THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES

 
 THE LOCUST 
 
 AND 
 
 THE LADYBIRD
 
 The open road and no speed limit. 
 
 Timbergetters' Camp, Currumbin Creek. 
 
 [Frontispiece.
 
 THE LOCUST AND 
 THE LADYBIRD 
 
 BY 
 
 ARCHIBALD BIRT 
 
 (DR A. B. BROCKWAY) 
 AUTHOR OF "CASTLE CZVARGAS." 
 
 " Now Green is the colour of Youth and of Love, 
 But Red is the colour of Pain." G. L. 
 
 LONDON 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO., LTD. 
 
 100 SOUTHWARK STREET, S.E.
 
 TO MY THREE GIRLS: 
 NELL 
 DODO 
 BIDDY 
 
 1467874
 
 Cupid and my Campaspe play'd 
 
 At cards for kisses; Cupid paid: 
 
 He stakes his quiver, bow, and arrows, 
 
 His mother's doves and team of sparrows; 
 
 Loses them, too; then down he throws 
 
 The coral of his lip, the rose 
 
 Growing on's cheek (but none knows how); 
 
 With these the crystal of his brow, 
 
 And then the dimple on his chin; 
 
 All these did my Campaspe win : 
 
 At last he set her both his eyes 
 
 She won, and Cupid blind did rise. 
 
 O Love! has she done this to thee? 
 
 What shall, alas! become of me? 
 
 J. LYLYE. 
 
 VII
 
 AUTHOR'S NOTE 
 
 I DESIRE to record my thanks to my friend Mr 
 Charles Martin for his kindness in looking over 
 the MS. of The Locust and The Ladybird, for 
 his suggestions, and for correcting any mistakes 
 in spelling. 
 
 The photographs from which illustrations Nos. 
 10, n, 23, and 24 were obtained were pur- 
 chased; for Nos. 22 and 31 I am indebted to 
 Chauffeur Jeff. The rest are from my own 
 camera. 
 
 IX
 
 To Mr and Mrs C. N. and A. M. Williamson 
 
 Dear Sir and Madam, 
 
 If imitation be the sincerest form of flattery, 
 then may I be considered to have tried to flatter 
 you in the most sincere manner. My slight effort 
 is, however, so inferior in every way to your 
 delightful books, that it may be difficult to dis- 
 cover any resemblance between " Set m Silver " 
 and " The Locust and The Ladybird," except in 
 the prominence of the motor-car, and in the 
 epistolatory nature of both stories. In my de- 
 fence, I can only say that I had purposed writing 
 such a tale as this, in letter form, before I read the 
 letters of Audrie, now Lady Pendragon. If I 
 have been able to arouse your interest in Austra- 
 lian scenery and other things, and if I have 
 your forgiveness, I shall be satisfied almost. 
 
 I am, your admiring reader, 
 
 ARCHIBALD BIRT. 
 
 Brisbane, Queensland, 
 January 1910. 
 
 XI
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAOB 
 
 I. INTRODUCTORY LETTERS ... I 
 
 II. TWEED HEADS ..... 3 
 
 III. TWEED HEADS TO BYRON BAY ... 12 
 
 IV. BYRON BAY TO LISMORE ... 32 
 V. LISMORE TO GRAFTON .... 5! 
 
 VI. GRAFTON TO CORAMBA .... 58 
 
 VII. CORAMBA TO BETWEEN KEMPSEY AND 
 
 PORT MACQUARIE .... 65 
 
 VIII. TO PORT MACQUARIE .... 77 
 
 TX. PORT MACQUARIE IO8 
 
 X. PORT MACQUARIE TO STROUD . .122 
 
 XI. STROUD TO WEST MAITLAND . . . 138 
 
 XII. WEST MAITLAND TO ST ALBANS . . 164 
 
 XIII. ST ALBANS TO SYDNEY .... 184 
 
 XIV. SYDNEY TO BRISBANE BY SEA . . . 215 
 XV. NEWS PARAGRAPH 2l8 
 
 XVI. CORRESPONDENCE 222 
 
 XVII. CORRESPONDENCE 225 
 
 XVIII. CORRESPONDENCE 234 
 
 XIX. MARRIAGE ANNOUNCEMENT . . . 236 
 
 xiii
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 THE OPEN ROAD AND NO SPEED LIMIT ^ 
 
 TIMBERGETTER'S CAMP : CURRUMBIN r Frontispiece 
 CREEK . . . .) 
 
 "HILL, RIVER AND VALLEY" . . Facing page 6 
 
 "THICK SHADE. . . AND BORDER LINE 
 
 FENCE" . . ' . . 6 
 
 A SURF BATHE ON THE QUEENSLAND 
 
 SIDE .... ,,8 
 
 THE BOULDERS AT POINT DANGER . 8 
 
 SHARK'S BAY . . . . 18 
 
 "THE PUNT WAS LARGE ENOUGH TO 
 HOLD THE LOCUST AND A BAKER'S 
 
 CART" . . . . 18 
 
 MY SIXTEENTH SON ... 2O 
 
 THICKLY COVERED ISLAND . . 2O 
 
 MURWILLUMBAH ... ,,26 
 
 FROM TWEED HEADS BY STEAMER 26 
 
 NEAR MURWILLUMBAH . 30 
 
 "WHERE WE MOST NEARLY AP- 
 PROACHED MT. WARNING" . 30 
 
 XV
 
 xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 BYRON BAY LIGHTHOUSE . Facing page 38 
 
 GEORGE . . . LISMORE . 38 
 
 RICHMOND RIVER ... ,,48 
 
 MAIN STREET OF GRAFTON . ,,48 
 GRAFTON MAYORAL WELCOME TO THE 
 
 GOVERNOR ... ,58 
 
 BUSH ROAD .... ,,58 
 
 UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO INDUCE 
 
 BOPPO . . . . ,,66 
 
 TO KEW . . . . ,,66 
 
 BULLOCK TEAM : TIMBER WAGON . 124 
 
 BUGGY AND CAR . . . 124 
 
 BETWEEN GLOUCESTER AND STROUD 128 
 
 "UNBANKLIKE-LOOKING BANK'' . 128 
 
 MAIL AND PASSENGER COACH AT 
 
 STROUD .' . . ,,140 
 
 MORNING MISTS AT ST ALBANS . 140 
 
 MACDONALD RIVER ,, 180 
 
 THE HAWKESBURY l8o 
 
 WISEMAN'S FERRY . ,. . ,,190 
 
 ORIELTON . . . . ,,190 
 
 SKETCH MAP OF ROUTE . . 236
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE 
 LADYBIRD 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 [Being passages of a letter from Mrs James 
 Chapman, of Reading, England, to her brother, 
 Aston Perry, M.D., F.R.C.S., of Brisbane, 
 Queensland, and the reply.] 
 
 Reading, Oct. loth, 1909 
 My dear Aston, 
 
 This is to wish you very many happy returns 
 of your birthday. It should reach you before the 
 day, but I am writing now because we are all 
 packing for our annual holiday (Brittany, this 
 year). We start next week ... I am sending, 
 too, from myself, " Set in Silver," Mr and Mrs 
 C. N. Williamson's last. I am sure you will 
 enjoy it, and I am going to ask you to promise 
 me that if you ever again take a holiday tour in 
 your car you will write an account of it for me ; 
 
 I A
 
 2 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 will you? . . . James and the children send 
 love and best wishes, and we are all looking 
 forward to seeing you next year. 
 
 I am, your loving sister, 
 
 Amy. 
 
 Brisbane, Nov. 17 th, 1909 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 Very many thanks for your kind presents 
 and good wishes. James's Thermos flask has 
 already proved useful, and I read " Set in Silver " 
 with much enjoyment last night ! Give my love 
 and thanks to the nephews and kiss the niece, 
 bless her! and tell them that I, too, am looking 
 forward to next year, and to them and you. 
 O yes ! I promise to write long, dull, descriptive 
 letters of any motor-car trip I may take, provided 
 that you promise to read them. I have " struck 
 a patch " just now and am very busy, so excuse 
 more this time. 
 
 Many thanks, love. 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 From Dr Aston Perry to Mrs James Chapman. 
 
 Hotel Pacifique, 
 Tweed Heads, 
 
 New South Wales. 
 
 Nov. 22nd, 1909 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 Here begins, already, the first of the motor- 
 trip letters ; though, when I wrote last week, I 
 little thought how soon I should have to fulfil my 
 easily made promise to you. How it has come 
 about that I am taking a holiday is in this wise. 
 You remember old George Lidney ? I had him 
 home with me from Rugby for the holidays when 
 he was 13 and I 15. I do not think that you 
 have seen him since, but you must often have 
 heard me speak of him ; for we were at Oxford 
 together and had the time of our lives there. It 
 was he, don't you remember, who in his excite- 
 ment at the finish of my half-mile championship 
 
 3
 
 4 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 swim against Porter of Balliol, fell into the river 
 and was fished out with a boat-hook several 
 boat-hooks. To my huge delight and astonish- 
 ment he turned up in my consulting-room on 
 Thursday, and, as coolly as you please, suggested 
 that I take him for a run for a week or two in my 
 motor ! (These men whose time is not money !) 
 He is spending a few months in Australia, and 
 wants to see the country more intimately than is 
 possible from a steamboat deck or a railway- 
 carriage window. As it happened, my patch 
 having petered out, I was able to arrange to be 
 away from the practice for a week or two, though 
 I had not intended to take a holiday until the 
 great long-looked-forward-to-and-much-talked- 
 about English visit of next year. So here we 
 are! But I am getting on too fast! For I shall 
 take you at your word, and give you a full and 
 particular account of the trip. 
 
 First, I must tell you that George is the same 
 silent, blushing chap as of yore. He hasn't 
 altered a bit except that he has grown a mous- 
 tache (and says that he is going to grow a beard 
 likewise). He is somewhere near 5 feet 6 inches, 
 and weighs 9^ stone or so, small but wiry ; his 
 thatch is dark and a good deal thicker than mine ! 
 Seeing him again has bucked me up wonderfully,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 5 
 
 for, after all, there are no friends like the old 
 friends. . . . 
 
 We decided to go to Sydney, and as I had 
 already motored there via New England, to go 
 by the " Northern Rivers," and the roads 
 between Brisbane and the New South Wales 
 border being execrable, I sent the larger of my 
 two cars, a 15-20 Humber, on by train to Tweed 
 Heads, under the care of William the Silent, my 
 faithful and invaluable "chauffeur and generally 
 useful." We followed, this morning, by an " ex- 
 press " train that takes four hours to accomplish 
 69 miles. Not an interesting journey, but listen 
 to the names of some of the places we passed 
 through : Yeerongpilly, Moorooka, Pimpama(h), 
 Coomera, Molendmar, Nerang, Worongary, 
 Mudgeeraba(h), Tallebudgera, Booningba(h), 
 Currumbin (where we crossed a creek of that 
 name, and I took a snap from the carriage window 
 of a timber-getter's camp), Coolangatta. They 
 sound blackfellowish and bushrangery, don't 
 they ? But they looked sleepy enough in the hot 
 November sunshine. 
 
 I have already been able to point out to George 
 something which he had not observed before. 
 In a paddock (about three miles by two) along 
 the line, a number of our long-tailed horses were
 
 6 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 scattered in pairs, and each pair stood close to- 
 gether, head to tail. It would be nice to believe 
 that one said to the other, " You flick the mos- 
 quitoes and flies from my face, and I'll do the 
 same for you," for that is why they stand so. 
 But one fears that each takes up his position that 
 he may be protected from the biting insects by 
 the other's swishing tail, unconscious that he is 
 performing a like kind office to his mate! 
 
 The terminus of the line is here at Tweed 
 Heads in N. S. Wales, Coolangatta, a few yards 
 further back being in Queensland. A narrow 
 belt of waste land enclosed by barbed wire fences 
 serves to separate the two States and to prevent 
 tick-infected cattle and horses from straying 
 across the border carrying their ticks with them, 
 and also divides the little township of Tweed 
 Heads into a small N. S. Wales bit and a smaller 
 Queensland bit. 
 
 We had meant to start away at once for Mur- 
 willumbah, but it was so beautiful and peaceful 
 here that we decided to stay until to-morrow. 
 We are not in a hurry, and I wanted George to 
 see the Heads. 
 
 As soon as we had had lunch we climbed 
 Observation Hill, and were rewarded by the 
 glorious view from its flat " table-top." It was a
 
 " Hill, river and valley .... and desolate gum." 
 
 " Thick shade . . and the border-line fence." 
 
 [Face page 6.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 7 
 
 perfect afternoon, with a light fleecy-clouded sky 
 and a gentle breeze which fanned us into some 
 semblance of coolness. As we faced the east the 
 tiny straggling township lay at our feet, with Point 
 Danger and its signalling flagstaff about a mile 
 away, and beyond, the great tumbling Pacific 
 breaking in huge rollers upon the dangerous 
 shore. Turning to the west, Mount Warning 
 seemed about an hour's walk distant, though 
 really thirty miles off, and between it and us the 
 Australian coastal landscape of river and hill and 
 valley, of bright green sugar-cane upon the 
 mountain slopes, with here and there in lonely 
 simplicity a small farm homestead, and, pervad- 
 ing the view, the thickly-growing desolate gum- 
 tree scrub, and, puffing along on its way back to 
 Brisbane, like a child's toy, the train by which we 
 had come this morning. (" Toiling in Town now 
 is horrid . . . Thought gets dry in the brain.") 
 . . . The descent from Observation Hill is 
 naturally easier than the climb, but, as soon as 
 we were sheltered from the sea-breeze, our skins 
 began to act freely again, despite our light 
 summer clothing and the thick shade of the trees 
 on the pathway, marked on one side by the 
 border-line fence. . . . But it is great to be out of 
 reach of the telephone bell and the telegram boy ;
 
 8 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 and I dropped ten of my 35 years as I talked and 
 talked like a schoolgirl and George listened and 
 listened like a clam. (Have clams ears, by the 
 way?) 
 
 Just now, as I am writing what I fear may be 
 the longest of my tour-letters (and we haven't 
 boarded the Humber yet), George is occupying 
 his leisure moments killing, or trying to kill, the 
 ubiquitous mosquito, and emitting loud words 
 beginning with explosive consonants. Mosqui- 
 toes don't worry me much now, thank the 
 Lord, and while George is handy, no mosquito 
 epicure will smell twice at me. Do you know 
 that the biting mosquito is of the gentler sex? 
 Hence, doubtless, its avoidance of non-marrying 
 me. Moreover, I am a working man and George 
 is one of the idle rich, and his blood is presumably 
 of a richer flavour. . . . 
 
 We have now returned from a surf bathe on the 
 Queensland side, and are feeling clean and kind 
 and rather sticky. . . . The world feels good to- 
 night. We have a kindly feeling for everything 
 except sharks (and George might add, mosqui- 
 toes). How I should have enjoyed swimming 
 out half a mile or so into the Pacific, to lie on 
 my back looking at the stars and the mysterious 
 sky, but I had to content myself with the cham- 
 pagne of the surf and an arm-over-arm sprint.
 
 A surf bathe on the Queensland side. 
 
 Point Danger. 
 
 [Face page 8.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 9 
 
 Sharks are a pity ; though the ocean specimen is 
 not so black as he is painted he finds quite 
 enough food among the smaller fry of the deep, 
 and does not willingly attack anything so large 
 as man. It is different, of course, with the offal- 
 feeders of the rivers ; their appetite is vitiated, 
 and they will eat dog or man or anything they 
 can lay teeth to. ... Next year, in August, at 
 Ventnor, I shall challenge you to a quarter-mile 
 race ! Are you game ? I am glad that Neville 
 and Roderick show so much swimming promise 
 chips of the elderly block? there's nothing 
 like it ! I have kept up my swimming so far as 
 it is possible in a place so disgracefully in- 
 sufficiently supplied with baths as Brisbane 
 is. ... But I must not grumble on so delightful 
 a night as this. We can hear the waves breaking 
 on Point Danger, and indeed, I must go and 
 have a look at them by moonlight. ... A great 
 mass of cloud is lying on the sea like heaped-up 
 snow made pink with the dying rays of the 
 sun ... the pink is fading fast as I write, for we 
 have a very short twilight, almost none, and the 
 heap of snow is melting into grey sky. . . . The 
 tide is almost low and it is quite calm, only a 
 gentle breeze ruffling the surface of the Tweed 
 and Terranora rivers. The light of the setting
 
 io THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 sun is upon the roughly-wooded slopes of the 
 Point, and the red tiles of the roof of the Pilot's 
 house are in sharp contrast to the dull green 
 foliage and the grey-blue sky. I am sorry that 
 the sun does not set behind the point it is set- 
 ting behind Observation Hill, the view between 
 consisting of uninspiriting, untidy backyards. 
 The sea and air are exquisitely clear now, and 
 in half an hour it will be as dark as at any hour 
 of the night. . . . Fingal light is twinkling out its 
 warning " Rocks ! '' And ever as I look the out- 
 lines are fading ; the dull green is fast becoming 
 dark and will soon be black. . . . Now, Orion 
 appears, as you would think, upside down, but 
 to us like a huge giant for ever plunging midway 
 between sky and sea. . . . 
 
 We have clambered over the boulders at Point 
 Danger, to the music of the breakers, rolling in 
 splendidly with all the Pacific Ocean behind 
 them. ... I have " At the Sign of the Lyre " 
 with me, and have had the hardihood to compose 
 an extra verse or two here is one of them: 
 
 "Or leading her across the shelly sand, 
 
 To where the rollers broke with startling shock, 
 That he might feel in his her little hand, 
 
 And help her carefully from rock to rock; 
 Hoping to meet again that trusting look 
 From eyes as fresh and bright as bubbling brook." 

 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD n 
 
 How do you like it? I am so grateful to you for 
 introducing me to Austin Dobson! . . . 
 
 Summer lightning is flickering almost con- 
 tinuously behind the white masses of horizon- 
 cloud which disappeared with the going of the 
 sun, flickering like theatre lightning, with now 
 and then a sudden vicious flash of zig-zag fire that 
 cannot be imitated, and which seems to cut the 
 cloud in two with vivid flame. . . . 
 
 So, good night, my dear sister, and heigh for 
 to-morrow and the open road and no speed limit ! 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 Aston. 
 
 P.S. Thank goodness, George is as quiet 
 asleep as awake he doth not snore. I should 
 wake him with a boot if he did ; for in Australian- 
 hotel fashion we share a two-little-bedded room. 
 
 A.P. 
 
 P. P.S. Is it not an excellent circumstance 
 that I can do with so little sleep ? An average of 
 three hours is quite enough for me when I am 
 holiday-making else my letters would be 
 shorter? Good night! 
 
 A.P.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Byron Bay, Nov. 23^, 1909 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 I posted to you this morning from Tweed 
 Heads, and now I am writing again from Byron 
 Bay, and our adventures have began. . . . 
 But I must be sane, and begin where I left off 
 last night, or, rather, early this morning. It 
 seems a week ago, so much may happen in one 
 day. . . . 
 
 I was awake early and watched the stars go out 
 with the coming of the dawn, last to go, except 
 for Jupiter, being our glorious simple Southern 
 Cross with its two pointers. I awoke George 
 and we stole out' to get a bathe. We saw the sun 
 rise over the sea, and as we stood and watched 
 him George repeated those wonderful lines of 
 William Drummond of Hawthornden : 
 
 12
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 13 
 
 " Phoebus, arise 1 
 And paint the sable skies 
 With azure, white and red : 
 
 Rouse Memnon's mother from her Tithon's bed 
 That she may thy career with roses spread. . . . 
 Spread forth thy golden hair 
 In larger locks than thou wast wont before, 
 And Emperor-like decore 
 With diadem of pearl thy temples fair. . . . 
 The winds all silent are, 
 And Phoebus in his chair 
 Ensaffroning the sea and air 
 Makes vanish every star. 
 Night like a drunkard reels 
 
 Beyond the hills, to shun his flaming wheels. . . . 
 Here is the pleasant place 
 And nothing wanting is save She, alasl ' 
 
 " Wonderful ! " I exclaimed, " wonderfully 
 beautiful! but, old chap, we don't want any 
 'she'? Mind you," I added, "they're right 
 enough in their place, and the old world couldn't 
 well do without them, but for a holiday pure and 
 simple commend me to one male companion, 
 eh ? "... Amy ! to think that I made those 
 foolish remarks only sixteen hours ago! 
 
 It was a very calm, clear morning, and the tide 
 was low, so there was no surfing, but we went 
 round to Sharks Bay so called because young 
 sharks are often seen there preying upon the small 
 fry which abound near the sandy shore and had
 
 i 4 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 a delightful swim. I challenged George to a 
 race giving him ten yards start, the race to end 
 when I caught him ! So at the word " Go " from 
 me we splashed off, trudgeoning for all we were 
 worth, and the beggar took more catching than 
 I had expected ! In fact I touched his foot just as 
 he stopped in shallow water. Have I gone off, 
 or am I not so fast as I thought? I rallied 
 George on his swiftness in the water, and all he 
 said was, " You taught me ! " but he was evidently 
 pleased. We got back to our hotel in plenty of 
 time, and I dressed leisurely. When I came into 
 the breakfast-room the second Georgian surprise 
 was effected. It was my birthday not that that 
 should have been a surprise, but I had forgotten 
 it, for these anniversaries recur very quickly now- 
 adays, and for the reason that George's birthday 
 and mine are so close together (his is on 2nd 
 December) we always remember each other's. 
 George was not in the room, but on my plate was 
 a little parcel addressed to me in his neat hand, 
 and containing a delicately bound copy of 
 " Songs and Sonnets " by " G. L." And in a 
 flash it came to my slow-working brain that our 
 favourite sonnet-writer was none other than my 
 old friend George Lidney, who at that moment 
 was hiding from me somewhere. " Come here,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 15 
 
 you scoundrel ! " I cried, as I found him pacing 
 up and down outside, blushing shamefacedly, 
 " do you mean to tell me that you wrote these ? " 
 and I held the book before him while I gripped 
 his shoulder. George only grinned and went on 
 blushing. " You old serpent," I went on, 
 " whom I have patronised and nourished in my 
 unsuspecting bosom, and to whom I have recited 
 my futile stuff ; to think that I have been revel- 
 ling in your things these years and never 
 suspected its source ! " (I wonder his blushes 
 didn't consume him). " Come inside and be 
 thanked and eat some breakfast" 
 
 While we ate I read aloud to him some of his 
 own sonnets, with one or two of which I was 
 already familiar from having come across them 
 in the Speaker; but I read them now with 
 much more appreciation that I knew their 
 authorship. . . . 
 
 By the time that breakfast was over we decided 
 that my birthday and such a gift required some 
 meditation, so, telling William, who was ready 
 with the car, to go and have a swim while we took 
 a walk, we strolled over the bridge which spans 
 the Terranora, and on to the spit of sand which 
 separates its waters from those of the Tweed 
 river. As we glanced back at the lazily awaken-
 
 16 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 ing township, we saw a handsome car standing 
 outside one of the hotels, but beyond a remark as 
 to its beauty thought no more of it, having no 
 power of fore knowledge. ... I was very 
 thoughtful, for the surprise that George was a 
 poet still held me : that the writer of these ex- 
 quisite things should be old George, whose 
 general conversation might be represented some- 
 thing like this : 
 
 George. " I say, Aston ! " 
 
 /. " Hullo ! " George waves his arms in 
 front of him and says nothing. 
 
 /."Well, what about it?" 
 
 George. " Very pretty, isn't it? " This kind 
 of thing from the man whose descriptions of 
 Surrey and Cornwall are the envy of his fellows ! 
 I have written rather a lot about this, but I know 
 that you will be interested, and the surprise of 
 it will last me some time. 
 
 The spit of sand that we were on gets narrow 
 and narrower till it ends in the stone wall which 
 the N. S. Wales Government has built to render 
 more navigable the swift waters of the Tweed. 
 On the further bank of the Terranora, on what 
 looked an ideal spot for the purpose, we saw an 
 elaborate camp of three tents, one of which 
 looked almost large enough for a school treat,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 17 
 
 and as we came opposite to the camp we met 
 three children wading across the river, accom- 
 panied by an elderly gentleman whom they loudly 
 addressed as " uncle." As the water got deeper 
 their shouts of glee were very refreshing, especi- 
 ally those of the smallest of them, and I could 
 imagine the uncle, like Austin Dobson's " Poly- 
 pheme," 
 
 " Holding himself for all devotion paid 
 By that clear laughter of the little maid." 
 
 They got safely across, the smallest girl getting 
 wet to her waist, and seemed satisfied ; at any rate 
 they proceeded to return in the same damp 
 manner, being met on the other side by their 
 solicitous mother, who doubtless sent them in to 
 one of the tents to change into drier garments. 
 We noticed that the uncle made off as though 
 to avoid the scathing comments of his sister. . . . 
 Why is it that so many children who live at the 
 seaside all the year round are white and even 
 pale, while youngsters such as those we had just 
 seen are as brown as berries ? Can you tell me, 
 O experienced mother of three? It is not a 
 riddle! 
 
 As we reach the mainland again we saw a 
 small octopus, measuring about two feet across, 
 which a visitor had just hooked and landed. A 
 
 B
 
 i8 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 local inhabitant told us that the blacks (of whom 
 we have seen none yet) will put an arm into the 
 water if there are no rocks about, and allow the 
 octopus to cling on, securing it in this way for 
 food, and as bait for large fish ; but that if the 
 octopus can find rock to which to adhere, the 
 strongest line will be broken before the creature 
 will let go its hold, and that its prehensile power 
 ceases as soon as it is out of the water. 
 
 When we got back to our hotel, we found 
 William ready for us ; he is very keen to get go- 
 ing. He seems to think that I may get a telegram 
 at any moment summoning me back ! 
 
 George has named the car " The Locust," be- 
 cause he says that it eats up the miles with a great 
 sound ! We boarded The Locust then, and with 
 the first turn of the handle the four-cylindered 
 engine hummed, and we began the first day of 
 motor-travel and adventure, George sitting by 
 me, and William in great state in the body with 
 the extra tyres and luggage and camping outfit. 
 Behind, in the luggage-carrier, were our two small 
 trunks, and hanging below them a canvas water- 
 bag. So no doubt we looked the travellers we 
 hoped to be at any rate the whole village 
 seemed to have turned out to see us start ! 
 
 In a few minutes we had left the straggling
 
 Sharks' Bay. 
 
 The punt was large enough to hold the Locust and a 
 baker's cart." 
 
 [Face page 18.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 19 
 
 main street behind us, and had reached the ferry- 
 crossing of the Terranora. The punt was large 
 enough to hold The Locust and a baker's cart, 
 and was guided across from bank to bank by steel 
 hawsers, which, moving in the grooves of revolv- 
 ing wheels, are worked by a hand-turned wheel. 
 As The Locust slowly and carefully descended 
 the slope leading to the punt, George noticed a 
 large dead snake lying by the roadside, and 
 asked the ferryman, as hale an old man of over 
 60 as one could wish to see, if he had killed it. 
 " No," he answered, " my sixteenth son killed 
 him!" 
 
 " Sixteenth ! " said George, " how many have 
 you, then ? " 
 
 " Eighteen," answered the ferryman. 
 " Any daughters ? " asked George. 
 " Only eight of them," replied the proud father 
 (and " Two to one on the boys," murmured 
 William, who was helping to turn the handle). 
 
 ' You really have twenty-seven children, 
 then ? " asked George. 
 
 " Aye," said the old warrior, " and all living. 
 Why, I gave a little party the other day to fifty 
 of my family and their families who live here- 
 about, and you wouldn't believe what the bill for 
 tucker came to, soft drinks and that ! "
 
 20 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Thus we reached the further bank, listening 
 to the happy, garrulous great-grandfather, as he 
 told us of the precocity of the youngest of his de- 
 scendants. Then along the curving road, with 
 fields of bright green sugar-cane upon our right, 
 and on our left, with scrub between, the ocean, 
 the track being a rich red. Several of the curves 
 of the road were very abrupt, and we had rounded 
 one of these at a comfortable speed, when, in spite 
 of my throwing out the clutch and putting the 
 brake hard on, we ran into a car which had 
 evidently stopped on the road for repairs. The 
 Locust was not damaged except that her offside 
 mudguard was a bit doubled up, but I opened my 
 mouth to say things to the chauffeur for pulling 
 up on the wrong side of the road, and shut it 
 again without speaking ; for I saw that two ladies 
 were sitting at the roadside, drinking tea from a 
 large shining Thermos flask, and I stayed my 
 anger. Sitting up, too, alert and watchful, by 
 the side of one of the ladies was a very likely- 
 looking wire-haired fox terrier, and the owner's 
 " Lie down, Boppo ! " told us that she at least re- 
 garded him as a protection. 
 
 I wish I could convey to you the impression 
 that this sight made upon me two motor-cars, 
 one of which was quite modern, two girls, dressed
 
 My sixteenth son. 
 
 Thickly covered Island. 
 
 [Face page 20.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 21 
 
 simply but well, and a well-bred dog, sitting with 
 their backs to the great trees of the untouched 
 primeval Australian scrub, great gaunt swaying 
 trees, and dense impenetrable shrub and creeper ! 
 
 We got down to investigate the nature of The 
 Locust's injuries, George murmuring, " A dream 
 of Fair Women! "; but William had already 
 joined his brother chauffeur, and was figuring out 
 the damage, which amounted to a burst tyre plus 
 an unobliging coil. For William is never so 
 happy as when, with spanner in one hand and oil- 
 can in the other, and plenty of black grease on 
 both, he is reconstructing the injured parts of a 
 car's interior. George and I had backed The 
 Locust a couple of yards and were straightening 
 out the bent mudguard when I heard a voice be- 
 hind me saying, " How do you do, Dr Perry ? " 
 and, as I turned, surprised, " D-do you remember 
 me? I'm " 
 
 " Bless my soul ! " I interrupted, raising my 
 cap, " why, if it isn't little Miss Muff et ! " 
 
 The young woman drew herself up to about 
 five feet two inches and said, with dignity. 
 
 " I'm M-miss Sutton now, if you please ! " 
 
 : ' I beg your pardon," I said, smiling, " of 
 course, if I remember rightly, Miss Muffet had 
 her hair in a pigtail ? "
 
 22 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " That's ages ago ! " she retorted, (you will 
 lemember, Amy, that I met the family of Buttons 
 at Manly two years ago, after my last motor-trip, 
 and became friendly with them, Miss Muffet 
 
 being the eldest of the children) 
 
 " That's ages ago ! but will you let me introduce 
 you to Auntie, she's not my aunt, you know," 
 (how could I know ?) " b-but I call her Auntie." 
 
 I was duly introduced to " Miss Durston " and 
 to " Boppo," who, like any dog worth possessing, 
 desired further acquaintance before coming to a 
 decision as to one's suitableness or otherwise as 
 a friend to his mistress ; and George having been 
 put through a similar ceremony. 
 
 " Now we all know each other," said Miss 
 Muffet, and we can abuse you for running into 
 our car ! " 
 
 " Oh, I like that! " I retorted, " why " and 
 
 then I stopped, for I was conscious that the most 
 beautiful brown eyes in the world were regard- 
 ing me with whimsical humour ; so I finished my 
 sentence by saying that I was very sorry, or words 
 to that effect / don't know what I said . . . 
 George stood by me, looking, as I thought very 
 conscious of his two days-old beard, which, as I 
 think I told you, he is determined to let grow on 
 this trip. We shall see.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 23 
 
 We now moved together towards the ladies' 
 car, which, of course, was the one we had seen at 
 Tweed Heads earlier in the day, and bending 
 over William, I asked him how long the repairs 
 would take. 
 
 " I can make it take an hour," he replied with 
 the utmost gravity, but so that I alone heard. 
 
 " That should do nicely," I answered. 
 
 " Please don't bother about us," said Miss 
 Durston to me, " we can manage quite well ; 
 John will be able to fix her if you give him 
 time," she added, smiling. 
 
 " Not at all," I muttered, but I don't quite know 
 what I meant, for I was wrestling with my in- 
 spiration. But Miss Muffet's voice interrupted us : 
 
 " Is this your car, Dr Perry? a Humber isn't 
 it? she's a useful-looking sort! How m-many 
 will she hold?" 
 
 I believe that she asked a number of other 
 questions, but I was making up my mind and 
 didn't hear. 
 
 ' Yes," I said subconsciously, " let me intro- 
 duce you to ' The Locust.' ' 
 
 " Locust! Locust? " said Miss Muffet, " how 
 sweet ! but why ? " 
 
 " Because, as Mr Lidney says, she eats up the 
 miles with a great sound."
 
 24 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " How c-clever of you, Mr Lidney ; I wish 
 you'd name ours, will you? " 
 
 " He has already done so," I chipped in, " for 
 as we as we reached you, he murmured some- 
 thing about a dream of " 
 
 " Shut up ! " said George, succinctly. 
 
 "What did you mean, Mr Lidney?" asked 
 Miss Muffet. 
 
 " Oh, nothing ! " said George, in confusion. 
 
 " But you will name our car, won't you ? 
 please ! " said Miss Muffet, and I recognised her 
 coaxing manner. 
 
 " I thought Ladybird would be " 
 
 " Oh, Auntie ! how diwie ! " cried Miss Muffet, 
 " Mr Lidney has named our Melnote ' The 
 Ladybird,' really Mr Lidney, you are good at 
 christening cars." 
 
