She stood them with their
backs to the fire and, taking up the young man's wet clothes, which
the settler had brought out under his arm and thrown on a stool,
arranged them over the backs of chairs and the stool to dry. He lost
some of his nervousness or seared manner under the influence of the
gin, and answered one or two questions with reference to his
complaint.
The baby was in the cradle asleep. The sister drew boiling water from
the old-fashioned fountain over one side of the fire and made coffee.
The mother laid the coarse brownish cloth and set out the camp-oven
bread, salt beef, tin plates, and pintpots. This was always called
"setting the table" in the bush. "You'd better have it by the
fire," said the bush-wife to the dark man.
"Thank you, missus," he said, as he moved to a bench by the table,
"but it's plenty warm enough here. Come on, Jack."
Jack, under the influence of another tot, was in a fit state to sit
down to a table something like a Christian, instead of coming to his
food like a beaten dog.
The hum of bush common-places went on. One of the boys fell across
the bed and into deep slumber; the other watched on awhile, but must
have dozed.
When he was next aware, he saw, through the cracks, the taller man
putting on his dried coat by the fire; then he went to a rough "sofa"
at the side of the kitchen, where the young man was sleeping--with his
head and shoulders curled in to the wall and his arm over his face,
like a possum hiding from the light--and touched him on the shoulder.
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