Then the homestead
settled down to the stagnation of the Wet, and as the days and weeks
slipped by, travellers came in and went on, and Mac and Tam paid us many
visits, as with the weeks we slipped through a succession of
anniversaries.
"A year to-day, Mac, since you sent those telegrams!" we said, near the
beginning of those weeks; and, all mock gravity, Mac answered "Yes! And
blocked that Goer!... Often wondered what happened to her!"
"A year to-day, gentlemen," I added a few days later, "since you flung
that woman across the Fergusson"; and as Mac enjoyed the reminiscence,
the Maluka said: "And forgot to fling the false veneer of civilisation
after her."
A few days later again we were greeting Tam at the homestead. "Just a
year ago, Tam," we said, "you were..." but Tam's horse was young and
untutored, and, getting out of hand, carried Tam away beyond the
buildings. "A Tam-o'-Shanter fleeing," the Maluka once more murmured.
Then Dan filled in the days, until one evening just at sundown, when we
said:
"A year this sundown, Dan, since we first sampled one of your dampers,"
and, chuckling, Dan reviewed the details of that camp, and slipped thence
into reviewing education. "Somebody's learned a thing or two since
then," he chuckled: "don't notice people catching cows and milking 'em
round these parts quite so often."
In the morning came the Quiet Stockman's turn. "There's a little brown
filly in the mob I'm just beginning on, cut out for the missus," he said,
coming to the house on his way to the stockyard, and we went with him to
see the bonnie creature.
"She's the sort that'll learn anything," Jack said, his voice full of
admiration. "If the missus'll handle her a bit, I'll learn her
everything a horse can learn."
"Gypsy" he had named her, and in a little while the pretty creature was
"roped" and standing quietly beneath Jack's caressing hand. "Now,
missus," he said - and then followed my first lesson in "handling," until
the soft brown muzzle was resting contentedly in my hand. "She'll soon
follow you," Jack said eagerly, "you ought to come up every day "; and
looking up at the glowing, boyish face, I said quietly:
"Just a year to-day, Jack, since you met us by the roadside," and the
strong young giant looked down with an amused light in his eyes. "Just a
year," he said, with that quiet smile of his; and that quiet smile, and
that amused "Just a year" were more eloquent than volumes of words, and
set Dan "reckoning" that somebody else's been learning a thing or two
besides book learning.
But the Dandy was waiting for some tools from the office, and as we went
with him he, too, spoke of the anniversaries.
