whenwe
put
up
the
fence
.
”
“
Brownbie’s
cattle
is
allays
here
,
Mr.
‘Eathcote
,
and
is
knocking
down
the
fence
every
day
.
Brownbie
is
a
rascal
,
and
‘is
cattle
as
bad
as
‘isself
.
”
“
Never
mind
that
,
Karl
,
now
.
When
we’ve
got
through
the
heats
,
we’ll
put
a
mile
or
two
of
better
fencing
along
here
.
You
know
Boscobel
?
”
“
In
course
I
know
Bos
.
”
“
What
sort
of
a
fellow
is
he
?
”
Then
Harry
told
his
German
dependent
exactly
what
had
taken
place
between
him
and
the
other
man
.
“
He’s
in
and
in
wid
all
them
young
Brownbies
,
”
said
Karl
.
“
The
Brownbies
are
a
bad
lot
,
but
I
don’t
think
they’d
do
any
thing
of
this
kind
,
”
said
Harry
,
whose
mind
was
still
dwelling
on
the
dangers
of
fire
.
“
They
likes
muttons
,
Mr.
‘Eathcote
.
”
“
I
suppose
they
do
take
a
sheep
or
two
now
and
then
.
They
wouldn’t
do
worse
than
that
,
would
they
?
”
“
Not’ing
too
‘ot
for
’em
;
not’ing
too
‘eavy
,
”
said
Karl
,
smoking
his
pipe
.
“
The
vind
,
vat
there
is
,
comes
just
here
,
Mr.
‘Eathcote
.
”
And
the
man
lifted
up
his
arm
,
and
pointed
across
in
the
direction
of
Brownbie’s
run
.
“
And
you
don’t
think
much
of
Boscobel
?
”
Karl
Bender
shook
his
head
.
“
He
was
always
well
treated
here
,
”
said
Harry
,
“
and
has
had
plenty
of
work
,
and
earned
large
wages
.
The
man
will
be
a
fool
to
quarrel
with
me
.
”
Karl
again
shook
his
head
.
With
Karl
Bender
,
Harry
was
quite
sure
of
his
man
,
but
not
on
that
account
need
he
be
quite
sure
of
the
correctness
of
the
man’s
opinion
.
Thence
he
went
on
till
he
met
his
other
lieutenant
,
O’Dowd
,
and
so
,
having
completed
his
work
,
he
made
his
way
home
,
reaching
the
station
at
sunrise
.
“
Did
Bates
tell
you
he’d
met
me
?
”
he
asked
his
wife
.
“
Yes
,
Harry
;
kiss
me
,
Harry
.
I
was
so
glad
you
sent
a
word
.
Promise
me
,
Harry
,
not
to
think
that
I
don’t
agree
with
you
in
every
thing
.
”
CHAPTER
VI
.
—
THE
BROWNBIES
OF
BOOLABONG
.
Old
Brownbie
,
as
he
was
usually
called
,
was
a
squatter
also
,
but
a
squatter
of
a
class
very
different
from
that
to
which
Heathcote
belonged
.
He
had
begun
his
life
in
the
colonies
a
little
under
a
cloud
,
having
been
sent
out
from
home
after
the
perpetration
of
some
peccadillo
of
which
the
law
had
disapproved
.
In
colonial
phrase
,
he
was
a
“
lag
”
—
having
been
transported
;
but
this
was
many
years
ago
,
when
he
was
quite
young
;
and
he
had
now
been
a
free
man
for
more
than
thirty
years
.
It
must
be
owned
on
his
behalf
that
he
had
worked
hard
,
had
endeavored
to
rise
,
and
had
risen
.
But
there
still
stuck
to
him
the
savor
of
his
old
life
.
Every
one
knew
that
he
had
been
a
convict
;
and
even
had
he
become
a
man
of
high
principle
—
a
condition
which
he
certainly
never
achieved
—
he
could
hardly
have
escaped
altogether
from
the
thralldom
of
his
degradation
.
He
had
been
a
butcher
,
a
drover
,
part
owner
of
stock
,
and
had
at
last
become
possessed
of
a
share
of
a
cattle-run
,
and
then
of
the
entire
property
,
such
as
it
was
.
He
had
four
or
five
sons
,
uneducated
,
ill-conditioned
,
drunken
fellows
,
who
had
all
their
father’s
faults
without
his
energy
,
some
of
whom
had
been
in
prison
,
and
all
of
whom
were
known
as
pests
to
the
colony
.
Their
place
was
called
Boolabong
,
and
was
a
cattle-run
,
as
distinguished
from
a
sheep-run
;
but
it
was
a
poor
place
,
was
sometimes
altogether
unstocked
,
and
was
supposed
to
be
not
unfrequently
used
as
a
receptable
for
stolen
cattle
.
The
tricks
which
the
Brownbies
played
with
cattle
were
notorious
throughout
Queensland
and
New
South
Wales
,
and
by
a
certain
class
of
men
were
much
admired
.
They
would
drive
a
few
head
of
cattle
,
perhaps
forty
or
fifty
,
for
miles
around
the
country
,
across
one
station
and
another
,
traveling
many
hundreds
of
miles
,
and
here
and
there
,
as
they
passed
along
,
they
would
sweep
into
their
own
herd
the
bullocks
of
the
victims
whose
lands
they
passed
.
If
detected
on
the
spot
,
they
gave
up
their
prey
.
They
were
in
the
right
in
moving
their
own
cattle
,
and
were
not
responsible
for
the
erratic
tendencies
of
other
animals
.
If
successful
,
they
either
sold
their
stolen
beasts
to
butchers
on
the
road
,
or
got
them
home
to
Boolabong
.
There
were
dangers
,
of
course
,
and
occasional
penalties
.
But
there
was
much
success
.
It
was
supposed
,
also
,
that
though
they
did
not
own
sheep
,
they
preferred
mutton
for
their
daily
uses
,
and
that
they
supplied
themselves
at
a
very
cheap
rate
.
It
may
be
imagined
how
such
a
family
would
be
hated
by
the
respectable
squatters
on
whom
they
preyed
.
Still
there
were
men
,
old
stagers
,
who
had
know
Moreton
Bay
before
it
was
a
colony
—
in
the
old
days
when
convicts
were
common
—
who
almost
regarded
the
Brownbies
as
a
part
of
the
common
order
of
things
,
and
who
were
indisposed
to
persecute
them
.
Men
must
live
;
and
what
were
a
few
sheep
?
Of
some
such
it
might
be
said
,
that
though
they
were
above
the
arts
by
which
the
Brownbies
lived
,
they
were
not
very
scrupulous
themselves
;
and
it
perhaps
served
them
to
have
within
their
ken
neighbours
whose
morality
was
lower
even
than
their
own
.
But
to
such
a
one
as
Harry
Heathcote
the
Brownbies
were
utterly
abominable
.
He
was
for
the
law
and
justice
at
any
cost
.
To
his
thinking
,
the
Colonial
Government
was
grossly
at
fault
,
because
it
did
not
weed
out
and
extirpate
not
only
the
identical
Brownbies
,
but
all
Brownbieism
wherever
it
might
be
found
.
A
dishonest
workman
was
a
great
evil
,
but
,
to
his
thinking
,
a
dishonest
man
in
the
position
of
master
was
the
incarnation
of
evil
.
As
to
the
difficulties
of
evidence
,
and
obstacles
of
that
nature
,
Harry
Heathcote
knew
nothing
.
The
Brownbies
were
rascals
,
and
should
therefore
be
exterminated
.
And
the
Brownbies
knew
well
the
estimation
in
which
their
neighbour
held
them
.
Harry
had
made
himself
altogether
disagreeable
to
them
.
They
were
squatters
as
well
as
he
—
or
at
least
so
they
termed
themselves
;
and
though
they
would
not
have
expected
to
be
admitted
to
home
intimacies
,
they
thought
that
when
they
were
met
out-of-doors
or
in
public
places
,
they
should
be
treated
with
some
respect
.
