"well, there it is, darl." "Bulinga." "Just another town." "Can't tell it from 20 others we've passed through in six months." "Best part is when you come to them for the first time, like now." "They're all different somehow." "You mean like some have six pubs and others have a dozen?" "No, that ain't what I mean." "The trouble with you, lda, is you got no imagination." "I got an aching backside, that's my trouble." "I know all about that backside." "It only aches when you're losing an argument." "Let's go, Sam." " Good night, Mum." " Good night, dear." "is that all the money we got left?" "Yeah." "And keep your hands off it." "Got a hole in my sock." "All right." "Leave it out where l can find it." "Aren't you gonna wash tonight?" "I washed this morning." "Admiring yourself?" "Magnificent specimen, ain't I?" "Oh, I don't know." "Downright puny compared to some I've seen." "You know something, ide?" "You're built the way a woman ought to be built." " Just find it out?" " No, I noticed it a couple times before." "It just came home to me today, when we were passing through Cooma seeing all them sheilas." "Broomsticks, that's what they are." "Nothing to hang on to." "Did you try?" "Now, you know better than that." "I was just looking." " And comparing, eh?" " That's right." "Looking, comparing, thinking what a lucky bloke I am." "Oh, glad to know you appreciate me." "Come on over here, I'll appreciate you." "Want another cuppa?" "There's still some in the billy." "No." "Sean, get that saddle on Sam, will you?" "Well, come on, get a move on you." "Look at that farm, Dad." "Ain't it a beaut?" "It's nice." "Oh, it's all right." "Bit on the small side." "And how many acres do you own, Mr. Carmody?" "All of Australia, that's what I own." "The rivers, the plains, all of it." "Do you suppose the poor coot on that farm can just come and go like we do?" " Well, maybe he don't want to." " He can't." "He's stuck." "He don't sleep for fear his cows will run dry or else he don't sleep because he's up milking them." "Breaks his back painting the place and watches the sun peel it off." "Worries about droughts, and when the drought breaks he's got floods to worry about." " You do have troubles, don't you?" "Why, you've just gone through more in the last 10 seconds than most farmers go through in 10 years." "Do you think those cow cockles have an easy time of it?" "Nobody has an easy time of it." "How do you know that bloke don't lie awake worrying about the mortgage?" "Do I do that?" "Well, if you did, you'd be the first man ever mortgaged a tent." "Oh, you're a card, ide." "You're a real card." "I don't know why the pictures didn't take you instead of Buster Keaton." "Well, I'll be home for dinner." "Darl, if you get the job what you gonna do about an extra horse?" "Well, I thought about taking on another drover." "Be sure and get someone we can live with." "We're gonna be stuck with him for two or three months." "A clean-living teetotaler, that's what I'll hire." "Well, you can try a little teetotaling yourself, while you're at it." "It's all right, ain't it?" "It's what home looks like, when you have a home." "Reckon I'll go bag us a couple of rabbits." "Head towards town." "See if you can find your dad." "He ought to have been back long ago." "He's either celebrating getting the job or drowning his disappointment." "Come on, Ollie." "Get off me!" "Get lost!" "Ollie!" "Ollie, let go!" "Hey, mister, that's my dog." "Get off!" "Get this moronic whelp off me before I beat his brains out." "Don't hit him." "Hit him with that, and I'll shoot you." " Get off." " Ollie, let go." "All right, fearless, lower your blunderbuss." "Well, I don't know if you've got a father but you're obviously a piece of true-blue British stock." " My father's Irish." " Oh, is he?" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry about the dog." "He just don't seem to like people." "I am not people, boy." "You must teach him to be more discriminating." "This your place?" "Never mind that." "Where'd you spring from?" "My old man's a drover." "We're here after a job moving sheep." "I mean, my dad's after it." "But where he goes, we all go." "Mr. Venneker!" " Yes." " l want to talk to you, Mr. Venneker." "Indeed." "Yes." "The widow McDonald." " ls she your boss?" " My employer which is a vastly different thing." " Mr. Venneker?" " Yes." " You'll be back for dinner tonight won't you?" " Well, I'll try. I can't... I'm doing roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for you." "Are