation if not in body. - -Where runs are huge, and fenceless, and freely watered the year's -mustering and branding is no simple task Our cattle were scattered -through a couple of thousand square miles of scrub and open timbered -country, and therefore each section of the run had to be gone over -again and again; each mob, when mustered, travelled to the nearest -yard and branded. - -Every available day of the Dry was needed for the work; but there -is one thing in the Never-Never that refuses to take a secondary-- -place the mailman; and at the end of a week we all found, once -again, that we had business at the homestead; for six weeks had -slipped away since our last mail-day, and the Fizzer was due -once more. - - - -CHAPTER XII - - -The Fizzer was due at sundown, and for the Fizzer to be due meant -that the Fizzer would arrive, and by six o'clock we had all got -cricks in our necks, with trying to go about as usual, and yet keep -an expectant eye on the north track. - -The Fizzer is unlike every type of man excepting a bush mail-man. -Hard, sinewy, dauntless, and enduring, he travels day after day -and month after month, practically alone--"on me Pat Malone," -he calls it--with or without a black boy, according to circumstances, -and five trips out of his yearly eight throwing dice with death -along his dry stages, and yet at all tmes as merry as a grig, -and as chirrupy as a young grasshopper. - -With a light-hearted, "So long, chaps," he sets out from the Katherine -on his thousand-mile ride, and with a cheery " What ho, chaps! -Here we are again!" rides in again within five weeks with that journey -behind him. - -A thousand miles on horseback, "on me Pat Malone," into the -Australian interior and out again, travelling twice over three long -dry stages and several shorter ones, and keeping strictly within the -Government time-limit, would be a life-experience to the men who -set that limit if it wasn't a death-experience. "Like to see one -of 'em doing it 'emselves," says the Fizzer. Yet never a day late, -and rarely an hour, he does it eight times a year, with a "So long, -chaps," and a "Here we are again." - -The Fizzer was due at sundown, and at sundown a puff of dust -rose on the track, and as a cry of "Mail oh !" went up all round -the homestead, the Fizzer rode out of the dust. - -"Hullo! What ho! boys," he shouted in welcome, and the next -moment we were in the midst of his clattering team of pack-horses. - -For five minutes everything was in confusion; horse bells and hobbles -jingling and clanging, harness rattling, as horses shook themselves -free, and pack-bags, swags, and saddles came to the ground with -loud, creaking flops. Every one was lending a hand, and the Fizzer, -moving in and out among the horses, shouted a medley of news -and instructions and welcome. - -"News? Stacks of it" he shouted. The Fizzer always shouted. -"The gay time we had at the Katherine! Here, steady with that -pack-bag. It's breakables! How's the raisin market? Eh, lads!" -with many chuckles. "Sore back here, fetch along the balsam. -What ho, Cheon!" as Cheon appeared and greeted him as an old friend. -"Heard you were here. You're the boy for my money. You BALLY ass! -Keep 'em back from the water there." This last was for the black boy. -It took discrimination to fit the Fizzer's remarks on to the right -person. Then, as a pack-bag dropped at the Maluka's feet, he added: -"That's the station lot, boss. Full bags, missus! Two on 'em. -You'll be doing the disappearing trick in half a mo'." - -In "half a mo'" the seals were broken, and the mail-matter shaken -out on the ground. A cascade of papers, magazines, and books, -with a fat, firm little packet of letters among them: forty -letters in all--thirty of them falling to my lot--thirty fat, -bursting envelopes, and in another "half mo'" we had all -slipped away in different directions--each with our precious -mail matter--doing the "disappearing trick" even to the Fizzer's -satisfaction. - -The Fizzer smiled amiably after the retreating figures, and then -went to be entertained by Cheon. He expected nothing else. He -provided feasts all along his route, and was prepared to stand -aside while the bush-folk feasted. Perhaps in the silence that -fell over the bush homes, after his mail-bags were opened, -his own heart slipped away to dear ones, who were waiting somewhere -for news of our Fizzer. - -Eight mails ONLY in a year is not all disadvantage. Townsfolk -who have eight hundred tiny doses of mail-matter doled out to -them, like men on sick diet can form little idea of the pleasure -of that feast of "full bags and two on 'em," for like thirsty camels -we drank it all in--every drop of it--in long, deep, satisfying -draughts. It may have been a disadvantage, perhaps, to have been -so thirsty; but then only the thirsty soul knows the sweetness of -slaking that thirst. - -After a full hour's silence the last written sheet was laid down, -and I found the Maluka watching and smiling. - -"Enjoyed your trip south, little 'un?" he said, and I came back -to the bush with a start, to find the supper dead cold. But then -supper came every night and the Fizzer once in forty-two. - -At the first sound of voices, Cheon bustled in. "New-fellow tea, -I think," he said, and bustled out again with the teapot (Cheon had -had many years' experience of bush mail-days), and in a few -minutes the unpalatable supper was taken away, and cold roast -beef and tomatoes stood in its place. - -After supper, as we went for our evening stroll, we stayed for -a little while where the men were lounging, and after a general -interchange of news the Fizzer's turn came. - -News! He had said he had stacks of it, and he now bubbled over -with it. The horse teams were "just behind," and the Macs almost -at the front gate. The Sanguine Scot? Of course he was all right: -always was, but reckoned bullock-punching wasn't all it was -cracked up to be; thought his troubles were over when he got -out of the sandy country, but hadn't reckoned on the black soil -flats. "Wouldn't be surprised if he took to punching something -else besides bullocks before he's through with it," the Fizzer -shouted, roaring with delight at the recollection of the Sanguine -Scot in a tight place. On and on he went with his news, and for -two hours afterwards, as we sat chewing the cud of our mail-matter, -we could hear him laughing and shouting and "chiacking." - -At daybreak he was at it again, shouting among his horses, as he -culled his team of "done-ups," and soon after breakfast was at the head -of the south track with all aboard. - -"So long, chaps," he called. "See you again half-past eleven four -weeks"; and by "half-past eleven four weeks" he would have -carried his precious freight of letters to the yearning, waiting men -and women hidden away in the heart of Australia, and be out again, -laden with "inside" letters for the outside world. - -At all seasons of the year he calls the first two hundred miles -of his trip a "kid's game." "Water somewhere nearly every day, -and a decent camp most nights." And although he speaks of the next -hundred and fifty as being a "bit off during the Dry," he faces -its seventy-five-mile dry stage, sitting loosely in the saddle, -with the same cheery "So long, chaps." - -Five miles to "get a pace up"--a drink, and then that seventy-five -miles of dry, with any "temperature they can spare from other parts," -and not one drop of water in all its length for the horses. Straight -on top of that, with the same horses and the same temperature, -a run of twenty miles, mails dropped at Newcastle Waters, and another -run of fifty into Powell's Creek, dry or otherwise according to -circumstances. - -"Takes a bit of fizzing to get into the Powell before the fourth -sundown," the Fizzer says--for, forgetting that there can be no -change of horses, and leaving no time for a "spell" after the -"seventy-five-mile dry "--the time limit for that one hundred and -fifty miles, in a country where four miles an hour is good travelling -on good roads has been fixed at three and a half days. "Four, they -call it," says the Fizzer, "forgetting I can't leave the water till -midday. Takes a bit of fizzing all right"; and yet at Powell's -Creek no one has yet discovered whether the Fizzer comes at -sundown, or the sun goes down when the Fizzer comes. - -"A bit off," he calls that stage, with a school-boy shrug of his -shoulders; but at Renner's Springs, twenty miles farther on, -the shoulders set square, and the man comes to the surface. -The dice-throwing begins there, and the stakes are high--a man's life -against a man's judgment. - -Some people speak of the Fizzer's luck, and say he'll pull through, -if any one can. It is luck, perhaps--but not in the sense they -mean--to have the keen judgment to know to an ounce what a horse -has left in him, judgment to know when to stop and when to go on-- -for that is left to the Fizzer's discretion; and with that judgment -the dauntless courage to go on with, and win through, every task -attempted. - -The Fizzer changes horses at Renner's Springs for the "Downs' -trip"; and as his keen eyes run over the mob, his voice raps out -their verdict like an auctioneer's hammer. "He's fit. So is he. -Cut that one out. That colt's A1. The chestnut's done. So is -the brown. I'll risk that mare. That black's too fat." -No hesitation: horse after horse rejected or approved, until -the team is complete; and then driving them before him he faces -the Open Downs--the Open Downs, where the last mail-man perished; -and only the men who know the Downs in the Dry know what he faces. - -For five trips out of the eight, one hundred and thirty miles -of sun-baked, crab-holed, practically trackless plains, no sign -of human habitation anywhere, cracks that would swallow a man-- -"hardly enough wood to boil a quart pot," the Fizzer says, -and a sun-temperature hovering about 160 degrees (there is no -shade-temperature on the Downs); shadeless, trackless, sun-baked, -crab-holed plains, and the Fizzer's team a moving speck in the centre -of an immensity that, never diminishing and never changing, -moves onward with the team; an immensity of quivering heat and glare, -with that one tiny living speck in its centre, and in all that -hundred and thirty miles one drink for the horses at the end -of the first eighty. That is the Open Downs. - -"Fizz!" shouts the Fizzer. "That's where the real fizzing gets done, -and nobody that hasn't tried it knows what it's like." - -He travels its first twenty miles late in the afternoon, then, -unpacking his team, "lets 'em go for a roll and a pick, while he -boils a quart pot" (the Fizzer carries a canteen for himself); -"spells" a bare two hours, packs up again and travels all night, -keeping to the vague track with a bushman's instinct, "doing" -another twenty miles before daylight; unpacks for another spell, -pities the poor brutes "nosing round too parched to feed," may -"doze a bit with one ear cocked," and then packing up again, -"punches 'em along all day," with or without a spell. Time is -precious now. There is a limit to the number of hours a horse -can go without water, and the thirst of the team fixes the time -limit on the Downs. "Punches 'em along all day, and into water -close up sundown," at the deserted Eva Downs station. - -"Give 'em a drink at the well there," the Fizzer says as unconcernedly -as though he turned on a tap. But the well is old and out -of repair, ninety feet deep, with a rickety old wooden windlass; -fencing wire for a rope; a bucket that the Fizzer has "seen fit -to plug with rag on account of it leaking a bit," and a trough, -stuffed with mud at one end by the resourceful Fizzer. Truly -the Government is careful for the safety of its servants. Added -to all this, there are eight or ten horses sa eager for a drink -that the poor brutes have to be tied up, and watered one at a time; -and so parched with thirst that it takes three hours' drawing before -they are satisfied--three hours' steady drawing, on top of twenty-three -hours out of twenty-seven spent in the saddle, and half that time -"punching" jaded beasts along; and yet they speak of the "Fizzer's luck." - -"Real fine old water too," the Fizzer shouts in delight, as he -tells his tale. "Kept in the cellar for our special use. Don't -indulge in it much myself. Might spoil my palate for newer stuff, -so I carry enough for the whole trip from Renner's." - -If the Downs have left deep lines on the Fizzer's face, they have -left none in his heart. Yet at that well the dice-throwing goes -on just the same. - -Maybe the Fizzer feels "a bit knocked out with the sun," and the water -for his perishing horses ninety feet below the surface; or "things -go wrong "with the old windlass, and everything depends on the Fizzer's -ingenuity. The odds are very uneven when this happens--a man's -ingenuity against a man's life, and death playing with loaded dice. -And every letter the Fizzer carries past that well costs the public -just twopence. - -A drink at the well, an all-night's spell, another drink, and then -away at midday, to face the tightest pinch of all--the pinch where -death won with the other mail-man. Fifty miles of rough, hard, -blistering, scorching "going," with worn and jaded horses. - -The old programme all over again. Twenty miles more, another -spell for the horses (the Fizzer never seems to need a spell for -himself), and then the last lap of thirty, the run into Anthony's -Lagoon, "punching the poor beggars along somehow." "Keep 'em -going all night," the Fizzer says; " and if you should happen to -be at Anthony's on the day I'm due there you can set your watch -for eleven in the morning when you see me coming along." I have -heard somewhere of the Pride of Harness. - -Sixteen days is the time-limit for those five-hundred miles, -and yet the Fizzer is expected because the Fizzer is due; and to -a man who loves his harness no praise could be sweeter than that. -Perhaps one of the brightest thoughts for the Fizzer as he "punches" -along those desolate Downs is the knowledge that a little before -eleven o'clock in the morning Anthony's will come out, and, standing -with shaded eyes, will look through the quivering heat, away -into the Downs for that tiny moving speck. When the Fizzer is -late there, death will have won at the dice-throwing. - -I suppose he got a salary. No one ever troubled to ask. He was -expected, and he came, and in our selfishness we did not concern -ourselves beyond that. - -It is men like the Fizzer who, "keeping the roads open," lay -the foundation-stones of great cities; and yet when cities -creep into the Never-Never along the Fizzer's mail route, in all -probability they will be called after Members of Parliament -and the Prime Ministers of that day, grandsons, perhaps, -of the men who forgot to keep the old well in repair, while our Fizzer -and the mail-man who perished will be forgotten; for townsfolk -are apt to forget the beginnings of things. - -Three days' spell at Anthony's, to wait for the Queensland -mail-man from the "other-side" (another Fizzer no doubt, for the bush -mail-service soon culls out the unfitted), an exchange of mail-bags, -and then the Downs must be faced again with the same team of horses. -Even the Fizzer owns that "tackling the Downs for the return trip's -a bit sickening; haven't had time to forget what it feels like, -you know," he explains. - -Inside to Anthony's, three days' spell, over the Downs again, -stopping for another drink at that well, along the stage "that's -a bit off," and back to the "kid's game," dropping mail-bags -in twos and threes as he goes in, and collecting others as he -comes out, to say nothing of the weary packing and unpacking -of his team. That is what the Fizzer had to do by half-past -eleven four weeks. - -"And will go hopelessly on the spree at the end of the trip," -say uncharitable folk; but they do not know our Fizzer. "Once -upon a time I was a bad little boy," our Fizzer says now, "but -since I learnt sense a billy of tea's good enough for me." - -And our Fizzer is not the only man out-bush who has "learnt sense." -Man after man I have met who found tea "good enough," and many more -who "know how to behave themselves." Sadly enough, there are others -in plenty who find their temptations too strong for them--temptations -that the world hardly guesses at. - -But I love the bush-folk for the good that is in them, hidden, -so often, carefully away deep down in their brave, strong hearts-- -hearts and men that ring true, whether they have "learnt sense," -or "know how to behave," or are only of the others. But every -man's life runs parallel with other lives, and uhile the Fizzer -was "punching along" his dry stages events were moving rapidly -with us; while perhaps, aways in the hearts of towns, men and -women were "winning through the dry stages" of their lives -there. - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -Soon after the Fizzer left us the horse-teams came in, and went on, -top-heavy with stores for "inside"; but the "Macs" were now thinking -of the dry stages ahead, and were travelling at the exasperating -rate of about four miles a day, as they "nursed the bullocks" -through the good grass country. - - -Dan had lost interest in waggons, and was anxious to get among -the cattle again; but with the trunks so near, the house growing -rapidly, the days of sewing waiting, I refused point-blank to leave -the homestead just then. - -Dan tried to taunt me into action, and reviewed the "kennel" -with critical eyes. "Never saw a dog makin', its own chain -before," he said to the Maluka as I sat among billows of calico -and mosquito netting. But the homemaking instinct is strong -in a woman, and the musterers went out west without the missus. -The Dandy being back at the Bitter Springs superintending the carting -of new posts for the stockyard there, the missus was left -in the care of Johnny and Cheon. - -"Now we shan't be long," said Johnny, and Cheon, believing him, -expressed great admiration for Johnny, and superintended the scrubbing -of the walls, while I sat and sewed, yard after yard of oversewing, -as never woman sewed before. - -The walls were erected on what is known as the drop-slab-panel -system--upright panels formed of three-foot slabs cut from the -outside slice of tree trunks, and dropped horizontally, one above -the other, between grooved posts--a simple arrangement, quickly -run up and artistic in appearance--outside, a horizontally fluted -surface, formed by the natural curves of the timber, and inside, -flat, smooth walls. As in every third panel there was a door -or a window, and as the horizontal slabs stopped within two feet -of the ceiling, the building was exceedingly airy, and open -on all sides. - -Cheon, convinced that the system was all Johnny's was delighted -with his ingenuity. But as he insisted on the walls being scrubbed -as soon as they were up, and before the doors and windows were in, -Johnny had one or two good duckings, and narrowly escaped many -more; for lubras' methods of scrubbing are as full of surprises -as all their methods. - -First soap is rubbed on the dry boards, then vigorously -scrubbed into a lather with wet brushes, and after that the lather -is sluiced off with artificial waterspouts whizzed up the walls -from full buckets. It was while the sluicing was in progress that -Johnny had to be careful; for many buckets missed their mark, -and the waterspouts shot out through the doorways and window -frames. - -Wearing a mackintosh, I did what I could to prevent surprises, -but without much success. Johnny fortunately took it all as a -matter of course. "It's all in the good cause," he chuckled, -shaking himself like a water-spaniel after a particularly bad -misadventure; and described the "performance" with great zest -to the Maluka when he returned. The sight of the clean walls -filled the Maluka also with zeal for the cause, and in the week -that followed walls sprouted with corner shelves and brackets-- -three wooden kerosene cases became a handy series of pigeonholes -for magazines and papers. One panel in the diningroom was -completely filled with bookshelves, one above the other for our coming -books. Great sheets of bark, stripped by the blacks from the Ti Tree -forest, were packed a foot deep above the rafters to break the heat -reflected from the iron roof, while beneath it the calico ceiling was -tacked up. And all the time Johnny hammered and whistled and planed, -finishing the bathroom and "getting on" with the office. - -The Quiet Stockman coming in, was pressed into the service, -and grew quite enthusiastic, suggesting substitutes for necessities, -until I suggested cutting off the tail of every horse on the run, -to get enough horsehair for a mattress. - -"Believe the boss'ud do it himself if she asked him," he said in -the Quarters; and in his consternation suggested bangtailing the -cattle during the musters. - -"Just the thing," Dan decided; and we soon saw, with his assistance, -a vision of our future mattress walkin' about the run on the ends -of cows' tails. - -"Looks like it's going to be a dead-heat," Johnny said, still -hammering, when the Dandy brought in word that the Macs were -within twelve miles of the bomestead. And when I announced -next day that the dining-net was finished and ready for hanging, -he also became wildly enthusiastic. - -"Told you from the beginning we shouldn't be long," he said, -flourishing a hammer and brimming over with suggestions for the -hanging of the net. "Rope'll never hold it," he declared; "fencing -wire's the thing," so fencing wire was used, and after a hard -morning's work pulling and straining the wire and securing it to -uprights, the net was in its place, the calico roof smooth and flat -against the ceiling, and its curtains hanging to the floor, with -strong, straight saplings run tbrough the folded hem to weigh it -down. Cheon was brimming over with admiration for it - -"My word, boss! Missus plenty savey," he said. (Cheon invariably -discussed the missus in her presence.) "Chinaman woman no more -savey likee that," and bustling away, dinner was soon served -inside the net. - -Myriads of flies, balked in their desire, settled down on the -outside, and while we enjoyed our dinner in peace and comfort, -Cheon hovered about, like a huge bloated buzz fly himself, -chuckling around the outside among the swarms of balked flies, -or coming inside to see if "any fly sit down inside." - -"My word, boss! Hear him sing-out sing-out. Missus plenty -savey," he reiterated, and then calling a Chinese friend -from the kitchen, stood over him, until he also declared that -"missus BLENTY savey," with good emphasis on the BLENTY. - -The net was up by midday, and at ten o'clock at night the slow, -dull clang of a bullock-bell crept out of the forest. Cheon was -the first to hear it. "Bullocky come on," he called, waddling -to the house and waking us from our first sleep; and as the -deep-throated bell boomed out again the Malaluka said drowsily: -"The homestead's only won by a head. Mac's at the Warlochs." - -At "fowl-sing-out" we were up, and found Bertie's Nellie behind -the black boys' humpy shyly peeping round a corner. With childlike -impetuosity she had scampered along the four miles from the Warlochs, -only to be overcome with unaccountable shyness. - -"Allo, missus!" was all she could find to say, and the remainder -of the interview she filled in with wriggling and giggles. - -Immediately after breakfast Mac splashed through the creek at a -hand-gallop and, dashing up to the house, flung himself from his -horse, the same impetuous, warmhearted "Brither Scot." - -"Patience rewarded at last," he called in welcome; and when -invited to "come ben the hoose to the diningroom," was, as usual, -full of congratulations. "My! We are some!" he said, examining -every detail. But as he also said that "the Dandy could get -the trunks right off if we liked to send him across with the dray," -we naturally "liked," and Johnny and the Dandy harnessing up, -went with him, and before long the verandah and rooms were piled -with trunks. - -Fortunately Dan was "bush " again among thhe cattle, or his heart -would have broken at this new array of links for the chain. - -Once the trunks were all in, Mac, the Dandy, and Johnny retired -to the Quarters after a few more congratulations, Johnny continuing -his flourishes all the way across. Cheon however, with his -charming disregard for conventionality being interested, settled -himself on one of the trunks to watch the opening up of the others. - -To have ordered him away would have clouded his beaming happiness; -so he remained, and told us exactly what he thought of our -possessions, adding much to the pleasure of the opening of the trunks. -If any woman would experience real pleasure, let her pack all her -belongings into trunks--all but a couple of changes of everything-- -and go away out-bush, leaving them to follow "after the Wet" -per bullock waggon, and when the reunion takes place the pleasure -will be forthcoming. If she can find a Cheon to be present -at the reunion, so much the better. - -Some of our belongings Cheon thoroughly approved of; others -were passed over as unworthy of notice. and others were held up -to chuckling ridicule. A silver teapot was pounced upon with a cry -of delight (tinware being considered far beneath the dignity of a -missus, and seeing Sam had broken the china pot soon after its -arival, tinware had graced our board for some time), pictures were -looked at askance, particularly an engraving of Psyche at the Pool; -while the case for a set of carvers received boundless -admiration, although the carvers in no way interested him. - -The photographs of friends and relatives were looked carefully over, -the womenfolk being judged by what they might bring in a Chinese -matrimonial market. - -"My word! That one good-looking. Him close up sixty pound -longa China," was rather disconcerting praise of a very particular -lady friend. - -A brass lamp was looked upon as a monument of solid wealth, "Him gold," -he decided, insisting it was in the face of all denials. "Him gold. -Me savey gold all right. Me live longa California long time," -he said, bringmg forward a most convincing argument; and, dismissing -the subject with one of his Podsnapian waves, he decided that -a silver-coloured composition flower-bowl in the form of a swan -was solid silver; "Him sing out all a same silver," he said, -making it ring with a flick of his finger and thumb, when I differed -from him, and knowing Cheon by now, we left it at that -for the time being. - -After wandering through several trunks and gloating over -blouses, and skirts, and house-linen, and old friends the books -were opened up, and before the Maluka became lost to the world -Cheon favoured them with a passing glance. "Big mob book," he -said indifferently, and turned his attention to the last trunk of all. - -Near the top was a silver filigree candlestick moulded into the -form of a Convolvulus flower and leaf--a dainty little thing, -but it appeared ridiculous to Cheon's commonsense mind. - -"Him silly fellow," he scoffed, and appealed to the Maluka -for his opinion: "him silly fellow? Eh boss?" he asked. ' - -The Maluka was half-buried in books. "Um," he murmured absently, -and that clinched the matter for all time. "Boss bin talk silly -fellow" Cheon said, with an approving nod toward the Maluka, -and advised packing the candlestick away again. "Plenty room -sit down longa box," he said, truthfully enough, putting it -into an enormous empty trunk and closing the lid, leaving -the candlestick a piece of lonely splendour hidden under a bushel. - -But the full glory of our possessions was now to burst upon -Cheon. The trunk we were at was half filled with all sorts of -cunning devices for kitchen use, intended for the mistress's pantry -of that commodious station home of past ignorant imagination. -A mistress's pantry forsooth, in a land where houses are superfluous -and luxuries barred, and at a homestead where the mistress had -long ceased to be anything but the little missus--something to rule -or educate or take care of, according to the nature of her -subordinates. - -In a flash I knew all I had once been, and quailing before the -awful proof before me, presented Cheon with the whole collection -of tin and enamel ware, and packed him off to the kitchen before -the Maluka had time to lose interest in the books. - -Everything was exactly what Cheon most needed, and he accepted -everything with gleeful chuckles--everything excepting a kerosene -Primus burner for boiling a kettle. That he refused to touch. -"Him go bang," he explained, as usual explicit and picturesque -in his English. - -After gathering his treasure together he waddled away to the kitchen, -and at afternoon tea we had sponge cakes, light and airy beyond -all dreams of airy lightness, no one having yet combined -the efforts of Cheon, a flour dredge, and an egg-beater, -in his dreams. And Cheon's heart being as light as his cookery, -in his glee he made a little joke at the expense of the Quarters, -summoning all there to afternoon tea with a chuckling call -of "Cognac!" chuckles that increased tenfold at the mock haste -of the Quarters. A little joke, by the way, that never lost -in freshness as the months went by. - -At intervals during the days that followed Cheon surveyed his treasures, -and during these intervals the whirr of the flour dredge or -egg-beater was heard from the kitchens, and invariably the whirr -was followed by a low, distinct chuckle of appreciation. - -All afternoon we worked, and by the evening the dining-room -was transformed: blue cloths and lace runners on the deal -side-table and improvised pigeon-holes; nicknacks here and there -on tables and shelves and brackets; pictures on the walls; "kent" -faces in photograph frames among the nicknacks; a folding -carpet-seated armchair in a position of honour; cretonne curtains -in the doorway between the rooms, and inside the shimmering white -net a study in colour effect--blue and white matting on the -floor, a crimson cloth on the table, and on the cloth Cheon's -"silver" swan sailing in a sea of purple, blue, and heliotrope -water-lilies. But best of all were the books row upon row of old -familiar friends; nearly two hundred of them filling the shelved -panel as they looked down upon us. - -Mac was dazzled with the books. "Hadn't seen so many together -since he was a nipper"; and after we had introduced him -to our favourites, we played with our new toys like a parcel -of children, until supper time. - -When supper was over we lit the lamp, and shutting doors -and windows, shut the Sanguine Scot in with us, and made believe -we were living once more within sound of the rumble of a great -city. Childish behaviour, no doubt, but to be expected from folk -who can find entertainment in the going to bed of fowls; -but when the heart is happy it forgets to grow old. - -"A lighted lamp and closed doors, and the outside world is what -you will it to be," the Maluka theorised, and to disprove it Mac -drew attention to the distant booming of the bells that swung from -the neck of his grazing bullocks. - -"The city clocks," we said. "We hear them distinctly at night." - -But the night was full of sounds all around the homestead, -and Mac, determined to mock, joined in with the "Song of the Frogs." - -"Quart pot! Qua-rt-pot!" he croaked, as they sang outside -in rumbling monotone. - -"The roll of the tramcars," the Maluka interpreted gravely, -as the long flowing gutturals blended into each other; and Mac's -mood suddenly changing he entered into our sport, and soon put us -to shame in make-believing; spoke of "pining for a breath of fresh -air"; "hoped" to get away from the grime and dust of the city as -soon as the session was over; wondered how he would shape "at -camping out," with an irrepressible chuckle. "Often thought I'd -like to try it," he said, and invited us to help him make up a -camping party. "Be a change for us city chaps," he suggested; -and then exploding at what he called his "tomfoolery," set the -dining-net all a-quivering and shaking. - -"Gone clean dilly, I believe," he declared, after thinking -that he had "better be making a move for the last train." - -Then, mounting his waiting horse, he splashed through the creek -again, and disappeared into the moonlit grove of pandanus palms -beyond it. - -The waggons spelled for two days at the Warlochs, and we saw -much of the "Macs." Then they decided to "push on"; for not -only were others farther "in" waiting for the waggons, but daily -the dry stages were getting longer and drier; and the shorter -his dry stages are, the better a bullock-puncher likes them. - -With well-nursed bullocks, and a full complement of them-- -the "Macs" had twenty-two per waggon for their dry stages-- -a "thirty-five-mile dry" can be "rushed," the waggoners getting -under way by three o'clock one afternoon, travelling all night -with a spell or two for the bullocks by the way, and "punching" -them into water within twenty-four hours. - -"Getting over a fifty-mile dry" is, however, a more complicated -business, and suggests a treadmill. The waggons are "pulled out" -ten miles in the late afternoon, the bullocks unyoked and brought -back to the water, spelled most of the next day, given a last -drink and travelled back to the waiting waggons by sundown; -yoked up and travelled on all that night and part of the next day; -once more unyoked at the end of the forty miles of the stage; -taken forward to the next water, and speUed and nursed up again -at this water for a day or two; travelled back again -to the waggons, and again yoked up, and finally brought forward -in the night with the loads to the water. - -Fifty miles dry with loaded waggons being the limit for mortal -bullocks, the Government breaks the "seventy-five" with a "drink" -sent out in tanks on one of the telegraph station waggons. -The stage thus broken into "a thirty-five-mile dry," with another -of forty on top of that, becomes complicated to giddiness -in its backings, and fillings, and goings, and comings, -and returnings. - -As each waggon carries only five tons, all things considered, -from thirty to forty pounds a ton is not a high price to pay for -the cartage of stores to "inside." - -But although the "getting in" , with the stores means much -to the bush-folk," getting out again is the ultimate goal -of the waggoners. - -There is time enough for the trip, but only good time, before -the roads will be closed by the dry stages growing to impossible -lengths for the bullocks to recross; and if the waggoners lose -sight of their goal, and loiter by the way, they will find -themselves "shut in" inside, with no prospect of getting out until -the next Wet opens the road for