On
such
occasions
Harry
treated
them
as
though
they
were
dirt
beneath
his
feet
.
The
Brownbies
would
be
found
,
whenever
a
little
money
came
among
them
,
at
the
public
billiard-rooms
and
race-courses
within
one
hundred
and
fifty
miles
of
Boolabong
.
At
such
places
Harry
Heathcote
was
never
seen
.
It
would
have
been
as
easy
to
seduce
the
Bishop
of
Brisbane
into
a
bet
as
Harry
Heathcote
.
He
had
never
even
drank
a
nobbler
with
one
of
the
Brownbies
.
To
their
thinking
,
he
was
a
proud
,
stuck-up
,
unsocial
young
cub
,
whom
to
rob
was
a
pleasure
,
and
to
ruin
would
be
a
delight
.
The
old
man
at
Boolabong
was
now
almost
obsolete
.
Property
,
that
he
could
keep
in
his
grasp
,
there
was
in
truth
none
.
He
was
the
tenant
of
the
run
under
the
Crown
,
and
his
sons
would
not
turn
him
out
of
the
house
.
The
cattle
,
when
there
were
cattle
,
belonged
to
them
.
They
were
in
no
respect
subject
to
his
orders
,
and
he
would
have
had
a
bad
life
among
them
were
it
not
that
they
quarreled
among
themselves
,
and
that
in
such
quarrels
he
could
belong
to
one
party
or
to
the
other
.
The
house
itself
was
a
wretched
place
—
out
of
order
,
with
doors
and
windows
and
floors
shattered
,
broken
,
and
decayed
.
There
were
none
of
womankind
belonging
to
the
family
,
and
in
such
a
house
a
decent
woman-servant
would
have
been
out
of
her
place
.
Sometimes
there
was
one
hag
there
and
sometimes
another
,
and
sometimes
feminine
aid
less
respectable
than
that
of
the
hags
.
There
had
been
six
sons
.
One
had
disappeared
utterly
,
so
that
nothing
was
known
of
him
.
One
had
been
absolutely
expelled
by
the
brethren
,
and
was
now
a
vagabond
in
the
country
,
turning
up
now
and
then
at
Boolabong
and
demanding
food
.
Of
the
whole
lot
Georgie
Brownbie
,
the
vagabond
,
was
the
worst
.
The
eldest
son
was
at
this
time
in
prison
at
Brisbane
,
having
on
some
late
occasion
been
less
successful
than
usual
in
regard
to
some
acquired
bullocks
.
The
three
youngest
were
at
home
—
Jerry
,
Jack
,
and
Joe
.
Tom
,
who
was
in
prison
,
was
the
only
stanch
friend
to
the
father
,
who
consequently
at
this
time
was
in
a
more
than
usually
depressed
condition
.
Christmas-day
would
fall
on
a
Tuesday
,
and
on
the
Monday
before
it
Jerry
Brownbie
,
the
eldest
of
those
now
at
home
,
was
sitting
,
with
a
pipe
in
his
mouth
,
on
a
broken-down
stool
on
the
broken-down
veranda
of
the
house
,
and
the
old
man
was
seated
on
a
stuffy
,
worn-out
sofa
with
three
legs
,
which
was
propped
against
the
wall
of
the
house
,
and
had
not
been
moved
for
years
.
Old
Brownbie
was
a
man
of
gigantic
frame
,
and
had
possessed
immense
personal
power
—
a
man
,
too
,
of
will
and
energy
;
but
he
was
now
worn
out
and
dropsical
,
and
could
not
move
beyond
the
confines
of
the
home
station
.
The
veranda
was
attached
to
a
big
room
which
ran
nearly
the
whole
length
of
the
house
,
and
which
was
now
used
for
all
purposes
.
There
was
an
exterior
kitchen
,
in
which
certain
processes
were
carried
on
—
such
as
salting
stolen
mutton
and
boiling
huge
masses
of
meat
,
when
such
work
was
needed
.
But
the
cookery
was
generally
done
in
the
big
room
.
And
here
also
two
or
three
of
the
sons
slept
on
beds
made
upon
stretchers
along
the
wall
.
They
were
not
probably
very
particular
as
to
which
owned
each
bed
,
enjoying
a
fraternal
communism
in
that
respect
.
At
the
end
of
this
chamber
the
old
man
had
a
room
of
his
own
.
Boolabong
was
certainly
a
miserable
place
;
and
yet
,
such
as
it
was
,
it
was
frequented
by
many
guests
.
The
vagabondism
of
the
colonies
is
proverbial
.
Vagabonds
are
taken
in
almost
every
where
throughout
the
bush
.
But
the
welcome
given
to
them
varies
.
Sometimes
they
are
made
to
work
before
they
are
fed
—
to
their
infinite
disgust
.
But
no
such
cruelty
was
exercised
at
Boolabong
.
Boolabong
was
a
very
Paradise
for
vagabonds
.
There
was
always
flour
and
meat
to
be
had
,
generally
tobacco
,
and
sometimes
even
the
luxury
of
a
nobbler
.
The
Brownbies
were
wise
enough
to
have
learned
that
it
was
necessary
for
their
very
existence
that
they
should
have
friends
in
the
land
.
On
the
Sunday
the
father
and
Jerry
Brownbie
were
sitting
out
in
the
veranda
at
about
noon
,
and
the
other
two
sons
,
Jack
and
Joe
,
were
lying
asleep
on
the
beds
within
.
The
heat
of
the
day
was
intense
.
There
was
a
wind
blowing
,
but
it
was
that
which
is
called
there
the
hot
wind
,
which
comes
dry
,
scorching
,
sometimes
almost
intolerable
,
over
the
burning
central
plain
of
the
country
.
No
one
can
understand
without
feeling
it
how
much
a
wind
can
add
to
the
sufferings
inflicted
by
heat
.
The
old
man
had
on
a
dirty
,
wretched
remnant
of
a
dressing-gown
,
but
Jerry
was
clothed
simply
in
trowsers
and
an
old
shirt
.
Only
that
the
mosquitoes
would
have
flayed
him
,
he
would
have
dispensed
probably
with
these
.
He
had
been
quarreling
with
his
father
respecting
a
certain
horse
which
he
had
sold
,
of
the
price
of
which
the
father
demanded
a
share
.
Jerry
had
unblushingly
declared
that
he
himself
had
“
shaken
”
the
horse
—
Anglice
,
had
stolen
him
—
twelve
months
since
on
Darnley
Downs
,
and
was
therefore
clearly
entitled
to
the
entire
plunder
.
The
father
had
rejoined
with
animation
that
unless
“
half
a
quid
”
—
or
ten
shillings
—
were
given
him
as
his
contribution
to
the
keep
of
the
animal
,
he
would
inform
against
his
son
to
the
squatter
on
the
Darnley
Downs
,
and
had
shown
him
that
he
knew
the
very
run
from
which
the
horse
had
been
taken
.
Then
the
sons
within
had
interfered
from
their
beds
,
swearing
that
their
father
was
the
noisiest
old
“
cuss
”
unhung
,
they
having
had
their
necessary
slumbers
disturbed
.
At
this
moment
the
debate
was
interrupted
by
the
appearance
of
a
man
outside
the
veranda
.
“
Well
,
Mr.
Jerry
,
how
goes
it
?
”
asked
the
stranger
.
“
What
,
Bos
,
is
that
you
?
What
brings
you
up
to
Boolabong
?
I
thought
you
was
ringing
trees
for
that
young
scut
at
Gangoil
?
I’ll
be
even
with
him
some
of
these
days
!
He
had
the
impudence
to
send
a
man
of
his
up
here
last
week
looking
for
sheep-skins
.
”
“
He
wasn’t
that
soft
,
Mr.
Jerry
,
was
he
?
Well
,
I’ve
dropped
working
for
him
.
—
How
are
you
,
Mr.
Brownbie
?
I
hope
I
see
you
finely
,
Sir
.
