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Kilgour's Mare
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Dieser Artikel gilt, aufgrund seiner Grösse, beim Versand als 2 Artikel!
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t by Henry G. Lamona KILGOURS I MARE ILLUSTRATIONS by Lajos Segner WILLIAM MORROW AND COMPANY NEW YORK 1943 Acknowledgments This story first appeared in the Bulletin Sydney in serial form. My thanks are due to the proprietors of the Bulletin for their courtesy in granting me the right to republish the story. My grateful thanks are also due to Mr. E. G. Barry more Cestus of the North Queensland Register who took a delight in drawing up pedigrees for me, and in discussing horses endlessly 5 in fact so great were his enthusiasm and help 3 that I dedicate this work to him. M. G. L. COPYRIGHT - 1 943 BY HENRY G. LAMOND PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Chapter I AWAY IN THE EAST THE SKY WAS LIGHTENING. DOWN among the trees on the creek a magpie hailed the dawn. With a voice flutelike in its richness and purity the bird throbbed the air with great globules of music. A crow called harshly and oared his way heavily on sighing wings. Corellas lifted up their raucous voices, and sported in their morning exercises of aerial gym nastics. A windmill, half-seen on the creek, suddenly woke to life as a wandering puff caught it. Busily, almost as if it was guided by a thinking brain, it swung to face the wind, and its wheel spun with a purr as it set about its days work. A day had begun on Meetucka station, on the Kilgour y s Mare Georglna watershed, in the far west of Queensland. It began with the sound of galloping horses. Racing, playing, kicking and bucking as they galloped, the horses were driven to the yard. Cherry, a chestnut mare, reached the gate first. She propped and wheeled. She squealed for the mere joy of living, and she reared and struck blindly to oppose any horse who dared toenter the yard before her. But Cherrys petty resistance was swept aside. The others jostled past her, and in a living stream they poured through the gate. Little spurts of sweat were showing about their flanks and down their shoulders j their manes and tails were di shevelled j their eyes were just a little prominent with excitement, and the red flare of their nostrils showed plainly as they panted. But they were happy. They were in perfect condi tion. Their coats shone like burnished metal, and they were fit to face the day. The horses settled themselves in the yard to make the most of that half-hour spell before the arrival of the men from breakfast. There was an odd little squeal ing skirmish, a clash of teeth and a shuffling of feet as they paired off, mate with mate, and stood head to tail with one hind-leg resting. Gradually each lower lip hung pendulous, each eye half closed, each head drooped to an easy level, and, unconscious, yet rhyth mic, each tail swung to ward the flies from the others eyes. Cascade was a stranger A beautiful eight-year-old chestnut mare, she had not yet any social standing in the mob. She had not reached the position of possessing Kilgom j s Mare a mate of her own, of the right to claim one part of the yard as hers, on which she could stand and take her rest, and she was denied the privilege of demanding that another horse should stand head-and-tail with her and swish flies mutually. She moved tentatively towards Cherry. Cherry lopped her ears, bared her teeth and swung her head as If, like a snake, she was about to strike. Cascade moved away. In her heart she was not afraid of Cherry but there was an etiquette, and she knew It, about the pairing ofhorses in the yard. She had not found her footing. Until she was a recognized member she must hover on the outskirts. Over in one corner old Capsicum was standing alone. Cascade made friendly advances towards her. Capsicum made no response she did not even deign to open one eye or to lift her head to a higher level. Cascade ranged beside her confidently, and with the comforting feeling that any sort of a mate is better than no mate at all she stood head-and-tail with the old mare and swished flies contentedly... |
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