It was at such races as these Willie Dennis often rode his father's horses with signal success, but he refused to ride for anyone else, although offered large sums to do so. Jim Dennis remonstrated with him, but Willie stood firm, and his father allowed him to have his own way.
The Cudgegong stud was fast becoming famous, and breeders from many parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland visited the station and made extensive purchases.
They were surprised to find in Molly Dennis a well-educated, refined woman, and wondered how she managed to exist in such a lonely part.
Molly Dennis was not lonely; she was very happy. Her husband was kind and devoted to her, and she did all in her power to please him. They generally had someone staying with them, and constant visitors came from Swamp Creek and Barragong. Altogether it was a 'jolly life,' Molly said, and she meant it.
She was an excellent horsewoman, and had long gallops over the big paddocks with Willie Dennis.
Adye Dauntsey generally spent the week-end with them, and on the occasion of these visits Dr Tom would drop in for a chat.
Dr Tom had never been so prosperous before, and he was quite accustomed to having his fees paid, a thing he had never dreamt of even in his most sanguine moments.
He had built a new house at Swamp Creek, and his buggy and pair was highly presentable.
Altogether Dr Tom was somewhat of a reformed character, but he was still the same good-natured, even-tempered, kind-hearted man who had answered Jim Dennis's call for help when Willie lay at death's door.
No man was more beloved than the doctor, and no trouble was too great, he thought, to deserve the kindness of his many friends. Molly Dennis was his favourite, and he amused her for hours with his quaint tales of ship life and his early struggles at Swamp Creek. He still had a mania for poetry, and Molly Dennis was his theme, 'his inspiration,' he said.