It’s
stiffish
sort
of
weather
,
Mr.
Brownbie
,
ain’t
it
,
Sir
?
”
The
old
man
grunted
out
some
reply
,
and
then
asked
Boscobel
what
he
wanted
.
“
I’ll
just
hang
about
for
the
day
,
Mr.
Brownbie
,
and
get
a
little
grub
.
You
never
begrudged
a
working-man
that
yet
.
”
Old
Brownbie
again
grunted
,
but
said
no
word
of
welcome
.
That
,
however
,
was
to
be
taken
for
granted
,
without
much
expression
of
opinion
.
“
No
,
Mr.
Jerry
,
”
continued
Boscobel
,
“
I’ve
done
with
that
fellow
.
”
“
And
so
has
Nokes
done
with
him
.
”
“
Nokes
is
at
work
on
Medlicot’s
Mill
.
That
sugar
business
wouldn’t
suit
me
.
”
“
An
axe
in
your
hand
is
what
you’re
fit
for
,
Bos
.
”
“
There’s
a
many
things
I
can
turn
my
hand
to
,
Mr.
Jerry
.
You
couldn’t
give
a
fellow
such
a
thing
as
a
nobbler
,
Mr.
Jerry
,
could
you
?
I’d
offer
money
for
it
,
only
I
know
it
would
be
taken
amiss
.
It’s
that
hot
that
a
fellow’s
very
in’ards
get
parched
up
.
”
Upon
this
Jerry
slowly
rose
,
and
going
to
a
cupboard
,
brought
forth
a
modicum
of
spirits
,
which
he
called
Battle-Axe
,
but
which
was
supposed
to
be
brandy
.
This
Boscobel
swallowed
at
a
gulp
,
and
then
washed
it
down
with
a
little
water
.
“
Come
,
Jerry
,
”
said
the
old
man
,
somewhat
relenting
in
his
wrath
,
“
you
might
as
well
give
us
a
drop
,
as
it’s
going
about
.
”
The
two
brothers
,
who
had
now
been
thoroughly
aroused
from
their
sleep
,
and
who
had
heard
the
enticing
sound
of
the
spirit
bottle
,
joined
the
party
,
and
so
they
drank
all
round
.
“
Heathcote’s
in
an
awful
state
about
them
fires
,
ain’t
he
?
”
asked
Jerry
.
Boscobel
,
who
had
squatted
down
on
the
veranda
,
and
was
now
lighting
his
pipe
,
bobbed
his
head
.
“
I
wish
he
was
clean
burned
out
—
over
head
and
ears
,
”
said
Jerry
.
Boscobel
bobbed
his
head
again
,
sucking
with
great
energy
at
the
closely
staffed
pipe
.
“
If
he
treated
me
like
he
does
you
fellows
,
”
continued
Jerry
,
“
he
shouldn’t
have
a
yard
of
fencing
or
a
blade
of
grass
left
—
nor
a
ewe
,
nor
a
lamb
,
nor
a
hogget
.
I
do
hate
fellows
who
come
here
and
want
to
be
better
than
any
one
about
’em
—
young
chaps
especially
.
Sending
up
here
to
look
for
sheep-skins
,
cuss
his
impudence
!
I
sent
that
German
fellow
of
his
away
with
a
flea
in
his
ear
.
”
“
Karl
Bender
?
”
“
It’s
some
such
name
as
that
.
”
“
He’s
all
in
all
with
the
young
squire
,
”
said
Boscobel
.
“
And
there’s
a
chap
there
called
Jacko
—
he’s
another
.
He
gets
’em
down
there
to
Gangoil
,
and
the
ladies
talks
to
’em
,
and
then
they’d
go
through
fire
and
water
for
him
.
There’s
Mickey
—
he’s
another
,
jist
the
same
way
.
I
don’t
like
them
ways
,
myself
.
”
“
Too
much
of
master
and
man
about
it
,
ain’t
there
,
Bos
?
”
“
Just
that
,
Mr.
Jerry
.
That
ain’t
my
idea
of
a
free
country
.
I
can
work
as
well
as
another
,
but
I
ain’t
going
to
be
told
that
I’m
a
swindler
because
I’m
making
the
most
of
my
time
.
”
“
He
turned
Nokes
out
by
the
scruff
of
his
neck
?
”
said
Jerry
.
Boscobel
again
bobbed
his
head
.
“
I
didn’t
think
Nokes
was
the
sort
of
fellow
to
stand
that
.
”
“
No
more
he
ain’t
,
”
said
Boscobel
.
“
Heathcote’s
a
good
plucked
un
all
the
same
,
”
said
Joe
.
“
It’s
like
you
to
speak
up
for
such
a
fellow
is
that
,
”
said
Jerry
.
“
I
say
he’s
a
good
plucked
un
.
I’m
not
standing
up
for
him
.
Nokes
is
half
a
stone
heavier
than
him
,
and
ought
to
have
knocked
him
over
.
That’s
what
you’d’ve
done
,
wouldn’t
you
,
Bos
?
I
know
I
would
.
”
“
He’d
‘ve
had
my
axe
at
his
head
,
”
said
Boscobel
.
“
We
all
know
Joe’s
game
to
the
backbone
,
”
said
Jerry
.
“
I’m
game
enough
for
you
,
anyway
,
”
said
the
brother
.
“
And
you
can
try
it
out
any
time
you
like
.
”
“
That’s
right
;
fight
like
dogs
,
do
,
”
said
the
old
man
.
The
quarrel
at
this
point
was
interrupted
by
the
arrival
of
another
man
,
who
crept
up
round
the
corner
on
to
the
veranda
exactly
as
Boscobel
had
done
.
This
was
Nokes
,
of
whom
they
had
that
moment
been
speaking
.
There
was
silence
for
a
few
moments
among
them
,
as
though
they
feared
that
he
might
have
heard
them
,
and
Nokes
stood
hanging
his
head
as
though
half
ashamed
of
himself
.
Then
they
gave
him
the
same
kind
of
greeting
as
the
other
men
had
received
.
Nobody
told
him
that
he
was
welcome
,
but
the
spirit
jar
was
again
brought
into
use
,
Jerry
measuring
out
the
liquor
,
and
it
was
understood
that
Nokes
was
to
stay
there
and
get
his
food
.
He
too
gave
some
account
of
himself
,
which
was
supposed
to
suffice
,
but
which
they
all
knew
to
be
false
.
It
was
Sunday
,
and
they
were
off
work
at
the
sugar-mill
.
He
had
come
across
Gangoil
run
,
intending
to
take
back
with
him
things
of
his
own
which
he
had
left
as
Bender’s
hut
,
and
having
come
so
far
,
had
thought
that
he
would
come
on
and
get
his
dinner
at
Boolabong
.
As
this
was
being
told
,
a
good
deal
was
said
of
Harry
Heathcote
.
Nokes
declared
that
he
had
come
right
across
Gangoil
,
and
explained
that
he
would
not
have
been
at
all
sorry
to
meet
Master
Heathcote
in
the
bush
.
Master
Heathcote
had
had
his
own
way
up
at
the
station
when
he
was
backed
by
a
lot
of
his
own
hands
;
but
a
good
time
was
coming
,
perhaps
.
Then
Nokes
gave
it
to
be
understood
very
plainly
that
it
was
the
settled
practice
of
his
life
to
give
Harry
Heathcote
a
thrashing
.
During
all
this
there
was
an
immense
amount
of
bad
language
,
and
a
large
portion
of
the
art
which
in
the
colony
is
called
“
blowing
.
”
Jerry
,
Boscobel
,
and
Nokes
all
boasted
,
each
that
on
the
first
occasion
he
would
give
Harry
Heathcote
such
a
beating
that
a
whole
bone
should
hardly
be
left
in
the
man’s
skin
.
“
There
isn’t
one
of
you
man
enough
to
touch
him
,
”
said
Joe
,
who
was
known
as
the
freest
fighter
of
the
Brownbie
family
.