them. - -The Irish Mac held records for getting over stages; but even he -had been "shut in" once, and had sat kicking his heels all -through a long Dry, wondering if the showers would come in time -to let him out for the next year's loading, or if the Wet would -break suddenly, and further shut him in with floods and bogs. -The horse teams had been "shut in" the same year, but as the Macs -explained, the teamsters had broached their cargo that year, -and had a "glorious spree" with the cases of grog--a "glorious -spree" that detained them so long on the road that by the time -they were in there was no chance of getting out, and they had more -than enough time to brace themselves for the interview that -eventually came with their employers. - -"Might a bullock-puncher have the privilege of shaking hands -with a lady?" the Irish Mac asked, extending an honest, horny -hand; and the privilege, if it were one, was granted. Finally all -was ready, and the waggons, one behind the other, each with its long -swaying line of bullocks before it, slid away from the Warloch -Ponds and crept into the forest, looking hke three huge snails -with shells on their backs, Bertie's Nellie watching, -wreathed in smiles. - -Nellie had brought to the homestead her bosom friend and crony, -Biddy, and the staff had increased to five. It would have -numbered six, only Maudie, discovering that the house was -infested with debbil-debbils, had resigned and "gone bush." -The debbil-debbils were supposed to haunt the Maluka's telescope, -for Maudie, on putting her eye to the sight opening, to find out -what interested the Maluka so often, had found the trees -on the distant plain leaping towards her. - -"Debbil-debbil, sit down," she screamed, as, flinging the telescope -from her in a frenzy of fear, she found the distance still -and composed, - -"No more touch him, missus!" she shrieked, as I stooped to pick up -the telescope. "'Spose you touch him, all about there come on quick -fellow. Me bin see him! My word him race!" - -After many assurances, I was allowed to pick it up, Maudie -crouching in a shuddering heap the while behind the office, -to guard against surprises. Next morning she applied for leave -of absence and "went bush." Jimmy's Nellie, however, was not so -easily scared, and after careful investigation treated herself -to a pleasant half hour with the telescope. - -"Tree all day walk about," she said, explaining the mystery -to the staff; and the looking-glass speedily lost in favour. -The telescope proved full of delights. But although it was -a great sight to see a piccaninny "come on big-fellow," nothing -could compare with the joy of looking through the reversed end -of the glass, into a world where great men became "little fellow," -unless it were the marvel of watching dim, distant specks as they -took on the forms of birds, beasts, or men. - -The waggons gone, and with them Nellie's shyness, she quietly -ousted Rosy from her position at the head of the staff. "Me -sit down first time," she said; and happy, smiling Rosy, -retiring, obeyed orders as willingly as she had given them. -With Nellie and Rosy at the head of affairs, house-cleaning passed -unnoticed, and although, after the arrival of unlimited changes -of everything, washing-day threatened to become a serious business, -they coped with that difficulty by continuing to live in a cycle -of washing days--every alternate day only, though, so as to leave -time for gardening. - -The gardening staff, which consisted of a king, an heir-apparent, -and a royal councillor, had been engaged to wheel barrow-loads -of rich loamy soil from the billabong to the garden beds; but as -its members preferred gossiping in the shade to work of any kind, -the gardening took time and supervision. - -"That'll do, Gadgerrie?" was the invariable question after each load, -as the staff prepared to sit down for a gossip; and "Gadgerrie" -had to start every one afresh, after deciding whose turn it was -to ride back to the billabong in the barrow. - -Six loads in a morning was a fair record, for " Gadgerrie" was -not often disinclined for a gossip on court matters, but although -nothing was done while we were out-bush, the garden was -gradually growing. - -Two of the beds against the verandah were gaily flourishing, -others "coming on," and outside the broad pathway a narrow bed -had been made all round the garden for an hibiscus hedge; while -outside this bed again, one at each corner of the garden, stood four -posts--the Maluka's promise of a dog-proof, goat-proof, fowl-proof -fence. So far Tiddle'ums had acted as fence, when we -were in, at the homestead, scattering fowls, goats, and dairy cows -in all directions if they dared come over a line she had drawn in her -mind's eye. When Tiddle'ums was out-bush with us, Bett-Bett acted -as fence. - -Johnny, generally repairing the homestead now, admired the garden -and declared everything would be "A1 in no time." - -"Wouldn't know the old place," he said, a day or two later, -surveying his own work with pride. Then he left us, and for the -first time I was sorry the house was finished. Johnny was one -of the men who had not "learnt sense" but the world would be -a better place if there were more Johnnies in it. - -Just as we were preparing to go out-bush for reports, Dan came -in with a mob of cattle for branding and the news that a yard on -the northern boundary was gone from the face of the earth. - -"Clean gone since last Dry," he reported; "burnt or washed away, -or both." - -Rather than let his cattle go, he had travelled in nearly thirty -miles with the mob in hand, but "reckoned" it wasn't "good enough." -"The time I've had with them staggering bobs," he said, when we -pitied the poor, weary, footsore little calves: "could 'av brought -in a mob of snails quicker. 'Tisn't good enough." - -The Maluka also considered it not "good enough," and decided -to run up a rough branding wing at once on to the holding yard at -the Springs; and while Dan saw to the branding of the mob the -Maluka looked out his plans. - -"Did you get much hair for the mattress?" I asked, all in good -faith, when Dan came down from the yards to the house to discuss -the plans, and Dan stood still, honestly vexed with himself. - -"Well, I'm blest!" he said, "if I didn't forget all about it," -and then tried to console me by saying I wouldn't need a mattress -till the mustering was over. "Can't carry it round with you, -you know," he said, "and it won't be needed anywhere else." -Then he surveyed the house with his philosophical eye. - -"Wouldn't know the old place," Johnny had said, and Dan "reckoned" -it was "all right as houses go." Adding with a chuckle, "Well, -she's wrestled with luck for more'n four months to get it, -but the question is, what's she going to use it for now she's -got it ? '' - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - -For over four months we had wrestled with luck for a house, -only to find we had very little use for it for the time being, -that is, until next Wet. It couldn't be carried out-bush -from camp to camp, and finding us at a loss for an answer, -Dan suggested one himself. - -"Of course!" he said, as he eyed the furnishings with interest, -"it 'ud come in handy to pack the chain away in while the dog -was out enjoying itself "; and we left it at that. It came in -handy to pack the chain away in while the dog was enjoying itself, -for within twenty-four hours we were camped at the Bitter Springs, -and two weeks passed before the homestead saw us again. - -After our experience of "getting hold of Johnny," Dan called it -foolishness to wait for an expert, and the Dandy being away for -the remainder of the stores, and the Quiet Stockman having his -hands full to overflowing, the Maluka and Dan with that -adaptability peculiar to bushmen, set to work themselves at the -yard, with fifteen or twenty boys as apprentices. - -As most of the boys had their lubras with them, it was an immense -camp, but exceedingly pretty. One small tent "fly" for a -dressing-room for the missus, and the remainder of the accommodation-- -open-air and shady bough gundies; tiny, fresh, cool, green -shade-houses here, there, and everywhere for the blacks; one set -apart from the camp for a larder, and an immense one--all green -waving boughs--for the missus to rest in during the heat of the day. -"The Cottage," Dan called it. - -Of course, Sool'em and Brown were with us, Little Tiddle'ums -being in at the homestead on the sick list with a broken leg; -and in addition to Sool'em and Brown an innumerable band of nigger -dogs, Billy Muck being the adoring possessor of fourteen, including -pups, which fanned out behind him as he moved hither and thither -like the tail of a comet. - -Our camp being a stationary one, was, by comparison with our ordinary -camps, a campe-de-luxe; for, apart from the tent-fly, in it were -books, pillows, and a canvas lounge, as well as some of the -flesh-pots of Egypt, in the shape of eggs, cakes, and vegetables -sent out every few days by Cheon, to say nothing of scrub -turkeys, fish, and such things. - -Dan had no objection to the eggs, cakes, or vegetables, but -the pillows and canvas lounge tried him sorely. "Thought the chain -was to be left behind in the kennel," he said, and decided that -the "next worst thing to being chained up was "for a dog to have -to drag a chain round when it was out for a run. Look at me!" -he said, "never been chained up all me life, just because I never -had enough permanent property to make a chain--never more than I -could carry in one hand: a bluey, a change of duds, a mosquito net, -and a box of Cockle's pills." - -We suggested that Cockle's pills were hardly permanent property, -but Dan showed that they were, with him. - -"More permanent than you'd think," he said. "When I've got -'em in me swag, I never need 'em, and when I've Ieft 'em -somewhere else I can't get 'em: so you see the same box does for -always." - -Yard-building lacking in interest, lubras and piccaninnies provided -entertainment, until Dan failing to see that "niggers could teach -her anything," decided on a course of camp cookery. - -Roast scrub turkey was the first lesson cooked in the most correct -style: a forked stick, with the fork uppermost, was driven into -the ground near the glowing heap of wood ashes; then a long -sapling was leant through the fork, with one end well over the -coals; a doubled string, with the turkey hanging from it, looped -over this end; the turkey turned round and round until the string -was twisted to its utmost, and finally string and turkey were left -to themselves, to wind and unwind slowly, an occasional -winding-up being all that was necessary. - -The turkey was served at supper, and with it an enormous boiled -cabbage--one of Cheon's successes. Dan was in clover, boiled -cabbage being considered nectar fit for the gods, and after supper -he put the remnants of the feast away for his breakfast." Cold -cabbage goes all right," he said, as he stowed it carefully away-- -"particularly for breakfast." - -Then the daily damper was to be made, and I took the dish without -a misgiving. I felt at home there, for bushmen have long since -discarded the old-fashioned damper, and use soda and cream-of-tartar -in the mixture. But ours was an immense camp, and I had reckoned -without any thought. An immense camp requires an immense damper; -and, the dish containing pounds and pounds of flour, -when the mixture was ready for kneading the kneading was beyond -a woman's hands--a fact that provided much amusement to the bushmen. - -"Hit him again, little 'un," the Maluka cried encouragingly, as I -punched and pummelled at the unwieldy mass. - -"Give it to him, missus," Dan chuckled. "That's the style! -Now you've got him down." - -Kneeling in front of the dish, I pounded obediently at the mixture; -and as they alternately cheered and advised and I wrestled -with circumstances, digging my fists vigorously into the spongy, -doughy depths of the damper, a traveller rode right into the camp. - - Good evening, mates," he said, dismounting. "Saw your fires, -and thought I'd camp near for company." Then discovering that -one of the "mates" was a woman, backed a few steps, dazed and -open-mouthed--a woman, dough to the elbows, pounding blithely -at a huge damper, being an unusual sight in a night camp -in the heart of one of the cattle runs in the Never-Never. - -"We're conducting a cooking class," the Maluka explained, -amused at the man's consternation. - -The traveller grinned a sickly grin, and "begging pardon, ma'am, -for intruding," said something about seeing to his camp, and backed -to a more comfortable distance; and the damper-making proceeded. - -"There's a billy just thinking of boiling here you can have, mate, -seeing it's late," Dan called, when he heard the man rattling -tinware, as he prepared to go Ior water; and once more "begging -pardon, ma'am, for intruding," the traveller came into our camp -circle, and busied himself with the making of tea. - -The tea made to his satisfaction, he asked diffidently if there -was a "bit of meat to spare," as his was a bit off"; and Dan went -to the larder with a hospitable "stacks!" - -"How would boiled cabbage and roast turkey go?" Dan called, finding -himself confronted with the great slabs of cabbage; and the traveller, -thinking it was supposed to be a joke, favoured us with another -nervous grin and a terse "Thanks!" Then Dan reappeared, laden, -and the man's eyes glistened as he forgot his first surprise in -his second. "Real cabbage!" he cried. "Gosh! ain't tasted cabbage -for five years"; and the Maluka telling him to "sit right down then -and begin, just where you are"--beside our camp fire--with a less -nervous begging your pardon, ma'am," he dropped down on one knee, -and began. - -"Don't be shy of the turkey," the Maluka said presently, noticing -that he had only taken a tiny piece, and the man looked sheepishly up. -"'Tain't exactly that I'm shy of it," he said, "but I'm scared -to fill up any space that might hold cabbage. That is," he added, -again apologetic, "if it's not wanted, ma'am." - -It wasn't wanted; and as the man found room for it, the Maluka -and Dan offered further suggestions for the construction of the -damper and its conveyance to the fire. - -The conveyance required judgment and watchful diplomacy, as -the damper preferred to dip in a rolling valley between my -extended arms, or hang over them like a tablecloth, rather than -keep its desired form. But with patience, and the loan of one -of Dan's huge palms, it finally fell with an unctuous, dusty -"whouf" into the opened-out bed of ashes. - -By the time it was hidden away, buried in the heart of the fire, -a woman's presence in a camp had proved less disturbing than -might be imagined, and we learned that our traveller had "come -from Beyanst," with a backward nod towards the Queensland -border, and was going west; and by the time the cabbage and tea -were finished he had become quite talkative. - -"Ain't seen cabbage, ma'am, for more'n five years," he said, -leaning back on to a fallen tree trunk, with a satisfied sigh -(cabbage and tea being inflating), adding when I sympathised, -"nor a woman neither, for that matter." - -Neither a cabbage nor a woman for five years! Think of it, -townsfolk! Neither a cabbage nor a woman--with the cabbage -placed first. I wonder which will be longest remembered. - -"Came on this, though, in me last camp, east there," he went -on, producing a hairpin, with another nod eastwards. "Wondered -how it got there. "Your'n, I s'pose"; then, sheepish once more, -he returned it to his pocket, saying he "s'posed he might as -well keep it for luck." - -It being a new experience to one of the plain sisterhood to feel -a man was cherishing one of her hairpins, if only "for luck," I -warmed towards the "man from Beyanst," and grew hopeful of -rivalling even that cabbage in his memory. "You didn't expect -to find hairpins, and a woman, in a camp in the back blocks," -I said, feeling he was a character, and longing for him to open up. -But he was even more of a character than I guessed. - -"Back blocks!" he said in scorn. "There ain't no back blocks -left. Can't travel a hundred miles nowadays without running into -somebody! You don't know what back blocks is, begging your -pardon, ma'am." - -But Dan did; and the camp chat that night was worth travelling -several hundred miles to hear: tales dug out of the beginning -of things; tales of drought, and flood, and privation; -cattle-duffing yarns, and long tales of the droving days; two years' -reminiscences of getting through with a mob--reminiscences that -finally brought ourselves and the mob to Oodnadatta. - -"That's the place if you want to see drunks, ma'am," the traveller -said, forgetting in his warmth his "begging your pardon, ma'am," -just when it would have been most opportune, seeing I had little -hankering to see "drunks." - -"It's the desert does it, missus, after the overland trip," Dan -explained. "It 'ud give anybody a 'drouth.' Got a bit merry meself -there once and had to clear out to camp," he went on. "Felt it -getting a bit too warm for me to stand. You see, it was when -the news came through that the old Queen was dead, and being -something historical that had happened, the chaps felt it ought -to be celebrated properly." - -Poor old Queen! And yet, perhaps, her grand, noble heart would have -understood these, her subjects, and known them for the men they were-- -as loyal-hearted and true to her as the highest in the land. - -"They were lying two-deep about the place next morning," Dan added, -continuing his tale; but the Maluka, fearing the turn -the conversation had taken, suggested turning in. - -Then Dan having found a kindred spirit in the traveller, laid -a favourite trap for one of his favourite jokes: shaking out a -worn old bluey, he examined it carefully in the firelight. - -"Blanket's a bit thin, mate," said the man from Beyanst, -unconsciously playing his part. "Surely it can't keep you -warm"; and Dan's eyes danced in anticipation of his joke. - -"Oh well!" he said, solemn-looking as an owl, as he tucked it -under one arm, "if it can't keep a chap warm after ten years' -experience it'll never do it," and turned in at once, -with his usual lack of ceremony. - -We had boiled eggs for breakfast, and once more the traveller -joined us. Cheon had sent the eggs out with the cabbage, and I -had hidden them away, intending to spring a surprise on the men-folk -at breakfast. - -"How many eggs shall I boil for you, Dan?" I said airily, -springing my surprise in this way on all the camp. But Dan, -wheeling with an exclamation of pleasure, sprung a surprise -of his own on the missus. - -"Eggs!" he said. "Good enough! How many? Oh, a dozen'll do, -seeing we've got steak "; and I limply showed all I had--fifteen. - -Dan scratched his head trying to solve the problem. "Never reckon -it's worth beginning under a dozen," he said; but finally suggested -tossing for 'em after they were cooked. - -"Not the first time I've tossed for eggs either," he said, busy -grilling steak on a gridiron made from bent-up fencing wire. -"Out on the Victoria once they got scarce, and the cook used -to boil all he had and serve the dice-box with 'em, the chap -who threw the highest taking the lot." - -"Ever try to boil an emu's egg in a quart-pot?" the man from Beyanst -asked, "lending a hand" with another piece of fencing wire, -using it as a fork to turn the steak on the impromptu gridiron. -"It goes in all right, but when it's cooked it won't come out, -and you have to use the quart-pot for an egg-cup and make tea -later on." - -"A course dinner," Dan called that; and then nothing being -forthcoming to toss with--dice or money not being among our -permanent property--the eggs were distributed according to the -"holding capacity" of the company: one for the missus, two for -the Maluka, and half a dozen each for the other two. - -The traveller had no objection to beginning under a dozen, -but Dan used his allowance as a "relish" with his steak. -"One egg!" he chuckled as he shelled his relish and I enjoyed -my breakfast. "Often wonder how ever she keeps alive." - -The damper proved "just a bit boggy" in the middle, so we ate -the crisp outside slices and gave the boggy parts to the boys. -They appeared to enjoy it, and seeing this, after breakfast -the Maluka asked them what they thought of the missus as a cook. -"Good damper, eh?" he said, and Billy Muck rubbing his middle, -full of damper and satisfaction, answered: "My word! That one damper -good fellow. Him sit down long time", and all the camp, rubbing -middles, echoed his sentiments. The stodgy damper had made -them feel full and uncomfortable; and to be full and uncomfortable -after a meal spells happiness to a black fellow. - -"Hope it won't sit too heavy on my chest," chuckled the man -from Beyanst, then, remembering that barely twelve hours before -he had ridden into the camp a stranger, began "begging pardon, -ma'am," most profusely again, and hoped we'd excuse him "making -so free with a lady." - -"It's your being so friendly like, ma'am," he explained. "Most -of the others I've struck seemed too good for rough chaps like us. -Of course," he added hastily, "that's not saying that you're not -as good as 'em. You ain't a Freezer on a pedestal, that's all." - -"Thank Heaven," the Maluka murmured and the man from Beyanst -sympathised with him. "Must be a bit off for their husbands," -he said; and his apologies were forgotten in the absorbing topic -of "Freezers." - -"A Freezer on a pedestal," he had said. "Goddess," the world -prefers to call it; and tradition depicts the bushman worshipping -afar off. - -But a "Freezer" is what he calls it to himself, and contrary -to all tradition, goes on his way unmoved. And why shouldn't he? -He may be, and generally is, sadly in need of a woman friend, -"some one to share his joys and sorrows with", but because he knows -few women is no reason why he should stand afar off and adore -the unknowable. "Friendly like" is what appeals to us all; -and the bush-folk are only men, not monstrosities--rough, untutored -men for the most part. The difficult part to understand is how any -woman can choose to stand aloof and freeze, with warm-hearted men -all around her willing to take her into their lives. - -As the men exchanged opinions, "Freezers" appeared solitary -creatures--isolated monuments of awe-inspiring goodness and purity, -and I felt thankful that circumstances had made me only the Little -Missus--a woman, down with the bushmen at the foot of all pedestals, -needing all the love and fellowship she could get, and with no more -goodness than she could do with--just enough to make her worthy -of the friendship of "rough chaps like us." - -"Oh well," said the traveller, when he was ready to start, -after finding room in his swag for a couple of books, -"I'm not sorry I struck this camp; "but whether because of the -cabbage, or the woman, or the books, he did not say. Let us hope -it was because of the woman, and the books, and the cabbage, with -the cabbage placed last. - -Then with a pull at his hat, and a "good-bye, ma'am, good luck," -the man from Beyanst rode out of the gundy camp, and out of our -lives, to become one of its pleasant memories. - -The man from Beyanst was our only visitor for the first week, -in that camp, and then after that we had some one every day. - -Dan went into the homestead for stores, and set the ball rolling -by returning at sundown in triumph with a great find: a lady -traveller, the wife of one of the Inland Telegraph masters. -Her husband and little son were with her, but--well, they were -only men. It was five months since I had seen a white woman, -and all I saw at the time was a woman riding towards our camp. -I wonder what she saw as I came to meet her through the leafy bough -gundies. It was nearly two years since she had seen a woman. - -It was a merry camp that night--merry and beautiful and picturesque. -The night was very cold and brilliantly starry, as nights usually -are in the Never-Never during the Dry; the camp fires were -all around us: dozens of them, grouped in and out among the gundies, -and among the fires--chatting, gossiping groups of happy-hearted -human beings. - -Around one central 6re sat the lubras, with an outer circle -of smaller fires behind them: one central fire and one fire -behind each lubra, for such is the wisdom of the black folk; -they warm themselves both back and front. Within another circle -of fires chirruped and gossiped the "boys," wliile around -an immense glowing heap of logs sat the white folk-- -the "big fellow fools " of the party, with scorching faces -and freezing backs, too conservative to learn wisdom from their -humbler neighbours. - -At our fireside we women did most of the talking, and as we sat -chatting on every subject under the sun, our husbands looked on -in indulgent amusement. Dan soon wearied of the fleeting -conversation and turned in, and the little lad slipped away -to the black folk; but late into the night we talked: late into -the night, and all the next day and evening and following morning-- -shaded from the brilliant sunshine all day in the leafy "Cottage," -and scorching around the camp fire during the evenings. -And then these travellers, too, passed out of our camp to become, -with the man from Beyanst, just pleasant memories. - -"She'll find mere men unsatisfying after this," the Maluka said -in farewell, and a mere man coming in from the north-west before -sundown, greeted the Maluka with: "Thought you married a towny," -as he pointed with eloquent forefinger at our supper circle. - -"So I did," the Maluka laughed back. "But before I had time -to dazzle the bushies with her the Wizard of the Never-Never -charmed her into a bush-whacker." - -"Into a CHARMING bush-whacker, he MEANS!" the traveller said, -bowing before his introduction; and I wondered how the Maluka -could have thought for one moment that "mere men" would prove -unsatisfying. But as I acknowledged the gallantry Dan looked -on dubiously, not sure whether pretty speeches were a help -or a hindrance to education. - -But no one could call the Fizzer a "mere man"; and half-past -eleven four weeks being already past, the Fizzer was even then at -the homestead, and before another midday, came shouting into our -camp, and, settling down to dinner, kept the conversational ball -rolling. - -"Going to be a record Dry," he assured us--" all surface water -gone along the line already"; and then he hurled various items -of news at us: "the horse teams were managing to do a good trip; -and Mac? Oh, Mac's getting along," he shouted; "struck him on -a dry stage; seemed a bit light-headed; said dry stages weren't -all beer and skittles--queer idea. Beer and skittles! He won't -find much beer on dry stages, and I reckon the man's dilly that 'ud -play a game of skittles on any one of 'em." - -Every one was all right down the line! But the Fizzer was always -a bird of passage, and by the time dinner was over, and a few -postscripts added to the mail, he was ready to start, and rode -off, promising the best mail the "Territory could produce -in a fortnight." - -Other travellers followed the Fizzer, and the cooking lessons -proceeded until the fine art of making "puff de looneys," sinkers, -and doughboys had been mastered, and then, before the camp had -time to grow monotonous, the staff appeared with a few of the -station pups. "Might it rnissus like puppy dog," it said to explain -its presence hinting also that the missus might require a little -clothes-washing done. - -Lately, washing-days at the homestead had lost all their vim, -for the creek having stopped running, washing had to be conducted -in tubs, so as to keep the billabong clear for drinking purposes. -But at the Springs there was no necessity to think of anything -but running water; and after a happy day, Bertie's Nellie, Rosy, -and Biddy returned to the homestead--the goats had to be seen to, -Nellie said, thinking nothing of a twenty-seven-mile walk in a day, -with a few hours' washing for recreation in between whiles. - -Part of the staff, a shadow or two, and the puppy dogs, filled in -all time until the yard was pronounced finished then a mob -of cattle was brought in and put through to test its strength; -and just as we were preparing to return to the homestead the Dandy's -waggon lumbered into camp with its loading of stores. - -A box of new books kept us busy all afternoon, and then, before -sundown, the Maluka suggested a farewell stroll among the -pools. - -The Bitter Springs--a chain of clear, crystal pools, a long winding -chain, doubling back on itself in loops and curves--form the source -of the permanent flow of the Roper; pools only a few feet deep, -irregular and wide-spreading, with mossy-green, deeply undermined, -overhanging banks, and lime-stone bottoms washed into terraces -that gleam azure-blue through the transparent water. - -There is little rank grass along their borders, no sign -of water-lilies, and few weeds within them; clumps of palms dotted -here and there among the light timber, and everywhere sunflecked, -warm, dry shade. Nowhere is there a hint of that sinister -suggestion of the Reach. Clear, beautiful, limpid, wide-spreading, -irregular pools, set in an undulating field of emerald-green mossy -surf, shaded with graceful foliage and gleaming in the sunlight with -exquisite opal tints--a giant necklace of opals, set in links -of emerald green, and thrown down at hazard to fall in loops and -curves within a forest grove. - -It is in appearance only the pools are isolated; for although -many feet apart in some instances, they are linked together -throughout by a shallow underground river, that runs over -a rocky bed; while the turf, that looks so solid in many places, -is barely a two-foot crust arched over five or six feet of space -and water--a deathtrap for heavy cattle; but a place of interest -to white folk. - -The Maluka and I wandered aimlessly in and out among the pools -for a while, and, then coming out unexpectedly from a piece of bush, -found ourselves face to face with a sight that froze all movement -out of us for a moment--the living, moving head of a horse, -standing upright from the turf on a few inches of neck: a grey, -uncanny, bodyless head, nickering piteously at us as it stood -on the turf at our feet. I have never seen a ghost, but I know -exactly how I will feel if ever I do. - -For a moment we stood spellbound with horror, and the next, -realising what had happened, were kneeling down beside the -piteous head. The thin crust of earth had given way beneath -the animal's hindquarters as it grazed over the turf, and before -it could recover itself it had slipped bodily through the hole -thus formed, and was standing on the rocky bed of the underground -river, with its head only in the upper air. - -The poor brute was perishing for want of food and water. All around -the hole, as far as the head could reach, the turf was eaten, bare, -and although it was standing in a couple of feet of water it -could not get at it. While the Maluka went for help I brought -handfuls of grass, and his hat full of water, again and again, -and was haunted for days with the remembrance of those pleading -eyes and piteous, nickering lips. - -The whole camp, black and white, came to the rescue but it was -an awful work getting the exhausted creature out of its death-trap. -The hole had to be cut back to a solid ridge of rocky soil, saplings -cut to form a solid slope from the bed of the river to the ground -above, and the poor brute roped and literally hauled up the slope -by sheer Iorce and strength of numbers. After an hour's digging, -dragging, and rope-pulling, the horse was standing on solid turf, -a new pool had been added to the Springs, and none of us had much -hankering for riding over springy country. - -The hour's work among the pools awakened the latent geologist -in all of us, excepting Dan, and set us rooting at the bottom of one -of the pools for a piece of the terraced limestone. - -It was difficult to dislodge, and our efforts reminded Dan of a night -spent in the camp of a geologist--a man with many letters -after his name. "Had the chaps heaving rocks round for him half -his time," he said. "Couldn't see much sense in it meself." Dan -spoke of the geologist as "one of them old Alphabets." "Never met -a chap with so many letters in his brand," he explained. "He was -one of them taxydermy blokes, you know, that's always messing -round with stones and things." - -Out of the water, the opal tints died out of the limestone, -and the geologist in us went to sleep again when we found that -all we had for our trouble was a piece of dirty-looking rock. -Like Dan, we saw little sense in "heaving rocks round," -and went back to the camp and the business of packing up -for the homestead. - -About next midday we rode into the homestead thoroughfare, -where Cheon and Tiddle'ums welcomed us with enthusiasm, -but Cheon's enthusiasm turned to indignation when he found we -were only in for a day or two. - -"What's er matter?" he ejaculated. "Missus no more -stockrider"; but a letter waiting for us at the homestead made -"bush" more than ever imperative: a letter, from the foreman of the -telegraphic repairing line party, asking for a mob of killers, -and fixing a date for its delivery to one "Happy Dick." - -"Spoke just in the nick of time," Dan said; but as we discussed -plans Cheon hinted darkly that the Maluka was not a fit and proper -person to be entrusted with the care of a woman, and suggested -that he should undertake to treat the missus as she should be treated, -while the Maluka attended to the cattle. - -Fate, however, interfered to keep the missus at the homestead, -to persuade Cheon that, after all, the Ma1uka was a fit and proper -person to have the care of a woman, and to find a very present use -for the house; an influenza sore-throat breaking out in the camp, -the missus developed it, and Dan went out alone to find -the Quiet Stockman and the "killers" for Happy Dick. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - - -Before a week was out the Maluka and Cheon had won each other's -undying regard because of their treatment of the missus. - -With the nearest doctor three hundred miles away in Darwin, -and held there by hospital routine, the Maluka decided on bed -and feeding-up as the safest course, and Cheon came out in a new -character. - -As medical adviser and reader-aloud to the patient, the Maluka -was supposed to have his hands full, and Cheon, usurping the position -of sick-nurse, sent everything, excepting the nursing, to the wall. -Rice-water, chicken-jelly, barley-water, egg-flips, beef-tea junket, -and every invalid food he had ever heard of, were prepared, and, -with the Maluka to back him up, forced on the missus; and when food -was not being administered, the pillow was being shaken or -the bedclothes straightened. (The mattress being still on the ends -of cows' tails, a folded rug served in its place). There was -very little wrong with the patient, but the wonder was she did not -become really ill through over-eating and want of rest. - -I pleaded with the Maluka, but the Maluka pleading for just -a little more rest and feeding-up, while Cheon gulped and choked -in the background, I gave in, and eating everything as it was -offered, snatched what rest I could, getting as much entertainment -as possible out of Cheon and the staff in between times. - -For three days I lay obediently patient, and each day Cheon grew -more affectionate, patting my hands at times, as he confided -to the Maluka that although he admired big, moon-faced women as -a feast for the eyes, he liked them small and docile when he had -to deal personally with them. Until I met Cheon I thought -the Chinese incapable of affection; but many lessons are learned -out bush. - -Travellers--house-visitors--coming in on the fourth day, I hoped -for a speedy release, but visitors were considered fatiguing, -and release was promised as soon as they were gone. - -Fortunately the walls had many cracks in them--not being as much -on the plumb as Johnny had predicted, and for a couple of days, -watching the visitors through these cracks and listening to their -conversation provided additional amusement. I could see them quite -distinctly as, no doubt, they could see me; but we kept a decorous -silence until the Fizzer came in, then at the Fizzer's shout the walls -of Jericho toppled down. - -"The missus sick!" I heard him shout. "Thought she looked in prime -condition at the Springs." (Bush language frequently has a strong -twang of cattle in it.) - -"So I am now," I called; and then the Fizzer and I held an animated -conversation through the walls. "I'm imprisoned for life," I moaned, -after hearing the news of the outside world; and laughing and chuckling -outside, the Fizzer vowed he would "do a rescue next trip if they've -still got you down." Then, after appreciating fervent thanks, he shouted -in farewell: "The boss is bringing something along that'll help to pass -some of the time--the finest mail you ever clapped eyes on," -and presently patient and bed were under a litter of mail-matter. - -The Fizzer having brought down the walls of conventionality, -the traveller-guests proffered greetings and sympathy through -the material walls, after which we exchanged mail-news and general -gossip for a day or two; then just as these travellers were -preparing to exchange farewells, others came in and postponed -the promised release. As there seemed little hope of a lull in -visitors, I was wondering if ever I should be considered well -enough to entertain guests, when Fate once more interfered. - -"Whatever's this coming in from the East?" I heard the Maluka call -in consternation, and in equal consternation his traveller-guest -called back: "Looks like a whole village settlement." Then Cheon -burst into the room in a frenzy of excitement: "Big mob traveller, -missus. Two-fellow-missus, sit down," he began; but the Maluka -was at his heels. - -"Here's two women and a mob of youngsters," he gasped. "I'm afraid -you'll have to get up, little 'un, and lend a hand with them." - -Afraid! By the time the village settlement had "turned out" -and found its way to the house, I was out in the open air welcoming -its members with a heartiness that must have surprised them. -Little did they guess that they were angels unaware. Homely enough -angels, though, they proved, as angels unaware should prove: one man -and two women from "Queensland way," who had been "inside" for fifteen -years, and with them two fine young lads and a wee, toddling baby-- -all three children born in the bush and leaving it for the first time. - -Never before had Cheon had such a company to provide for; but as we -moved towards the house in a body--ourselves, the village settlement, -and the Maluka's traveller-guests, with a stockman traveller -and the Dandy looking on from the quarters, his hospitable soul -rejoiced at the sight; and by the time seats had been found -for all comers, he appeared laden uith tea and biscuits, and within -half an hour had conjured up a plentiful dinner for all comers. - -Fortunately the chairs were all "up" to the weight of the ladies, -and the remainder of the company easily accommodated itself -to circumstances, in the shape of sawn stumps, rough stools, -and sundry boxes; and although the company was large and the -dining-table small, and although, at times, we feared the table was -about to fulfil its oft-repeated threat and fall over, yet the dinner -was there to be erjoyed, and, being bush-folk, and hungry, our -guests enjoyed it, passing over all incongruities with simple -merriment--a light-hearted, bubbling merriment, in no way comparable -to that "laughter of fools," that crackling of thorns under a pot, -provoked by the incongruities of the world's freak dinners. -The one is the heritage of the simple-hearted, and the other-- -all the world has to give in exchange for this birthright. - -The elder lads, one fourteen and one ten years of age, found -Cheon by far the most entertaining incongruity at the dinner, -and when dinner was over--after we had settled down on the various -chairs and stumps that had been carried out to the verandah -again--they shadowed him wherever he went. - -They were strangely self-possessed childJen; but knowing little -more of the world than the black children their playmates, Cheon, -in his turn, found them vastly amusing, and instructing them -in the ways of the world--from his point of view--found them also -eager pupils. - -But their education came to a standstill after they had mastered -the mysteries of the Dandy's gramophone, and Cheon was no longer -entertaining. - -All afternoon brass-band selections, comic songs, and variety -items, blared out with ceaseless reiteration; and as the men-folk -smoked and talked cattle, and the wee baby--a bonnie fair child-- -toddled about, smiling and contented, the women-folk spoke -of their life "out-back," and listening, I knew that neither I -nor the telegraph lady had even guessed what roughness means. - -For fifteen years things had been improving, and now everyone was -to have a well-earned holiday. The children were to be christened -and then shown the delights of a large town! Darwin of necessity -(Palmerston, by the way, on the map, but Darwin to Territorians). -Darwin with its one train, its telegraph offices, two or three stores, -banks and public buildings, its Residency, its Chinatown, -its lovers' walk, its two or three empty, wide, grass-grown streets -bordered with deep-verandahed, iron-built bungalow-houses, -with their gardens planted in painted tins--a development -of the white-ant pest--and lastly, its great sea, where ships wander -without tracks or made ways! Hardly a typical town, but the best -in the Territory. - -The women, naturally, were looking forward to doing a bit of shopping, -and as we slipped into fashions the traveller guests became -interested. "Haven't seen so many women together for years," -one of them said. "Reminds me of when I was a nipper," and the other -traveller "reckoned" he had struck it lucky for once. "Three on 'em -at once," he chuckled with indescribable relish. "They reckon it -never rains but it pours." And so it would seem with three women -guests within three weeks at a homestead where women had been almost -unknown for years. - -But these women guests only stayed one night, the children being all -impatience to get on to the telegraph line, to those wires that talked, -and to the railway, where the iron monster ran. - -Early in the morning they left us, and as they rode away the fair -toddling baby was sitting on its mother's pommel-knee, smiling out -on the world from the deep recesses of a sunbonnet. Already it had -ridden a couple of hundred miles, with its baby hands playing -with the reins, and before it reached home again another five hundred -would be added to the two hundred. Seven hundred miles on horse back -in a few weeks, at one year old, compares favourably with one -of the Fizzer's trips. But it is thus the bush develops her Fizzers. - -After so much excitement Cheon feared a relapse, and was for prompt, -preventive measures; but even the Maluka felt there was a limit -to the Rest Cure, and the musterers coming in with Happy Dick's -bullocks and a great mob of mixed cattle for the yards, Dan -proved a strong ally; and besides, as the musterers were in -and Happy Dick due to arrive by midday, Cheon's hands were full -with other matters. - -There was a roly-poly pudding to make for Dan, baked custard -for the Dandy, jam-tarts for Happy Dick, cake and biscuits for all -comers, in addition to a dinner and supper waiting to be cooked for -fifteen black boys, several lubras, and half-a-dozen hungry white -folk. Cheon had his own peculiar form of welcome for his many -favourites, regaling each one of them with delicacies to their -particular liking, each and every time they came in. - -Happy Dick, also, had his own peculiar form of welcome. "Good-day! -Real glad to see you!" was his usual greeting. Sure of his own -welcome wherever he went, he never waited to hear it, but hastened -to welcome all men into his fellowship. "Real glad to see you," -he would say, with a ready smile of comradeship; and it always -seemed as though he had added: "I hope you'll make yourself at home -while with me." In some mysterious way, Happy Dick was at all times -the host giving liberally of the best he had to his fellow-men. - -He was one of the pillars of the Line Party. "Born in it, -I think," he would say. "Don't quite remember," adding with his -ever-varying smile, "Remember when it was born, anyway." - -When the "Overland Telegraph" was built across the Australian -continent from sea to sea, a clear broad avenue two chains wide, -was cut for it through bush and scrub and dense forests, along -the backbone of Australia, and in this avenue the line party was -"born" and bred--a party of axemen and mechanics under the orders -of a foreman, whose duty it is to keep the "Territory section" -of the line in repair, and this avenue free from the scrub -and timber that spring up unceasingly in its length. - -In unbroken continuity this great avenue runs for hundreds upon -hundreds of miles, carpeted with feathery grasses and shooting -scrubs, and walled in on either side with dense, towering forest or -lighter and more scattered timber. On and on it stretches in utter -loneliness, zigzagging from horizon to horizons beyond, and -guarding those two sensitive wires at its centre, as they run along -their single line of slender galvanised posts, from the great bush -that never ceases in its efforts to close in on them and engu]f them. -A great broad highway, waiting in its loneliness for the generations -to come, with somewhere in its length the line party camp, -and here and there within its thousand miles, a chance traveller -or two here and there a horseman with pack-horse ambling and grazing -along behind him; here and there a trudging speck with a swag -across its shoulders, and between them one, two, or three hundred -miles of solitude, here and there a horseman riding, and here and there -a footman trudging on, each unconscious of the others. - -From day to day they travel on, often losing the count of the days, -with those lines always above them, and those beckoning posts ever -running on before them and as they travel, now and then they touch -a post for company--shaking hands with Outside: touching now and then -a post for company, and daily realising the company and comfort -those posts and wires can be. Here at least is something in touch -with the world something vibrating with the lives and actions of men, -and an ever-present friend in dire necessity. With those wires -above him, any day a traveller can cry for help to the Territory, -if he call while he yet has strength to climb one of those friendly -posts and cut that quivering wire--for help that will come speedily, -for the cutting of the telegraph wire is as the ringing of an alarm-bell -throughout the Territory. In all haste the break is located, and food, -water, and every human help that suggests itself sent out from -the nearest telegraph station. There is no official delay-- -there rarely is in the Territory--for by some marvellous good fortune, -there everything belongs to the Department in which it finds itself. - -Just as Happy Dick is one of the pillars of the line party, so -the line party is one of the pillars of the line itself. Up and down -this great avenue, year in year out it creeps along, cutting scrub -and repairing as it goes, and moving cumbrous main camps from -time to time, with its waggon loads of stores, tents, furnishings, -flocks of milking goats, its fowls, its gramophone, and Chinese -cook. Month after month it creeps on, until, reaching the end -of the section, it turns round to creep out again. - -Year in, year out, it had crept in and out, and for twenty years -Happy Dick had seen to its peace and comfort. Nothing ever -ruffled him. "All in the game" was his nearest approach to -a complaint, as he pegged away at his work, in between whiles going -to the nearest station for killers, carting water in tanks out to -"dry stage camps," and doing any other work that found itself undone. -Dick's position was as elastic as his smile. - -He considered himself an authority on three things only: -the line party, dog-fights, and cribbage. All else, including -his dog Peter and his cheque-book, he left to the discretion -of his fellow-men. - -Peter--a speckled, drab-coloured, prick-eared creation, a few -sizes larger than a fox-terrier--could be kept in order -with a little discretion, and by keeping hands off Happy Dick; -but all the discretion in the Territory, and a unanimous keeping off -of hands, failed to keep order in the cheque-book. - -The personal payment of salaries to men scattered through hundreds -of miles of bush country being impracticable, the department pays -all salaries due to its servants into their bank accounts at Darwin, -and therefore when Happy Dick found himself the backbone -of the line party, he also found himself the possessor of a cheque-book. -At first he was inclined to look upon it as a poor substitute -for hard cash; but after the foreman had explained its mysteries, -and taught him to sign his name in magic tracery, he became more than -reconciled to it and drew cheques blithely, until one for five pounds -was returned to a creditor: no funds--and in due course returned -to Happy Dick. - -"No good ? " he said to the creditor, looking critically at the piece -of paper in his hands. "Must have been writ wrong. Well, you've -only yourself to blame, seeing you wrote it"; then added magnanimously, -mistaking the creditor's scorn: " Never mind, write yourself out -another. I don't mind signing 'em." - -The foreman and the creditor spent several hours trying to explain -banking principles, but Dick "couldn't see it." "There's stacks -of 'em left!" he persisted, showing his book of fluttering bank -cheques. Finally, in despair, the foreman took the cheque-book -into custody, and Dick found himself poor once more. - -But it was only for a little while. In an evil hour he discovered -that a cheque from another man's book answered all purposes if it -bore that magic tracery, and Happy Dick was never solvent again. -Gaily he signed cheques, and the foreman did all he could to keep -pace with him on the cheque-book block; but as no one, -excepting the accountant in the Darwin bank, knew the state of his -account from day to day, it was like taking a ticket in a lottery -to accept a cheque from Happy Dick. - -"Real glad to see you," Happy Dick said in hearty greeting to us -all as he dismounted, and we waited to be entertained. Happy Dick -had his favourite places and people, and the Elsey community stood -high in his favour. "Can't beat the Elsey for a good dog-fight -and a good game of cribbage," he said, every time he came in -or left us, and that from Happy Dick was high praise. At times -he added: "Nor for a square meal neither," thereby inciting Cheon -to further triumphs for his approval. - -As usual, Happy Dick "played" the Quarters cribbage and related -a good dog-fight--"Peter's latest "--and, as usual before he left us, -his pockets were bulging with tobacco--the highest stakes -used in the Quarters--and Peter and Brown had furnished him -with materials for a still newer dog-fight recital. As usual, he rode -off with his killers, assuring all that he would "be along again -soon," and, as usual, Peter and Brown were tattered and hors-de-combat, -but both still aggressive. Peter's death lunge was the death lunge -of Brown, and both dogs knew that lunge too well to let the other -"get in." - -As usual, Happy Dick had hunted through the store, and taken -anything he "really needed," paying, of course, by cheque; -but when he came to sign that cheque, after the Maluka had written it, -he entered the dining-room for the first time since its completion. - -With calm scrutiny he took in every detail, including the serviettes -as they lay folded in their rings on the waiting dinner-table, -and before he left the homestead he expressed his approval -in the Quarters: - -"Got everything up to the knocker, haven't they ?" he said. -"Often heard toffs decorated their tables with rags in hobble rings, -but never believed it before." - -Happy Dick gone, Cheon turned his attention to the health of the missus; -but Dan, persuading the Maluka that "all she needed was a breath of fresh -air," we went bush on a tour of inspection. - - - -CHAPTER XVI - - -Within a week we returned to the homestead, and for twenty-four -hours Cheon gloated over us, preparing every delicacy that -appealed to him as an antidote to an outbush course of beef -and damper. Then a man rode into our lives who was to teach us -the depth and breadth of the meaning of the word mate--a sturdy, -thick-set man with haggard, tired eyes and deep lines about his firm -strong mouth that told of recent and prolonged tension. - - -"Me mate's sick; got a touch of fever," he said simply dismounting -near the verandah. "I've left him camped back there at the Warlochs"; - and as the Maluka prepared remedies--making up the famous Gulf -mixture--the man with grateful thanks, found room in his pockets -and saddle-pouch for eggs, milk, and brandy, confident that -"these'll soon put him right," adding, with the tense lines deepening -about his mouth as he touched on what had brought them there: "He's -been real bad, ma'am. I've had a bit of a job to get him as far -as this." In the days to come we were to learn, little by little, -that the "bit of a job" had meant keeping a sick man in his saddle -for the greater part of the fifty-mile dry stage, with forty miles -of "bad going" on top of that, and fighting for him every inch -of the way that terrible symptom of malaria--that longing to -"chuck it," and lie down and die. - -Bad water after that fifty-mile dry made men with a touch of fever -only too common at the homestead, and knowing how much the comforts -of the homestead could do, when the Maluka came out with the medicines -he advised bringing the sick man on as soon as he had rested -sufficiently. "You've only to ask for it and we'll send the old -station buck-board across," he said, and the man began fumbling -uneasily at his saddle-girths, and said something evasive about -"giving trouble"; but when the Maluka--afraid that a man's life -might be the forfeit of another man's shrinking fear of causing -trouble--added that on second thoughts we would ride across as soon -as horses could be brought in, he flushed hotly and stammered: -"If you please, ma'am. If the boss'll excuse me, me mate's dead-set -against a woman doing things for him. If you wouldn't mind not -coming. He'd rather have me. Me and him's been mates this seven -years. The boss 'll understand." - -The boss did understand, and rode across to the Warlochs alone, -to find a man as shy and reticent as a bushman can be, and full -of dread lest the woman at the homestead would insist on visiting -him. "You see, that's why he wouldn't come on," the mate said. -"He couldn't bear the thought of a woman doing things for him "; -and the Maluka explained that the missus understood all that. -That lesson had been easily learned; for again and again men had -come in "down with a touch of fever," whose temperatures went up -at the very thought of a woman doing things for them, and always -the actual nursing was left to the Maluka or the Dandy, the woman -seeing to egg-flips and such things, exchanging at first perhaps only -an occasional greeting, and listening at times to strange life-histories -later on. - -But in vain the Maluka explained and entreated: the sick man was -"all right where he was." His mate was worth "ten women fussing -round," he insisted, ignoring the Maluka's explanations. Had he not -lugged him through the worst pinch already?" and then he played -his trump card: "He'll stick to me till I peg out," he said-- -"nothing's too tough for him "; and as he lay back, the mate -deciding "arguing'll only do for him," dismissed the Maluka with -many thanks, refusing all offers of nursing help with a quiet -"He'd rather have me," but accepting gratefully broths and milk -and anything of that sort the homestead could furnish. "Nothing ever -knocks me out," he reiterated, and dragged on through sleepless -days and nights, as the days dragged by finding ample reward in -the knowledge that "he'd rather have me", and when there came -that deep word of praise from his stricken comrade: "A good -mate's harder to find than a good wife," his gentle, protecting -devotion increased tenfold. - -Bushmen are instinctively protective. There is no other word -that so exactly defines their tender helpfulness to all weakness -and helplessness. Knowing how hard the fight is out-bush for even -the strong and enduring all their magnificent strength and courage -stand ready for those who would go to the wall without it. A lame -dog, a man down in his luck, an old soaker, little women any -woman in need or sickness--each and all call forth this protectiveness; -but nothing calls it forth in all its self-sacrificing tenderness -like the helplessness of a strong man stricken down in -his strength. - - -Understanding this also, we stood aside, and rejoicing as the sick -man, benefiting by the comparative comfort and satisfied to have -his own way, seemed to improve. For three days he improved steadily, -and then, after standing still for another day slipped back inch -by inch to weakness and prostration, until the homestead, without -coercion, was the only chance for his life. - -But there was a woman there; and as the mate went back to his pleading -the woman did what the world may consider a strange thing--but -a man's life depended on it--she sent a message out to the sick -man, to say that if he would come to the homestead she would not -go to him until he asked her. - -He pondered over the message for a day, sceptical of a woman's word-- -surely some woman had left that legacy in his heart--but eventually -decided he wouldn't risk it. Then the chief of the telegraph -coming in--a man widely experienced in fever--and urging one more -attempt, the Dandy volunteered to help us in our extremity, and, -driving across to the Warlochs in the chief's buggy worked one -of his miracles; he spent only a few minutes alone with the man -(and the Dandy alone knows now what passed), but within an hour -the sick traveller was resting quietly between clean sheets -in the Dandy's bed. There were times when the links in the chain -seemed all blessing. - -Waking warm and refreshed, the sick man faced the battle of life -once more, and the chief taking command, and the man quietly and -hopefully obeying orders, the woman found her promise easy to -keep; but the mate's hardest task had come, the task of waiting -with folded hands. With the same quiet steadfastness he braced -himself for this task and when, after weary hours, the chief -pronounced "all well" and turned to him with an encouraging -"I think he'll pull through now, my man," the sturdy shoulders -that had borne so much drooped and quivered beneath the kindly -words, and with dimming eyes he gave in at last to the Maluka's -persuasions, and lay down and slept, sure of the Dandy's promise -to wake him at dawn. - -At midnight the Maluka left the Quarters, and going back just -before the dawn to relieve the Dandy, found the sick man Iying -quietly-restful, with one arm thrown hghtly across his brow. He -had spoken in his sleep a short while before the Dandy said as the -Maluka bent over him with a cup of warm milk, but the cup was -returned to the table untasted. Many travellers had come into our -lies and passed on with a bright nod of farewell; but at the first -stirring of the dawn, without one word of farewell, this traveller -had passed on and left us; left us, and the faithful mate of those -seven strong young years and those last few days of weariness. -"Unexpected heart failure," our chief said, as the Dandy went to -fulfil his promise to the sleeping mate. He promised to waken him -at the dawn, and leaving that awakening in the Dandy's hands, as -we thought of that lonely Warloch camp our one great thankfulness -was that when the awakening came the man was not to be alone -there with his dead comrade. The bush can be cruel at times, and -yet, although she may leave us alone with our beloved dead, her -very cruelty bungs with it a fierce, consoling pain; for out-bush -our dead are all our own. - -Beyond those seven faithful years the mate could tell us but little -of his comrade's life. He was William Neaves, born at Woolongong, -with a mother living somewhere there. That was all he knew. -"He was always a reticent chap," he reiterated. "He never wanted -any one but me about him," and the unspoken request was understood. -He was his mate, and no one but himself must render the last services. - -Dry-eyed and worn, the man moved about, doing all that should -be done, the bushmen only helping where they dared; then shouldering -a pick and shovel, he went to the tattle nse beyond the slip rails, -and set doggedly to work at a little distance from two lonely graves -already there. Doggedly he worked on; but, as he worked, gradually -his burden lost its overwhelming weight, for the greater part -of it had somehow skipped on to the Dandy's shoulders--those brave, -unflinching shoulders, that carried other men's burdens so naturally -and so willingly that their burdens always seemed the Dandy's own. -The Dandy may have had that power of finding "something decent" -in every one he met, but in the Dandy all men found the help -they needed most. - -Quietly and unassumingly, the Dandy put all in order and then, -soon after midday, with brilliant sunshine ali about us, we stood -by an open grave in the shade of the drooping glory of a crimson -flowering bauhenia. Some scenes live undimmed in our memories -for a lifetime--scenes where we have seemed onlookers rather -than actors seeing every detail with minute exactness--and that -scene with its mingling of glorious beauty, human pathos, and soft, -subdued sound, will bye, I think, in the memory of most of us -for many years to come: - -"In the midst of life we are in death," the Maluka read, standing -among that drooping crimson splendour and at his feet lay the -open grave, preaching silently its great lesson of Life and Death, -with, beside it, the still quiet form of the traveller whose last -weary journey had ended; around it, bareheaded and all in white, -a little band of bush-folk, silent and reverent and awed; above -it, that crimson glory, and all around and about it, soft sun-flecked -bush, murmuring sounds, flooding sunshine, and deep azure blue -distances. Beyond the bush, deep azure blue, within it and throughout -it, flooding sunshine and golden ladders of light; and at its -sun-flecked heart, under that drooping crimson-starred canopy -of soft greygreen, that little company of bush-folk, standing beside -that open grave, as Mother Nature, strewing with flowers the last -resting place of one of her children, scattered gently falling scarlet -blossoms into it and about it. Here and there a dog lay, stretched -out in the shade, sniffing in idle curiosity at the blossoms as they -fell, well satisfied with what life had to give just then; while at -their master s feet lay the traveller who was to leave such haunting -memories behind him: William Neaves, born at Woolongong, with -somewhere there a mother going qmetly about her work, wondering -vaguely perhaps where her laddie was that day. - -Poor mother! Yet, when even that knowledge came to her, -it comforted her in her sorrow to know that a woman had stood -beside that grave mourmng for her boy in her name. - -Quietly the Maluka read on to the end; and then in the hush -that followed the mate stooped, and, with deep lines hardening -rigidly, picked up a spade. There was no mistaking his purpose; -but as he straightened himself the Dandy's hand was on the spade -and the Maluka was speaking. "Perhaps you'll be good enough to -drive the missus back to the house right away," he was saying, -"I think she has had almost more than she can stand. - -The man looked hesitatingly at him. "If you'll be good enough," -the Maluka added, "I should not leave here myself till all is -completed." - -Unerringly the Maluka had read his man: no hint of his strength -failing, but a favour asked, and with it a service for a woman. - -The stern set lines about the man's mouth quivered for a moment, -then set again as he sacrificed his wishes to a woman's need, -and relinquishing the spade, turned away; and as we drove down -to the house in the chief's buggy--the buggy that a few minutes -before had borne our sick traveller along that last stage of his -earthly journey--he said gently, almost apologetically: "I should -have reckoned on this knocking you out a bit, missus." Always others, -never self, with the bush-folk. - -Then, this service rendered for the man who had done what he could -for his comrade, his strong, unflinching heart turned back to -its labour of love, and, all else being done, found relief for -itself in softening and smoothing the rough outline of the newly -piled mound, and as the man toiled, Mother Nature went on with -her work, silently and sweetly healing the scar on her bosom, -hiding her pain from the world, as she shrouded in starry crimson -the burial place of her brave, enduring son--a service to be -renewed from day to day until the mosses and grasses grew -again. - -But there were still other services for the mate to render and as -the bush-folk stood aside, none daring to trespass here, a rough -wooden railing rose about the grave. Then the man packed his -comrade's swag for the last time, and that done, came to the Maluka, -as we stood under the house verandah, and held out two sovereigns -in his open palm. The man was yet a stranger to the ways -of the Never-Never. - -"I'll have to ask for tick for meself for awhile," he said "But -if that won't pay for all me mate's had there's another where they -came from. He was always independent and would never take -charity." - -The hard lines about his mouth were very marked just then, -and the outstretched hand seemed fiercely defiant but the Maluka -reading in it only a man's proud care for a comrade's honour, -put it gently aside, saying: "We give no charity here; -only hospitality to our guests. Surely no man would refuse that." - -They speak of a woman's delicate tact. But daily the bushman -put the woman to shame, while she stood dumb or stammering. -The Maluka had touched the one chord in the man's heart that was -not strained to breaking point, and instantly the fingers closed -over the sovereigns, and the defiant hand fell to his side, -as with a husky "Not from your sort, boss," he turned -sharply on his heel; and as he walked away a hand was brushed -hastily across the weary eyes. - -With that brushing of the hand the inevitable reaction began, -and for a little while we feared we would have another sick traveller -on our hand. But only for a little while. After a day or two -of rest and care his strength came back, but his thoughts were -ever of those seven years of steadfast comradeship. Simply -and earnestly he spoke of them and of that mother, all unconscious -of the heartbreak that was speeding only too surely to her. -Poor mother! And yet those other two nameless graves on that little -rise deep in the heart of the bush bear witness that other mothers -have even deeper sorrows to bear. Their sons are gone from them, -and they, knowing nothing of it, wait patiently through the long -silent years for the word that can never come to them. - -For a few days the man rested, and then, just when work--hard -work--was the one thing needful, Dan came in for a consultation, -and with him a traveller, the bearer of a message from our kind, -great-hearted chief to say that work was waiting for the mate at the -line party. Our chief was the personification of all that is best -in the bush-folk (as all bushmen will testify to his memory)-- -men's lives crossed his by chance just here and there, but at those -crossing places life have been happier and better. For one long -weary day the mate's life had run parallel with our chief's, -and because of that, when he left us his heart was lighter than -ever we had dared to hope for. But this man was not to fade quite -out of our lives, for deep in that loyal heart the Maluka had been -enshrined as "one in ten thousand." - - - -CHAPTER XVII - - -The bearer of the chief's message had also carried out all extra -mail for us, and, opening it, we found the usual questions of the -South folk. - -"Whatever do you do with your time?" they all asked. "The monotony -would kill me," some declared. "Every day must seem the same," -said others: every one agreeing that life out-bush was stagnation, -and all marvelling that we did not die of ennui. - -"Whatever do you do with your time?" The day Neaves's mate left -was devoted to housekeeping duties--"spring-cleaning," the Maluka -called it, while Dan drew vivid word-pictures of dogs cleaning -their own chains. The day after that was filled in with preparations -for a walk-about, and the next again found us camped at Bitter -Springs. Monotony! when of the thirty days that followed these -three every day was alike only in being different from any other, -excepting in their almost unvarying menu: beef and damper and tea -for a first course, and tea and damper and jam for a