Next time you come you betterbring a few shutters
with you, he sang out over his shoulder.
Youve disgraced us, he said, and added grandly,
Youve brokenfathers heart. Well have twenty thousand quids worth of
ammunitionplanted along the central railway.
Even a bloody counter-jumping
Saturday-afternoonmilitiaman couldnt miss me. Everybody ought to have a pound aweek
and no more. She put her handon her breasts where she still kept the shred of cloth
Doug hadleft on the fence.
You ought to get a putty medal, loving Australia
like youdo. Of course she has to try to cover up her youngprofligates
tracks.
Doug emergedas an accredited moral
martyr.
At this inadequate reply their simple faces
clouded.
Pleased to hear it, James said, but nobody else
will believeit. Thats all right you laughing, Coyle said. I killed a man incold
blood, a good honest man.
Just wait, Coylesaid, till the scabs come. Larry
felt in his hand thelong butchers knife he had brought to cut the
cabbages.
And young Geoffreys going to the dogs with
racehorses anddrink.
He raised his hand to wave but put it back in the
pocket of hismoleskins. Leave the scum youre with and Ill talk to you.
The long empty days had sapped Larrys courage.
Think too high of your old man for that, eh? I thought your pa might be asking to
see them. If it took the monkey a couple of million years tobecome a man how long
dyou think itll take Rusty?
And what when he begins marching in scabs? He was
deeply impressed bywhat Budge had said. Had her eye on you a long time andthinks
youre a good stamp of a lad.
Wagner drawled down from six inches above
thetallest head. Do you want to see your women working in thepaddocks like some of
you seen in England?
People said that the boom was over, thatwhat had
happened in the Argentine would happen here. The lustre had gone from her hair, her
skin was yellow.
They reckon it will be settled without any
shooting, Larry saidanxiously. Englands his; thats where hes alwaysaimed to end up
when hed sucked the marrow out of this.
I thought your pa might be asking to see them.