“
And
you’d
eat
him
,
I
suppose
,
”
said
Jerry
.
“
He’s
not
likely
to
come
in
my
way
,
”
said
Joe
;
“
but
if
he
does
,
he’ll
get
as
good
as
he
brings
.
That’s
all
.
”
This
was
unpleasant
to
the
visitors
,
who
,
of
course
,
felt
themselves
to
be
snubbed
.
Boscobel
affected
to
hear
the
slight
put
upon
his
courage
with
good
humor
,
but
Nokes
laid
himself
down
in
a
corner
and
sulked
.
They
were
soon
all
asleep
,
and
remained
dozing
,
snoring
,
changing
their
uncomfortable
positions
,
and
cursing
the
mosquitoes
,
till
about
four
in
the
afternoon
,
when
Boscobel
got
up
,
shook
himself
,
and
made
some
observation
about
“
grub
.
”
The
meal
of
the
day
was
then
prepared
.
A
certain
quantity
of
flour
and
raw
meat
,
ample
for
their
immediate
wants
,
was
given
to
the
two
strangers
,
with
which
they
retired
into
the
outer
kitchen
,
prepared
it
for
themselves
,
and
there
ate
their
dinner
,
and
each
of
the
brothers
did
the
same
for
himself
in
the
big
room
—
Joe
,
the
fighting
brother
,
providing
for
his
father’s
wants
as
well
as
his
own
.
One
of
them
had
half
a
leg
of
cold
mutton
,
so
that
he
was
saved
the
trouble
of
cooking
,
but
he
did
not
offer
to
share
this
comfort
with
the
others
.
An
enormous
kettle
of
tea
was
made
,
and
that
was
common
among
them
.
While
this
was
being
consumed
,
Boscobel
put
his
head
into
the
room
,
and
suggested
that
he
and
his
mate
wanted
a
drink
.
Whereupon
Jerry
,
without
a
word
,
pointed
to
the
kettle
,
and
Boscobel
was
allowed
to
fill
two
pannikins
.
Such
was
the
welcome
which
was
always
accorded
to
strangers
in
Boolabong
.
After
their
meal
the
men
came
back
on
to
the
veranda
,
and
there
were
more
smoking
and
sleeping
,
more
boasting
and
snarling
.
Different
allusions
were
made
to
the
spirit
jar
,
especially
by
the
old
man
;
but
they
were
made
in
vain
.
The
“
Battle-Axe
”
was
Jerry’s
own
property
,
and
he
felt
that
he
had
already
been
almost
foolishly
liberal
.
But
he
had
an
object
in
view
.
He
was
quite
sure
that
Boscobel
and
Nokes
had
not
come
to
Boolabong
on
the
same
Sunday
by
any
chance
coincidence
.
The
men
had
something
to
propose
,
and
in
their
own
way
they
would
make
the
proposition
before
they
left
,
and
would
make
it
probably
to
him
.
Boscobel
intended
to
sleep
at
Boolabong
,
but
Nokes
had
explained
that
it
was
his
purpose
to
return
that
night
to
Medlicot’s
Mill
.
The
proposition
no
doubt
would
be
made
soon
—
a
little
after
seven
,
when
the
day
was
preparing
to
give
way
suddenly
to
night
.
Nokes
first
walked
off
,
sloping
out
from
the
veranda
in
a
half-shy
,
half-cunning
manner
,
looking
nowhither
,
and
saying
a
word
to
no
one
.
Quickly
after
him
Boscobel
jumped
up
suddenly
,
hitched
up
his
trowsers
,
and
followed
the
first
man
.
At
about
a
similar
interval
Jerry
passed
out
through
the
big
room
to
the
yard
at
the
back
,
and
from
the
yard
to
a
shed
that
was
used
as
a
shambles
.
Here
he
found
the
other
two
men
,
and
no
doubt
the
proposition
was
made
.
“
There’s
something
up
,
”
said
the
old
man
,
as
soon
as
Jerry
was
gone
.
“
Of
course
there’s
something
up
,
”
said
Joe
.
“
Those
fellows
didn’t
come
all
the
way
to
Boolabong
for
nothing
.
”
“
It’s
something
about
young
Heathcote
,
”
suggested
the
father
.
“
If
it
is
,
”
said
Jack
,
“
what’s
that
to
you
?
”
“
They’ll
get
themselves
hanged
,
that’s
all
about
it
.
”
“
That
be
blowed
,
”
said
Jack
;
“
you
go
easy
and
hold
your
tongue
.
If
you
know
nothing
,
nobody
can
hurt
you
.
”
“
I
know
nothing
,
”
said
Joe
,
“
and
don’t
mean
.
If
I
had
scores
to
quit
with
a
fellow
like
Harry
Heathcote
,
I
should
do
it
after
my
own
fashion
.
I
shouldn’t
get
Boscobel
to
help
me
,
nor
yet
such
a
fellow
as
Nokes
.
But
it’s
no
business
of
mine
.
Heathcote’s
made
the
place
too
hot
to
hold
him
.
That’s
all
about
it
.
”
There
was
no
more
said
,
and
in
an
hour’s
time
Jerry
returned
,
to
the
family
.
Neither
the
father
nor
brother
asked
him
any
questions
,
nor
did
he
volunteer
any
information
.
Boolabong
was
about
fourteen
miles
from
Medlicot’s
Mill
.
Nokes
had
walked
this
distance
in
the
morning
,
and
now
retraced
it
at
night
—
not
going
right
across
Gangoil
,
as
he
had
falsely
boasted
of
doing
early
in
the
day
,
but
skirting
it
,
and
keeping
on
the
outside
of
the
fence
nearly
the
whole
distance
.
At
about
two
in
the
morning
he
reached
his
cottage
outside
the
mill
on
the
river-bank
;
but
he
was
unable
to
skulk
in
unheard
.
Some
dogs
made
a
noise
,
and
presently
he
heard
a
voice
calling
him
from
the
house
.
“
Is
that
you
,
Nokes
,
at
this
time
of
night
?
”
asked
Mr.
Medlicot
.
Nokes
grunted
out
some
reply
,
intending
to
avoid
any
further
question
.
But
his
master
came
up
to
the
hut
door
and
asked
him
where
he
had
been
.
“
Just
amusing
myself
,
”
said
Nokes
.
“
It’s
very
late
.
”
“
It’s
not
later
for
me
than
for
you
,
Mr.
Medlicot
.
”
“
That’s
true
.
I’ve
just
ridden
home
from
“
From
Gangoil
?
I
didn’t
know
you
were
so
friendly
there
,
Mr.
Medlicot
.
”
“
And
where
have
you
been
?
”
“
Not
to
Gangoil
,
anyway
.
Good-night
,
Mr.
Medlicot
.
”
Then
the
man
took
himself
into
his
hut
,
and
was
safe
from
further
questioning
that
night
.
CHAPTER
VII
.
—
“
I
WISH
YOU’D
LIKE
ME
.
”
All
the
Saturday
night
Heathcote
had
been
on
the
run
,
and
he
did
not
return
home
to
bed
till
nearly
dawn
on
the
Sunday
morning
.
At
about
noon
prayers
were
read
out
on
the
veranda
,
the
congregation
consisting
of
Mrs.
Heathcote
and
her
sister
,
Mrs.
Growler
,
and
Jacko
.
Harry
himself
was
rather
averse
to
this
performance
,
intimating
that
Mrs.
Growler
,
if
she
were
so
minded
,
could
read
the
prayers
for
herself
in
the
kitchen
,
and
that
,
as
regarded
Jacko
,
they
would
be
altogether
thrown
away
.
But
his
wife
had
made
a
point
of
maintaining
the
practice
,
and
he
had
of
course
yielded
.
The
service
was
not
long
,
and
when
it
was
over
Harry
got
into
a
chair
and
was
soon
asleep
.
He
had
been
in
the
saddle
during
sixteen
hours
of
the
previous
day
and
night
,
and
was
entitled
to
be
fatigued
.
