Of Hugh she at first saw little. His work took him out on the
run all day long, looking after sheep in the paddocks, or perhaps
toiling day after day in the great, dusty drafting-yards. In the
cool of the afternoon the two girls would often canter over the
four miles or so of timbered country to the yards, and wait till
Hugh had finished his day's work. As a rule, Poss or Binjie, perhaps
both, were in attendance to escort Miss Harriott, with the result
that Hugh and Mary found themselves paired off to ride home together.
Before long he found himself looking forward to these rides with
more anxiety than he cared to acknowledge, and in a very short time
he was head over ears in love with her.
Any man, being much alone with any woman in a country house, will
fall in love with her; but a man such as Hugh Gordon, ardent,
imaginative, and very young, meeting every day a woman as beautiful
as Mary Grant, was bound to fall a victim. He soon became her
absolute worshipper. All day long, in the lonely rides through the
bush, in the hot and dusty hours at the sheep-yards, through the
pleasant, lazy canter home in the cool of the evening, his fancies
were full of her--her beauty and her charm. It was happiness enough
for him to be near her, to feel the soft touch of her hand, to catch
the faint scent that seemed to linger in her hair. After the day's
work they would stroll together about the wonderful old garden, and
watch the sunlight die away on the western hills, and the long
strings of wild fowl hurrying down the river to their nightly haunts.
Sometimes he would manage to get home for lunch, and afterwards, on
the pretext of showing her the run, would saddle a horse for her,
and off they would go for a long ride through the mountains. Or
there were sheep to inspect, or fences to look at--an excuse for
an excursion was never lacking.
For the present he made no sign; he was quite contented to act as
confidant and adviser, and many a long talk they had together over
the various troubles that beset the manager of a station.
It would hardly be supposed that a girl could give much advice
on such matters, and at first her total ignorance of the various
difficulties amused him; but when she came to understand them better,
her cool common-sense compelled his admiration. His temperament
was nervous and excitable, and he let things fret him. She took
everything in a cheery spirit, and laughed him out of his worries.
One would not expect to find many troubles in rearing sheep and
selling their wool; but the management of any big station is a
heavy task, and Kuryong would have driven Job mad.