"You have been long enough in Australia," he continued, "to learn the
full value of water, and we are obliged to be careful in the use of it
and in selecting a location for our house. In the great drought, when we
had no rain for two years, we suffered exceedingly and a great many of
my cattle perished for thirst. Since then I have built a reservoir for
storing water, and if another drought should come, I don't think my
herds will suffer as much as they did."

Dr. Whitney and our young friends were shown to the rooms they were
expected to occupy during their stay. Dr. Whitney was assigned to a
good-sized bedroom, while the youths were placed in another bedroom
close to it and equipped with two beds. They made a brief survey of the
room and concluded that they would be very comfortable. Harry remarked
that it was quite as good as any room they had thus far occupied in
Australian hotels. They devoted a short time to removing the dust of
travel and putting themselves in a condition of cleanliness, and
shortly after they appeared on the veranda, where their host was
awaiting them, and dinner was announced.

The size of the dining-room indicated that the place was an hospitable
one, as the table was capable of accommodating not fewer than twenty
people without crowding. Harry took note of the menu which comprised
their meal, and according to his memorandum it was as follows:--

"Soup of kangaroo tail, mutton pie, roast beef, potatoes, cauliflower
and parsnips, hot and cold bread, plum pudding and tea. There were also
some canned apricots of home production. Altogether it was a very
substantial meal, excellent in quality, liberal in quantity, and well
cooked throughout."

The evening was passed in front of a big fire in the large sitting-room.
As the night was chilly and somewhat damp, the fire was very welcome.
The time was passed in conversation concerning the cattle business,
interspersed with stories of Australian life. Harry and Ned asked the
permission of their host to make use of their notebooks, and their
request was readily granted. Accordingly, they kept their pencils in
their hands, and placed on paper anything which seemed to them
particularly interesting.

Harry made note of a statement of their host concerning the cattle
business and its ups and downs. One of his notes reads as follows:--

"To go into the cattle business, one ought to have a capital of not less
than fifty thousand dollars, and he could u