you, indeed?" "Oh, there you are, yes." "Many's the man who sunk to his doom in Yorkshire pudding." " Pardon?" " Pay a woman a compliment she tries to turn it into a contract." "Well, may I offer you a lift into town?" "Yes, please." "Well, I must say, I find you less repellant than most people your age." "Giddap, giddap." " Well, there we are." " He must've got the job." "Thank you, boy." "Thanks, Mr. Venneker." "Hey, Sean." "Hey, that's my boy." "Hi, boy." "Right-o, Dad." "How about you and me going home now?" "Don't wanna spoil the concert, do you?" "What's the rush, anyway?" "I got the job." "Good-o." "Did you hire a drover?" "You were gonna get a bloke with horses, remember?" "You worry too much, Sean." "It's a sad thing, kid like you worrying." "I'll tell you what." "You run along home and leave everything in your old man's hands, all right?" "How about more from Paddy?" "Now, look here. I simply cannot concentrate on any drinking with this intolerable noise going on." "Stop it!" "Hello, boy." "What's the matter?" "You lost your father?" "My old man's got the job, and he's feeling too good to quit." " That's him singing." " ls it?" "I'm very sorry to hear that." "He has the most disagreeable voice, doesn't he?" " Well, he likes it." " Does he?" "Now, what's he weigh?" " Thirteen and a half." " Thirteen and a half?" " Fourteen." " Fourteen?" "Why?" "I wouldn't disturb him while he's singing." "Hold my beer, will you?" "Oh, no." "Not again." "Boy!" "Ollie, let go." "Get off." "Get off!" "Come on, hurry up." "Boy, get this man-eating mongrel off me." "Get off." "Get off." "Get off." "Get off." "Hey, you know that English coot?" "The remittance man." "The one whose old man's a lord or something." "He's having a blue with some fella." "Good on him." "Can you see anyone with our beer?" "Get off!" "Get off." "Ollie, will you quit it?" "Let the law through." "It's old Venneker." "He's drunk." "No, he's not." "He's being attacked by a dog." " A mad dog?" " Mad dog?" " Mad dog." " Mad dog." " Mad dog?" " Mad dog." "Look out, he leaning." "I was bitten by a mad dog once." "Oh, God, I was crook." "They wouldn't let me have any beer for a whole month." "Paddy." "Paddy!" "When are we supposed to pick up the sheep?" "What's the flaming rush, ide?" "Since when do we...?" "Conscientious bloke, that drover you hired last night." "Got here before sunup." "So there you are, Carmody." "Hale and chipper for the job ahead?" "Ain't it cracker, Mr. Venneker coming with us, Dad?" "Sean, you got the wagon packed?" " l'm gonna put Mr. Venneker's stuff in." " Hang on." "Look, mate I was a bit shickered last night." "You looked like something sculptured from the sediment of a beer vat." "Never mind about that." "The point is, I don't need a drover." "Well, where'd you get that idea?" "You make less sense sober than drunk, Carmody." " You got 1200 head of sheep to move." " l've moved bigger mobs on my own." "You're not on your own." "If you insist on riding that dejected beast of yours, who's gonna pull the wagon?" " The good woman there?" " l shouldn't be surprised." "Right-o." "Look, what's the sense talking?" "I couldn't pay you anyway." "Oh, well, money is not my problem." "You can pay me when we get to Cawndilla." "ide, what the devil's he gotta come with us for?" "You hired me." "In any case, I've been here long enough." "Most places are fit only for arrivals and departures." "I like to do them both as often as possible." " Could be you talking." " l knew we'd end up soul mates." " l'm thinking of chucking up the job." " No, you're not." " ide, you stay out of this." " Speak for yourself." "Do you mind if I handle it?" "If we have to live in a tent, I say we keep moving." "That way, we've got an excuse for not having a home." "I'm sick of other people's sympathy." "And that's what we always get if we stay too long near any one town." "We're taking those sheep to Cawndilla, no matter what." "And Mr. Venneker and his horses are going with us." "I'm sorry, Carmody." "I didn't mean to precipitate that." " Right-o, we'll take you." " Yes." "And your horses." "That's 1200 sheep." "Deliver them to Cawndilla in six weeks the bloke at the other end will pay you a shilling a head." " Goodbye." "Good luck." " Thank you." "Do me a favor, will you?" "If you're gonna be a drover, look like a drover." "Get rid of that silly, flaming hat." "Let me tell you about this silly, flaming hat, my good man." "And don't call me that." "I'm not your good man." " What do you prefer?" "Boss?" " Wouldn't be a bad