In a little while Power followed them from the room. Standing in the verandah, he lit a pipe. His swag had gone on in the cook's waggon, and there remained only a few minutes' office work and he might get away. The old willingness to be in the saddle took hold of him. His heart was in the cattle work. The longest day made him more ready for the next. A good horse, a whip to his hand, the bellow of a mob in his ears—these things kept his heart evergreen.
Morning had come, the birds had whistled him from bed, the sun had climbed up; but the glamour of last night had not passed quite away. He found himself—and little pleased he was at it—he found himself more than once waking to the day's affairs from dreams of a girl holding up a lantern at the doorway of a tent by a river.
Mrs. Elliott had forgiven the churlishness of breakfast, and waited with an ample lunch, secure from sun and flies. He promised to be back some day or other, took up a dripping water-bag and his whip, and passed to the stable. The black horse, saddled and waiting, fidgeted by the door, and Scandalous Jack was taking aggressive charge.
Scandalous thrust up his hard face to shout a warning.
"He'll be shaking yer up, boss, I reckon. He fooled me half an hour 'fore I had the saddle on him."
"Wants a day's work," Power said. He looked over the girths and secured the water-bag. All he did was gentle and cautious. At the touch of the wet canvas the black horse snorted, reared up and swung about. Scandalous, very fond of his corns, retired in a hurry. With voice and a firm handling Power kept the beast in check. He had completed matters in a few minutes. Whereupon he coiled the whip on his arm, and drew together the reins. He went about the mounting with cunning, and when the moment of moments came, was in the saddle in one movement.
The black horse squealed, and its head went down between its legs as a stone from a catapult. It came high off the ground, all four feet together, in a great bucking plunge which tried all Power's skill to ride. The ground fell away from him and spun about, there came to his ears a great straining of leather, and he knew a fierce shock as the brute went to earth. Instinct set him leaning back, with legs fierce gripping and toes down pointing. Horse and rider went up again, with a heave tremendous beyond belief, and there was an instant when Power stared down at emptiness. They were down and up in one breathing, and away with great bounds that threw them across the yard. A heave, a thud, a grunt and a swing brought them about, and on the heels of it they were going up into the air again. Down then and up into space again, all four feet together, groaning with the effort, while the hot dust streamed into Power's face. The rally was over in a dozen seconds, and the horse stood heaving, and Power settled himself in the saddle.
"Rough horse that!" Scandalous shouted from the fence.
"He makes it too hot to last."