FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87  
88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   >>   >|  
teeth and hope that a lucky chance would put some of the enemy in his power. To Mary it seemed incredible that in the nineteenth century people should be able to steal sheep without suffering for it; and Hugh soon saw that she was a true daughter of William Grant, as far as fighting was concerned. She listened with set teeth to all stories of depredation and trespass, and they talked over many a plan together. But though they became quite friendly their intimacy seemed to make no progress. To her he was rather the employee than the friend. In fact he did not get on half so far as did Gavan Blake, who came up to Kuryong occasionally, and made himself so agreeable that already his name was being coupled with that of the heiress. Ellen Harriott always spoke to Blake when he came to the station, and gave no sign of jealousy at his attentions to Mary Grant; but she was waiting and watching, as one who has been a nurse learns to do. And things were in this state when an unexpected event put an altogether different complexion on affairs. CHAPTER XIV. RED MICK AND HIS SHEEP DOGS. When Hugh came home one day with his face, as usual, full of trouble, Mary began to laugh him out of it. "Well, Mr. Hugh, which is it to-day--the Doyles or the Donohoes? Have they been stealing sheep or breaking gates?" "Oh, it's all very well for you to laugh," he said; "you don't understand. Some of that gang up the river went into the stud paddock yesterday to cut down a tree for a bee's nest, and left the tree burning; might have set the whole run--forty thousand acres of dry grass--in a blaze. Then they drove their dray against the gate, knocking it sideways, and a lot of the stud sheep got out into the other paddock, and I'll have to be off at day-break to-morrow to get 'em back." "Why don't you summon the wretches, and have them put in gaol, or go and break their gates, and cut down their trees?" she said, with a cheerful ignorance of details. "I daren't--simply daren't. If I summoned one of them, I'd never have dry grass but there'd be fires. I'd never have fat sheep but there'd be dogs among 'em. They ride all over the run; but if a bird belonging to the station flew over one of their selections they'd summon me for trespass. There's no end to the injury a spiteful neighbour can do you in this sort of country. And your father would blame me." "Why?" "Oh, it's part of the management of a station to get on with your
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87  
88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

station

 

summon

 

paddock

 

trespass

 

thousand

 
Donohoes
 

stealing

 

understand

 

breaking

 
yesterday

burning

 
belonging
 

selections

 

father

 

management

 

country

 

injury

 

spiteful

 

neighbour

 

summoned


sideways

 

knocking

 

cheerful

 

ignorance

 

details

 

simply

 

morrow

 

Doyles

 

wretches

 

unexpected


friendly

 
intimacy
 

depredation

 

talked

 

progress

 
Kuryong
 

friend

 

employee

 

stories

 

listened


nineteenth

 

incredible

 

century

 

people

 

chance

 

William

 
fighting
 

concerned

 

daughter

 

suffering