A Little Bush Maid

by Mary Grant Bruce

  CHAPTER X. THE LAST DAY

  "Now then, Harry, are you ready?"

  "Coming," said Harry's cheerful voice. He appeared on the verandah,endeavouring to cram a gigantic apple into his pocket.

  "Norah's," he said, in response to Jim's lifted eyebrows. "Don't know ifshe means to eat it in sections or not--it certainly doesn't mean to gointo my pocket as it is." He desisted from his efforts. "Try it in thecrown of your hat, old man."

  "Thanks--my hat's got all it knows to hold my brains," retorted Jim."You can't take that thing. Here, Norah," as that damsel appeared on thestep, "how do you imagine Harry's going to cart this apple?"

  "Quite simple," said Norah airily. "Cut it in four, and we'll each takea bit."

  "That's the judgment of Solomon," said Wally, who was lying full lengthon the lawn--recovering, as Jim unkindly suggested, from dinner.

  "Well, come along," Jim said impatiently--"you're an awfully hard crowdto get started. We want to reach the falls in fair time, to see thesunlight on them--it's awfully pretty. After about three or four o'clockthe trees shade the water, and it's quite ordinary."

  "Just plain, wet water," murmured Wally. Jim rolled him over and overdown the sloping lawn, and then fled, pursued by Wally with dishevelledattire and much grass in his mouth. The others followed more steadily,and all four struck across the paddock to the creek.

  It was a rather hot afternoon, and they were glad to reach the shade ofthe bank and to follow the cattle track that led close to the water.Great fat bullocks lay about under the huge gum trees, scarcely raisingtheir eyes to glance at the children as they passed; none were eating,all were chewing the cud in lazy contentment. They passed through asmaller paddock where superb sheep dotted the grass--real aristocratsthese, accustomed to be handled and petted, and to live on the fat ofthe land--poor grass or rough country food they had never known. Jim andNorah visited some special favourites, and patted them. Harry and Wallyadmired at a distance.

  "Those some of the sheep you saved from the fire?" queried Harry.

  Norah flushed.

  "Never did," she said shortly, and untruthfully. "Don't know why youcan't talk sense, Jim!"--at which that maligned youth laughedexcessively, until first the other boys, and then Norah, joined in,perforce.

  After again climbing over the sheep-proof fence of the smaller paddockthey came out upon a wide plain, almost treeless, save for the timberalong the creek, where their cattle track still led them. Far as theycould see no fence broke the line of yellow grass. There were groups ofcattle out on the plain. These were store bullocks, Jim explained, adraft recently arrived from Queensland, and hardly yet acclimatised.

  "It takes a good while for them to settle down," Norah said, "and thenlots of 'em get sick--pleuro and things; and we inoculate them, andtheir tails drop off, and sometimes the sick ones get bad-tempered, andit's quite exciting work mustering."

  "Dangerous?" asked Wally.

  "Not with a pony that knows things like Bobs," said Bobs' mistress. "Healways keeps his weather eye open for danger."

  "Not a bad thing, as you certainly don't," laughed Jim.

  "Well--do you?"

  "Certainly I do," said Jim firmly, whereat Norah laughed very heartily.

  "When I leave school, Dad says I can go on the roads with the cattle forone trip," said Jim. "Be no end of fun--takes ever so long to bring themdown from Queensland, and the men have a real good time--travel with acook, and a covered buggy and pair to bring the tucker and tents along."

  "What'll you be?" asked Wally--"cook?"

  "No, slushy," said Harry.

  "No, I'll take you two chaps along in those billets," grinned Jim.

  "I don't know who'd be cook," said Norah solemnly; "but I don't thinkthe men would be in very good condition at the end of the trip,whichever of you it was!"

  With such pleasantries they beguiled the way, until, on rounding a bendin the track, a dull roar came plainly to their ears.

  "What's that?" asked Wally, stopping to listen.

  "That's the falls, my boy," replied Jim. "They're really quiterespectable falls--almost Niagarous! Come along, we'll see them in acouple of minutes."

