A look of utter, naive amazement overflowed
hisfeatures. The dogs get up from the fire and stretch themselves. And on top of it
all ten to one Ill benabbed again. As well try to blow out a bushfire, hold back the
river with hishands. Now the sun set on their left hand, day after day, week after
week. A generation was small enough, and hehad set ten years. In the scrub the
animals rustled with alarmat it and cried out. The watchman canters round, driving
restless cowsback into the mob.
The men got tired, tailing sheep and cattle by day,
watching themby night. Suddenly aware of Cabell, he glanced up andtheir eyes
met.
In his agitationhe had almost brought the horses
with him. He jammed hishat down on his head till it half covered his
face.
The last thread in a tissue offantastic
improbabilities.
The dogs get up from the fire and stretch
themselves. If yed take my advice, he said, the countrys good up thecoast. He
stopped at the outer circle of light, grimacedwith exasperation, and clawed the
air.
Hewas caked with mud from head to foot and a lump
of dry mud hung inhis beard like a blood globule. They took the wheels from the
cart, lashedbarrels on each side, and turned it into a boat. Within two weeks Cabell
had hurdles up for the sheep.
A pleasantsmell rose from the trampling feet of the
cattle, the scent ofsweet marjoram.
That lastflogging, Pete, he said confidentially,
forget it.
Why this heaviness in hisheart, this feeling of
guilt and dishonour?
Robins bent down stealthily, picked up the axe and
raised it. Blacks followed them and ran away at the sound of a gun. The sunlight
strikes up fromthe water and dapples her laughing face with shadows.
Cabell turned his head away with an automatic
reflex of horror. Thats one saved his windpipe tilltomorrer.
The only other person beside Cabell who seemed
comparativelyindifferent to the flood was Peppiott. Irritated by the griphe kept on
them, their skinny heads tossed up and down.
Theyd be there for the ironing-up any
time.
The dogs get up from the fire and stretch
themselves.
Gursey stood near the window, Pete at thefarthest
end of the table.
He always had a parallel story todiminish the
wonderful things that happened to Tom.