After the great case was over life at Kuryong went on its old round.

Mary Grant, now undisputed owner, took up the reins of government,

and Hugh was kept there always on one pretext or another.

Considine and his wife stayed a while in the district before

starting for England, and were on the best of terms with the folk

at the homestead, Peggy's daring attempt to seize the estate having

been forgiven for her husband's sake.

Mary seemed to take a delicious pleasure in making Hugh come to her

for orders and consultations. She signed without question anything

that Charlie put before her, but Hugh was constantly called in

to explain all sorts of things. The position was difficult in the

extreme, although Peggy tried to give Hugh good advice.

"Sure, the girl's fond of you, Mr. Hugh!" she said, "Why don't you

ask her to marry you? See what a good thing it'd be? She's only

waitin' to be asked."

"I'll manage my own affairs, thank you," said Hugh. "It isn't likely

I'm going to ask her now, when I haven't got a penny." He was as

miserable as a man could well be, and was on the point of leaving

the station and going back to the buffalo camp in search of solitude,

when an unexpected incident suddenly brought matters to a climax.

A year had slipped by since William Grant's death, and the glorious

Spring came round again; the river was bank-high with the melting

of the mountain-snows, the English fruit-trees were all blossoming,

and the willows a-bud. One day the mailman left a large handbill,

anouncing the Spring race-meeting at Kiley's, a festival sacred,

as a rule, to the Doyles and the Donohoes, at which no outsider

had any earthly chance of winning a race.

In William Grant's time the handbill would have soon reached the

fire-place; he did not countenance running station horses at the

local meetings. Under the new owner things were different. Charlie

Gordon was spoiling for a chance to run Revoke, a back-block purchase,

against the locals, and suggested it in an off-hand sort of way

while reading the circular. Hugh opposed the notion altogether.

His opposition apparently made Miss Grant determined to go on with

the scheme, and she gave Charlie carte blanche in the matter.

When race-day arrived, there was quite a merry party at the homestead.

Carew was making himself very attentive to Ellen Harriott, Mary

was flirting very openly with Charlie Gordon, to Hugh's intense

misery; and it was whispered about the station that the younger

brother would be deposed in favour of the elder.

Hugh did not want to go to the races, but Mary asked him so directly

that he had no option.

It was a typical Australian Spring day. The sky was blue, the air

was fresh, the breeze made great, long, rippling waves in the grass,

and every soul in the place--Mary in particular--seemed determined

to enjoy it to the utmost.




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