“She’ll need a deal of educating before we let her out alone,” he said, after a particularly bad failure, with the first touch of that air of proprietorship that was to become his favourite attitude towards his missus.

“It’s only common sense; you’ll soon get used to it,” Mac said in encouragement, giving us one of his delightful backhanders.  Then in all seriousness Dan suggested teaching her some of the signs of water at hand, right off, “in case she does get lost any time,” and also seriously, the Maluka and Mac “thought it would be as well, perhaps.”

Then the townswoman’s self-satisfied arrogance came to the surface.  “You needn’t bother about me,” I said, confident I had as much common sense as any bushman.  “If ever I do get lost, I’ll just catch a cow and milk it.”

Knowing nothing of the wild, scared cattle of the fenceless runs of the Never-Never, I was prepared for anything rather than the roar of delight that greeted that example of town “common sense.”

“Missus! missus!” the Maluka cried, as soon as he could speak, “you’ll need a deal of educating “; and while Mac gasped, “Oh I say!  Look here!” Dan, with tears in his eyes, chuckled:  “She’ll have a drouth on by the time she runs one down.”  Dan always called a thirst a drouth.  “Oh Lord!” he said, picturing the scene in his mind’s eye, “’I’ll catch a cow and milk it,’ she says.”

Then, dancing with fun, the hazel eyes looked round the company, and as Dan rose, preparatory to turning in, we felt we were about to hear their verdict.  When it came it was characteristic of the man in uniqueness of wording: 

“She’s the dead finish!” he said, wiping his eyes on his shirt sleeve.  “Reckoned she was the minute I heard her talking about slap-up dampers”; and in some indescribable way we knew he had paid the woman who was just entering his life the highest compliment in his power.  Then he added, “Told the chaps the little ’uns were generally all right.”  It is the helplessness of little women that makes them appear “all right” in the eyes of bushmen, helplessness being foreign to snorters.

At breakfast Dan expressed surprise because there was no milk, and the pleasantry being well received, he considered the moment ripe for one of his pet theories.

“She’ll do for this place!” he said, wagging his head wisely.  “I’ve been forty years out-bush, and I’ve known eight or ten women in that time, so I ought to know something about it.  Anyway, the ones that could see jokes suited best.  There was Mrs. Bob out Victoria way.  She’d see a joke a mile off; sighted ’em as soon as they got within cooee.  Never knew her miss one, and never knew anybody suit the bush like she did.”  And, as we packed up and set out for the last lap of our journey he was still ambling about his theory.  “Yes,” he said, “you can dodge most things out bush; but you can’t dodge jokes for long.  They’ll run you down sooner or later”; adding with a