The Book Of The Bush by George Dunderdale (top fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖

Small Potato,  They Begin To Wither And Story 6 ( The Two Shepherds.) Pg 117

Turn Yellow,  And Not A Bit More Will They Grow.  So I'm Cutting The

Blessed Things To Pieces."

 

Philip Saw That About Half The Runners Had Been Already Destroyed.

He Said,  "Don't Chop Any More,  Gleeson,  And I'll Show You How To Make

Pumpkins Grow."

 

He Picked Up A Feather In The Fowl-Yard,  And Went Inside The Garden.

 

"Now Look At These Flowers Closely; They Are Not All Alike.  This

Flower Will Never Turn Into A Pumpkin,  But This One Will If It Gets A

Little Of The Dust From The First Flower.  The Bees Or Other Insects

Usually Take The Dust From One Flower To The Other,  But I Suppose

There Are No Bees About Here Just Now?"

 

Philip Then Dusted Every Flower That Was Open And Said:  "Now,  My

Friend,  Put Away The Axe,  And You Will Have Fruit Here Yet."  And The

Pumpkins Grew And Ripened.

 

The Two Men Then Went Towards The House,  And Philip Observed The

Fragments Of A Clock Scattered About The Ground In Front Of The

Verandah.

 

"What Happened To The Clock?" Said Philip.

 

"Why," Replied Gleeson,  "The Thing Wasn't Going Right At All,  So I

Took It To Pieces Just To Examine It,  And To Oil The Wheels,  And When

I Tried To Put It Together Again,  The Fingers Were All Awry,  And The

Pins Wouldn't Fit In Their Places,  And The Pendulum Swung Crooked,

And The Whole Thing Bothered Me So That I Just Laid It On The Floor

Of The Verandah,  And Gave It One Big Kick That Sent It To

Smithereens.  But Don't Mind Me Or The Clock At All,  Master; Just

Come Inside,  And We'll Have A Bit O' Dinner Before We Start."

 

Gleeson Was The Kindest Man In The World; All He Wanted Was A Little

Patience.

 

The Kangaroo Gave Better Sport Than Either The Fish Or The Pig,  And

Philip Enjoyed It.  His Mare Proved Swift,  But Sometimes Shied At The

Start,  When The Kangaroos Were In Full View.  She Seemed To Think

That There Was A Kangaroo Behind Every Tree,  So She Jumped Aside From

The Trunks.  That Was To Kill Philip At Last,  But He Had Not The

Least Idea What Was To Happen,  And Was As Happy As Hermits Usually

Are,  And They Have Their Troubles And Accidents Just Like Other

People.

 

The Kangaroos When Disturbed Made For The Thick Timber,  And The

Half-Grown Ones,  Called "Flying Joeys," Always Escaped; They Were So

Swift,  And They Could Jump To Such A Distance That I Won't Mention

It,  As Some Ignorant People Might Call Me A Liar.  Those Killed Were

Mostly Does With Young,  Or Old Men.  Any Horse Of Good Speed Could

Round Up A Heavy Old Man,  And Then He Made For The Nearest Gum Tree,

And Stood At Bay With His Back To It.  It Was Dangerous For Man Or

Dog To Attack Him In Front,  For With His Long Hind Claws He Could Cut

Story 6 ( The Two Shepherds.) Pg 118

Like A Knife.

 

Philip's Family Began To Desert Him.  Bruin,  As Already Stated,

Sneaked Away And Was Killed By Hugh Boyle.  Joey Opened His

Cage-Door,  And Flew Up A Gum Tree.  When Philip Came Home From The

School,  And Saw The Empty Cage,  He Called Aloud,  "Joey,  Joey,  Sweet

Pretty Joey," And Whistled.  The Bird Descended As Far As The

Lightwood,  But Would Not Be Coaxed To Come Any Nearer.  He Actually

Mocked His Master,  And Said,  "Ha,  Ha,  Ha! Who Are You?  Who Are You?

There Is Na Luck Aboot The Hoose," Which Soon Proved True,  For The

Next Bird Pussy Brought Into The House Was Joey Himself.

 

Pup Led A Miserable Life,  And Died Early.  The Coroner Suspected That

He Had Been Murdered By Maggie,  But There Was No Absolute Proof.

 

Maggie Had Really No Conscience.  She Began To Gad About The Bush.

In Her Girlish Days She Wore Short Frocks,  As It Were,  Having Had Her

Wings Clipped,  But The Next Spring She Went Into Society,  Was A

Debutante,  Wore A Dress Of Black And White Satin Which Shone In The

Sun,  And She Grew So Vain And Flighty,  And Strutted About So,  That It

Was Really Ridiculous To Watch Her.  She Began Also To Stay Out Late

In The Evening,  Which Was Very Improper,  And Before Going To Bed

Philip Would Go Under The Lightwood With A Lighted Candle,  And Look

For Her Amongst The Leaves,   Saying,  "Maggie,  Are You There?"  She

Was Generally Fast Asleep,  And All She Could Do Was To Blink Her

Eyes,  And Say,  "Peet,  Peet," And Fall Asleep Again.  But One Night

She Never Answered At All.  She Was Absent All Next Day,  And Many A

Day After That.  October Came,  When All The Scrub,  The Lightwood,  And

Wattle Were In Full Bloom,  And The Air Everywhere Was Full Of

Sweetness.  Philip Was Digging His First Boiling Of New Potatoes,

When All At Once Maggie Swooped Down Into The Garden,  And Began

Strutting About,  And Picking Up The Worms And Grubs From The Soil

Newly Turned Up.

