South of Capricorn Read Online Free PDF

spinster—for if she didn’t then some poor man’s life was going to be ruined. Gail turned, then stopped, amazed at what she saw. Leta was against the car window, her head resting on her hands ... and she seemed to be sobbing, for her shoulders heaved. Hesitating in indecision, Gail turned again and continued on her way, convinced that, should she turn back, Leta would subject her to a burst of vicious anger.
    But Gail was worried; she felt, for the first time, that the child’s trouble could be psychological. Was it the fact of having no proper home life, of having no father, that had caused the child to be what she was? Gail had always owned that Leta was a lonely child; she was bound to be lonely, when other children were forbidden by their parents to play with her. Highly intelligent as she was, Leta must have gradually become aware of being different from other children in that she had only one parent. This, plus the fact of her loneliness, could have affected the child in such a way as to have changed her character completely. Gail with a backswitch of memory recalled the time when Leta was as adorable a baby, and toddler, as any other child she had known. Something had gone wrong; Sandra might not have given her the attention she should and, as the child became more and more intractable, Sandra did, Gail knew, give up hope. She made no pretence about Leta, not to anyone, admitting that the child was not merely naughty but wicked. Musing in this way, Gail wished she could like the child just a little, but it was impossible; no one could like her, and had she been Gail’s own daughter she would undoubtedly have given up hope, just as Sandra did, of ever bringing about a change in the child’s character,

    After the meal was over Dave cleared away, helped by Gail who washed the dishes while he gathered gum leaves with which to line the hollows he had already dug out of the earth. Mats were brought to cover the gum leaves, and rugs for covering, for, said Dave, the night would be cold. All this could have been fun had she known Dave better, she thought, but he was after all still a stranger and she was still rather shy with him, being quieter than she normally would have been. She wanted to know a lot about Kane Farrell, but had not the courage to ask questions which might be resented by Dave whose loyalty was obvious. The Boss, as he had called Kane Farrell, was someone to be respected, and for that reason Dave might well tell Gail outright that he could not answer questions. Perhaps tomorrow they would have become more used to one another; he might himself vouchsafe information about his employer.
    She was right. He did offer information, as they raced along the Bitumen, having started out at first light after breaking camp. This was to Gail an interesting operation and she watched attentively as Dave stamped out the embers and then covered them with earth. He examined the kit to see that nothing had been left behind and then, having assured himself that nothing had been left undone, slid into the drive seat and turned the car towards the Bitumen.
    ‘A strange man at times, the Boss,’ mused Dave after the subject of the man had already been broached. ‘He lives for his work. Life for him is in the saddle. Of course, it’s not surprising that he keeps away from the homestead as much as is possible, what with his stepmother and her daughter. Mind you, the daughter’s a smasher if ever there was one! And she’d snare him if she could. Maybe she’ll succeed one day, and then Kane and his stepmother might get along a little better.’
    ‘Does his stepmother own part of the ranch—er—the station, I mean?’
    ‘Not an inch of land. But she can stay in the house for as long as she likes. That’s what the trouble is. She tries to run the place and Kane just won’t have it. She’s the mistress, she insists, and of course this is so—until Kane marries, which I’m afraid he never will do.’
    ‘He’s a