second. -They also resembled each other, and all other days out-bush, -in the necessity of dressing in a camp mosquito net. "Stagnation!" -they called it, when no day was long enough for its work, and almost -every night found us camped a day's journey from our breakfast camp. - -It was August, well on in the Dry, and on a cattle station in -the Never-Never "things hum" in August. All the surface waters -are drying up by then, and the outside cattle--those scattered -away beyond the borders--are obliged to come in to the permanent -waters, and must be gathered in and branded before the showers -scatter them again. - -We were altogether at the Springs: Dan, the Dandy, the Quiet -Stockman, ourselves, every horse-"boy" that could be mustered, -a numerous staff of camp "boys" for the Dandy's work, and an almost -complete complement of dogs, Little Tiddle'ums only being absent, -detained at the homestead this time with the cares of a nursery. -A goodly company all told as we sat among the camp fires, with our -horses clanking through the timber in their hobbles: forty horses -and more, pack teams and relays for the whole company and riding -hacks, in addition to both stock and camp horses for active -mustering; for it requires over two hundred horses to get through -successfully a year's work on a "little place like the Elsey." - -Every one of the company had his special work to attend to; -but every one's work was concerned with cattle, and cattle only. -The musterers were to work every area of country again and again, -and the Dandy's work began in the building of the much-needed -yard to the north-west. - -We breakfasted at the Springs all together, had dinner miles -apart, and all met again at the Stirling for supper. Dan -and ourselves dined also at the Stirling on damper and "push" -and vile-smelling blue-black tea. The damper had been carried -in company with some beef and tea, in Dan's saddle-pouch; the tea -was made with the thick, muddy, almost putrid water of the fast-drying -water hole, and the "push" was provided by force of circumstances, -the pack teams being miles away with the plates, knives, and forks. - -Out-bush we take the good with the bad as we find it; so we sat -among towering white-ant hills, drinking as little of the tea as -possible and enjoying the damper and "push" with hungry relish. - -Around the Stirling are acres of red-coloured, queer-shaped -uncanny white ant hills, and camped among these we sat, each -served with a slice of damper that carried a smaller slice of beef -upon it, providing the "push" by cutting off small pieces of the -beef with a pen-knife, and "pushing" them along the damper to -the edge of the slice, to be bitten off from there in hearty -mouthfuls. - -No butter, of course. In Darwin, eight months before we had -tasted our last butter on ship-board, for tinned butter, out-bush, -in the tropics, is as palatable as castor oil. The tea had been -made in the Maluka's quart-pot, our cups having been carried -dangling from our saddles, in the approved manner of the bush-folk. - -We breakfasted at the Springs, surrounded by the soft forest -beauty; ate our dinner in the midst of grotesque ant-hill scenery, -and spent the afternoon looking for a lost water-hole. - -The Dandy was to build his yard at this hole when it was -found, but the difficulty was to find it. The Sanguine Scot had -"dropped on it once," by chance, but lost his bearing later on. -All we knew was that it was there to be found somewhere in that -corner of the run--a deep permanent hole, "back in the scrub -somewhere," according to the directions of the Sanguine Scot. - -Of course the black boys could have found it; but it is the habit -of black boys to be quite ignorant of the whereabouts of all lost -or unknown waters, for when a black fellow is "wanted" he is looked -for at water, and in his wisdom keeps any "water" he can a secret -from the white folk, an unknown "water" making a safe hiding-place -when it suits a black fellow to obliterate himself for a while. - -Eventually we found our hole, after long wanderings and futile -excursions up gullies and by-ways, riding always in single file, -with the men in front to break down a track through scrub -and grass, and the missus behind on old Roper. - -"Like a cow's tail," Dan said, mentally reviewing the order -of the procession, as, after dismounting, we walked round our -find--a wide-spreading sheet of deep, clay--coloured water, snugly -hidden behind scrubby banks. - -As we clambered on, two bushmen all in white, a dog or two, -and a woman in a holland riding-dress, the Maluka pointed out -the inaptness of the simile. - -"A cow's tail," he said, "is wanting in expression and takes no -interest in its owner's hopes and fears," and suggested a dog's tail -as a more happy comparison. "Has she not wagged along behind her -owner all afternoon?" he asked, "drooping in sympathy whenever -his hopes came to nothing; stiffening expectantly at other times, -and is even now vibrating with pleasure in this his hour of triumph." - -Bush-folk being old fashioned, no one raised any objection to -the term "owner," as Dan chuckled over the amendment. - -After thinking the matter well out, Dan decided he was "what -you might call a tail-less tyke." "We've had to manage without -any wagging, haven't we, Brown, old chap?" he said, unconscious -of the note in his voice that told of lonely years and vague -longings. - -As Brown acknowledged this reference to himself, by stirring -the circle of hairs that expressed his sentiments to the world, -Dan further proved the expansiveness of the Maluka's simile. - -"You might have noticed," he went on, "that when a dog does -own a tail he generally manages to keep it out of the fight -somehow." (In marriage as Dan had known it, strong men had -stood between their women and the sharp cuffs and blows of life; -"keeping her out of the fight somehow.") Then the procession -preparing to re-form, as the Maluka, catching Roper, mounted me -again, Dan completely rounded off the simile. "Dogs seem able to -wrestle through somehow without a tail," he said, " but I reckon -a tail 'ud have a bit of a job getting along without a dog." -As usual, Dan's whimsical fancy had burrowed deep into the heart -of a great truth; for, in spite of what "tails" may say, how few -there are of us who have any desire to "get along without the dog." - -We left the water-hole about five o'clock, and riding into -the Stirling camp at sundown, found the Dandy there, busy at the -fire, with a dozen or so of large silver fish spread out on green -leaves beside him. - -"Good enough!" Dan cried at the first sight of them, and the Dandy -explained that the boys had caught "shoals of 'em" at his dinner-camp -at the Fish Hole, assuring us that the water there was "stiff -with 'em." But the Dandy had been busy elsewhere. "Good enough!" -Dan had said at the sight of the fish, and pointing to a billy -full of clear, sweet water that was just thinking of boiling, -the Maluka echoed the sentiment if not the words. - -"Dug a soakage along the creek a bit and got it," the Dandy -explained; and as we blessed him for his thoughtfulness, he lifted -up a clean cloth and displayed a pile of crisp Johnny cakes. -"Real slap up ones," he assured us, breaking open one of the crisp, -spongy rolls. It was always a treat to be in camp with the Dandy: -everything about the man was so crisp and clean and wholesome. - -As we settled down to supper, the Fizzer came shouting through -the ant-hills, and, soon after, the Quiet Stockrnan rode into camp. -Our Fizzer was always the Fizzer. "Managed to escape without help?" -he shouted in welcome as he came to the camp fire, alluding -to his promise "to do a rescue"; and then he surveyed our supper. -"Struck it lucky, as usual," he declared, helping himself to a couple -of fish from the fire and breaking open one of the crisp Johnny cakes. -"Can't beat grilled fish and hot rolls by much, to say nothin' -of tea." The Fizzer was one of those happy, natural people who -always find the supply exactly suited to the demand. - -But if our Fizzer was just our Fizzer, the Quiet Stockman was -changing every day. He was still the Quiet Stockman, and always -would be, speaking only when he had something to say, but he -was learning that he had much to say that was worth saying, or, -rather, much that others found worth listening to; and that -knowledge was squaring his shoulders and bringing a new ring into -his voice. - -Around the camp fires we touched on any subject that suggested -itself, but at the Stirling that night, four of us being Scotch, -we found Scotland and Scotchmen an inexhaustible topic, -and before we turned in were all of Jack's opinion, that "you -can't beat the Scots." Even the Dandy and the Fizzer were converted; -and Jack having realised that there are such things as Scotchwomen-- -Scotch-hearted women--a new bond was established between us. - -No one had much sleep that night, and before dawn there was no -doubt left in our mind about the outside cattle coming in. -It seemed as though every beast on the run must have come in -to the Stirling that night for a drink. Every water-hole out-bush -is as the axis of a great circle, cattle pads narrowing into it -like the spokes of a wheel, from every point of the compass, -and along these pads around the Stirling mob after mob of cattle -came in in single file, treading carelessly, until each old bull -leader, scenting the camp, gave its low, deep, drawn-out warning -call that told of danger at hand. After that rang out, only -an occasional snapping twig betrayed the presence of the cattle -as they crept cautiously in for the drink that must be procured -at all hazards. But after the drink the only point to be considered -was safety, and in a crashing stampede they rushed out into the timber. -Till long after midnight they were at it, and as Brown and I -were convirced that every mob was coming straight over our net, -we spent an uneasy night. To make matters worse, just as the camp -was settling down to a deep sleep after the cattle had finally -subsided, Dan's camp reveille rang out. - -It was barely three o'clock, and the Fizzer raised an indignant -protest of: "Moonrise, you bally ass." - -"Not it," Dan persisted, unfortunately bent on argument; -"not at this quarter of the moon, and besides it was moonlight -all evening," and, that being a strong peg to hang his argument on, -investigating heads appeared from various nets. "Seem to think -I don't know dawn when I see it," Dan added, full of scorn -for the camp's want of observation; but before we had time -to wither before his scorn, Jack turned the tables for us -with his usual quiet finality. "That's the west you're looking -at," he said. "The moon's just set"; and the curtain of Dan's -net dropped instantly. - - "Told you he was a bally ass," the Fizzer shouted in his delight, -and promising Dan something later on, he lay down to rest. - -Dan, however, was hopelessly roused. "Never did that before," -gurgled out of his net, just as we were dropping off once more; -but a withering request from the Dandy to "gather experience -somewhere else," silenced him till dawn, when he had the wisdom -to rise without further reveille. - -After breakfast we all separated again: the Dandy to his -yard-building at the Yellow Hole, and the rest of us, with -the cattle boys, in various directions, to see where the cattle -were, each party with its team of horses, and carrying in its -packs a bluey, an oilskin, a mosquito net, a plate, knife, -and fork apiece, as well as a "change of duds" and a bite of tucker -for all: the bite of tucker to be replenished with a killer when -necessary, the change of duds to be washed by the boys also -when necessary, and the plate to serve for all courses, the fastidious -turning it over for the damper and jam course. - -The Maluka spent one day with Dan beyond the "frontgate"-- -his tail wagging along behind as a matter of course--another day -passed boundary-riding, inspecting water-holes, and doubling -back to the Dandy's camp to see his plans; then, picking up the -Quiet Stockman, we struck out across country, riding four abreast -through the open forest-lands, and were camped at sundown, in -the thick of the cattle, miles from the Dandy's camp, and thirty -miles due north from the homestead. "Whatever do you do with -your time?" asked the South folk. - -Dan was in high spirits: cattle were coming in everywhere, -and another beautiful permanent "water" had been discovered -in unsuspected ambush. To know all the waters of a run is -important; for they take the part of fences, keeping the cattle in -certain localities; and as cattle must stay within a day's -journey or so of water, an unknown water is apt to upset a man's -calculations. - -As the honour of finding the hole was all Dan's, it was named -DS. in his honour, and we had waited beside it while he cut his -initials deep into the trunk of a tree, deploring the rustiness -of his education as he carved. The upright stroke of the D -was simplicity itself, but after that complications arose. - -"It's always got me dodged which way to turn the darned thing," -Dan said, scratching faint lines both ways, and standing off -to decide the question. We advised turning to the right, and the D -was satisfactorily completed, but S proved the "dead finish," -and had to be wrestled with separately. - -"Can't see why they don't name a chap with something that's -easily wrote," Dan said, as we rode forward, with our united team -of horses and boys swinging along behind us, and M and T and O -were quoted as examples. "Reading's always had me dodged," -he explained. "Left school before I had time to get it down -and wrestle with it." - -"There's nothing like reading and writing," the Quiet Stockman -broke in, with an earnestness that was almost startling; and as -he sat that evening in the firelight poring over the "Cardinal's -Snuff-box," I watched him with a new interest. - -Jack's reading was very puzzling. He always had the same book-- -that "Cardinal's Snuff-box"--and pored over it with a strange -persistence, that could not have been inspired by the book. -There was no expression on his face of lively interest or pleasure, -just an intent, dogged persistence; the strong, firm chin set as -though he were colt-breaking. Gradually, as I watched him that -night, the truth dawned on me: the man was trying to teach himself -to read. The "Cardinal's Snuff-box"! and the only clue to the -mystery, a fair knowledge of the alphabet learned away in a childish -past. In truth, it takes a deal to "beat the Scots," or, what -is even better, to make them feel that they are beaten. - -As I watched, full of admiration, for the proud, strong character -of the man, he looked up suddenly, and, in a flash, knew that -I knew. Flushing hotly, he rose, and "thought he would turn in "; -and Dan, who had been discussing education most of the evening, -decided to "bottle off a bit of sleep too for next day's use," -and opened up his swag. - -"There's one thing about not being too good at the reading -trick," he said, surveying his permanent property: "a chap doesn't -need to carry books round with him to put in the spare time." - -"Exactly," the Maluka laughed. He was Iying on his back, with an -open book face downwards on his chest, looking up at the stars. -He always had a book with him, but, book-lover as he was, -it rarely got farther than his chest when we were in camp. -Life out-bush is more absorbing than books. - -"Of course reading's handy enough for them as don't lay much -stock on education," Dan owned, stringing his net between his -mosquito-pegs, then, struck with a new idea, he "wondered why -the missus never carries books round. Any one 'ud think she -wasn't much at the reading trick herself," he said. "Never see -you at it, missus, when I'm round." - -"Lay too much stock on education," I answered, and, chuckling, -Dan retired into his net, little guessing that when he was "round," -his own self, his quaint outlook on life, and the underlying -truth of his inexhaustible, whimsical philosophy, were infinitely -more interesting than the best book ever written. - -But the Quiet Stockman seemed perplexed at the answer. " I thought -reading 'ud learn you most things," he said, hesitating beside -his own net; and before we could speak, the corner of Dan's net -was lifted and his head reappeared. "I've learned a deal of things -in my time," he chuckled, " but READING never taught me none -of 'em." Then his head once more disappeared, and we tried -to explain matters to the Quiet Stockman. The time was not yet -ready for the offer of a helping hand. - -At four in the morning we were roused by a new camp reveille -of Star-light. "Nothing like getting off early when mustering's -the game," Dan announced. By sun-up the musterers were away, -and by sundown we were coming in to Bitter Springs, driving -a splendid mob of cattle before us. - -The Maluka and I had had nothing to do with the actual gathering -in of the mob, for the missus had not "shaped" too well at her -first muster and preferred travelling with the pack teams when -active mustering was in hand. Ignominious perhaps, but safe, -and safety counts for something in this world; anyway, for the -poor craven souls. Riding is one thing; but crashing through timber -and undergrowth, dodging overhanging branches, leaping fallen -logs, and stumbling and plunging over crab-holed and rat-burrowed -areas, to say nothing of charging bulls turning up at unexpected -corners, is quite another story. - -"Not cut out for the job," was Dan's verdict, and the Maluka -covered my retreat by saying that he had more than enough to do -without taking part in the rounding up of cattle. Had mustering -been one of a manager's duties, I'm afraid the house would have -"come in handy" to pack the dog away in with its chain. - -As the yard of the Springs came into view, we were making plans -for the morrow, and admiring the fine mattress swinging before us -on the tails of the cattle; but there were cattle buyers at the Springs -who upset all our plans, and left no time Ior the bang-tailing -of the mob in hand. - -The buyers were Chinese drovers, authorised by their Chinese masters -to buy a mob of bullocks. "Want big mob," they said. "Cash! -Got money here," producing a signed cheque ready for filling in. - -A Chinese buyer always pays "cash" for a mob--by cheque--generally -taking care to withdraw all cash from the bank before the cheque -can be presented, and, as a result, a dishonoured cheque is returned -to the station, reaching the seller some six or eight weeks after -the sale. Six or eight weeks more then pass in demanding explanations, -and six or eight more obtaining them, and after that just as many -more as Chinese slimness can arrange for before a settlement is -finally made. "Cash," the drover repeated insinuatingly at the Maluka's -unfathomable "Yes ?" Then, certain that he was inspired, added, -"Spot Cash!" - -But already the Maluka had decided on a plan of campaign and, -echoing the drover's "Spot Cash," began negotiations for a sale; -and within ten minutes the drovers retired to their camp, bound -to take the mob when delivered, and inwardly marvelling at the Maluka's -simple trust. - -Dan was appalled at it; but, always deferential where the Maluka's -business insight was concerned, only "hoped he knew that them chaps -needed a bit of watching." - -"Their cash does," the Maluka corrected, to Dan's huge delight; -and, leaving the musterers to go on with their branding work, -culling each mob of its prime bullocks as they mustered, he set -about finding some one to "watch the cash," and four days later -rode into the Katherine Settlement, with Brown and the missus, -as usual, at his heels. - -We had spent one week out-bush, visiting the four points of -the compass, half a day at the homestead packing a fresh swag; -three days riding into the Katherine, having found incidental -entertainment on the road, and on the fourth day were entering -into an argument by wire with Chinese slimness. "The monotony -would kill me," declared the townsfolk. - -On the road in we had met the Village Settlement homeward bound-- -the bonnie baby still riding on its mother's knee, and smiling out -of the depths of its sunbonnet; but every one else was longing -for the bush. Darwin had proved all unsatisfying bustle and fluster, -and the trackless sea, a wonder that inspired strange sickness -when travelled over. - -For four days the Maluka argued with Chinese slimness before -he felt satisfied that his cash was in safe keeping while the Wag -and others did as they wished with our spare time. Then, four days -later, again Cheon and Tiddle'ums were hailing us in welcome -at the homestead. - -But their joy was short-lived, for as soon as the homestead -affairs had been seen to, and a fresh swag packed, we started -out-bush again to look for Dan and his bullocks, and, coming on -their tracks at our first night camp, by following them up next -morning we rode into the Dandy's camp at the Yellow Hole well -after midday, to find ourselves surrounded by the stir and bustle -of a cattle camp. - -"Whatever do you do with your time?" ask the townsfolk, sure that -life out-bush is stagnation, but forgetting that life is life -wherever it may be lived. - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - - -Only three weeks before, as we hunted for it through scrub and bush -and creek-bed, the Yellow Hole had been one of our Unknown Waters, -tucked snugly away in an out-of-the-way elbow of creek country, -and now we found it transformed into the life-giving heart -of a bustling world of men and cattle and commerce. Beside it stood -the simple camp of the stockman--a litter of pack-bags, mosquito-nets, -and swags; here and there were scattered the even more simple camps -of the black boys; and in the background, the cumbrous camp -of the Chinese drovers reared itself up in strong contrast to the camps -of the bushfolk--two fully equipped tents for the drovers themselves -and a simpler one for their black boys. West of the Yellow Hole -boys were tailing a fine mob of bullocks, and to the east other -"boys" were "holding" a rumbling mob of mixed cattle, and while -Jack and Dan rode here and there shouting orders for the "cutting out" -of the cattle, the Dandy busied himself at the fire, making tea -as a refresher, before getting going in earnest, the only restful, -placid, unoccupied beings in the whole camp being the Chinese -drovers. Not made of the stuff that "lends a hand" in other people's -affairs, they sat in the shade of their tents and looked on, -well pleased that men should bustle for their advantage. As we -rode past the drovers they favoured us with a sweet smile of welcome, -while Dan met us with a chuckle of delight at the sweetness -of their smile, and as Jack took our horses--amused both -at the drovers' sweetness and Dan's appreciation of it--the Dandy -greeted us with the news that we had "struck it lucky, as usual," -and that a cup of tea would be ready in " half a shake." - -Dan also considered we had "struck it lucky," but from a different -point of view, for he had only just come into camp with the mixed -cattle, and as the bullocks among them more than completed -the number required, he suggested the drovers should take delivery -at once, assuring us, as we drank the tea, that he was just about -dead sick of them "little Chinese darlings." - -The "little Chinese darlings," inwardly delighted that the Maluka's -simple trust seemed as guileless as ever, smugly professed themselves -willing to fall in with any arrangement that was pleasing -to the white folk, and as they mounted their horses Dan heaved a sigh -of satisfaction. - -But Dan's satisfaction was premature, for it took time and much -galloping before the "little Chinese darlings " could satisfy -themselves and each other that they had the very finest bullocks -procurable in their mob. A hundred times they changed their minds: -rejecting chosen bullocks, recalling rejected bullocks, and comparing -every bullock accepted with every bullock rejected. Bulk was what -they searched for--plenty for their money, as they judged it, -and finally gathered together a mob of coarse, wide-horned, -great-framed beasts, rolling in fat that would drip off on the road -as they travelled in. - -"You'd think they'd got 'em together for a boiling-down establishment, -with a bone factory for a side line," Dan chuckled, secretly pleased -that our best bullocks were left on the run, and, disbanding -the rejected bullocks before "they " could" change their minds again," -he gathered together the mixed cattle and shut them in the Dandy's -new yard, to keep them in hand for later branding. - -But the "little Chinese darlings" had counted on the use of that -yard for themselves, and finding that their bullocks would have -to be "watched" on camp that night, they stolidly refused to take -delivery before morning, pointing out that should the cattle -stampede during the night, the loss would be ours, not theirs. - -"Well, I'm blowed!" Dan chuckled, but the Maluka cared little -whether the papers were signed then or at sun-up; and the drovers, -pleased with getting their way so easily, magnanimously offered -to take charge of the first "watch"--the evening watch--provided -that only our horses should be used, and that Big Jack and Jackeroo -and others should lend a hand. - -Dan wouldn't hear of refusing the offer. "Bit of exercise'll do -'em good," he said; and deciding the bullocks would be safe enough -with Jack and Jackeroo, we white folk stretched ourselves in the -warm firelight after supper, and, resting, watched the shadowy -mob beyond the camp, listening to the shoutings and gallopings -of the watchers as we chatted. - -When a white man watches cattle, if he knows his business he -quiets his mob down and then opens them out gradually, to give -them room to lie down, or ruminate standing without rubbing -shoulders with a restless neighbour, which leaves him little to do -beyond riding round occasionally, to keep his "boys" at their -posts, and himself alert and ready for emergencies. But a Chinaman's -idea of watching cattle is to wedge them into a solid body, and hold -them huddled together like a mob of frightened sheep, riding -incessantly round them and forcing back every beast that looks -as though it might extricate itself from the tangle, and galloping -after any that do escape with screams of anxiety and impotency. - -"Beck! beck!" (back), screamed our drovers, as they galloped -after escaped beasts, flopping and wobbling and gurgling in their -saddles like half-filled water-bags; galloping invariably after -the beasts, and thereby inciting there to further galloping. -And "Beck! beck!" shouted our boys on duty with perfect mimicry -of tone and yells of delight at the impotency of the drovers, -galloping always outside the runaways and bending them back -into the mob, flopping and wobbling and gurgling in their saddles -until, in the half light, it was difficult to tell drover -from "boy." Not detecting the mimicry, the drovers in no way -resented it; the more the boys screamed and galloped in their -service the better pleased they were; while the "boys" were more -than satisfied with their part of the entertainment, Jackeroo and -Big Jack particularly enjoying themselves. - -"They'll have 'em stampeding yet," Dan said at last growing -uneasy, as more and more cattle escaped, and the mob shifted -ground with a rumbling rattle of hoofs every few minutes. -Finally, as the rumbling rattle threatened to become permanent, -a long drawn-out cry of "Ring--ing" from Big Jack sent Dan -and the Quiet Stockman to their saddles. In ten minutes the hubbub -had ceased, Dan's master-hand having soothed the irritated beasts; -then having opened them out he returned to the camp fire alone. -Jack had gone on duty before his time and sent the "little Chinese -darlings" to bed. - -Naturally Dan's cattle-tussle reminded him of other tussles with -ringing cattle; then the cattle-camp suggesting other cattle-camp -yarns, he settled down to reminiscences until he had us all cold -thrills and skin-creeps, although we were gathered around a blazing -fire. - -Tale after tale he told of stampedes and of weaners piling up -against fences. Then followed a tale or two of cattle Iying quiet -as mice one minute, and up on their feet crashing over camps -the next, then tales of men being "treed" or "skied," and tales -of scrub-bulls, maddened cow-mothers, and "pokers." - -"Pokers," it appears, have a habit of poking out of mobs, grazing -quietly as they edge off until "they're gone before you miss 'em." -Camps seem to have some special attraction for pokers, but we learned -they object to interference. Poke round peaceful as cats until - you rile them," Dan told us, and then glided into a tale of how -a poker "had us all treed once." - -"Poked in a bit too close for our fancy while we were at supper," -he explained, "so we slung sticks at him to turn him back to the mob, -and the next minute was making for trees, but as there -was only saplings handy, it would have been a bit awkward for the -heavy weights if there hadn't have been enough of us to divide his -attentions up a bit." (Dan was a good six feet, and well set up at -that.) "Climbing saplings to get away from a stag isn't much of a -game," he added, with a reminiscent chuckle; "they're too good at -the bending trick. The farther up the sapling you climb, the nearer -you get to the ground." - -Then he favoured us with one of his word-pictures: "There was -the sapling bending like a weeping willow," he said, "and there -was the stag underneath it, looking up at me and asking if he -could do anything for me, taking a poke at me boot now and then, -just to show nothing would be no bother, and there was me, -hanging on to the sapling, and leaning lovingly over him, telling -him not to go hanging round, tiring himself out on my account; -and there was the other chaps--all light weights--laughing fit -to split, safe in their saplings. 