His
wife
sat
beside
him
,
every
now
and
again
protecting
him
from
the
flies
,
while
Kate
Daly
sat
by
with
her
Bible
in
her
hand
.
But
she
,
too
,
from
time
to
time
,
was
watching
her
brother-in-law
.
The
trouble
of
his
spirits
and
the
work
that
he
felt
himself
bound
to
do
touched
them
with
a
strong
feeling
,
and
taught
them
to
regard
him
for
the
time
as
a
young
hero
.
“
How
quietly
he
sleeps
!
”
Kate
said
.
“
The
fatigue
of
the
last
week
must
have
been
terrible
.
”
“
He
is
quite
,
quite
knocked
up
,
”
said
the
wife
.
“
I
ain’t
knocked
up
a
bit
,
”
said
Harry
,
jumping
up
from
his
chair
.
“
What
should
knock
me
up
?
I
wasn’t
asleep
,
was
I
?
”
“
Just
dozing
,
dear
.
”
“
Ah
,
well
;
there
isn’t
any
thing
to
do
,
and
it’s
too
hot
to
get
out
.
I
wonder
Old
Bates
didn’t
come
in
for
prayers
.
”
“
I
don’t
think
he
cares
much
for
prayers
,
”
said
Mrs.
Heathcote
.
“
But
he
likes
an
excuse
for
a
nobbler
as
well
as
any
one
.
Did
I
tell
you
that
they
had
fires
over
at
Jackson’s
yesterday
—
at
Goolaroo
?
”
“
Was
there
any
harm
done
?
”
“
A
deal
of
grass
burned
,
and
they
had
to
drive
the
sheep
,
which
won’t
serve
them
this
kind
of
weather
.
I
don’t
know
which
I
fear
most
—
the
grass
,
the
fences
,
or
the
sheep
.
As
for
the
buildings
,
I
don’t
think
they’ll
try
that
again
.
”
“
Why
not
,
Harry
?
”
“
The
risk
of
being
seen
is
too
great
.
I
can
hardly
understand
that
a
man
like
Nokes
should
have
been
such
a
fool
as
he
was
.
”
“
You
think
it
was
Nokes
?
”
“
Oh
yes
,
certainly
.
In
the
first
place
,
Jacko
is
as
true
as
steel
.
I
don’t
mean
to
swear
by
the
boy
,
though
I
think
he
is
a
good
boy
.
But
I’m
sure
he’s
true
in
this
.
And
then
the
man’s
manner
to
myself
was
conclusive
.
I
can
not
understand
a
man
in
Medlicot’s
position
supporting
a
fellow
like
that
.
By
Heavens
!
it
nearly
drives
me
mad
to
think
of
it
.
Thousands
and
thousands
of
pounds
are
at
stake
.
All
that
a
man
has
in
the
world
is
exposed
to
the
malice
of
a
scoundrel
like
Nokes
!
And
then
a
man
who
calls
himself
a
gentleman
will
talk
about
it
being
un-English
to
look
after
him
.
He’s
a
‘new
chum
;
’
I
suppose
that’s
his
excuse
.
”
“
If
it’s
a
sufficient
excuse
,
you
should
excuse
him
,
”
said
Kate
,
with
good
feminine
logic
.
“
That’s
just
like
you
all
over
.
He’s
good-looking
,
and
therefore
it’s
all
right
.
He
ought
to
have
learned
better
.
He
ought
,
at
any
rate
,
to
believe
that
men
who
have
been
here
much
longer
than
he
has
must
know
the
ways
of
the
country
a
great
deal
better
.
”
“
It’s
Christmas-time
,
Harry
,
”
said
his
wife
,
“
and
you
should
endeavor
to
forgive
your
neighbors
.
”
“
What
sort
of
a
Christmas
will
it
be
if
you
and
I
,
and
these
young
fellows
here
,
and
Kate
,
are
all
burned
out
of
Gangoil
?
Here’s
Bates
.
—
Well
,
Mr.
Bates
,
how
goes
it
?
”
“
Tremendous
hot
,
Sir
.
”
“
We’ve
found
that
out
already
.
You
haven’t
heard
where
that
fellow
Boscobel
has
gone
?
”
“
No
;
I
haven’t
heard
.
But
he’ll
be
over
with
some
of
those
Brownbie
lads
.
They
say
Georgie
Brownbie’s
about
the
country
somewhere
.
If
so
,
there’ll
be
a
row
among
’em
.
”
“
When
thieves
fall
out
,
Mr.
Bates
,
honest
men
come
by
their
own
.
”
“
So
they
say
,
Mr.
Heathcote
.
All
the
same
,
I
shouldn’t
care
how
far
Georgie
was
away
from
any
place
I
had
to
do
with
.
”
Then
the
young
master
and
his
old
superintendent
sauntered
out
to
his
back
premises
to
talk
about
sheep
and
fires
,
and
plans
for
putting
out
fires
.
And
no
doubt
Mr.
Bates
had
the
glass
of
brandy-and-water
which
he
had
come
to
regard
as
one
of
his
Sunday
luxuries
.
From
the
back
premises
they
went
down
to
the
creek
to
gauge
the
water
.
Then
they
sauntered
on
,
keeping
always
in
the
shade
,
sitting
down
here
to
smoke
,
and
standing
up
there
to
discuss
the
pedigree
of
some
particular
ram
,
till
it
was
past
six
.
“
You
may
as
well
come
in
and
dine
with
us
,
Mr.
Bates
,
”
Harry
suggested
,
as
they
returned
toward
the
station
.
Mr.
Bates
said
that
he
thought
that
he
would
.
As
the
same
invitation
was
given
on
almost
every
Sunday
throughout
the
year
,
and
was
invariably
answered
in
the
same
way
,
there
was
not
much
excitement
in
this
.
But
Mr.
Bates
would
not
have
dreamed
of
going
in
to
dinner
without
being
asked
.
“
That’s
Medlicot’s
trap
,
”
said
Mr.
Bates
,
as
they
entered
the
yard
.
“
I
heard
wheels
when
they
were
in
the
horse
paddock
.
”
Harry
looked
at
the
trap
,
and
then
went
quickly
into
the
house
.
He
walked
with
a
rapid
step
onto
the
veranda
,
and
there
he
found
the
sugar
grower
and
his
mother
.
Mrs.
Heathcote
looked
at
her
husband
almost
timidly
.
She
knew
from
the
very
sound
of
his
feet
that
he
was
perturbed
in
spirit
.
Under
his
own
roof-tree
he
would
certainly
be
courteous
;
but
there
is
a
constrained
courtesy
very
hard
to
be
borne
,
of
which
she
knew
him
to
be
capable
.
He
first
went
up
to
the
old
lady
,
and
to
her
his
greeting
was
pleasant
enough
.
Harry
Heathcote
,
though
he
had
assumed
the
bush
mode
of
dressing
,
still
retained
the
manners
of
a
high-bred
gentleman
in
his
intercourse
with
women
.
Then
,
turning
sharply
round
,
he
gave
his
hand
to
Mr.
Medlicot
.
“
I
am
glad
to
see
you
at
Gangoil
,
”
he
said
;
“
I
was
not
fortunate
enough
to
be
at
home
when
you
called
the
other
day
.
Mrs.
Medlicot
must
have
found
the
drive
very
hot
,
I
fear
.
”
His
wife
was
still
looking
into
his
face
,
and
was
reading
there
,
as
in
a
book
,
the
mingled
pride
and
disdain
with
which
her
husband
exercising
civility
to
his
enemy
.
Harry’s
countenance
wore
a
look
not
difficult
of
perusal
,
and
Medlicot
could
read
the
lines
almost
as
distinctly
as
Harry’s
wife
.
“
I
have
asked
Mrs.
Medlicot
to
stay
and
dine
with
us
,
”
she
said
,
“
so
that
she
may
have
it
cool
for
the
drive
back
.