 George went on blushing and didn't stop or 
 even answer when Miss Durston asked " why ? " 
 From the look that passed between the ladies it 
 seemed that " why " involved some joke. 
 
 Then I took my courage in both hands and 
 addressing Miss Durston said : 
 
 " May we offer you a lift for a few miles, until 
 your car overtakes us ? " and out of the tail of my 
 eye I saw William unobtrusively emptying the 
 body of The Locust of luggage. I turned my
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 25 
 
 back upon him. It was Miss Muffet who 
 answered me ! 
 
 " Oh, yes, Auntie ! do let's I've, I've known 
 Dr Perry for ages ! " 
 
 " Thank you very much, Dr Perry," said Miss 
 Durston, "but won't it ?" 
 
 " Not at all ! " I interrupted, jubilantly, " it would 
 be delightful if you would join us to Murwillum- 
 bah : I suppose you are going on ? " I added. 
 
 " Yes, to Sydney," said Miss Durston. 
 
 " May we then ?" 
 
 " Thank you very much, we will accept your 
 kind offer, until, as you say, our car " 
 
 " The Ladybird " (from Miss Muffet). 
 
 " Till The Ladybird overtakes us." 
 
 " Or until we reach Murwillumbah ? " I 
 amended. 
 
 ' Yes, thank you ! " replied Miss Durston. 
 While I thought, " I jolly well see it overtaking 
 us until we stop," but I didn't say so. 
 
 As I walked towards The Locust, I heard Miss 
 Muffet say. " Oh, how dear of you, Auntie, to 
 say yes; where shall we sit? you sit in front 
 with " 
 
 " Hush, child ! it isn't our car," came in a 
 whispered reply from the older of the two girls, 
 for they were nothing else.
 
 26 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 So I opened the side door, no one expressed 
 surprise at the disappearance of the luggage, and 
 they seated themselves. Telling William that 
 we would expect The Ladybird to overtake us at 
 Murwillumbah, (" Yes, sir "), I took the wheel 
 and with George once more at my side we pro- 
 ceeded on the road, feeling extraordinarily elated 
 for some reason or other. George muttered 
 something about " Nothing wanting is, but she 
 alas ! " but was otherwise silent, as was I ; but 
 Miss Muffet chattered away incessantly, now and 
 then addressing a question begining with " why " 
 to George or to me. 
 
 Across the quarter-mile-wide Tweed river by 
 ferry to the hamlet of Chindera, and along an 
 even road with rich-looking cultivation of cane 
 and corn (maize) on our left, and on our right the 
 wide-glistening river with an occasional thickly 
 covered island, and on its further side the cane 
 grown mountain slopes, and in our faces a 
 delightfully cool breeze, exhilarating and fresh. 
 Past Tumbulgum and Condong, sugar planta- 
 tions, across the Tweed again by bridge to Mur- 
 willumbah, an important township which, to-day, 
 was adorned with flags in honour of the expected 
 arrival of Lord Chelmsford, Governor of N. S. 
 Wales, lately Governor of Queensland.
 
 Mupwillumbah. 
 
 From Tweedheads by Steamer, 
 
 [Face page 26.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 27 
 
 Murwillumbah may also be reached from 
 Tweed Heads by small passenger and freight 
 (chiefly cream) steamers which ply to and fro 
 daily. The trip by river is charmingly beautiful, 
 but I have described it to you in a former letter. 
 
 As we were having lunch, we heard a car drive 
 up to the hotel, and going out, I found The Lady- 
 bird drawn up behind The Locust. Sending 
 John in to find something to eat, I detained 
 William and asked him if The Ladybird was a 
 good car. 
 
 ;{ Yes, sir ! " he said enthusiastically, " I should 
 think about as good as they make 'em, sir." 
 
 "Fast? "I inquired. 
 
 " Speedometer registered 48 along the flat, 
 
 sir." 
 
 " John's a good driver, then ? " 
 
 " Oh, I was driving, sir ! " said William. 
 
 " Is she in good order now? " I asked. 
 
 " Couldn't be better, sir ! " William replied. 
 
 " Magneto all right ? " 
 
 " She started up on the magneto after the last 
 ferry, sir." 
 
 " Accumulators coil ? " 
 
 " As good as new, sir, only John's a bit of a 
 meddler he'd been trying to improve the coil 
 at Tweed Heads."
 
 28 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " No chance of another break-down, then ? " 
 I asked. 
 
 " Barring accidents, sir, none at all ! " 
 
 " Not even if you are driving her this after- 
 noon, William ? " and I am afraid that I reddened. 
 
 " Well, sir, of course . . . the coil ..." and 
 he stopped. 
 
 " I shall not be surprised," I said, " if we find 
 you stuck up about two miles out from here." 
 
 " Quite so, sir." 
 
 " Then go and get your dinner," I said, " and 
 eat as quickly as you can. Don't let John finish 
 first." And I returned to our party, knowing 
 that I could depend upon him. As I entered 
 the room I caught Miss Muffet's voice asking 
 George " Why ? " but George's reply was a 
 laugh only. (" Take care ! George old boy," I 
 thought.) 
 
 Boppo was being fed by his mistress from a 
 fork, and looking at them I said : 
 
 "Why, Boppo?" 
 
 " It is a funny name," said Miss Durston. 
 smiling, " it was given him when he was a pup, 
 his former owner told me ; he was very sorry to 
 part with him, but he was going to England, and 
 could not take the dog with him ; so he sold him." 
 
 " But why not have given him ? "
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 29 
 
 " Oh, he said that he felt that whoever bought 
 him would value him more than if he had been 
 given." 
 
 " Wise man," I said, " but the name ? I beg 
 your pardon for interrupting you." 
 
 " Not at all ! " said Miss Durston, and Miss 
 Muffet laughed. Why? 
 
 "He was brought up by hand " 
 
 " I wanted to call him ' Pip' ! " said Miss 
 Muffet. 
 
 " And," continued Miss Durston, " the baby 
 of the owner's family always called his bottle 
 ' Boppo ' so they called Boppo Boppo ! and 
 though Miss Muffet's suggestion was a nice one, 
 I didn't like to change his name." Boppo of 
 course, knew that he was being talked about, 
 and wagged his stump vigorously at each repeti- 
 tion of his name. 
 
 As Miss Durston finished her explanation 
 John entered and announced that The Ladybird 
 was ready, (the chauffeurs had assimilated the 
 names very readily) and Miss Durston agreeing 
 with thanks to my suggestion that William should 
 accompany and drive them for a few miles 
 " Perhaps you will let us overtake you at the 
 buffer-country," I had suggested while I felt 
 like a Machiavellian conspirator, we handed the
 
 30 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 ladies into The Ladybird and bid them " Good- 
 bye for the present." 
 
 We overtook them about three miles out, (I 
 was beginning to get anxious), at a point where 
 we most nearly approached Mount Warning, and 
 George said, "Ah!" 
 
 " Coils all adrift, sir," said William with the 
 utmost gravity, and " Tut-tut," said I, feeling 
 Miss Durston's eye upon me. 
 
 " How is the magneto ? " 
 
 " Pretty fair, sir, but misses a good deal now 
 and then doesn't like the neighbourhood of 
 mountains, seemingly, sir." (What did he 
 mean ?) and all I could think of saying was " Tut- 
 tut," while Miss Muffet said: 
 
 " It is f-funny, isn't it?" ' 
 
 " Why ? " I said, for I was feeling hot. 
 
 " Oh, because ! " she said laughing. How- 
 ever, I had to see it through, so I asked Miss 
 Durston if she would permit the arrangement 
 of the morning to be resumed. 
 
 " I'm afraid there's nothing else for it," she 
 said, " but I am ashamed to trouble you so 
 much." 
 
 " Not at all ! " I said, and Miss Muffet laughed, 
 and coming close to me she whispered, " I think 
 you are as clever at accidents as Mr Lidney is
 
 Near Murwillumbah. 
 
 'Where we most nearly approached Mt. Warning.' 
 
 jce page 30.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 31 
 
 at names. But isn't William dear, with his 
 mountain neighbourhood ? " Of course, they 
 both saw through my little device, but Miss 
 Durston was gracious enough to pretend not to. 
 We stowed the paraphernalia in The Ladybird 
 again and gave the chauffeurs some of our pro- 
 visions and one of the Thermos flasks, (" In 
 c-case you have to stay here all night," said Miss 
 Muffet), and for the second time The Locust 
 carried four passengers and a dog. . . . But I 
 must get some sleep, so good night, old girl I 
 wonder from where the next letter will be written ? 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Lismore, Nov. 24^, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 We haven't come far to-day, for Miss 
 Durston has some friends in the town whom she 
 wishes to see, so George and I have decided to 
 stop here, too . . . where was I? Oh, yes! I 
 remember ; The Locust had her complement of 
 passengers again two men, two girls and a dog. 
 (By the way, Boppo and I are quite friendly now, 
 but no one can coax him from Miss Durston's 
 side.) I shall begin this letter by trying to des- 
 cribe the two girls. 
 
 Let me begin with the easier one. Miss 
 Muffet is nineteen, a blue-eyed mischievous, 
 plump imp with an occasional stammer in her 
 talk which is a curiously fetching defect ; she 
 wears a tricky feminine cricketing hat perched on 
 her rebellious brown hair, the kind of soft hair 
 that looks always as though it had just been 
 
 32
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 33 
 
 washed, and from which combs of various shapes 
 are constantly falling ; one of those jolly things 
 that cannot sit still, but are always looking for 
 pleasure, finding it, and passing it on. Can you 
 see her ? the product of an Australian city and a 
 comfortable home ; the kind who flirt out- 
 rageously but innocently, who resent and never 
 forgive the slightest familiarity; who finally 
 marry the unexpected man and settle down into 
 domestic life with an extraordinary facility and 
 become the best wives and mothers in the world. 
 There you are, Amy, that's Miss Muffet! and 
 there are hundreds of them bred in the free air 
 of this glorious Australia! 
 
 Miss Durston I find less easy to describe, 
 albeit she is a type of our bush-born girl. She 
 is built on smaller and finer, yet strong lines 
 petite describes her as well as any word, I know. 
 She wears a motor sun-bonnet which frames her 
 little features picturesquely; large brown eyes 
 like a fawn's, with long lashes, a straight nose 
 with delicate sensitive nostrils, bronze hair which 
 she wears in a great mass of coils on the top of 
 her head, a white skin prettily burned by the sun, 
 dimples in her cheek and chin, the sweetest little 
 mouth that ever cried to be kissed ! perfect teeth 
 unspoiled with gold, small hands and feet; 
 
 C
 
 34 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 and is perhaps twenty-four. Her Christian name, 
 I think, is Ida; Miss Muffet whose baptismal 
 name is Elsie, calls her Id when she doesn't call 
 her Auntie. . . . That's as near as I can get in 
 words, but she is very beautiful. . . . But I must 
 get on ... 
 
 The Locust passed on its way, coming soon 
 to an awkward creek-crossing at a sudden bend 
 in the road, where we narrowly escaped the dis- 
 aster of being stuck up. Here we entered the 
 tick-buffer territory, thirteen miles wide, before 
 entering or leaving which all cattle coming from 
 the north must be dipped and all horses sprayed 
 with a fluid fatal to the pest. 
 
 The drive now became grand and even terrify- 
 ing, (so George said afterwards), for it ran along 
 cuttings made in the mountain side of Bob's 
 Lookout range, narrow tracks with sudden 
 curves, the precipice side being sometimes pro- 
 tected by a fence, but generally quite open and 
 horribly inviting great gorges with here and 
 there a patch of cultivation on the steep hill- 
 sides, but mostly clothed in wild Australian gum 
 bush where any hitch in the steering gear or a 
 burst front tyre might take one over the edge 
 of a deep ravine to fear and pain and nothing- 
 ness ... I have never before felt any nervous-
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 35 
 
 ness or even uneasiness in driving, but yesterday 
 I grew hot with anxiety as I guided The Locust 
 around those dangerous bends. But though the 
 experience of such a road is much more disquiet- 
 ing for those sitting behind, where one sees less 
 and imagines more, Miss Durston made no 
 suggestion of nervousness, and Miss Muffet, 
 who told me after it was all over that she was 
 " terrified nearly to death," only showed her 
 alarm by an occasional smothered exclamation, 
 and when we arrived at the bottom of the descent 
 exclaimed, " Oh ! wasn't that too beautiful for 
 words ! " 
 
 " I couldn't see the beauty for your tongue," 
 I said, for she had chattered faster than usual, 
 " do you by any chance talk in your sleep ? " 
 
 " Oh, you rude man, you but I'll pay you 
 out ! " she cried. 
 
 " Why ? " I asked and for once she was 
 silent. 
 
 At a level crossing of the railway we saw Lord 
 Chelmsford's special train approaching, on its 
 way to Murwillumbah and its flags ; we waved 
 our loyal greetings, but though we saw him, he 
 did not see us. 
 
 " Nasty man ! " said Miss Muffet. 
 
 " If he had known you were here, he would
 
 36 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 doubtless have stopped the train and let 
 
 you " 
 
 " Kiss his hand ? " interrupted the girl. 
 
 " I dare say," I answered, taken by surprise. 
 
 " I think it's such a sweet old custom," she 
 said. " I should love to kiss hands ! " 
 
 "Try mine?" I suggested "or " 
 
 " Be quiet ! " she exclaimed, " I mean a king 
 or queen or governor." 
 
 " I beg your pardon ! " I replied. 
 
 " Not at all! " said Miss Muffet. 
 
 Childish ? Yes, it was ; but the sweet air of 
 heaven was in my lungs and I felt young and 
 very foolish! 
 
 Nearing Byron Bay we ran parallel with a long 
 line of bush fire, which looked in the gathering 
 darkness like a great smouldering pink cloud 
 edged with long jagged lightning flame. For, 
 as a result of my slow driving on the ranges we 
 did not reach Byron Bay till eight o'clock. We 
 dined together, and had a merry though rather 
 meagre meal ; the town was full in honour of the 
 Governor, and we, coming late, had to take the 
 leavings. 
 
 I must not forget to tell you that when Miss 
 Durston was stepping from the car, a button, 
 fixed with an inefficient clip, fell from her blouse
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 37 
 
 to the ground. I picked it up, and this morn- 
 ing it adorned and still adorns the lapel of my 
 coat. It is one of those largish ornamental 
 buttons that ladies are wearing just now. 
 
 The Ladybird reached Byron Bay a few 
 minutes after us, and I can imagine the chafing 
 of William at our slow rate of progress ; so 
 having arranged to confer with Miss Durston 
 in the morning about to-day's plans, George and 
 I went for a stroll on the grand beach, the sand 
 of which is so firm that at low tide it is used by 
 bicyclists, horsemen and buggy drivers as a road ; 
 indeed they journey by the sands to Southpoit in 
 Queensland, having here and there to go inland 
 where a point of land projects into the sea ; and 
 on to the jetty where we saw the chair and cage 
 in which passengers are hoisted into the boats 
 which run between Byron Bay and Sydney. 
 The bright half-moon was flooding the sea with 
 its beautiful soft light, while the Byron Bay light- 
 house gleamed out its warning to mariners. 
 
 Having found our room at our hotel, which 
 was only a few yards from that in which the ladies 
 were staying, I opened up upon the subject which 
 was on my mind, and which I know is worrying 
 you, Amy dear, for the conventions are more 
 present in your English minds than in ours.
 
 38 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Our conversation was something like this: 
 (imagine us sitting on our beds, facing each 
 other) : 
 
 7. " Look here, George, I want your 
 advice ! " 
 
 George. " Fire away, old man ! " 
 
 /. " Well, you know, to-day's experience 
 has been very delightful and all that I can 
 speak for both of us ? " 
 
 George." Yes." 
 
 /. " Good ! well, it was all right and plain 
 sailing to help two girls when their car had broken 
 down ; we could do nothing less, could we ? " 
 
 George." No." 
 
 /. " Then the question now is what about 
 to-morrow ? " 
 
 George. " What about it? " 
 
 /. " I say, old chap, you're not helping me 
 much, are you? and you're in with me in this, 
 you know ! " 
 
 George. " Deep." 
 
 7. " Right O ! Then, when we meet at their 
 hotel, to-morrow, are we to say good-bye and 
 never see them again, or " 
 
 George. " We might overtake them." 
 
 / " The Ladybird can do 45, at a pinch 50, 
 and our best is 35."
 
 
 Byron Bay Lighthouse. 
 
 George . . . Lismore. 
 
 [Face page 38.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 39 
 
 George. " We overtook them twice to-day." 
 
 /. " We cannot depend upon accidents ; 
 besides we should have William with us to- 
 morrow." 
 
 George. "I see and John?" 
 
 /. " Oh, I can't tamper with their own 
 chauffeur, and besides he would certainly bungle 
 it." 
 
 George. " Why not send William with them 
 again ? " 
 
 /. " Too thin ! I felt fool enough to-day 
 when he talked about the neighbourhood of 
 mountains affecting the magneto." 
 
 George. " It was a little far-fetched." 
 
 We now seemed to have reached an impasse, 
 and we smoked stolidly for some minutes. 
 Then I said what I might have said at the start, 
 if I had not wanted the suggestion to come from 
 George. " I don't see," I said, " what there 
 really is to prevent us from inviting them to 
 travel with us as they did to-day, seeing 
 that I have known Miss Muffet for some 
 years." 
 
 George. " Yes, why not ? " 
 
 / " Well, Miss Durston is in charge of Miss 
 MufTet. It is her car, and if she acts according 
 to the conventions "
 
 40 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Gedtrge" We may never see them again." 
 
 /. Until we get to Sydney ; you see there 
 is nothing to prevent them from reaching CofF s 
 harbour to-morrow, and we can't expect to get 
 further than Grafton." 
 
 George. " We might travel by night, there's 
 a good moon." 
 
 /. " But even so we should only have the 
 empty satisfaction of seeing them drive away 
 next morning." 
 
 George. "Empty satisfaction that's good! 
 Bother the convenances! " 
 
 " With all my heart," I agreed, " but there they 
 are, and the whole question is, will Miss Durston 
 bow to them or not ? " 
 
 George fidgeted in his bed he had turned in 
 " It's worth trying, anyhow," said he. 
 
 " Yes, it's worth trying," I said slowly, " and 
 I'll try it!" 
 
 " Good man ! " said George, and I thought he 
 had gone to sleep. After a short interval of 
 silence I spoke again, " You might tackle Miss 
 Muffet," I said. 
 
 " I have," answered George, rather sleepily. 
 
 ' You have ? " I said, in surprise. 
 
 " Yes," said he, " she's on our side." 
 
 :< That's something," I muttered.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 41 
 
 " A good deal," said George, rousing himself 
 for a moment and then settling down again; 
 and I wondered when he had found an opportun- 
 ity . . . Then I wrote my letter to you, Amy, 
 and then I lay awake staring at the top of my 
 mosquito net, for hours as it seemed, and fell 
 asleep as the dawnlight was beginning to 
 show. ... I over-slept myself in consequence, 
 and was very much annoyed to learn that it was 
 six o'clock when George woke me. He had 
 been up more than an hour, and had met Miss 
 Muffet on the beach, she having told him yester- 
 day, during the opportunity, that she loved get- 
 ting up early. (Oh! Miss Muffet my memory 
 of Manly tells me another story!) George had 
 suggested again that we should all travel 
 together. 
 
 "What did she say? "I asked. 
 
 " She clasped her hands in that in that pretty 
 way she has," he answered, "and said that it 
 would be ' perfectly lovely/ that she and Auntie 
 were getting so tired of each other and of the 
 view of John's back. Moreover, she said that 
 she had asked Auntie already." 
 
 " What did Miss Durston say ? " 
 
 " Nothing," said George, " she just laughed 
 and patted Miss M Sutton's shoulder."
 
 42 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Come along, old man, and help me face the 
 music," I said. 
 
 We had arranged to have breakfast together 
 at seven o'clock, and it was being served to the 
 two ladies as we entered. After the usual greet- 
 ings, which are memorable to me because it was 
 the first time that I had shaken hands with Miss 
 Durston, such a little hand ! I opened fire, feel- 
 ing foolishly tongue-tied and nervous. 
 
 " Do you intend going far to-day, Miss 
 Durston ? " I asked. 
 
 ;< To Lismore only," she answered, " I have a 
 friend there whom I have promised to look up." 
 (This rather took the wind out of my sails do 
 you notice my mixed metaphors?), but I went 
 on " We shall pass through Lismore, of 
 course." 
 
 ' Then we may meet again there ? " she replied. 
 
 " Y-yes," I stammered, " but," I blurted out, 
 " why should we not go together ? I mean may 
 we invite you to won't you join us in The 
 Locust again ? " 
 
 " Who's st-stammering now? " whispered Miss 
 Muffet. 
 
 " I'm afraid that would hardly do, would it? " 
 she answered, but there was a curious lack of dis- 
 couragement in her tone.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 43 
 
 " Why not ? " I said eagerly, " what difference 
 can the addition of Lidney and me make ? " 
 
 " T-two," said Miss Muffet, and I wanted to 
 smack her. 
 
 " Mrs Grundy would call it all the difference," 
 said Miss Durston, ignoring Miss Muffet's 
 frivolous interruption. 
 
 " Mrs Grundy lives only in cities," I said, 
 feebly. 
 
 " She lives everywhere," said Miss Durston. 
 
 " Oh, but " I said, and I could think of 
 
 nothing else. 
 
 " She rules the world," went on Miss Durston. 
 
 " Tyrannically," I answered. 
 
 " But to the satisfaction of the gossips," she 
 replied. 
 
 "Oh, Id!" interrupted Miss Muffet, "I 
 n-never heard you stick up for Mrs Grundy be- 
 fore ! . . . Oh ! what have I said ? " For a pain- 
 ful blush overspread Miss Durston's face at her 
 words, and she half rose. George and I were 
 silent, though Heaven knows! I wanted to say 
 something, but I had no words ready, and when 
 Miss Durston, after hesitating for a moment or 
 two, rose and went quickly from the room, we 
 stood speechless. Miss Muffet followed her, 
 and we just stood and waited.
 
 44 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 In a few minutes Miss Muffet came back with 
 a look of unaccustomed seriousness on her 
 face. 
 
 " Oh, Dr Perry! " she said, " Auntie says she 
 will in fact she told me she would, last night 
 if you asked us, but she's been crying so ! " and 
 the child's eyes filled. 
 
 " Crying ! " I said, distressed, " what did I say 
 . 
 
 " It was me? interrupted Miss Muffet, " but I 
 don't know why. We have often spoken about 
 Mrs Grundy before but you will be gentle with 
 her, won't you ? " 
 
 " Gentle ? " I cried, and turned away to hide 
 the tears which sprang to my silly eyes. . . . 
 Gentle? when I would die for her, live for her, 
 lose and try to win the world for her ! . . . 
 
 " Run away and comfort her," I said, after 
 a while, " and bustle about so as to change 
 her thoughts ; and get ready quickly ! " I 
 added. 
 
 It was a quarter of an hour before they 
 appeared, but I had fixed things up in the mean- 
 time and had given William his instructions. 
 As Miss Durston was getting into The Locust 
 she raised her beautiful eyes to mine, and I 
 thought that they held a grateful look, but why
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 45 
 
 I cannot think, and then for a moment they 
 fastened on my button, and her hand went in- 
 stinctively to the place on her blouse where a 
 gold safety pin had taken the button's place, but 
 she said nothing . . . and as for me I had 
 nothing to say. Yet I had to make peace with 
 myself before we started, so just before I took 
 my place at the wheel, I said. 
 
 " Miss Durston will you forgive me for my 
 trick of yesterday ? " 
 
 " What trick ? " she asked, but she knew. 
 
 '' The false magneto," I said. 
 
 : ' That is effected by the neighbourhood of 
 mountains ? " 
 
 ' Yes," I said, smiling. 
 
 "Not at all!" she answered, and for a 
 moment she touched my hand, which I had 
 placed on the door. And my heart's beat was 
 accelerated as I took my seat. . . . 
 
 The journey from Byron Bay through 
 Bangalow to Lismore was uneventful. The 
 first three miles or so took us up through cuttings 
 in the mountain side similar to those through 
 which we had passed the day before, and for a 
 great part of the way we seemed to be running 
 along a high ridge with magnificent dairy farm 
 land in the undulating valleys on either hand,
 
 46 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 with here and there a patch of maize culti- 
 vation. 
 
 The soil is rich red brown, with stone, of which 
 latter many of the settlers have built low fences. 
 I was very strongly impressed with the well-to- 
 do look of this part of the country. So very 
 different from the gum-timbered country through 
 which one is accustomed to drive on the coast 
 near Brisbane. I drove more slowly than usual, 
 and looking back, caught sight once or twice of 
 The Ladybird, which William was finding hard 
 to keep behind us. We stopped on the road at 
 ten o'clock and drank billy-tea, the nicest of all 
 kinds, just as the tea made on our Thames camp- 
 ing-out holidays was always more delicious than 
 any other. 
 
 An adventure occurred as we were packing up 
 again. Miss Muffet was stepping from a fallen 
 tree when George saw a snake lying where her 
 foot would have fallen. There was no time to 
 warn her, so he gave her a push that might have 
 sent her sprawling, but had the ludicrous effect 
 of making her run a dozen stumbling yards; 
 when she was able to pull herself up she turned 
 with flushed face to expostulate, in time to see 
 George give the snake a blow with a handy- 
 lying sapling which settled it for ever. It was a
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 47 
 
 death adder, a venomous reptile whose bite is 
 almost certain death ; it is often called the " deaf 
 adder " on account of the sluggishness of its 
 get-away suggesting that it cannot hear. George 
 was full of apologies for his rough treatment of 
 Miss Muffet, but he need not have expressed any 
 regret, for Miss Muffet regarded him as a 
 hero. . . . Good old George! it was a plucky 
 thing to do, and he had acted with great presence 
 of mind. I myself have so great a repugnance 
 for snakes that, in similar circumstances, I 
 am afraid I should have well, acted differ- 
 ently. 
 
 We saw another snake, marked in" concentric 
 rings of white and black, with which I am not 
 familiar, we also saw several iguanas, scuttling 
 out of our way and running up the hidden side of 
 the nearest tree ; and even a stray wallaby or two 
 all of which added to the interest of the morn- 
 ing's drive. 
 
 We reached Lismore in good time for lunch, 
 and when we had seen Miss Durston to her 
 friend's house, we three returned to the hotel. 
 I snapped George in earnest conversation with 
 a local inhabitant outside our hotel, and also took 
 a picture of a very pretty peep of the Richmond 
 river with willow trees upon its further bank.
 
 48 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 It was here that Miss Muffet spotted my 
 button. 
 
 "What's the button, Dr Perry?" she asked 
 suddenly. 
 
 " It is the badge of an Order of Servitude," I 
 answered, for I had expected her question. 
 
 "What order?" she asked. 
 
 "The Order of the Ornamental Button," I 
 answered. 
 
 "Why? "asked she. 
 
 " It serves to show," I said, with mock senten- 
 tiousness, " that I am prepared to do all I can in 
 the service of my Lady, come when she may, or 
 come what may." 
 
 " B-but how about Mr Lidney ? " she asked. 
 
 " He has shown his devotion already," I 
 answered, and the dear girl blushed. . . . 
 
 When I had spent some time writing I went 
 to the verandah and found Miss Muffet and 
 George sitting on deck chairs, looking very cosy 
 and friendly. 
 
 " Oh, Dr Perry ! I have been making Mr Lid- 
 ney talk," cried Miss Muffet, " and do you know 
 he can talk quite nicely if he tries! " (Poor 
 George !) 
 
 " Has he told you that he can also ? " 
 
 w Shut up, Aston ! " interrupted George,
 
 Richmond River .... Willow trees. 
 
 Grafton Main Street. 
 
 [Fact page 48.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 49 
 
 blushing like a furnace " I beg your pardon, 
 Miss Sutton." 
 
 " That he can also ? " asked Miss Muffet, 
 
 ignoring George's attempt to gag me. 
 
 " That he can also write," I finished. 
 
 "Write?" said Miss Muffet, with wide eyes; 
 and in a kind of whisper she added, " D-do you 
 mean B-books ? " (Books with a big capital, 
 please, Amy.) 
 
 " Poems," I said. 
 
 " Not really ? " she cried, " you're not pulling 
 my you're not joking are you ? " 
 
 " I don't think so," I answered, " look here ! " 
 and drawing my copy of " Songs and Sonnets " 
 from my pocket I handed it to her. She took 
 the book from me silently, handling it as though 
 it were some precious relic nor was her display 
 of admiration and wonder affected, lor she is in- 
 genuousness itself. 
 
 " Will you take great care of it," I asked un- 
 necessarily, " and let me have it again some time ? 
 for I value it very highly," I went on, putting my 
 hand on George's shoulder and squeezing it so 
 that he winced. I have a large hand ! 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed ! thanks, thanks so much for 
 telling me ! " she said, " I don't believe he ever 
 would have! . . ." 
 
 D
 
 50 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 So I left them together, wondering whether 
 the snake incident or this would impress her the 
 more. ... I am feeling lonely, somehow, to- 
 day, and not inclined to write, so good-bye, dear 
 Amy. 
 
 I am, your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 Grafton, Nov 2$tk, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 We left Lismore early this morning, and The 
 Locust and The Ladybird looked very well stand- 
 ing ready for us outside the hotel. I said 
 nothing, purposely, about the arrangements for 
 to-day, taking them for granted, and if there had 
 been anyone to see us start off I am sure that they 
 would not have seen any irregularity in our 
 action. Once more William started the engines 
 they hummed their approval and off we 
 started. . . . 
 
 We crossed the Richmond and on to Coraki, 
 where we noticed that the flags were flying half- 
 mast high for whom we did not inquire. The 
 country so far had been flat and uninteresting, an 
 abundance of Scotch thistle serving to give a 
 look of wildness to the land, for the Scotch thistle 
 is a " noxious weed " in Australia. We crossed 
 
 5 1
 
 52 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the Richmond at Coraki by steam ferry, and again 
 at Woodburn, a few miles further on. We had 
 been very subdued and quiet up till now ; I don't 
 know why ; but by this our spirits were rising, 
 and lunch by the roadside was a delightful meal. 
 
 On we went, along sandy roads between gum- 
 forests to the beautiful Clarence river which was 
 crossed by hand-worked ferry, on to Chatsworth 
 island and across it for five glorious speedy miles 
 to the steam ferry at Harwood, and from there to 
 Grafton with the great river on our right, the sun 
 brightening its broad surface, on our left green 
 cane fields with here and there a large paddock 
 of exceptionally fine corn. The view of the 
 river with the mountains behind was very beauti- 
 ful. My eyes were gladdened here with the 
 sight of the exquisite jacarandah tree in full 
 bloom, a sight so prettily familiar to a dweller 
 in Brisbane. . . . Across the river again by 
 hand-ferry, the punt rocking quite sea-sickly in 
 the fury of a wind squall and so on to Grafton, 
 William so artfully timing the movements of the 
 speedier Ladybird that we were never on the 
 same punt together, though we always saw him 
 waiting when we had reached the further shore. 
 
 Miss Durston seemed tired, though she ad- 
 mitted having slept better than on the previous
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 53 
 
 night at Byron Bay, where she and Miss Muffet 
 had been kept awake by the noise of drunken 
 revellers ; so we decided to stay here until to- 
 morrow. I wished this, too, because The Locust 
 had shown signs of wanting a tune up, though no 
 one else appeared to have noticed this. We 
 settled the ladies at a delightful hotel on the 
 bank of the Richmond, and dined together 
 sumptuously and blithely. After dinner we 
 strolled down to the near-by ferry and crossed to 
 the southern side, but did not land, coming back 
 at once, enjoying the small trip exceedingly. I 
 was surprised to learn that no charge was made 
 for the little journey, which no doubt accounted 
 for the number of people who, like ourselves, 
 appeared to be on the boat merely for the 
 pleasure of the short excursion. . . . And when 
 we said " Good night " before going off to our 
 hotel, which was a short distance away, I felt that 
 the quiet uneventful day had helped considerably 
 to deepen our acquaintance with the two 
 girls . . . George, I know, has chosen . . . and 
 I? 
 
 " I long to touch her hair so golden red 
 As larks may kiss the tresses of the sun. . . ." 
 
 " She is one of the choir of the daughters of fire, 
 And the touch of her hand is a token of truth;
 
 54 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Her presence is sweet, from her head to her feet, 
 With the fervour of love and the joyance of youth 
 And the sense of a trust 
 That outliveth the dust! " * 
 
 I have to borrow words, from memory, to try 
 and describe her my own are impotent. The 
 touch of her hands sends sparks through me 
 I who have danced with hundreds of pretty girls 
 and never experienced a thrill, so that I have 
 thought myself immune! She cannot be more 
 than twenty-four, but she has seen trouble, and, 
 I should think, recently ; for when in repose her 
 face often shows lines of care which should not be 
 there, and which I would give the rest of my life 
 to help remove ... I know you will not laugh at 
 me . . . for, Amy, I love her with all my heart. 
 I have learnt that her name is Enid ; don't you 
 think " Id " pretty ... Id! ... 
 