'Twasn't as funny as it looked, -though," he assured us, finding us unsympathetic, "and nobody was -exactly sorry when one of the lads on duty came along to hear -the fun, and stock-whipped the old poker back to the mob." - -The Maluka and the Dandy soon proved it was nothing to be "treed." -"Happens every time a beast's hauled out of a bog, from all accounts, -that being the only thanks you get for hauling 'em out of the mess." -Then Dan varied the recital with an account of a chap getting skied -once who forgot to choose a tree before beginning the hauling -business, and immediately after froze us into horror again with -the details of two chaps "lying against an old rotten log with a mob -of a thousand going over 'em "; and we were not surprised to hear -that when they felt well enough to sit up they hadn't enough -arithmetic left between 'em to count their bruises. - -After an evening of ghost stories, a creaking door is enough to set -teeth chattering; and after an evening of cattle-yarns, told in -a cattle camp, a snapping twig is enough to set hair lifting; -and just as the most fitting place for ghost stories is an old -ruined castle, full of eerie noises, so there is no place more suited -to cattle-camp yarns than a cattle camp. They need the reality -of the camp-fire, the litter of camp baggage, the rumbling mob -of shadowy cattle near at hand, and the possibilities of the near -future--possibilities brought home by the sight of tethered horses -standing saddled and bridled ready "in case of accidents." - -Fit surroundings add intensity to all tales, just as it added -intensity to my feelings when Dan advised the Maluka to swing -our net near a low-branched tree, pointing out that it would -"come in handy for the missus if she needed it in a hurry." - -I favoured climbing the tree at once, and spending the night in it, -but the men-folk assuring me that I would be "bound to hear them -coming," I turned in, sure only of one thing, that death may come -to the bush-folk in any form but ennui. Yet so adaptable are we -bush-folk to circumstances that most of that night was oblivion. - -At sun-up, the drovers, still sweetly smiling, announced that -two bullocks had strayed during some one's watch. Not in theirs, -they hastened to assure us, when Dan sniffed scornfully in the -background. - -But Dan's scorn turned to blazing wrath, when-- the drovers -refusing to replace the "strays" with cows from the mixed cattle -in hand, and refusing also to take delivery of the bullocks, -two beasts short--the musterers had to turn out to gather in a fresh -mob of cattle for the sake of two bullocks. "Just as I was settling -down to celebrate Sunday, too," Dan growled, as he and Jack rode -out of camp. - -Forty years out-bush had not been enough to stamp generations -of Sabbath-keeping out of Dan's blood, although he was not -particular which day of the week was set apart for his Sabbath. -"Two in a fortnight" was all he worried about. - -Fortune favouring the musterers, by midday all was peace and order; -the drovers, placid and contented, had retired to their tents -once more, reprieved from taking delivery for another day and night, -and after dinner, as the "boys" tailed the bullocks and mixed -cattle on the outskirts of the camp, to graze them, we settled down -to "celebrate our Sabbath " by resting in the warm, dry shade. - -Here and there upon the grassy incline that stretched between the -camp and the Yellow Hole, we settled down each according to his -taste; Dan with his back against a tree trunk and far-reaching legs -spread out before him; the Maluka, Jak [sic], and the Dandy flat -upon their backs, with bent-back folded arms for pillouws, and hats -drawn over eyes to shade them from the too dazzling sunlight; -dogs, relaxed and spread out, as near to their master as permitted, -and the missus "fixed up" in an opened-out, bent-back grassy -tussock, which had thus been formed into a luxurious armchair. -At the foot of the incline lay the Yellow Hole, gleaming and glancing -in the sunshine; all around and about us were the bush creatures, -rustling in the scrub and grasses--flies were conspicuous by their -absence, here and there shafts of sunlight lay across the gray-brown -shade; in the distance the graizmg cattle moved among the timber; -away out in the glonous sunshine, beyond and above the tree-tops, -brown-winged, slender Bromli kites wheeled and circled and hovered -and swooped; and lounging in the sun-flecked shade, well satisfied -with our lot, we looked out into the blue, sunny depths, -each one of us the embodiment of lazy contentment, and agreeing -with Dan that "Sunday wasn't a bad institution for them as had no -objection to doing a loaf now and then. - -That suggesting an appropriate topic of conversation to Dan, -for a little while we spoke of the Sabbath-keeping of our Scottish -forefathers; as we spoke, idly watching the circling, wheeling -Bromli kites, that seemed then as at all times, an essential part -of the sunshine. To the bush-folk of the Never-Never, sunshine -without Bromli kites would be as a summer's day without the sun. -All day and every day they hover throughout it, as they search and -wait and watch for carrion, throwing dim, gliding shadows as they -wheel and circle, or flashing sunshine from brown wings by quick, -sudden swoops, hovering and swooping throughout the sunshine, -or rising to melt into blue depths of the heavens, where other -arching, floating specks teU of myriads there, ready to swoop, -and fall and gather and feast wherever their lowest ranks drop -earthwards with the crows. - -Lazily we watched the floating movement, and as we watched, -conversation became spasmodic--not worth the energy required -to sustain it--until gradually we slipped into one of those sociable -silences of the bushfolk--silences that draw away all active -thought from thc mind, leaving it a sensitive plate ready to absorb -impressions and thoughts as they flit about it, silences where -every one is so in harmony with his comrades and surroundings -that the breaking of them rarely jars--spoken words so often -defining the half-absorbed thoughts. - -Dimly conscious of each other, of the grazing cattle the Bromli -kites, the sweet scents and rustling sounds of the bush, of each -other's thoughts and that the last spoken thought among us had -been Sabbath-keeping, we rested, idly, NOT thinking, until Dan's -voice crept into the silence. - -"Never was much at religion meself," he said, lazily altering his -position, "but Mrs. Bob was the one to make you see things right -off." Lazily and without stirring we gave our awakened attention, -and after a quiet pause the droning Scotch voice went on, too -contented to raise itself above a drone: "Can't exactly remember -how she put it; seemed as though you'd only got to hoe your own row -the best you can, and lend others a hand with theirs, and just let -God see after the rest." - -Quietly, as the droning voice died away, we slipped back into -our silence, lazily dreaming on, with Dan's words lingering in our -minds, until, in a little while, it seemed as though the dancing -tree-tops, the circling Bromli kites, every rustling sound and -movement about us, had taken them up and were shouting them to -the echo. "How much you will be able to teach the poor, dark souls -of the stockmen," a well-meaning Southerner had said, with -self-righteous arrogance; and in the brilliant glory of that bush -Sabbath, one of the "poor, dark souls" had set the air vibrating -with the grandest, noblest principles of Christianity summed up -into one brief sentence resonant with its ringing commands: -Hoe your own row the best you can. Lend others a hand with theirs. -Let God see to the rest. - -Men there are in plenty out-bush, "not much at religion," as they -and the world judge it, who have solved the great problem of "hoeing -their own rows" by the simple process of leaving them to give others -a hand with theirs; men loving their neighbours as themselves, -and with whom God does the rest, as of old. "Be still, and know -that I am God," is still whispered out of the heart of Nature, -and those bushmen, unconsciously obeying, as unconsciously belong -to that great simple-hearted band of worshippers, the Quakers; -men who, in the hoeing of their own rows have ever lived their lives -in the ungrudging giving oI a helping hand to all in need, content -that God will see to the rest. - -Surely the most scrupulous Quaker could find no fault with the -"Divine Meeting" that God was holding that day: the long, restful -preparation of silence; that emptying of all active thought from -the mind; that droning Scotch voice, so perfectly tuned to our mood, -delivenng its message in a language that could pierce to the depths -of a bushman's heart; and then silence again--a silence now vibrating -with thought. As gradually and naturally as it had crept upon us, -that silence slipped away, and we spoke of the multitude of sounds -and creatures about us, until, seeing deeper and deeper into Dan's -message every moment, we learned that each sound and creature was -hoeing its own row as it alone knew how, and, in the hoeing, was -lending all others a hand with theirs, as they toiled in the Mighty Row -of the Universe, each obedient to the great law of the Creator -that all else shall be left to Him, as through them He taught -the world that no man liveth to himself alone. - -"You will find that a woman alone in a camp of men is decidedly -out of place," the Darwin ladies had said; and yet that day, -as at all times, the woman felt strangely and sweetly in place -in the bushmen's camp. "A God-forsaken country," others of the town -have called the Never-Never, because the works of men have not yet -penetrated into it. Let them look from their own dark alleys -and hideous midnights into some or all of the cattle camps out-bush, -or, better still, right into the "poor dark souls'" of the bush-folk -themselves--if their vision iS clear enough--before they judge. - -Long before our midnight had come, the camp was sleeping a deep, -sound sleep--those who were not on watch--a dreamless sleep, -for the bullocks were peaceful and ruminating, the Chinese drovers -having been "excused" from duty lest other beasts should stray -during "some one's" watch. - -Soon after sun-up the head drover formally accepted the mob, -and, still inwardly marvelling at the Maluka's trust, filled in -his cheque, and, blandly smiling, watched while the Maluka made -out receipts and cancelled the agreement. Then, to show that he -dealt little in simple trust, he carried the receipts and agreement -in private and in turn, to Dan, and Jack, and the Dandy, asking -each if all were honestly made out. - -Dan looked at the papers critically ("might have been holding -them upside down for all I knew," he said later), and assured -the drover that all was right. "Which was true" he added also -later, "seeing the boss made 'em out." Dan dealt largely in simple -trust where the boss was concerned. Jack, having heard Dan's report, -took his cue from it and passed the papers as "just the thing "; -but the Dandy read out every word in them in a loud, clear voice, -to his own amusement and the drovers' discomfiture. - -The papers having been thus proved satisfactory, the drovers -started their boys with the bullocks, before giving their attention -to the packing up of their camp baggage, and we turned to our own -affairs. - -As the Dandy's new yard was not furnished yet with a draughting -lane and branding pens, the mixed cattle were to be taken -to the Bitter Springs yard; and by the time Jack had been seen off -with them and our own camp packed up, the drovers had become so -involved in baggage that Dan and the Dandy felt obliged to offer -assistance. FinaUy every one was ready to mount, and then we -and the drovers exchanged polite fareweUs and parted, seller -and buyer each confident that he knew more about the cash for that -cheque than the other. No doubt the day came when those drovers -ceased to marvel at the Maluka's simple trust. - -The drovers rode away to the north-west, and as we set out to -the south-east, Dan turned his back on "them little darlings" -with a sigh of relief. Reckon that money's been earned, anyway," -he said. Then, as Jackeroo was the only available "boy," the others -all being on before with the cattle, we gathered together our -immense team of horses and drove them out of camp. In open order -we jogged along across country, with Jackeroo riding ahead as pilot, -followed by the jangling, straggling team of pack- and loose horses, -while behind the team rode the white folk all abreast, with six or -eight dogs trotting along behind again. For a couple of hours we -jogged along in the tracks of Jack's cattle, without coming up with -them, then, just as we sighted the great rumbling mob, a smaller -mob appeared on our right. - -"Run 'em into the mob," Dan shouted; and at his shout every man -and horse leapt forward--pack-horses and all--and went after them -in pell-mell disorder. - -"Scrub bulls! Keep behind them! "Dan yelled giving directions -as we stampeded at his heels (it is not all advantage for musterers -to ride with the pack-team) then as we and they galloped straight -for Jack's mob every one yelled in warning: "Hi! look out there! -Bulls! Look out," until Dan's revolver rang out above the din. - -Jack turned at the shot and saw the bulls, but too late. Right -through his mob they galloped, splitting it up into fragments, -and in a moment pack-horses, cattle, riders, bulls, were part of -a surging, galloping mass--boys galloping after bulls, and bulls -after boys, and the white folk after anything and everything, -peppering bulls with revolver-shots (stock-whip having no effect), -shouting orders, and striving their utmost to hold the mob; -pack and loose horses galloping and kicking as they freed themselves -from the hubbub; and the missus scurrying here and there on -the outskirts of the melee, dodging behind bushes and scrub -in her anxiety to avoid both bulls and revolver-shots. Ennui forsooth! -Never was a woman farther from death by ennui. - -Finally the horses gathered themselves together in the friendly -shelter of some scrub, and as the woman sought safety among them, -the Maluka's rifle rang out, and a charging bull went down before it. -Then out of the thick of the uproar Sambo came full gallop, -with a bull at his horse's heels, and Dan full gallop behind -the bull, bringing his rifle to his shoulder as he gaUoped, and as -all three galloped madly on Dan fired, and the bull pitching -blindly forward, Sambo wheeled, and he and Dan galloped back to the mob -to meet another charging outlaw and deal with it. - -Then in quick succession from all sides of the mob bulls -darted out with riders at THEIR heels, or riders shot forward -with bulls at their heels, until the mob looked like a great -spoked wheel revolving on its own axis. Bull after bull went -down before the rifles, old Roper, with the Maluka riding him, -standing like a rock under fire; and then, just as the mob was -quieting down, a wild scrub cow with a half-grown calf at her heels -shot out of the mob and headed straight for the pack team, Dan -galloping beside her and cracking thunderclaps out of a stock-whip. -Flash and I scuttled to shelter, and Dan, bending the cow back -to the mob, shouted as he passed by, at full gallop: "Here you are, -missus; thought you might like a drop of milk." - -For another five minutes the mob was "held" to steady them a -bit before starting, and then, just as all seemed in order, one -of the prostrate bulls staggered to its feet--anything but dead; -and as a yell went up "Look out, boss! look out!" Roper sprang -forward in obedience to the spurs, just too late to miss a sudden, -mad lunge from the wounded outlaw, and the next moment the bull -was down with a few more shots in him, and Roper was receiving -a tribute that only he could command. - -With that surging mob of cattle beside them, the Maluka and Dan -had dismounted, and were trying to staunch the flow of blood, -while black boys gathered round, and Jack and the Dandy, satisfied -that the injuries were not " too serious," were leaning over -from their saddles congratulating the old horse on having "got off -so easy." The wound fortunately, was in the thigh, and just -a clean deep punch for, as by a miracle, the bull's horn had -missed all tendons and as the old campaigner was led away for -treatmen he disdained even to limp, and was well within -a fortnight. - -"Passing the time of day with Jack," Dan called the scrimmage; -as we left the field of battle and looking back we found that -already the Bromli kites were closing in and sinking and settling -earthwards towards the crows who were impatiently waiting our -departure--waiting to convert the erst raging scrub bulls -into white, bleaching bones. - -Travelling quicker than the cattle, we were camped and at dinner -at "Abraham's"--another lily-strewn billabong--when the mob came in, -the thirsty brutes travelling with down-drooping heads and lowing -deeply and incessantly. Their direction showing that they would -pass within a few yards of our camp fire, on their way to the water, -as a matter of course I stood up, and Dan, with a chuckle, assured me -that they had "something else more important on than chivying the missus." - -But the recollection of that raging mob was too vividly in mind, -and the cattle beginning to trot at the sight of the water, decided -against them, and the next moment I was three feet from the ground, -among the low-spreading branches of a giant Paper-bark. -Jackeroo was riding ahead, and flashed one swift, sidelong glance -after me but as the mob trotted by he trotted with them as impassive -as a statue. - -But we had by no means done with Jackeroo; for as we sat in camp -that night at the Springs, with the cattle safe in the yard, -shouts of laughter from the "boys'" camp attracted our attention, -and we found Jackeroo the centre-piece of the camp, preparing to -repeat some performance. For a second or so he stood irresolute; -then, clutching wildly at an imaginary something that appeared to -encumber his feet, with a swift, darting run and a scrambling -clamber, he was into the midst of a sapling; then, our silence -attracting attention, the black world collapsed in speechless -convulsions. - -"How the missus climbed a tree, little 'un," the Maluka chuckled; -and the mimicry of action had been so perfect that we knew it could -only be that. Every detail was there: the moment of indecision, -the wild clutch at the habit, the quick, feminine lift of the running -feet, and the indescribably feminine scrambling climb at the finish. - -In that one swift, sidelong glance every movement had been photographed -on Jackeroo's mind, to be reproduced later on for the entertainment -of the camp with that perfect mimicry characteristic of the black folk. - -And it was always so. Just as they had "beck-becked" and bumped -in their saddles with the Chinese drovers, so they imitated every -action that caught their fancy, and almost every human being that -crossed their path--riding with feet outspread after meetmg one -traveller; with toes turned in, in imitation of another; flopping, -or sitting rigidly in their saddles, imitating actions of hand -and turns of the head; anything to amuse themselves, from riding -side-saddle to climbing trees. - -Jackeroo being "funny man" in the tribe, was first favourite -in exhibitions; but we could get no further pantomine that night, -although we heard later from Bett Bett that "How the missus climbed -a tree" had a long run. - -The next day passed branding the cattle, and the following as we -arrived within sight of the homestead, Dan was congratulating -the Maluka on the "missus being without a house," and then he -suddenly interrupted himself "Well, I'm blest! " he said. -"If we didn't forget all about bangtailing that mob for her -mattress." - -We undoubtedly had, but thirty-three nights, or thereabouts, -uith the warm, bare ground for a bed, had made me indifferent -to mattresses, and hearing that Dan became most hopeful of -"getting her properly educated yet. - -Cheon greeted us with his usual enthusiasm, and handed the Maluka -a letter containing a request for a small mob of bullocks within -three weeks. - -"Nothing like keeping the ball rolling,", Dan said, also waxing -enthusiastic, while the South-folk remained convinced that life -out-bush is stagnation. - - - -CHAPTER XIX - - -Dan and the Quiet Stockman went out to the north-west immediately, -to "clean up there" before getting the bullocks together; -but the Maluka, settling down to arrears of bookkeeping, with -the Dandy at his right hand, Cheon once more took the missus -under his wing feeding her up and scorning her gardening efforts - -"The idea of a white woman thinking she could grow water-melons," -he scoffed, when I planted seeds, having decided on a carpet -of luxuriant green to fill up the garden beds until the shrubs grew. -The Maluka advised "waiting," and the seeds coming up within -a few days, Cheon, after expressing surprise, prophesied an early -death or a fruitless life. - -Billy Muck, however, took a practical interest in the water-melons, -and to incite him to water them in our absence, he was made -a shareholder in the venture. As a natural result, the Staff, -the Rejected, and the Shadows mmediately applied for shares-- -pointing out that they too carried water to the plants-- -and the water-melon beds became the property of a Working Liability -Company with the missus as Chairman of Directors. - -The shadows were as numerous as ever, the rejected on the increase, -but the staff was, fortunately, reduced to three for the time being; -or, rather, reduced to two, and increased again to three: -Judy had been called "bush" on business, and the Macs having got out -in good time. - -Bertie's Nellie and Biddie had been obliged to resign and go with -the waggons, under protest, of course, leaving Rosy and Jimmy's -Nellie augmented by one of the most persistent of all the shadows-- -a tiny child lubra, Bett-Bett. - -Most of us still considered Bett-Bett one of the shadows but she -persisted that she was the mainstay of the staff. "Me all day -dust 'im paper, me round 'im up goat" she would say. "Me sit -down all right". - -She certainly excelled in "rounding-up goat," riding the old Billy -like a race-horse; and with Rosy filling the position of housemaid -to perfection, Jimmy's Nellie proving invaluable in her vigorous -treatment of the rejected and the wood-heap gossip filling in odd -times, life so far as it was dependent on black folk--was running -on oiled wheels: the house was clean and orderly, the garden -flourished; and as the melons grew apace, throwing out secondary -leaves in defiance of Cheon's prophecies, Billy Muck grew more -and more enthusiastic, and, usurping the position of Chairman -of the Directors, he inspired the shareholders with so much zeal -that the prophecies were almost fulfilled through a surfeit -of watering. But Cheon's attitude towards the water-melons -did not change, although he had begun to look with favour upon -mail-matter and station books, finding in them a power that -could keep the Maluka at the homestead. - -For two full weeks after our return from the drovers' camp our -life was exactly as Cheon would have it--peaceful and regular, -with an occasional single day "out-bush"; and when the Maluka -in his leisure began to fulfil his long-standing promise -of a defence around my garden, Cheon expressed himself well-pleased -with his reform. - -But even the demands of station books and accumulated mail-matter -can be satisfied in time, and Dan reporting that he was -"getting going with the bullocks," Cheon found his approval had -been premature; for, to his dismay, the Maluka abandoned the -fence, and began preparations for a trip "bush." "Surely the missus -was not going?" he said; and next day we left him at the homestead, -a lonely figure, seated on an overturned bucket, disconsolate -and fearing the worst. - -Cheon often favoured an upside-down bucket for a seat. Nothing -more uncomfortable for a fat man can be imagined, yet Cheon sat -on his rickety perch, for the most part chuckling and happy. -Perhaps, like Mark Tapley, he felt it a "credit being jolly" -under such circumstances. - -By way of contrast, we found Dan and Jack optimistic and happy, -with some good bullocks in hand, a record branding to report -for the fortnight's work, and a drover in camp of such a delightful -turn of mind that he was inclined to look upon every bullock -mustered as "just the thing." He was easily disposed of, -and within a week we were back at the homestead. - -We had left Cheon sad and disconsolate, but he met us, filled -with fury, and holding a sack of something soft in his arms. -"What's 'er matter?" he spluttered, almost choking with rage. -"Me savey grow cabbage "; and he flung the sack at our feet -as we stood in the homestead thoroughfare staring at him in wonder. -"Paper yabber!" he added curtly, passing a letter to the Maluka. - -It was a kindly, courteous letter from our Eastern neighbour, -who had "ventured to send a cabbage, remembering the homestead -garden did not get on too well." (His visits had been in Sam's day). -"How kind!" we said, and not understanding Cheon's wrath, the Maluka -opened the bag, and passed two fine cabbages to him after duly -admiring them. - -They acted on Cheon like a red rag on a bull. Flinging them -from him, he sent them spinning across the stony ground with two -furious kicks, following them up with further furious kicks as we -looked on in speechless amazement. "What's 'er matter?" he growled, -as, abandoning the chase with a final lunge, he stalked indignantly -back to us; and as the unfortunate cabbages turned over and lay still -on their tattered backs, he began to explain his wrath. Was he not -paid to grow cabbages, he asked, and where had he failed that we -should accept cabbages from neighbours? Cabbages for ourselves, -but insults for him! Then, the comical side of his nature coming -to the surface as unexpectedly as his wrath, he was overcome -with laughter, and clung to a verandah post for support, while -still speechless, we looked on in consternation, for laughing was -a serious matter with Cheon - -"My word, me plenty cross fellow," he gasped at intervals and finally -led the way to the vegetable garden, where he cut an enormous cabbage -and carried it to the store to weigh it. The scale turned at twelve -pounds, and, sure of our ground now, we compared its mighty heart -to the stout heart of Cheon--a compliment fully appreciated by his -Chinese mind; then, having disparaged the tattered results -to his satisfaction, we went to the house and wrote a letter of thanks -to our neighbour, giving him so vivid a word-picture of the reception -of his cabbages that he felt inspired to play a practical joke -on Cheon later on. One thing is very certain--everyone enjoyed -those cabbages including even Cheon and the goats. - -Of course we had cabbage for dinner that day, and the day -following, and the next day again, and were just fearing that -cabbage was becoming a confirmed habit when Dan coming in with -reports we all went bush again, and the spell was broken. "A pity -the man from Beyanst wasn't about," Dan said when he heard of -the daily menu. - -It was late in September when Dan came in, and four weeks slipped -away with the concerns of cattle and cattle-buyers and cattle-duffers, -and as we moved hither and thither the water-melons leafed -and blossomed and fruited to Billy's delight, and Cheon's undisguised -amazement and the line party, creeping on, crept first into our -borders and then into camp at the Warlochs, and Happy Dick's visits, -dog-fights, and cribbage became part of the station routine. -Now and then a traveller from "inside" passed out, but as the roads -"inside" were rapidly closing in, none came from the Outside going in, -and because of that there were no extra mails, and towards the end -of October we were wondering how we were "going to get through -the days until the Fizzer was due again," when Dan and Jack came -in unexpectedly for a consultation. - -"Run clean out of flour," Dan announced, with a wink and a mysterious -look towards the black world, as he dismounted at the head -of the homestead thoroughfare then, after inquiring for the "education -of the missus" he added, with further winks and mystery, that it -only needed a nigger hunt to round off her education properly -but it was after supper before he found a fitting opportunity -to explain his winks and mystery. Then, joining us as we lounged -in the open starry space between the billabong and the house, -he chuckled: "Yes, it just needs a nigger hunt to make her education -a credit to us." - -Dan never joined us in the evenings without an invitation, -although he was not above putting himself in the way of one. -Whenever he felt inclined for what he called "a pitch with the boss -and missus" he would saunter past at a little distance, apparently -bound for the billabong, but in reality ready to respond -to the Maluka's "Is that you, Dan?" although just as ready to saunter -on if that invitation was not forthcoming--a happy little -arrangement born of that tact and delicacy of the bush-folk that -never intrudes on another man's privacy. - -Dan being just Dan rarely had need to saunter on; and as he -sewed down on the grass in acceptance of this usual form of -invitation, he wagged his head wisely, declaring" she had got on -so well with her education that it 'ud be a pity not to finish -her off properly." Then dropping his bantering tone, he reported a -scatter-on among the river cattle. - -"I wasn't going to say anything about it before the "boys," he said, -"but it's time some one gave a surprise party down the river"; -and a "scatter-on" meaning "niggers in," Maluka readily agreed -to a surprise patrol of the river country, that being forbidden -ground for blacks' camps. - -"It's no good going unless it's going to be a surprise party," -Dan reiterated; and when the Quiet Stockman was called across -from the Quarters, he was told that "there wasn't going to be -no talking before the boys." - -Further consultations being necessary, Dan feared arousing -suspicion, and to ensure his surprise party, and to guard against -any word of the coming patrol being sent out-bush by the station -"boys," he indulged in a little dust-throwing, and there was much -talking in public about going "out to the north-west for the boss -to have another look round there," and much laying of deep plans -in private. - -Finally, it was decided that the Quiet Stockman and his "boys" -were to patrol the country north from the river while we were to keep -to the south banks and follow the river down to the boundaries -in all its windings, each party appointed to camp at the Red Lily -lagoons second night out, each, of course, on its own side -of the river. It being necessary for Jack to cross the river -beyond the Springs, he left the homestead half a day before us-- -public gossip reporting that he was "going beyond the Waterhouse -horse mustering," and Dan finding dust-throwing highly diverting, -shouted after him that he "might as well bring some fresh relays -to the Yellow Hole in a day or two," and then giving his attention -to the packing of swags and pack-bags, "reckoned things were just -about fixed up for a surprise party." - - - -CHAPTER XX - - -At our appointed time we left the homestead, taking the north-west -track for over a mile to continue the dust-throwing; and for -the whole length of that mile Dan reiterated the "advantages -of surprise parties," and his opinion that "things were just -about properly fixed up for one"; and when we left the track -abruptly and set off across country at right angles to it, Sambo's -quick questioning, suspicious glance made it very evident that he, -for one, had gleaned no inkling of the patrol, which naturally -filled Dan with delight. - - "River to-night, Sambo," he said airily, but after that one swift -glance Sambo rode after us as stolid as ever--Sambo was always -difficult to fathom--while Dan spent the afternoon congratulating -himself on the success of his dust-throwing, proving with many -illustrations that "it's the hardest thing to spring a surprise on -niggers. Something seems to tell 'em you're coming," he explained. -"Some chaps put it down to second-sight or thought-reading." - -When we turned in Dan was still chuckling over his cute handling -of the trip. "Bluffed 'em this time all right," he assured us, -little guessing that the blacks at the "Red Lilies," thirty miles -away, and other little groups of blacks travelling down the river -towards the lagoons were conjecturing on the object of the Maluka's -visit--"something having told them we were coming." - -The "something" however, was neither second-sight nor thought-reading, -but a very simple, tangible "something." Sambo had gone for a -stroll from our camp about sundown, and one of Jack's boys had gone -for a stroll from Jack's camp, and soon afterwards two tell-tale -telegraphic columns of smoke, worked on some blackfellow -dot-dash-system, had risen above the timber, and their messages -had also been duly noted down at the Red Lilies and elsewhere, -and acted upon. The Maluka was on the river, and when the Maluka -was about, it was considered wisdom to be off forbidden ground; -not that the blacks feared the Maluka, but no one cares about vexing -the goose that lays the golden eggs. - -On stations in the Never-Never the blacks are supposed to camp either -in the homesteads, where no man need go hungry, or right outside -the boundaries on waters beyond the cattle, travelling in or out -as desired, on condition that they keep to the main travellers' -tracks--blacks among the cattle having a scattering effect on the herd, -apart from the fact that "niggers in" generally means cattle-killing. - -Of course no man ever hopes to keep his blacks absolutely obedient -to this rule; but the judicious giving of an odd bullock at not too rare -intervals, and always at corroborree times, the more judicious winking -at cattle killing on the boundaries, where cattle scaring is not all -disadvantage, and the even more judicious giving of a hint, when -a hint is necessary, will do much to keep them fairly well in hand, -anyway from openly harrying and defiant killing, which in humanity -is surely all any man should ask. - -The white man has taken the country from the black fellow, -and with it his right to travel where he will for pleasure or food, -and until he is willing to make recompense by granting fair -liberty of travel, and a fair percentage of cattle or their equivalent -in fair payment--openly and fairly giving them, and seeing that -no man is unjustly treated or hungry within his borders-- -cattle killing, and at times even man killing by blacks, -will not be an offence against the white folk. - -A black fellow kills cattle because he is hungry and must be fed -with food, having been trained in a school that for generations -has acknowledged "catch who catch can" among its commandments; -and until the long arm of the law interfered, white men killed -the black fellow because they were hungry with a hunger that -must be fed with gold, having been trained in a school that -for generations has acknowledged "Thou shalt not kill" among -its commandments; and yet men speak of the "superiority" -of the white race, and, speaking, forget to ask who of us -would go hungry if the situation were reversed, but condemn -the black fellow as a vile thief, piously quoting-- -now it suits them--from those same commandments, that men -"must not steal," in the same breath referring to the white man's -crime (when it finds them out) as "getting into trouble over -some shooting aflair with blacks." Truly we British-born -have reason to brag of our "inborn sense of justice." - -The Maluka being more than willing to give his fair percentage, -a judicious hint from him was generally taken quietly and for -the time discreetly obeyed, and it was a foregone conclusion -that our "nigger hunt" would only involve the captured with general -discomfiture; but the Red Lilies being a stronghold of the tribe, -and a favourite hiding-place for "outsiders," emergencies were apt -to occur "down the river," and we rode out of camp with rifles -unslung and revolvers at hand. - -Dan's sleep had in no wise lessened his faith in the efficiency -of dust-throwing, and as we set out he "reckoned" the missus -would "learn a thing or two about surprise parties this trip." -We all did, but the black fellows gave the instruction. - -All morning we rode in single file, following the river through miles -of deep gorges, crossing here and there stretches of grassy country -that ran in valleys between gorge and gorge, passing through deep -Ti Tree forests at times, and now and then clambering over towering -limestone ridges that blocked the way, with, all the while, -the majestic Roper river flowing deep and wide and silent -on our left, between its water-lily fringed margins. It would take -a mighty drought to dry up the waters of tbe Territory--permanent, -we call them, sure of our rivers and our rains. Almost fifty miles -of these deep-flowing waterways fell to our share; thirty-five miles -of the Roper, twelve in the Long Reach, besides great holes scattered -here and there along the beds of creeks that are mighty rivers -in themselves "during the Wet." Too much water, if anything, -was the complaint at the Elsey, for water everywhere meant cattle -everywhere. - -For over two hours we rode, prying into and probing all sorts -of odd nooks and crannies before we found any sign of blacks, -and then, Roper giving the alarm, every one sat to attention. -Roper had many ways of amusing himself when travelling through bush, -but one of his greatest delights was nosing out hidden black fellows. -At the first scent of "nigger" his ears would prick forward, -and if left to himself, he would carry his rider into an unsuspected -nigger camp, or stand peering into the bushes at a discomfited black -fellow, who was busy trying to think of some excuse to explain his -presence and why he had hidden. - -As Roper's ears shot forward and he turned aside towards a clump -of thick-set bushes, Dan chuckled in expectation, but all Roper -found was a newly deserted gundi camp, and fresh tracks travelling -eastwards--tracks left during the night--after our arrival -at the river, of course. - -Dan surveyed the tracks, and his chuckles died out, and, growing -sceptical of the success of his surprise party, he followed them -for a while in silence, Sambo riding behind, outwardly stolid, -but no doubt, inwardly chuckling. - -Other eastward-going tracks a mile or so farther on made Dan -even more sceptical, and further tracks again set him harking -back to his theory of "something always telling 'em somehow," -and, losing interest in nigger-hunts, he became showman of the Roper -river scenery. - -Down into the depths of gorges he led us, through ferny nooks, -and over the sandy stretches at the base of the mighty clefts -through which the river flows; and as we rode, he had us leaning -back in our saddles, in danger of cricking our necks, to look up at -lofty heights above us, until a rocky peninsula running right into -the river, after we had clambered up its sides like squirrels, -he led the way across its spiky surfaced surmmit, and soon we were -leaning forward over our horses' necks in danger of taking somersaults -into space, as we peered over the sides of a precipice at the river -away down beneath us. "Nothing like variety," Dan chuckled; -and a few minutes later again we were leaning well back in our saddles -as the horses picked their way down the far side of the ridge, -old Roper letting himself down in his most approved style; dropping -from ledge to ledge as he went, stepping carefully along their length, -he would pause for a moment on their edges to judge distance, then, -gathering his feet together, he would sway out and drop a foot -or more to the next ledge. Riding Roper was never more thau sitting -in the saddle and leaving al] else to him. Wherever he went there -was safety, both for himself and his rider whether galloping between -trees or beneath over-hanging branches, whether dropping down -ridges with the surefootedness of a mountain pony, or picking his -way across the treacherous "springy country." No one knew better -than he his own limits, and none better understood "springy -country." CareIully he would test suspicious-looking turf with -a cautious fore-paw, and when all roads proved risky, in his own -unmistakable language he would advise his rider to dismount -and walk over, having shown plainly that the dangerous bit was -not equal to the combined weight of korse and man. When Roper -advised, wise men obeyed. - -But gorges and ridges were not all Dan had to show us. Twice in -our thirty-five miles of the Roper--about ten miles apart-- -wide-spreading rocky arches completely span the river a foot -or so beneath its surface, forming natural crossing-places; -for at them the full volume of water takes what Dan called -a "duck-under," leaving only smoothly flowing shallow streams, -a couple of hundred yards wide, running over the rocky bridgeways. -The first "duck-under" occurs in a Ti Tree valley, and, marvelling -at the wonder of the rippling streamlet so many yards wide -and so few in length, with that deep, silent river for its source -and estuary--we loitered in the pleasant forest glen, until Dan, -coming on further proofs of a black fellow's "second-sight" -along the margins of the duck-under, he turned away in disgust, -and as we followed him through the great forest he treated us -to a lengthy discourse on thought-reading. - -The Salt Creek, coming into the Roper with its deep, wide estuary, -interrupted both Dan's lecture and our course, and following -along the creek to find the crossing. we left the river, -and before we saw it again a mob of "brumbies" had lured us into -a "drouth" that even Dan declared was the "dead finish." - -Brumby horses being one of the problems of the run, and the destruction -of brumby stallions imperative, as the nigger-hunt was apparently off, -the brumby mob proved too enticing to be passed by, and for an hour -and more it kept us busy, the Maluka and Dan being equally -"set on getting a stallion or two." - - -As galloping after brumbies when there is no trap to run them into -is about as wise as galloping after a flight of swallows, we -followed at a distance when they galloped, and stalked them -against the wind when they drew up to reconnoitre: beautiful, -clean-limbed, graceful creatures, with long flowing manes and tails -floating about them, galloping freely and swiftly as they drove -the mares before them, or stepping with light, dancing tread -as they drew up and faced about, with the mares now huddled -together behind them. Three times they drew up and faced about -and each time a stallion fell before the rifles, then, becoming -more wary, they led us farther and farther back, evading the rifles -at every halt, until finally they galloped out of sight, and beyond -all chance of pursuit. Then, Dan discovering he had acquired -the "drouth," advised "giving it best" and making for the -Spring Hole in Duck Creek. - -"Could do with a drop of spring water," he said, but Dan's luck -was out this trip, and the Spring Hole proved a slimy bog "alive -with dead cattle," as he himself phrased it. Three dead beasts lay -bogged on its margin, and held as in a vice, up to their necks -in slime and awfulness stood two poor living brutes. They turned -piteous terrified eyes on us as we rode up, and then Dan and the -Maluka firing in mercy, the poor heads drooped and fell and the bog -with a sickening sigh sucked them under. - -As we watched, horribly fascinated, Dan indulged in a soliloquy-- -a habit with him when ordinary conversation seemed out of place. -"'Awful dry Wet we're having,' sez he," he murmured, "'the place -is alive with dead cattle.' 