”
“
I
am
almost
afraid
of
the
bush
at
night
,
”
said
the
old
woman
.
“
You’ll
have
a
full
moon
,
”
said
Harry
;
“
it
will
be
as
light
as
day
.
”
So
that
was
settled
.
Heathcote
thought
it
odd
that
the
man
whom
he
regarded
as
his
enemy
,
whom
he
had
left
at
their
last
meeting
in
positive
hostility
,
should
consent
to
accept
a
dinner
under
his
roof
;
but
that
was
Medlicot’s
affair
,
not
his
.
They
dined
at
seven
,
and
after
dinner
strolled
out
into
the
horse
paddock
,
and
down
to
the
creek
.
As
they
started
,
the
three
men
went
first
,
and
the
ladies
followed
them
;
but
Bates
soon
dropped
behind
.
It
was
his
rest
day
,
and
he
had
already
moved
quite
as
much
as
was
usual
with
him
on
a
Sunday
.
“
I
think
I
was
a
little
hard
with
you
the
other
day
,
”
said
Medlicot
,
when
they
were
alone
together
.
“
I
suppose
we
hardly
understand
each
other’s
ideas
,
”
said
Harry
.
He
spoke
with
a
constrained
voice
,
and
with
an
almost
savage
manner
,
engendered
by
a
determination
to
hold
his
own
.
He
would
forgive
any
offense
for
which
an
apology
was
made
,
but
no
apology
had
been
made
as
yet
;
and
,
to
tell
the
truth
,
he
was
a
little
afraid
that
if
they
got
into
an
argument
on
the
matter
Medlicot
would
have
the
best
of
it
.
And
there
was
,
too
,
almost
a
claim
to
superiority
in
Medlicot’s
use
of
the
word
“
hard
.
”
When
one
man
says
that
he
has
been
hard
to
another
,
he
almost
boasts
that
,
on
that
occasion
,
he
got
the
better
of
him
.
“
That’s
just
it
,
”
said
Medlicot
;
“
we
do
not
quite
understand
each
other
.
But
we
might
believe
in
each
other
all
the
same
,
and
then
the
understanding
would
come
.
But
it
isn’t
just
that
which
I
want
to
say
;
such
talking
rarely
does
any
good
.
”
“
What
is
it
,
then
?
”
“
You
may
perhaps
be
right
about
that
man
Nokes
.
”
“
No
doubt
I
may
.
I
know
I’m
right
.
When
I
asked
him
whether
he’d
been
at
my
shed
,
what
made
him
say
that
he
hadn’t
been
there
at
night-time
?
I
said
nothing
about
night-time
.
But
the
man
was
there
at
night-time
,
or
he
wouldn’t
have
used
the
word
.
”
“
I’m
not
sure
that
that
is
evidence
.
”
“
Perhaps
not
in
England
,
Mr.
Medlicot
,
but
it’s
good
enough
evidence
for
the
bush
.
And
what
made
him
pretend
he
didn’t
know
the
distances
?
And
why
can’t
he
look
a
man
in
the
face
?
And
why
should
the
boy
have
said
it
was
he
if
it
wasn’t
?
Of
course
,
if
you
think
well
of
him
you’re
right
to
keep
him
.
But
you
may
take
it
as
a
rule
out
here
that
when
a
man
has
been
dismissed
it
hasn’t
been
done
for
nothing
.
Men
treated
that
way
should
travel
out
of
the
country
.
It’s
better
for
all
parties
.
It
isn’t
here
as
it
is
at
home
,
where
people
live
so
thick
together
that
nothing
is
thought
of
a
man
being
dismissed
.
I
was
obliged
to
discharge
him
,
and
now
he’s
my
enemy
.
”
“
A
man
may
be
your
enemy
without
being
a
felon
.
”
“
Of
course
he
may
.
I’m
his
enemy
in
a
way
,
but
I
wouldn’t
hurt
a
hair
of
his
head
unjustly
.
When
I
see
the
attempts
made
to
burn
me
out
,
of
course
I
know
that
an
enemy
has
been
at
work
.
”
“
Is
there
no
one
else
has
got
a
grudge
against
you
?
”
Harry
was
silent
for
a
moment
.
What
right
had
this
man
to
cross-examine
him
about
his
enmities
—
the
man
whose
own
position
in
the
place
had
been
one
of
hostility
to
him
,
whom
he
had
almost
suspected
of
harboring
Nokes
at
the
mill
simply
because
Nokes
had
been
dismissed
from
Gangoil
?
That
suspicion
was
,
indeed
,
fading
away
.
There
was
something
in
Medlicot’s
voice
and
manner
which
made
it
impossible
to
attribute
such
motives
to
him
.
Nevertheless
the
man
was
a
free-selector
,
and
had
taken
a
bit
of
the
Gangoil
run
after
a
fashion
which
to
Heathcote
was
objectionable
politically
,
morally
,
and
socially
.
Let
Medlicot
in
regard
to
character
be
what
he
might
,
he
was
a
free-selector
,
and
a
squatter’s
enemy
,
and
had
clinched
his
hostility
by
employing
a
servant
dismissed
from
the
very
run
out
of
which
he
had
bought
his
land
.
“
It
is
hard
to
say
,
”
he
replied
at
length
,
“
who
have
grudges
,
as
against
whom
,
or
why
.
I
suppose
I
have
a
great
grudge
against
you
,
if
the
truth
is
to
be
known
;
but
I
sha’n’t
burn
down
your
mill
.
”
“
I’m
sure
you
won’t
.
”
“
Nor
yet
say
worse
of
you
behind
your
back
than
I
will
to
your
face
.
”
“
I
don’t
want
you
to
think
that
you
have
occasion
to
speak
ill
of
me
,
either
one
way
or
the
other
.
What
I
mean
is
this
—
I
don’t
quite
think
that
the
evidence
against
Nokes
is
strong
enough
to
justify
me
in
sending
him
away
;
but
I’ll
keep
an
eye
on
him
as
well
as
I
can
.
It
seems
that
he
left
our
place
early
this
morning
;
but
the
men
are
not
supposed
to
be
there
on
Sundays
,
and
of
course
he
does
as
he
pleases
with
himself
.
”
The
conversation
then
dropped
,
and
in
a
little
time
Harry
made
some
excuse
for
leaving
them
,
and
returned
to
the
house
alone
,
promising
,
however
,
that
he
would
not
start
for
his
night’s
ride
till
after
the
party
had
come
back
to
the
station
.
“
There
is
no
hurry
at
all
,
”
he
said
;
“
I
shan’t
stir
for
two
hours
yet
,
but
Mickey
will
be
waiting
there
for
stores
for
himself
and
the
German
.
”
“
That
means
a
nobbler
for
Mickey
,
”
said
Kate
.
“
Either
of
those
men
would
think
it
a
treat
to
ride
ten
miles
in
and
ten
miles
back
,
with
a
horse-load
of
sugar
and
tea
and
flour
,
for
the
sake
of
a
glass
of
brandy-and-water
.
”
“
And
so
would
you
,
”
said
Harry
,
“
if
you
lived
in
a
hut
by
yourself
for
a
fortnight
,
with
nothing
to
drink
but
tea
without
milk
.
”
The
old
lady
and
Mrs.
Heathcote
were
soon
seated
on
the
grass
,
while
Medlicot
and
Kate
Daly
roamed
on
together
.
Kate
was
a
pretty
,
modest
girl
,
timid
withal
and
shy
,
unused
to
society
,
and
therefore
awkward
,
but
with
the
natural
instincts
and
aptitudes
of
her
sex
.
What
the
glass
of
brandy-and-water
was
to
Mickey
O’Dowd
after
a
fortnight’s
solitude
in
a
bush
hut
,
with
tea
,
dampers
,
and
lumps
of
mutton
,
a
young
man
in
the
guise
of
a
gentleman
was
to
poor
Kate
Daly
.
A
brother-in-law
,
let
him
be
ever
so
good
,
is
after
all
no
better
than
tea
without
milk
.