 November 26tk The Locust not being 
 ready, and we not being in a hurry George and 
 I at least wish to prolong these hours of com- 
 panionship and Brisbane and my practice, left 
 in good hands, seeming too far away to bother 
 about, we have decided to wait here until after 
 the heat of the day ; to have a rest where none of 
 us are tired ; for Miss Durston was quite herself 
 
 * Eric Mackay (from memory).
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 55 
 
 after ten hours' sleep, and to take our chance of 
 seeing the Governor, who is expected here this 
 afternoon. 
 
 We walked up the delightfully shaded main 
 street, and made some necessary commissariat 
 purchases, and some nice though unnecess- 
 ary ones, and I took a snap of the monument to 
 some civic happening. We noticed that the 
 four clocks of this tower all recorded different 
 times and none of them right ! As one of us re- 
 marked upon this, an elderly townsman, with the 
 face of the habitual-grievance-man, passed us 
 and said, " I see that you noticed the clocks ! 
 they started to go wrong before they had been 
 up a fortnight and have never gone properly 
 since waste of money I call it! " and with 
 a grin of satisfaction at having said something 
 disagreeable, disappeared into his saddler's 
 shop. 
 
 " Why are cobblers and saddlers always so dis- 
 contented ? " asked Miss Muffet. 
 
 "Is it a riddle? "I said. 
 
 " No," she answered, " but why ? " 
 
 ' The smell of leather is very disagreeable, ' 
 
 I said, " and perhaps it gives them pains, just 
 
 as the discontent of Ireland is said to be produced 
 
 by indigestion caused through eating potatoes ! "
 
 56 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " I've heard that before, Dr Perry, but if you 
 will promise, I'll ask you a riddle I made myself." 
 
 "Promise what?" 
 
 " That you won't t-tell anyone." 
 
 " I'll promise nothing," I said. 
 
 " But I would like to ask you this riddle," she 
 coaxed. 
 
 " I won't tell Mr Lidney, then! " 
 
 "Promise?" 
 
 " Honest injun, etcetera," I said. 
 
 " All right ! What is the difference between 
 Eve and the modern woman ? " 
 
 " Give it up," I said promptly. 
 
 " And you promise not to tell ? >: 
 
 "Mr Lidney, yes!" 
 
 " Because Eve gave Adam the apple, but the 
 modern woman gives her husband the pip ! " 
 
 "Oh, you bad girl!" I said, "I'll tell your 
 mother as soon as ever I see her." 
 
 " She knows it already," she answered, and she 
 made a grimace at me. 
 
 So in simple banter we passed the morning. 
 Having an hour or two to put in before lunch, 
 we chartered a small motor-launch and went for 
 a run up-river, an experience which would have 
 been more pleasant if the engines had been less 
 noisy. Boppo positively disliked the run ! . . .
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 57 
 
 Great oysters for lunch, and then a quiet spell 
 on the balcony with the strong scent of the mag- 
 nolia flower to help us to fall asleep ... I must 
 post this here, so good-bye, Amy dear ... I 
 wonder what will happen before I post again? 
 
 Your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Coramba, Nov. 26tk, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 The Governor, Lord Chelmsford, arrived 
 very quietly he is most unostentatious at 
 Grayton at about three o'clock, and was 
 welcomed in the usual fashion by crowds of 
 children and old people, and a sprinkling of 
 others, a most unbandlike-looking band playing 
 " God save the King ! " I took a snap of the 
 mayoral welcome, and I hope that the little girl 
 comes out well who was craning her neck in a 
 most precarious position in order to see his 
 Excellency at close quarters. ... It was four 
 o'clock before we left, crossing the Clarence river 
 by steam ferry and along good bush roads. A 
 punctured tyre caused some delay, so that sun- 
 down overtook us and the waxing moon 
 lightened our way, a very beautiful run between 
 
 58
 
 Grafton Mayor welcomes the Governor. 
 
 Bush Road. 
 
 [Face page 58.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 59 
 
 mountains. Here, in the distance ahead we had 
 a weird view, of a great bush fire, through which 
 we presently passed, but by the time we reached 
 it we had no thought other than for the flying 
 ants which met us in thousands, causing amuse- 
 ment at first and then annoyance. They were 
 coming from the fire, and seemed to be in a hurry, 
 and as we were going at a fair bat, too, their im- 
 pact against our faces stung ; but that was not the 
 worse, for they crawled into our ears and nostrils 
 and down our necks, so that in a minute or two 
 we were all scratching vigorously wherever we 
 could reach. Miss Muffet was nearly choked, 
 for as she cried, " Oh ! " one flew down her throat, 
 " the wrong way," and was coughed and 
 spluttered out with great commotion. A horse- 
 man whom we overtook upon the road is probably 
 dead as I write, unless he shut his mouth after 
 the first few ants had found shelter therein, for it 
 was very wide open as we passed him. After 
 the ants, we saw, looking very pretty as we 
 whizzed past them, a number of flitting fireflies 
 glistening in the bush. We had our acetylene 
 head light burning now, so I was able to push 
 The Locust along, and with hood down and 
 the cool breeze in our faces, we were very 
 content.
 
 60 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 We reached Coramba, a little township nest- 
 ling in the mountains, at half-past seven, and were 
 made welcome by the comely hostess and her 
 handmaidens. There is only one hotel here, 
 but it is built in two parts, so that we have been 
 able, to some extent, to continue the arrange- 
 ment of occupying different buildings at night. 
 ... I am growing younger every day, and if the 
 process continues, I shall be a baby in a week, 
 as in Eden Phillpott's nightmare story. The 
 meal here was notable for the excellence of its 
 corned beef, and our appetite supplying the 
 sauce, we all left clean plates, and some of us 
 were not ungrateful for the following eggs . . . 
 While smoking our after-dinner pipes, strolling 
 up and down the moonlit village street, George 
 and I were accosted by an ancient inhabitant who 
 asked if he might see our car. We showed him 
 The Locust and The Ladybird, and as he 
 seemed unusually impressed, I asked him 
 if he had not seen one before. " Yes," he 
 said, " I see one six months agone in 
 June it were, and my word! it were fast 
 right enough ! " 
 
 ;< This can do 35 miles an hour and the other 
 can do 50," I said, for no one likes his car to be 
 thought slow.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 61 
 
 " Yes, I dessay," said the ancient, though I 
 don't think he believed me, " and I reckon this 
 yere one could do a hundred ; he went by yere 
 like a flash o' lightning and was out o' sight afore 
 the dust had risen that a raised ! "... not too 
 bad? as we say in Australia . . . 
 
 It had been a hot day with lowering thunder 
 clouds, and my bedroom was like an oven ; and 
 the youth of the township had gathered upon the 
 verandah and were discussing with much interest 
 the arrangements for some Christmas entertain- 
 ment, keeping me awake. . . . And I think 
 that the incident, extraneous to those of our trip 
 itself, that has made most impression upon me, 
 occurred then. One of the young men asked 
 the only girl of the company if she could lend him 
 a book to read, and she went into the house and 
 presently returned with two or three of course 
 I saw none of this, but I could hear and the 
 youth proceeded to read their titles and ask 
 questions about them, saying as he took the last 
 of them from her : " I say, you blokes, she wants 
 me to read one of Dickens's works ! " and his 
 words were followed by a loud and unanimous 
 shout of derisive laughter, in which the girl 
 joined. ... It will be long before I cease feeling 
 sorry for them. ... By the time that they had
 
 62 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 gone noisily away I was wide awake, with no 
 hope of sleep for hours, so I lit my pipe and sat 
 on the balcony, revolving many things in my 
 mind! A cool breeze, coming from rain, had 
 risen, and now it was deliciously cool out of doors. 
 The rising wind made mournful music in the 
 trees, and below me, a few score yards away, a 
 noisy stream tumbled in miniature waterfalls 
 over its rocky bed: the clouds, few at first, 
 gathered in heavy masses on the horizon, hiding 
 the stars, but there was enough moonlight to 
 silver the pretty view. ... A great draught mare 
 walked heavily down the road, nibbling at stray 
 bits of grass as it went, followed at some distance 
 by its light-brown white-stockinged foal, the 
 silence of whose unshod feet gave it a ghostly im- 
 pression : a predatory dog came near me, sniffing 
 for stray scraps, and startled by the sudden sight 
 of my figure, barked timorously and fled : curlews 
 cried sorrowfully in the distance, and the wind 
 blew colder, so that I was glad to draw the rug 
 over knees and shoulders . . . and presently I 
 went in, and by candle-light, wrote, and am writ- 
 ing my daily letter to you. ... I cannot sleep ; it 
 is two o'clock in the morning, and one thinks more 
 clearly in the silence of the night. . . . She is 
 sleeping in one of those rooms in " the cottage,"
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 63 
 
 I know not which and every breath of her dear 
 body is dearer to me than my life ! I have learnt 
 that there has been one event in her experience 
 that affects her strongly at moments of remem- 
 brance, but what it is I cannot guess, but that 
 it gives her pain is shown by the way she seems 
 to shrink into herself and from me it cannot be 
 any fault that she has committed, but it is some- 
 thing the consequences of which she fears. 
 What is it? I wish I knew! I wish, too, that 
 she were not richer than I, for she spends freely 
 with no apparent knowledge of the value of 
 money, or rather with, apparently, no experience 
 of ever having been without it. Miss Muffet, all 
 of whose expenses she is paying, is very full of 
 gratitude for her generosity ... of course, I am 
 not a poor man, and my future is, to all intents 
 and purposes, assured, but I would not depend 
 upon my wife for support. . . . My wife? yes, 
 Amy, it has come to this ; none but she can ever 
 be my wife; and dare I ask her? . . . The 
 candle is burning low, but there will be no sleep 
 for me to-night . . . the wind has risen to a gale 
 and is shaking this old wooden house as though it 
 might fall. ... I will go to the verandah again
 
 64 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 and dream more dreams. . . . She has asked 
 that we start to-morrow, to-day, before sunrise, 
 and I must wake them. . . . Good night, Amy, 
 my dear sister, 
 
 I am, your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 The Bush between Kempsey 
 and Port Macquarie, 
 Nov. 27 tk, 1909 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 Please excuse pencil explanation will 
 follow. I left off my last letter in the early 
 morning at Coramba ... I sat outside until I 
 heard the cocks crowing away in the distance on 
 the eastern side of the great hill which shadowed 
 the little township ; it was half-past three and the 
 Coramba cocks were not yet awake, but as the 
 light stole in they woke and answered the chall- 
 enge of their unseen enemy ; then, in ludicrous 
 chorus, so that I smiled to hear them, the laugh- 
 ing jackasses raised their curiously amusing 
 voices to greet the sun. I dressed and went to 
 see the little stream whose prattle had soothed 
 my thoughts during the night, and listened to the 
 pretty twitter of the awakening birds ; they sang 
 
 65 E
 
 66 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 no song of gladness, but they were glad. . . . 
 The early morning run is the best part of the day, 
 and yesterday morning it was pleasantly cold, so 
 that a rug over one's knees was grateful, and 
 driving with the hood down had the effect of 
 making us feel more than ever out of doors. 
 
 The gorge scenery between Coramba and 
 Coff's harbour and for some distance beyond is 
 very grand, alone worth coming the trip to see, the 
 palms and tree-ferns being very fine and tropical- 
 looking. From Coramba to Coff's harbour Miss 
 Durston, for the first time, sat on the front seat 
 with me, and Boppo whimpered and even howled 
 as George and Miss Muffet tried in vain to com- 
 fort him, until he had to be taken to Miss 
 Durston's lap, where he settled down with a con- 
 tented sigh. . . . Our hands touched as we 
 arranged the rug over the spoiled dog. 
 
 While we were preparing early breakfast at 
 Coff's harbour, a Brisbane holiday-making ac- 
 quaintance of mine came along, taking his two 
 young boys for an early walk, and we induced 
 him and the older of the boys to join us in the 
 car ; the little chap preferred dry land so to speak, 
 Boppo was delighted to get a run, and after an 
 exciting chase after nothing came panting back 
 to Miss Durston's side. George amused us all,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 67 
 
 and Miss Muffet especially, by his unsuccessful 
 attempts to persuade Boppo to come and be 
 stroked by the baby boy, who on his part seemed 
 quite satisfied with his slice of bread and 
 butter. ... A glimpse of the sea, " Good-bye " 
 to our friends, and we were off once more, com- 
 ing suddenly upon the very pretty view of the 
 Raleigh river, and a few miles further arriving 
 at Ballinger Heads, and the Ocean again. 
 Here we alighted for " really truly " breakfast, 
 as Miss Muffet called it, and we had a hilarious 
 meal, for I had a little joke to relate. George 
 and I had been shown into a room, and having 
 had my turn at the wash-basin and run my hands 
 through my hair, I sat on a bed and talked routes 
 while George attended to his toilet. But he was 
 , not listening to me ! his thoughts must have been 
 far away, or surely he would not have picked up 
 the candlestick from the dressing-table and held 
 it over his head that he might the better see his 
 back hair. 
 
 "What's the candle for, George?" I had 
 asked, and his look of absent astonishment when 
 he saw it in his hand was very funny. Miss 
 Muffet's defence of George was ingenious, 
 though rude. "Well, with you t-talking, Dr 
 Perry," she said, " it is no wonder that
 
 68 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Mr Lidney's mind wandered ! " What did she 
 mean? . . . 
 
 We reached Kempsey after an interesting run, 
 Miss Muffet sitting beside me from Ballinger 
 Heads ; we had lunch there, and I a short sleep 
 that comforted me wonderfully. I need hardly 
 say that when the time came for George to do his 
 hair, I handed him a candle. ... I wish he 
 would shave ; he is looking like a sundowner, 
 and is as obstinate as a mule. 
 
 As we drove into the town (I must not forget to 
 tell you this) I asked an old man where the Post 
 Office was. 
 
 "Eh? "he said. 
 
 " Can you tell me where the Post Office is ? " 
 I shouted. 
 
 " Eh ? " he said again. 
 
 " Deaf, better get down ! " suggested George ; 
 so I got down, and going near the old man 
 asked my question again. 
 
 " Do you want the old Post Office or the new 
 one," he asked, in the curious intonation of long 
 deaf people. 
 
 " I want to post some letters and send a tele- 
 gram," I shouted. 
 
 " Then it will be the old Post Office, you 
 want," he said, " there it is : if so be you want the
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 69 
 
 new Post Office, it be going to be built there ! " 
 and he pointed to a vacant allotment near-by. 
 I went to the old Post Office. . . . The telegram 
 I sent from Kempsey was to Port Macquarie to 
 secure rooms at the two hotels, as I thought there 
 might be a scarcity of rooms there ; and as The 
 Locust was behaving most excellently well, I 
 sent William on with John and The Ladybird 
 he going before us for the first time with the 
 same object in view. The first time that I had 
 thought it necessary to apprise anyone of our 
 coming, and the first time that I dispensed with 
 the assistance of the following Ladybird. ... I 
 wish I had done neither. . . . 
 
 Have I told you that Miss Muffet is inordin- 
 ately fond of dates ? She eats them all day, and 
 I dare say she nibbles them at night ! When we 
 were two or three miles out from Kempsey, going 
 slowly, Miss Durston noticed that one of the re- 
 serve petrol tins was leaking ; we carry them in 
 a box on the footboard on the starboard side ; 
 and sure enough it was ; at the edge near the top 
 a small stream was spurting out. If I had had 
 the intelligence to empty this tinful into our tank 
 then, much might not have happened that did, 
 but I did not do so ; for partly in order to test the 
 gallon-per-mileage of The Locust, and partly be-
 
 70 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 cause stops are quiet and pleasant, I have made 
 a habit of filling the tank only in the mornings, 
 and when it is quite empty. Miss Muffet 
 cleverly stopped the leak with one of her sticky 
 dates, and we went along merrily again until the 
 hesitating action of the engine announced the 
 need for more fuel. Laughing at my mistake in 
 not filling up at Kempsey, I lifted out one of the 
 spare tins from the box; it felt very light, and 
 when I shook it no sound came ; putting this 
 down, I hurriedly tried the remaining tin, which 
 Miss Muffet had repaired, to find that this was 
 empty, too ! The tins rubbing against each other 
 had produced holes at two opposing bottom 
 corners and we had left the contents of the two 
 tins upon the road. . . . Here was a pretty 
 pickle ! The accident appeared amusing at first, 
 but presently its significance dawned upon the 
 others (I had seen it from the first, naturally), 
 ten miles from anywhere no fuel The Lady- 
 bird at Port Macquarie by now cut off from all 
 communication with civilisation! You may 
 think it strange, perhaps, that we did not, at once, 
 start to walk on to Port Macquarie? But the 
 Australian girl can do everything but walk, and 
 it never occurred to them to suggest it! We 
 coo-eed in turn and together in the hope of being
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 71 
 
 heard by some possible resident near the road- 
 side, but our cries met with no response ; and it is 
 a desolate thing to coo-ee into the gum-forest! 
 Miss Durston broke a silence which was becom- 
 ing embarrassing by saying : " Let's have some 
 tea ! " and I was glad enough of the diversion. 
 Fortunately we carried enough provisions for a 
 good meal, and this we ate with appetites unim- 
 paired by the awkwardness of our situation. A 
 motor-car passed while we were eating, but its 
 occupants regarded our frantic handkerchief- 
 wavings, not as an appeal for help, but as signs 
 of good fellowship, and they whisked by at a 
 great rate, smiling and waving, too. . . . The 
 sun was going down, and nothing had suggested 
 itself to me, when again we heard the hum of a 
 motor-car, this time from the opposite direction, 
 and running to the road, I saw, to my extreme 
 joy, the Ladybird coming back towards us. 
 " Good old William ! " I cried, and shouted the 
 news to the others ; but my joy was premature, 
 for there was a horrible grating sound, too fami- 
 liar to the ears of a motorist, and The Ladybird 
 pulled up a few yards from us. " Differential," 
 said William quietly he has a great ear for car- 
 sounds and without more words proceeded to 
 jack up the back axle.
 
 72 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Why did you come back ? " I asked him, 
 as he moved the lever up and down. 
 
 " Wondered where you had got, sir," he 
 answered. 
 
 Good old William! but there was more in it 
 than that, since, had no accident occurred, we 
 should just about have been arriving at Port 
 Macquarie now. 
 
 "Well, I'm glad you've come," I said, 
 " because we have no petrol." 
 
 " Thought you were spelling for tea, sir," he 
 replied. 
 
 " No, petrol tins sprung leaks," I said. 
 William said nothing, but I thought I heard him 
 whistle softly. " But it doesn't matter now you've 
 turned up," I continued, " we can get enough 
 from The Ladybird's tank to carry us on." 
 
 " Ladybird's tank's empty, too, sir, petrol pipe 
 leaking, I was thinking to get a fill up from The 
 Locust. . . ." 
 
 Thus the arrival of The Ladybird did not 
 appear to be going to help us any, and the posi- 
 tion had to be faced anew, with the added depres- 
 sion of disappointed hope ! The girls treated it 
 very lightly, Miss Muffet declaring that she had 
 never camped out in her life, and thought that it 
 would be " lovely."
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 73 
 
 " There's nothing else for it, I am afraid," I 
 said, turning to Miss Durston. 
 
 " No," answered she, " but if it were raining, 
 it would be worse, wouldn't it ? " and I blessed 
 her for her assumption of indifference she who 
 had shown emotion at the mention of the tattle 
 of gossips. Seeing that there was really nothing 
 else for it, for an inspection of The Ladybird's 
 tank revealed only a few remaining drops of petrol 
 I proceeded to make what arrangements I could 
 for the comfort of the girls. William had the 
 differential out by this, one of its teeth having 
 broken and its two neighbours being consider- 
 ably worn ; he removed the broken fragments, 
 and announced that she was quite fit to travel 
 again. . . . Between us, we hauled and pushed 
 the cars until they stood parallel with a space 
 of four feet between them. Why William had 
 not removed the camping outfit from The Lady- 
 bird, I do not know his usual thought for 
 possible contingencies, I suppose for he was 
 in the habit of emptying the car each night, and 
 this night have gone so far as to unload the extra 
 petrol tins. We stretched our waterproof sheet 
 from hood to hood, fixing the four corners firmly, 
 and we had a shelter from the heavy dew. Then 
 we tied the mosquito net at its four corners under
 
 74 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the " roof " fixing them to the hood supports : the 
 net was a single one, so had to be rather low, 
 but that did not matter so long as its edges 
 touched the ground all round, and to prevent the 
 wind from blowing these up and letting the mos- 
 quitoes in, we staked them down on three sides, 
 leaving one of the end sides for entry, weighting 
 it with a sapling. I crawled in then, and having 
 used my hands as brooms to sweep away a few 
 ants that were on their way home, and having 
 made sure that the tent contained no stray mos- 
 quitoes, since one each would have been quite 
 enough to keep the girls awake all night, I 
 arranged the rugs and cushions and as cosy a 
 nest as could be desired was provided, with not 
 so hard a bed as you might imagine. Lastly, I 
 laid ant-baits of cake and fruit, dates chiefly, 
 here and there, a few feet from the nest, so that 
 these busy creatures might not invade it in search 
 of food. . . . The Locust's horn announced bed- 
 time it was quite dark and the two girls 
 and Boppo rejoined us, expressing their admir- 
 ation for their cosy-looking shelter for the 
 night. 
 
 Miss Muffet, with a comical air of secrecy, 
 drew me aside, and holding my arm, whispered 
 in my ear (or as near it as she could reach).
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 75 
 
 " Dr Perry ? " here she looked over her 
 
 shoulder, to assure herself that no one was with- 
 in whisper-distance, " I simply can't sleep in 
 my m-my stays," (this word in a sort of double 
 whisper) " Auntie doesn't wear any! so will you 
 be sure and keep the men away in the morning, 
 when I p-put them on again ? " 
 
 I had some difficulty in answering for 
 laughter, but I managed to say : 
 
 " What men ? I have sent William on a long 
 walk to Port Macquarie for petrol ! " 
 
 " Oh you know what I mean ! " she said, and 
 kissing her hand to me over her shoulder, she 
 scuttled away. 
 
 Then Miss Durston bade me " Good night," 
 and as I held the curtain up for them and Boppo 
 to enter the nest, she handed me something, 
 saying : 
 
 " Will you please take care of this for me ? " 
 And you may imagine the strange mixture of feel- 
 ings when I saw that she had given me a small, 
 six-chambered revolver! . . . Could woman's 
 trust go further ? . . . " Bless them both ! " I 
 thought, as I walked towards George, " her for 
 her trust, and Miss Muffet for lessening the 
 seriousness of the situation by her innocent, light- 
 hearted joke.
 
 76 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 As I had had no sleep the night before, George 
 stood the first watch, so, wrapping my rain-coat 
 about me, with my head upon one of the car-seats, 
 one hand grasping the revolver, I slept. And it 
 seemed only a few moments before George 
 aroused me with the information that it was two 
 o'clock. ... It was very dark and silent under 
 the trees, and that I might not fall asleep, I paced 
 up and down on the grass at the side of the road 
 the further side. . . . Then I lit one of The 
 Locust's lamps, feeling a warmth of intimacy as 
 I stood so near the nest, and wrote as far as 
 this. . . . Good night, Amy dear; I can only 
 hope that no unpleasant consequences may 
 follow from this mad but unavoidable adven- 
 ture! 
 
 Your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Port Macquarie, Nov. 2&tk, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 I left off writing last when the dawn of to- 
 day, Sunday, was creeping in over the bush. Do 
 you know that I cannot believe that Homer was 
 always blind ; he must once have seen a baby's 
 hands or he could never have been so fond of, 
 
 " But when the mother of dawn, rosy-fingered 
 morning " 
 
 As stion as the light began to come, I 
 approached the nest, and gently woke Miss 
 Muffet by holding her hand and pressing it until 
 communication was established between us. 
 
 " What is it ? where am I ? why ? " she 
 
 cried. 
 
 " Hush! " I whispered, " Stays! " and left her. 
 
 Next I started a fire, and in a few minutes had 
 a billy of steaming tea, and, waking George, I 
 filled the smaller Thermos (William had taken 
 
 77
 
 78 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the larger one for refreshment on his long walk), 
 and placed it, with two cups, by the tent ; (the 
 stays were on by this !) We had no milk, but we 
 wanted it hot, for it was chilly, and George and I 
 were glad enough to sit by the fire drinking 
 scalding tea. 
 
 " How f-funny to get up without washing ! " 
 said Miss Muffet, as the ladies joined us, and I 
 undertook to get them to Port Macquarie in 
 plenty of time for a bath before breakfast. 
 
 By the time that we had unshipped and stowed 
 the tent, William arrived driving a hired cart, 
 alone, (sapient William), with a supply of petrol, 
 and in a short time we were under way again, 
 George and Miss Muffet in the cart, she driving, 
 William in The Ladybird, and Miss Durston and 
 Boppo beside me in The Locust. . . . We said 
 very little ; I can remember nothing except that, 
 pointing to the revolver which I had placed on the 
 seat between us, I asked : " May I keep this ? " 
 
 "Please! "she said. . . . 
 
 It was still quite early when we reached Port 
 Macquarie, but we managed to rouse a sleepy 
 housemaid at the hotel (and I was glad now that 
 I had sent the telegram, after all), and the ladies 
 went to bed again, for Miss Muffet drove up in 
 great style half an hour after us. Then William
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 79 
 
 asked if he might speak to me. " What is it, 
 William ? " I was feeling so much relieved that 
 this untoward adventure had ended so satisfact- 
 orily, for not a soul was about to see us arrive, 
 that I smiled, thinking that he had some trifling 
 engine fault to tell me about. 
 
 : ' There's a man here, sir, inquiring for Miss 
 Durston," he said. 
 
 " A man ! " I exclaimed, " who ? What sort of 
 man? When did you find this out? " 
 
 " He's a kind of gentleman," he answered, " I 
 don't know his name, but I heard him asking for 
 the ladies at the hotel," indicating the one where 
 the ladies were now, I hoped, sleeping. " They 
 told him that they were expecting two ladies, but 
 did not know their names." 
 
 " That's all you can tell me, William? " 
 
 ' That's all, sir ; that's why I came back to 
 meet you last night, I thought the lady might 
 like to know; but when I saw the trouble you 
 were in, I thought it might wait until to-day." 
 
 ' Thank you, William," I said, and he left me 
 to attend to his precious cars, and to get some 
 sleep. George and I crept into the neighbour- 
 ing hotel, and finding an unoccupied bedroom, 
 George undressed and was soon asleep. But I 
 could not sleep, for I was curiously troubled by
 
 8o THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 William's news. The man could not be a rela- 
 tion, for Miss Durston had told me that she had 
 none except an aunt, of whom she had not spoken 
 with much cordiality . . . who could it be, 
 then ? . . . Well, it was no use worrying over it, 
 we should learn in time. But I hoped fervently 
 that, whoever he was, his coming would not re- 
 sult in the breaking up of our little party. 
 
 After a while I took my bathing-suit and towel, 
 and went out to find a suitable place for a dip. 
 There were only two or three early bathers in the 
 surf, which was just rough enough to be enjoy- 
 able, and I was having a great time with the 
 incoming rollers, for a man of six feet two inches 
 can venture out further than most, when I heard a 
 sudden appeal for help, and, turning in the 
 direction from which it came, I saw a little head 
 disappearing under the water. Two strides and 
 I had hold of him, a boy of seven or so, and he 
 was spluttering so, and clung to me so hard, that 
 I had great work to keep my footing ; moreover, 
 the kiddie was wailing something which in the 
 noise of the surf, and the excitement of the 
 moment, I had difficulty in catching " You're 
 all right, sonny," I cried, " keep still and don't 
 hold so tight like this, not round my neck." 
 But, " where's Emmie?" he wailed, and with a
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 81 
 
 cold chill gripping me, I understood what he had 
 been trying to tell me there was another of 
 them ! I looked about me searchingly, it could 
 not have been many seconds, but it seemed long 
 minutes before, following the direction of the 
 frantically pointing hand of one of the bathers, 
 I saw Emmie's head, fair and curly, bobbing up 
 just beyond my reach. I had to swim for it this 
 time, and groping under the water, being much 
 encumbered with my boy, who went under the 
 water as I swam, and spluttered and clung more 
 than ever, I hauled up Emmie, nearly drowned, 
 poor little soul, while the boy cried, " That's her, 
 you've got her, mister," and Emmie, after getting 
 rid of a great deal of water over me, hearing her 
 pal's voice, choked out, " Hullo, Jimmie ! " as 
 though this were an everyday occurrence! It 
 might have been funny if it had not been so jolly 
 serious, for the two kiddies clung like limpets 
 and I was out of my depth, treading water for 
 dear life, for three dear lives! and we were a 
 hundred yards from the shore and the blessed 
 tide was running out and taking us with it. ... 
 It was a very awkward position for a surgeon to 
 be in, I can assure you, Amy, and I wished myself 
 well out of it. ... I talked quietly to the two 
 youngsters, whom I was supporting facing each 
 
 F
 
 82 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 other under my arms, while I lay on my back, 
 and reassured them in some measure, though it 
 was rather disconcerting when Jimmie said, " But 
 why don't you swim in, mister?" and Emmie 
 echoed, " Yes, why don't you ? " 
 
 " I will in a minute," I answered, " but keep as 
 quiet as you can, and don't put your arms round 
 my neck, Jimmie. Steady now! " and I struck 
 out with my legs all I knew. Amy, my dear, I 
 would rather race you or anybody else a spanking 
 half-mile with a bad handicap than have that to 
 do again! Emmie was five, and they were both 
 naked and as slippery as eels, and every time that 
 one or other of them got a ducking my neck would 
 be squeezed hard, and once, when they both did 
 it together, we all went under and I thought we 
 were done for. I let Jimmie go but he didn't 
 leave hold of me ! and I had to tread water for 
 a minute to regain myself. I suppose we travel- 
 led about a yard a minute and we had over a 
 hundred yards to go. ... Well, I got 'em ashore 
 at last, more by luck than good management, for 
 the current took us some six hundred yards down 
 among the rocks, and a heaven-sent eddy swirled 
 us to a bit of sand. . . . They were as jolly as 
 sand-boys, though cold, but I was as nearly done 
 as ever I hope to be, and had to lie low for a
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 83 
 
 minute or two to regain the use of my knees, 
 while, as it seemed, the whole population of the 
 place crowded about me and them. I thought I 
 should never get away from them they wanted 
 to unharness the horses and drag the carriage 
 home that sort of emotional frame of mind : and 
 the two mothers who had been summoned to see 
 their children drown ! they kissed my hands . . . 
 but I got away at last, and donning my clothes, 
 made for the inn, the protection of which I was 
 glad enough to secure. I don't know if you will 
 think it strange that as I walked back my 
 thoughts ran like this : 
 
 " When I die 
 And feel no more, 
 
 Let not the green turf cover my head ! 
 But let the sounding surf 
 And the surges of the shore 
 Be my last bed, 
 When I die! . . ." 
 
 But I don't want to die for a few years yet, please 
 God! 
 
 Feeling uncommonly hungry and spent, 
 though with that strange feeling of exaltation 
 which comes only once or twice to a man when 
 he knows that he has saved a human life, I went 
 straight from my room to the breakfast-room of 
 the other hotel, and when I opened the door the
 
 84 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 first person upon whom my eyes rested was the 
 Beast. He was a man named Morland, whom I 
 had met in Brisbane. 
 
 " Hullo. Doc ! " he cried (how I hate the in- 
 solent familiarity of that vulgar form of address !) 
 " Fancy meeting you ! It's a small world, my 
 masters ! " those were his very words. 
 
 " Good morning, Mr Morland," I answered, 
 with as little cordiality as I could, " I didn't know 
 this was your part of the country," and passing 
 him, I walked to the table and took a seat. 
 
 " Is that your p-professional manner ? " 
 whispered Miss Muffet, and " Good morning," 
 said Miss Durston, who was looking pale and 
 
 troubled, " are you not well ? you look " 
 
 :< Thanks very much," I interrupted, " I'll be 
 as right as rain when I have eaten something, 
 I'm hungry." 
 
 Morland had looked his surprise at my know- 
 ing Miss Durston, and he chipped in : 
 
 " How did you get into this galley, Doc ? I 
 didn't know you knew my friend Miss Durston. 
 I was just going to ask her permission to intro- 
 duce you, I have been asking about the motor- 
 trip, and they can't tell me the name of the place 
 where they stopped last night. Perhaps you 
 can?"
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 85 
 
 " They slept here," I said foolishly. 
 
 " Got here at four a.m. I know all about that, 
 Doc, but where did they spend the night. You 
 can tell me the name ? " 
 
 " Possibly," I said. And I noticed now that 
 Miss Muffet was sitting in a glum silence, looking 
 at her plate, and scarcely eating anything (I was 
 ravenous), and that George was glowering at 
 Morland as though he would like to eat him. 
 
 " Yes, but tell me ! " persisted the Beast. 
 
 " What Miss Durston cannot tell you, I 
 cannot," I said, and turned my back upon him, 
 wishing that I could have thought of something 
 more sensible to say. We ate in silence. 
 What had happened, I wondered, while I was 
 away? Morland tried to keep the ball of con- 
 versation rolling between himself and Miss 
 Durston, but her replies to his questions con- 
 sisted only of " Yes," " No " and " I don't know," 
 and he gave it up. It was too horribly depress- 
 ing for words, I assure you, Amy, so directly I 
 had finished my meal, asking to be excused, I 
 went to my room. But Miss Muffet had followed 
 me to the door, and whispering, " Oh, Dr Perry, 
 isn't he a b-beast ! " returned to her place beside 
 Miss Durston. Hence the title. ... I wanted 
 to go out, but I was afraid of being followed by
 
 86 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the silly crowd that I saw hanging about as I 
 walked from one hotel to the other. A maid 
 whom I met in the passage clasped her hands at 
 me and said, " Oh, Doctor ! . . ." 
 
