Joe Wilson and His Mates | Page 7

on horseback: most Bushmen look better on horseback. It was a
black filly, a fresh young thing, and she seemed as shy of girls as I was
myself. I noticed Mary glanced in my direction once or twice to see if
she knew me; but, when she looked, the filly took all my attention.
Mary trotted in to tell old Black he was wanted, and after Jack had seen
him, and arranged to start work next day, we started back to Solong.
I expected Jack to ask me what I thought of Mary -- but he didn't. He
squinted at me sideways once or twice and didn't say anything for a
long time, and then he started talking of other things. I began to feel
wild at him. He seemed so damnably satisfied with the way things were
going. He seemed to reckon that I was a gone case now; but, as he
didn't say so, I had no way of getting at him. I felt sure he'd go home
and tell his wife that Joe Wilson was properly gone on little 'Possum at
Haviland. That was all Jack's way.
Next morning we started to work. We were to build the buggy-house at
the back near the end of the old house, but first we had to take down a

rotten old place that might have been the original hut in the Bush
before the old house was built. There was a window in it, opposite the
laundry window in the old place, and the first thing I did was to take
out the sash. I'd noticed Jack yarning with 'Possum before he started
work. While I was at work at the window he called me round to the
other end of the hut to help him lift a grindstone out of the way; and
when we'd done it, he took the tips of my ear between his fingers and
thumb and stretched it and whispered into it --
`Don't hurry with that window, Joe; the strips are hardwood and hard to
get off -- you'll have to take the sash out very carefully so as not to
break the glass.' Then he stretched my ear a little more and put his
mouth closer --
`Make a looking-glass of that window, Joe,' he said.
I was used to Jack, and when I went back to the window I started to
puzzle out what he meant, and presently I saw it by chance.
That window reflected the laundry window: the room was dark inside
and there was a good clear reflection; and presently I saw Mary come
to the laundry window and stand with her hands behind her back,
thoughtfully watching me. The laundry window had an old-fashioned
hinged sash, and I like that sort of window -- there's more romance
about it, I think. There was thick dark-green ivy all round the window,
and Mary looked prettier than a picture. I squared up my shoulders and
put my heels together and put as much style as I could into the work. I
couldn't have turned round to save my life.
Presently Jack came round, and Mary disappeared.
`Well?' he whispered.
`You're a fool, Jack,' I said. `She's only interested in the old house
being pulled down.'
`That's all right,' he said. `I've been keeping an eye on the business
round the corner, and she ain't interested when I'M round this end.'

`You seem mighty interested in the business,' I said.
`Yes,' said Jack. `This sort of thing just suits a man of my rank in times
of peace.'
`What made you think of the window?' I asked.
`Oh, that's as simple as striking matches. I'm up to all those dodges.
Why, where there wasn't a window, I've fixed up a piece of
looking-glass to see if a girl was taking any notice of me when she
thought I wasn't looking.'
He went away, and presently Mary was at the window again, and this
time she had a tray with cups of tea and a plate of cake and
bread-and-butter. I was prizing off the strips that held the sash, very
carefully, and my heart suddenly commenced to gallop, without any
reference to me. I'd never felt like that before, except once or twice. It
was just as if I'd swallowed some clockwork arrangement,
unconsciously, and it had started to go, without warning. I reckon it
was all on account of that blarsted Jack working me up. He had a quiet
way of working you up to a thing, that made you want to hit him
sometimes -- after you'd made an ass of yourself.
I didn't hear Mary at first. I hoped Jack would come round and help me
out of the fix, but he didn't.
`Mr -- Mr Wilson!' said Mary.