idea." "This cap belonged to a ship's master in the China trade." "Oh, what happened to him?" "Nothing happened to him." "He's just not gonna call you boss, that's all." "Got a passenger for you." "Here." "Good." "Thanks, Dad." "Rupe, why do you talk to your horses?" "Don't you know it's very rude to listen to other people's conversations?" "Sorry." "I never thought of horses as people." "Let's hope you never have to." "Are you a real duke?" "Shut up, boy." "Dad told me you'd been a ship's captain in China." "Oh, yes. I had occasion to tell him that." "What's China like?" "Very full." "Just as Australia's very empty." "Why did you leave?" "My stomach." "I was a notoriously bad sailor." "Dad said you must've been a better sailor than you are a horseman." "What the devil's he talking about?" "I was cashiered from the 17th Lancers before he knew one end of a horse from the other." "Not that he does now." "What does "cashiered" mean?" "A kind of promotion, from the army into civilian life." " Oh, congratulations." " Thank you." "Go to sleep now." " l'd love to go to China." " What about the farm?" "I want that more than anything." "Want a bit of everything, like me." " Because you're young." " But you're not, though." "I'm younger than I seem to you." "I've never really grown up, you see." "And you've never had time." "That's why we're out here instead of in a comfortable tent, like your parents." " Rupe..." " No more questions." "You're still growing upwards." "I'm only growing sideways now." "Apart from that, we have a great deal in common." "Come on, Sam." "Giddap, there." "Come on, giddap." "Hey, Dad, look, a dingo." " Where?" " Over there, Mum." "Just like a dingo." "Too big a coward to come out in the open and have a go." "He'll catch a couple of sheep tonight and kill them just for the fun of it." "Not if I get him first, he won't." "Get him, Dad!" "Missed him." "Nice bit of riding, all the same." "Come on, giddap, Sam." " Good day." " Good day." " Be all right to spill the mob here?" " You can use that paddock there." "But don't let them stray into the other one." "Me grass is thin enough now." "Yeah, looks a bit dry." "You been having a rough trot?" "Terrible." "No rain now for 10 months." " Good day." " Good day." " We're the Batemans." " Hello." " We're the Carmodys." " How you doing?" " This here's..." " Rupert Venneker." "Afternoon, ladies." "English." "I ain't had a man take off his hat off to me since the day Ern first met me." "Oh, thank you very much." "If you'll excuse me..." "Sheep." "Why don't you came in for a cuppa?" "It'd be welcomed, but I ought to start dinner." "How'd you like to cook it on a regular stove?" " How did you know?" " Ern used to be a drover." "I broke my back bending over too many campfires." "My name's Kylie." "Come on." "Here we are." "Ida, the way you cook, I'll never hear the last of this." "Yeah, she'll do me, Paddy." "I'm thinking about keeping her." "Oh, I'm a champion woodchopper too." "I get plenty of practice." "Ern, how long you been here?" "Started eight years ago with only the land." " Things was pretty crook for a while." " You should've stuck with droving." "No worries a horse can't take you away from." " Stay put, that's my motto." " Well, it's different with us." " lda likes to move about, don't you?" " Oh, you'll hear if I don't." "Of course, it might be different when the girls marry." "Mum, can I take my scraps down to Ollie?" " Oh, yes, dear." " Excuse me, missus." "I've got plenty of scraps for Ollie too." "Well, all right." "His mother got me the same way." "Darl." "After Cawndilla, where are we going?" "Oh, I don't know." "What difference does it make?" "What's the matter, darl?" "Can't you sleep?" "I was thinking about Sean." "He really wants us to settle down, get a place of our own." "You saw the way he looked around here today." "It's like that with every farm we pass." "He's never stopped talking about the one in Bulinga." "ide, he wouldn't wanna be a blooming farmer, would he?" "Oh, he might." "It's natural for him to want a home." "He's not all you, remember?" "No, but he thinks like me." "Anyway, he's not old enough to leave school yet." "What school?" "He's been going to school and I didn't know it?" "He went to school in Jindabyne." "And that six weeks at Broken Hill." "What about the time...?" "Oh, imagine all that schooling." " He must be ready for the university." " He can read and write, can't he?" "He wouldn't be able to do that if I hadn't taught him." "ide, you're getting me all