 I had hardly closed my door when it opened 
 again to let in George, looking as glum as an owl. 
 Now you know that George is quiet and sober 
 and all that, but he doesn't look solemn as a rule : 
 there is always a twinkle to be seen by looking ; 
 so that I knew he had something worrying him. 
 But he began quite differently from my expecta- 
 tions. 
 
 " What's all this d n crowd outside, 
 
 Aston ? " And will you believe me that was the 
 first time that I had ever heard him use a swear 
 word, except when conversing with mosquitoes ; 
 he had no use for them, he used to say. Then he 
 must have been in a condition of unusual irrita- 
 tion. 
 
 " What crowd ? " I asked, but of course I knew. 
 
 " Oh, this crowd ! " he said, throwing out his 
 arms towards the open window, " can't you see ? 
 the whole town I should think." 
 
 ;< They are waiting to ask me to be Mayor 
 of the town," I said. 
 
 " Oh, don't rot ! " he exclaimed he was irrit- 
 able.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 87 
 
 " I'll tell you," I said, and in a few words I 
 told him of the bathing episode. 
 
 " Good man ! " was all he said, when I had 
 finished, but the crinkled look of pleasure on his 
 face rewarded me. 
 
 " But let's get on to this other thing," I said, 
 " we shall hear quite enough about that other be- 
 fore we've done, unless we can sneak out of the 
 town by night. What's that fellow Morland here 
 for ? and how does he come to know Miss Durs- 
 ton? They don't live in the same street! 
 He's the worst kind of cad that's made ! " 
 
 " I don't know," answered George, speaking 
 slowly but always to the point, " I'll tell you all 
 I know you're keener than I, perhaps you'll be 
 able to make something of it. " We three had 
 just taken our seats for breakfast and Miss Muf- 
 Button (!) had just asked me where you were 
 when the door opened, and " Ah ! here he is," 
 she said, and the man Morland walked in 
 as brazen as brass, lady-like smile, walked 
 right up to Miss Durston with his hand held 
 out. 
 
 " How are you ? " he said, " where did you stay 
 last night ? I lost the run of you ? " 
 
 Miss Durston turned white like paper, and 
 answered nothing; she didn't seem to see his
 
 88 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 hand it was great, that ; and Miss Muffet said, 
 " Oh, Auntie ! "... but Morland went on, " It's 
 a sight for sore eyes to see you again, Enid. . . ." 
 Enid? . . . But Miss Durston just took hold of 
 the tea-pot and said, " Tea, Elsie ? I thought 
 this was a private room ? " and poured out a cup. 
 It was your cup, for Miss Sutton had one already. 
 She seemed to recover her balance then, and 
 talked to Miss Muffet and me a bit ; she answered 
 Morland's questions, except the one about our 
 camping-out night. Morland sat down to the 
 table as though it were his, and I was just going 
 to ask Miss Durston if I should turn him out, 
 when you came in looking as sick as a ship-load 
 of emigrants, and I was glad to see you, old man ! 
 What is it ? Who is the brute ? " 
 
 " I don't know much about him," I answered, 
 " but you shall hear what I do know. It doesn't 
 make me want to ask him to share any more 
 meals with us." 
 
 " Miss Durston asked him to have tea with us 
 to-night it's Sunday, you know." 
 
 ' The devil she did ! " I exclaimed, surprised. 
 
 "He asked to be allowed to have dinner with 
 her, and she put him off by asking him to tea," 
 said George. 
 
 " Looks like wishing to postpone a bad quarter
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 89 
 
 of an hour ? " and we sat silent for a minute. 
 " Looks, too, as though our idyllic holiday stood 
 a chance of being spoilt. . . . But I'll tell you 
 about Morland. I met the man first about six 
 years ago ; Clark, a Brisbane boating man, and 
 a very good friend of mine, asked me to spend a 
 Sunday with him on his twenty-six footer, and 
 told me that among the men coming was a chap 
 named Morland, whom he had never seen, but 
 whom he had invited on the strength of a letter 
 of introduction which had been left at his office. 
 Morland came and made a mess of things, for he 
 got beastly drunk in the afternoon and fell out of 
 the boat ; fortunately we could all swim, and as 
 we thought he would drown, he was so drunk, all 
 of us but Clark, who couldn't leave the tiller, 
 jumped overboard after him. But to our sur- 
 prise the brute could swim, and, drunk as he was, 
 he managed to get to the boat without any help 
 from us, and we felt silly enough, having had a 
 ducking for nothing ; then he sat and cried, shed 
 tears like a hysterical female it was horrible. 
 We changed into dry clothes and set sail for 
 home, no one speaking to the maudlin brute all 
 the way, and he couldn't have been more than 
 twenty-two then, till we reached the landing- 
 stage, when Clark said " Good day to you, sir,
 
 90 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 go to to Gympie, but don't ever come near me 
 again ! " And so felt all of us. He just waved 
 his hand and walked away, steadily, too, as un- 
 concerned as you please. We heard afterwards 
 that he spread the yarn that Clark and the lot of 
 us had been drunk and pushed him overboard, 
 and Clark has never heard the end of it. ... I 
 forgot about him, except when I met Clark, who 
 hasn't stopped apologising to me yet, until he 
 turned up again a couple of years ago, having 
 been back to England in the meantime. I was 
 sent for to see a patient at Grantham's Hotel, and 
 found a very' sick Morland ; he was apparently 
 in funds, for he had been chucking money about 
 in all directions, they told me. I had him re- 
 moved to a private hospital, and operated the 
 next morning : he gave me a most anxious time, 
 but got round all right in the end. A month 
 later he was well enough to go out, and asked 
 me if I thought he could stand a railway journey, 
 and I said yes if he exercised intelligent care. 
 
 " And how much shall I be owin' you, Doc ? " 
 he asked, with that silly assumption of the Irish 
 
 accent which stands for humour with some 
 people. 
 
 " Fifty guineas," I answered. 
 
 " By Gad ! and very reasonable, too, old
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 91 
 
 chap ! " he replied, " will it do if I post you a 
 cheque from Grantham's this evening ? " 
 
 " Of course," I answered, " no hurry ! " 
 
 " Noblesse oblige" was his fatuous answer I 
 remember it because he pronounced it as though 
 it were English. He went from the hospital to 
 a near-by boarding house, though he had told 
 the cabby " Grantham's " when he left, and next 
 morning took the Sydney mail train, leaving 
 Grantham's bill unpaid, and mine and the 
 hospital's. The very worst kind of welcher that 
 exists on the face of the earth : a remittance man, 
 of course. . . . And now he turns up here, as a 
 friend of Miss Durston's, having expected her, 
 knowing something of her movements . . . what 
 does it all mean ? " 
 
 " Better get back, and see if they want us," 
 was George's reply. " Expect they do, let's 
 go!" 
 
 " Yes," I said, "let's! but I say, George, I'm 
 glad you didn't try to turn him out of the room ! " 
 
 ; ' Yes," responded George, ruefully rubbing 
 his head, " he looks as strong as a cow." 
 
 " He is," I said, " he is one of those feats-of- 
 strength men, and was always showing off to the 
 nurses when he was convalescing." 
 
 " I'll send for you next time," said George.
 
 92 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 "Thanks!" I replied. 
 
 I can assure you, Amy, that though Morland 
 is quite the worst of his kind that I have en- 
 countered, such men are not uncommon in 
 Australia, which seems to be the dumping ground 
 for the worthless undesirable and glad enough 
 their people must be to get rid of them they re- 
 ceive remittances from home conditionally upon 
 their calling for them personally at some bank in 
 one or other of the State capitals. Reading 
 about men of this stamp leaves a nasty taste in 
 one's mouth, doesn't it ? 
 
 We found Miss Durston and Miss Muffet in 
 the drawing-room, a stuffy place but pleasant, in 
 that it did not contain Morland. 
 
 " Oh, why did you go away ? " cried Miss 
 Muffet, and " Hush, child ! " said Miss Durston. 
 
 " B-but I will speak, Id," retorted the girl, " I 
 d-don't want to know anything about him, but 
 please Mr Lidney and Dr Perry " (do you notice 
 the order?) " let one of you be with auntie and 
 me when that man is here, or I shall be sick, 
 sick ! " and she burst into tears. ... Of course 
 I am a bit used to scenes of this kind, I mean 
 girls breaking down under stress and crying their 
 hearts out, it often does them good, but it pulled 
 at my heart to see little Miss Muffet like this, and
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 93 
 
 as for poor George, who likely enough had never 
 seen such a thing before, I thought he was going 
 to break down, too ! But he just walked up to 
 her (she had buried her face in Miss Durston's 
 bosom), and putting his hand on her pretty head, 
 said, with a queer quaver in his voice : 
 
 " Miss Muffet, will you come for a walk with 
 me ? I want to tell you something, and it's such 
 a pretty town, and and I'll talk like anything ! " 
 
 It was just the fillip she needed, and George's 
 " I want to tell you something," was great. Her 
 sobs gradually subsided, and looking up with a 
 tearful smile, she said: " B-but I'm such a 
 f-fright ! " and I wouldn't have blamed George a 
 bit if he had kissed her there and then (I wanted 
 to myself), she looked so exceedingly charming 
 and to-be-petted. So presently they went out 
 together, she calling back, " Dr Perry, you won't 
 leave auntie for a minute while I'm away, will 
 you ? even if you want to ever so ? " and I gravely 
 answered that I would not. She is a sweet mis- 
 chief-loving child. 
 
 Miss Durston and I moved out of the room 
 and sat on a settee that stood in the lobby, as it 
 was cooler and more comfortable than in the 
 drawing-room. I could think of nothing to say, 
 but my heart was very sore for her ; she looked
 
 94 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 so small and so very pretty! Every spark of 
 sparkle had gone from her face she whose every 
 limb and feature had seemed to me to express 
 the joy of living. I broke the silence by saying : 
 
 " I don't want you to tell me anything, Miss 
 Durston, now, or at any other time, which you 
 would not wish to, but if you think I can be of 
 any help to you, please let me ask you to ask 
 it ! ... Will you ? " And she put her hand to 
 mine and said simply. 
 
 " Thank you, Dr Perry, I will. . . ." and I 
 took it, though she shrank and tried to draw it 
 away, and pressed it, twice, to my lips. . . . 
 Presently we walked to the balcony, and for the 
 first time she noticed the crowd outside, thinned 
 a good deal by this time, for it was nearing Sun- 
 day dinner-time. 
 
 "What is it all about?" she asked, "the 
 Governor is not expected here, is he ? " 
 
 " I'll go and see," I answered, smiling. She put 
 out her hand as though to stay me, but withdrew 
 it, saying, " yes, please do ! but don't be long, 
 will you ? " and she smiled in a way that made my 
 blood run riot. I was back in a few moments. 
 
 " I'm awfully sorry," I said, " but they are wait- 
 ing for me ! " 
 
 " For you, Dr Perry? why? "
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 95 
 
 "Well you see," I said, and I have seldom 
 had a more difficult explanation to make, " it 
 isn't often that anything happens in a little place 
 like this, and this morning, when I was surfing, 
 I lugged two kiddies out of the water ; they had 
 got out of their depth, and and those people are 
 exaggerating the thing they happened to be 
 only children and both their mother's 
 widows." 
 
 " And you never told me us ! " (Now, Amy, 
 had I had a chance to ?) " and that's why you 
 looked so ill when you came to breakfast! " 
 
 " I was feeling hungry," I said, " and rather 
 cheap." 
 
 " Cheap ? " she cried, and again " cheap ! " and 
 she turned her back suddenly upon me, and 
 seemed to be looking far away beyond the hills. 
 Another moment and I would have seized her 
 in my arms, but the tension of the moment was 
 broken by the sound of Miss Muffet's rapidly 
 approaching footsteps, and her voice crying, 
 " Where are they ? " She came rushing in, 
 flushed and excited, so that I thought that 
 George must have proposed to her (" I want to 
 tell you something "), but she cried out. 
 
 " Auntie have you heard ? Has he told you ? 
 do you see those people out there? Do you
 
 96 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 know what everyone, everyone is talking about? 
 did " 
 
 " Steady on, Miss Muffet," I interrupted, " one 
 question at a time ! you'll get us confused." 
 
 " Oh, you ! " she cried, " I c-could slap you ! 
 what has he told you, Auntie ? has he told you 
 anything ? " and a comb dropped she had taken 
 off her hat and was twirling it round violently. 
 Speaking very slowly Miss Durston answered. 
 
 " He told me, when I asked him, that he 
 lugged two kiddies out of the sea when they got 
 out of their depth. Is that what you want to tell 
 me?" 
 
 " Yes, th-that's it that's all of it there ! " 
 She exclaimed, stamping her foot (another comb 
 dropped), and actually she put her tongue out at 
 me ! Then she put a hand upon Miss Durston's 
 arm, and went on. " No, but it isn't all, Auntie, 
 1-let me tell you. He was out of his depth, too, 
 and the sea was as rough as as anything, and 
 he caught hold of little Jimmie Chadwick, who 
 tried to throttle him, then, as if it was not enough 
 to save one, he swam out and picked up Emmie 
 Bartlett, a sweet pet of five but rather dirty, and 
 he swam on his back for hours against the tide 
 in that sea, 1-look at it ! while the crowd of fisher- 
 men, as they call themselves, stood and gaped on
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 97 
 
 the shore, and when he was just exhausted he 
 got them ashore, and came slinking home, as 
 though he had stolen a p-purse or some- 
 thing ! l-lugged -two kiddies out of their 
 depth indeed ! " and she stopped for want of 
 breath. 
 
 " Miss Muffet, please, please ! " I cried, when 
 I could at last put in a word, " you are really too 
 dreadful, and you are not fair to the fishermen, 
 for they could not possibly help ... no, I won't 
 contradict a word of what you say," for I saw that 
 she was going to begin all over again, " if you 
 love me, stop at that, will you ? " 
 
 " I don't love you a bit," she said, shaking her 
 head at me ; and a third comb dropped, while I 
 wondered if there were any more, " b-but I should 
 like to k-kiss you, wouldn't you, Auntie ? " and 
 she threw her arms round my neck and kissed 
 me full and hard on the mouth, while George 
 looked on in torment. He had picked up the 
 combs as they fell. 
 
 " Now, Auntie " she said. 
 
 ' There, there, Muffle," said Miss Durston, 
 patting her arm, " I am sure that Dr Perry is 
 amply rewarded. Now we must get ready for 
 dinner, or we shall be late." And I breathed 
 again. It had been a strenuous morning. But 
 
 G
 
 98 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 I had not heard the last of it. Shall I 
 ever? 
 
 When, with George, I went to the dining- 
 room, I found an envelope addressed to me on 
 my plate, and opening it, read : 
 
 " There was a young man of Brisbane 
 
 Who revelled in sickness and pain, 
 
 He lugged two young kiddies, 
 
 (Their mothers both widdies) 
 
 From out of the blue rolling main." 
 
 There wasn't much time to respond, but re- 
 versing the paper, I wrote hurriedly, in pencil : 
 
 " There was a young lady of Sydney, 
 Who lived on toast, porridge and kidney, 
 
 When she kissed Dr Perry 
 
 She turned red as a cherry 
 Because she was seen by one L ." 
 
 I just had time to put the paper back in its 
 envelope and place it on Miss Muffet's plate, as 
 the two ladies came in. She was trying to look 
 unconscious, and her surprise at finding the en- 
 velope on her own plate was great, and when she 
 read my answering lines, she made a grimace at 
 me, tried not to blush and failed, and, crumpling 
 up the paper, thrust it within her blouse. 
 
 " Won't you show me ? " asked George, boldly, 
 for of course he had seen me writing.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 99 
 
 " It's quite private ! " said Miss Muffet, and 
 poor George subsided. 
 
 We had a merry meal, for each one of us 
 seemed intent upon throwing off the incubus of 
 trouble with which the coming of Morland seemed 
 to have burdened us. Lunch over, George and I 
 went to the verandah, Miss Muffet saying that 
 she was going to make " Auntie lie down for an 
 hour." We found Morland on the verandah, 
 sulking apparently, and picking his teeth. As 
 we came out, William came along in The Locust, 
 who was behaving most shamefully, going 
 along on three legs as it were, missing 
 horribly. 
 
 " What's the matter, William ? " I asked. 
 
 :< Timing out of gear, sir," answered William. 
 
 :< Take her for a short spin," I said, " and fix 
 it ; we shan't be leaving here till to-morrow." 
 
 " What make is it ? " asked Morland, and I 
 foolishly answered, " Locust." 
 
 " More like a bally grasshopper ! " he said, 
 laughing loudly. And I was stupidly angered, 
 and wished that its colour had not been green ! 
 But I said nothing, and Morland rose, stretched 
 himself with a noisy yawn, and said : 
 
 " What price your seat on the what you call 
 it? Locust to-morrow? " I hated that he should
 
 ioo THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 call the good car by our private pet name, but I 
 had brought it upon myself. 
 ." What do you mean ? " I asked. 
 
 " Well, look here ! I'll toss you who drives The 
 Locust to-morrow." 
 
 " No one drives my car but myself," I answered 
 as frigidly as I could. 
 
 " And Bill," he said, with a grin. 
 
 " And William," I corrected. 
 
 " Don't be shirty, Doc ! " he went on, " you're 
 not the only man in Australia who can drive a 
 motor-car." 
 
 " I'm the only man in Australia who's going 
 to drive her to-morrow ! " I replied. 
 
 " Oh, all right ! Keep your hair on, what there 
 is of it ! let's go for a swim ? " 
 
 " Very well ! " I said, surprised at the sugges- 
 tion, and glad to think that this would take the 
 beast away from the neighbourhood of the ladies 
 for an hour or so. 
 
 " Look here," said Morland, as we walked 
 down to the beach, " I'll race you for that seat on 
 the Grasshopper I beg yours ! The Locust." 
 
 " No, thank you," I answered shortly. 
 
 " Well, I'll race you for a fiver," he suggested. 
 
 " A swimming race ? " I said, and for a moment 
 the old dominant desire caught me.
 
 THE: LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 101 
 
 " Yes," he replied. 
 
 " What distance ? " I asked, hoping he would 
 suggest half a mile. 
 
 "Two-twenty, or a quarter," he answered; 
 and an idea came to me. 
 
 "Those are Mr Lidney's distances," I re- 
 marked, mendaciously. 
 
 " Lidney ? " laughed Morland, contemptuously. 
 
 " I'll take you on," said George, up in arms. 
 
 " Make it a tenner! " suggested Morland. 
 
 " With pleasure," responded George, " I 
 suppose you don't happen to know that Dr Perry 
 was at one time half-mile champion of Eng- 
 land?" 
 
 "No, I don't! "said Morland. 
 
 " He was," said George, shortly. 
 
 " Never mind him," said Morland, " the tenner 
 is between you and I," and I shuddered. 
 
 " How about throwing in your seat in the 
 Grasshopper? " He was so sure of himself that 
 he didn't apologise. 
 
 " If Dr Perry will allow me ? " said George. 
 
 " Certainly," I said, but I began to feel less 
 comfortable. The Beast could swim, evidently. 
 
 " Mind, I'll hold you to it ! " said Morland, 
 " no tricks with yours truly ! " But we did not 
 deign to answer him.
 
 102 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 I have not described Morland to you, yet, and 
 perhaps I ought to do so now. I will try to be 
 fair. He is an upstanding man of six feet, who 
 looks as though he might have been an athlete 
 if he had taken care of himself, but he is a little 
 deep, fore and aft, in the waist-line, for a man of 
 twenty-eight or so, and his face is getting puffy, 
 already ; but he looks very well, stripped. Dark 
 curly hair, a waxed moustache, a strong chin, 
 (the most misleading of all the features), and a 
 slack mouth: a pretty boy, once, and a year or 
 two ago, when I knew him first, indeed, a fine- 
 looking man: dressed in the ultra-fashion, in 
 somewhat worn flannels, and white boots. Is he 
 clear? ... As the opponents undressed, he 
 turned to me : 
 
 " Feel inclined to put a fiver on your fancy, 
 Doc ? " he asked. 
 
 " I'll bet you five pounds Mr Lidney beats 
 you," I answered, " if that's what you mean ? " 
 
 ; ' You've hit it first time," he replied, chuck- 
 ling, " and look ! I'm giving you odds, because 
 you'll be starter and judge, see ? " 
 
 I could have struck him across his insolent 
 face, but I didn't. I am waiting. I feel it in 
 my bones that he and I are to try physical con- 
 clusions, but the time is not yet. . . . We paced
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 103 
 
 the distance (Morland had chosen two-twenty), 
 and marked it, and whispering to George to go 
 all he knew from the jump, they took up their 
 positions, I gave the word " Go " with my back 
 turned to them, and they were off. I ran to the 
 finishing mark and watched. The man could 
 swim, and with the evident intention of paraly- 
 sing George, he made it a cracker, so that at the 
 end of the first hundred he was leading by two 
 body-lengths, and I felt in my pocket to see what 
 money I had with me! But Morland didn't 
 know George the plodder. Looking back, Mor- 
 land changed his stroke to the single over-arm, 
 facing George, who in ten more yards had caught 
 him, plugging away with his steady trudgeon, 
 and apparently unconscious of Morland's where- 
 abouts. I saw a look of surprise and annoyance 
 upon Morland's face, and he turned to trudgeon 
 again ; but he had shot his bolt in that first sprint, 
 and assuming an indifference which he could not 
 have felt, he sang out, " That's enough, Lidney, 
 I'm beaten ! " but he swam on, more slowly. 
 George was not to be taken in, however, and he 
 took no chances, but swimming steadily on, 
 reached and passed the finishing mark thirty 
 yards in front of Morland, who was now splash- 
 ing along carelessly on his back. Morland left
 
 104 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the water and dressed quickly, making no res- 
 ponse to my " My fiver, Mr Morland ! " or to 
 George's, " My tenner, Mr Morland, and my 
 seat in The Locust ! you Beast ! " the last two 
 words being under his breath. Until to-day I 
 have always thought it cowardly to jeer at a 
 beaten enemy. ... I need hardly add that the 
 Beast has made no reference, since, to the race 
 or to the bets. 
 
 William was awaiting me when we got back 
 to the hotel. 
 
 " May I speak to you, sir ? " he said. 
 
 " What is it, William ? " I asked, going aside 
 with him. 
 
 " Mr Morland offered me five pounds to cripple 
 The Locust, sir." 
 
 " Did he show you the money? " 
 
 " He jingled it, sir." 
 
 " He hasn't got as much, William." 
 
 " My troubles, sir! but I think I'll sit up with 
 The Locust to-night." 
 
 ' Yes, do ! perhaps it would be as well. I am 
 afraid," I went on, " that you are likely to have 
 some of Mr Morland's company for a day or two/' 
 
 " How's that, sir? '' asked William, anxiously. 
 
 " In The Ladybird," I said, " he seems to have 
 attached himself to our party."
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 105 
 
 " Then I might show him some driving, sir? " 
 he suggested. 
 
 " Y-yes," I answered, hesitating, " but not to- 
 morrow." 
 
 " Very well, sir," he answered, and he went 
 away chuckling. And then I suddenly thought 
 that I had forgotten to inquire as to The Locust's 
 welfare ! 
 
 But my troubles were not yet over. One of 
 the maids, meeting me, said that two ladies 
 wished to see me in the drawing-room. To the 
 drawing-room I therefore went, to find there Mrs 
 Chadwick and Mrs Bartlett, in their best clothes, 
 and Jimmie and Emmie likewise. The ladies 
 rose as I entered, and, " Now then, Jimmie ! " 
 said the mother of young hopeful : Jimmie shame- 
 facedly approached me, and, at arm's length, 
 handed me a very good briar pipe in its case, and 
 .retreated rapidly. " Now then, Emmie 1 " (it 
 was like a lesson), and little Emmie shyly came 
 forward, and put a tobacco pouch in my hand. 
 And do you know I was never nearer crying in 
 my life, as I stooped and kissed her! . . . They 
 didn't stay long I didn't let them! though I 
 believe the ladies had intended to make an after- 
 noon of it, taking as long as they decently could 
 over the tea (cakes for the kiddies) which I
 
 ordered for them. As they went away, blessing 
 me, I shut a sovereign into the hand of each of 
 the children, and making them promise not to 
 look see, until they got home, waved them 
 " Good-bye." 
 
 Next I had an interview with a frowsy, but 
 most respectful cockney variety company mana- 
 ger, who, presenting his card, asked if he could 
 make it worth my while to stay over Monday, 
 and do a turn with his company. He offered me 
 five pounds! and was so earnest, and poor, and 
 so respectful, that I had hard work in saying, 
 " No," but I bought a dozen front seat tickets for, 
 " myself and my friends ! " 
 
 After the cockney, the editor of the local 
 paper ; after him, the local correspondent of one 
 or two Sydney papers ; and after him, the Mayor 
 till I almost wished that I had never learned to 
 swim! . . . 
 
 Morland came in to tea, and brought with him 
 a bottle containing about four dozen fine oysters. 
 " Caught 'em myself ! " he announced, grinning, 
 as he emptied them on to a plate and proceeded to 
 eat them. The maid was bringing us some soup, 
 which formed the method of compromise between 
 " dinner " and " tea," but Miss Muffet hurriedly 
 whispered something to her, and she retired to
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 107 
 
 the sideboard, smiling; Miss Muffet then sat, 
 her hands clasped upon the table, and watched 
 every oyster disappear. As the last one went, 
 she heard an exaggerated sigh, and murmuring, 
 " I love oysters ! " signalled to the grinning wait- 
 ress to put on our soup. Morland didn't turn 
 a hair. The meal passed off without any un- 
 pleasantness, except that Morland sucked his 
 soup from the point of his spoon, and allowed 
 his food to be seen after it had entered his mouth, 
 little circumstances which might be expected 
 from a man who says, " Between you and I " and 
 "I beg yours!" 
 
 Miss Durston having expressed a wish to go 
 to church, George escorted the two ladies there, 
 but I stayed back to write. Good nights were 
 said immediately upon the return of the church 
 party, and here I am! So good night to you, 
 Amy dear, and don't go to sleep over my letters. 
 
 I am, your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 Port Macquarie, Nov. 2gth, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 Port Macquarie is a beautiful little place, 
 and has been here long enough to look old not 
 old as you count things in England, but old 
 enough, quaint and unscattered and unsquare 
 with its red-roofed cottages on the irregular red- 
 soil heights of the township, its old brick church 
 falling into disrepair, and its queer old main 
 street. I was up before the sun this morning, 
 wandering about alone with my camera. I had 
 reached the undulating downs above the shore, 
 when I saw Miss Durston sitting there, writing. 
 For a few moments I stood and watched her, 
 and wish now that I had had the courage to take 
 her picture! Her hat was off, and the light 
 morning breeze was playing with her matchless 
 hair ; her elbow was in her lap, the pencil with 
 which she had been writing pressed against her 
 
 1 08
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 109 
 
 lips, her look far out to sea, beyond the horizon, 
 as it seemed. 
 
 " Good morning, Miss Durston," I said. 
 
 " Good morning, Dr Perry, I thought I should 
 find you out here." (There is no subterfuge 
 about her). So I sat down, and together we 
 watched the seagulls swooping down to catch 
 their breakfast, hovering on quivering wings, 
 their eyes missing no slightest movement in the 
 water. 
 
 " Do you know Swinburne's sea-men song ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " I have read it," I replied. 
 
 " I love its music," she went on, " there are two 
 verses of which I am particularly fond ; may I 
 repeat them ? " 
 
 " Do ! " I said. And without any bashfulness, 
 looking away to the distance, she said the lines 
 in her beautiful voice : 
 
 " ' The lark knows no such rapture, 
 Such joy no nightingale, 
 As sways the songless measure 
 Wherein thy wings take pleasure : 
 Thy love may no man capture, 
 Thy pride may no man quail ; 
 The lark knows no such rapture, 
 Such joy no nightingale. . . .
 
 no THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Ah ! well were I for ever 
 Wouldst thou change lives with me 
 And take my song's wild honey, 
 And give me back thy sunny 
 Wide eyes that weary never, 
 And wings that search the sea ; 
 Ah 1 well were I for ever 
 Wouldst thou change lives with me ! ' 
 
 The whole poem is very beautiful," she 
 added, " but those are my favourite verses." 
 
 " And mine," I responded. . . . We continued 
 to watch the gulls and other birds, two of which, 
 with pretty bronze-coloured wings, were hunt- 
 ing together. . . . Just before we got up to go 
 to the hotel, she tore a leaf from her writing- 
 block, and crumpling it in her hand, pushed it 
 under the sand between us, and I, shamefully, 
 put my hand over the place, and, as I rose, 
 grasped it with a handful of sand, and put it in 
 my pocket. As we reached the side of the hotel, 
 Miss Durston, who had said nothing since we had 
 risen, stopped, and facing me, asked : 
 
 "Are we going on to-day, Dr Perry?" 
 
 " We ? " I said, with no attempt to hide my 
 gladness. 
 
 ;< Yes, if you will have us ? " she answered, 
 simply. 
 
 " Thank you," I said, " yes, I think we might
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD in 
 
 start after breakfast if the weather holds ; it looks 
 rather like rain." 
 
 " Oh, I hope not! " she said, " but it is very 
 pleasant here, is it not? and, Dr Perry, about, 
 about Mr Morland?" 
 
 " Mr Morland ! " I exclaimed, surprised, " one 
 day of his company will last me for a long time." 
 " Y-yes, but, Dr Perry," and her hesitation was 
 painful to us both, " will you mind, may I ask 
 you to let him come with us ? " and she turned her 
 face away. 
 
 " Of course," I blundered, " any friend of 
 
 yours " 
 
 " He is not a friend of mine," she interrupted, 
 
 looking straight in my eyes, " but " 
 
 " I beg your pardon ! " I said, " I am glad." 
 She shuddered, and speaking with evident effort, 
 said: 
 
 ;< Thank you ! but if he asks, will you mind 
 letting him come ? " 
 
 " Not at all," I said, " of course ! " and placing 
 my finger on my button, I added, " do I not be- 
 long to the Order of servitude ? " for I knew that 
 Miss Muffet had told her of our conversation. 
 
 ;< Thank you," she murmured, and again, 
 :< Thank you ! " and leaving me abruptly, she 
 disappeared on to the verandah, but not quickly
 
 ii2 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 enough to prevent me from seeing that there were 
 tears in her eyes. . . . Confound the brute ! who 
 is he at all? What is his hold over her? For 
 that she fears and shrinks from him is plain to see. 
 But he shall not come in The Locust The 
 Ladybird is too good for him, but The Locust 
 is " too better ! " I am glad that I warned 
 William that he might be coming. . . . 
 
 Miss Muffet asked at breakfast, if there would 
 be time for her to do some shopping. " I want to 
 buy a gossamer," she said, (" half an hour," I 
 muttered audibly) " and some hair pins," 
 (" Twenty minutes," I calculated), " be quiet, you 
 rude man, and some combs ! " 
 
 '' Then we will start at half-past nine," I said. 
 
 " If the shops are open ? " queried Miss Durston. 
 
 ' They'll open fast enough, if you ask them, 
 Miss Muffet," I said and so they did. 
 
 Meanwhile, I sought Morland, and told him 
 there was a seat for him in The Ladybird, if he 
 wished. He accepted this with a bad enough 
 grace, but saw that it was all he could get, and 
 walked away grumbling. I found William, too, 
 and giving him his instructions, went back to the 
 hotel, and waited for the ladies, and George, who 
 had accompanied them on their shopping expedi- 
 tion,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 113 
 
 It was ten o'clock before we were all ready, 
 and when we had travelled the seven miles of 
 most excellent convict-built road, and ex- 
 perienced the full joy of coasting on a smooth 
 surface, Miss Muffet suddenly exclaimed, as we 
 came to a finger-post indicating the road 
 to Kew. 
 
 " Oh, Auntie ! I've 1-left my purse behind ! " 
 
 " M-much in it? " I asked. 
 
 " Don't please, Dr Perry, it's all I've 
 got!" 
 
 " Right you are, Miss Muffet, don't worry ! " 
 for I saw that she was really distressed, " no one 
 could mind going over that lovely bit of road 
 again." Indeed, I don't think that any of us did, 
 and when, just as we were re-entering Port Mac- 
 quarie, and just, too, as we met The Ladybird, 
 with Mr Morland lolling in the back seat, 
 smoking a cigar, with William grinning beside 
 John in front when it began to rain, I was glad 
 that we had turned back. William needed no 
 instructions (his grin was the result of a victory 
 over the Beast, who had demanded to be allowed 
 to drive, but who found that so long as he held 
 the wheel, The Ladybird would not go!) he 
 turned The Ladybird, and following us to the 
 hotel, took the two cars under shelter. 
 
