Education that it
'ud be a pity not to finish her off properly." Then dropping his
bantering tone, he reported a scatter-on among the river cattle.
"I wasn't going to say anything about it before the "boys," he said, "but
it's time some one gave a surprise party down the river;" and a
"scatter-on" meaning "niggers in," Maluka readily agreed to a surprise
patrol of the river country, that being forbidden ground for blacks'
camps.
"It's no good going unless it's going to be a surprise party," Dan
reiterated; and when the Quiet Stockman was called across from the
Quarters, he was told that "there wasn't going to be no talking before
the boys."
Further consultations being necessary, Dan feared arousing suspicion, and
to ensure his surprise party, and to guard against any word of the coming
patrol being sent out-bush by the station "boys," he indulged in a little
dust-throwing, and there was much talking in public about going "out to
the north-west for the boss to have another look round there," and much
laying of deep plans in private.
Finally, it was decided that the Quiet Stockman and his "boys" were to
patrol the country north from the river while we were to keep to the
south banks and follow the river down to the boundaries in all its
windings, each party appointed to camp at the Red Lily lagoons second
night out, each, of course, on its own side of the river.