  The sound of falling water became plainer and plainer as they pushed on.At this point the track was less defined and the scrub thicker--Jimexplained that the cattle did not come here much, as there was nodrinking-place for them for a good distance below the falls. They mightalmost have imagined themselves back in the bush near the Hermit's camp,Harry said, as they pushed their way through scrub and undergrowth, manyraspberry vines adding variety, if not charm, to the scramble. The lastpart of the walk was up bill, and at length they came out upon a clearerpatch of ground.

  For some time the noise of the falls had deepened, until now it was aloud roar; but the sound had hardly prepared the boys for the sight thatmet their gaze. High up were rocky cliffs, sparsely clothed withvegetation, and through these the creek had cut its way, falling in onesheer mass, fifty feet or more, into the bed below, hollowed out by itduring countless ages. The water curved over the top of the fall in oneexquisite wave, smooth as polished marble, but half-way down a point ofrock jutted suddenly out, and on this the waters dashed and split,flying off from it in a cloud of spray. At the foot the cataract roaredand bubbled and seethed in one boiling mass of rapids.

  But the glory of it all was the sunlight. It fell right on the mass ofdescending water; and in the rays the fall glittered and flashed withall the colours of the rainbow, and the flying spray was like powderedjewels. It caught the drops hanging on the ferns that fringed the water,and turned them into twinkling diamonds. The whole fall seemed to bealive in the sunbeams' dancing light.

  "Oh-h, I say," whispered Harry. "Fancy never showing us this before!" Hecast himself on the ground and lay, chin in hands, gazing at the wonderbefore him.

  "We kept it to the last," said Norah softly. She sat down by him and theothers followed their example.

  "Just think," said Harry, "that old creek's been doing that ever sincetime began--every day the sun comes to take his share at lighting it up,long before we were born, and ages after we shall die! Doesn't it makeyou feel small!"

  Norah nodded understandingly. "I saw it once by moonlight," she said."Dad and I rode here one night--full moon. Oh, it was lovely! Not likethis, of course, because there wasn't any colour--but a beautiful white,clean light, and the fall was like a sheet of silver."

  "Did you ever throw anything over?" asked Wally. His wonderment wassubsiding and the boy in him woke up again.

  "No good," said Jim. "You never see it again. I've thrown a stick in upabove, and it simply whisks over and gets sucked underneath the curtainof water at once, and disappears altogether until it reaches the smoothwater, ever so far down."

  "Say you went over yourself?"

  "Wouldn't be much left of you," Jim answered, with a laugh. "The bed ofthe creek's simply full of rocks--you can see a spike sticking up hereand there in the rapids. We've seen sheep come down in flood-time--theyget battered to bits. I don't think I'll try any experiments, thank you,young Wally."

  "You always were a disobliging critter," Wally grinned.

  "Another time a canoe came over," Jim said. "It belonged to two chapsfarther up--they'd just built it, and were out for the first time, andgot down too near the falls. They didn't know much about managing theircraft, and when the suck of the water began to take them along theycouldn't get out of the current. They went faster and faster, strugglingto paddle against the stream, instead of getting out at an angle andmaking for the bank--which they might have done. At last they could hearthe roar of the falls quite plainly."

  "What happened to them?" asked Wally. "Did they go over?"

  "Well, they reckoned it wasn't healthy to remain in the canoe," saidJim. "It was simply spinning along in the current, and the falls werealmost in sight. So they dived in, on opposite sides--the blessed canoenearly tipped over when they stood up, and only the shock of the crossdrive kept her right. Of course the
creek's not so very wide, evenfarther up beyond the falls, and the force of their spring sent themnearly out of the current. They could both swim well, and after astruggle they got to the banks, just in time to see the canoe whisk overthe waterfall!"

  "What hard luck!"

  "It was rather. They started off down-stream to find it, but for a longway they couldn't see a trace. Then, right in the calm water, ever sofar down, they found it--bit by bit. It was broken into so muchmatchwood!"

  "What did they do?" asked Wally.