'Fact,' sez he, 'cattle's dying -this year that never died before.'" Then remarking that "this sort -of thing"wasn't "exactly a thirst quencher," he followed up the creek -bank into a forest of cabbage-tree palms--tall, feathery-crested palms -everywhere, taller even that the forest trees; but never a sign -of water. - -It was then two o'clock, and our last drink had been at breakfast-- -soon after sun-up; and for another hour we pegged wearily on, -with that seven hours' drouth done horses, the beating sun -of a Territory October overhead, Brown stretched across the Maluka's -knees on the verge of apoplexy, and Sool'em panting wearily on. -With the breaking of her leg little Tiddle'ums had ended her bush -days, but as she lost in bush craft she gained in excellency -as a fence personifier. - -By three o'clock we struck water in the Punch Bowl--a deep, volcanic -hole, bottomless, the blacks say, but apparently fed beneath -by the river; but long before then Dan's chuckle had died out, -and soliloquies had ceased to amuse him. - -At the first sight of the water we revived, and as Brown -and Sool'em lay down and revelled on its margin, Dan "took a pull -as an introduction," and then, after unpacking the team and getting -the fire going for the billy, he opened out the tucker-bags, having -decided on a "fizz" as a "good quencher." - -"Nothing like a fizz when you've got a drouth on," he said, -mixing soda and cream-of-tartar into a cup of water, and drinking -deeply. As he drank, the "fizz" spattered its foam all over his -face and beard, and after putting down the empty cup with a -satisfied sigh, he joined us as we sat on the pebbly incline, -waiting for the billy to boil, and with the tucker-bags dumped down -around and about us. "Real refreshing that!" he said, drawing a red -handkerchief from his belt and mopping his spattered face and beard, -adding, as he passed the damp handkerchief over his ears -and neck with chuckling exaggeration: "Tell you what! A fizz 'ud -be a great thing if you were short of water. You could get a drink -and have a good wash-up with the one cupful." - -With the "fizz," Dan's interest in education revived, and after -dinner he took up the role of showman of the Roper scenery once -more, and had us scrambling over boulders and cliffs along the dry -bed of the creek that runs back from the Punch Bowl, until, having -clambered over its left bank into a shady glen, we found ourselves -beneath the gem of the Roper--a wide-spreading banyan tree, with -its propped-up branches turning and twisting in long winding leafy -passages and balconies, over a feathery grove of young palm trees -that had crept into its generous shade. - -Here and there the passages and balconies graded one to another's -level, all being held together by innumerable stays and props, -sent down from branch to branch, and from branches to the grassy -turf beneath; and one sweeping limb, coming almost to the ground -in a gentle incline before twisting away and up again, made ascent -so simple that the men-folk sent the missus for a "stroll in midair," -sure that no white woman's feet had yet trodden those winding ways. -And as she strolled about the tree--not climbed--hindered only -by her holland riding-skirt, Brown followed, anxiously but cautiously. -Then, the spirit of vandalism taking hold of the Maluka, he cut the -name of the missus deep into the yielding bark. - -There are some wonderful trees on the Elsey, but not one of them -will compare with the majesty and grandeur of that old banyan. -Away from the world it stands beyond those rocky ways -and boulders, with its soft shade sweeping curves, and feathery -undergrowth, making a beautiful world of its own. For years upon -years it has stood there--may be for centuries--sending down -from its branches those props for its old age, bountiful with its -shade, and indifferent whether its path-ways be trodden by white -feet or black. - -After the heat ard "drouth" we could have loitered in that pleasant -shade; but we were due at the Red Lilies "second night out"; -and it being one of the unwritten laws of a "nigger-hunt" to keep -appointments--"the other chaps worrying a bit if you don't -turn up"--soon after four o'clock we were out in the blazing -heat again, following the river now along its higher flood-bank -through grassy plains and open forest land. - -By five o'clock Dan was prophesying that "it 'ud take us all -we knew to do the trick in daylight," but at six o'clock, when we -were still eight miles from the Red Lilies, the Maluka settled -the question by calling for a camp there and then. "The missus had -had enough," the Maluka decided, and Dan became anxious. "It's -that drouth that's done it," he lamented; and although agreeing -with the Maluka that Jack would survive a few hours' anxiety, -regretted we had "no way of letting him know." (We were not -aware of the efficiency of smoke signalling). - -We turned back a short distance for better watering for horses, -settling down for the night at the second "duck-under"--McMinn's -bar--within sound of the rushing of many waters; for here the river -comes back to the surface with a mighty roar and swirling currents. -"Knockup camp," Dan christened it in his pleasant way, and Sambo -became unexpectedly curious. "Missus knock up?" he asked, -and the Maluka nodding, Sambo's question was Iorgotten until -the next mid-day. - -By then we had passed the Red Lily lagoons, and ridden across -the salt-bush plain, and through a deep belt of tall, newly sprung -green grass, that hugged the river there just then, ard having been -greeted by smug, smiling old black fellows, were saluting Jack -across two or three hundred feet of water, as we stood among our -horses. - -" Slewed!" Jack called in answer, through hollowed hands. -"Didn't worry. Heard--the--missus--had--knocked--up," -and Dan leaned against his horse, limp with amazement. - -"Heard the missus had knocked up?" he gaspod. "Well, I'm blowed! -Talk of surprise parties!" and the old black fellous looked on -enjoying the effect. - -"Black fellow plenty savey," they said loftily, and Dan was almost -persuaded to a belief in debbel-debbels, until our return -to the homestead, when Jimmy's Nellie divulged the Court secret; -then Dan ejaculated another "Well, I'm blowed!" with the theory -of second-sight and thought-reading falling about his ears. - -After a consultation across the river in long-drawn-out syllables, -Jack decided on a horse muster for the return trip--genuine this -time--and went on his way, aiter appointing to meet us at Knock-up -camp next evening. But our horses refusing to leave the deep green -feed, we settled down just where we were, beside the river, and formed -a curious camping-ground for ourselves, a small space hacked out -and trampled down, out of the dense rank grass that towered above -and around us. - -But this was to be a record trip for discomfort. Dan, on opening -out the tucker-bags, announced ruefully that our supply of meat -had "turned on us"; and as our jam-tin had "blown," we feared -we were reduced to damper only, until the Maluka unearthed a bottle -of anchovy paste, falsely labelled "Chicken and Ham." "Lot's wife," -Dan called it, after "tackling some as a relish." - -Birds were everywhere about the lagoons--ducks, shags, great geese, -and pigmy geese, hovering and settling about them in screaming -clouds; and after dinner, deciding we might as well have -a bit of game for supper," we walked across the open salt-bush -plain to the Big Red Lily. But revolvers are hardly the thing for -duck shooting, and the soft-nosed bullets of the Maluka's rifle -reducing an unfortunate duck to a tangled mass of blood and feathers -we were obliged to accept, willy-nilly, the prospect of damper -and "Lot's wife" for supper. But our hopes died hard, and -we sneaked about the gorgeous lagoons, revolvers in hand, for -a good hour, "larning a thing or two about the lagoons" from Dan -as we sneaked. - -The Red Lily lagoons lie away from the Roper, on either side of it, -wide-spreading and shallow--great sheets of water with tall -reeds and rushes about them, and glorious in fiowering time -with their Immense cup-shaped crimson blossoms clustering on long -stalks above great floating leaves--leaves nearly approaching three -feet in diameter I think; and everywhere about the leaves hover -birds and along the margins of the lagoons stalk countless waders, -cranes, jabiroos, and oftentimes douce native companions. - -Being so shallow and wide-spreading, the lagoons would dry up -early in the "dry" were it not that the blacks are able to refill -them at will from the river; for here the Roper indulges in a third -"duck-under," so curious that with a few logs and sheets of bark -the blacks can block the way of its waters and overflow them into -the lagoons thereby ensuring a plentiful larder to hosts of wild -fowl and, incidentally, to themselves. - -As the mystery of this "duck-under " lies under water, it can only -be described from hearsay. Here, so the blacks say, a solid wall -of rock runs out into the river, incomplete, though, and complicated, -rising and terminating before mid-stream into a large island, which, -dividing the stream unequally, sends the main body of water swirling -away along its northern borders, while the lesser current glides -quietly around the southern side, slipping partly over the submerged -wall, and partly through a great side-long cleft on its face-- -gliding so quietly that the cleft can be easily blocked and the wall -heightened when the waters are needed for the lagoons. Black-fellow -gossip also reports that the island can be reached by a series -of subterranean caves that open into daylight away at the Cave Creek, -miles away. - -Getting nothing better than one miserable shag by our revolvers, -we faced damper and "Lot's wife" about sundown, returning to camp -through a dense Leichardt pine forest, where we found myriads -of bat-like creatures, inches long, perhaps a foot, hanging -head downwards from almost every branch of every tree. "Flying -foxes," Dan called them, and Sambo helped himself to a few, -finding "Lot's wife" unsatisfying; but the white folk -"drew the line at varmints." - -"Had bandicoot once for me Christmas dinner," Dan informed us, -making extra tea "on account of 'Lot's wife'" taking a bit of -washing down." Then, supper over, the problem of watering -the horses had to be solved. The margins of the lagoons were too -boggy for safety, and as the horses, fearing alligators apparently, -refused the river, we had a great business persuading them to drink -out of the camp mixing dish. - -The sun was down before we began; and long before we were through -with the tussle, peculiar shrilling cries caught our attention, -and, turning to face down stream, we saw a dense cloud approaching-- -skimming along and above the river: a shrilling, moving cloud, -keeping all the while to the river, but reaching right across it, -and away beyond the tree tops. - -Swiftly it came to us and sped on, never ceasing its peculiar -cry; and as it swept on, and we found it was made up of innumerable -flying creatures, we remembered Dan's " flying foxes." -In unbroken continuity the cloud swept out of the pine forest, -along the river, and past us, resembling an elongated kaleidoscope, -all dark colours in appearance; for as they swept by the shimmering -creatures constantly changed places--gliding downwards as they flew, -before dipping for a drink to rise again with swift, glancing -movement, shrilling that peculiar cry all the while. Like clouds -of drifting fog they swept by, and in such myriads that, even -after the Maluka began to time them, full fifteen minutes passed -before they began to straggle out, and twenty before the last few -stragglers were gone. Then, as we turned up stream to look after -them, we found that there the dense cloud was rising and fanning out -over the tree tops. The evening drink accomplished, it was time -to think of food. - -Dan welcomed the spectacle as an "impromptu bit of education. -Learnt something meself, even," he said with lordly superiority. -"Been out-bush forty years and never struck that before "; and later, -as we returned to camp, he declared it "just knocked spots off -De Rougemont." - -But it had taken so long to persuade the horses that a drink -could proceed out of a mixing dish, that it was time to turn in -by then; and Dan proceeded to clear a space for a sleeping ground -with a tomahawk. "Seems no end to education once you start," -he chuckled, hacking at a stubborn tussock. "Reckon no other woman -ever learned to make a bed with a tomahawk." Then Sambo created -a diversion by asking for the loan of a revolver before taking a -message to the blacks' camp. - -"Big mob bad fellow black fellow sit down longa island," he -explained; and Dan, whimsical under all circumstances, "noticed -the surprise party wasn't exactly going ofl without a hitch." -"Couldn't have fixed up better for them if they've got a surprise -party of their own up their sleeves," he added ruefully, looking -round at the dense wall of grass about us; and as he and the Maluka -swung the two nets not six feet apart, we were all of one mind -that "getting murdered was an experience we conld do nicely without." -Then Sambo returning and swinging his net in the narrow space -between the two others, set Dan chuckling again. "Doesn't -mean to make a target of himself," he said; but his chuckle died -out when Sambo, preparing to curl up in the safest place in the camp, -explained his presumption tersely by announcing that "Monkey sit -down longa camp." Monkey was a law unto himself, and a very -unpleasant law, being a reputed murderer several times over, -and when he and his followers were about, white men saw to their -rifles; and as we turned in we also agreed "that this wasn't -exactly the kind of nigger hunt we had set out for." "It makes -a difference when the other chap's doing the hunting, Sool'em, -old girl," Dan added, cautioning her to keep her "weather eye open," -as he saw to his rifle and laid it, muzzle outwards, in his net. -Then, as we settled down for the night with revolvers and rifle -at hand, and Brown at the head of our net, he "hoped" the missus -would not "go getting nightmare, and make things unpleasant -by shooting round promiscuous like," and having by this tucked -himself in to his satisfaction, he lay down, "reckoning this ought -to just about finish off her education, if she doesn't get finished -off herself by niggers before morning.'' - -A cheerful nightcap; but such was our faith in Sool'em and Brown -as danger signals, that the camp was asleep in a few minutes. -Perhaps also because nigger alarms were by no means the exception: -the bush-folk would get little sleep if they lay awake whenever -they were camped near doubtful company. We sleep wherever we are, -for it is easy to grow accustomed even to nigger alarms, and beside, -the bush-folk know that when a man has clean hands and heart he has -little to fear from even his "bad fellow black fellows." But the Red -Lilies were beyond our boundaries, and Monkey was a notorious -exception, and shrill cries approaching the camp at dawu -brought us all to our elbows, to find only the flying foxes -returning to the pine forest, fanning inwards this time. - -After giving the horses another drink, and breakfasting on damper -and " Lot's wife," we moved on again, past the glory of the lagoons, -to further brumby encounters, carrying a water-bag on a pack-horse -by way of precaution against further "drouths." But such was -the influence of "Lot's wife" that long before mid-day the bag -was empty, and Dan was recommending bloater-paste as a "grand thing -for breakfast during the Wet seeing it keeps you dry all day long." - -Further damper and "Lot's wife" for dinner, and an afternoon -of thirst, set us all dreading supper, and about sundown three -very thirsty, forlorn white folk were standing by the duck-under -below "Knock-up camp," waiting for the Quiet Stockman, and hoping -against hope that his meat had not "turned on him"; and when he -and his "boys" came jangling down the opposite bank, and splashing -and plunging over the "duckunder" below, driving a great mob -of horses before them we assailed him with questions. - -But although Jack's meat was "chucked out days ago" he was merciful -to us and shouted out: "Will a dozen boiled duck do instead? -Got fourteen at one shot this morning, and boiled 'em right -off," he explained as we seized upon his tucker-bags. "Kept -a dozen of 'em in case of accidents." Besides a shot-gun, Jack had -much sense. - -A dozen cold boiled duck "did" very nicely after four meals -of damper and bloater-paste; and a goodly show they made set out -in our mixing dish. - -Dan, gloating over them, offered to "do the carving." "I'm real -good at the poultry carving trick, when there's a bird apiece," -he chuckled, spearing bird after bird with a two-pronged fork, -and passing round one apiece as we sat expectantly around the mixing -dish, all among the tucker-bags and camp baggage. And so excellent -a sauce is hunger that we received and enjoyed our "bird apiece" -unabashed and unblushingly--the men-folk returning for further -helpings, and the "boys" managing all that were left. - -All agreed that "you couldn't beat cold boiled duck by much"; -but in the morning grilled fish was accepted as "just the thing -for breakfast"; then finding ourselves face to face with Lot's wife, -and not too much of that, we beat a hasty retreat to the homestead; -a further opportune "catch" of duck giving us heart for further -brumby encounters and another night's camp out-bush. Then the -following morning as we rode towards the homestead Dan "reckoned" -that from an educational point of view the trip had been a pronounced -success. - - - -CHAPTER XXI - - -Just before mid-day--five days after we had left the homestead-- -we rode through the Southern slip rails to find the Dandy at work -"cleaning out a soakage" on the brink of the billabong, with Cheon -enthusiastically encouraging him. The billabong, we heard, -had threatened to "peter out" in our absence, and riding across -the now dusty wind-swept enclosure we realised that November was -with us, and that the "dry" was preparing for its final fling-- -"just showing what it could do when it tried." - - -With the South-east Trades to back it up it was fighting desperately -against the steadily advancing North-west monsoon, drying up, -as it fought, every drop of moisture left from last Wet. -There was not a blade of green grass within sight of the homestead, -and everywhere dust whirled, and eddied, and danced, hurled all -ways at once in the fight, or gathered itself into towering -centrifugal columns, to speed hither and thither, obedient to the -will of the elements. - -Half the heavens seemed part of the Dry, and half part of the Wet: -dusty blue to the south-east, and dark banks of clouds -to the north-west, with a fierce beating sun at the zenith. -Already the air was oppressive with electric disturbances, -and Dan, fearing he would not get finished unless things were kept -humming, went out-bush next morning, and the homestead became -once more the hub of our universe--the south-east being branded -from that centre. Every few days a mob was brought in, and branded, -and disbanded, hours were spent on the stockyard fence; pack-teams -were packed, unpacked, and repacked; and every day grew hotter -and hotter, and every night more and more electric, -and as the days went by we waited for the Fizzer, hungry -for mail-matter, with a six weeks' hunger. - -When the Fizzer came in he came with his usual lusty shouting, -but varied his greeting into a triumphant: "Broken the record -this time, missus. Two bags as big as a house and a few et-cet-eras!" -And presently he staggered towards us bent with the weight -of a mighty mail. But a Fizzer without news would not have been -our Fizzer, and as he staggered along we learned that Mac was -coming out to clear the run of brumbies. "Be along in no time now," -the Fizzer shouted. "Fallen clean out with bullock-punching. -Wouldn't put his worst enemy to it. Going to tackle something -that'll take a bit of jumping round." Then the mail-bags -and et-cet-eras came down in successive thuds, and no one was -better pleased with its detail than our Fizzer: fifty letters, -sixty-nine papers, dozens of books and magazines, and parcels -of garden cuttings. - -"Last you for the rest of the year by the look of it," the Fizzer -declared later, finding us at the house walled in with a litter -of mail-matter. Then he explained his interruption. "I'm going -straight on at once," he said "for me horses are none too good -as it is, and the lads say there's a bit of good grass -at the nine-mile ", and, going out, we watched him set off. - -"So long!" he shouted, as cheerily as ever, as he gathered his team -together. "Half-past eleven four weeks.'' - -But already the Fizzer's shoulders were setting square, for the last -trip of the "dry" was before him--the trip that perished the last -mailman--and his horses were none too good. - -"Good luck!" we called after him. "Early showers!" and there was -a note in our voices brought there by the thought of that gaunt figure -at the well--rattling its dicebox as it waited for one more round -with our Fizzer: a note that brought a bright look into the Fizzer's -face, as with an answering shout of farewell he rode on into the forest. -And watching the sturdy figure, and knowing the luck of our Fizzer-- -that luck that had given him his fearless judgment and steadfast, -courageous spirit--we felt his cheery "Half-past eleven four weeks" -must be prophetic, in spite of those long dry stages, -with their beating heat and parching dust eddies--stages eked out -now at each end with other stages of "bad going." - -"Half-past eleven four weeks," the Fiz.er had said; and as we -returned to our mail-matter, knowing what it meant to our Fizzer, -we looked anxiously to the northwest, and "hoped the showers" -would come before the "return trip of the Downs." - -In addition to the fifty letters for the house, the Fizzer had left -two others at the homestead to be called for--one being addressed -to Victoria Downs (over two hundred miles to our west), and the -other to-- - -F. BROWN, Esq., - IN CHARGE OF STUD BULLS GOING WEST - VIA NORTHERN TERRITORY. - -The uninitiated may think that the first was sent out by mistake -and that the second was too vaguely addressed; but both ietters -went into the rack to await delivery, for our faith in the wisdom -of our Postal Department was great; it makes no mistakes, and to it-- -in a land where everybody knows everybody else, and all his business, -and where it has taken him--an address could never be too vague. -The bush-folk love to say that when it opened out its swag -in the Territory it found red tape had been forgotten, but having -a surplus supply of common sense on hand, it decided to use that -in its place. - -And so it would seem. "Down South" envelopes are laboriously -addressed with the names of stations and vias here and vias there; -and throughout the Territory men move hither and thither by compulsion -or free-will giving never a thought to an address; while the Department, -knowing the ways of its people, delivers its letters in spite of, -not because of, these addresses. It reads only the name of the man -that heads the address of his letters and sends the letters to where -that man happens to be. Provided it has been clearly stated which -Jones is meant the Department will see to the rest, although it is wise -to add Northern Territory for the guidance of Post Offices "Down South." -"Jones travelling with cattle for Wave Will," reads the Department; -and that gossiping friendly wire reporting Jones as "just leaving -the Powell," the letter lies in the Fizzer's loose-bag until he runs -into Jones's mob; or a mail coming in for Jones, Victoria River, -when this Jones is on the point of sailing for a trip south, -his mail is delivered on shipboard; and as the Department goes on -with its work, letters for east go west, and for west go south-- -in mail-bags, loose-bags, travellers' pockets or per black boy-- -each one direct to the bush-folk as a migrating bird to its destination. - -But, painstaking as our Department is with our mailmatter, it excels -itself in its handling of telegrams. Southern red tape has decreed-- -no doubt wisely as far as it goes--that telegrams shall travel -by official persons only; but out-bush official persons are few, -and apt to be on duty elsewhere when important telegrams arrive; -and it is then that our Department draws largely on that surplus -supply of common sense. - -Always deferential to the South, it obediently pigeon-holes -the telegram, to await some official person, then, knowing that -a delay of weeks will probably convert it into so much waste -paper, it writes a "duplicate," and goes outside to send it -"bush" by the first traveller it can find. If no traveller is -at hand, the "Line" is "called up" and asked if any one is going -in the desired direction from elsewhere; if so, the "duplicate" -is repeated down the line," but if not, a traveller is created -in the person of a black boy by means of a bribing stick -of tobacco. No extra charge, of course. Nothing IS an extra -in the Territory. "Nothing to do with the Department," -says the chief; "merely the personal courtesy of our officers." -May it be many a long day before the forgotten shipment of red tape -finds its way to the Territory to strangle the courtesy of our officers! - -Nothing finds itself outside this courtesy. The Fizzer brings -in great piles of mail-matter, unweighed and unstamped, with many -of the envelopes bursting or, at times, in place of an envelope, -a request for one; and "our officers," getting to work with their -"courtesy," soon put all in order, not disdaining even the licking -of stamps or the patching or renewing of envelopes. Letters -and packets are weighed, stamped, and repaired--often readdressed -where addresses for South are blurred; stamps are supplied for -outgoing mail-matter and telegrams; postage-dues and duties paid -on all incoming letters and parcels--in fact, nothing is left -for us to do but to pay expenses incurred when the account -is rendered at the end of each six months. No doubt our Department -would also read and write our letters for us if we wished it, -as it does, at times, for the untutored. - -Wherever it can, it helps the bush-folk, and they, in turn, doing -what they can to help it in self-imposed task, are ever ready to -"find room somewhere" in pack-bags or swags for mail-matter in -need of transport assistance--the general opinion being that "a man -that refuses to carry a man's mail to him 'ud be mean enough to -steal bread out of a bird-cage." - -In all the knowledge of the bush-folk, only one man had proved -"mean enough." A man who shall be known as the Outsider, for he -was one of a type who could never be one of the bush-folk, even -though he lived out-bush for generations: a man so walled in with -self and selfishness that, look where he would, he could see -nothing grander or better than his own miserable self, and knowing -all a mail means to a bushman, he could refuse to carry a neighbour's -mail--even though his road lay through that neighbour's run-- -because he had had a difference with him. - -"Stealing bread from a caged bird wasn't in it!" the homestead -agreed, with unspeakable scorn; but the man was so reconciled -to himself that the scorn passed over him unnoticed. He even missed -the contempt in the Maluka's cutting "Perfectly!" when he hoped -we understood him. (The Outsider, by the way, spoke of the -Never-Never as a land where you can Never-Never gel a bally thing -you want! the Outsider's wants being of the flesh pots of Egypt). -It goes without saying that the Maluka sent that neighbour's mail -to him without delay, even though it meant a four-days' journey -for a "boy" and station horses, for the bush-folk do what they can -to help each other and the Department in the matter of mails, -as in all else. - -Fortunately, the Outsider always remained the only exception, -and within a day or two of the Fizzer's visit a traveller passed -through going east who happened to know that the "chap from -Victoria Downs was just about due at Hodgson going back west," -and one letter went forward in his pocket en route to its owner. -But before the other could be claimed Cheon had opened the last -eighty-pound chest of tea, and the homestead fearing the supply -might not be equal to the demands of the Wet, the Dandy was -dispatched in all haste for an extra loading of stores. And all -through his absence, as before it, and before the Fizzer's visit, -Dan and the elements "kept things humming." - -Daily the soakage yielded less and less water, and daily Billy -Muck and Cheon scrimmaged over its yield; for Billy's melons -were promising to pay a liberal dividend, and Cheon's garden was -crying aloud for water. Every day was fiUed with flies, and dust, -and prickly heat, and daily and hourly our hands waved unceasingly, -as they beat back the multitude of flies that daily and hourly -assailed us--the flies and dust treated all alike, but the prickly -heat was more chivalrous, and refrained from annoying a woman. -"Her usual luck!" the men-folk said, utilising verandah-posts -or tree-trunks for scratching posts when not otherwise engaged. -Daily "things" and the elements hummed, and as they hummed -Dan and Jack came and went like Will-o'-the-Wisps--sometimes -from the south-east and sometimes from the north-east; -and as they came and went, the Maluka kept his hand on the helm; -Happy Dick filled in odd times as he alone knew how; a belated -traveller or two passing out came in, and went on, or remained; -Brown of the Bulls sent on a drover ahead of the mob to spy out -the land, and the second letter left the rack, while all who -came in, or went on, or remained, during their stay at the homestead, -stood about the posts and uprights waving off flies, and rubbing -and wriggling against the posts like so many Uriah Heeps, as they -laid plans, gossiped, gave in reports, or "swopped yarns." -The Territory is hardly an earthly paradise just before the -showers. Still, Cheon did