“They’d have sent for the police,” remarked Ned.  “Next year Arranvale shed was burned,” he added.

“It’s always that way,” declared Nellie, angrily.  “For my part I’d sooner see the wildest, most hopeless outbreak, than that sort of thing.”

“So would the squatters, Nellie,” retorted Ned, grimly.  “I feel all you do,” he went on.  “But human nature is human nature and the squatters did their level best, ignorantly I admit, to make the men mere brutes, and the life alone has made hundreds mad, so we can’t wonder if the result isn’t altogether pleasant.  They’ve made us hut in with Chinese and Malays.  They’ve stuck up prices till flour that cost them tuppence a pound I’ve seen selling us for a shilling.  They’ve cut wages down whenever they got a chance and are cutting them now, and they want to break up our unions with their miserable ‘freedom of contract’ agreement.  Before there were unions in the bush the only way to get even with a squatter was by some underhand trick and now we’ve got our unions and are ready to stand up manly and fight him fair he’s coming the same dodge on us that the shipowners came on the seamen, only worse.  Going to use contract labour from the South that we can’t get near to talk to and that can’t legally knock off if we did talk it over, and going to break up the camps and shoot down unarmed men just to stop the strike.  How can you wonder if a few fires start or expect the chaps to be indignant if they do?  Besides, half the fires that happen at times like this are old shanties of sheds that are insured above their value.  It’s convenient to be able to put everything down to unionists.”

“It worries me,” said Nellie, after a few minutes’ silence.

“Me too,” said Ned.  “We’ve got such a good case if both sides could only be shown up.  We’ve been willing to talk the whole thing over all along and we’re willing yet or to arbitrate it either.  We’re right and lots of these fellows know it who abuse us.  And if our chaps do talk a bit rough and get excited and even if they do occasionally carry on a bit, it’s not a circumstance to the way the other side talk and get excited and carry on.  Only all the law is against us and none against them.  Our chaps are so hot that they don’t go at it like lawyers but like a bull at a gate, when they talk or write.  And so the Government gets a hold on us and can raise a dust and prevent people from seeing how things really are!”

“Ned,” she said, after a pause.  “Tell me honestly!  Do you thing there will be any trouble?”

“Honestly, I don’t, Nellie.  At least nothing serious.  Some of the fellows may start to buck if the Government does try to break up the camps and it might spread a little, but there are no guns and so I don’t see how it could.  There seems to be a lot of talk everywhere but that’s hard fact.  Ten thousand bushmen with rifles wouldn’t have much trouble with the Government and the Government wouldn’t have much trouble with ten thousand bushmen without rifles.  Besides, we’re trying to do things peacefully and I don’t see why we shouldn’t win this round as things stand and get votes soon into the bargain!”