mixed up." "Now, where was I?" "Sean was getting ready to leave school." "We'll have to get him a new suit for that occasion." "Well, if you're just gonna be funny about it..." "Oh, no, no, no." "Go on." "You're the boss." "Right." "Well, I was gonna say, all this talk about settling down he could forget about that tomorrow." "You know how kids are." "You mean, because he feels so comfortable bouncing his guts out in the wagon, sleeping on the ground and eating dust with his food and never getting to know anyone but us?" "No, I mean because he's a kid, and kids change their mind every 10 minutes." "Six months from now, he might even wanna be a tram conductor." "And what if six months from now, he still wants a place?" "Well, that's when we'll talk about it, then." "Right now, we better try and get some sleep." "Anyway, we ain't got enough money for a fence post, let alone a farm." "How much will we have in six months?" "I thought I smelled smoke." "Well, my nose is too full of dust to smell anything." "There's a fire on that ridge over there." "Well, that ridge is over two miles away." "Two miles ain't anything if it's a crown fire." "It can go through the treetops faster than a horse can run." "Everything underneath it, trees, scrub, air, the lot, just goes up in flames." " l see." " Better get the mob on the run." "Fire." "You better get a move on, quick." "Oh, it's coming this way." "There's a river two miles on." "Get to the other side, you'll be all right." "You hop down, Sean." "We'll need you." "Don't go risking your life for the sheep, now." " See you the other side of the river." " Come on." "It's a crown fire." "Get up to the head of the mob." "You can make a break for it if you have to." "Tell Sean to get after Ida." "Get back to your mother, Sean." "Your dad says so." " But what about...?" " Go on." "Cut through there." "Move, boy, move." "Go on." "Mum." "Mum!" "Mum!" " Dad told me to come ahead." " But what about him and Mr. Venneker?" "They'll be all right." "He knows what he's doing." "I hope so." "Come on, Sam, giddap!" "Giddap!" "Hey, the mob's breaking up." "I've got to turn them back." "Paddy, come back!" "Paddy!" "Paddy!" "Paddy!" "Paddy!" "Paddy!" "Whoa, back, Sam!" "Whoa, back!" "Whoa, back." "Whoa, back!" "It's swinging away from us." "We're all right." "We're not all right." "Your dad's still in there." "Where's Paddy?" "Where's Paddy?" "Mum!" "Mum!" "Paddy." "Oh, Paddy." "Well, here it is, ide." "What is it, darl?" "Nothing, really." "Giddap, Sam." "Lord love a duck, a woman." "Been waiting long?" "I've been having a bash at the piano." "You should've come sooner, you would've heard me singing." "I've got a voice like a foghorn, but I enjoy myself." "I don't think life's worth living unless you enjoy yourself, eh?" "Now, where are you from?" "You look as though you've come a long way." "What are your names?" "Oh, never mind, we can sign that later." " How long you gonna be here?" " Just the night." "We're off to Queensland in the morning." "We come over from Bulinga." "Our name's Carmody." "Oh, Bulinga?" "I don't know where that is." "My word, you are lucky, all this traveling." "I've always wanted to travel." "I came from Port Augusta for a week about 15 years ago, and I've never been back since." "Have they missed you?" "Ain't he a joker?" "With a beard too." "I bet that scratches the girls, eh, love?" " Now then, what can I do to help?" " Well, we'd like a bath." "Too right, too right." "Plenty of hot water." "Now, who's going first?" "Or is it all in together, this cold weather?" "Now, follow me." "Nothing like a good hot bath." "Weakens the men and strengthens the women." "Ought to be the other way around." "Now, come on, Mrs. Carmody." "I'll take you and sonny first." "I'll get the baggage, all right, Mum?" "Carmody, do you think that creature is planning to give us our baths?" "I've got lda to protect me." "But I'd watch my step if I was you." "Especially if you're gonna stick around for a while." "Oh, yes." "This is the end of the line, isn't it?" "Hey, that's right." "This is where we split up." "Rupe, aren't you moving with us?" "No. I only signed on to come this far, Sean." "Job's finished." "Yeah, I suppose you're right." " Come on, Carmody. I'll buy you a drink." " No, let me buy you a drink." "You know, Rupe, sometimes you make my teeth ache but there's worse than you." "Now that we're parting, Carmody, the drinks are on me." "Look, don't start another flaming argument on me." "It's my show!" "Look, Mum." "Shearers