“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 if she means to eat it in sections or not—it certainly doesn’t mean to go into my pocket as it is.” He desisted from his efforts. “Try it in the crown 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 the step, “how do you imagine Harry’s going to cart this apple?”
“Quite simple,” said Norah airily. “Cut it in four, and we’ll each take a bit.”
“That’s the judgment of Solomon,” said Wally, who was lying full length on the lawn—recovering, as Jim unkindly suggested, from dinner.
“Well, come along,” Jim said impatiently—“you’re an awfully hard crowd to get started. We want to reach the falls in fair time, to see the sunlight on them—it’s awfully pretty. After about three or four o’clock the trees shade the water, and it’s quite ordinary.”
“Just plain, wet water,” murmured Wally. Jim rolled him over and over down the sloping lawn, and then fled, pursued by Wally with dishevelled attire 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 of the bank and to follow the cattle track that led close to the water. Great fat bullocks lay about under the huge gum trees, scarcely raising their eyes to glance at the children as they passed; none were eating, all were chewing the cud in lazy contentment. They passed through a smaller paddock where superb sheep dotted the grass—real aristocrats these, accustomed to be handled and petted, and to live on the fat of the land—poor grass or rough country food they had never known. Jim and Norah visited some special favourites, and patted them. Harry and Wally admired at a distance.
“Those some of the sheep you saved from the fire?” queried Harry.