to
rail at his friend's hutkeeper, as he would have done in the morning. He
only shrugged his shoulders meaningly when Stanesby called out,

"Boy! I say, Jimmy, where's the girl?"

Jimmy turned lazily and showed his white teeth.

"Sit down along a creek, you bet."

"Go and fetch her."

Jimmy showed his white teeth again, and grinned largely, but he did not
stir.

"My word! Baal{1} this blackfellow go."

"Much as his life is worth, I guess," said

1 Means "not, no."

Turner grimly, "judging by the specimen of her temper the young lady
gave us this afternoon."

Stanesby muttered something that was hardly a blessing under his breath,
then he caught up his hat and went down the bank to the waterhole. The
other man felt more comfortable in his absence. He sat down, lighted his
pipe, and taking up the paper again, began to read with fresh interest.

Half an hour passed. The sun sank below the horizon, gorgeous in red and
gold, and Turner watched the last rosy flush die out of the western
sky. Darkness fell, and he sat on smoking and thinking sadly, till his
comrade loomed up out of the gloom.

"Is that you, Stanesby?" he called out.

"Who the devil should it be?" Then remembering his hospitality, "Why you
Ye all in the dark! Why didn't you light a candle!"

The girl did not make her appearance, and Turner did not comment on her
absence. Stanesby said nothing. He lighted a candle, and calling Jimmy
to his assistance, began clearing the table and washing up the dirty
plates and pannikins. Turner offered to help, but was told ungraciously
that two were enough, and so went on smoking and watched in silence.
He did not feel on intimate enough terms to comment; but he knew well
enough Stanesby had gone out to find the girl, and either failed to find
her, or at any rate failed to bring her back. It was no business of
his any way, and he sat smoking till he was called to the evening meal,
which was a repetition of the mid-day one, with milkless tea instead of
whisky for a beverage.

Stanesby apologised.

"I 'm clean out of whisky, I 'm sorry to say."

"It's all right, old man. I don't often manage to get it at all on
Jinfalla."

They discussed station matters then, discussed them all the evening,
though Turner could not but feel that his host's thoughts were far away.
Still they lasted, they interested the man who was bound to live on
here, till at length Stanesby got up with a mighty yawn and suggested