coming from all over Australia to make money and here we are, turning our backs on it." "If we stay here, maybe I could get a job." "You're old enough to be a tar-boy." "If you and your dad both work as a team we could make quite a little nest egg to put in the jam jar." "Just in case we ever decided to settle." "Settle?" "You mean, get a place?" "Our own place?" "But what about Dad?" "He said that if in six months, you still wanted it, we'd talk about it and that was quite a while back." " Did he mean it?" "No." "But he'll have to talk about it if we've got the money and still want it." " l do want it." " Then that just leaves getting the money." "Well done, if I say so, who sings it better alone." "There's nothing like a sing-song to get the dust out of your lungs." " How you going?" "All right?" " Very well." "How about a dance?" "Ida, can you play?" "Oh, I haven't played for years." "I suppose I can try." "Good-o." "No, no, no." "No prancing." "No, no." "Oh, that's more exhausting than track." "Rupe, we'd like you to come to Queensland with us." "Now, what do you say?" "I say, you'll hate yourself in the morning." "But I think I'll linger a while and investigate the possibilities of Cawndilla." "Paddy, do you think he means me?" "I've never had such a good time." "I say, lda, why don't you stay here a while?" "No, no, no." "One night will do us." "We're the restless type, ain't we, ide?" "Looks that way, doesn't it?" "Where are you going, Sean?" " l don't know." "To bed, I suppose." " No one can blame you." "Nothing's so revolting to the young as the sight of their elders at play." "You get a good night's rest, Sean." "Gotta get an early start in the morning." " Good night, son." " Good night, Mum." "But think what we could do with the money." "We could fix up the wagon, get new gear, buy an extra horse." "You think Sam isn't tired?" "You think poor old Sam doesn't need a bit of a rest?" "First it's Sean, then it's you, and now it's Sam I gotta do all this for." "What about Ollie?" "is he mad for me to be shearing sheep too?" "Mr. Venneker's coming with us after all." "That's nice." "What are you doing here?" "I didn't investigate the possibilities of Cawndilla, after all." "Things got very serious after you left the party and... I'm an old fish, Carmody." " l know the hook when I see it." " You ain't going back to her?" "I probably will, eventually." "She's an awfully pleasant person." "I flatter myself I created a rather good impression on her." "Pity to waste it." "Shall we join the shearers?" "Good day." "You the shearing boss?" "Yeah." "Quinlan's the name." "Looks like you got your team all filled up already, eh?" "Pretty near." " How good are you?" " Just fair. I ain't done it a while." "He doesn't like to boast, but he can do better than 200 sheep a day." " His best is 248." " Yeah." "Mister, you got yourself a job." "Hold on there." "Not so fast." "We're sticking together. lt's all or none." "My kid wants to be a tar-boy." "Well, that's easy enough." "What about him?" "He don't look like shearing no sheep, does he?" "He's quite right, actually." "If I have to break my back, I'd rather do it by some more merciful method." "I reckon that puts the kibosh on it." "No point in wasting Mr. Quinlan's time." "Now, look, just a minute." "We've still got an opening for a cook and a wool roller." "How do either of them strike you?" "The roller's job is gone to Mr. Venneker." "That leaves me." "How about me for the cook?" "Just a minute, darl." "You never cooked for a..." "That queers it." "I never use a woman cook." "Right-o, if the missus ain't good enough for you, neither am I." "Come on, love." "Hold your horses." "As union representative of this team, I gotta remind you of the rules." "It's the men who choose the cook, not the boss." "Bluey, use your head, man." "They've gotta have a cook they can abuse if the tucker's not up to scratch." "That tucker will be up to scratch, all right." "If that's them, why don't you ask them?" "All right." "Hey, you blokes, come on over here, will you?" "Come on, move it." "There's a lady here looking for a job as cook." "Now, it's up to you blokes, like the union rep says." "As far as I'm concerned, the vote's no." "A wool shed's no place for a woman." "I won't be in the wool shed, I'll be in the kitchen." "Been a long time since I had a meal cooked by a woman." " Be a nice change." " l'm not worried about the food, missus." "But there's rough language that goes on in the shed." "Some might shock you, you know what I