all he could to make things pleasanter, -regaling all daily on hop-beer, and all who came in were sure -of a welcome from him--Dan invariably inspiring him with that ever -fresh little joke of his when announcing afternoon tea to the -quarters. "Cognac!" he would call, and also invariably, Dan made -a great show of expectant haste, and a corresponding show -of disappointment, when the teapot only was forthcoming. - -But Cheon's little joke and the afternoon tea were only interludes -in the heat and thirst and dust. Daily things hummed faster -and faster, and the South-east Trades skirmished and fought -with the North-west monsoon, until the Willy-Willys, towering higher -and higher sped across the plain incessantly, and whirled, -and spun and danced like storm witches, in, and out and about -the homestead enclosure, leaving its acres ail dust, and only dust, -with the house, lightly festooned in creepers now, and set -in its deep-green luxuriant garden of melons, as a pleasant oasis -in a desert of glare and dust. - -Daily and hourly men waved and perspired and rubbed against -scratching posts, and daily and hourly the Willy-Willys whirled -and spun and danced, and daily and hourly as they threatened -to dance, and spin, and whirl through the house, the homestead sped -across the enclosure to slam doors and windows in their faces, -thus saving our belongings from their whirling, dusty ravages; -and when nimbler feet were absent it was no uncommon sight to see -Cheon, perspiring and dishevelled, speeding towards the house like -a huge humming-top, with speeding Willy-Willys speeding after -him, each bent on reaching the goal before the other. Oftentimes -Cheon outraced the Willy-Willys, and a very chuckling, -triumphant Cheon slammed-to doors and windows, but at other -times, the Willy-Willys outraced Cheon, and, having soundly -buffeted him with dust and debris, sped on triumphant in their -turn, and then a very wrathful, spluttering, dusty Cheon sped -after them. Also after a buffeting Cheon w as generally persuaded -an evil spirit dwelt within certain Willy-Willys. - -But there is even a limit to keeping things humming during -a Territory November; and things coming to a climax in a succession -of dry thunderstorms, two cows died in the yards from exhaustion, -and Dan was obliged to "chuck it." - -"Not too bad, though," he said, reviewing the years work, -after fixing up a sleeping camp for the Wet. - -The camp consisted of a tent-fly, extended verandah-like behind -the Quarters, open on three sides to the air and furnished -completely with a movable four-legged wooden bunk: and surveying -it with satisfaction, as the Willy-WiUys danced about it, -Dan reckoned it looked pretty comfortable. "No fear of catching -cold, anyway," he said, and meant it, having got down to the root -of hygiene; for among Dan's pet theories was the theory that -"houses are fine things to catch cold in," backing up the theory -by adding: "Never slept in one yet without getting a cold." - -The camp fixed up, Dan found himself among the unemployed, -and, finding the Maluka had returned to station books and the building -of that garden fence, and that Jack had begun anew his horse-breaking -with a small mob of colts, he envied them their occupation. - -"Doing nothing's the hardest job I ever struck," he growled, -shifting impatiently from shade to shade, and dratting the flies -and dust; and even sank so low as to envy the missus her house. - -"Gives her something to do cleaning up after Willy-Willys," -he growled further, and in desperation took to outracing -Willy-Willys--"so the missus 'ull have a bit of time for pitching," -and was drawn into the wood-heap gossip, until Jack provided -a little incidental entertainment in the handling of a "kicker." - -But Jack and the missus had found occupation of greater interest -than horse-breaking, gossiping, or spring cleaning--an occupation -that was also affording Dan a certain amount of entertainment, -for Jack was "wrestling with book-learning," which Dan gave us -to understand was a very different thing from "education." - -"Still it takes a bit of time to get the whole mob properly -broken in," he said, giving Jack a preliminary caution. Then, -the first lesson over, he became interested in the methods -of handling the mob. - -"That's the trick, is it? You just put the yearlings through -the yard, and then tackle the two-year-olds." he commented, -finding that after a run through the Alphabet we had settled down -to the first pages of Bett-Bett's discarded Primer. - -Jack, having "roped all the two-year-olds " in that first lesson, -spent all evening handling them, and the Quarters looked on -as he tested their tempers, for although most proved willing, -yet a few were tricky or obstinate. All evening he sat, poring over -the tiny Primer, amid a buzzing swarm of mosquitoes, with the doggedness -all gone from his face, and in its place the light of a fair fight, -and, to no one's surprise, in the morning we heard that -"all the two-year-olds came at his call." - -Another lesson at the midday spell roped most of the three-year-olds, -and another evening brought them under the Quiet Stockman's will, -and then in a few more days the four-year-olds and upwards had been -dealt with, and the Primer was exhausted. - -"Got through with the first draught, anyway," Dan commented, -and, no Second Book being at our service we settled down to Kipling's -"Just-So Stories." Then the billabong "petering out " altogether, -and the soakage threatening to follow suit, its yield was kept -strictly for personal needs, and Dan and the Maluka gave -their attention to the elements. - -"Something's got to happen soon," they declared, as we gasped -in the stifling calm that had now settled down upon the Territory; -for gradually the skirmishings had ceased, and the two great giants -of the Territory element met in the centre of the arena for their -last desperate struggle. Knee to knee they were standing, -marvellously well matched this year, each striving his utmost, -and yet neither giving nor taking an inch; and as they strove -their satellites watched breathlessly. - -Even the Willy-Willys had lain down to watch the silent struggle, -and Dan, finding himself left entirely without occupation, -"feared he would be taking to booklearning soon if something -didn't happen!" "Never knew the showers so late," he growled; -and the homestead was inclined to agree that it was the -"dead-finish"; but remembering that even then our Fizzer was -battling through that last stage of the Dry, we were silent, -and Dan remembering also, devoted himself to the "missus," -she being also a person of leisure now the Willy-Willys were at rest. - -For hours we pitched near the restful green of the melon-beds, -and as we pitched the Maluka ran fencing wires through two sides -of the garden fence, while Tiddle'ums and Bett-Bett, hovering -about him, adapted themselves to the new order of things, finding -the line the goats had to stop at no longer imaginary. And as the -fence grew, Dan lent a hand here and there, the rejected and the -staff indulged in glorious washing-days among the lilies of the -Reach; Cheon haunted the vegetable patch like a disconsolate -ghost; while Billy Muck, the rainmaker, hovered bat-like over his -melons, lending a hand also with the fence when called upon. -As Cheon mourned, his garden also mourned, but when the melons -began to mourn, at the Maluka's suggestion, Billy visited the -Reach with two buckets, and his usual following of dogs, -and after a two-mile walk gave the melons a drink. - -Next day Billy Muck pressed old Jimmy into the service and, -the Reach being visited twice, the melons received eight buckets -of water Then Cheon tried every wile he knew to secure four -buckets for his garden. "Only four," he pleaded, lavish in his -bribes. But Billy and Jimmy had "knocked up longa a carry -water," and Cheon watched them settle down to smoke, on the verge -of tears. Then a traveller coming in with the news that heavy -ram had fallen in Darwin--news gleaned from the gossiping -wire--Cheon was filled with jealous fury at the good fortune -of Darwin, and taunted Billy with rain-making taunts. "If he were -a rain-maker," he taunted, "he would make a little when he wanted -it, instead of walking miles with buckets," and the taunts rankling -in Billy's royal soul, he retired to the camp to see about it. - -"Hope he does the trick," the traveller said, busy unpacking his -team. "Could do with a good bath fairly soon." But Dan cautioned -him to "have a care," settling down in the shade to watch -proceedings. "These early showers'are a bit tricky," he explained, -"can't tell how long they'll last. Heard of a chap once who reckoned -it was good enough for a bath, but by the time he'd got himself -nicely soaped the shower was travelling on ten miles a minute, -and there wasn't another drop of rain for a fortnight, which wasn't -too pleasant for the prickly heat." - -The homestead rubbed its back in sympathy against the nearest upright, -and Dan added that "of course the soap kept the mosquitoes dodged -a bit," which was something to be thankful for. "There generally is -something to be thankful for, if you only reckon it out," he assured -all. But the traveller, reduced to a sweltering prickliness -by his exertions, wasn't "noticing much at present," as he rubbed -his back in his misery against the saddle of the horse he was -unpacking. Then his horse, shifting its position, trod on his foot; -and as he hopped round, nursing his stinging toes, Dan found -an illustration for his argument. "Some chaps," he said, -"'ud be thankful to have toes to be trod on"; and ducking to avoid -a coming missile. he added cheerfully, "But there's even an advantage -about having wooden legs at times. Heard once of a chap that -reckoned 'em just the thing. Trod on a death-adder unexpected-like -in his camp, and when the death-adder whizzed round to strike it, -just struck wood, and the chap enjoyed his supper as usual that -night. That chap had a wooden leg," he added, unnecessarily -explicit; and then his argument being nicely rounded off, -he lent a hand with the pack-bags. - -The traveller filled in Dan's evening, and Neaves' mate coming -through next day, gave the Quarters a fresh start and then just -before that sundown we felt the first breath of victory from the -monsoon--just a few cool, gusty pufls of wind, that was all, -and we ran out to enjoy them, only to scurry back into shelter, -for our first shower was with us. In pelting fury it rushed -upon us out of the northwest, and rushing upon us, swept over us -and away from us into the south-east, leaping from horizon -to horizon in the triumph of victory. - -As a matter of course, it left a sweltering awfulness behind it, -but it was a promise of better things; and even as Dan was -inquiring with a chuckle "whether that chap in the Quarters -had got a bath out of it," a second pelting fury rushed over us, -filling Cheon's heart with joy, and Billy with importance. -Unfortunately it did not fill the water-butts with water, -but already the garden was holding up its head, and Billy -was claiming that he had scored a win. - -"Well?" he said, waylaying Cheon in the garden, "Well, me -rainmaker? Eh?" and Cheon's superstitious heart bowed down -before such evidence. - -A ten-minutes' deluge half an hour later licked up every grain -of dust, filled the water-butts to overflowing, brought the insect -pest to life as by magic, left a shallow pool in the heart of the -billabong, and added considerably to Billy's importance. Had not -Brown of the Bulls come in during that ten-minutes' deluge, Cheon -would probably have fallen to offering sacrifices to Billy. As it -was, he could only load him with plum-cake, before turning his -attention to the welcoming of Brown of the Bulls. - -"What was the boss drover's fancy in the way of cooking?" -he inquired of the missus, bent on his usual form of welcome, -and the boss drover, a great burly Queenslander, with a voice -as burly as his frame, answered for himself with a laughing -"Vegetables! and as many as you think I've room for." Then, -as Cheon gravely measured his inches with his eye, a burly chuckle -shook the boss drover's great frame as he repeated: "Just as many -as you think I can hold," adding in half apology: "been away -from women and vegetables for fifteen months." - -"That's nothing," we told him, quoting the man from Beyanst, -but hopeful to find the woman placed first. Then acting on a hint -from Cheon, we took him to the banana clump. - -During the evening another five-minutes' deluge gladdened our hearts, -as the "lavender" bugs and other sweet pests of the Territory insect -pest saddened our bodies. - -Soon after breakfast-time Happy Dick was across "To see how you've -fared," he said, and then, to the diversion of Brown of the Bulls, -Cheon and Happy Dick rejoiced together over the brimming water-butts, -and mourned because the billabong had not done better, regretting -the while that the showers were so "patchy." - -Then while Happy Dick was assuring us that "both Warlochs -were bankers," the Sanguine Scot rode in through the slip-rails -at the North track, waving his hat in greeting and with Bertie -and Bertie's Nellie tailing along behind him. - -"Back again!" Mac called, light-hearted as a schoolboy just escaped -from drudgery, while Bertie's Nellie, as a matter of course, was -overcome with ecstatic giggles. - -With Mac and the showers with us, we felt there was little left -to wish for, and told Brown of the Bulls that he might now -prepare to enjoy himself, and with a chuckle of anticipation Brown -"hoped" the entertainment would prove "up to samples already -met with," as he could "do with a little enjoyment for a change." - - - -CHAPTER XXII - - -As a matter of course, Bertie's Nellie quietly gathered the reins -of management into her own hands, and as a matter of course, -Jimmy's Nellie indulged in ear-splitting continuous protest, -and Brown of the, Bulls expressed himself as satisfied, so far, -with the entertaining powers of the homestead. - -As a matter of course, we left the servant problem to work out -its own solution, and, also as a matter of course, the Sanguine Scot -was full of plans for the future but particularly bubbling over -with the news that he had secured Tam-o'-Shanter for a partner -in the brumby venture. - -"He'll be along in a few days," he explained, confident -that he was "in luck this time all right," and remembering -Tam among the horses at the Katherine, we congratulated him. - -As a matter of course, our conversation was all of brumbies, -and Mac was also convinced that "when you reckoned everything -up there was a good thing in it." - -"Of course it'll take a bit of jumping round," he agreed. -But the Wet was to be devoted to the building of a strong -holding-yard, a "trap," and a "wing," so as to be able to get -going directly the Wet lifted; and knowing the run well, -and the extent of the brumby mobs on it, Mac then and there set -to work to calculate the "sized mob" that could be "got together -after the Wet," listening with interest to the account of our -brumby encounters out east. - -But long before we had done with brumbies Cheon was announcing -dinner in his own peculiar way. - -"Din-ner! Mis-sus! Boss! All about!" he chanted, standing -in the open doorway nearest to us; and as we responded to his call, -he held the door of the dining-net and glided into the details -of his menu: "Veg-e-table Soooup!" he sang:" Ro-oast Bee-ef! -Pee-es! Bee-ens! Too-mar-toos! Mar-row!" and listening, we felt -Brown of the Bulls was being right royally welcomed with as many -vegetables as were good for him. But the sweets shrank into -a simple "bakee custard!" - -"This is what you might call style!" Mac and Brown of the Bulls -declared, as Cheon waved them to seats with the air of an Emperor, -and for two courses the dinner went forward according to its menu, -but at the third course tinned peaches had usurped the place -of the "bakee custard." - -Every one looked surpnsed, but, being of the bush-folk, accepted -peaches and cream without comment, until Cheon, seeing the surprise, -and feeling an explanation was due--anyway to the missus--bent over -her and whispered in a hoarse aside. "Pussy cat been tuck-out custard." - -For a moment the bushmen bent over their plates, intent on peaches -and cream; but there is a limit to even a bushman's dignity, -and with a choking gulp Mac exploded, and Brown of the Bulls joining -in with a roar dragged down the Maluka's self-control; and as Cheon -reiterated: "What name all about laugh, missus," chuckled in sympathy -himself. Brown of the Bulls pulled himself together for a moment, -once more to assure us that he was "Satisfied so far." - -But the day's entertainment was only just beginning for after comparing -weights and heights, Mac, Jack, Dan and Brown of the Bulls, entered -into a trial of strength,. and a heavy rail having been brought down -from the stackyard, the "caber" was tossed before an enthusiastic -company. The homestead thoroughfare was the arena and around it -stood or sat the onlookers: the Quarters travellers, Happy Dick, -some of the Line Party, the Maluka, the missus, and others, -and as the caber pitched and tossed, Cheon came and went, cheering -every throw lustily with charming impartiality, beating up a frothy -cake mixture the while, until, finally, the cakes being in the oven, -he was drawn, with others, into the competition. - -A very jaunty, confident Cheon entered the lists, but a very surprised, -chagrined Cheon retired in high dudgeon. "What's 'er matter!" -he said indignantly. "Him too muchee heavy fellow. S'pose him -little fellow me chuck him all right," explaining a comical failure -with even more comical explanations. Soon after the retirement -of our crestfallen Cheon, hot cakes were served by a Cheon -all rotundity and chuckles once more, but immediately afterwards, -a snort of indignation riveted our attention on an exceedingly -bristling, dignified Cheon, who was glaring across the enclosure -at two of our neighbour's black-boys, one of whom was the bearer -of a letter, and the other, of a long yellow vegetable-marrow. - -Right up to the house verandah they came, and the letter was -presented to the Maluka, and the marrow to the missus in the presence -of Cheon's glare and an intense silence; for most of the bush-folk -had heard of the cabbage insult. Cheon had seen to that. - -"Hope you will wish me luck while enjoying my little gift," -said the letter, and mistaking its double meaning, I felt really vexed -with our neighbour, and passing the marrow to Cheon, reflected -a little of his bristling dignity as I said: "This is of no use -to any one here, Cheon; you had better take it away "; and as Cheon -accepted it with a grateful look, those about the verandah, -and those without the garden, waited expectantly. - -But there was to be no unseemly rage this time. In dignified -silence Cheon received the marrow--a sinuous yellow insult, -and as the homestead waited he raised it above his head, and stalking -majestically from us towards the finished part of the fence, flung it -from him in contemptuous scorn, adding a satisfied snort as the marrow, -striking the base of a fence post, burst asunder, and the next moment, -after a flashing swoop, he was grovelling under the wires, making -frantic efforts to reach a baby bottle of whisky that had rolled -from within the marrow away beyond the fence. "Cognac!" he gasped, -as he struggled, and then, as shouts greeted his speedy success, -he sat up, adding comicaHy: "My word! Me close up smash him Cognac." -At the thought came his inevitable laughter, and as he leant against -the fence post, surrounded by the shattered marrow, he sat hopelessly -gurgling, and choking, and shaking, and hugging his bottle, -the very picture of a dissolute old Bacchanalian. (Cheon would -have excelled as a rapid change artist). And as Cheon gurgled, -and spluttered, and shook, the homestead rocked with yells of delight, -while Brown of the Bulls rolled and writhed in a canvas lounge, -gasping between his shouts: "Oh, chase him away, somebody; cover him up. -Where did you catch him?" - -Finally Cheon scrambled to his feet, and, perspiring and exhausted, -presented the bottle to the Maluka. "My word, me cross fellow!" -he said weakly, and then, bubbling over again at the recollection, -he chuckled: "Close up smash him Cognac all right." And at the sound -of the chuckle Brown of the Bulls broke out afresh: - -"Chase him away!" he yelled. "You'll kill me between you! -I never struck such a place! Is it a circus or a Wild West Show?" - -Gravely the Maluka accepted the bottle, and with the same mock -gravity answered Brown of the Bulls. "It is neither, my man," -he said; neither a circus, nor a Wild West Show. This is the land -the poets sing about, the land where dull despair is king." - -Brown of the Bulls naturally wished "some of the poets were -about now," and Dan, having joined the house party, found a fitting -opportunity to air one of his pet grievances - -" I've never done wishing some of them town chaps that write -bush yarns 'ud come along and learn a thing or two," he said. -"Most of 'em seem to think that when we're not on the drink -we're whipping the cat or committing suicide." Rarely had Dan -any excuse to offer for those "town chaps," who, without -troubling to learn "a thing or two," first, depict the bush as -a pandemonium of drunken orgies, painted women, low revenge, -remorse, and suicide; but being in a more magnanimous mood than -usual, as the men-folk flocked towards the Quarters he waited -behind to add, unconscious of any irony: "Of course, seeing it's -what they're used to in town, you can't expect 'em to know any -better." - -Then in the Quarters "Luck to our neighbour" was the toast-- -"luck," and the hope that all his ventures might be as successfully -carried through as his practical joke. After that the Maluka -gravely proposed "Cheon," and Cheon instantly became statuesque -and dignified, to the further diversion of Brown of the Bulls-- -gravely accepting a thimbleful for himself, and, as gravely, -drinking his own health, the Maluka just as gravely "clinking -glasses" with him. And from that day to this when Cheon wishes -to place the Maluka on a fitting pedestal, he ends his long, long -tale with a triumphant: "Boss bin knock glass longa me one time." - -Happy Dick and Peter fil]ed in time for the Quarters until sundown, -when Cheon announced supper there with an inspired call of "Cognac!" -And then, as if to prove that we are not always on the drink, -or "whipping the cat, or committing suicide," that we can love -and live for others besides self, Neaves' mate came down from -the little rise beyond the slip-rails, where he had spent his day -carving a headstone out of a rough slab of wood that now stood -at the head of our sick traveller's grave. - -Not always on the drink, or whipping the cat, or comrmitting -suicide, but too often at the Parting of the Ways, for within -another twelve hours the travellers, Happy Dick, the Line Party, -Neaves' mate, Brown of the Bulls, and Mac, had all gone or were -going their ways, leaving us to go ours--Brown back to hold his -bulls at the Red Lilies until further showers should open up all -roads, and Mac to "pick up Tam." But in the meantime Dan had -become Showman of the Showers. - -"See anything?" he asked, soon after sun-up, waving his hands -towards the northern slip-rails, as we stood at the head of the -thoroughfare speeding our parting guests; and then he drew -attention to the faintest greenish tinge throughout the homestead -enclosure--such a clean-washed-looking enclosure now. - -"That's going to be grass soon," he said, and, the sun coming -out with renewed vigour after another shower, by midday he had -gathered a handful of tiny blades half an inch in length with -a chuckling "What did I tell you?" - -By the next midday, grass, inches tall, was rippling all around -the homestead in the now prevalent northwest breeze, and Dan -was preparing for a trip out-bush to see where the showers had fallen, -and Mac and Tam coming in as he went out, Mac greeted us with -a jocular: "The flats get greener every year about the Elsey." - -"Indeed!" we said, and Mac, overcome with confusion, spluttered -an apology: "Oh, I say! Look here! I didn't mean to hit off -at the missus, you know!" and then catching the twinkle in Tam's -eyes, stopped short, and with a characteristic shrug "reckoned -he was making a fair mess of things." - -Mac would never be other than our impetuous brither Scot, distinct -from all other men, for the bush never robs her children of their -individuality. In some mysterious way she clean-cuts out the -personality of each of them, and keeps it sharply clean-cut; -and just as Mac stood apart from all men, so Tam also stood apart, -the quiet self-reliant man, though, we had seen among the horses, -for that was the real man; and as Mac built castles, and made -calculations, Tam put his shoulder to the drudgery, and before -Mac quite knew what had happened, he was hauling logs and -laying foundations for a brumby trap in the south-east country, -while Bertie's Nellie found herself obliged to divide her attention -between the homestead and the brumby camp. - -As Mac hauled and drudged, the melons paid their first dividend; -half-past eleven four weeks drew near; "Just-So Stories" did all -they could, and Dan coming in found the Quiet Stockman away back -in the days of old, deep in a simply written volume of Scottish -history. - -Dan had great news of the showers, but had to find other audience -than Jack, for he was auay in a world all his own, and, bent over -the little volume, was standing shoulder to shoulder with his Scottish -fathers, fighting with them for his nation. All evening he followed -where they led, enduring and suflering, and mourning with them -and rejoicing over their final victory with a ringing "You can't beat -the Scots," as the little volume, coming to with a bang, roused -the Quarters at midnight. - -"You can't beat the Scots, missus!" he repeated, coming over -in the morning for "more of that sort,"all unconscious how true -he was to type, as he stood there, fiushed with the victories -of his forefathers, a strong, young Scot, with a newly conquered -world of his own at his feet. - -As we hunted for "more of that sort," through a medley of odds -and ends, the Quiet Stockman scanned titles. and dipped here -and there into unknown worlds, and Dan coming by, stared open-eyed. - -"You don't say he's got the whole mob mouthed and reined and schooled -in all the paces?" he gasped; but Jack put aside the word of praise. -"There's writing and spelling yet," he said, and Dan, with his -interest in booklearning reviving, watched the square chin setting -squarer, and was bewildered. "Seems to have struck a mob of brumbies," -he commented. - -But before Jack could "get properly going" with the brumbies, -two travellers rode into the homestead, supporting between them -a third rider, a man picked up ofl the track delirious with fever, -and foodless; and at the sight of his ghastly face our hearts stood -still with fear. But the man was one of the Scots another Mac of -the race that loves a good fight, and his plucky heart stood by him -so well that within twenty-four hours he was Iying contentedly -in the shade of the Quarters, looking on, while the homestead shared -the Fizzer's welcome with Mac and Tam and a traveller or two. - -Out of the south came the Fizzer, lopping once more in his saddle, -with the year's dry stages behind him, and the set lines all -gone from his shoulders, shouting as he came: "Hullo! What ho! -Here's a crowd of us!" but on his return trip the Fizzer was a man -of leisure, and we had to wait for news until his camp was fixed -up. - -"Now for it!" he shouted, at last joining the company, and Mac felt -the time was ripe for his jocular greeting and, ogling the Fizzer, -noticed that "The flats get greeener every year about the Elsey." - -But the Fizzer was a dangerous subject to joke with. "So I've noticed," -he shouted as, improving on Mac's ogle, he singled him out -from the company, then dropping his voice to an insinuating drawl -he challenged him to have a deal. - -Instantly the Sanguine Scot became a Canny Scot, for Mac prided himself -on a horse-deal. And as no one had yet got the better of the Fizzer -the company gathered round to enjoy itself. - -"A swop," suggested the Fizzer, and Mac agreeing with a "Right ho!" -a preliminary hand-shake was exchanged before "getting to business"; -and then, as each made a great presence of mentally reviewing his team. -each eyed the other with the shrewdness of a fighting cock. - -"My brown mare!" Mac offered at last, and knowing the staunch little -beast, the homestead wondered what Mac had up his sleeve. - -We explained our suspicions in asides to the travellers, but the -Fizzer seemed taken by surprise. "By George!" he eaid. "She's -a stunner! I've nothing fit to put near her excepting that upstanding -chestnut down there." - -The chestnut was standing near the creek-crossing, and every one -knowing him well, and sure of that "something" up Mac's sleeve, -feared for the Fizzer as Mac's hand came out with a "Done!" -and the Fizzer gripped it with a clinching "Right ho!" - -Naturally we waited for the denouement, and the Fizzer appearing -unsuspicious and well-pleased with the deal, we turned our attention -to the Sanguine Scot. - -Mac felt the unspoken flattery, and with an introductory cough, -and a great show of indifference, said: "By the way! Perhaps I should -have mentioned it, but the brown mare's down with the puffs since -the showers," and looked around the company for approval. - -But the Fizzer was filling the homestead with shoutings: "Don't -apologise," he yelled. "That's nothing! The chestnut's just broken -his leg; can't think how he got here. This'll save me the trouble of -shooting him." Then dropping back to that chuckling drawl, and -re-assuming the ogle, he added: -"The--flats--get--greener--every--year--about--the Elsey," -and with a good-humoured laugh Mac asked if "any other gentleman -felt on for a swop.' - -Naturally, for a while the conversation was all of horse deals, -until, Happy Dick coming in, it turned as naturally -to dog-fights. as Peter and Brown stalked aggressively about the -thoroughfare. - -Daily we hinted to Happy Dick that Peter's welcome was wearing out, -and daily Happy Dick assured us that he "couldn't keep him away nohow." -But then Happy Dick's efforts to keep him away were peculiar, -taking the form of monologues as Peter trotted beside him towards -the homestead--reiterations of: - -"We're not the sort to say nuff, are we, Peter? We'll never say -die, will we, Peter? We'll win if we don't lose, won't we, Peter?" -Adding, after his arrival at the homestead, a subdued "S--SS-s, go -it, Peter!" whenever Brown appeared in the thoroughfare. - -But the homestead's hour of triumph was at hand, for as the afternoon -wore on, Happy Dick found the very best told recital a poor substitute -for the real thing, and thirsting for a further "Peter's latest," -hissed: "S--s--ss, go it, Peter!" once too often. For, well, soon -afterwards--figuratively speaking--Peter was carried off the field -on a stretcher. - -True, Brown had only one sound leg left to stand on, but by propping -the other three carefully against it, he managed to cut a fairly -triumphant figure. But Brown's victory was not to be all advantage -to the homestead, for never again were we to hear "Peter's latest." - -"Can't beat the Elsey for a good dog-fight! Can you, Peter?" -the Fizzer chuckled, as Peter lay licking his wounds at Happy Dick's -feet; but the Quarters, feeling the pleasantry ill-timed, delicately -led the conversation to cribbage, and at sun-up next morning -Happy Dick "did a get" to his work, with bulging pockets, leaving -the Fizzer packing up and declaring that "half a day at the Elsey -gave a man a fresh start." - -But Dan also was packing up--a "duplicate" brought in by the Fizzer -having necessitated his presence in Darwin, and as he packed up -he assured us he would be back in time for the Christmas celebrations, -even if he had to swim for it but before he left he paid a farewell -visit to the Christmas dinner. "In case of accidents," he explained, -"mightn't see it again. Looks like another case of one apiece," -he added, surveying with interest the plumpness of six young pullets -Cheon was cherishing under a coop. - -"Must have pullet longa Clisymus," Cheon had said, and all readily -agreeing, "Of course!" he had added "must have really good Clisymus"; -and another hearty "Of course" convincing him we were at one with him -in the matter of Christmas, he entered into details. - -"Must have big poodinn, and almond, and Clisymus cake, and mince pie," -he chuckled, and then after confiding to us that he had heard -of the prospective glories of a Christmas dinner at the Pine Creek "Pub.," -the heathen among us urged us to do honour to the Christian festival. - -"Must have top-fellow Clisymus longa Elsey," he said, and even more -heartily we agreed, "of course," giving Cheon carte blanche to order -everything as he wished us to have it. We were there to command," -we assured him; and accepting our services, Cheon opened the ball -by sending the Dandy in to the Katherine on a flying visit to do -a little shopping, and, pending the Dandy's return we sat down -and made plans. - -The House and the Quarters should join forces that day, Cheon -suggested, and dine under the eastern verandah "No good two-fellow -dinner longa Clisymus," he said. And the blacks, too, must be -regaled in their humpy. "Must have Vealer longa black fellow -Clisymus," Cheon ordered, and Jack's services being bespoken -for Christmas Eve, to "round up a Vealer," it was decided to add -a haunch of "Vealer" to our menu as a trump card--Vealers being -rarities at Pine Creek. Our only regret was that we lived too far -from civilisation to secure a ham. Pine Creek would certainly have -a ham; but we had a Vealer and faith in Cheon, and waited expectantly -for the Dandy, sure the Elsey would "come out top-fellow." - -And as we waited for the Dandy, the Line Party moved on to our northern -boundary, taking with it possible Christmas guests; the Fizzer came in -and went on, to face a "merry Christmas with damper and beef served -in style on a pack-bag," also regretting empty mail-bags-- -the Southern mail having been delayed en route. Tam and the Sanguine -Scot accepted invitations to the Christmas dinner; and the Wet broke -in one terrific thunderclap, as the heavens, opening, emptied a deluge -over us. - -In that mighty thunderclap the Wet rushed upon us with a roar -of falling waters, and