  "Stood and stared at it from opposite sides, like two wet images," saidJim, laughing. "It's lowdown to grin, I suppose, but they must havelooked funny. Then one of them swam across and they made their way toour place, and we fixed them up with dry things and drove them home. Idon't think they've gone in for canoeing since!" finished Jimreflectively.

  "Well, I guess it would discourage them a bit," Wally agreed. "Gettingshipwrecked's no fun."

  "Ever tried it?"

  "Once--in Albert Park Lagoon," Wally admitted bashfully. "Some of uswent out for a sail one Saturday afternoon. We didn't know much aboutit, and I really don't know what it was that tipped the old boat over. Iwas the smallest, so naturally I wasn't having any say in managing her."

  "That accounts for it," said Jim dryly.

  "Didn't mean that--goat!" said Wally. "Anyhow, I was very muchastonished to find myself suddenly kicking in the mud. Ever been in thatlake? It isn't nice. It isn't deep enough to drown you, but the mud is acaution. I got it all over me--face and all!"

  "You must have looked your best!" said Jim.

  "I did. I managed to stand up, very much amazed to find I wasn'tdrowned. Two of the others walked out! I was too small to do more thanjust manage to keep upright. The water was round my chest. I couldn'thave walked a yard."

  "How did you manage?"

  "A boat came along and picked up the survivors," grinned Wally. "Theywouldn't take us in. We were just caked with mud, so I don't blame'em--but we hung on to the stern, and they towed us to the shore. Wewere quite close to land. Then they went back and brought our boat tous. They were jolly kind chaps--didn't seem to mind any trouble."

  "You don't seem to have minded it, either," said Norah.

  "We were too busy laughing," Wally said. "You have to expect thesethings when you go in for a life on the ocean wave. The worst part of itcame afterwards, when we went home. That was really unpleasant. I wasstaying at my aunt's in Toorak."

  "Did you get into a row?"

  "It was unpleasant," Wally repeated. "Aunts haven't much sympathy, youknow. They don't like mess, and I was no end messy. We won't talk aboutit, I think, thank you." Wally rolled over on his back, produced anapple and bit into it solemnly.

  "Let us respect his silence," said Jim.

  "You had aunts too?" queried Wally, with his mouth full.

  "Not exactly aunts," Jim said. "But we had an old Tartar of ahousekeeper once, when we were small kids. She ruled us with a rod ofiron for about six months, and Norah and I could hardly call our soulsour own. Father used to be a good deal away and Mrs. Lister could dopretty well as she liked."

  "I did abominate that woman," said Norah reflectively.

  "I don't wonder," replied Jim. "You certainly were a downtrodden littlenipper as ever was. D'you remember the time we went canoeing in theflood on your old p'rambulator?"

  "Not likely to forget it."

  "What was it?" Wally asked. "Tell us, Jim."

  "Norah had a pram--like most kids," Jim began.

  "Well, I like that," said Norah, in great indignation. "It was yoursfirst!"

  "Never said it wasn't," said Jim somewhat abashed by the laughter thatensued. "But that was ages ago. It was yours at this time, anyhow. Butonly the lower storey was left--just the floor of the pram on threewheels. Norah used to sit on this thing and push herself along with twosticks, like rowing on dry land."

  "It was no end of fun," said Norah. "You _could_ go!"

  "You could," grinned Jim. "I'll never forget the day I saw you startfrom the top of the hill near the house. The pram got a rate on of amile a minute, and the sticks weren't needed. About half-way down itstruck a root, and turned three double somersaults in the air. I don'tknow how many Norah turned--but when Dad and I got to the spot she wassitting on a thick mat of grass, laughing like one o'clock, and the pramwas about half a mile away on the flat with its wheels in the air! Wequite reckoned you were killed."

  "Yes, and Dad made me promise not to go down that hill again," saidNorah ruefully. "It was a horrid nuisance!"

  "Well, there was a flood," said Jim. "Not very much of a one. We'd had agood bit of rain, and the water-hole in the home paddock overflowed andcovered all the flat about two feet deep. At first it was a bit too deepfor Norah and her wheeled boat, but when it went down a bit she set offvoyaging. She did look a rum little figure, out in the middle of thewater, pushing herself along with her two sticks! Mrs. Lister didn'tapprove of it, but as Dad had given her leave, the housekeeper couldn'tstop her."

