"Hope He Does The Trick," The Traveller Said, Busy Unpacking His Team. "Could Do With A Good Bath Fairly Soon." But Dan Cautioned Him To "Have A Care," Settling Down In The Shade To Watch Proceedings.

"These early showers are a bit tricky," he explained, "can't tell how long they'll last.

Heard of a chap once who reckoned it was good enough for a bath, but by the time he'd got himself nicely soaped the shower was travelling on ten miles a minute, and there wasn't another drop of rain for a fortnight, which wasn't too pleasant for the prickly heat."

The homestead rubbed its back in sympathy against the nearest upright, and Dan added that "of course the soap kept the mosquitoes dodged a bit," which was something to be thankful for. "There generally is something to be thankful for, if you only reckon it out," he assured all. But the traveller, reduced to a sweltering prickliness by his exertions, wasn't "noticing much at present," as he rubbed his back in his misery against the saddle of the horse he was unpacking. Then his horse, shifting its position, trod on his foot; and as he hopped round, nursing his stinging toes, Dan found an illustration for his argument. "Some chaps," he said, "'ud be thankful to have toes to be trod on"; and ducking to avoid a coming missile, he added cheerfully, "But there's even an advantage about having wooden legs at times. Heard once of a chap that reckoned 'em just the thing. Trod on a death-adder unexpected-like in his camp, and when the death-adder whizzed round to strike it, just struck wood, and the chap enjoyed his supper as usual that night. That chap had a wooden leg," he added, unnecessarily explicit; and then his argument being nicely rounded off, he lent a hand with the pack-bags.

The traveller filled in Dan's evening, and Neaves' mate coming through next day, gave the Quarters a fresh start and then just before that sundown we felt the first breath of victory from the monsoon - just a few cool, gusty puffs of wind, that was all, and we ran out to enjoy them, only to scurry back into shelter, for our first shower was with us. In pelting fury it rushed upon us out of the northwest, and rushing upon us, swept over us and away from us into the south-east, leaping from horizon to horizon in the triumph of victory.

As a matter of course, it left a sweltering awfulness behind it, but it was a promise of better things; and even as Dan was inquiring with a chuckle "whether that chap in the Quarters had got a bath out of it," a second pelting fury rushed over us, filling Cheon's heart with joy, and Billy with importance. Unfortunately it did not fill the water-butts with water, but already the garden was holding up its head, and Billy was claiming that he had scored a win.

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