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- Колин Маккалоу
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- Стр. 70/535
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Jack
and
Hughie
were
off
with
their
father
learning
to
be
stockmen
--
jackaroos
,
the
young
apprentices
were
called
.
Stuart
was
n't
company
the
way
Jack
and
Hughie
used
to
be
.
He
lived
in
a
world
all
his
own
,
a
quiet
little
boy
who
preferred
to
sit
for
hours
watching
the
behavior
of
a
throng
of
ants
than
climb
trees
,
whereas
Meggie
adored
to
climb
trees
and
thought
Australian
gums
were
marvelous
,
of
infinite
variety
and
difficulty
.
Not
that
there
was
much
time
for
tree-climbing
,
or
antwatching
for
that
matter
.
Meggie
and
Stuart
worked
hard
.
They
chopped
and
carried
the
wood
,
dug
holes
for
refuse
,
tended
the
vegetable
garden
and
looked
after
the
fowls
and
pigs
.
They
also
learned
how
to
kill
snakes
and
spiders
,
though
they
never
ceased
to
fear
them
.
The
rainfall
had
been
mediocrely
good
for
several
years
;
the
creek
was
low
but
the
tanks
were
about
half
full
.
The
grass
was
still
fairly
good
,
but
apparently
nothing
to
its
lush
times
.
"
It
will
probably
get
worse
,
"
said
Mary
Carson
grimly
.
But
they
were
to
know
flood
before
they
encountered
a
full-fledged
drought
.
Halfway
through
January
the
country
caught
the
southern
edge
of
the
northwest
monsoons
.
Captious
in
the
extreme
,
the
great
winds
blew
to
suit
themselves
.
Sometimes
only
the
far
northern
tips
of
the
continent
felt
their
drenching
summer
rains
,
sometimes
they
traveled
far
down
the
Outback
and
gave
the
unhappy
urbanites
of
Sydney
a
wet
summer
.
That
January
the
clouds
stormed
dark
across
the
sky
;
torn
into
sodden
shreds
by
the
wind
,
and
it
began
to
rain
;
not
a
gentle
downpour
but
a
steady
,
roaring
deluge
which
went
on
and
on
.
They
had
been
warned
;
Bluey
Williams
had
turned
up
with
his
dray
loaded
high
and
twelve
spare
horses
behind
him
,
for
he
was
moving
fast
to
get
through
his
rounds
before
the
rains
made
further
provisioning
of
the
stations
impossible
.
"
Monsoons
are
comin
'
,
"
he
said
,
rolling
a
cigarette
and
indicating
piles
of
extra
groceries
with
his
whip
.
"
The
Cooper
an
'
the
Barcoo
an
'
the
Diamantina
are
runnin
'
real
bankers
an
'
the
Overflow
is
overflowin
'
.
The
whole
Queenslan
'
Outback
's
two
foot
under
water
an
'
them
poor
buggers
is
tryin
'
to
find
a
rise
in
the
groun
'
to
put
the
sheep
on
.
"
Suddenly
there
was
a
controlled
panic
;
Paddy
and
the
boys
worked
like
madmen
,
moving
the
sheep
out
of
the
low-lying
paddocks
and
as
far
away
from
the
creek
and
the
Barwon
as
they
could
.
Father
Ralph
turned
up
,
saddled
his
horse
and
set
off
with
Frank
and
the
best
team
of
dogs
for
two
uncleared
paddocks
alongside
the
Barwon
,
while
Paddy
and
the
two
stockmen
each
took
a
boy
in
other
directions
.
Father
Ralph
was
an
excellent
stockman
himself
.
He
rode
a
thoroughbred
chestnut
mare
Mary
Carson
had
given
him
,
clad
in
faultlessly
tailored
buff
jodhpurs
,
shiny
tan
knee
boots
,
and
a
spotless
white
shirt
with
its
sleeves
rolled
up
his
sinewy
arms
and
its
neck
open
to
show
his
smooth
brown
chest
.
In
baggy
old
grey
twill
trousers
tied
with
bowyangs
and
a
grey
flannel
undershirt
,
Frank
felt
like
a
poor
relation
.
Which
was
what
he
was
,
he
thought
wryly
,
following
the
straight
figure
on
the
dainty
mare
through
a
stand
of
box
and
pine
beyond
the
creek
.
He
himself
rode
a
hard-mouthed
piebald
stock
horse
,
a
mean-tempered
beast
with
a
will
of
its
own
and
a
ferocious
hatred
of
other
horses
.
The
dogs
were
yelping
and
cavorting
in
excitement
,
fighting
and
snarling
among
themselves
until
parted
with
a
flick
from
Father
Ralph
's
viciously
wielded
stock
whip
.
It
seemed
there
was
nothing
the
man
could
n't
do
;
he
was
familiar
with
the
coded
whistles
setting
the
dogs
to
work
,
and
plied
his
whip
much
better
than
Frank
,
still
learning
this
exotic
Australian
art
.
