ut he
always came with me till nearly in sight of home. Some days we raced till
our horses were white with lather; and once or twice mine was in such a
state that we dismounted, and Harold unsaddled him and wiped the sweat
off with his towel saddle-cloth, to remove the evidence of hard riding,
so that I would not get into a scrape with uncle Jay-Jay. Other times we
dawdled, so that when we parted the last rays of sunset would be laughing
at us between the white trunks of the tall gum-trees, the kookaburras
would be making the echoes ring with their mocking good-night, and scores
of wild duck would be flying quickly roostward. As I passed through the
angle formed by the creek and the river, about half a mile from home,
there came to my cars the cheery clink-clink of hobble-chains, the jangle
of horse-bells, and the gleam of a dozen camp-fires. The shearing was
done out in Riverina now, and the men were all going home. Day after day
dozens of them passed along the long white road, bound for Monaro and the
cool country beyond the blue peaks to the southeast, where the shearing
was about to begin. When I had come to Caddagat the last of them had gone
"down" with horses poor; now they were travelling "up" with their
horses--some of them thoroughbreds--rolling fat, and a cheque for their
weeks of back-bending labour in their pockets. But whether coming or going
they always made to Caddagat to camp. That camping-ground was renowned as
the best from Monaro, to Riverina. It was a well-watered and sheltered
nook, and the ground was so rich that there was always a mouthful of
grass to be had there. It was a rare thing to see it without a fire; and
the empty jam-tins, bottles, bits of bag, paper, tent-pegs, and fish-tins
to be found there would have loaded a dozen waggons.

Thursday evening was always spent in going to Dogtrap, and all the other
days had their pleasant tasks and were full of wholesome enjoyment. The
blue senna flowers along the river gave place to the white bloom of the
tea-tree. Grannie, uncle, and aunt Helen filled the house with girl
visitors for my pleasure. In the late afternoon, as the weather got hot,
we went for bogeys in a part of the river two miles distant. Some of the
girls from neighbouring runs brought their saddles, others from town had
to be provided therewith, which produced a dearth in sidesaddles, and it
was necessary for me to take a man's. With a rollicking gallop and a
bogey ahead, that did not