'That's not nasty. I like it,' he said.
A low, rumbling sound was heard. 'We are going to have rain,' said Jim, and his face brightened, for they were sorely in need of it.
'That will do good, dad.'
'Yes, and cool the air for you. You are not frightened at storms, are you?'
'No, not when you are here. I'm never frightened at anything when you are near me.'
It was a great consolation in Jim Dennis's life when he heard his child speak like this. He almost forgave the mother for deserting them, because it left Willie entirely for himself.
The only thing he was selfish in was the love of his son, and he could not bear that to be shared with anyone.
CHAPTER V
A REGULAR SAVAGE
For days and weeks there had been no rain at Wanabeen or in the Swamp Creek district. Jim Dennis was not a rich man, far from it, and he had to depend upon his small station for his living. Everything depended upon the weather. Without rain the land became a mere barren waste, and the stock perished. There were no artesian bores then, no artificial or scientific means of drawing supplies of water from under the ground, although Jim had a shrewd suspicion, from observations he had made, that underground rivers existed. He wished such rivers above instead of beneath the surface, or that he could find some means to tap them.