The Roving Party
“A change of temper washed over them and talk rounded to rewards and their spending, rum and its swilling, women and their laying. They retraced the curve of the field long ago burned from the forest by the Plindermairhemener. They passed the sheep bones and skerricks of yellowed wool that littered the ground, evidence of the slaughter committed upon Batman’s flocks some years back by those same folk. They led the native girl along and her dull eyes saw but did not see. Her feet kicked over the ...bones that rattled like ruined pottery.
As they neared the farmhouse Batman’s three girls came bolting over the paddocks and topping fences to embrace their father. The eldest stood back when she caught smell of his clothes but the little ones seemed untroubled and latched on around his legs.
Is she sick, Father? said the eldest. She was pointing at the black girl who’d dropped to her knees.
She aint no concern ayours. He hauled the girls off his legs and steered them towards their sister. For a moment the three girls lingered, their dresses catching on the breeze.MoreLess
As they neared the farmhouse Batman’s three girls came bolting over the paddocks and topping fences to embrace their father. The eldest stood back when she caught smell of his clothes but the little ones seemed untroubled and latched on around his legs.
Is she sick, Father? said the eldest. She was pointing at the black girl who’d dropped to her knees.
She aint no concern ayours. He hauled the girls off his legs and steered them towards their sister. For a moment the three girls lingered, their dresses catching on the breeze.MoreLess
Read book The Roving Party for free
Write Review:
Guest
Read Also
8 / 10
9 / 10
7 / 10
7 / 10
User Reviews: