Chapter 6 Summary

Paget is "wildly and unreasonably happy," reaching the Darwin airport, feeling finally recovered from the war and no longer 70 years old. Reporters surround the gangway, looking for celebrity stories, but are disappointed. Stuart Hopkinson of the Sydney Monitor offers Paget a lift to the Darwin Hotel. She invents a cover story in which Harman is a second cousin she is looking up for her worried uncle. Hopkinson and Hal Porter of the Adelaide Herald prove helpful over the next few days, showing her the sights, explaining local customs, and suggesting the best way to reach the outback. They paint a gloomy economic picture of the region. There are abandoned businesses and a railway line, a beautiful but undeveloped port, and severe "outbackitis." Remembering Harman's recollections of Alice Springs, Paget asks about it. Hopkinson says it is "all right," because it is a railhead...