"But you did it all until last year?" Aileen asked in amazement. "And brought up the children?"
"With a bit of ploughing thrown in!" came from Tom.
'Possum flushed. She was not quite sure that they were not laughing at her. But their faces were very kind.
"Well, y' see, there wasn't any one else," she said. "Dad was too busy on the place. He got a woman at first, but she was always drunk, an' stole things, an' hit us, an' bossed us round. I tol' Dad I'd run the house if he'd send her away, so he did. My word, we was glad! She never passed any of the kids without givin' them a clip on the ear for luck!" Her head went up. "An' they're good kids, mind y'—'cept Joe!"
Joe grinned happily.
"But how did you manage everything?"
"Oh, I dunno. It wasn't hard. Kids in the Bush look after themselves a lot, y' know. They get handy in no time. Bill's cut all the wood for me since he was seven, an' he an' Bert milked before they wont to school. Bill an' Polly's goin' still, of course. I had to leave school when Mother died, an' I was on'y eleven then, so I hadn't learned much. I was always a fool, too!"
"A fool!" said Tom. "Good Heavens!"
"Oh, I was—true. I never could make head or tail of books. More I tried, the stupider I got. Sums, too: ain't they silly things? But I used to wish I'd had time to learn a bit more, 'cause I did want to bring the kids up decent. Mother was very partic'lar. But I jolly well seen to it that they went to school reg'lar. Joe's goin' next year. I s'pose I oughter sent him this year, but he was the baby, so he's got a bit spoilt."
The queer, disjointed speech stopped, and 'Possum disappeared behind her tea-cup.