No
doubt
Mickey
O’Dowd
often
thought
about
a
nobbler
in
his
thirsty
solitude
,
and
so
did
Kate
speculate
on
what
might
possibly
be
the
attractions
of
a
lover
.
Medlicot
probably
indulged
in
no
such
speculations
;
but
the
nobbler
,
when
brought
close
to
his
lips
,
was
grateful
to
him
as
to
others
.
That
Kate
Daly
was
very
pretty
no
man
could
doubt
.
“
Isn’t
it
sad
that
he
should
have
to
ride
about
all
night
like
that
?
”
said
Kate
,
to
whom
,
as
was
proper
,
Harry
Heathcote
at
the
present
moment
was
of
more
importance
than
any
other
human
being
.
“
I
suppose
he
likes
it
.
”
“
Oh
no
,
Mr.
Medlicot
;
how
can
he
like
it
?
It
is
not
the
hard
work
he
minds
,
but
the
constant
dread
of
coming
evil
.
”
“
The
excitement
keeps
him
alive
.
”
“
There’s
plenty
on
a
station
to
keep
a
man
alive
in
that
way
at
all
times
.
”
“
And
plenty
to
keep
ladies
alive
too
?
”
“
Oh
,
ladies
!
I
don’t
know
that
ladies
have
any
business
in
the
bush
.
Harry’s
trouble
is
all
about
my
sister
and
the
children
and
me
.
He
wouldn’t
care
a
straw
for
himself
.
”
“
Do
you
think
he’d
be
better
without
a
wife
?
”
Kate
hesitated
for
a
moment
.
“
Well
,
no.
I
suppose
it
would
be
very
rough
without
Mary
;
and
he’d
be
so
lonely
when
he
came
in
.
”
“
And
nobody
to
make
his
tea
.
”
“
Or
to
look
after
his
things
,
”
said
Kate
,
earnestly
.
“
I
know
it
was
very
rough
before
we
came
here
.
He
says
that
himself
.
There
were
no
regular
meals
,
but
just
food
in
a
cupboard
when
he
chose
to
get
it
.
”
“
That
is
not
comfortable
,
certainly
.
”
“
Horrid
,
I
should
think
.
I
suppose
it
is
better
for
him
to
be
married
.
You’ve
got
your
mother
,
Mr.
Medlicot
.
”
“
Yes
:
I’ve
got
my
mother
.
”
“
That
makes
a
difference
,
does
it
not
?
”
“
A
very
great
difference
.
She’ll
save
me
from
having
to
go
to
a
cupboard
for
my
bread
and
meat
.
”
“
I
suppose
having
a
woman
about
is
better
for
a
man
.
They
haven’t
got
any
thing
else
to
do
,
and
therefore
they
can
look
to
things
.
”
“
Do
you
help
to
look
to
things
?
”
“
I
suppose
I
do
something
.
I
often
feel
ashamed
to
think
how
very
little
it
is
.
As
for
that
,
I’m
not
wanted
at
all
.
”
“
So
that
you’re
free
to
go
elsewhere
?
”
“
I
didn’t
mean
that
,
Mr.
Medlicot
;
only
I
know
I’m
not
of
much
use
.
”
“
But
if
you
had
a
house
of
your
own
?
”
“
Gangoil
is
my
home
just
as
much
as
it
is
Mary’s
;
and
I
sometimes
feel
that
Harry
is
just
as
good
to
me
as
he
is
to
Mary
.
”
“
Your
sister
will
never
leave
Gangoil
.
”
“
Not
unless
Harry
gets
another
station
.
”
“
But
you
will
have
to
be
transplanted
some
day
.
”
Kate
merely
chucked
up
her
head
and
pouted
her
lips
,
as
though
to
show
that
the
proposition
was
one
which
did
not
deserve
an
answer
.
“
You’ll
marry
a
squatter
,
of
course
,
Miss
Daly
?
”
“
I
don’t
suppose
I
shall
ever
marry
any
body
,
Mr.
Medlicot
.
”
“
You
wouldn’t
marry
any
one
but
a
squatter
?
I
can
quite
understand
that
.
The
squatters
here
are
what
the
lords
and
the
country
gentlemen
are
at
home
.
”
“
I
can’t
even
picture
to
myself
what
sort
of
life
people
live
at
home
.
”
Both
Medlicot
and
Kate
Daly
meant
England
when
they
spoke
of
home
.
“
There
isn’t
so
much
difference
as
people
think
.
Classes
hang
together
just
in
the
same
way
;
only
I
think
there’s
a
little
more
exclusiveness
here
than
there
was
there
.
”
In
answer
to
this
,
Kate
asserted
with
innocent
eagerness
that
she
was
not
at
all
exclusive
,
and
that
if
ever
she
married
any
one
she’d
marry
the
man
she
liked
.
“
I
wish
you’d
like
me
,
”
said
Medlicot
.
“
That’s
nonsense
,
”
said
Kate
,
in
a
low
,
timid
whisper
,
hurrying
away
to
rejoin
the
other
ladies
.
She
could
speculate
on
the
delights
of
the
beverage
as
would
Mickey
O’Dowd
in
his
hut
;
but
when
it
was
first
brought
to
her
lips
she
could
only
fly
away
from
it
.
In
this
respect
Mickey
O’Dowd
was
the
more
sensible
of
the
two
.
No
other
word
was
spoken
that
night
between
them
,
but
Kate
lay
awake
till
morning
thinking
of
the
one
word
that
had
been
spoken
.
But
the
secret
was
kept
sacredly
within
her
own
bosom
.
Before
the
Medlicots
started
that
night
the
old
lady
made
a
proposition
that
the
Heathcotes
and
Miss
Daly
should
eat
the
Christmas
dinner
at
Medlicot’s
Mill
.
Mrs.
Heathcote
,
thinking
perhaps
of
her
sister
,
thoroughly
liking
what
she
herself
had
seen
of
the
Medlicots
,
looked
anxiously
into
Harry’s
face
.
If
he
would
consent
to
this
,
an
intimacy
would
follow
,
and
probably
a
real
friendship
be
made
.
“
It’s
out
of
the
question
,
”
he
said
.
The
very
firmness
,
however
,
with
which
he
spoke
gave
a
certain
cordiality
even
to
his
refusal
.
“
I
must
be
at
home
,
so
that
the
men
may
know
where
to
find
me
till
I
go
out
for
the
night
.
”
Then
,
after
a
pause
,
he
continued
,
“
As
we
can’t
go
to
you
,
why
should
you
not
come
to
us
?
”
So
it
was
at
last
decided
,
much
to
Harry’s
own
astonishment
,
much
to
his
wife’s
delight
.
Kate
,
therefore
,
when
she
lay
awake
,
thinking
of
the
one
word
that
had
been
spoken
,
knew
that
there
would
be
an
opportunity
for
another
word
.
Medlicot
drove
his
mother
home
safely
,
and
,
after
he
had
taken
her
into
the
house
,
encountered
Nokes
on
his
return
from
Boolabong
,
as
has
been
told
at
the
close
of
the
last
chapter
.
CHAPTER
VIII
.
—
“
I
DO
WISH
HE
WOULD
COME
!
”
On
the
Monday
morning
Harry
came
home
as
usual
,
and
,
as
usual
,
went
to
bed
after
his
breakfast
.
“
I
wouldn’t
care
about
the
heat
if
it
were
not
for
the
wind
,
”
he
said
to
his
wife
,
as
he
threw
himself
down
.
“
The
wind
carries
it
so
,
I
suppose
.
”
“
Yes
;
and
it
comes
from
just
the
wrong
side
—
from
the
northwest
.
There
have
been
half
a
dozen
fires
about
to-day
.
”
“
During
the
night
,
you
mean
.
”
“
No
;
yesterday
—
Sunday
.
I
can
not
make
out
whether
they
come
by
themselves
.
They
certainly
are
not
all
made
by
incendiaries
.
”
“
Accidents
,
perhaps
.