 H
 
 ii 4 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 As the rain, soft, but steady, seemed to have 
 set in, (Miss Muffet found her purse lying on a 
 chair on the verandah), we decided to delay our 
 departure from Port Macquarie, until to-morrow 
 morning. Our hostess was pleased to see us 
 again, and provided some oysters with our 
 " eleven o'clock." George took his seat by Miss 
 Muffet as usual, but immediately got up and left 
 the room, unnoticed by Miss Muffet, who was in 
 full argument with me, as to the respective merits 
 of N. S. Wales, and Queensland oysters, (and 
 those of Port Macquarie were certainly the finest 
 I had ever seen, though I would not admit it!) 
 when she turned in her sudden way and 
 said: 
 
 " You agree with me, Mr L ? " and her 
 
 look of disgust, when she found herself facing 
 Morland, was so ludicrous, that we all laughed 
 except Morland. 
 
 " My chair, please," said George, coming in 
 at that moment, and looking surprised at our 
 hilarity. 
 
 1 There's one over there," said Morland, . 
 rudely. 
 
 ; ' This is mine, thank you ! " said George, 
 resolutely.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 115 
 
 " I appeal to the lady," said Morland, with a 
 silly simper. 
 
 " Mr Lidney was sitting there before you came 
 in," said Miss Muffet gravely. 
 
 " I bow to your decision," returned Morland, 
 " but I shall be able to see you better from the 
 other side." 
 
 " Isn't he a b-beast? " whispered Miss Muffel 
 to me as he walked across. 
 
 When we had finished, Morland rose, and go- 
 ing behind George's chair, said: 
 
 " Have you ever seen this done ? " and before 
 George could stop him, he had stooped and lifted 
 George, chair and all, above his head ! It was a 
 magnificent display of sheer strength, and we 
 could not help exclamations of wonder, as he 
 gently put the chair down again. But George 
 was horribly annoyed, and had an evident diffi- 
 culty to restrain showing his anger, before the 
 ladies. 
 
 " Oh, how wonderful ! " Miss Muffet exclaimed 
 involuntarily . 
 
 " Would you like ? " began Morland. 
 
 " No, thanks ! " said Miss Muffet, as she 
 hurriedly rose from her chair. . . . 
 
 I went to the local photographers, to examine 
 his stock of views, and, returning, came to my
 
 u6 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 room to write. A few minutes later George 
 came in, and threw himself on the bed with 
 a sigh. 
 
 " Hullo, old man ! " I said, " what have you 
 been doing? I thought you were with the 
 ladies?" 
 
 " Been trying to keep the Beast sober, and 
 have not been altogether successful. You must 
 stand watch after luncheon, I'm full up of 
 him." 
 
 "Right!" I answered. 
 
 Lunch was a gloomy meal. Morland had 
 reached the silent, go-carefully stage, but became 
 talkative as the meal proceeded. He evidently 
 considered himself to be one of the party, now, 
 and rather than distress Miss Durston, by speak- 
 ing about it, we put up with him. After the meal 
 was over, I led him to the verandah, and 
 suggested that a camp would do him good ; he 
 yielded without demur, and was soon asleep. 
 I brought my writing materials out, and went on 
 with my letter, until he woke with a bad taste in 
 his mouth, and swore. He insisted upon visit- 
 ing the bar, where he tried to get up a flirtation 
 with the barmaid, whom he had evidently im- 
 pressed already, with his feats of strength. I 
 took him for a long walk in the gentle rain. He
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 117 
 
 didn't want to come, but I induced him, somehow, 
 to accompany me, and, once out, I kept him 
 going. 
 
 "What's that bally button?" he suddenly 
 asked me, and would have touched it, had I not 
 covered it quickly with my hand. I moved to his 
 other side, so that the button was away from him, 
 before I answered. 
 
 " Just a whim," I said. 
 
 " Women, more likely ! " he remarked, 
 coarsely ; and his enjoyment of the vulgar pun, 
 helped to prevent him from pursuing the inquiry. 
 Later he reverted to the question of where we 
 had stayed on Saturday night. " I had reasons 
 for wanting to see Miss Durston," he said, " and 
 I found that she was at Lismore on Wednesday, 
 and Grafton on Thursday, lost the run of her on 
 Friday, but heard that she had passed through 
 Kempsey on Saturday afternoon, and the next 
 thing, you all arrive here early on Sunday morn- 
 ing. I should like to know how you put in your 
 time between Saturday afternoon and Sunday 
 morning." And he leered at me. 
 
 " How did you find out all this ? " I asked in 
 my turn. 
 
 " Oh, I found out ! " he said, smiling know- 
 ingly.
 
 ii8 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Then you may find out the rest that you want 
 to know in the same way," I said, and I knew that 
 I had him. 
 
 " You bet, I will ! " he replied, " but it looks 
 
 d d fishy, especially after her past " and 
 
 then he stopped, as though he wished me to 
 question him. But if he did, he was dis- 
 appointed, for I said nothing, though I must 
 admit that I was curious. He hardly spoke 
 again, except to curse the mud of the roads, and 
 to ask how far we still had to go. We arrived 
 back " tired, hungry, cross and muddy " but in 
 time for dinner (do you recognise the quotation ? 
 Lewis Carroll I hope it's correct !), after which 
 I left him to his own devices. He spent the 
 evening in the bar, laying down the law to the 
 tap-frequenters, and getting laughed at for his 
 pains, for they had easily labelled him " remit- 
 tance-man," and despised him accordingly. . . . 
 
 Have I told you that Miss Muffet's laugh is 
 the most fascinating thing in the world? She 
 laughs with her whole body, as though she were 
 hugging the joke : George enjoys this so much, 
 that he lets himself go, and we spent a very 
 pleasant evening. 
 
 ; ' Take care ! " I said to Miss Muifet, as I was 
 bidding her good night, the other two having
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 119 
 
 left the room, and I put my finger under her chin 
 to receive the surprise of seeing her eyes full of 
 tears. 
 
 "Why?" she asked. 
 
 " Love is a consuming fire," I answered, sent- 
 entiously, " it burneth her who gives, and him 
 who takes ! " 
 
 " I n-never thought it would hurt 1-like this," 
 she sobbed, holding the lapels of my coat, and 
 hiding her face against my chest ; " if if I 
 thought he didn't care for me, I should wish to 
 d-die!" 
 
 " I think he does, dear," I said, " all in good 
 time!" 
 
 " Thank you, doctor, dear ! you are a dear, you 
 know ! " and drying her eyes with the handker- 
 chief, which she took from my pocket, (and which 
 I hope I shall get back) she went her way. . . . 
 And I was strangely affected by her show of 
 confidence. ... I saw Miss Durston for a mo- 
 ment, as I was leaving the house, and drawing 
 the crumpled piece of paper from my pocket, 
 which she had buried, and I had picked up this 
 morning, I said : " May I read this ? " 
 
 ;< What is it ? " she asked, wonderingly. 
 ' The paper you pushed under the sand this 
 morning."
 
 120 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Oh, that ! yes, if you wish it's Good 
 night ! " and she was gone. This is what I read : 
 
 " The little brown-winged bird that seeks its food 
 From off the crested surface of the cruel sea, 
 Has but one thought, that his small world is good; 
 He seeks, and finds, and sleeps just living 
 happily." 
 
 Don't you think it very pretty, Amy? ... I 
 shall keep it. 
 
 When I got to our room, I found George 
 standing dressed before the window, looking at 
 the dark. He turned as I entered. 
 
 " Look here, Aston ! " he said, " I can't go on 
 like this much longer ! " 
 
 ;< What do you mean ? " I asked, but I knew. 
 '* You must see how it is with me, man," he 
 answered, " and and I am not worthy to kiss 
 her shoe-buckles." 
 
 " I thought you would have asked her per- 
 mission to do so this morning," I suggested. 
 
 " I meant to when we went out," he answered, 
 simply, " but I couldn't, somehow. I was so 
 afraid that if she if she said ' No,' I would have 
 to leave her, and go on alone. . . . Besides," he 
 added, " look at this beastly beard ! " 
 
 "Just as well, perhaps," I said, "to-morrow 
 or the next day ? "
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 121 
 
 " Do you think I have a chance ? you know her 
 better at least you have known her longer than 
 I?" 
 
 ' You deserve a chance with any woman," I 
 replied, for I could not say more. . . . Then he 
 undressed, and I think I will, too. Good night, 
 my dear sister. 
 
 Your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Stroud, Nov. 30^, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 We left Port Macquarie, at six o'clock this 
 morning, partly that we might have the early 
 morning run, but chiefly because I wanted, we 
 all wanted, to leave Morland as far behind as 
 possible. I knew that he would not want an 
 early breakfast, after his carouse of the previous 
 night. 
 
 It was a perfect morning, cool, and clear, and 
 deliciously fresh after the rain, which had laid 
 the dust, and improved the going, the roads be- 
 ing all that could be desired, and we bowled 
 along right merrily, exulting that we were leaving 
 the Beast further behind with each mile. 
 
 We were leaving the sea, going inland, but 
 after a few miles of pleasant, winding road, 
 turned to the left and ran parallel with it, but it 
 
 122
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 123 
 
 was out of sight, hidden by the great timber, 
 while in the valleys between the ridges, the un- 
 touched coastal scrub of palms, and tropical- 
 looking undergrowth, held us in admiring delight, 
 so that even an ancient motoring joke from 
 Punch amused us : 
 
 " That's a lovely peep, Dr Perry," said Miss 
 Muffet." 
 
 " It was ! " I answered and we all laughed : 
 Even Boppo was happy, he had not appreciated 
 the hotel life, as his mistress had kept in doors 
 so much, and he hated Morland. . . . Miss 
 Durston was at my side, and though I gave all 
 the necessary attention to the wheel, I found 
 time to look at her beautiful profile, and to wonder 
 . . . wonder if I had any chance. A delightful 
 kind of intimacy had sprung up between us, the 
 outcome of our mutual dislike for Morland, and 
 it warned me : there was a change in her voice, 
 as though, as it seemed to me, she were regard- 
 ing me as in some way a protection. . . . How I 
 longed to whisper in her pretty shell-coloured ear 
 that I loved her, great God ! how much ! . . . 
 And if I can find favour in her gracious sight, I 
 will spend the rest of my life trying to prevent 
 thorns from getting in her path. ... I had taken 
 a sympathetic interest in Miss Muffet and George
 
 up to now ; but now I knew that they were for 
 each other, and I had no care for them ; all my 
 thoughts were centred in myself and her, there 
 was no room for others. . . . 
 
 Through Camden Haven, where on our left 
 appeared a great blue shining arm of the sea, 
 very inviting, to funny little Coopernook, where 
 we had breakfast. We had passed a number of 
 bullock-drawn, timber wagons, and one of these, 
 unfortunately unloaded, I snapped. The owner 
 hid behind the trees lest I took him in his dirty 
 clothes, but when I made a note of his address 
 and promised him a copy of the picture, he ex- 
 pressed regret at having been so shy! At 
 Coopernook we were welcomed by a hostess 
 whose magnificent array, blue silk dress and white 
 shoes, suggested a recent wedding. As we sat 
 down, Miss Muffet gravely said, " Mr Lidney, 
 your hair is untidy, m-may I fetch you a candle- 
 stick?" 
 
 Dear old George, he's in for a time when he's 
 married, but he seems to enjoy it well enough 
 now ! I have a good mind to bind and gag him, 
 and shave his cheeks and chin; I believe that 
 nothing will induce him to take off his beard now, 
 unless it be a request from Miss Muffet. 
 
 A buggy, and pair of creamy ponies stood in
 
 Bullock Team .... Timber Waggon. 
 
 Buggy and Motor Car . . . Coopernook. 
 
 [Face page 124.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 125 
 
 front of The Locust as we came from breakfast, 
 and they presented an excellent contrast in 
 methods of bush-travelling. There was no sign 
 of The Ladybird as we started away again in 
 high spirits. . . . We passed through much 
 monotonous timber country, until we reached an- 
 other range, which we slowly mounted by the 
 roads cut In its side, the view first on one side and 
 then upon the other being grand and inspiring. 
 Only here and there was there any fence-protec- 
 tion on the gorge side of a sharp bend, so that I 
 had to drive carefully. A little after one o'clock 
 a loud report told us of our first serious tyre- 
 accident, and George and I had to tackle the hot 
 and dirty task of replacing the old tyre and tube 
 with new. Fortunately The Locust carried 
 these, in addition to the Stepney which I 
 wished to reserve for a final emergency. While 
 we toiled, the girls made a fire and boiled the 
 billy, and we presently had a pleasant meal in the 
 shade of a tree near a dam and a running stream. 
 We were silent, something of the quiet beauty 
 of our surroundings and the stillness of the bush 
 affecting us Miss Durston sat with her back 
 towards the direction from which we had come, 
 and I could see that she was listening, and once, 
 indeed, she started and looked round suddenly ;
 
 126 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 but it was not The Ladybird, but a buggy, with a 
 very fine pair of young bay horses who required 
 considerable coaxing before they could be in- 
 duced to pass the stationary Locust. 
 
 " I have instructed William ! " I said to her in 
 a low voice, and she smiled her thanks into my 
 eyes. . . . 
 
 Miss Muffet was sitting, opposite to me, with 
 her hands clasped over her bent-up knees, and 
 she suddenly spoke : 
 
 " Dr Perry," she said, " have you ever saved 
 a life before ? " 
 
 " I hope so, indeed ! " I answered, " I'm a 
 doctor, you know." 
 
 " Oh, not like that," she exclaimed, " I mean 
 from drowning." 
 
 " Once," I said, for I had an idea. 
 
 " Oh, p-please tell us ! " she said, and she 
 settled herself comfortably for a yarn. 
 
 " It was in Southport," I said, " Southport, 
 Queensland, of course ; I was sitting on the sand, 
 watching the gambols of a little patient of mine, 
 whom I had known since she was born. . . . 
 She was having a great time in the shallow water, 
 a curly, black-haired little thing with no clothes 
 on. She rushed about with frantic delight for 
 some time, until, suddenly, she had a bad fit,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 127 
 
 and fell down on her side with her face under 
 the water. I had attended her for similar attacks 
 before. Of course, I was in after her in a 
 moment the water was only up to my ankles, 
 and soon had her out and round again. But 
 when she came to herself she would have none of 
 me, but trotted home, howling." 
 
 " What was her name ? " asked Miss Muffet, 
 with wide eyes. 
 
 " Norah," I replied. 
 
 " How sweet! " she said, " what became of her 
 after?" 
 
 " I don't know," I said, " I gave her away." 
 
 ' You gave her away ? " 
 
 * Yes," I answered, preparing for flight, " she 
 was an Australian terrier pup." And I fled. The 
 only missile that reached me was an empty mar- 
 malade tin, and I believe that George threw 
 that. . . . 
 
 More range country, up and up on second 
 and first speeds then delightful long winding 
 coasts with an " Oh! " or an "Ah! " from Miss 
 Muffet as we turned a sharp bend : very beautiful 
 as mountain scenery always must be. Through 
 Cundle Town, Taree, Kramback, Gloucester; 
 and so on to Stroud without adventure or stir- 
 ring circumstance. Gloucester and Stroud ! but
 
 128 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 how un-English the little township! Stroud, 
 with its one street and humble inn, and its most 
 un-banklike-looking Bank. . . . The Ladybird, 
 with William's unfailing instinct, reached Stroud, 
 but five minutes after us. 
 
 " I expected you would have overhauled us 
 when we were having lunch, William," I said, 
 " we had a burst tyre." 
 
 " I saw you, sir, but he didn't," and he jerked 
 his head in the direction of The Ladybird, " but 
 there was a bend of the road close by, and when 
 we got there the coil played up," (isn't he invalu- 
 able ?) " but he heard you start off again." 
 
 "What did he say?" 
 
 " Oh, he just said he just swore, sir." 
 
 " How did you manage about food? " 
 
 " We had breakfast at half-past eight at Port 
 Macquarie, sir, and John and I had some bread 
 and cheese and Thermos tea on the road ! " 
 
 "And Mr Morland?" 
 
 " He had a flask with him, sir." 
 
 Morland was asleep, and had not waked when 
 The Ladybird stopped. I woke him, however, 
 for George had learned of a swimming-pool, and- 
 we could not leave him behind. He was irrit- 
 able, of course, (his flask was empty) but he came 
 with us. I took Boppo, too, but had to carry
 
 Between Gloucester and Stroud. 
 
 Un-bank like looking Bank." 
 
 [Face page 128.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 129 
 
 him, for only so could I get him away from his 
 beloved mistress. 
 
 "What did you bring that cur for?" asked 
 "Morland. 
 
 " He likes a swim," I said ; and he enjoyed it 
 as much as we, and having managed to get one 
 bite at Morland, cleared for home. Morland is 
 at his best in the water, and but for Boppo's 
 attack on him, would have been in a good temper 
 when we got out. George and I, having been 
 brought up to it, prefer fresh water to salt, but 
 Morland prefers the sea, in which strong 
 swimmers are made. He swam and plunged and 
 dived with great strength and skill, and for a few 
 minutes I almost felt that I didn't dislike him! 
 
 " Gad ! " he said, " if a man could get a bathe 
 like that every day, what ? " 
 
 ' What indeed ! " I answered, and wished that 
 we had an unpolluted pool like that in Brisbane. 
 
 Morland tries to draw me as to our intentions 
 for to-morrow. ' Where do you go from here, 
 Doc? " he asked. 
 
 " Maitland, to-morrow, I think," I answered, 
 " and probably on to St Albans." 
 
 " I should advise Newcastle," he said. 
 
 " Why ? " I asked drily. (I never say " Why " 
 without thinking of little Miss Muffet).
 
 i 3 o THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Save a day," he answered, " ship the cars 
 
 there and go on by train ourselves." (Ourselves !) 
 
 " It depends a good deal on the weather, and 
 
 the state of the roads, and " but I stopped. 
 
 "And what? "he asked. 
 " It depends altogether upon Miss Durston's 
 wishes," I finished, telling the truth. Morland 
 smiled and said nothing for a minute. Then: 
 " I tell you what, Doc. I can manage her all 
 right ! Which do you want ? " 
 
 " Thanks ! " I answered, feeling hotter than I 
 
 hope I looked, " I can manage my own affairs, 
 
 and I shall not try to influence Miss Durston." 
 
 " But I will," he retorted, " and what I say to 
 
 her goes." 
 
 " You ? " I exclaimed, surprised. 
 " Yes, me ! " he said, " who else ? I shall per- 
 suade her to ship her car at Newcastle, and go on 
 by train. And I shall go on by train, too. You 
 and Lidney can do what you jolly well 
 please." 
 
 " It's no business of mine," I answered, burn- 
 ing with indignation. But I changed my mind 
 with reference to not trying to influence Miss 
 Durston. " His influence against mine then," 
 I thought, " so be it." I had first innings, as I 
 thought I should, for Morland made straight for
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 131 
 
 the bar, while I found the ladies sitting on the 
 little " private " verandah. 
 
 " Had a nice b-bathe, Dr Perry? what a long 
 time you've been ; Boppo came back long ago ! " 
 
 " May I speak to you for a minute, Miss 
 Durston ? " I said. 
 
 " Oh, what a rude man ! " Miss Muffet ex- 
 claimed, " Mr Lidney, will you sit by me, please, 
 and answer me when I speak to you ? " and in a 
 whisper she added, " what's the matter ? " But 
 I only smiled at her, and drawing Miss Durston 
 aside, without any prelude, I said : 
 
 " Mr Morland has told me, Miss Durston, 
 that he will try to induce you to abandon the 
 prettiest part of the journey I mean from 
 Wollombi to Wiseman's ferry you know I have 
 been over it before and ship The Ladybird 
 from Newcastle. Please don't ! " She was 
 silent for a moment, and then spoke very slowly. 
 
 " I cannot thank you enough, Dr Perry, for 
 looking after me, after Miss Muffet and me, so 
 kindly since since we reached Port Macquarie, 
 and before that, indeed ; but I think it would be 
 better that our trip together should end to-morrow 
 better for all of us." I was astonished at her 
 words, and blurted out, " For Miss Muffet and 
 George?" It was unfair, perhaps, but I was
 
 132 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 taken by surprise. I had not believed that 
 Morland could have any chance. And now I 
 had made her cry ! For her beautiful eyes filled 
 and ran over. She let the tears run down her 
 cheeks as she looked straight up at me. 
 
 " I am sorry, I beg your pardon, Miss Durston, 
 I am a cad ! " 
 
 " Oh, no ! not that ! you ? " she said, " please 
 don't, please! ... I can see how it is with 
 them . . . what shall I do ? " 
 
 " They are enjoying the trip very much," I 
 said, " but not more than I am." 
 
 " Yes, indeed, and so am I," she replied, " you 
 believe that, don't you ? but " 
 
 " Hullo, Doc ! " from the Beast, interrupting 
 her, " had a delightful swim, Miss Durston, pity 
 you and Miss Muffet " 
 
 " Miss Sutton, if you please," from the rear. 
 
 " Miss Sutton, I beg yours," said he with a 
 mock bow, " pity you can't have a bathe, eh ? " 
 (No response). " But I say, Enid, I'm about 
 sick of this way " 
 
 " My name is Durston," said that lady. 
 
 " Since when? " asked Morland with a laugh, 
 " I thought that somewhere about July " 
 
 Miss Durston went very white, and rose from 
 her chair: " Half a mo', Miss Durston," said he,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 133 
 
 " look here, it's all very well for you people, but, 
 I've had enough of the sight of Bill and John's 
 backs for a lifetime. What do you say if we ship 
 the car to-morrow, and go on by train ? " The 
 effrontery of the " we " was not lost on any of us, 
 but we waited anxiously for Miss Durston's reply. 
 As this did not come, Morland went on : " All 
 the best people do that no decent accommoda- 
 tion between Newcastle and Sydney, and beastly 
 roads." 
 
 " Maitland is " began Miss Durston, and 
 
 " That's not true," I said. 
 
 " Oh, yes, Maitland," replied Morland, ignor- 
 ing me, " but what about after ? it's a long walk 
 from Maitland to Sydney! " and he laughed. 
 
 " A hundred and forty miles," I said, " easily 
 done in one day." 
 
 " Barring accidents," said Morland. 
 
 " Even so," I said, " there are several places 
 where we could stop." 
 
 " Good enough for men, or for ladies travel- 
 ling alone," he sneered, " unless you thought of 
 camping out, Doc ? " I said nothing to this, but I 
 went white with anger at his hinted suspicion, 
 and he went on: "Well, which is it to be 
 
 Mf s beg pardon, Miss Durston? ship the 
 
 car at Newcastle, or the other ? you know which
 
 134 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 I would advise." At the word " Mrs " Miss 
 Durston's face flamed with anger, and saying, 
 " I shall leave it to Dr Perry," swept away into 
 the house, drawing her skirts aside as she passed 
 the Beast. 
 
 " Oh, so ! " said Morland, and he managed to 
 put a deal of offensiveness into the words, " which 
 is it to be, Doc ? " 
 
 " Road," I said shortly. 
 
 " Well, that settles it, I suppose, but I hope 
 you and Miss Durston, as she calls herself, won't 
 regret it." 
 
 ' What do you mean ? " I cried in great anger. 
 
 ' You'll know soon enough, without my telling 
 you ! " he retorted, and turning on his heel he left 
 us, angry and full of wonder. 
 
 " Dear, dear ! this is getting unbearable ! " said 
 Miss Muffet, " I must go to Auntie, I'm sure she 
 wants me." 
 
 " Yes, do ! " I said, " and ask her to try to 
 come in to dinner with us to try and act as 
 though nothing unpleasant had happened." 
 
 " I will," she said, and disappeared, leaving 
 George and me to look at each other and say 
 nothing. 
 
 Fortunately, there were one or two other diners 
 at the single table which the room contained, and
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 135 
 
 Morland's entrance when we were half through 
 the meal, was not noticed, till he lurched against 
 a chair and nearly fell. George and I rose at 
 once, and placed our hands on the backs of the 
 ladies' chairs you can guess which chairs we 
 chose and the girls rose and left the room. 
 Morland said nothing, but attacked his food 
 sullenly, and it was not until George and I rose 
 to go that he spoke. 
 
 ' You think that you have beaten me, do you, 
 Doc ? Well you have this time ! and I can take 
 a beating as well as any man," (and I thought of 
 the sight of him crying in Clarke's boat, years ago, 
 and of his race with Lidney at Port Macquarie, 
 but I said nothing) " but wait till to-morrow or 
 next day, see ? " and he wagged his head in 
 affected sapience. . . . And the ever-recurring 
 question re-asserted itself, " what does he know ? 
 what is his hold over her ? " and I asked the 
 question of George. 
 
 " I don't know," he answered. 
 
 " Does Miss Muffet? " I asked. 
 
 "No!" 
 
 "Sure?" 
 
 " Quite ! " answered George, " she asked me if 
 I could imagine what it was." 
 
 " Miss Durston has lent or given him money ? "
 
 i 3 6 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Yes, at Port Macquarie." 
 
 " Well, I'm going to get rid of him to-morrow, 
 George: I would do it now, but he's drunk. 
 Besides Miss Durston has asked me to let him 
 come with us as far as he wants. But he will not 
 want after to-morrow." 
 
 " You couldn't go beyond Miss Durston's 
 wish?" 
 
 " Not her expressed wish, old man. But to- 
 morrow, sometime, he will abandon our company 
 or I shall have been knocked silly." 
 
 "Can I be of any help?" 
 
 " Thanks, no ! I'm alone in this, but I might 
 be glad of your help after our scrap is over ! " 
 and I laughed. 
 
 The ladies now came from their room, where 
 they had finished their dinner, and telling them 
 to be ready for an early start, I was about to bid 
 them " Good night " when Miss Durston said : 
 
 " Would you mind very much, Dr Perry, if 
 I invited two babies to come with us as far as 
 Maitland ? " 
 
 " Babies ? " I said in surprise. 
 
 ' Two little boys," said Miss Durston, smiling 
 at my look of consternation, " they came in the 
 mail coach, and their mother and aunt are dis- 
 tracted at the prospect of to-morrow's coach
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 13? 
 
 journey to Maitland, where they live. They are 
 dears," she added, " but life inside a small coach 
 does not seem to agree with them." 
 
 " How old are they? " I asked. 
 
 " Three and a half, and one and a half," 
 answered Miss Durston. 
 
 " I was only thinking of the commissariat," I 
 explained, " let us have them by all means, I 
 suppose they are asleep now ? " 
 
 " Yes, Miss Muffet and I put them to bed ; the 
 two ladies are worn out." 
 
 " The only difficulty I foresee is in reference 
 to milk," I said, " but no doubt we shall be able 
 to get some on the way," and Miss Durston and 
 Miss Muffet retired to make the necessary 
 arrangements. 
 
 I must remember to tell you that I took a 
 snap of the mail coach arriving here just after we 
 did ; I hope it prints well, because I took the 
 picture as the sole outside passenger was 
 descending from his precarious-looking seat on 
 the top of His Majesty's mails. ... I feel as 
 though I might sleep to-night, so good night, 
 Amy dear, 
 
 Your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 West Maitland, Dec. ist, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 I am writing from West Maitland, where we 
 are making a midday stop of three hours, for 
 there is plenty of time. Where was I ? I had just 
 gone to bed at Stroud, hadn't I ? Well, I went 
 to bed but not to sleep, and after tossing 
 about for an hour or so, I filled my pipe, and find- 
 ing a comfortable chair on the verandah, smoked 
 until I fell asleep, and woke, stiff and cold, at two 
 o'clock. As I stretched my cramped limbs, and 
 yawned luxuriously with arms outstretched, I 
 saw in the window of the opposite house a sudden 
 light come and go, as though someone had struck 
 a match to learn the time ; in fact, I muttered 
 this to myself, and then the thing occurred again, 
 only that the light lasted longer, and my curiosity 
 was aroused. And when it happened a third 
 time I became very wide-awake, and hastily 
 
 138
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 139 
 
 slipping on my shoes, I was stealing out again, 
 when I thought that George would never forgive 
 me if this should prove an adventure, and I had 
 left him out of it ; and in any case, I knew that if 
 it proved to be nothing, George would be asleep 
 again in ten minutes. So I woke him, and telling 
 him to put on his shoes, we went out together to 
 the verandah. " And we'll take this ! " I cried, 
 melodramatically brandishing Miss Durston's 
 revolver. " Watch that window ! " I said to 
 George, who looked as though he thought I had 
 gone out of my mind, and no wonder ! and even 
 as I spoke the light came and went. 
 
 " Has that happened before ? " asked George. 
 
 " I saw it three times before I called you," I 
 replied. 
 
 " If it occurs again, we might have a look at 
 him through the window," said George, " I 
 wonder why he didn't pull down the blind ? But 
 of course," he added, as we stole across the road, 
 " it may be a lunatic who spends his nights 
 striking matches." 
 
 " It might be a lot of things," I said, rudely, 
 " we'll soon see what it is" If George felt as 
 foolish as I did, as we tiptoed to that window, 
 there was a lot of foolishness in the main street 
 of Stroud at that moment ! We got as near the
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 window as we could ; the blind had been drawn 
 down to within a foot of the bottom, and my nose 
 was pressing the pane, but we could see nothing. 
 As we acknowledged this to each other with a 
 look, the light sprang up again, and we peeped 
 in immediately, ducked our heads as though we 
 had seen the muzzle of a gun. What we had 
 actually seen was a man, kneeling with his back 
 towards us before an open safe! Still crouch- 
 ing, quite unnecessarily, we moved round to the 
 side of the house which was in the shadow of the 
 waning moon. 
 
 " What shall we do now ? " I asked, laughing 
 silently. 
 
 " Get in, and knock him on the head," 
 suggested the "poet and dreamer. 
 
 ' Yes ! " I replied sarcastically, " and get stuck 
 up here for a month as murderers, or at* least as 
 witnesses ; that wouldn't suit me a little bit." 
 
 " Nor me ! " responded George, ruefully. 
 
 " Any alternative suggestion ? " I inquired, 
 smiling. 
 
 " Wait till he comes out and bag him." 
 
 " Same objection," I said. 
 
 " Inform the police ! " said George, with an air 
 of finality. 
 
 ' You don't know the police as intimately as I
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 141 
 
 do," I returned, " by the time Chief Constable 
 O'Flaherty had taken down our names, addresses, 
 occupations, religions and what not, Mr 
 Burglar would be miles away with his booty. 
 The only thing that the police do thoroughly is to 
 harass the drivers of motor-cars ! " 
 
 " Let's have another look at him ? " suggested 
 George. 
 
 " Very well, you go and look, while I stay by 
 this door," for I had found that the door near 
 where we stood was ajar. Nothing happened for 
 a few moments till George came back and 
 whispejed excitedly: 
 
 " He's coming ! Oh, let me tackle him ! " 
 
 " Let him alone, you blood-thirsty poet," I ex- 
 claimed; and we stood silent, for we heard 
 stealthy footsteps and the creaking of boards. 
 He seemed an experienced and callous burglar, 
 for as he came out of the house, he just glanced 
 casually to right and left, up and down the street 
 we were in deep shadow, and he did not see 
 us and with his sack over his shoulder, stepped 
 briskly across the road, towards the yard en- 
 trance of the hotel. As soon as he had disap- 
 peared we hurried across, too, but, going round 
 to enter the hotel-yard from the back, got bushed 
 for a minute or two, and reached the yard from
 
 I 4 2 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the rear just in time to see our friend the burglar 
 turning The Locust's starting handle ! George 
 began to run towards him, about fifty yards 
 separated us, but I held him back. I couldn't 
 believe that the man would be able to get away 
 with my car, and I did not want to be mixed up 
 with a police court case if I could avoid it. 
 
 " Fire off the revolver ! " suggested George, 
 excitedly, but I dragged him behind the wood- 
 heap which was concealing us from the thief, 
 and said : 
 
 " And wake the whole township ! " 
 
 " But we must do something, man ! Look ! " 
 Sure enough, the man had got the engines 
 started, in a moment he was in the driver's seat, 
 and the grate of the engaging clutch sounded, as, 
 with throttle closed down, the car moved away 
 as silently as might be. 
 
 " Great Scot ! " I cried there was no need 
 for silence now, and with George a yard in front 
 of me, we rushed after the disappearing car. 
 But of course we were too late, for as we 
 emerged through the yard gates, we saw The 
 Locust, beginning to raise the dust, going 
 Newcastle wards. 
 
 "The Ladybird! The Ladybird!" I cried, 
 excitedly, " we'll race him by moonlight! " and I
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 143 
 
 laughed, it all seemed so weird a joke to 
 me. 
 
 " I'll drive ! " cried George, as he leapt to the 
 driver's seat, " start her quick ! " 
 
 " Can you ? " I asked, surprised George was 
 coming out in new places ! 
 
 " Yes, man ! I have three cars at home, and 
 one of them is a Melnote. Hurry up! " I had 
 no time to express surprise at this news, for he 
 had never even mentioned that he had a car! 
 these silent men! 
 
 The Ladybird started up sweetly at the first 
 turn, and with a jerk we began our stern chase. 
 George put in the second and third speeds (she 
 had four) in rapid succession, and we were out in 
 the road in a moment or two, and turned to the 
 left with a swerve that bumped me against him. 
 Then I cried, " Stop ! " and before he had time 
 to obey my command, I was out and rushing 
 back to the hotel verandah. For I had caught 
 sight of a white-robed figure standing there. In 
 that moment of intense excitement I recalled two 
 lines of Eric Mackay : 
 
 " Alone, unseen, unlocked at by the Saints 
 Come thou to me with thy warm naked feet ! " 
 
 " What is the matter ? " she cried, her hands
 
 144 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 pressed to her dear bosom, " I heard The 
 Locust " and my eyes took in her marvel- 
 lous beauty under the light of the kind moon ; 
 her glorious hair in a great plaited rope against 
 the whiteness of her gown : 
 
 " A burglar has borrowed The Locust," I said 
 rapidly, " and we have taken The Ladybird to 
 follow him. May we ? " I asked. 
 
 " Oh, yes, quick ! " she said, " but oh, Aston ! 
 do be careful ! " and I snatched her hand to my 
 lips in the madness of hearing her speak my 
 name. But even in that great moment I remem- 
 bered the impatiently waiting George, and I 
 leapt back to my seat, my blood surging tumul- 
 tuously through my body. 
 
 " Let her go ! " I said, and George obeyed. 
 The Locust was out of sight, of course, but the 
 road was level and in fair order. She had per- 
 haps four miles start of us, and we could easily 
 do ten more miles in the hour than she, and, 
 besides the burglar did not know that he was 
 being followed, and I happened to know that The 
 Locust's petrol would not carry her far, as I had 
 told William not to fill up the tank. It was cold 
 as we rushed along in the night air, for we were 
 clothed only in pyjamas and shoes! George 
 looked at nothing but the road in front, and how
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 145 
 
 he drove ! and how the good Ladybird travelled ! 
 I laughed aloud in my excitement as we bumped 
 along; but George uttered no sound, his gaze 
 concentrated upon the track, his mind upon our 
 quarry. Again I laughed, but this time in sheer 
 delight at the sweet recollection of what I had 
 but now left upon the hotel verandah . . . my 
 Queen! . . . 
 
 " Shake her up ! " I cried, tauntingly, laughing, 
 as I clung on with both hands to prevent myself 
 from being shaken out of my seat, and George 
 spoke for the first time : 
 
 " Hope the differential holds out! got your 
 revolver ? " and I laughed again, brandishing 
 it. 
 
 ; ' There she is ! " I cried, as we lurched over a 
 bad bit of ground, and about half a mile ahead, 
 I saw a cloud of dust, and a minute later the old 
 Locust labouring through a soft newly made bit 
 of road. 
 
 " Hold on ! " cried George, as he steered The 
 Ladybird with a vicious swerve to the side, to 
 avoid the soft going in the middle of the road 
 and for a long second we skimmed along on two 
 wheels. 
 
 " Sound the horn ! " I cried, " blow hard ! " and 
 "Roo-roo!" growled The Ladybird. The 
 
 K
 
 146 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 burglar heard, for he started and looked over his 
 shoulder, lost his grip of the wheel, and allowed 
 The Locust to take a quarter circle turn to the 
 right, the back wheels skidding through the thick 
 dust road mendings, the cloud becoming impene- 
 trable. George threw out the clutch and put the 
 brakes on hard, and we slithered up to within a 
 foot of our prize, which was now stationary at 
 right angles to the road. 
 
 " Hands up ! " I shouted, as I levelled Miss 
 Durston's revolver at the man ; indeed, I was so 
 foolishly jubilant that I fired one chamber, aim- 
 ing wide, and the little bullet flew with a ping 
 into the bush. The man's hands shot up at 
 that, and, as coolly as you please : 
 
 ' What stopped my jolly engine ? " he said, 
 only he didn't say " jolly." 
 
 " Petrol petered out," I answered. He and I 
 were now standing in the road, facing each other : 
 " Never thought of that! " he said, " came away 
 in too much of an 'urry ! " and before I could say 
 " Knife " he was upon me ! the revolver went fly- 
 ing wide as I fell bang on my back with the un- 
 expected burglar on my chest, and his hands at 
 my throat. But the struggle was not for long ; 
 he was a stocky little man of near fifty, and I 
 weigh fourteen stone, and am thirty-five years of
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 147 
 
 age. I wrenched his hands from my throat, and, 
 turning suddenly, reversed our positions, while 
 George sat looking on. 
 
 " What next ? " asked my adversary, imper- 
 turbably, " say, Mister, you're hurting my 
 wrists ! " and I laughed. 
 
 " Interview with the prisoner," I said, " after 
 he has been firmly secured. Hand me some 
 rope from The Locust's tool-box, George, and 
 then pick up the gun." 
 
 " I saw this chap in the bar, this evening, drink- 
 ing with Morland," George said as he handed me 
 the rope. 
 
 " Very likely," I answered " a beast and his 
 friends ! " The burglar was silent as I tied his 
 wrists and ankles, using surgical knots. And 
 then : " They're terrible tight, Mister," he said. 
 " Is the stuff yours ? " he inquired, inconse- 
 quently. 
 
 " No ! " I answered, " nor yours, now ! " 
 
 ' That's true enough ! " he said, " and I never 
 had a softer job, who'd a thought " 
 
 " How many convictions against you ? " I 
 asked. George and I had hoisted him into the 
 body of The Locust by this, and arranged him 
 as comfortably as the narrowness of his quarters 
 permitted : fortunately he was short,
 
 i 4 8 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " This'll be my fifth," he answered brightly, 
 and even grinned : he was a cheerful burglar ! 
 
 " H'm ! " I said, " do you generally plead 
 ' Guilty.' " 
 
 "When Fm caught like this, I do," he 
 answered, as though it were a monthly 
 occurrence : " Could you loosen this 'ere cord 
 round my ankles, Mister, it's (jolly) tight." 
 
 "Yes, I could," I said, " but I don't think I 
 will just now, for you see I'm going to drive with 
 my back to you." For meanwhile George had 
 been transferring some of The Ladybird's petrol 
 to The Locust's tank. 
 
 " Turn The Ladybird, George," I said, " and 
 let me pass you, I've got an experienced and 
 slippery passenger on board." Acting upon my 
 suggestion it was wonderful how quickly he 
 had subsided into his normal silent self 
 George started The Ladybird, backed and turned 
 her, and then started The Locust's engine, and 
 I drove on steadily while he followed far enough 
 behind to be out of my dust. My precaution was 
 justified, for when we reached the hotel yard, we 
 found that the burglar had managed to get his 
 hands loose, and was plucking violently at his 
 ankle cords. I re-adjusted his bonds, almost 
 wishing that he had been able to make his escape.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 149 
 
 As we had passed the verandah front, I had seen 
 Miss Durston and Miss Muffet, fully dressed, 
 and had waved a victorious hand to them. 
 
 " Get along and re-assure the ladies, George," 
 I said, "and tell William I want him. What's 
 the time ? " 
 
 " I'll go and see," said George : " a quarter to 
 three," he said when he returned: the whole 
 event had occupied only three-quarters of an 
 hour, but in another forty-five minutes we should 
 have to be off. 
 
 " Ask them to be ready in half an hour," I 
 said, (for I knew that Miss Muffet would need 
 fifteen minutes' grace) " we've got to get out of 
 this town mighty sharp. Ask Miss Durston to 
 try to get the two kiddies aboard asleep I think 
 that's all. I've got to settle with our felonious 
 friend here." And George departed. 
 
 " Now then ! " I said to the man I had taken 
 care that he did not hear my words to George, 
 indeed, we had spoken in whispers " Now then ! 
 Mr Burglar, what am I going to do with 
 you?" 
 
 " Wish I knew, Mister ! but that there dust 'as 
 made me uncommon thirsty ! " 
 
 ' Water any use to you ? " I asked. 
 
 " If so be that there's nothing else," he
 
 150 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 answered, with a wink. So I gave him a drink of 
 water, strengthened. I was rather ashamed of 
 doing it, but I had to humour him, and it seemed 
 to me that it might be his last taste of 
 whisky. 
 
 " You're a (jolly) gentleman, you are, Mister, 
 though I say it ! " was my reward, as I let his head 
 down. " I say, governor ! " he said suddenly, 
 changing his mode of address with the access of 
 spirits induced by the slackening of his thirst, 
 " what are you going to do with me ? that's a 
 pretty little gun o' yours ! " he added reminis- 
 cently. 
 
 " How many years are you likely to get for this 
 job?" I asked. 
 
 " It's a lifer, Mister, and no bloomin' error," 
 he answered, grinning, " he said it would be, las' 
 time." 
 
 "Who? "I asked. 
 
 " Old " he said, mentioning a well-known 
 
 name, " and I druv his motor for two months, 
 too." 
 
 " So that's how you learnt to drive ? " I said. 
 
 [ 'Is was an 'Umber, too," he replied, elliptic- 
 ally. 
 
 " I suppose it's not much use asking you to 
 promise anything ? "
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 151 
 
 " Not much, Mister ! you see it's been my living 
 for thirty year and more." 
 
 " Well, look here, man ! you've got brains," I 
 suggested. 
 
 " Not enough, seemingly," he answered, grin- 
 ning, " caught in the (jolly) act ; I suppose you 
 seen me come out of the 'ouse ? " 
 
 " We did," I answered, " we watched you fill- 
 ing your sack." 
 
 " Gripes ! " he remarked, " you don't 'appen to 
 'ave a chaw of terbaccer about you, Mister ? " 
 
 " Afraid not," I said, " try this ! " and I handed 
 and lighted for him a cigar. He leant back and 
 puffed at this contentedly for a minute, while I 
 conferred with William, who had come up, and 
 who expressed no surprise at what he saw. 
 
 " Wish I 'ad never seen your bloomin' car,'' 
 the man muttered. " Say, Mister ! this yere 
 cigar is fallin' out," and it fell as he spoke, " if 
 you was to cut a bit of it off, like, it 
 would chew all right," and I attended to his re- 
 quest, while he went on, talking with his mouth 
 full. " If I 'adn't seen your (jolly) car, and 
 known it fer an 'Umber, I'd have been four miles 
 away by this time, and no (jolly) ropes round me 
 ankles, neither." I was afraid he was getting 
 morose, and time was passing.
 
 152 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Was it an empty house ? " I asked. 
 
 " C. P. S." (Clerk of Petty Sessions) " bache- 
 lor, gone visitin'," he said. " Wish I 'ad never 
 seen your (jolly) car ! " he repeated. He was 
 certainly losing his cheerful manner! George 
 rejoined us now, dressed, explaining that he had 
 been so long because of the difficulty of waking 
 William. And I sympathised with him. 
 William grinned proudly. 
 
 " Help me get him out ! " I said, and together 
 we hoisted the man out, and I took him in my 
 arms and carried him across to the burgled house, 
 George following with the sack. Here I laid him 
 as comfortably as might be, on the floor, with a 
 cushion under his head. I looked at his ankle- 
 cords ; they were quite secure ; and then I untied 
 his wrists, and after allowing a short interval for 
 circulation, I tied them again behind his back. 
 I hated doing it, but I couldn't do less. For 
 after all is said and done, a J.P. has his 
 duties. . . . 
 
 " Listen ! " I said to him, " you haven't much 
 reason to be grateful to us, but you will be doing 
 us a great favour if you say nothing as to how you 
 were caught." 
 
 " Give's another drink, Mister ! " was his reply. 
 
 " More haste, less speed," I thought, and " get
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 153 
 
 him a drink from The Locust's tool-box," I said 
 to George, and George went. 
 
 " Is it any use asking you to promise ? " I 
 asked. 
 
 " Not much, Mister! but I'll do it! " and with 
 that I had to be content. George came back 
 with the drink, and having administered this, and 
 thanked (!) the man and bid him " Good-bye," 
 we left him, and walked back quickly to the hotel. 
 I dressed as quickly as I could, and found the 
 girls waiting for us, the " babies " being asleep 
 in The Locust. 
 
 " Oh, Dr Perry, d-do tell us it all over again ! " 
 cried Miss Muffet, " Mr Lidney has told us your 
 part," (Oh, George ! did William take so long to 
 wake?) " you tell us his " (shrewd girl). 
 
 " Presently," I said, smiling, " I have a letter 
 to write." 
 
 "A letter!" she cried, "at this hour of the 
 morning ! You're always writing letters ! " 
 
 : ' To the local constable," I explained. 
 
 That functionary must have received the sur- 
 prise of his life when he read my letter! I 
 slipped it under the front door of his residence. 
 " Sir," it said, " in the corner house, occupied by 
 the C. P. S. facing the hotel, if you go quickly, 
 you may find something to your advantage." It
 
 i 5 4 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 was of course, unsigned, but I subscribed it with 
 the initials " J.P. " . . . I wonder if he went? 
 
 I saw William before we started, and instructed 
 him to do his best to-day to keep Morland sober 
 " Take as long as you like between the town- 
 ships," I said, " and stop at Maitland, East Mait- 
 land, only just long enough to get a meal. 
 Carry some food with you." " Yes, sir," he said, 
 and having started The Locust for us, no doubt 
 went back to bed. He is very much awake 
 when awake, but I never met anyone with his 
 power of sleeping soundly. It was a quarter to 
 four before we were off, George sitting by me, 
 and the two girls in the body, each nursing a boy, 
 Boppo sniffing in jealous curiosity at them. The 
 girls had managed, between them, to put dressing 
 gowns over the children's sleeping suits they 
 had slept in the same room with them 
 and a small dress-basket contained their day- 
 clothes. 
 
 I cannot say too often that the early morning 
 is the best part of the day he who suggested 
 the daylight saving bill was a hygienic genius 
 and this morning we felt more than ever the ex- 
 hilarating effects of the cool dawn. We were 
 very silent, for even if I spoke in an undertone 
 to George, Miss MufTet's " Hush ! " sounded
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 155 
 
 from behind us, and I had to laugh even in a 
 whisper. . . . But I did not want to talk; now 
 that I had time to think my own thoughts, I 
 found them very pleasant! "In her pretty 
 nightie," they ran, " and she let me kiss her little 
 hand, and called me by my Christian name." . . . 
 Why should I not ? And there came to my mind 
 a verse of one of George's early songs : 
 
 " Where shall I get me, where may I hide 
 
 To still my desire ? 
 
 For my love is as deep as the wide world is wide, 
 And as quenchless as fire." . . . 
 
 We saw the sun rise for the third time together, 
 but we didn't take much notice of it, at least I 
 didn't, for I had other less daily occurrences on 
 my mind ; the girls were too much taken up with 
 watching their charges ; Boppo was asleep ; and 
 George didn't seem to be caring whether the sun 
 rose or set! . . . We were a strange company! 
 Suddenly there was a loud wail as " Baby " 
 awoke and, finding himself in such very un- 
 expected quarters, howled aloud, waking Mer- 
 vyn, who, for a while, joined in the chorus. But 
 the girls were quite happy ; they bustled in their 
 narrow quarters, and soon had the youngsters 
 dressed and smiling. " Baby " had a bottle (and 
 as Miss Muffet would call this a " boppo," our
 
 156 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Boppo showed great signs of excitement), and 
 Mervyn some dates and " bup " (bread and 
 butter) ; Baby kept his eyes on these more solid 
 substances of nutriment while drinking, and im- 
 mediately he had finished, stretched out his hand 
 to his brother, crying " Mine ! " and he got some 
 dates, too ... I hope there is a good children's 
 doctor in Maitland. . . . We breakfasted 
 heartily at a little inn at Booral where I distin- 
 guished myself by eating four (Miss MufTet says 
 five) eggs and asking for more; but the stock 
 being exhausted, I had to go hungry! During 
 the meal, at Miss Muffet's repeated request, I 
 gave my version of the burglar episode, inter- 
 rupted every now and then by " O wait till I 
 wipe Mervyn's face ! " or " Just a moment while 
 I wipe up this milk," and so on. And when I 
 had finished, Miss Muffet said, " But what did 
 
 he mean by saying that Judge 's car was a 
 
 ' number two ' ? " I left her guessing. . . . 
 
 On again to Raymond Terrace and across the 
 Hunter River, on my thoughts still dwelling 
 upon the beautiful vision of the early moonlit 
 morning. ..." Baby " was getting sleepy 
 (Mervyn was quite content to lie quietly in Miss 
 Muffet's plump arms, munching dates), and Miss 
 Durston was crooning him to sleep. She has a
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 157 
 
 gentle, soft voice that would send any baby to 
 sleep, and ours was no exception. . . . Ours? 
 . . .Ah! Amy, if I could tell you how I felt 
 when I wrote that word! ... I glanced back 
 and saw " Baby " lying with his head pillowed 
 against Miss Durston's breast . . . and my 
 heart was filled with unspeakable longing. . . . 
 She was half singing, half crooning a lullaby 
 which I had not heard before. As she began I 
 noticed that George gave a start, but I was so 
 intent upon listening to Miss Durston that I 
 said nothing. I caught the words, for though 
 she sang very softly, they were quite distinct. 
 Is it very pretty, or am I letting my love run 
 away with my literary judgment ? These are the 
 words, which I copied at Miss Durston's dicta- 
 tion afterwards : 
 
 " If I were your Baby and you were my Mother, 
 
 sweet, 
 
 What should I do ? 
 I should do just as you do ! 
 Hush-a-bye, Baby, hush! 
 I should curl up my toes 
 Under the clothes, 
 And crinkle my nose, 
 And say Boo-oo-oo ! 
 Just as you do ! 
 Hush-a-bye, Baby, hush!
 
 158 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 If you were my Mother, and I were your Baby, 
 
 dear, 
 
 What would you do ? 
 Hush-a-bye, Baby, hush! 
 Would you give me a kiss 
 Like this and like this ? 
 Would you feel the same bliss 
 My little boy blue, 
 As when I kiss you ? 
 La-loo-lala-loo 
 Hush-a-bye, Baby, hush! 
 
 If I were your Baby, and you were my Mother, 
 
 sweet, 
 
 What should I do ? 
 I should do just as you do ! 
 Hush-a-bye, Baby, hush! 
 With my pretty head pressed 
 To Mother's soft breast 
 I should drop off to rest ! 
 La-loo-lala-loo 
 Just as you do! 
 Hush-a-bye, Baby, hush! 
 
 Is it any wonder that " Baby " was asleep 
 when Miss Durston had sung the song once? 
 and Mervyn, too ? But I was glad that she sang 
 the last verse again. . . . 
 
 " What a very pretty lullaby," I said, half 
 turning. 
 
 " It is a great favourite of mine," she answered. 
 "Who wrote it?" I asked.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 159 
 
 " I don't know his name, or her name," she 
 said, smiling, " it is signed with initials only, 
 G. L." 
 
 " G. L. ! " I cried in astonishment, and 
 stopped the car. " Do you mean to say you don't 
 know who ' G. L.' is? " I asked. 
 
 " Shut up, Aston ! " said George, under his 
 breath. 
 
 " No," replied Miss Durston, looking sur- 
 prised at my vehemence. 
 
 " Why have you stopped the c-car ? " asked 
 Miss Muffet, to create a diversion, and looking 
 very hot and uncomfortable, and " Oh, do shut 
 up, old man ! " in an agonised voice from George. 
 
 " Do you mean to tell me, Miss Muffet, that 
 you haven't told Miss Durston who ' G. L.' is ? " 
 
 " No ! " she answered, " who said that a girl 
 couldn't keep a secret? " (/ hadn't). 
 
 :t This is ' G. L.' Miss Durston," I said, and 
 I touched George's shoulder with the point of 
 my finger; then I turned on the switch, the 
 engines responded, and The Locust moved on ; 
 and I left the ladies to fix up things between 
 them. ..." Baby " was still asleep when we 
 drove up to his and Mervyn's home, and the 
 children were reluctantly given up to the charge 
 of an astonished nurse.
 
 160 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Having found an hotel where there are 
 many it is not so easy as where there is only one ! 
 I established George in charge of the ladies 
 and went out. I had to call at the Post Office 
 for a parcel which I expected from Brisbane, for 
 which I had written from Tweed Heads, a 
 parcel containing George's birthday present for 
 to-morrow ; and that they might understand my 
 absence, I explained it to the ladies. I was on 
 my way back with this, when, in a side street, I 
 met a girl of eight or so, hurrying along and 
 crying bitterly. No one knew me in the place, 
 so I stopped and asked her what the matter was. 
 I had some difficulty in understanding her for 
 her sobs, but made out the cause of her distress. 
 
 " I've lost my collar and brooch," she said, 
 " teacher has sent me to look for it mother will 
 beat me if I don't find it ! " 
 
 " How did you lose it ? Don't cry ! " I said. 
 
 " It dropped off ; I had it on when I left 
 home," she answered. 
 
 " Was it a nice collar? " I asked, and her sobs 
 began to lessen with the interest of talking to 
 someone about her trouble. 
 
 E< Yes," she replied, " Mother got Miss Jennings 
 to make me two, 'cause when she came to make 
 our summer dresses, Mother was sick, and when
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 161 
 
 she had finished them it was only three o'clock, 
 so Mother said, ' you might make some collars 
 for Madge out of this,' and I've lost the best 
 one ! " and the howling recommenced. 
 
 " Don't cry," I said, " I know a shop where 
 they sell lovely collars, let's go and look if they 
 have one like yours ? " The child hesitated at 
 first, and her pathetic sobbing was resumed. 
 
 " Mother will beat me if I don't " but I 
 
 took her hand, and led her into the main street. 
 " And it was a lovely brooch," she said, " gold, 
 too ! Father gave it me for Christmas, and I've 
 only wore it three times ! " 
 
 " Never mind, Madge," I said, " here's the 
 shop I told you about," (it was, of course, the first 
 time I had set eyes upon it) " let's go in and see if 
 we can find a collar like yours." In a moment 
 the child, the woman-to-be, became animated, 
 and she had to look at three hundred and fifty 
 collars, (more or less) before she had made her 
 selection. The cost was half a crown! How 
 very little is required to dry young tears ! She 
 was now as proud as Judy, and marched out of 
 the draper's shop and into the jeweller's. (" Not 
 that one ! " She had counselled, " there's a 
 better one further along)," as though it were an 
 everyday occurrence. Youth is very adaptable. 
 
 L
 
 i6a THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 The brooch took even longer than the collar to 
 select, for there were so many beautiful things 
 to look at ; and I took advantage of this to make 
 some purchases on my own account ; but at last 
 it was pinned on, and paid for, and a very happy 
 girl said : " Thank you, sir," rather shyly, as we 
 turned to go out. And near the door were Miss 
 Durston and Miss Muffet sitting with their backs 
 to the counter, watching us! I wondered how 
 long they had been there, and felt like a criminal 
 caught in the act, and much more ashamed than 
 our burglar friend had appeared to be ! and was 
 quite relieved when Miss Muffet cried : 
 
 " Go away, Dr Perry, this is secret! " 
 
 " Where's Mr Lidney ? " I asked, " I left him 
 in charge of you." 
 
 " Oh, he's outside," said Miss Muffet calmly, 
 and turned to interview a returning shopman, 
 waving her hand to me in dismissal. George 
 was waiting. 
 
 "Are you a doctor?" asked my little friend. 
 
 " Yes," I answered. 
 
 " Our doctor's name is Solly," she said, " he 
 brought Mother a lovely baby boy last Tuesday ; 
 Joe said he didn't want a baby brother, he wanted 
 a teddy-bear, but I like babies best ! " And so 
 we parted, she going back with smiling face to
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 163 
 
 school, and I, after a word with George, back to 
 the hotel. And here I am, after spending two 
 solid hours writing to you, my dear sister. . . . 
 I hope you have read it all ? Good-bye, for we 
 must start in a few minutes, if we are to reach 
 St Albans in decent time to-night. Morland 
 hasn't shown up, and no doubt William is 
 engineering his journey satisfactorily. 
 
 Your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 St Albans, Dec. ist, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 I am tired, but very wideawake do you 
 know the feeling ? I have had a very strenuous 
 day, and have a good deal to tell you, more, in- 
 deed, than I shall have time for to-night, and I 
 posted a long letter to you from West Mait- 
 land! 
 
 " What were you doing in the jeweller's 
 shop ?" I asked Miss Muff et, as we were board- 
 ing The Locust. 
 
 " Who was that little girl ? " she countered. 
 
 " Her name is Madge," I said, " and she 
 has a brother Joe, and Joe prefers teddy- 
 bears to baby-brothers, but Madge likes 
 babies best! " 
 
 " Girls always have the best taste," returned 
 Miss Muff et, " but who was she ? " 
 
 164
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 165 
 
 " Her name is Madge," I said gravely, " and 
 she has a brother Joe, and Joe prefers " 
 
 " Oh, that's enough! " cried Miss Muffet, " if 
 you won't tell us, you won't! " and she pouted 
 her pretty mouth. 
 
 On again, steadily towards the end, past little 
 Wollombi and to the left by little Laguna, beyond 
 which we halted and had afternoon tea by the 
 roadside ; tea and tea-cake, cream cakes and 
 fruit ; for might it not be our last out-of-doors 
 meal together ? Then on again along the moun- 
 tain side with patches of rich cultivation on our 
 left, and the recurrent joke of " Where is Dean's 
 Farm ? " which always seems to be " this one " 
 or " the next one to this," and finally appears 
 when not expected : through the two notorious 
 sandy-bedded creeks where the owner of the bull 
 awaits the passing of the motor-car, hoping that 
 it may stick in the treacherous sand, so that he 
 may earn his reward after the bull has drawn it 
 out! Then up, and ever up, over sandy track 
 and stone, and still up, round curves with fear- 
 some precipices yawning on our right, and still 
 up till on either hand there seems to stretch limit- 
 less ranges after ranges, as though all the world 
 were mountains, their colours dimmer with the 
 distance to the faintest blue of the farthest off
 
 166 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Mount Manning; I think the grandest bit of 
 scenery on the journey. Now a great angry 
 thunderstorm swooped down upon us, not un- 
 prepared ; for the intense heat of the afternoon 
 had warned us of its coming. At first with heavy 
 patter of large rain-drops, then, with a suddenness 
 that was startling, the great flash and crash came 
 together, deafening us, and rolling away in 
 diminishing echoes, beyond the ranges : and then 
 for ten minutes it rained, " teemed " as Austra- 
 lians call it, seriously and determinedly, until the 
 sun, a little tired after his day's work, came out 
 again, and, but for the better condition of the 
 sandy track, and the collection of water at the 
 roadside, there might never have been any storm 
 at all. The Locust had passed through it un- 
 concernedly, glad to get so good a chance to cool 
 its radiator, and so vertical had been the down- 
 pour, that, protected by the hood above, I had 
 not needed to put on my rain-coat. Now down, 
 coasting gloriously round sudden bends, ever 
 with that hungry-looking gulf on our right, down 
 and down, our lungs filled with the exhilarating 
 mountain air, our spirits exulting in the delight of 
 rapid movement, caring nothing what to-morrow 
 might bring, so that we had to-day! As we 
 neared the foot of the range, I said to Miss
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 167 
 
 Durston, who was at my side, nursing 
 Boppo. 
 
 " If I lived in Sydney, I should want to do 
 this every week-end ! " 
 
 " It is very beautiful ! " she replied, " but does 
 it not seem a pity to rush it so ? Would it not be 
 more enjoyable to take it all slowly ? " 
 
 " It does, and it would be," I answered, " but 
 The Locust does not like crawling down- 
 hill! " 
 
 " I am not criticising your driving, Dr Perry," 
 she said, smiling, " but I should like to come again 
 some time in the early morning, on our way to 
 breakfast." 
 
 " Our way ? " I questioned. 
 
 " Yes, why not? " she replied, " I should not 
 like to think that we shall never motor again to- 
 gether ; of course it is most unlikely that we shall, 
 but yet. . . ." 
 
 " But yet ? " I prompted. 
 
 " But yet it is not very probable, is it ? " and 
 I wondered what had been the original ending of 
 her sentence ; " so let us enjoy this, our last even- 
 ing, as we may." 
 
 " Our last evening! " I protested ; but she only 
 nodded her head, and looking, I saw that her 
 lovely eyes were full. ... I pressed the little
 
 168 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 hand that lay on Boppo's head what cared I if 
 Miss Muffet's sharp eyes saw? I believe they 
 did, and I started when she said : 
 
 " How far now, Dr Perry? I'm getting 
 hungry ! " 
 
 " After all that cake ? " I bantered. 
 
 " You needn't mention cakes, Dr Perry, or I 
 shall have something to say about eggs ! " 
 
 " Well, here we are ! " I said, as the prettily 
 situated township came in sight with its stream 
 and bridge, its surrounding mountains, and great 
 cedar trees. 
 
 " What a high bridge, and what a tiny river ! " 
 said Miss Muffet. 
 
 ' They do not appear to match, do they ? " I 
 said, " but look where the old bridge was, and how 
 little there is left of it ! " And I pointed to the 
 remains of one end of the old bridge, which had 
 evidently been washed away in some previous 
 flood. 
 
 " It must be a great sight, a river like this in 
 flood," remarked George. 
 
 " It is," I answered, " I could tell you some 
 amusing and serious yarns about Queensland 
 floods." 
 
 " Tell us now! " said Miss Muffet 
 
 " Another time ! " I answered, " I thought you
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 169 
 
 were hungry ? You go and get ready for dinner, 
 it will be ready in twenty minutes it always 
 is!" 
 
 We had hardly shut off petrol when The 
 Ladybird came tearing along in a great tornado 
 of dust, and pulled up with a slither and jerk 
 upon the grass behind The Locust, under the 
 great cedar trees. A wide grin was on William's 
 face, and John gave a sigh of relief, and wiped the 
 perspiration from his forehead. But Morland! 
 He was white and trembling, and staggered a 
 little when he alighted. 
 
 " My God! " he cried, " My God! " shaking 
 his fist at William's broadening grin, " I'd horse- 
 whip you if you were my servant! I'm d d 
 
 if ever I sit behind your (jolly) driving again, 
 
 you, you " and he spluttered for want of a 
 
 word to express his pent-up feelings, and turning 
 his back to us, entered the bar. 
 
 " Did you travel, William? " I asked. 
 
 " We left Maitland at four," he answered. 
 
 " Whew ! " I whistled, " where did the storm 
 catch you ? " 
 
 ' We missed it, sir, we were crawling up the 
 range on our second at the time." 
 
 " D-didn't the n-neighbourhood of the 
 m-mountains affect the m-magneto ? " asked Miss
 
 170 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Muffet, stammering more than usual; but 
 William's only reply was a grin. 
 " How did you like it, John? " I asked. 
 " I liked it pretty well, sir, thank you," and he 
 touched his cap, (William never does) " except 
 when the offside wheels was spinning round with 
 nothin' under 'em but a great hole full of trees. 
 William's a fair terror to drive ! " 
 
 " There's not much you can teach me about 
 William," I said, " what was your hurry ? " I 
 asked, addressing him. 
 
 " It was Mr Morland, sir, he kep' chivvying 
 me to shake her up, and he said things about my 
 driving, sir." 
 
 "Such as? "I asked. 
 
 " Well, he won't say 'em again, sir. He said 
 I would look better on a coster's cart with a 
 donkey between the shafts." And William 
 turned red ! It rankled still. 
 
 " Nice spoken gentleman, isn't he, William ? " 
 
 :< Yes, sir ! " said William, himself again. 
 
 " So you gave him a specimen of your 
 driving ? " 
 
 " I let her go coming down the range, sir ! " 
 
 " Good, William ! " I said, " so long as there's 
 no harm done to the car. How about the 
 differential?"
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 171 
 
 " I chanced that, sir. She held all right." 
 
 " Yes, but remember to-morrow that it's not 
 my car or yours," I added, " whatever happens, 
 The Ladybird must reach Sydney whole." 
 
 "Yes, sir! And will I have Mr Morland 
 again ? " 
 
 " No ! " I answered. And it was good to see 
 the relief and surprise blended on William's 
 face. . . . 
 
 I wonder if you know why Australian men- 
 servants don't touch their caps? The explana- 
 tion is worth giving. In the very early Austra- 
 lian days when labour was more scarce even than 
 now, the better-behaved convicts were let out to 
 work on the sheep-stations, and one of the 
 regulations issued to them was, that whenever 
 they met a gentleman they must touch their caps. 
 The result was that all other-than-convict 
 labourers learnt to omit this mark of respect, or 
 servility as they would call it nowadays, in order 
 that they might not be mistaken for ticket-of- 
 leave men. 
 
 When Morland joined us at the dinner-table, 
 (eggs and corned beef and tea) he began at once 
 upon the enormities of William and his reckless 
 driving, till we wearied of him, and I hinted that 
 the expression of his fears in the hearing of
 
 172 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the ladies was not wise; and Miss Muffet 
 snorted ! 
 
 " Oh, trust you ! " he cried angrily, " you and 
 your bally grasshopper! There's too much 
 hanging to it to let you run any risk ! " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " I asked, angry in my 
 turn ; for the sneering emphasis which he placed 
 on the " you " made my blood boil. 
 
 " What do I mean ? " he answered violently, 
 " I mean that you wouldn't be game to take your 
 old bone-shaker out of its gait if you were by 
 yourself, but when you've got five thou' a year 
 with you " 
 
 " Stop ! " I cried, burning with rage, and before 
 he could say more the two girls rose and left the 
 room, George going with them, and also Boppo, 
 reluctantly, for he had been growling under his 
 breath all the time that Morland was 
 speaking. 
 
 Morland didn't say any more after they had 
 had gone, and I let him finish his meal, while I 
 smoked a pipe to settle my temper, for I wanted 
 to keep cool for the next act. I managed to keep 
 him from the bar when he had finished, and in- 
 duced him to smoke a pipe (my tobacco!) with 
 me outside, saying that I wanted to have a talk 
 with him.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 173 
 
 " What is it? " he asked insolently. 
 
