Then Cheon came out in a new role. Without a moment's hesitation his arms
and legs appeared to fly out all together in Jimmy's direction,
completely doubling him up.
"Me myall-fellow, too," Cheon said calmly, master of himself and the
situation. Then, chuckling at Jimmy's discomfiture, he went on with his
work, while his helpers stared open-eyed with amazement; an infuriated
Chinese catherine-wheel being something new in the experience of a black
fellow. It was a wholesome lesson, though, and no one took liberties with
Cheon again.
The rubbish disposed of, leaking water-butts, and the ruins of collapsed
water-butts, were carried to the billabong, swelled in the water,
hammered and hooped back into steadfast, reliable water-butts, and
trundled along to their places in a merry, joyous procession.
With Cheon's hand on the helm, cream rose on the milk from somewhere. The
meat no longer turned sour. An expert fisherman was discovered among the
helpers - one Bob by name. Cheon's shot-gun appeared to have a magnetic
attraction for wild duck. A garden sprang up as by magic, grasshoppers
being literally chased off the vegetables. The only thing we lacked was
butter; and after a week of order and cleanliness and dazzlingly varied
menus, we wondered how we had ever existed without them.
It was no use trying to wriggle from under Cheon's foot once he put it
down. At the slightest neglect of duty, lubras or boys were marshalled
and kept relentlessly to their work until he was satisfied; and woe
betide the lubras who had neglected to wash hands, and pail and cow,
before sitting down to their milking. The very fowls that laid out-bush
gained nothing by their subtlety. At the faintest sound of a cackle, a
dosing lubra was roused by the point of Cheon's toe, as he shouted
excitedly above her: "Fowl sing out! That way! Catch 'im egg! Go on!"
pointing out the direction with much pantomime; and as the egg-basket
filled to overflowing, he either chuckled with glee or expressed further
contempt for Sam's ways.
But his especial wrath was reserved for the fowl-roosts over his sleeping
quarters. "What's 'er matter! Fowl sit down close up kitchen!" he
growled in furious gutturals, whenever his eyes rested on them; and as
soon as time permitted he mounted to the roof and, boiling over with
righteous indignation, hurled the offending roosts into space.
New roosts were then nailed to the branches of a spreading coolibar tree,
a hundred yards or so to the north of the buildings, the trunk encircled
with zinc to prevent snakes or wild cats from climbing into the roosts; a
movable ladder staircase made, to be used by the fowls at bedtime, and
removed as soon as they were settled for the night, lest the cats or
snakes should make unlawful use of it (Cheon always foresaw every
contingency); and finally, "boys" and lubras were marshalled to wean the
fowls from their old love.
But the weaning took time, and proved most entertaining; and while the
fowls were being taught by bitter experience to bend to Cheon's will, the
homestead pealed with shoutings and laughter.
Every evening the fun commenced about sundown, and the entire community
assembled to watch it; for it was worth watching - fowls dodged, and
scurried, and squawked, as the staff and the rejected, under Cheon's
directions, chivied and danced and screamed between them and their
desire, the lubras cheering to the echo every time one of the birds gave
in, and stalked, cackling and indignant, up the ladder into the branches
of the coolibar; or pursuing runaways that had outwitted them, in
shrieking, pell-mell disorder, while Cheon, fat and perspiring, either
shouted orders and cheered lustily, bounded wrathfully alter both
runaways and lubras, or collapsed, doubled up with uncontrollable
laughter, at the squawk of amazement from fowls which, having gained
their old haunt, had found Jimmy there waiting to receive them. As for
ourselves, I doubt if we ever enjoyed anything better. A simple thing,
perhaps, to amuse grown-up white folk - a fat, perspiring Chinaman, and
eight or ten lubras chivying fowls; but it is this enjoyment of simple
things that makes life in the Never-Never all it is.
Busy as he was, Cheon found time to take the missus also under his ample
wing, and protect her from everything - even herself. "Him too muchee
little fellow," he said to the Maluka, to explain his attitude towards
his mistress; and the Maluka, chuckling, shamefully encouraged him in his
ways.
Every suggestion the missus made was received with an amused: "No good
that way, missus! Me savey all about." Her methods with lubras were
openly disapproved, and her gardening ridiculed to all comers: "White
woman no good, savey gard'n," he reiterated, but was fated to apologise
handsomely in that direction later on.
Still, in other things the white woman was honoured as became her
position as never Sam had honoured her. Without any discrimination, Sam
had summoned all at meal-times with a booming teamster's bell, thus
placing the gentry on a level with the Quarters; but as Cheon pointed
out, what could be expected of one of Sam's ways and caste? It was all
very well to ring a peremptory bell for the Quarters - its caste expected
to receive and obey orders; but gentry should be graciously notified that
all was ready, when it suited their pleasure to eat; and from the day of
Sam's departure, the House was honoured with a sing-song: "Din-ner!
Boss! Mis-sus!" at midday, with changes rung at "Bress-fass" or
"Suppar"; and no written menu being at its service, Cheon supplied a
chanted one, so that before we sat down to the first course we should
know all others that were to come.
The only disadvantage we could associate with his coming was that by some
means Jimmy's Nellie had got on to the staff.