  At this point Norah was heard to murmur "Cat!"

  "Just so!" said Jim. "Well, you know, I used to poke fun at Norah andthis thing. But one day I had gone down to the water's edge, and shecame up on it, poling herself through the water at a great rate, and itoccurred to me it didn't look half bad fun. So I suggested a turnmyself."

  "You said, 'Here, kid, let's have that thing for a bit,'" said Norahfirmly.

  "Did I?" said Jim, with meekness.

  "Yes, you did. So I kindly got off."

  "Then?" asked Harry.

  "He got on. I said, 'Jim, dear, pray be careful about the holes, and letme tell you where they are!'"

  "I'm sure you did!" grinned Wally.

  "And he said, 'If a kid like you can keep out of holes, I guess I can!'"

  "I'm sure he did!" said Wally.

  "Yes. So he set off. Now I had been over that flat so often in dryweather that I knew every bit of it. But Jim didn't. He went off as hardas he could, and got on very well for a little bit--"

  "Am I telling this yarn, or are you?" inquired Jim, laughing.

  "This is the part that is best for me to tell," said Norah solemnly."Then he turned suddenly, so suddenly I hadn't time to do more than yella warning, which he didn't hear--and the next minute the side wheels ofthe pram went over the edge of a hole, and the thing turned upside downupon poor old Jimmy!"

  "How lovely!" said Wally, kicking with delight. "Well, and whathappened?"

  "Oh, Jim can tell you now," laughed Norah. "I wasn't under the water!"

  "I was!" said Jim. "The blessed old pram turned clean over and cast mebodily into a hole. That was all I knew--until I tried to get out, andfound the pram had come, too, and was right on top of me--and do youthink I could move that blessed thing?"

  "Well?"

  "In came Norah," said Jim. "(I'll take it out of you now, my girl!) Sherealised at once what had happened and waded in from the bank and pulledthe old pram off her poor little brother! I came up, spluttering, to seeNorah, looking very white, just preparing to dive in after me!"

  "You never saw such a drowned rat!" said Norah, taking up the tale."Soaked--and muddy--and very cross! And the first thing he did was toabuse my poor old wheely-boat!"

  "Well--wouldn't you?" Jim laughed. "Had to abuse something! Anyhow, werighted her and Norah waded farther in after the sticks, which hadfloated peacefully away, and we pulled the wheely-boat ashore. Then weroared laughing at each other. I certainly was a drowned rat, but Norahwasn't much better, as she'd slipped nearly into the hole herself, inpulling the pram off me. But when we'd laughed, the first thoughtwas--'How are we going to dodge Mrs. Lister!' It was a nasty problem!"

  "What did you do?"

  "Well, after consultation we got up near the house, planting the pram insome trees. We dodged through the shrubbery until we reached that oldsummer-house, and there I left Norah and scooted over to the stables,and borrowed an overcoat belonging to a boy we had working and a pair ofhis boots.
Dad was away, or I might have gone straight to him. I put onthe borrowed things over my wet togs (and very nice I looked!) andtrotted off to the side of the house. No one seemed about, so I slippedinto my room through the window and then into Norah's, and got a bundleof clothes, and back I scooted to the summer-house, left Norah's thingsthere, and found a dressing-room for myself among some shrubs close by.

  "Well, do you know, that old cat, Mrs. Lister, had seen us all the time?She'd actually spotted us coming up the paddock, dripping, and haddeliberately planted herself to see what we'd do. She knew all about myexpedition after clothes; then she followed us to the shrubbery, anddescended upon us like an avalanche, just as we got half-dressed!"

  "'May I ask what you naughty little children are doing?' she said.

  "Well, you know, that put my back up a bit--'cause I was nearly twelve,and Dad didn't make a little kid of me. However, I tried to keep civil,and tell her what had happened; but she told me to hold my tongue. Shegrabbed Norah by the shoulder, and called her all the names under thesun, and shook her. Then she said, 'You'll come to bed at once, miss!'and caught hold of her wrist to drag her in.

