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diff --git a/old/wenev11.txt b/old/wenev11.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2e68d40..0000000 --- a/old/wenev11.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9047 +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 eBook. - -This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project -Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the -header without written permission. - -Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the -eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is -important information about your specific rights and restrictions in -how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a -donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. - - -**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!***** - - -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] -[Date last updated: August 15, 2003] - -Edition: 10 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WE OF THE NEVER-NEVER *** - - - - - - -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 -that 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 been 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 making -inquiries," it said. - -"Or in apologies or explanations," the Maluka 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 office -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, and edging closer to the Maluka, I held out my hand to the -bushman, murmuring lamely: "How do you do?" - -Instantly a change 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 -whimsical 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 ruefully, -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 and -saddles up on the rocks off the wet grass. - -By the time the billy 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 gave 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 that neither man doubted for moment that 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 cheerfully, 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 yourself 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 demanded 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 bull-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 sound roused a dove in the branches above us, and as she stirred in -her sleep and cooed softly, 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 sang 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 sounds, 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. Shut 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 the 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 only 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 that 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, packbags, 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 through 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 all 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 became 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 only 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 torch 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 through a few more rivers--we found -ourselves looking down at the flooded Katherine, flowing below in the -valley 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 jocular, 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 that 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 doubtful -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 moved 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 thinking 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 it on -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 flourish 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 carried 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!" 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 place, 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 indifference 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 remarkably unsteady 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, we 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. He 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 floor, 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-pie-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 sorely 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 friends, 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 flashing 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 cheerily 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 to 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 the horse's back. - -"They reckon you have escaped from a "Wild West Show," Dan said, tickled -at the 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 looked 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 -the 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. - -There 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 and 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 Dan 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-Never. 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 weren'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." - -The 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 Dandy 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 been 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 become -"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. In 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 among 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 -flurry. 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 submission, 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 in a murmur of invitation. - -The brown ears shot forward to attention at the sound, and as the head -reached out to investigate, the snapping fingers repeated the invitation, -and without hesitation the magnificent creature went forward obediently -until the hand was once more resting on the dark muzzle. - -The trusting 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 with 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 -disappointment, particularly as most of the raisins fell to his share -for his prompt return. - -He 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, and 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 were -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 the 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 and 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 stores 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." -It 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 of 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 seemed 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 -ware, 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 ceilings of both rooms were to be calico, and a dozen or so of -seams were to be oversewn for that, 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 generally -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 Maluka 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 times 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 so 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 while 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 homestead. 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 through 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 Maluka 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 the 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 arrival, 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, -bringing 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 spelled 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 like 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 left '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 for 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 fire 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," -while 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 missus -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 force 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 Maluka 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 -with 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 enjoyed, 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 children; 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 engulf 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 lying quietly-restful, with -one arm thrown lightly 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 rise 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 all 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 quietly 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 mourning -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 Stockman 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 convinced 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 for 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 pillows, 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 grazing cattle moved among the -timber; away out in the glorious 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 tell 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 the 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 of 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, delivering 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. Finally every one was ready to -mount, and then we and the drovers exchanged polite farewells 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 galloped, 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 meeting 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 pantomime 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, with 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 immediately 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 affair 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 the -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 -summit, 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 than sitting in the saddle -and leaving all 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." Carefully 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 horse 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 and "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 -forgotten 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, and 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 gasped. "Well, I'm blowed! Talk of -surprise parties!" and the old black fellows 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, after 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 flowering 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 off 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 could 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 dawn 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 Fizzer 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 letters 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 filled 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 all 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-Willys 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 puffs 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 surprised, 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 comically: "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 filled 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 committing 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 away 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 suffering, 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, flushed 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 off 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 greener 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 said. "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 -possibly 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. - -In 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 so 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-fellow-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 difficult -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 all 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 - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WE OF THE NEVER-NEVER *** - - -This file should be named wenev11.txt or wenev11.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. - -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. 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