mean?" " You wouldn't be able to stand it, love." " l've stood your language for 16 years." "If she can cook as good as my missus, I'm for her." "I'm for giving the lady a chance." "Well, yeah." "Let's try her out." "All we can get is indigestion." "Sean!" "That boy of mine is real keen to get started." "He'll do." "It's that husband of yours who don't seem too keen." "You haven't got a worry." "He's as happy as a lark." "What the...?" "All New South bloody Wales to drive in, and you gotta aim at us!" "Didn't you hear me blow me horn?" "What's blowing your horn got to do with it?" " We had the right of way!" " Right of way?" "Go..." "Right-o." "You're in the wrong, and that's all there is to it." " Come on." "Shake a leg." " You wanna pull your head in." " Herbie was in the right." " Who asked you to put your oar in...?" "Like to make a small wager on who's gonna get...?" "Hey!" "Get back!" "Right-o, everybody." "All aboard." "The war's over." " Get up." " All aboard!" "Well, I must've drew Jack Dempsey." "I was going up and down like a lavatory seat." "Ocker, it was you what got us into that donnybrook." " Good on him." "Had the time of me life." " Looked like you done some pro fighting." "I was up for the middleweight title back in '01." "Got put in me back in the ninth." "Too much unwatered beer." " l remember you." "You're Turk Tuthill." " l was all right." "Just wasn't good enough to be champ." "I'd say Paddy's missus was champ today." "I never seen anyone break up a fight so quick." "You got a real good sort there, Paddy." "Yeah." "Anyone know how to spell "obstetrician"?" "I'll tell you how if you tell us why." "Because I'm gonna have a baby." " Did you hear that?" " Good on you, boy." " Why, you little beauty." " You'll do me for a dadda." "What do you want, Bluey, a boy or a girl?" "Make it a girl." "They never have to work as hard as us poor mugs." "Why don't you stop laughing?" "If it is a boy, you gonna bring him up to be a shearer?" "Oh, no, no." "No, he's gonna be a cricketer." "The best bat since Victor Trumper." "He's gonna play for Australia like I wanted to but never did." "Neither will he, because he's gonna be a she. I'm never wrong." "Ocker, why don't you shut your big, sour trap?" "I hope he's good enough, Bluey." "Oh, he'll be good enough, I'll see to that." "All he's gotta do is be born a boy." " What's amusing you?" " Gee, it's gonna be fun." "This is the first time I was ever away from home." "With your mom and dad not 50 yards outside that window." "You call that being away from home?" "Being out in the world's a state of mind, not of geography." "Distance between that tent and this bunkhouse is the longest journey you'll ever make in your life." "Anybody hollers for a bucket of dip, you bring it, see?" "You can't go wrong, short of getting counted for a sheep." "Here comes the brains." "All right, men!" "Hold on." "Want him to think you hear him?" "You gotta keep the bosses in their places." "This is the boss, Mr. Halstead." "Good day, men." "I want you to work fast, but careful, right?" "All right." "Get ready, now." "Who is it?" "Good morning. I'm Jean Halstead." "Oh, the boss's wife." "Come in." "I'm lda Carmody." "I thought I'd drop in and see if there's anything you need." "As a matter of fact, there is." "Would the boss go for me getting a little oilcloth to edge the shelves and windows?" "I don't see why not." "Sorry it's such a dreary place for you to work in." "It's the first kitchen I've been able to call my own since I left home and that's a long time ago." "To me, it's heaven." "Well, come on, sit down, have a cuppa with me." "I just made a fresh pot." "I'll bet you didn't get that dress in Cawndilla." "You remind me of a society girl who gets their picture in the Sydney papers." "I used to be one before I got married." "Thought I'd changed by now." "Oh, aged?" "Not so as it shows." "You don't even look married." "I don't feel it most of the time." "Oh, living way out here must be a big change from what you're used to." "How do you like it?" "I'm trying to." "Bob loves the place so and he worries about my not belonging." "The real trouble is, I've nothing to do." "Sorry." "I don't usually spill over like that." "Don't be silly." "You get starved for another woman to talk to sometimes. I know." "This is a good country for sheep, and it's not bad for men but it's hard on us women." "The men come here for the sheep." "We come here for the men and most of us finish up looking like the sheep." "Wrinkled faces, knotty hair, not