 

"Oh,  You Impudent Hussy!" He Said.  "Where Have You Been All This

Time?"  He Stooped,  And Tried To Stroke Her Head As Usual With His

Forefinger,  But Maggie Stuck Her Bill In The Ground,  Turned A

Complete Somersault,  And Caught The Finger With Both Claws,  Which

Were Very Sharp.  She Held On For A Short Time,  Then Dropped Nimbly

To Her Feet,  And Said,  "There,  Now,  That Will Teach You To Behave

Yourself."

 

"Why,  Maggie," Said Philip,  "What On Earth Is The Matter With You?"

 

"Oh,  There's Nothing The Matter With Me,  I Assure You.  I Suppose You

Didn't Hear The News,  You Are Such An Old Stick-In-The-Mud.  It Was

In The Papers,  Though--No Cards--And All The Best Society Ladies

Knew It Of Course."

 

"Why,  Maggie,  You Don't Mean To Say You Have Got A Mate?"

 

"Of Course I Have,  You Horrid Man,  You Are So Vulgar.  We Were

Married Ages Ago.  I Didn't Invite You Of Course,  Because I Knew You

Would Make Yourself Disagreeable--Forbid The Banns,  Or Something,

Story 6 ( The Two Shepherds.) Pg 119

And Scare Away All The Ladies And Gentlemen,  For You Are A Most Awful

Fright,  With Your Red Hair And Freckles,  So I Thought It Best To Say

Nothing About The Engagement Until The Ceremony Was Over.  It Was

Performed By The Rev. Sinister Cornix,  And It Was A Very Select

Affair,  I Assure You,  And The Dresses Were So Lovely.  There Were Six

Bridesmaids--The Misses Mudlark.  The Mudlarks,  You Know,  Have A

Good Pedigree,  They Are Come Of The Younger Branch Of Our Family.  We

Were United In The Bonds Under A Cherry Tree.  Oh! It Was A Lovely

Time,  It Was Indeed,  I Assure You."

 

"And Where Are You Living Now,  Maggie?"

 

"Oh,  I Am Not Going To Tell You; You Are Too Inquisitive.  But Our

Mansion Is On The Top Of A Gum Tree.  It Is Among The Leaves At The

End Of A Slender Branch.  If Hugh Boyle Tries To Kidnap My Babies,

The Branch Will Snap,  And He Will Fall And Break His Neck,  The

Wretch.  Oh,  I Assure You We Thought Of Everything Beforehand; For I

Know You Keep A Lot Of Boys Bad Enough To Steal Anything."

 

"And What Sort Of A Mate--Husband,  I Mean--Have You Got?"

 

"Oh,  He Is A Perfect Gentleman,  And So Attentive To Me.  Latterly He

Has Been A Little Crusty,  I Must Admit; But You Must Not Say A Word

Against Him.  If You Do,  I'll Peck Your Eyes Out.  A Family,  You

Know,  Is So Troublesome,  And It Takes All Your Time To Feed Them.

There Are Two Of Them,  The Duckiest Little Fluffy Darlings You Ever

Saw.  They Were Very Hungry This Morning,  So When I Saw You Digging I

Knew You Wouldn't Begrudge Them A Breakfast,  And I Just Flew Down

Here For It.  But Bless My Soul,  The Little Darlings Will Be

Screaming Their Hearts Out With Hunger While I Am Talking To You,  And

Himself Will Be Swearing Like A Derviner.  So,  By-By."

 

Philip Found Maggie's Mansion Easily Enough; For,  In Spite Of All Her

Chatter,  She Had No Depth Of Mind.  The Tallest Gum-Tree Was On

Barlow's Farm Which Adjoined The Forty-Acre On The East.  Barlow Had

Been A Stockman For Several Years On Calvert's Run,  And Had Saved

Money.  He Invested His Money In The Bank Of Love,  And The Bank

Broke.  It Happened In This Way.

 

A New Shepherd From The Other Side Was Living With His Wife And

Daughter Near The Rises,  And One Day When Barlow Was Riding Over The

Run,  He Heard Some Strange Sounds,  And Stopped His Horse To Listen.

There Was Nobody In Sight In Any Direction,  And Barlow Said,

"There's Something The Matter At The New Shepherd's Hut," And He Rode

Swiftly Towards It. As He Approached The Hut,  He Heard The Screams Of

Women And The Voice Of A Blackfellow,  Who Was Hammering On The Door

With His Waddy.  He Was A Tame Blackfellow Who Had Been Educated At

The Missionary Station.  He Could Write English,  Say Prayers,  Sing

Hymns,  Read The Bible,  And Was Therefore Named Parson Bedford By The

Derviners,  After The Tasmanian Missionary.  He Could Box And Wrestle

So Well That Few White Men Could Throw Him.  He Could Also Drink Rum;

So Whenever He Got Any White Money He Knew How To Spend It.  He Was

The Best Thief And The Worst Bully Of All The Blacks About Nyalong,

Because He Had Been So Well Educated.  I Knew Him Well,  And Attended

Story 6 ( The Two Shepherds.) Pg 120

His Funeral,  Walking In The Procession With