with them Billy Muck appeared at the house -verandah dripping like a beaver, to claim further credit. - -"Well?" he said again, "Me rainmaker, eh ?" and the Maluka shouted -above the roar and din: - -"You're the boy for my money, Billy! Keep her going!" and Billy -kept her going to such purpose that by sun-up the billabong -was a banker, Cheon was moving over the face of the earth with -the buoyancy of a child's balloon, and Billy had five inches of rain -to his credit. (So far, eleven inches was the Territory record for -one night). Also the fringe of birds was back at the billabong, -having returned with as little warning as it had left, and once more -its ceaseless chatter became the undertone of the homestead. - -At sun-up Cheon had us in his garden, sure now that Pine Creek -could not possiLly outdo us in vegetables and the Dandy coming -in with every commission fulfilled we felt ham was a mere detail. - -But Cheon's cup of happiness was to brim over that day, for after -answering every question hurled at him, the Dandy sang cheerfully: -"He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum," and dragged forth -a ham from its hiding-place, with a laughing, "What a good boy am I." - -With a swoop Cheon was on it, and the Dandy, trying to regain it, -said, "Here, hold hard! I've to present it to the missus with -a bow and the compliments of Mine Host." But Cheon would not part -with it, and so the missus had the bow and the compliments, -and Cheon the ham. - -Lovingly he patted it and asked us if there ever was such a ham? -or ever such a wonderful man as Mine Host? or ever such a fortunate -woman as the missus? Had any other woman such a ham or such -a friend in need? And bubbling over with affection for the whole -world, he sent Jackeroo off for mistletoe, and presently the ham, -all brave in Christmas finery, was hanging like a gay wedding-bell -in the kitchen doorway. Then the kitchen had to be decorated, -also in mistletoe, to make a fitting setting for the ham, and after -that the fiat went forth. No one need expect either eggs or cream -before "Clisymus"--excepting, of course, the sick Mac--he -must be kept in condition to do justice to our "Clisymus" fare. - -What a week it was--all festivities, and meagre fare, and whirring -egg-beaters, and thunderstorms, and downpours, and water-melon -dividends, and daily visits to the vegetable patch; where Happy Dick -was assured, during a flying visit, that we were sure of seven -varieties of vegetables for "Clisymus." - -But alas for human certainty! Even then swarms of grasshoppers -were speeding towards us, and by sundown were with us. - -ln vain Cheon and the staff, the rejected, Bett-Bett every shadow -and the missus, danced war-dances in the vegetable patch, -and chivied and chased, and flew all ways at once; the grasshoppers -had found green stuff exactly to their liking, and coming in clouds, -settled, and feasted, and flew upwards, and settled back, and feasted, -and swept on, leaving poor Cheon's heart as barren of hope -as the garden was of vegetables. Nothing remained but pumpkins, -sweet potatoes, and Cheon's tardy watermelons, and the sight -of the glaring blotches of pumpkins filled Cheon with fury. - -"Pumpee-kin for Clisymus!" he raved, kicking furiously at the hideous -wens. Not if he knew it! and going to some stores left in our care -by the Line Party, he openly stole several tins of preserved -vegetables. "Must have vegetable longa Clisymus," he said, feeling -his theft amply justified by circumstances, but salved his conscience -by sending a gift of eggs to the Line Party as a donation towards -its "Clisymus." - -Then finding every one sympathetic, he broached a delicate subject. -By some freak of chance, he said, the missus was the only person -who had succeeded in growing good melons this year, and taking her -to the melon beds, which the grasshoppers had also passed by, -he looked longingly at three great fruits that lay like mossy green -boulders among the rich foliage. "Just chance," he reiterated, -and surely the missus would see that chance also favoured our -"Clisymus." "A Clisymus without dessert would be no Clisymus at all," -he continued, pressing each fruit in turn between loving hands -until it squeaked in response. "Him close up ripe, missus. -Him sing out!" he said, translating the squeak. - -But the missus appeared strangely inattentive, and in desperation -Cheon humbled himself and apologised handsomely for former scoffings. -Not chance, he said, but genius! Never was there white woman -like the missus! "Him savey all about," he assured the Maluka. -"Him plenty savey gardin." Further, she was a woman in a thousand! -A woman all China would bow down to! Worth ninety-one-hundred pounds -in any Chinese matrimonial market. "A valuable asset," the Maluka -murmured. - -It was impossible to stand against such flattery. Billy Muck -was hastily consulted, and out of his generous heart voted two -of the mossy boulders to the white folk, keeping only one for -"black fellow all about. "Poor old Billy! He was to pay dearly -for his leaning to the white folk. - -Nothing was amiss now but Dan's non-appearance; and the egg-beater -whirring merrily on, by Christmas Eve, the Dandy and Jack, -coming in with wild duck for breakfast and the Vealer, found -the kitchen full of triumphs and Cheon wrestling with an immense -pudding. "Four dozen egg sit down," he chuckled, beating at -the mixture. "One bottle port wine, almond, raisin, all about, -more better'n Pine Creek all right "; and the homestead taking a turn -at the beating "for luck," assured him that it "knocked spots -off Pine Creek." - -"Must have money longa poodin'!" Cheon added, and our wealth lying -also in a cheque book, it was not until after a careful hunt -that two threepenny bits were produced, when one, with a hole -in it, went in "for luck," and the other followed as an omen -for wealth. - -The threepenny bits safely in, it took the united efforts of the -homestead to get the pudding into a cloth and thence into a boiler, -while Cheon explained that it would have been larger if only we -had had a larger boiler to hold it. As it was, it had to be boiled -out in the open, away from the buildings, where Cheon had constructed -an ingenious trench to protect the fire from rain and wind. - -Four dozen eggs in a pudding necessitates an all-night boiling, -and because of this we offered to share "watches" with Cheon, -but were routed in a body. "We were better in bed," he said. -What would happen to his dinner if any one's appetite failed for want -of rest? There were too few of us as it was, and, besides, he would -have to stay up all night in any case, for the mince pies were yet -to be made, in addition to brownie and another plum-pudding for the -"boys," to say nothing of the hop-beer, which if made too soon -would turn with the thunder and if made too late would not "jump -up" in time. He did not add that he would have trusted no mortal -with the care of the fires that night. - -He did add, however, that it would be as well to dispatch -the Vealer over night, and that an early move (about fowl-sing-out) -would not be amiss; and, always obedient to Cheon's will, we all -turned in, in good time, and becoming drowsy, dreamed of "watching" -great mobs of Vealers, with each Vealer endowed with a plum-pudding -for a head. - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - -At earliest dawn we were awakened by wild, despairing shrieks, -and were instinctively groping for our revolvers when we remembered -the fatted fowls and Cheon's lonely vigil, and turning out, dressed -hastily, realising that Christmas had come, and the pullets had sung -their last "sing-out." - -When we appeared the stars were still dimly shining, but Cheon's -face was as luminous as a full moon, as, greeting each and all -of us with a "Melly Clisymus," he suggested a task for each -and all. Some could see about taking the Vealer down from the -gallows; six lubras were "rounded up" for the plucking of the -pullets, while the rest of us were sent out, through wet grass -and thicket, into the cold, grey dawn, to gather in "big, big mob -bough and mistletoe," for the beautifying of all things. - -How we worked! With Cheon at the helm, every one was of necessity -enthusiastic. The Vealer was quartered in double-quick time, -and the first fitful rays of sunlight found their way to the Creek -crossing to light up an advancing forest of boughs and mistletoe - clumps that moved forward on nimble black legs. - -In a gleaming, rustling procession the forest of green boughs -advanced, all crimson-flecked with mistletoe and sunlight, -and prostrated itself around us in mighty heaps at the head -of the homestead thoroughfare. Then the nimble black legs becoming -miraculously endowed with nimble black bodies and arms, soon -the gleaming boughs were piled high upon the iron roof of the -Eastern verandah to keep our impromptu dining-hall cool and -fresh. High above the roof rose the greenery, and over the edge -of the verandah, throughout its length, hung a deep fringe of green, -reaching right down to the ground at the posts; everywhere -among the boughs trailed long strands of bright red mistletoe, -while within the leafy bower itself hanging four feet deep from -the centre of the high roof one dense elongated mass of mistletoe -swayed gently in the breeze, its heaped-up scarlet blossoms -clustering about it like a swarm of glorious bees. - -Cheon interrupted the decorations with a call to "Bressfass! -Duck cully and lice," he sang boldly, and then followed in -a doubtful, hesitating quaver: "I--think--sausage. Must have sausage -for Clisymus bress-fass," he said emphatically, as he ushered us -to seats, and we agreed with our usual "Of course!" But we found -fried balls of minced collops, which Cheon hastened to explain -would have been sausages if only he had had skins to pack them into. - -"Him close up sausage!" he assured us, but that anxious quaver -was back in his voice, and to banish all clouds from his loyal old -heart, we ate heartily of the collops, declaring they were sausages -in all BUT skins. Skins, we persuaded him, were merely appendages -to sausages, barriers, in fact, between men and delectable feasts; -and satisfied that we were satisfied, he became all beams once -more, and called our attention to the curried duck. - -The duck discussed, he hinted that dinner was the be all -and end all of "Clisymus," and, taking the hint, we sent -the preparations merrily forward. - -Every chair and stool on the run was mustered; two tables were -placed end to end beneath that clustering, mistletoe and covered -with clean white tablecloths--remembering the story of the rags -and hobble rings we refrained from serviettes--the hop-beer was -set in canvas water bags to keep it cool; and Cheon pointing out -that the approach from the kitchens was not all that could be -desired, an enormous tent-fly was stretched away from the roof -of the verandah, extending it half-way to the kitchen, and further -greenery was used, decorating it within and without to make it a -fitting passage-way for the transport of Cheon's triumphs. -Then Cheon's kitchen decorations were renewed and added to; -and after that further suggestions suggested and attended to. -Everything that could be done was done, and by eight o'clock -all was ready for Cheon's triumphs, all but our appetites -and time of day. - -By nine o'clock Mac and Tam had arrived, and after everything -had been sufficiently admired, we trooped in a body to the kitchen, -obedient to a call from Cheon. - -Triumph after triumph was displayed, and after listening gravely -and graciously to our assurances that already everything was -"more better'n Pine Creek last year," Cheon allowed us a glimpse -of the pudding through a cloud of steam, the company standing -reverently around the fire trench in a circle, as it bent over -the bubbling boiler; then scuttling away before us like an old hen -with a following of chickens, he led the way to the waterbags, -and asked our opinion on the hop-beer: "You think him jump-up longa -dinner time? Eh, boss ?" he said anxiously, as the Maluka, holding -a bottle between us and the light, examined it critically. "Me make -him three o'clock longa night-time." - -It looked remarkably still and tranquil, but we hoped for the best, -and half an hour later were back at the waterbags, called thither -to decide whether certain little globules were sediment or -air-bubbles. Being sanguine, we decided in favour of bubbles, -and in another half-hour were called back again to the bags to see -that the bubbles were bubbles indeed, having dropped in at the -kitchens on our way to give an opinion on veal stuffing and bread -sauce; and within another half-hour were peering into the oven -to inspect further triumphs of cooking. - -Altogether the morning passed quickly and merrily, any time -Cheon left us being spent in making our personal appearance -worthy of the feast. - -Scissors and hand-glasses were borrowed, and hair cut, and chins -shaved, until we feared our Christmas guests would look like convicts. -Then the Dandy producing blacking brushes, boots that had never -seen blacking before, shone like ebony. After that a mighty washing -of hands took place, to remove the blacking stain; and then -the Quarters settled down to a general "titivation," Tam "cleaning -his nails for Christmas," amid great applause. - -By eleven o'clock the Dandy was immaculate, the guests satisfied -that they "weren't too dusty," while the Maluka, in spotless white -relieved with a silk cummerbund and tie, bid fair to outdo the Dandy. -Even the Quiet Stockman had succeeded in making a soft white shirt -"look as though it had been ironed once." And then every lubra -being radiant with soap, new dresses, and ribbons, the missus, -determined not be to outdone in the matter of Christmas finery, -burrowed into trunks and boxes, and appeared in cream washing silk, -lace fichu, ribbons, rings, and frivolities--finery, by the way, -packed down south for that "commodious station home." - -Cheon was enraptured with the appearance of his company, and worked, -and slaved, and chuckled in the kitchen as only Cheon could, -until at last the critical moment had arrived. Dinner was ready, -but an unforeseen difficulty had presented itself. How was it to be -announced, Cheon queried, having called the missus to the kitchen -for a hasty consultation, for was it wise to puff up the Quarters -with a chanted summons? - -A compromise being decided on as the only possible course, -after the booming teamster's bell had summoned the Quarters, -Cheon, all in white himself, bustled across to the verandah to call -the gentry to the dinner by word of mouth:--"Dinner! Boss! Missus!" -he sang--careful to specify his gentry, for not even reflected glory -was to be shed over the Quarters. Then, moving in and out among -the greenery as he put finishing touches to the table here and there, -he glided into the wonders of his Christmas menu: "Soo-oup! Chuckie! -Ha-am! Roooast Veal-er!" he chanted. "Cauli-flower! Pee-es! -Bee-ens! Toe-ma-toes! (with a regretful "tinned" in parenthesis)-- -"Shweet Poo-tay-toes! Bread Sau-ce!" On and on through mince pies, -sweets, cakes, and fruits, went the monotonous chant, the Maluka -and the missus standing gravely at attention, until a triumphant -paeon of "Plum-m-m Poo-dinn!" soared upwards as Cheon waddled off -through the decorated verandah extension for his soup tureen. - -But a sudden, unaccountable shyness had come over the Quarters, -and as Cheon trundled away, a hurried argument reached our ears -of "Go on! You go first!" " No, you. Here! none of that"; -and then, after a short subdued scuffle, the Dandy, looking slightly -dishevelled, came through the doorway with just the suspicion of -assistance from within; and the ice being thus broken the rest -of the company came forward in a body and slipped into whichever -seat came handiest. - -As all of us, with the exception of the Dandy, were Scotch, four -of us being Macs, the Maluka chose our Christmas grace from Bobby Burns; -and quietly and reverently our Scotch hearts listened to those homely words: - -Some ha'e meat, and canna eat, -And some wad eat that want it; -But we ha'e meat, and we can eat, -And sae the Lord be thankit. - - -Then came Cheon's turn, and gradually and cleverly his triumphs -were displayed. - -To begin with, we were served to clear soup--"just to tickle -your palates," the Maluka announced, as Cheon in a hoarse -whisper instructed him to serve "little-feliow-helps" anxious that -none of the keenness should be taken from our appetites. All served, -the tureen was whisked away to ensure against further inroads, -and then Cheon trundled round the table, removing the soup plates, -inquiring of each guest in turn if he found the soup to his liking, -and informing all that lubras were on guard in the kitchen, -lest the station cats should so far forget themselves as to take -an unlawful interest in our dinner. - -The soup finished with, Cheon disappeared into the kitchen regions, -to reappear almost immediately at the head of a procession of lubras, -each of whom carried a piece de resistance to the feast: -Jimmy's Nellie leading with the six pullets on one great dish, -while Bett-Bett brought up the rear with the bread sauce. On through -a vista of boughs and mistletoe came the triumphs--how glad we -were the way had been made more worthy of their progress--the lubras, -of course, were with them, but we had eyes only for the triumphs: -Those pullets all a-row with plump brown breasts bursting with -impatience to reveal the snowy flesh within; marching behind them -that great sizzling "haunch" of veal, taxing Rosy's strength -to the utmost; then Mine Host's crisply crumbed ham trudging along, -and filling Bertie's Nellie with delight, with its tightly bunched -little wreath of mistletoe usurping the place of the orthodox paper -frill; behind again vegetable dishes two abreast, borne by the lesser -lights of the staff (lids off, of course: none of our glory was -to be hidden under covers); tailing along with the rejected -and gravy boats came laden soup-plates to eke out the supply -of vegetable dishes; and, last of all, that creamy delight of bread -sauce, borne sedately and demurely by Bett-Bett. - -As the triumphs ranged themselves into a semi-circle at the head -of the table, our first impulse was to cheer, but obeying a second -impulse we did something infinitely better, for, as Cheon relieved -his grinning waitresses, we assured him collectively, and individually, -and repeatedly that never had any one seen anything in Pine Creek -so glorious as even the dimmest shadow of this feast; and as we -reiterated our assurance, I doubt if any man in all the British Empire -was prouder or more justified in his pride than our Cheon. Cook -and gardener forsooth! Cheon was Cheon, and only Cheon; and there -is no word in the English language to define Cheon or the position -he filled, simply because there was never another like Cheon. - -"Chuckie!" he sang, placing the pullets before the Maluka, -and dispatching Jimmy's Nellie for hot plates; "Roast Vealer -for Mac," and as Mac smiled and acknowledged the honour, Rosy -was dismissed. "Boilee Ham'' was allotted to the Dandy; and as -Bertie's Nellie scampered away, Cheon announced other triumphs -in turn and in order of merit, each of the company receiving -a dish also in order of merit: Tam-o'-Shanter contenting himself -with the gravy boat, while, from the beginning, the Quiet Stockman -had been honoured with the hop-beer. - -Long before the last waitress was relieved, the carvers were -at work, and the company was bubbling over with merriment. -"Have some veal, chaps?" the Sanguine Scot said, opening the -ball by sticking a carving fork into the great joint, and waving -the knife in a general way round the company; then as the -gravy sizzed out in a steaming gurgle he added invitingly: "Come -on, chaps! This is VEAL prime stuff! None of your staggering -Bob tack"; and the Maluka and the Dandy bidding against him, to -Cheon's delight, every one "came on" for some of everything; -for veal and ham and chicken and several vegetables and sauces blend -wonderfully together when a Cheon's hand has been at the helm. - -The higher the plates were piled the more infectious Cheon's -chuckle became, until nothing short of a national calamity could -have checked our flow of spirits. Mishaps only added to our -enjoyment, and when a bottle of hop-beer went off unexpectedly -as the Quiet Stockman was preparing to open it, and he, with the -best intentions in the world, planted his thumb over the mouth of -the bottle, and directed two frothing streams over himself and the -company in general, the delight of every one was unbounded--a -delight intensified a hundredfold by Cheon, who, with his last -doubt removed, danced and gurgled in the background, chuckling -in an ecstasy of joy: "My word, missus! That one beer PLENTY -jump up!" As there were no carpets to spoil, and every one's clothes -had been washed again and again, no one's temper was spoiled, -and a clean towel quickly repairing all damages, our only regret -was that a bottle of beer had been lost. - -But the plum-pudding was yet to come, and only Cheon was worthy -to carry it to the feast; and as he came through the leafy way, -bearing the huge mottled ball, as big as a bullock's head--all -ablaze with spirits and dancing light and crowned with mistletoe-- -it would have been diffficult to say which looked most pleased -with itself, Cheon or the pudding; for each seemed wreathed -in triumphant smiles. - -We held our breaths in astonishment, each feeling like the entire -Cratchit family rolled into one, and by the time we had recovered -speech, Cheon was soberly carrying one third of the pudding to the -missus. The Maluka had put it aside on a plate to simplify the serving -of the pudding, and Cheon, sure that the Maluka could mean such -a goodly slice for no one but the missus, had carried it off. - -There were to be no "little-fellow helps" this time. Cheon saw -to that, returning the goodly slice to the Maluka under protest, -and urging all to return again and again for more. How he chuckled -as we hunted for the "luck" and the "wealth," like a parcel of children, -passing round bushman jokes as we hunted. - -"Too much country to work," said one of the Macs, when after -a second helping they were both still "missing." "Covered their -tracks all right," said another. The Quiet Stockman "reckoned they -were bushed all right." "Going in a circle," the sick Mac suggested, -and then a shout went up as the Dandy found the "luck" in his last -mouthful. - -"Perhaps some one's given the "wealth" to his dog," Tam suggested, -to our consternation; for that was more than possible, as the dogs -from time to time had received tit-bits from their masters -as a matter of course. - -But the man who deserved it most was to find it. As we sat -sipping tea, after doing our best with the cakes and water-melons, -we heard strange gurgles in the kitchen, and then Cheon appeared -choking and coughing, but triumphantly announcing that he had found -the wealth in his first mouthful. "My word! Me close up gobble him," -he chuckled, exhibiting the pudding-coated threepence, and not one -of us grudged him his good omens. May they have been fulfilled -a thousand-fold! - -Undoubtedly our Christmas dinner was a huge success--from a black -fellow's point of view it was the most sensible thing we Whites had -ever organised; for half the Vealer, another huge pudding, several -yards of sweet currant "brownie,'" a new pipe apiece, and a few pounds -of tobacco had found their way to the "humpy"; and although headaches -may have been in the near future, there was never a heartache among them. - -All afternoon we sat and chatted as only the bush-folk can (the bush-folk -are only silent when in uncongenial society), "putting in" a fair -amount of time writing our names on one page of an autograph album; -and as strong brown hands tried their utmost to honour Christmas day -with something decent in the way of writing," each man declared -that he had never written so badly before, while the company murmured: -"Oh, yours is all right. Look at mine ! " - -Jack, however, was the exception; for when his turn came, with quiet -humour he "thought that on the whole his was a bit better'n last -Christmas," which naturally set us discussing the advantages -of learning"; but when we all agreed "it would be a bit off having -to employ a private secretary when you were doing a bit of -courting," Jack hastened to assure us that "courting" would never -be in his line--coming events do not always throw shadows before them. -Thus from "learning" we slipped into "courtship" and marriage, -and on into life--life and its problems--and, chatting, agreed that, -in spite of, or perhaps BECAUSE of, its many acknowledged disadvantages, -the simple, primitive bush-life is the sweetest and best of all-- -sure that although there may have been more imposing or less -unconventional feasts elsewhere that Christmas day, yet nowhere -in aLL this old round world of ours could there have been a happier, -merrier, healthier-hearted gathering. No one was bored. No one -wished himself elsewhere. All were sure of their welcome. All were -light-hearted and at ease; although no one so far forgot himself -as to pour his hop-beer into the saucer in a lady's presence, -for, low be it spoken, although the missus had a glass tumbler, -there were only two on the run, and the men-folk drank the Christmas -healths from cups, and enamel at that; for a Willy-Willy had taken -Cheon unaware when he was laden with a tray containing every glass -and china cup fate had left us, and, as by a miracle, those -two glasses had been saved from the wreckage. - -But enamel cups were no hardships to the bush-folk, and besides, -nothing inconvenienced us that day--excepting perhaps doing justice -to further triumphs at afternoon tea; and all we had to wish for -was the company of Dan and the Fizzer. - -To add to the general comfort, a gentle north-west breeze blew -aU through the day, besides being what Bett-Bett called a "shady -day," cloudy and cool; and to add to the general rejoicing, before -we had quite done with "Clisymus" an extra mail came in per black boy-- -a mail sent out to us by the "courtesy of our officers " at the -Katherine, "seeing some of the packages felt like Christmas." - -It came to us on the verandah. Two very full Mailbags borne by -two very empty black boys, and in an incredibly short space of time -there were two very full black boys, and two very empty mail-bags; -for the mail was our delayed mail, and exactly what we wanted; -and the boys had found all they wanted at Cheon's hospitable hands. - -But even Christmas days must come to an end; and as the sun -slipped down to the west, Mac and Tam "reckoned it was time to -be getting a move on "; and as they mounted amid further Christmas -wishes, with saddle-pouches bursting with offerings from Cheon -for "Clisymus supper," a strange feeling of sadness crept in -among us, and we wondered where "we would all be next Christmas." -Then our Christmas guests rode out into the forest, taking with them -the sick Mac, and as they faded from our sight we knew that -the memory of that Christmas day would never fade out of our lives; -for we bush-folk have long memories and love to rest now and then -beside the milestones of the past. - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - - -A Day or two after Christmas, Dan came in full of regrets because -he had "missed the celebrations," and gratified Cheon's heart -with a minute and detailed account of the "Clisymus" at Pine -Creek. Then the homestead settled down to the stagnation of the -Wet, and as the days and weeks slipped by, travellers came in and -went on, and Mac and Tam paid us many visits, as with the weeks we -slipped through a succession of anniversaries. - -"A year to-day, Mac, since you sent those telegrams!" we said, -near the beginning of those weeks; and, all mock gravity, Mac -answered "Yes! And blocked that Goer!...Often wondered -what happened to her!" - -"A year to-day, gentlemen," I added a few days later, "since -you flung that woman across the Fergusson"; and as Mac enjoyed -the reminiscence, the Maluka said: "And forgot to fling the false -veneer of civilisation after her." - -A few days later again we were greeting Tam at the homestead. -"Just a year ago, Tam," we said, "you were..." but Tam's horse -was young and untutored, and, getting out of hand, carried Tam -away beyond the buildings. "A Tam-o'-Shanter fleeing," the Maluka -once more murmured. - -Then Dan filled in the days, until one evening just at sundown, -when we said: - -"A year this sundown, Dan, since we first sampled one of your dampers," -and, chuckling, Dan reviewed the details of that camp, and slipped -thence into reviewing education. "Somebody's learned a thing or two -since then," he chuckled: "don't notice people catching cows -and milking 'em round these parts quite so often." - -In the morning came the Quiet Stockman's turn. "There's a little -brown filly in the mob I'm just beginning on, cut out for the -missus," he said, coming to the house on his way to the stockyard, -and we went with him to see the bonnie creature. - -"She's the sort that'll learn anything," Jack said, his voice full -of admiration. "If the missus'll handle her a bit, I'll learn her -everything a horse can learn." - -"Gypsy" he had named her, and in a little while the pretty creature -was "roped " and standing quietly beneath Jack's caressing -hand. "Now, missus," he said--and then followed my first lesson -in "handling," until the soft brown muzzle was resting contentedly -in my hand. "She'll soon follow you," Jack said eagerly, "you ought -to come up every day "; and looking up at the glowing, boyish face, -I said quietly: - -"Just a year to-day, Jack, since you met us by the roadside," -and the strong young giant looked down with an amused light -in his eyes. "Just a year," he said, with that quiet smile -of his; and that quiet smile, and that amused "Just a year" -were more eloquent than volumes of words, and set Dan "reckoning" -that somebody else's been learning a thing or two besides -book learning." - -But the Dandy was waiting for some tools from the office, -and as we went with him he, too, spoke of the anniversaries. "Just -a year since you first put foot on this verandah," he said, -and that reminiscence brought into the Maluka's eyes that deep look -of bush comradeship, as he added: "And became just One of Us." - -Before long Mac was reminding us that a year ago -she was wrestling with the servant question," and Cheon coming -by, we indulged in a negative anniversary. "A year ago, Cheon," -we said "there was no Cheon in our lives," and Cheon pitied our -former forlorn condition as only Cheon could, at the same time -asking us what could be expected of one of Sam's ways and caste. - -Then other anniversaries crowded on us thick and fast, and with -them there crept into the Territory that scourge of the wet -season--malarial dysentery, and travellers coming in stricken-down -with it rested a little while before going on again. - -But two of these sick travellers went down to the very gates -of death, where one, a little Chinaman, slipped through, blessing -the "good boss," who treated all men alike, and leaving an echo -of the blessing in old Cheon's loyal heart. But the other sick -traveller turned back from those open gates, although bowed -with the weight of seventy years, and faced life anew, -blessing in his turn "the whitest man" those seventy years -had known. - -Bravely the worn, bowed shoulders took up the burden of life -again, and, as they squared to their load, we slipped back to our -anniversaries--once more Jack went bush for the schooling of his -colts, once more Mac and Dan went into the Katherine to "see -about the ordering of stores," Tam going with them; and as they -rode out of the homestead, once more we slipped, with the Dandy, -into the Land of Wait-a-while--waiting once more for the wet to -lift, for the waggons to come, and for the Territory to rouse -itself for another year's work. - -Full of bright hopes, we rested in that Land of Wait-a-while, -speaking of the years to come, when the bush-folk will have -conquered the Never-Never and lain it at the feet of great cities; -and, waiting and resting, made merry and planned plans, all -unconscious of the great shadow that was even then hovering -over us. - - - -CHAPTER XXV AND LAST - - -There is little more to tell. Just that old, old story--that sad -refrain of the Kaffir woman that we British-born can conquer -anything but Death. - -All unaware, that scourge of the Wet crept back to the homestead, -and the great Shadow, closing in on us, flung wide those gates -of Death once more, and turning, before passing through, -beckoned to our Maluka to follow. But at those open gates the Maluka -lingered a little while with those who were fighting so fiercely -and impotently to close them--lingering to teach us out of his own -great faith that "Behind all Shadows standeth God." And then the gates -gently closing, a woman stood alone in that little home that had been -wrested, so merrily, out of the very heart of Nature. - -That is all the world need know. All else lies deed in the silent -hearts of the Men of the Never-Never, in those great, silent hearts -that came in to the woman at her need; came in at the Dandy's call, -and went out to her, and shut her in from all the dangers and terror -that beset her, quietly mourning their own loss the while. -And as those great hearts mourned, ever and anon a long-drawn-out, -sobbing cry went up from the camp, as the tribe mourned -for their beloved dead--their dead and ours--our Maluka, -"the best Boss that ever a man struck." - - - - -FINIS -The Project Gutenberg EBook of We of the Never-Never -by Jeanie "Mrs. Aeneas" Gunn -******This file should be named wenev10.txt or wenev10.zip****** - -Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, wenev11.txt -VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, wenev10a.txt - -This etext was produced by Geoffrey Cowling. - -*** - -More information about this book is at the top of this file. - - -We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance -of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. -Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, -even years after the official publication date. - -Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til -midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. -The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at -Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. 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