An Outback Marriage

The black boys went in with them to Pike's store to take back

supplies on the pack-horse. They travelled over the same country

that they had seen coming up; the men at the stations greeted them

with the same hospitality. Nothing was said about Considine's good

fortune. It was thought wise to be silent, as he didn't know how

soon his wife might hear of it.

They left the gins at the blacks' camp, which they chanced on by

a riverside. The camp was a primitive affair, a few rude shelters

made by bending bamboo sticks together and covering them with strips

of paper bark. Here the sable wariors sat and smoked all day long,

tobacco being their only civilised possession. Carew was very

anxious to look at them, a development of curiosity that Considine

could not understand.

"Most uninteresting devils, I call 'em," he said. "They're stark

naked, and they have nothing. What is there to look at?"

Having parted with Maggie and Lucy, they pushed onwards, the old

man beguiling the time with disquisitions on the horse-hunting

capabilities of his gins, whom he seemed really sorry to leave. As

they got near Pike's, he became more restless than ever.

"See here, Mister," he said at last, "my wife's here, I expect,

and if she gets wind of this, I'll never get rid of her. The only

thing to do is to slip away without her knowing, and she might never

hear of it. I won't go into the place at all. I'll go on and camp

down the creek, and get the coach there after it leaves the town,

and she'll never know."

The town of "Pike's" consisted of a hotel, a store, a post-office,

a private residence, and coach-stables; these were all combined in

one establishment, so the town couldn't be said to be scattered.

Pike himself was landlord of the "pub," keeper of the store, officer

in charge of the post-office, owner of the private residence, holder

of the mail contract, and proprietor of the coach-stables. Behind

him was only wilderness and "new" country.

Nobody ever saw him at home. Either he was on the road with a

bullock-team, bringing up supplies for the hotel and store, or he

was droving cattle down on a six months' journey to market; or he

was away looking at new country, or taking supplies out to men on

the half-provisioned stations of the "outer-back;" or else he was

off to some new mining camp or opal-field, to sell a dray-load of

goods at famine prices.

When Charlie and Carew rode up to the store they did not see Pike,

nor did they expect to see him. By some mysterious Providence they

had arrived the very day the coach started on its monthly trip

down to Barcoo; and in front of the hotel were congregated quite a

number of people--Pike's wife and his half-wild children, a handful

of bushmen, station hands, opal miners, and what-not, and last,

but not least, a fat lady of about forty summers, with flaring red

hair.