The Shadow of a Man

sure the place doe

marry you for it al

ings, and the white palings of a well among the pines, and in the upper spaces a broken but persistent horizon of salt-bush plains burning into the blinding blue. In the Riverina you cannot escape these features: you may have more pine-trees and less salt-bush; you may even get blue-bush and cotton-bush, and an occasional mallee forest; but the plains will recur, and the pines will mitigate the plains, and the dazzle and the scent of them shall haunt you evermore, with that s

novelty," he said. "

I revel in it-a

t about weeks, and months, and years? Ye

s-work and creepers. They would grow like wildfire

should like to grow them insid

uch things a

ke the furnitu

leave no room for a few of our very own things. Besides, there's lots more they couldn't possibly object to. Curta

t hear th

to see Moya Bethune there in the delicious flesh, her snowy frock glimmering coolly in

in the better language

ressing you?" as

the life

t w

utterly bored

d slid

again," she whispered, w

ount; of course not,"

he s

nly w

ad stopp

think better of a

k they met (last Cup-week), and, what was more to his credit, had refused to apologise to her rather formidable family for so doing. Whereupon they were engaged, and all her world wondered. No more Government House-no more parties and picnics-but "one long picnic instead," as her brother Theod

Theodore!" she c

nd," he said, telli

ot to be taken seriously. Oh, how I wish I could have come up alone!" cried Moya, wi

ctory at last. And the least little wisp of a cloud betw

feelings of a less convincing character. And at last there was no doubt about the matter. She had fallen a happy victim to the law of contrasts. Society favourite and city belle, satiated with the attractions of the town, and deadly si

lean of body and mind, modest but independent, easy-going in most things, immovable in others. But he had been immovable about Moya, whose family at its worst had failed to frighten

tue had been strained out of this particular branch. Moya none the less continued to realise the disadvantages of belonging to a larg

'm quite glad you hav

ed a little

hat I mean!

d. And the smile

ng going on at Government House. And I'm so tired of it all-wouldn't settle there now if they paid me. So we're o

l cast. Rigden had grown too grave to ma

known my mother,

ar, and your

er knew hi

was not very inquisitive on the subject herself. But she happened to have heard much of it at home, and it was d

were numbered, and I was born an orphan. But my dear mother lived to make a man of me: she was the proudest and the p

to her one bit; and was unaware

ted. But I hate the sound of it myself, for they treated her very badly on he

as quick to see the unworthiness of this sentiment, and quicker to feel a remorse which demanded some sort of expression in order to restore complete self-approval. Yet she

u for all that you have lost, dearest. But nobody can. And

sincerity. But Rig

ome of the

innate curiosity after all. She was st

ble temper," sh

t belie

Theod

shouldn't b

wait a

it I'll show you what

he

es

han I deserve. So I suppose you might call

l; hence the hesit

, solemnly, "you may sen

be too

sense. "Come! We love each other; that's good enough to go on with. And we've got th

ement had overstrung her finer nerves, and ne

ys love each o

oisture upon the lovely eyes that

" he said, catching her mood.

ever

you giv

thing I shall ne

oya. If I knew what I have ever

ttle dream ... but you

se He

d kissed her wi

er-there shall be no clouds betwee

s the Boo

shad

ld, why shou

's The

r Theo

are all those

e no difference. It's not your qualities I'm in lov

which had the eventual advantage of a nature only less decided than

h, and as the lowering sun laid long shadows at their feet, that one of these came suddenl