Chapter 4 Summary

The head stockman's house on Drogheda features a chipped tub off the veranda and a decrepit water heater, although the privy is still a stinking hole in the ground a hundred yards away. Drogheda is a world unto itself, with a blacksmith shop, innumerable sheds, a sheep shearing shed with dozens of stalls, and a barracks for the jackaroos, or sheepherders. The huge rainwater tanks around the sumptuous main house are rumored to hold enough water for the house and gardens for ten years. At the head stockman's house by the river, the tanks hold only enough water for drinking. Cleaning and washing must be accomplished with the dark brown river water.

Paddy and the older boys spend most of their time away from the Home Paddock, camping on the range under the tutelage of two stockmen Mary Carson hired. Although the grey-brown...