  "Now Norah had sprained her wrist not long before, and she had to be abit careful of it. We all knew that. She didn't cry out when Mrs. Listerjerked her wrist, but I saw her turn white, and knew it was the badone."

  "So he chucked himself on top of old Mrs. Lister, and pounded her ashard as he could," put in Norah, "and she was so astonished she let mego. She turned her attention to Jim then, and gave him a terrible whackover the head that sent him flying. And just then we heard a voice thatwas so angry we hardly recognised it for Dad's, saying--

  "'What is this all about?'"

  "My word, we were glad to see Dad!" said Jim. "He came over and put hisarm round Norah--poor little kid. Mrs. Lister had screwed her wrist tillit was worse than ever it had been, and she was as white as a sheet. Dadhelped her on with her clothes. All the time Mrs. Lister was pouring outa flood of eloquence against us, and was nearly black in the face withrage. Dad took no notice until Norah was dressed. Then he said, 'Come tome in the study in twenty minutes,' and he picked Norah up and carriedher inside, where he dosed her, and fixed up her wrist. I put on myclothes and followed them.

  "Norah and I never said anything until Mrs. Lister had told her story,which was a fine production, little truth, and three parts awful crams.Then Dad asked for our side, and we just told him. He knew we never toldlies, and he believed us, and we told him some other things Mrs. Listerused to do to us in the way of bullying and spite. I don't know that Dadneeded them, because Norah's wrist spoke louder than fifty tales, and hedidn't need any more evidence, though after all, she might have grabbedthe bad wrist by mistake, and she had done far worse things on purpose.But the end of it was, Mrs. Lister departed that night, and Norah and Idanced a polka in the hall when we heard the buggy drive off."

  "That being the case," said Norah gravely, "we'll all have an apple."

  The apples were produced and discussed, and then it was time to think ofhome, for the sun had long since left the glistening surface of thefalls. So they gathered themselves up, and reluctantly enough left thebeautiful scene behind them, with many a backward look.

  The way home was rather silent. The shadow of the boys' departure wasover them all, and Norah especially felt the weight of approachingloneliness. With Dad at home it would have been easier to let the boysgo, but the prospect of several days by herself, with only the servantsfor company, was not a very comforting one. Norah wished dismally thatshe had been born a boy, with the prospect of a journey, and mates, andschool, and "no end of larks." Then she thought of Dad, and though stilldismal, unwished the wish, and was content to remain a girl.

  There was a little excitement on the homeward trip over a snake, whichtried to slip away unseen through the grass, and when it found itselfsurrounded by enemies, coiled itself round Harry's leg, a proceedingvery painful to that youth, who nevertheless stood like a statue whileJim dodged about for a chance to strike at the wildly waving head. Hegot it at last, and while the reptile writhed in very natural annoyance,Harry managed to get free, and soon put a respectful distance betweenhimself and his too-affectionate acquaintance. Jim finished up thesnake, and they resumed the track, keeping a careful look-out, andimagining another in every rustle.

  "Well done, old Harry!" said Wally. "Stood like a statue, you did!"

  "Thanks!" said Harry. "Jim's the chap to say 'Well done' to, I think."

  "Not me," said Jim. "Easy enough to try to kill the brute. I'd rather dothat than feel him round my leg, where I couldn't get at him."

  "Well, I think I would, too," Harry said, laughing. "I never felt such adesire to stampede in my life."

  "It was beastly," affirmed Norah. She was a little pale. "It seemedabout an hour before he poked his horrid head out and let Jim get awhack at it. But you didn't lose much time, then, Jimmy!"

  "Could he have bitten through the leg of your pants?" queried Wally,with interest.

  "He couldn't have sent all the venom through, I think," Jim replied."But enough would have gone to make a very sick little Harry."

  "It'd be an interesting experiment, no doubt," said Harry. "But, if youdon't mind, I'll leave it for someone else to try. I'd recommend awooden-legged man as the experimenter. He'd feel much more at his easewhile the snake was trying how much venom he could get through a pantleg!"