 " Finish your pipe ! " I replied. I wanted no 
 unfair advantage, though I might need it! He 
 must be comparatively as fit as I, when the tussle 
 came. So we smoked in silence, till his action 
 of knocking the ashes out against a post told me 
 that the moment had arrived. 
 
 " Come down to the river-bank," I suggested, 
 and I had a queer nervous sensation just above 
 my belt, as I felt that the curtain was 
 rising ! 
 
 " What for ? " he asked, " this is good enough 
 for me ! " and he stretched himself out in his 
 squatter's chair. 
 
 " Come ! " I said, standing over him, and 
 somewhat to my surprise, he obeyed. 
 
 : ' Well, what do you want ? " he asked me when 
 we had descended the steep river-bank, and 
 stood on the sandy shore, out of sight of 
 anyone. 
 
 " I'll tell you ! " I said, facing him, and all my 
 nervousness went. ... I am going to write this 
 down as nearly as I can as it happened, Amy 
 you may skip it if you like, but I know that James, 
 to say nothing of Roderick and Neville, will want 
 to hear it all. . . . 
 
 " I'll tell you ! " I repeated, speaking slowly.
 
 174 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " You have to clear out ; we have suffered your 
 company too long ; and the question I want to 
 put to you is, whether you will go with, or without, 
 a licking ? " 
 
 " Who's going to give it me ? " he asked. And 
 he laughed ! He had pluck a good man spoiled. 
 
 " I am ! " I answered. 
 
 " You ! " he sneered. " You ! " and he looked 
 me up and down. 
 
 " Yes, me ! " I said ; one revert's to one's early 
 English at such moments. 
 
 "A bally lady's man, ladies' doctor!" he 
 sneered, and laughed again. 
 
 " Take off your coat ! " I said, and I took off 
 mine, and my waistcoat, too. But as I stooped 
 to lay the latter on the ground, he rushed me, 
 and threw me sprawling on the sand, he rolling 
 on top of me. I screwed round quickly I can 
 still do this, thanks to my football training and 
 was on my feet before he was, and we faced each 
 other, panting a little. Then we began to fight. 
 Warily at first, to get each other's measure ; but 
 presently the blows began. He got the first one 
 in on my body (I can feel it now), and I let him 
 have it back on his jaw. I knew that it would 
 be wiser for me to concentrate my attention to 
 his body, but I wanted to be quite fair he was
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 175 
 
 not in such good condition as I and can you 
 believe it? I wanted very much to leave my 
 mark unmistakably on his face. . . . My blow 
 
 staggered him, and " God d n you ! " he 
 
 muttered, " I'll pay you for that ! " and he almost 
 did. For he came wildly at me, trusting to his 
 great strength, and for some moments I had 
 difficulty in avoiding his blows ; one, indeed, on 
 my cheek, drew blood and made it smart from 
 a cut caused by his ring. But I wore him down, 
 and when I had succeeded in getting in a left, 
 and then a right, on his forehead and nose, 
 " By God, it's broken! " he said as he drew 
 back. 
 
 " Enough? " I asked, and his answer was to 
 rush at me again. I had settled down to it now, 
 and, though I was breathing hard (not so hard as 
 he), I was feeling a sense of, what shall I call it? 
 primal physical pleasure! I clinched to avoid 
 his rain of blows, and, my arms about his waist, 
 I lifted him up and banged him down upon his 
 feet, so that, his knees giving way, he fell, nearly 
 dragging me with him. He was up again, 
 quickly, and for a time we fought quietly, each 
 regaining his breath. I felt that I could finish it 
 now if I rushed him, for his breath had been 
 coming in painful gasps, but it was that sense of
 
 176 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the delight of battle which held me back. I got 
 one in on his nose again, and I felt it crackle, 
 while his hand went up to it, and smeared the 
 blood over his face. ... I wondered if he were 
 marked enough . . . but a bleeding nose can be 
 cleaned up, I thought, black eyes show longer. 
 So I suggested that he bathed his face, and that 
 we took a spell. To my surprise he assented, 
 and going to the river, washed his face and took 
 a drink ; and he removed his coat and waistcoat. 
 Presently he faced me again, and without a word, 
 we began to fight again. What his idea was, I 
 don't know ; I think it must have been the out- 
 come of a sudden gust of rage, for after we had 
 been sparring for a minute, he jumped in, and 
 catching me by the waist, endeavoured to throw 
 me. But I learnt to wrestle young, and I threw 
 him easily. Again he rushed at me ; his nose 
 was bleeding afresh, and he looked dreadful in 
 the dim light ; there was no moon yet ; and this 
 time luck favoured him, for my foot slipped on a 
 tussock of grass and we fell hard, he on top. He 
 struck me once or twice on the face, at short 
 range, before I had shaken him off and 
 risen. ... He suffered much in the next minute, 
 for I landed two beauties, one on each eye, and 
 the one on the right bunged it up ; another I got
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 177 
 
 on his broken nose again. For his blows, when 
 I was down, though I might be able to forgive 
 him for them afterwards, had angered me. " My 
 God ! " he muttered, staggering, when my third 
 smasher fell on his nose. 
 
 "Enough?" I asked, and I knew that my 
 question must be very galling, but I wasn't 
 caring at the time. He was breathing heavily, 
 and could not last much longer. 
 
 "Enough?" he echoed "you d d 
 
 money-hunter ! " 
 
 " Will you go, now ? " I asked ; I was quite 
 calm then ; " or " but he interrupted me. 
 
 " Go ? " he cried, " yes, but I'll bash you first ! " 
 and once more he rushed in. But it was easy 
 now; I stepped aside and landed one on the 
 side of his face that sent him down. He was 
 fuming with disappointed rage when he rose, 
 and: 
 
 " Enough?" I asked again and I meant it, 
 I had had enough, at any rate. 
 
 " Enough? " he shouted, foaming, " when I've 
 done with you, there won't be much of you left 
 for your second-hand goods and her money- 
 bags." And he struck at me again. For a 
 moment I was dazed with wonder at the mean- 
 ing of his last words, then grasping it, I saw red, 
 
 M
 
 178 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 very, very red. ... I cannot tell you what I did, 
 for when I came to myself I was kneeling astride 
 of him with my hands at his throat, and was bang- 
 ing his head up and down on the sand. It was 
 George's voice that brought me back to 
 sanity. 
 
 " He's had enough, old man, let him go ! " the 
 voice was George's, and his hand was on my 
 shoulder, but the voice seemed to come from far 
 away! I looked up, and George says that I 
 said : " What's the bag ? " George held one in 
 his hand. 
 
 " Let go his throat ! " he cried, (and he says 
 that I was still mechanically lifting up and bang- 
 ing down Morland's head) and I looked and saw 
 what I was doing, and that the poor beast's face 
 was black. The sight of his face, almost un- 
 recognisable as it was, must have taken me back 
 for a moment, for, leaving his throat, I raised 
 myself, and catching hold of him by the slack of 
 his shirt and trousers, with a strength of which I 
 would not have believed myself capable, I lifted 
 him and swung him into the river. " Let the 
 beast drown ! " I said. . . . But fortunately for 
 my freedom, George thought more wisely: he 
 grasped the man's ankles, he was in shallow 
 water, and dragged him out. His mouth was
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 179 
 
 full of bloodstained mud and muddy water, and 
 he was a most pitiable spectacle, but he 
 spluttered, so I knew that he was alive, though 
 for the moment I didn't care much. 
 
 " What's the bag ? " I said, stupidly, as taking 
 in a deep breath, I seemed to regain my 
 bearings. 
 
 " His belongings," answered George. 
 
 " Give it me ! " and George handed it over, 
 wondering, he told me afterwards, if I meant to 
 throw it, too, into the river. 
 
 " I'm all right now, George old chap ! " I said, 
 for my senses seemed to have returned almost as 
 quickly as they had gone : " get along back ; I'll 
 be with you in a few minutes," and, as he 
 hesitated, I walked to my clothes, and putting 
 them on, told him that I was " quite all right," 
 and that I would call him if I felt it coming on 
 again. My accompanying smile reassured him, 
 and with a nod of his old head, he went. 
 
 Morland was now sitting up, spitting. He was 
 a fearsome sight ! One eye was closed, the other 
 just sufficiently open for him to be able to see ; 
 his nose was perceptibly broken, and his clothes 
 were dirty and drenched. He said nothing, but 
 with great pain, rose to his feet, staggering. I 
 helped him on with his clothes.
 
 i8o THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Here's your bag," I said, " and here's a five- 
 pound note," (he grasped this eagerly) " now 
 clear out ! and if ever you come within coo-ee of 
 me again, I shall be quite ready to begin it all 
 over." He said nothing, but walking unsteadily, 
 made for the bridge in the direction of the 
 Hawkesbury river, six miles away. . . . Poor 
 devil! I'm glad that I let him have his 
 dinner ! 
 
 I washed myself in the river, George, who had 
 come back when he saw Morland go, helping me, 
 and bathed my head for a while, and soon felt 
 about right. Except for the cut on my cheek 
 which still bled a little, I was unhurt, but I felt 
 pretty well shaken up and very tired. My collar 
 was stained with blood, but I did not know this 
 till I took it off. On the whole I had come off very 
 luckily, for he was a strong man and had fought 
 viciously. As we reached the top of the high 
 river-bank, I could not fail to be struck by the still 
 peacefulness of the scene, where a few minutes 
 before, a few yards away, there had been so much 
 turmoil ! 
 
 " Leave me alone for a little, will you, old 
 chap ? " I said, " I want to collect my thoughts ! " 
 and George went away. I hope he found Miss 
 Muffet. He deserved to! ... I wanted to
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 181 
 
 think, for I had something more to do before I 
 slept. . . . Looking round, I saw, away on the 
 left, a small familiar figure, which brought back 
 to my memory the downs of Port Macquarie, 
 and hurrying towards it, was distressed to see 
 Miss Durston sitting, her face buried in her tiny 
 handkerchief, sobbing. In a moment I was at 
 her side, kneeling, my arms about her: 
 
 "Enid, Enid, I love you, dear, don't cry!" 
 I said. 
 
 " Oh, don't, don't ! " she sobbed, and the sobs 
 cut me like a knife, " you can't, you don't know ! " 
 
 " I don't want to know ! " I answered, stroking 
 her glorious hair, " I know only that I love you, 
 dear, and all I want to know is if you can care for 
 me?" 
 
 "But you are hurt!" she said, irrelevantly, 
 looking at my bloodstained face, and wiping it 
 with the handkerchief that was wet with her dear 
 tears. 
 
 " Only a scratch from a beast in the bush," I 
 said, but I let her wipe it. 
 
 "Tell me! "she said. 
 
 " Morland," I explained, " I hit him and he hit 
 me. I hit hardest and he's gone : he will never 
 trouble you again . . . darling." 
 
 " Oh, thank God, thank God ! " she said, " and
 
 182 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 you ! " and in a moment I had folded her in my 
 arms and was whispering my love to her beautiful 
 ears, and covering her hair and her eyes and her 
 lips with my long pent-up kisses. . . . 
 
 " I love you, love you, oh, so much ! " she 
 murmured, as she gave her lips to mine . . . 
 and little else mattered then . . . little else 
 matters now . . . and I placed on her finger the 
 ring which I had bought in Maitland, and for the 
 thought of buying which I had to thank little 
 crying Madge . . . and it fitted, and she kissed 
 it. ... Presently, beginning brokenly, but go- 
 ing on firmly to the end, though I asked her not 
 to tell me now, she told her story . . . her sad, 
 innocent story ... it took her a long time, for 
 t there were interruptions . . . but she told it 
 all ... till " and then I met you," when fold- 
 ing her more tightly in my arms, I kissed her 
 once again, and told her that I would protect her 
 from all who might wish to harm her . . . and 
 so we went back to the frowsy old beautiful hotel ! 
 Good night, Beloved . . . my Campaspe. . . . 
 
 Her story must wait! My eyes are heavy, 
 now, for sleep. My room is upstairs. I am in 
 the dining-room, and beyond this door which 
 I can touch with my outstretched hand, Enid 
 sleeps, Boppo guarding her closed door on the
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 183 
 
 mat outside. Good Boppo, guard her safely 
 . . . she will not need you long. . . . Good night 
 Amy . . . but I must whisper another good 
 night . . hers must be the last. . . . My Queen 
 and my Beauty ! 
 
 Your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Orielton, Ocean Street, 
 Edgecliff, Sydney, Dec. 2nd, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 We were all up early this morning I had 
 two hours' sleep and I woke with that delight- 
 ful sense of blessedness which conies to one, now 
 and then. . . . Enid was in the dining-room 
 when I came down, and it gave me a great thrill 
 of joy when she came to meet me with her beauti- 
 ful face upturned to meet mine. ..." It is true, 
 then ? " she whispered. ..." Where are the 
 others ? " I asked presently, for George had left 
 our room when I woke. 
 
 " Miss Muffet got up first," said Enid, " there 
 was only room for one to dress at a time, and 
 went out." Even as she spoke Miss Muffet 
 came running in : 
 
 184
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 185 
 
 " Oh, Auntie ! " she exclaimed, " the c-car's 
 ready, and George has asked me to marry him! 
 m-may I ? ' 
 
 "And if I say 'No'?" 
 
 "Oh, I shall marry him just the same ! but you 
 won't, will you ? " 
 
 " No, dear, I won't ! and I am very glad ! " and 
 they kissed. George had come in immediately 
 after Miss Muffet, and passing him to come to me, 
 she took his hand and placed its palm against 
 her cheek, and then kissed it, in so pretty a way 
 that George beamed his delight. Then I shook 
 hands with him and Miss Muffet, and he with 
 Enid, and I thought it was over for a time. I 
 had forgotten Miss Muffet. She came right in 
 front of me, and placing her hands on my 
 shoulders, said: 
 
 ;< Thank you so, for b-bringing me George, 
 Doctor." 
 
 " I ? " I said, surprised. 
 
 ;< Yes," she answered, " I know you didn't do 
 it on p-purpose, but you did it ! and do you know 
 what George said when I when I said ' yes ' ? " 
 and she blushed. 
 
 " No, but I think I can guess what he did ! " 
 I answered. 
 
 "Yes, he did that," she said simply and
 
 1 86 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 proudly, as she put one hand behind, and 
 squeezed his willing hand, " but he said he could 
 not think how I could love him when you were 
 to be loved; that's how he put it," she said, 
 proudly again. 
 
 " He did, did he ? the scoundrel ! " I exclaimed, 
 trying to frown. 
 
 " Yes, and I said that I didn't love you a bit." 
 
 " Oh, indeed ! " I exclaimed. 
 
 " Yes, and I d-don't ! " she cried, " but I said 
 that you were a dear old doctor," (with her 
 hands on my shoulders she shook me gently with 
 each word) " b-but I do love you all the 
 same! " 
 
 " Well, of course," I answered, " you of all 
 people might be expected to exercise the preroga- 
 tive of woman to change her mind, but you're too 
 late!" 
 
 " Why ? " she asked, her eyes at their widest. 
 
 " I'm going to marry Id ! " I replied. Miss 
 Muffet stared at me for a moment still, and then : 
 
 " Oh, you darlings ! " she exclaimed, and she 
 kissed me hard and loud, then turning, the two 
 dear girls went to each other's arms. . . . George 
 gripped my hand and we stepped to the verandah. 
 
 " Where was it? " I asked. 
 
 " On the site of the fight ! " he said, smiling.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 187 
 
 " Good man ! " I said, " you have wiped out the 
 stain ! " 
 
 " B-but listen ! " interposed Miss Muff et, who 
 had followed us out quickly, arms-round-waists 
 with Enid, " how long have you two been en- 
 gaged?" 
 
 " Eight hours," I answered, looking at my 
 watch. 
 
 " It was last night then ? " asked Miss Muffet. 
 
 " It was," I answered. 
 
 " And you never told me, Auntie ! and I 
 wondered why you were so quiet, and why you 
 kissed me so lovingly ! " 
 
 " You never told me who ' G. L.' was ! " re- 
 torted Enid. 
 
 ' Then we're quits ; but n-never mind, we'll 
 get married first, won't we, George ? " 
 
 " Certainly dear ! " said old George, blushing. 
 
 " You'll have to hurry ! " I said. 
 
 "Why?" asked Miss Muffet. 
 
 " Because I'm going to marry Id to-morrow! " 
 I replied. 
 
 " Oh, are you ? " said Enid, blushing divinely. 
 
 " Poor man! " exclaimed Miss Muffet. 
 
 " I think otherwise! " I said, " Id?" 
 ' Yes, dear, if you wish," and I stooped and 
 kissed her. Then I drew from my pocket the
 
 1 88 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 other piece of jewellery which I had bought at 
 Maitland, and telling Miss Muffet to shut her 
 eyes, I clasped the chain round her neck. 
 " Your engagement present," I said. 
 
 " Oh ! what a p-perfectly beautiful pendant," 
 
 she cried, " but how did you know ? when ? " 
 
 " A little bird whispered ! " I answered, and 
 she was silent. . . . 
 
 " Where are we g-going to have breakfast ? " 
 asked Miss Muffet presently. 
 
 " At Wiseman's ferry," I answered, " come 
 along ! " Yet were we loth to leave this pretty 
 place, sequestered among the hills, with the sun 
 dispersing its morning mists, but William stood 
 at The Locust's starting-handle, and John sat in 
 The Ladybird's front seat. 
 
 " Where's the Beast ? " whispered Miss Muffet. 
 
 " He had a telegram ! " I answered. 
 
 " Oh, d-don't be silly," she cried, " t-tell me or 
 I shall k-kiss you ! " 
 
 " He's gone ahead," I replied hurriedly, 
 " walking ; truly he has ! he and I had a few words 
 last night, and I spoke last." 
 
 " Is this one of his words ? " she asked, putting 
 a finger on my bruised cheek. 
 
 " It is," I answered. 
 
 " Did you scratch his cheek ? " inquired she.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 189 
 
 " I broke his nose ! " I answered, grimly. 
 " Oh, you d-dear man ! " she cried, " where 
 was it ? " 
 
 " On the river-bank where you and George 
 
 " I wish I had been there to see ! " she cried. 
 
 " I'm glad you weren't," said George and I to- 
 gether. 
 
 " Why? "she asked. 
 
 " We were not pretty to look at and he fell 
 into the river," I said, as, helping Enid to the 
 seat beside me, I took the wheel. 
 
 " Well, his clothes wanted washing ! " re- 
 marked Miss Muffet, " and I am so glad the 
 Beast has gone ! " 
 
 " And I that the Beauty remains," I heard 
 George whisper; and Id and I exchanged 
 glances . . . yes little Miss Muffet is pretty, 
 bless her ! but. . . . Well, I hope that you will 
 see Enid before very long. . . . Boppo, of 
 course, had taken possession of his mistress's lap, 
 so off we started on the last day of our eventful 
 cruise. 
 
 The drive of six or seven miles to Wiseman's 
 Ferry is very pretty indeed, if mountain scenery 
 may be so described; but I do not think that 
 any one of us looked much at it, though we could
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 not fail to express our admiration for the beauty 
 of the view of mountain and stream as we crossed 
 the Macdonald River by hand-worked ferry- 
 punt. There was a particularly fine echo here 
 which George elicited by shouts of various kinds. 
 George is coming on capitally ! At the Hawkes- 
 bury crossing, our luck was out; for the first 
 time we failed to strike the punt on the near side, 
 and had to wait while it was fetched across for us. 
 For the first time, too, The Locust and The 
 Ladybird occupied the same punt together. 
 
 It was George's birthday, and my long-waited- 
 for plan was ready for execution. . . . Our 
 hostess at Wiseman's ferry was a proud young 
 mother, nursing her first-born after nine years 
 of marriage, and she had a good meal ready for 
 us in the customary twenty minutes. The 
 obliging but careworn hostess of St Albans had 
 given us a stirrup-cup of hot tea, but we were all 
 hungry now. I kept George back for a moment 
 to look at some imaginary fault in The Locust, 
 and when he and I entered the breakfast-room, 
 the fuse was laid. . . . 
 
 My parcel was on top, and he opened it first 
 a set of seven razors marked each with its day of 
 the week ; he smiled as he looked at them, and 
 " No use to me! " he said, but his tone contra-
 
 Wiseman's Ferry. 
 
 Orielton. 
 
 [Fate page 190.
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 191 
 
 dieted the words. Then Enid's parcel was 
 opened a silver-mounted shaving brush, and a 
 silver shaving-soap holder, fitted with soap. 
 " How long have you two been engaged, 
 really? " was his only comment. And. :< These 
 are as new to me as to you," I answered. With 
 a glance at Miss Muffet, he began to unfold the 
 paper of the box in which the third gift was 
 wrapped ; it took long and the eggs were getting 
 cold ; at last there was revealed a prettily-bound 
 book of shaving papers, and a further parcel, 
 which, unwrapped, became a very pretty silver 
 candlestick, with engraved upon its base the 
 words: " Ballinger Heads, Nov. 2;th, 1909." 
 He looked at this in silence, fondling it ; then, 
 before us all, he raised it to his lips, and gathering 
 his parcels together, left the room. But as he 
 passed Miss Muffet he placed his hand softly on 
 her pretty head. " Don't wait for me," he looked 
 back to say, and disappeared. . . . 
 
 " Is that why you were in the Maitland 
 jeweller's shop? " I asked Miss Muffet. 
 
 ' Yes," said she. 
 
 " He was pretty quick over the engraving," I 
 said. 
 
 " He said it was impossible, at first," said Miss 
 Muffet, smiling.
 
 iQ2 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " But you persuaded him ? " 
 " Yes." 
 
 "How?" I asked. 
 
 " Oh, just ! " she said : and that was all the 
 answer I got. 
 
 " Now perhaps you will tell us, I mean me, 
 who that little Maitland girl was ? " asked Miss 
 Muffet. 
 
 " Her name is Madge," I said, " and she has a 
 brother Joe, and Joe prefers teddy-bears " 
 
 " Oh, you p-parrot ! " she exclaimed, " but why 
 were you buying brooches for her ? how did you 
 meet her? " 
 
 "How?" I echoed. 
 
 " Yes, how ? " she cried. 
 
 "Oh, just! "I said. 
 
 " But who was she Aston? " asked Enid in 
 a few moments, and her hesitating utterance of 
 my name was very sweet 
 
 " Now we shall hear ! " said Miss Muffet, 
 triumphantly. . . . And they did. 
 
 George now re-appeared, shaven, clean-look- 
 ing and another man ! He kissed Miss Muffet 
 as he passed her, with a " Thank you, dear ! " 
 and " Oh, that's so much better ! " in reply ; then 
 he gravely shook Enid's hand, with a simple 
 " Thank you, Enid ! " and nodding " Thanks,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 193 
 
 old man," across to me, he attacked his food. . . . 
 So after all I believe that it was the shaving- 
 papers, more than the razors. . . . 
 
 " Now, if you please, Miss Muffet," I said, 
 when the first edge was off my appetite, " may I 
 have ' Songs and Sonnets '? " 
 
 " Oh, Dr Perry, p-please let me keep it till we 
 reach Sydney, will you ? George has promised me 
 a copy of my own then! " Having given my 
 consent to this proposal, Miss Muffet, who is 
 bound to give George a few surprises before he 
 is done with her, turned suddenly to him and said, 
 
 " Did you ever have a fight, George ? " 
 
 " A fight ! " he exclaimed, astonished. 
 
 ' Yes," she said, and clenching her fists with 
 thumbs sticking up, girl-fashion, she twirled them 
 round and round each other. 
 
 " One ! " said George. 
 
 "T-tellusaboutit!" 
 
 " It was rather funny," he said, reminiscently, 
 " I undertook to fight three youths one after the 
 other." 
 
 " Why ? " asked Miss Muffet. 
 
 " Oh, no reason for it at all," said George, and 
 I smiled. I knew. 
 
 N
 
 194 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 " Why was it?" persisted Miss Muffet, and 
 George took one of her hands in his and squeezed 
 it. 
 
 " I'll tell you," he said. " My brother and I 
 it was sixteen years ago, I was seventeen," (and 
 I saw Miss Muffet counting rapidly on her 
 fingers!) "my brother and I had been to choir 
 practice." 
 
 " Do you sing your songs, too? " Miss Muffet 
 asked quite seriously. 
 
 " Not now ! " said George, " but I had some 
 sort of a singing voice in those days." 
 
 " The fight ! " I said, looking at my watch. 
 
 " Oh ! yes," said George. " There were five 
 girls at the practice who might reasonably expect 
 us to escort them home, and we decided that 
 Tom, that's my brother, should take two of them, 
 and I the other three, who were sisters. I don't 
 suppose the girls ever had a more silent pro- 
 tector, for all I said was ' Good night,' three 
 times, when we reached their gate. I was hot 
 all the way with trying to think of something to 
 say, and they giggled continuously. It was a 
 great relief to me when I shut their gate and was 
 free again. But I hadn't walked twenty yards
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 195 
 
 before I was met by a truculent youth who osten- 
 tatiously jostled me ; as I took no notice of this, 
 in a swaggering voice he asked me what I meant 
 by interfering between him and his pals, and 
 their girls. ' You don't belong here anyway ! ' 
 he said. * I don't want your girls ! ' I said 
 rudely ; but it was true, I really didn't ! and by- 
 the-bye, I never attended choir-practice again. 
 ' Well, you've got to fight us, anyway ! ' said the 
 spokesman. ' All three ? ' I exclaimed, and I 
 looked down the road to see what chance there 
 was for a run. I could run in those days ! * Me, 
 first, anyway ! ' said this objectionable youth. 
 * All right, Mr Anyway,' I said, and do you know, 
 it was the irritation induced by the repetition of 
 that word that brought about my decision ! And 
 me, too ! ' And me ! ' chimed in the other two. 
 'All right,' I agreed, ' but Mr Anyway first?' 
 ' I'll teach you to call me names ! ' said my first- 
 to-be adversary. I was in a horrible funk 
 please excuse the expression, Elsie?" (" Elsie " 
 squeezed his hand) "'Where shall it be?' I 
 asked. ' We know of a good place down here,' 
 said one of them. And we three, as solemn as 
 you please, walked a quarter of a mile to the
 
 196 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 ' good place ' in order to fight about nothing. I 
 was ridiculously nervous, but the humour of the 
 position struck me suddenly, and I laughed. 
 ' You won't laugh long, anyway ! ' said my irri- 
 tant-in-chief, and I thought he spoke the truth, 
 for they were all bigger boys than I. Well, we 
 arrived at the ' good place ' and Anyway took off 
 his coat in a. business-like way. I kept mine on, 
 for I thought even then that I might have to cut 
 and run, and I didn't want to leave my clothes 
 behind me. It was bright moonlight, and the 
 fight lasted half a minute. He rushed at me like 
 a bull, I stepped aside, he slipped and fell head- 
 long, and not a blow struck ! ' you tripped me ! ' 
 he cried, as he got up, rubbing his elbow ; ' I did 
 nothing of the sort ! ' I answered angrily ; ' you 
 won't do it again, anyway ! ' he said it was the 
 last time he used the word, for its reiteration so 
 pained my sense of literary proportion that it 
 gave strength to my arm, though, at the same 
 time it made me forget what they had taught me 
 in the Gym, at Rugby ; for he rushed wildly at me 
 again, and instead of stepping aside, I met his 
 rush with my fist right in his face ; the impact 
 hurt my knuckles like anything, and he fell like
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 197 
 
 a log and lay still! We gathered round him, 
 friends and foe, and a cold chill gripped my heart 
 or thereabouts, such as I had never felt before, 
 and still he didn't move. ' Get up ! ' I cried, 
 trembling with dread, and stooping over him. 
 And to my intense relief he moved, and, ' Oh, 
 my eye ! Oh, my eye ! ' he said, crying with tears, 
 and repeating the wail a dozen times. I was so 
 relieved that I laughed, hysterically, and his two 
 friends eyed me angrily. Anyway's face was 
 covered in blood from a cut on his eyebrow, and 
 I didn't want to fight any more, but I thought the 
 best way to avoid this was to ask for it ; so, turn- 
 ing to the other two, I said, as carelessly as I 
 could, c He'll be all right in a minute or two ; 
 which of you is next ? ' ' Look at his face ! blimey, 
 how it bleeds ! ' replied one of them, and sure 
 enough it did bleed, but I wanted all the more to 
 get away. ' Which of you is next ? ' I said again, 
 ' I can't stop here all night ! ' ' Oh, go on ! ' cried 
 the third of them, ' we're satisfied ! ' ' If you really 
 are ? ' I inquired, politely. ' Go home ! ' said the 
 other, and I adopted his suggestion. And I can 
 assure you that as soon as I was out of their 
 sight I began to run and didn't stop running until
 
 198 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 I reached my own gate." Miss Muffet gave a 
 great sigh of admiration, pleasure, interest all 
 combined, and with remarkable vision, with 
 which, perhaps, the possession of brothers had 
 helped to endow her, asked : 
 
 " What did your mother say ? " 
 
 : * That I was a disgrace to the family." 
 
 "And your father?" 
 
 " That I might fight as much as I pleased, so 
 long as I didn't mix him up in it." 
 
 " Good parents ! " I said, " and of course your 
 mother was as proud of you as as Miss Muffet 
 is," I concluded. 
 
 " She felt me all over to see if I had any bones 
 broken ! " said George. . . . 
 
 " Have you any sisters, Mr Lidney? " asked 
 Enid. 
 
 ' Three, all married," answered George. 
 
 " I should think they would be! " said Enid, 
 enigmatically. 
 
 "Why?" asked Miss Muffet. 
 
 " If they are as nice as George is ! " whispered 
 Enid, pinching Miss Muffet's ear. 
 
 " You dear! " said Miss Muffet. . . . 
 
 As I passed the kitchen on my way out, I saw
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 199 
 
 our hostess sitting crooning to her babe, and in 
 my professional manner I approached and ex- 
 pressed due admiration for the baby he was a 
 very fine chap giving her some advice. As 
 she did not seem to appreciate this at its value, 
 I mentioned, incidentally, that I was a doctor. 
 She looked me up and down, saying : " Are you ? 
 just fancy ! " And during the day " Just fancy " 
 was a favourite expression of Miss Muffet's, for 
 of course she had listened and overheard. 
 
 As I came from the kitchen I caught sight of 
 a face peering through the window ; it was not a 
 nice face to look upon, and it vanished quickly 
 as I looked up poor Beast ! I wonder how long 
 the lesson will serve him? . . . 
 
 The pinch from Wiseman's ferry is the most 
 severe of the whole journey, very steep, with a 
 hairpin bend at the middle of it ; but The Locust 
 took it with a smile, and The Ladybird laughed 
 at it! It was very hot, hotter than yesterday, 
 and we slowly climbed the mountain with many 
 expressions of hope that it would be cooler at the 
 top. But it wasn't ; and The Locust was glad 
 of a billycan of water given to us by a dear lady 
 who had a vineyard-farm on the flat mountain-
 
 200 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 top. And again, further on at a house to which 
 Enid and I went, we obtained water for The 
 Locust's radiator. Here we were interested to 
 see the bees clustering round the tank tap for the 
 drips. I am very fond of bees, but being afraid 
 that they might sting Enid, getting tangled in 
 her hair, I asked her to stand a little away, while 
 I filled my scooped-up hands, and let the grate- 
 ful bees drink from them. Boppo got one on his 
 nose as he lapped from the little pool among the 
 stones, and retired to the shelter of Enid's skirt, 
 howling. Provision had been made for the bees' 
 thirst in the shape of an empty tea-tin placed 
 under the tap. But the man who had put it there, 
 (Enid assures me that it could not have been a 
 woman) had not noticed that when the water 
 reached the level of the holes pierced in the tin's 
 side to hold the wire handle, it got no further, 
 but trickled out at these points, so that the sur- 
 face of the water in the tin was too far down 
 for the bees to drink from safely. I should have 
 liked to tell him, but he was not at home. . . . 
 
 It was hot ! a scorching wind blew in our faces, 
 parching us. We passed two exhausted dogs, 
 overcome by the heat, lying with lolling tongues
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 201 
 
 and heaving bodies under the sparse shelter of a 
 small gum-tree, waiting for the rain and their 
 master's return. . . but it got hotter and hotter, 
 while on the horizon huge black masses of 
 thunder-storm cloud gathered angrily, and we 
 prophesied hail. Presently there came a faint 
 suggestion of coolness in the wind, and we could 
 see that far away, over Sydney, perhaps, it was 
 raining. Then, as we reached Windsor, and 
 drank refreshing tea in a cool, but close-smelling, 
 little inn, the rain began, slowly, but in great 
 heavy drops ; and thinking that we might be in 
 for a drenching, we asked and obtained, a few 
 miles further on, shelter at a roadside cottage, 
 where a little Australian terrier lady flirted vio- 
 lently with Boppo. But as the rain did not increase 
 we boarded The Locust again, and with The 
 Ladybird in close attendance, hurried on. 
 Passing through Paramatta we saw evidences 
 of a great rain-storm in the deep pools of water 
 in the main street. . . . And we saw good old- 
 fashioned milestones, indicating the nearness of 
 old Sydney ! (They had been mile-posts hitherto) 
 So, on, through Petersham and Leichhardt 
 where our first real car-accident occurred. A
 
 202 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 horrible noise, as though the floor of the car were 
 being smashed in ! But it was only that the bolt 
 holding the driving shaft had dropped out ; and 
 this was soon put right by the willing mechanic 
 of a near-by garage, who lay on his back in the 
 mud and fixed a new bolt in. ... And at last, 
 at happy last, we drew up before the hospitable 
 door of Orielton. . . . 648 miles from Tweed 
 Heads. . . . Everyone has gone to bed, all but 
 your happy brother . . . it is early yet, for me, 
 and I may as well tell you now the story of Mor- 
 land's hold over Enid if it can be called that 
 . . . such a Beast! I need hardly say that it 
 brings no discredit to Enid, unless the inexperi- 
 ence and credulity of an innocent young girl be 
 accounted a sin. ... I will tell her story as con- 
 cisely as I can. 
 
 Mr Durston, Enid's father, was one of the old- 
 time squatters, but differed from many of them 
 in that he had not lost the fortune which his sheep 
 had brought him, when in the usual course of 
 events, his run was cut up into smaller selections, 
 he retained the homestead with about five 
 thousand acres, which he used as part sheep-run, 
 part farm, employing only a few hands ; and his
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 203 
 
 fortune grew. He had married rather late in 
 life, and Enid was the only child, her mother 
 dying when she was two years old; and until 
 within three months of her father's death she had 
 lived with him on Gala-galah paying short flying 
 visits to Sydney at long intervals. The old 
 gentleman appears to have awoken rather 
 suddenly to the disadvantages under which his 
 daughter was living, and to have decided to sell 
 out and move to Sydney. Once having made up 
 his mind, he acted promptly, and took a house at 
 Manly for the summer last summer. But the 
 two were scarcely settled in their new home when 
 Mr Durston had a cerebral haemorrhage, and 
 died without regaining consciousness. Enid 
 seems to have been very fond of him, though he 
 was a very silent and unapproachable man. She 
 was now left practically alone in the world, for 
 her mother had been an only child, and she knew 
 nothing of her father's relatives except that he 
 had an unmarried sister living in Sydney, of 
 whom he had seldom spoken, and had never 
 taken Enid to see ; but for whom he provided 
 generously in his will. Mr Durston's solicitor, 
 Mr Sutton, the father of Miss Muffet, invited
 
 204 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Enid to stay with them until she had time to 
 form other plans. In Mrs Button she found a 
 second mother, and under the cheerful influence 
 of Miss Muffet and a houseful of lively boys and 
 girls, (imagine a family of Miss Muffet's!) she 
 quickly lost much of that bush shyness which 
 characterises many of the finest of our Australian 
 daughters. Enid had been settled in her new 
 home for six weeks, growing happier with the 
 passage of each day, when her aunt, Miss Dur- 
 ston, called to see and claim her. This lady ex- 
 plained that she had been away from Sydney at 
 the time of her brother's death, and had been 
 unable to get home sooner. Under the golden 
 influence of her greater prosperity she was very 
 genial, and invited Enid very cordially to make 
 her house her home. Though Enid says little of 
 her aunt, I have judged that she is a silly senti- 
 mental spinster with a mania for match-making, 
 for in giving her invitation she had added with a 
 giggle and simper, " until we get you married, 
 my dear! " She seems to have regarded Enid 
 as her great opportunity, and with foolish eager- 
 ness introduced her " heiress-niece " (" She 
 always called me that when she introduced me
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 205 
 
 to new people," Id had said, " and I did hate it 
 so ! ") to all and sundry of her bachelor acquaint- 
 ance, who were a queer assortment, and whose 
 numbers grew greater with the news of the in- 
 crease in her income. Among these was a good- 
 looking, and plausible scoundrel, a recent arrival 
 from England. He was apparently of good 
 family, and certainly of good address. Miss 
 Durston, who " adored Englishmen," had seized 
 upon this man Thorner as the means of effecting 
 a match for her " heiress-niece," and had used 
 every opportunity to bring the two together. It 
 is difficult to tell this part of the sordid story. . . . 
 It was punctuated with sobs when the dear girl 
 told it to me on the bank of the river at St Albans ; 
 was it yesterday? ... It comes to this, that 
 Enid, driven into the mistake by her aunt's silly 
 notions of romance, and urged by the incessant 
 importunity of the honey-tongued Thorner, had 
 after much persuasion, consented, not only to 
 marry him, but to do so privately. ... I know 
 this must read to you as though she were a foolish, 
 sentimental girl you shall see her for yourself 
 soon, and judge if she be so. Enid's great mis- 
 take, of course, was in not seeking the advice of
 
 206 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Mrs Sutton, but she was deterred from doing so, 
 partly by the protestations of her aunt, one of 
 whose favourite expressions at the time was that 
 " blood was thicker than water, my dear ! " and 
 partly by her shy fear of bothering her newly- 
 made friends. And Thorner appears to have 
 been a well-educated and consummate actor and 
 villain. . . . They were married, then, one morn- 
 ing, at the office of a Registrar, a matter of great 
 simplicity in Australia, where notice or special 
 licences are not required. Moreover Enid was 
 of age. After the ceremony Enid had returned, 
 alone, to her aunt's house, this lady receiving her 
 with a great show of cordiality and speaking in 
 whispers, as though marriage were something 
 unannouncable. . . . Enid glossed this over, but 
 I imagine that her aunt's whispered hints were 
 not in the best of taste. . . . " It was her whisper- 
 ings, continued through the day, that first made 
 me feel shame for what I had done," Id had said ; 
 though she had had a shock of distrust when, after 
 the wedding, Thorner had asked her to sign a 
 cheque, which he had made out, for a thousand 
 pounds, explaining that there had been an un- 
 expected delay in the arrival of his rent-money,
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 207 
 
 and pointing out that the tradesmen would treat 
 them more liberally if they paid cash for their 
 furniture, etc. She had done this, signing in- 
 advertently with her maiden name, and when she 
 laughingly pointed out her mistake, Thorner had 
 said that the Bank would not recognise her yet 
 under her new name. With many expressions of 
 devotion, he had bidden her Au revoir! and 
 directed the driver of her taxi to take her to her 
 aunt's house. He, no doubt, hurried off, to 
 place the cheque to the credit of his own 
 account. ... I expect that you will think that I 
 am going to say now that this was the last that 
 Enid saw of Thorner? I thought this, though I 
 had not grasped how she could still be calling 
 herself Miss Durston, and in my interest in her 
 sad story, I had forgotten the Beast. . . . 
 Thorner turned up in the early afternoon and 
 found Enid alone. Miss Durston with her ever 
 ready simper had said that she was going to spend 
 an hour or two at a friend's house, (whispering ?) 
 but that she would be back in time " to bid them 
 Good-bye." Very soon after Thorner's arrival, 
 Morland was shown into the room. Of course 
 the servants knew nothing. Enid had often
 
 208 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 seen Morland at the houses where she had met 
 Thorner, and had always disliked and feared 
 him, for some reason which she could not define. 
 (" I do not like you, Dr Fell ") but when he came 
 into the room now she felt almost grateful to him, 
 for Thorner's manner had changed since the 
 morning. He was not drunk, but he had been 
 drinking. He greeted Morland heartily, effus- 
 ively even, and behaved towards Enid, though 
 she would not let him touch her, in such a 
 proprietary sort of way that Morland seems to 
 have drawn his conclusions " he looked at me 
 so queerly, with a kind of contemptuous pity, 
 that I began to get afraid, I hardly know of 
 what," Enid said; and while she was at the 
 further end of the room she heard Morland say. 
 " Send the little fool out of the room for a 
 minute ! " and Thorner, speaking less guardedly, 
 but in a loud whisper, replied, " Send five thou' 
 a year out of the room ? not me, my boy ! " and 
 Enid, quite frightened now, slipped away. Her 
 first impulse was to leave the house at once, for 
 she was filled with a kind of instinctive dread that 
 there was something wrong, which her aunt's 
 continued absence did not help to dispel. Then
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 209 
 
 she suddenly resolved upon a brave and wise 
 plan. . . . The drawing-room, in which she had 
 left the two men, was separated from the dining- 
 room by folding doors, which, meeting unevenly 
 in the middle, allowed light and sound to pass. 
 She entered the dining-room, and with quickened 
 pulse approached the folding doors. It was not 
 late enough for the gas to have been lighted, but 
 the drawing-room, being better provided with 
 windows than the dining-room, was lighter, so 
 that she could see plainly without much chance 
 of being seen. She could just discern the two 
 men, and could hear every word they said, for 
 neither, now, made any attempt to lower his 
 voice. The servant had taken in the decanter 
 and glasses when Morland arrived, and both men 
 were drinking. And a horrible tale it was that 
 was revealed to her. Some of this she learned 
 afterwards. Thorner and Morland had travelled 
 from England together, and, birds of a feather, 
 they had foregathered early in the voyage, and 
 had formed some kind of infernal partnership. 
 But Thorner, apparently from selfish motives, 
 had not told Morland of his intention to marry 
 Enid ; but the whole thing came out now under
 
 210 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 the artful questioning of Morland, aided by the 
 drink which the latter was pressing upon the 
 other. Thorner, getting boastful in his cups, 
 chuckled with fiendish delight at having secured 
 " a thousand pounds already," and Morland 
 asked where he came in, demanding a half share. 
 " I don't want any of the girl," he said, (and I 
 wished that I had hit him harder) " but I want my 
 share of the oof." Thorner refused to part with 
 more than a hundred pounds, and Morland said. 
 " All right, how about Alice, then ? I know too 
 much, my son ! " and Thorner swore. Then they 
 began to quarrel more unreservedly, till Morland 
 finally threatened to " blow the whole gaff," and 
 tell Enid that Thorner was already married, if the 
 latter did not shell out. Enid did not wait to hear 
 more, but putting on a hat and cloak, fled from 
 the house, tearing off her ring and flinging it in 
 the gutter, and crossing the city, boiight a 
 revolver, the revolver, caught a Manly boat, and 
 hastening to Mrs Button's house poured out her 
 story of ignorant impetuosity, and its fatal results. 
 " But, Aston, I am so glad, so glad to think that 
 I never let him kiss me, not even when we were 
 married ; I don't know why, but I was half afraid
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 211 
 
 of him all the time, and very shy. . . . I am so 
 glad now, dear." And I tried, with my lips, to 
 help her to forget. . . . Enid stayed at the 
 Button's house that night, but on the following 
 day, acting on the advice of Mr Sutton, she went 
 to the Blue Mountains, taking Miss Muffet, who 
 was not told anything, with her ; the lawyer tell- 
 ing her that it might be better for him not to 
 know her address for the present. It was while 
 they were at Katoomba that Id became the 
 possessor of Boppo, whom she bought at an 
 auction sale of household effects ! As Mr Sutton 
 had expected, Miss Durston went to his office on 
 the day after Enid's flight, to ask if he knew 
 where she was, and he was able to say with legal 
 truth that he did not. Of course, Miss Durston 
 had no sort of guardianship claim over Enid, but 
 Enid naturally wished to have as little as possible 
 to do with her silly aunt in the future. After 
 " hiding " for some months in that very beautiful 
 part of N. S. Wales, the two girls had returned 
 to Sydney, and almost immediately afterwards, 
 started in The Ladybird for Brisbane, under the 
 chaurTeurship of John, and with Boppo and the 
 revolver as protectors. They had gone by way
 
 212 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 of New England and the Darling Downs, and 
 were on their way back by the Northern Rivers 
 when our story began! . . . Meanwhile Mr 
 Sutton had been busy in her interests, and had 
 ascertained that Thorner was indeed married, 
 and that his wife " Alice " was still living in 
 England with Thorner's people. Acting upon 
 Mr Button's advice Enid did nothing, being very 
 contenf to avoid any revival of her unpleasant 
 memories. Thorner, it was learnt, was in Mel- 
 bourne, spending his stolen money freely, but 
 Morland's whereabouts Mr Sutton had not 
 troubled to discover. Morland, thinking that 
 Enid would be glad to keep the knowledge of 
 that evil day hidden, had kept his eyes open, and 
 seeing in a newspaper that she was motoring, kept 
 watch on her movements a matter sufficiently 
 easy in Australia where the " social column " of 
 the newspaper chronicles the domestic affairs of 
 anyone and almost of everyone ! He had gone 
 to Port Macquarie to await her arrival there, 
 with the express purpose of levying blackmail ; 
 and to some extent he had succeeded, for Enid 
 had " lent " him ten pounds, and in the hope of 
 obtaining more, he had determined to accompany
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 213 
 
 her to Sydney. The presence of George and 
 myself in Enid's party had annoyed him, and his 
 attempt to corrupt William was evidently made in 
 the hope that, The Locust being incapacitated 
 for the road, Enid and Miss Muffet and he would 
 go on in The Ladybird, leaving George and me 
 behind. Good old William ! 
 
 " But why did you ask me to let the Beast come 
 with us ? " I asked, when her sad story was at last 
 told. 
 
 " He threatened me that he would tell you ; 
 and Oh, Aston, dear, I was getting so happy, I 
 was I was beginning to love you : and I did so 
 want to go on in the dear Locust, so I promised 
 him that he should come with us." 
 
 "Youdear!"Isaid. 
 
 " And Aston, I did cry that night, so ! " 
 
 ' You shall never cry again, my darling, if I 
 can help it ! Why, you're crying now ! " 
 
 " But this is with with joy," she said. . . . 
 And so her story ended . . . but ours can never 
 end. . . it is just beginning. To-morrow, no! 
 to-day, she will become Enid Perry, and I shall 
 have for wife the dearest, most beautiful little, 
 little girl in all the glad world. . . .
 
 214 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Good night Amy, my dear sister what long 
 letters ! what an unexpected account of my motor- 
 trip! . . . Good night. 
 
 Your loving brother, 
 
 Aston.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 S.S. Wyandra, Dec. tfk, 1909 
 
 My dear Amy, 
 
 Id and I were married quietly yesterday 
 morning, George acting as " best man " to me, 
 and Miss Muffet as sole bridesmaid to Id. Mr 
 Sutton gave her away, and Mrs Button and old 
 Miss Durston, (who simpered and smirked as 
 though she were being married herself and were 
 very shy about it, and to whom I have not taken a 
 very violent liking) were the only persons present 
 in the church, persons who count, that is, except 
 William and John, and, don't tell anyone, Boppo 
 on the chain! William drove Id and me (and 
 Boppo) in the worn-looking Locust, (I wore my 
 button !) and the rest of the party John drove in 
 The Ladybird. We drove back to Orielton and 
 had a jolly meal together, after which they left us, 
 and we took the train to Coogee. Miss Durston 
 
 215
 
 216 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 was the only one of the ladies who shed tears, 
 and hers were of the crocodile order. William 
 took The Locust to the wharf she is in the hold 
 below and John drove the others home. 
 Boppo, of course, came with us ! George is go- 
 ing to stay with the Button's that they may make 
 his acquaintance, Mr Button having already 
 made that of " G. L.". . . Yesterday evening Id 
 and I went to see Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton 
 in their great performance of Othello, and Miss 
 Muffet and George were sitting alongside of us ! 
 George and I had promised ourselves this treat 
 at the end of The Locust's cruise, and Id insisted 
 that the mere incident of a marriage with her 
 should not cause us to be disappointed! To- 
 day at 6.30. p.m. we came on board the comfort- 
 able Wyandra; of course George and Miss 
 Muffet, looking supremely happy, came to see us 
 off. William is on board somewhere, probably 
 in the engine-room if he isn't guarding The 
 Locust from rats. John has been paid off. 
 Boppo is whimpering in his kennel, aft. 
 
 Brisbane, Dec. 6th 
 Back home after a very calm and delightful
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 217 
 
 passage and no meals missed. Very busy. We 
 have decided that I shall take a year's holiday, 
 honeymoon! English and Continental hospitals, 
 and ENGLAND. We shall get to Sydney in 
 time for Miss Muffet's wedding on New Year's 
 Day, and then heigh for the open sea and con- 
 tinued happiness ! We shall take William with 
 us, and, of course, Boppo. . . . Before I forget 
 it, I want to call your especial attention to the 
 fact that during the whole journeying of The 
 Locust we saw only six Australian aborigines 
 (did I mention them at the time ?) five young men 
 together near Grafton, and one old jinn at Kemp- 
 sey. ... I shall write to you again before we 
 leave, but I think that you have done fairly well 
 by me during the last few days ? don't you ? 
 
 Good-bye, Amy, dear ; Enid joins me in love 
 to you. Prepare James and the youngsters for 
 our coming ! Aston. 
 
 P.S. I enclose " for your interested perusal " 
 a cutting from a Sydney paper. A. P.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 CUTTING from the Sydney Morning Courier of 
 Dec. 3rd, 1909, referred to in chapter xiv : 
 
 THE STROUD BURGLARY 
 
 A GALLANT DEED 
 THE MYSTERY EXPLAINED 
 
 WHAT appears to be the explanation of the 
 mystery of the Stroud Burglary has been learned 
 by one of our reporters. It will be remembered 
 that the local Stroud constable, in response to an 
 anonymous letter which he found thrust under 
 his door on the morning of Wednesday last, 
 visited a house in the town, and found lying 
 securely bound upon the floor of one of the 
 rooms the notorious house-breaker Brown alias 
 Frederick, etc., who has already served two if 
 not three sentences for burglary; and by 
 the man's side a sack containing the contents of 
 
 218
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 219 
 
 the safe and a quantity of valuable plate the pro- 
 perty of Mr Ferguson, C.P.S. Mr Morland, an 
 English gentleman who is paying a visit to Aust- 
 ralia, called at our office late last night and told 
 his very interesting story. He states that on 
 Tuesday evening he arrived at Stroud in his 
 motor-car en route from Tweed Heads to 
 Sydney, that making early on Wednesday morn- 
 ing, and going to the verandah of the hotel for a 
 breath of fresh air, his attention was attracted by 
 a man carrying a sack who appeared to be in a 
 hurry to leave the neighbourhood, and thinking 
 that there was something suspicious about the 
 man's movements, he followed and questioned 
 him. The man's answer was to throw down his 
 sack and to furiously attack Mr Morland. After 
 a severe and prolonged struggle the man was 
 overpowered, and actually bound with cord ob- 
 tained from the sack. Mr Morland bears the 
 evidence of the vicious nature of the encounter, 
 in two badly blackened eyes, a broken nose, for 
 which he has received attention from one of our 
 leading surgeons, and other less serious injuries, 
 of a contusion the size of an emu's egg at the 
 back of his head may be thus described. Mr
 
 220 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Morland explains that his reason for concealing 
 at the time his part in the capture of the ruffian 
 was that he had very important business in 
 Sydney, and did not wish to be detained in 
 Stroud. For this reason he wrote the letter 
 anonymously which led to the visit of the con- 
 stable to Mr Ferguson's house. He himself 
 left Stroud quietly, and reached St Albans that 
 same evening. Here an accident occurring to 
 his car, the result of the chauffeur's reckless 
 driving down Mount Manning, he took boat from 
 Wiseman's ferry, and reached Sydney yesterday. 
 Having no further object in concealing his 
 identity he called upon us to tell his story of 
 heroism, which he did with becoming modesty. 
 Being confronted with Mr Morland, the prisoner, 
 whom Mr Morland picked out from among a 
 dozen other malefactors, volubly denied that Mr 
 Morland had had anything to do with his capture. 
 ;( There was two blokes," he said, " a big bloke 
 as talked a lot, and a little bloke as druv the car. 
 It was the big bloke as copped me, 'e 'ad a gun." 
 But this manifest attempt to hide the truth will 
 not weigh with the thinking public, or, we should 
 think, with an intelligent jury. There can be no
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 221 
 
 doubt that Mr Morland deserves more than a 
 small compensation for his serious injuries, and 
 it is to be hoped that the Government will 
 suitably reward him for his gallant capture of a 
 dangerous enemy to the safety of the house- 
 holder.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 From Mrs Aston Perry to Miss Sutton 
 Brisbane,/}^, nth, 1909 
 
 My dear old Muffie, 
 
 I have been so happy that I haven't had a 
 moment for you except the postcard which I sent 
 you when we reached Brisbane, and the telegram. 
 I am being made so much of that I am getting 
 vain vain of my husband. We dined at 
 Government house on Tuesday and you should 
 see the presents! including one from his Excel- 
 lency ! do you wonder that I am becoming vain ? 
 Aston is thought so much of! Isn't he a dear 
 humble man ? but I know you love him, too. I 
 used to be a little jealous of you sometimes, at 
 first do you believe that? We shall be quite 
 sorry to go away from so many friends, but why 
 do you think? Because! Brisbane is such a 
 much prettier place than I thought when you and 
 
 222
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 223 
 
 I were here together! I go with Aston on his 
 rounds every morning, (he has a most efficient 
 and devoted housekeeper, so I have nothing to 
 do) we use The Locust, what matter if it is travel- 
 stained and old-fashioned? and William seems 
 very proud to drive us. ... I try to make the 
 stops seem short by reading a book when Aston 
 
 is with a patient, but ! 
 
 The news of Aston's bravery at Port Mac- 
 quarie has just reached Brisbane, and of course, 
 the newspapers are making much of it, and of 
 him. He says that he supposes the Ceylon 
 papers will have got it by the time we reach 
 Colombo, and then the English papers and so 
 on. I am never tired of reading about it! I 
 have ordered a most lovely frock for your wed- 
 ding, so take care that you look nice, you dear 
 little Muffie. Aston had a wire from George to- 
 day saying that he had secured good berths for 
 us and for you two children, and for William and 
 Boppo. Did he tell you? Don't you think it 
 a pity we can't take The Locust? But Aston 
 says he must get something more up-to-date for 
 England; but we are going to take The Lady- 
 bird, and if we get out at Naples, you may come
 
 224 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 with us across Europe if you are good, and we 
 haven't quarrelled. Do you think we shall? 
 The Locust is going to be thoroughly done up, 
 and will be waiting for us here when we come 
 back. I am not going to let Aston part with the 
 dear old Locust, ever. I hope you will like our 
 present. Shall I tell you what it is? No, I 
 won't, so there! Good-bye, you dear thing. 
 Give my love to George, and with Aston's love 
 and mine, 
 
 I am your loving 
 
 Id Perry (doesn't it look nice ?).
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 From Mr George Lidney to Dr Aston Perry 
 Manley, Sydney, Dec. nth, 1909 
 
 Dear Aston, 
 
 I know that you will be interested to learn 
 how we are getting on, Miss Muffet and I. We 
 are in excellent health, and she, at least, is very 
 busy. I wonder how much you remember of the 
 Sutton family? It would be difficult to forget 
 them! My reception has been most kind and 
 cordial. At first Mrs Sutton seemed to regard 
 me as an enemy, and really, I don't know how 
 a mother can bring herself to let her children 
 go ; it is no wonder that at weddings tears are 
 mingled with smiles. Mrs Sutton has cried a 
 good deal, but is more reconciled now. She 
 knew, she says, that she would have to part with 
 Elsie some day, but she did not think that it 
 would have been so soon. Poor mother! Mr 
 
 225 p
 
 226 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 Sutton and I hit it off very well. I had rather 
 a terrible interview with him in his office on the 
 morning after your wedding all about settle- 
 ments and that sort of worldly thing ; of course 
 I was able to give him satisfactory references 
 and so on, but he seems to be peculiarly sus- 
 picious of travelling Englishmen. When I had 
 satisfied him he shook hands with me, and his 
 manner changed abruptly from that of the 
 lawyer to that of the father of Miss Muffet ; and 
 he is wonderfully like her! his fun is as spon- 
 taneous as hers, nearly, and his laugh reminds 
 one pleasantly of Elsie. Do you remember 
 Olive? the Baby aged four? She has the 
 largest, most serious eyes I ever saw. She stares 
 at me with them until I blush and fidget. You 
 may have noticed Miss Muffet's laugh, how she 
 draws her shoulders together and gives her head 
 a little screw-turn before the sound comes. 
 Olive appears to enjoy seeing this as much as 
 some older people. For she will make Miss 
 Muffet sit on the floor in front of her, and she 
 will suddenly say, " Laugh ! " and Miss Muffet 
 has to obey, and then the youngster with preter- 
 natural gravity says " Again ! " and the per-
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 227 
 
 formance must be repeated. Olive tried this on 
 me, once, but only once, my laughter not prov- 
 ing sufficiently entertaining to merit an encore. 
 This morning Elsie came to me and said that 
 she had something she wished to show me up- 
 stairs, and I went with her to the nursery. She 
 opened the door very quietly and revealed little 
 Olive sitting on a hassock (the same tuffet that 
 gave Miss Muffet her name when she was a 
 baby), nursing a boy-doll, and singing in an 
 entrancing lisp my lullaby, which Elsie had 
 taught her ! I couldn't see the child for a while, 
 for mist. But the twins, Randolph and Edward ! 
 you cannot possibly have forgotten them ! They 
 are 10, and Heaven preserve me from what they 
 will be at 14. The first day that I was here they 
 were satisfied to look at me which in itself is 
 disconcerting to a shy man when continued 
 throughout a long meal and when I spoke, 
 they nudged each other, and looked harder. 
 Mrs Sutton, in the wild hope of inspiring respect 
 for me, had told them that I wrote books and 
 poetry, and they expected, apparently, that I 
 would always speak in rhyme. Randolph, in- 
 deed, rose to a flight of inspiration. " I should
 
 228 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 have thought that your Christian name would be 
 Sidney," he said. " Why? " I asked, and Miss 
 Muffet pinched me. " 'Cause it would rhyme 
 with Lidney ! " and the twins had a convulsion 
 of giggling. But their attitude towards me has 
 changed, completely changed. They have no 
 respect for me at all. They regard me as a 
 fraud, and in their hearts suspect me of having 
 palmed off someone else's " stuff " as my own. 
 It began after the first surf-bathe, at which I 
 doffed my years and romped. On the way 
 home, in a weak moment, I told our story of the 
 Stroud burglar; this led to another story, and 
 another still, and more after that. Now the 
 chief desire of the twins' lives is to get back from 
 school in order to ask, " Tell us about the 
 doctor's fight ! " (that is the favourite at a 
 modest computation I have told it fifteen times), 
 or " Tell us about the burglar ! " or, when they 
 are particularly anxious to propitiate me, " Tell 
 us about your own fight ! " (this last was origin- 
 ally Miss Muffet's suggestion, of course). And 
 so on. But I must get to the real object of my 
 letter. The English mail came in yesterday 
 morning, and among my letters (Mr Sutton had
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 229 
 
 obtained them for me at the G.P.O. and sent 
 one of his clerks over with them) was one from 
 Peabody of John's, now a barrister with a big 
 practice you will remember that he was No. 2 
 in our boat he asked me to call upon Ransome, 
 who I had forgotten had come to Sydney. As 
 Elsie was going across to see her dressmaker 
 and said that she could spare me for an hour (but 
 I kept her waiting after all, as you shall learn), 
 I left her at the " establishment " of her " cos- 
 tumiere," and went to look for my man. A 
 notice on his door informed me that he was in 
 the Criminal Court ; so thither I went, and was 
 directed by a whispering official to the barristers' 
 table. There I found Ransome, and was sur- 
 reptitiously shaking hands with him when the 
 discreet dignity of the Court was disturbed by 
 a loud shout of " That's 'im that's the little 
 bloke as the other bloke called ' George ' ! 
 (Order, order ! silence !) " that's the little bloke 
 as druv the other car and fetched me a drink ! " 
 And I saw gesticulating in the prisoners' dock 
 our cheerful friend of Stroud, and in the wit- 
 nesses' box, Morland! Morland with healing 
 black eyes. Perhaps you have seen in the press
 
 230 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 an account of Morland's attempt to secure for 
 himself the kudos of the capture? I had not 
 seen it, for I have not yet found my way further 
 than the London cables about the Sydney news- 
 papers ; so the whole thing was a surprise to me, 
 and it took me some time to get my bearings. 
 To make a long story short, Morland, at sight of 
 me, and as a result of my promptings to 
 Ransome, who was defending our burglar, con- 
 tradicted himself and finally collapsed he looks 
 beastly ill and he has been indicted for perjury. 
 I was asked to give my evidence, in which I 
 could not help implicating you, and it created a 
 great sensation. (By the way, the Judge seemed 
 to know of you quite well, he spoke of you as 
 The Dr Aston Perry!). Old " Stroud," through 
 Ransome, then asked to be allowed to change 
 his plea to " guilty," but it didn't help the poor 
 fellow any, for he got penal servitude for life. 
 He was quite cheerful to the end. The trouble 
 now is that we may be needed to appear as wit- 
 nesses against the Beast, and if so, our plans will 
 be upset very considerably. I have asked 
 Ransome to act with Mr Sutton in the matter, 
 and to do what he can for us, and he says that it
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 231 
 
 may be arranged that we do not appear if 
 Morland pleads " Guilty." He has done so, 
 practically already, but he is such a Beast that 
 he may change his plea when the time conies, if 
 only to spite you. I hope not. Mr Sutton and 
 Ransome will do all they can, and I have under- 
 taken, sub rosd, to sign a cheque! Elsie was 
 waiting for me and was quite nice about it! but 
 of course she had to know " why " ! She is read- 
 ing over my shoulder, and every now and then 
 she strokes my shaven cheeks with her soft hand 
 and how can a man write letters, so? Elsie 
 is writing to Enid, but give her my love, in case 
 Miss Muffet forgets to do so. 
 
 I am, yours very sincerely, 
 
 George Lidney. 
 
 P.S. I shan't forget. Enid can have all the 
 love she likes from George or me or you. She 
 deserves it. Do you think you could give her a 
 kiss for me ? Try. 
 
 Your loving Miss Muffet. 
 
 P. P.S. Dear Aston, Elsie does not know 
 that I am adding this, for I do not wish her to 
 know lest it do not come off and she be dis-
 
 232 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 
 
 appointed. I purpose returning to Australia, 
 with you and Enid after I have seen my old 
 Governor. You know that I came away in order 
 that Tom should have a chance to get into the 
 Governor's ways. This plan has succeeded 
 beyond expectation, for Tom has settled down 
 completely, and has become Father's right-hand 
 man. He had been a bit intractable, you under- 
 stand. If this improvement proves permanent, 
 I shall come back here, at least for a few years. 
 The place suits me well, and I have begun to 
 write again. It seems a pity to deprive Miss 
 Muffet's family of her altogether. I shall send 
 you a telegram concerning the Morland matter, 
 as soon as there is anything definite to tell. 
 
 G. L. 
 ii 
 
 Telegram 
 
 Sidney, Dec. i3th. Satisfactory trial; trial 
 to-day week; you may get subpoena; prisoner 
 undertakes plead guilty ; writing. Lidney. 
 
 HI 
 
 Sydney, Dec. i$th, 1909 
 Dear Aston, 
 
 In confirmation of my telegram sent to you
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 233 
 
 to-day, Morland's trial is to be hurried on and 
 will take place to-day week. You may be called 
 to give evidence, but Mr Sutton thinks that this 
 may be avoided. At any rate you will not have 
 to appear next Monday. Morland, for a con- 
 siderable consideration (fortunately I am not a 
 J.P.) has undertaken to plead " Guilty." I 
 sincerely hope that he will not go back on his 
 word. His word ! Elsie sends love to you both. 
 In great haste to catch train post. 
 
 Yours, G. L. 
 
 IV 
 
 Sydney, Dec. 2Otk, 1909 
 Dear Aston, 
 
 It is all right. He pleaded guilty, and the 
 whole affair lasted only a few minutes. I don't 
 quite know what it means, but he has been let 
 off under the First Offenders' Probationary Act 
 or something of the sort. I wonder how he will 
 spend the cheque? Love from Elsie. 
 
 Yours, G. L.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 From Mrs Aston Perry to Miss Muffet 
 
 'Xmas Day, 1909 
 My dear old Muffie, 
 
 You will have received our Christmas greet- 
 ings, but I am writing again to-day to say that 
 we shall not be able to come down by boat after 
 all. Aston has a case which he does not wish to 
 leave until the last possible moment, so we shall 
 come by train, leaving here on Thursday next, 
 and shall hope to reach Sydney on Friday morn- 
 ing. Aston has engaged one of the new private 
 carriages at e-nor-mous expense! he spoils me 
 dreadfully ; and we are going to be allowed to 
 have Boppo with us. 
 
 I am not going to write to you again, for I am 
 sure that you have no time to waste on letter- 
 reading? So good-bye, Miss Sutton, but not 
 Miss Muffet, you will never be anything else 
 but that to us. 
 
 234
 
 THE LOCUST AND THE LADYBIRD 235 
 
 Aston sends love and so does 
 
 Your loving Id Perry. 
 
 P.S. We think your plan of going to Mel- 
 bourne by train and joining the boat there an 
 excellent one. I do hope that the sun will shine 
 on New Year's Day: it is raining hard here 
 to-day, and quite cold 
 
 Id.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 LIDNEY SUTTON. At St Mark's Church, 
 Manly, on New Year's Day, by the Rev. Arnold 
 Smith, M.A., George, eldest son of George 
 Lidney, Esq., of Haslemere, Surrey, England, 
 to Elsie (Miss Muffet), eldest daughter of Her- 
 bert Sutton, Esq., of Manly, N.S. Wales. 
 
 THE END 
 
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 NO LONGER A CHILD. 
 
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 VERMONT VALE. 
 
 GOLDEN GIFTS. 
 
 TWO SIDES TO EVERY QUESTION. 
 
 MARIAN; OR THE LIGHT OF SOME- 
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 INTO THE LIGHT. 
 
 THE MASTER OF RALSTON. 
 
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