even much of a mind of our own." "I think you'd always have a mind of your own, Mrs. Carmody." "You sure you have time for a chat with all those men to cook for?" "It's their aching backs they'll be worrying about tonight, not their stomachs." "First day's hard on them, but it's a blessing for the cook." "Well, I hope you're satisfied, you and Sean." "And Sam." "Mustn't forget about Sam." "Shut up." "You're worse than Ocker." "Why don't you give yourself a chance to like it?" "I don't see how you can like it, cooking for a mob of no-hopers." "Working your fingers to the bone." "I'm having a real good time." "I got room to put things and a chair to sit on and another woman around if I want a bit of a gossip." "She's a nice little piece, not too happy either." "That Halstead probably gives her a rough time of it." "No, just the opposite." "Keeps her wrapped in cotton wool." "Women don't like that, you know." "Educate me, darl." "Tell me what women do like." "All right." "No, no, no." "Around here, we do everything by the bell." "Get up by the bell, go to sleep by the bell, eat by the bell wash by the bell." "We ain't got a bell for that, ide." "Oh, what's the use?" "Welcome back, Rupe." "What would you like?" "I'd like a schooner of beer, among other things." "Ida, we have a visitor." "Oh, just a wild guess but would you be Liz Brown, Bluey's wife?" "She's been traveling three days and nights." "You took an awful risk." " Might've had the baby on the train." " l don't care. I want to be with Bluey." "And I don't care how angry he is either." "Oh, come on in and sit down." "You're all tired out." " Sean, hurry up and get Liz a cuppa." " All right." "There." "Give me these, that's it." "I know the men aren't supposed to bring their wives." " Do you think they'll let me stay?" " Well, I don't know." "It's up to the boss, really." "What do you think, Jean?" "Well, I don't see why she shouldn't." "There's lots of room up at the house." "And after all, it's my house too." "You wait here, Liz, and don't worry." "You powder your nose after you've had your cuppa." "I'm gonna go and get your old man." "Sean here will keep you company." "He's a special friend of Bluey's." "Thank you." "I must look awful." "No, no, honest." "You look good." "I mean, no worse than a sheep does before..." "You're not gonna have the baby now, are you?" "No." "I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing to a special friend of Bluey's." "Liz!" "Liz!" "Liz!" "Liz." "There's one doctor in Cawndilla." "He covers 500 miles, so he's never there." "I just hope you women know what you're doing." "We ought to, we've been having babies long enough." "Tar-boy missing." "Shearer missing." "All the men carrying on like a bunch of school kids." "What sort of way is this to run a shed?" " Oh, shut up!" " Oh, shut up!" " Morning, Mum." " Morning, dear." "There's a letter for you from the Batemans." " Bluey." " Thanks." "Hey, listen to this, fellas." "It's from a mate of mine in Melbourne." "He puts five quid on a horse and wins 200." "And here I am playing barber to a mob of greasy sheep." "You're doing all right out of greasy sheep." "We all are." "I'm halfway to paying off me radio shop." "I hate to say it, but Bluey's right." "One more season, and I'll own the neatest pub you've ever seen." "A cheerful place that will be." "Come on, you blokes." "Let's go!" " Oh, come on." "What's the matter with...?" " Back to the torture chamber." "Come on." "Gotta get this thing going." " Made it again." " Good on you, missus." "Hey, wasn't that the starting bell?" "They can start without me." "I'm gonna have a cuppa tea with my missus." "Well, good on you." "You know, we haven't said 10 words to each other all week?" "I know." "What about going to town on Saturday night?" "You know, have a few drinks, talk." "What do you say?" "Oh, I'd love it, Paddy." "Tell you what." "You let me have half a quid out of the jam jar I'll treat you like a bloke with his first girl." "Ten shillings?" "Oh, I don't know." "Oh, come on, ide." "I break me back for you." "Let me have a bit of fun." "Right-o." "Saturday night it is, eh?" "Spending the night in Cawndilla?" "Would a cup of hot, strong tea be possible?" "A few more visits to Mrs. Firth and you're gonna end up married." "I've paid many visits to many Mrs. Firths all my life and I'm still free." " lt's all a question of technique." " Yeah." "But let's leave my problems and consider yours." "Your good man seemed almost cheerful." "No, not really." "This job's got