Jean, Our Little Australian CousinNixon-Roulet, Mary F.
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Jean, Our Little Australian Cousin
Nixon-Roulet, Mary F.
Children -- Australia -- Juvenile literature
She ate and found the meat very good. Some of it Kadok had rubbed with a
little salt which he took from his provision bag, and a few bits he held
over the smoke to dry. All this he wrapped in green leaves and put
carefully with his provisions, getting Jean water in a leaf cup and
making ready to start again.
"You good little _wirawi_,"[12] he said approvingly. "We soon bring to
Mother her good luck."
The afternoon's walk was not quite so bad as the morning's had been.
Kadok struck into a track which led through the Bush to the main road.
Walking here was not so troublesome and Jean managed fairly well, though
her feet hurt her cruelly and toward the last Kadok had to help her
along.
"Little more walk, Missa," he said encouragingly. "We find good camp for
night. To-morrow we get long way to home."
But Jean was almost past thinking of the morrow, almost past thinking of
home. Her poor little body ached in every muscle, her face and hands
were scratched and bleeding, and she was faint with hunger and fatigue.
She stumbled on, Kadok holding her arm, until at last she could go no
longer and would have fallen, had not the black boy picked her up and
carried her. Laden as he was with his heavy swag, it was no easy task to
carry a heavy child of eight, but he was a strong, muscular fellow, used
to Bush life, and not tired as was his white charge. He carried her
along the track some twenty rods, then paused and looked closely into
the forest. It seemed a great wall to shut them off, but the keen eye of
the Black caught an almost imperceptible opening amongst the leaves and
he left the path once more to tread the mazes of the wood. Only a
little distance and he came to a ruined hut overgrown with moss and
creeping plants. It had once been a shepherd's hut and was a poor place,
but at any rate it would serve as a shelter from the night and Kadok
carried Jean within and laid her down on the floor.
"Little Missa tired out," he said, pitying the child's white face, which
looked unearthly in the light of the sunset which streamed through the
open doorway. Jean was too tired to speak. She looked at him wearily for
a moment and then closed her eyes. "Missa must eat. Not good to sleep
too quick," he said.
He made a fire at the door of the hut, partly for warmth, for with the
sun's going down came the cool night dews, and partly to drive away
mosquitoes, as well as to cook their supper. He then brought water from
the trough, and made damper and forced bits of it between the child's
teeth and gave her a drink of water. Little pieces of roasted meat he
added to her meal, and at last she sat up and smiled her thanks at him.
"Good Kadok," she said, "eat some yourself. You are tired too."
"Not tired like little Missa," he said, showing his even white teeth in
a smile. "Now must rub feet with wet leaves so they not be sore
to-morrow."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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