”
“
Well
,
yes
.
Somebody
drops
a
match
,
and
the
sun
ignites
it
.
But
the
chances
are
much
against
a
fire
like
that
spreading
.
Care
is
wanted
to
make
it
spread
.
As
far
as
I
can
learn
,
the
worst
fires
have
not
been
just
after
midday
,
when
,
of
course
,
the
heat
is
greater
,
but
in
the
early
night
,
before
the
dews
have
come
.
All
the
same
,
I
feel
that
I
know
nothing
about
it
—
nothing
at
all
.
Don’t
let
me
sleep
long
.
”
In
spite
of
this
injunction
,
Mrs.
Heathcote
determined
that
he
should
sleep
all
day
if
he
would
.
Even
the
nights
were
fearfully
hot
and
sultry
,
and
on
this
Monday
morning
he
had
come
home
much
fatigued
.
He
would
be
out
again
at
sunset
,
and
now
he
should
have
what
rest
nature
would
allow
him
.
But
in
this
resolve
she
was
opposed
by
Jacko
,
who
came
in
at
eleven
,
and
requested
to
see
the
master
.
Jacko
had
been
over
with
the
German
;
and
,
as
he
explained
to
Mrs.
Heathcote
,
they
two
had
been
in
and
out
,
sometimes
sleeping
and
sometimes
watching
.
But
now
he
wanted
to
see
the
master
,
and
under
no
persuasion
would
impart
his
information
to
the
mistress
.
The
poor
wife
,
anxious
as
she
was
that
her
husband
should
sleep
,
did
not
dare
in
these
perilous
times
to
ignore
Jacko
and
his
information
,
and
therefore
gently
woke
the
sleeper
.
In
a
few
minutes
Jacko
was
standing
by
the
young
squatter’s
bedside
,
and
Harry
Heathcote
,
quite
awake
,
was
sitting
up
and
listening
.
“
George
Brownbie’s
at
Boolabong
.
”
That
at
first
was
the
gravamen
of
Jacko’s
news
.
“
I
know
that
already
,
Jacko
.
”
“
My
word
!
”
exclaimed
Jacko
.
In
those
parts
Georgie
Brownbie
was
regarded
almost
as
the
Evil
One
himself
,
and
Jacko
,
knowing
what
mischief
was
,
as
it
were
,
in
the
word
,
thought
that
he
was
entitled
to
bread
and
jam
,
if
not
to
a
nobbler
itself
,
in
bringing
such
tidings
to
Gangoil
.
“
Is
that
all
?
”
asked
Heathcote
.
“
And
Bos
is
at
Boolabong
,
and
Bill
Nokes
was
there
all
Sunday
,
and
Jerry
Brownbie’s
been
out
with
Bos
and
Georgie
.
”
“
The
old
man
wouldn’t
say
any
thing
of
that
kind
,
Jacko
.
”
“
The
old
man
!
He
knows
nothing
about
it
.
My
word
!
they
don’t
tell
him
about
nothing
.
”
“
Or
Tom
?
”
“
Tom’s
away
in
prison
.
They
always
cotches
the
best
when
they
want
to
send
’em
to
prison
.
If
they’d
lock
up
Jerry
and
Georgie
and
Jack
!
My
word
!
yes
.
”
“
You
think
they’re
arranging
it
all
at
Boolabong
?
”
“
In
course
they
are
.
”
“
I
don’t
see
why
Boscobel
shouldn’t
be
at
Boolabong
without
intending
me
any
harm
.
Of
course
he’d
go
there
when
he
left
Gangoil
.
That’s
where
they
all
go
.
”
“
And
Bill
Nokes
,
Mr.
Harry
?
”
“
And
Bill
Nokes
too
.
Though
why
he
should
travel
so
far
from
his
work
this
weather
I
can’t
say
.
”
“
My
word
!
no
,
Mr.
Harry
.
”
“
Did
you
see
any
fires
about
your
way
last
night
?
”
Jacko
shook
his
head
.
“
You
go
into
the
kitchen
and
get
something
to
eat
,
and
wait
for
me
.
I
shall
be
out
before
long
now
.
”
Though
Heathcote
had
made
light
of
the
assemblage
of
evil
spirits
at
Boolabong
which
had
seemed
so
important
to
Jacko
,
he
by
no
means
did
regard
the
news
as
unessential
.
Of
Nokes’s
villany
he
was
convinced
.
Of
Boscobel
he
had
imprudently
made
a
second
enemy
at
a
most
inauspicious
time
.
Georgie
Brownbie
had
long
been
his
bitter
foe
.
He
had
prosecuted
and
,
perhaps
,
persecuted
Georgie
for
various
offenses
;
but
as
Georgie
was
supposed
to
be
as
much
at
war
with
his
own
brethren
as
with
the
rest
of
the
world
at
large
,
Heathcote
had
not
thought
much
of
that
miscreant
in
the
present
emergency
.
But
if
the
miscreant
were
in
truth
at
Boolabong
,
and
if
evil
things
were
being
plotted
against
Gangoil
,
Georgie
would
certainly
be
among
the
conspirators
.
Soon
after
noon
Harry
was
on
horseback
and
Jacko
was
at
his
heels
.
The
heat
was
more
intense
than
ever
.
Mrs.
Heathcote
had
twisted
round
Harry’s
hat
a
long
white
scarf
,
called
a
puggeree
,
though
we
are
by
no
means
sure
of
our
spelling
.
Jacko
had
spread
a
very
dirty
fragment
of
an
old
white
handkerchief
on
his
head
,
and
wore
his
hat
over
it
.
Mrs.
Heathcote
had
begged
Harry
to
take
a
large
cotton
parasol
,
and
he
had
nearly
consented
,
being
unable
at
last
to
reconcile
himself
to
the
idea
of
riding
with
such
an
accoutrement
even
in
the
bush
.
“
The
heat’s
a
bore
,
”
he
said
,
“
but
I’m
not
a
bit
afraid
of
it
as
long
as
I
keep
moving
.
Yes
,
I’ll
be
back
to
dinner
,
though
I
won’t
say
when
,
and
I
won’t
say
for
how
long
.
It
will
be
the
same
thing
all
day
to-morrow
.
I
wish
with
all
my
heart
those
people
were
not
coming
.
”
He
rode
straight
away
to
the
German’s
hut
,
which
was
on
the
northwestern
extremity
of
his
further
paddock
in
that
direction
.
From
thence
the
western
fence
ran
in
a
southerly
direction
,
nearly
straight
to
the
river
.
Beyond
the
fence
was
a
strip
of
land
,
in
some
parts
over
a
mile
broad
,
in
others
not
much
over
a
quarter
of
a
mile
,
which
he
claimed
as
belonging
to
Gangoil
,
but
over
which
the
Brownbies
had
driven
their
cattle
since
the
fence
had
been
made
,
under
the
pretense
that
the
fence
marked
the
boundary
of
two
runs
.
Against
this
assumption
Heathcote
had
remonstrated
frequently
,
had
driven
the
cattle
back
,
and
had
exercised
the
ownership
of
a
Crown
tenant
in
such
fashion
as
the
nature
of
his
occupation
allowed
.
Beyond
this
strip
was
Boolabong
;
the
house
at
Boolabong
being
not
above
three
miles
distant
from
the
fence
,
and
not
above
four
miles
from
the
German’s
hut
.
So
that
the
Brownbies
were
in
truth
much
nearer
neighbors
to
the
German
than
was
Heathcote
and
his
family
.
But
between
the
German
and
the
Brownbies
there
raged
an
internecine
feud
.
No
doubt
Harry
Heathcote
,
in
his
heart
,
liked
the
German
all
the
better
on
this
account
;
but
it
behooved
him
both
as
a
master
and
a
magistrate
to
regard
reports
against
Boolabong
coming
from
the
German
with
something
of
suspicion
.
Now
Jacko
had
been
introduced
to
Gangoil
under
German
auspices
,
and
had