him down worse than I expected." "Well, he's a man who hates routine." "What he need is a little excitement." "But where's he gonna get it?" "Barring some sheep turning round and shearing him." "Tea's up." "Time for a smoko, mate." "Right-o, let's stretch the spine for a bit." "Gentlemen, I have a sudden yen for some nice, clean, easy money." " Do you wanna start a two-up game?" " We'd only take money from each other." "What we want is to take it from someone else." "What are you talking about?" "In this shed, we have a gun shearer who's among the fastest I've ever seen." " Paddy." " Exactly." "A shearing contest." "Well, I ain't no flaming world's champion, you know." "Didn't say you were, but let's have none of this hanging back." "Can't stand false modesty." "Well, if you blokes wanna risk your money on me, I'll give it a burl." "Hey, Paddy!" "Saturday night, and you're just standing around?" "Shearers ain't what they used to be." "Quinlan's taking us all in to Cawndilla." "We're going to fix up a shearing contest with the Mulgrue mob." " They're bound to be in town." " Come on in with us." "I promised the missus I'd take her out." "She'd kill me if I welshed." "That's how it is when a bloke's married." "Can't call his soul his own." " l tell you." " You tell him, Ocker." "What about you, Sean?" "You off to the pictures?" "Rupe's taking me to a play, with live actors." "Not very live probably, it's just a small touring company." " Don't start tearing it down in advance." " No, it's a fine night, stars are shining." "My missus is all dolled up for me." "Let's not anybody start tearing anything down." "Should have a tie, really." "What's the matter, darl?" "You ain't dressed." "Paddy." "Paddy, I can't go." "Liz is pretty close." "I just can't take a chance and leave her." "Why can't Bluey sit with her?" " What about the Halsteads?" " None of them know what to do." "Besides, she wants Bluey to go out and have a good time." "I've been looking forward to this all week long." "You think I haven't?" "But you can understand, can't you?" "Well, I suppose so." "Look, why don't we just forget about going to town?" "We go down by the tent and build a fire, sit around and talk." "Pretend we're back on the track again." "We'll save ourselves 10 bob." "Well, you see, Liz asked if she could bring her knitting over and sit with me, company-like." "I thought you were going out with the men..." "What'd you have to do that for, ide?" "You didn't ask me about it." " Hey, Bluey!" "What are you doing?" " Blue!" "Hey!" "Come on, Bluey!" "Thanks, ide." "Hey, come on, Paddy." "Paddy, I wish you'd go along and have a few beers. I'd feel better." "Besides, I need you to go to see that Bluey gets back early and not too drunk." "Will you?" "Right." "Hey, Quinlan, wait for me!" "Hey, Bluey, what are you gonna call this girl of yours when she's born?" "Ocker, I told you a dozen times, it's gonna be a boy." " That's right, ain't it, Paddy?" " Anything you say, Bluey." "Hey, Bluey." "You ain't drinking too much, are you?" " Oh, no." " Right-o." "Why do you say this man of yours can beat any shearer we got?" "is that just a figure of speech, or do you have in mind, for example, money?" "I got in mind, for example, 20 quid." "Beside what the rest of the blokes in my team have in their minds, you follow?" "When we was mixing it by the trucks that day I couldn't help but notice you kept leading with your right, like this:" "No offense, but that's why I smeared you." " My right's where l pack my punch." " And where you leave yourself open." "Now, why don't you try something like this:" " See?" " Like this, you mean?" " Watch it, Turk!" " Careful, mate!" "See what I mean?" "Friends, Romans, shearers." "Hello, Sean." "How did you like the play?" "Oh, don't question him, madame." "Don't waken him from his dream." "He fell in love with the leading lady." " Honest truth, give a bloke a go." " Oh, no shame in that." "When I was your age, I was head over heels in love with Lily Langtry." "And now, my mulga-scrub lily, I'm head over heels in love with you." "Oh, no." "Hey, Sean." "Oh, hello, Dad." "Didn't see you." "What are you doing all by yourself?" "I like being by myself, except for you, of course." "My own family." "Your mother wouldn't come with me." "Should've taken you." "But I was going to the play with Rupe." "That's what I mean." "All my family seems to be spending their time with somebody else." "Madame, the memory of..." "The memory of your bell-like laughter keeps calling me back." "Oh, