As soon as the squire had finished his smoke he mounted Annie on to her horse, when she said, “Now, dad, I must have a good gallop,” and, without waiting to see if her father was in the saddle, she spoke to Robin, who no sooner found that his head was directed towards the Creek than he flew homewards as hard as he could gallop.
Together girl and horse cleared the home-paddock fence, and pulled up breathless at the verandah, followed a few minutes later by the squire, who remarked,—
“I never saw you go like that, Annie; I really cannot keep up with you another time. I hope that you enjoyed your ride!”
“Father, I shall never forget it!” said our heroine, as she flew up the steps to her own room.
From this period both Annie and her father seemed to find the time pass more quickly and cheerfully. A “something” had been removed between them which caused her to seek her father’s companionship for a daily ride with eagerness, whilst most of the evenings she devoted to her garden; and the squire, when he could find the time, wended his way to Sydney on business connected with the station, and matters concerning the publication of our forester’s journal or narrative, which Annie had finished reading with great delight.
We must now follow our hero and his little party on their trip northwards.
Before starting, Mat had pointed out to Tom, on an outline map, his proposed route as near as he could guess. Placing his finger on a spot high up on the north-eastern coast, he said,—
“I should fancy the wreck took place within fifty miles of this line, which, you see, is marked seventeenth degree of south latitude. It must be a good bit over eight hundred miles from here the way that we shall have to go; but, by hitting off Moreton Bay, we can surely find a vessel which will carry us and our horses some way north, and so give us a rest.”
At first, after leaving the Creek, they pursued their way through the more settled districts for some weeks, sleeping either at stations or camping out, as time or fancy suited, and, reaching Brisbane, were lucky enough to find a schooner there, which they hired, the captain of the boat saying that he knew the northern coast up to a certain point, and so far he would take them.
On the evening of the sixth day the skipper anchored at the mouth of a fair-sized river, and declared that he could not risk his vessel further, so our party reached the shore, when the tide was suitable, by swimming their horses; their food, ammunition, and fancy articles being taken in the ship’s boat.