"Mick's doin' good work there."
"You're a fool, Scandalous."
"I may be that. Some fools see more than wise men with spectacles. Have ye heard about the gouger's girl there?"
"What about her?"
"Mick's silly as a snake on her. They say she's a daddy for looks."
"I'm for breakfast," Power said. "Give this horse a look over. I'll want him in an hour."
Power went to breakfast. It was ready for him in a low bare room, with fly netting on doors and windows. One door opened on a verandah, where creepers waged war with the climate. Mrs. Elliott, the cook, and Maggie, the maid of all other work, had found excuse to wait for him. He knew the sign of old, and prepared to be discreet. He nodded his good morning. "Breakfast in?" he asked.
Maggie answered with great good will. "It's been getting cold this ten minutes."
She was a handsome girl in the early morning, before the heat fagged her. Mrs. Elliott, in middle life, ample and beaming, busied herself briskly doing nothing, waiting to take the talk her way. The two women attacked him together.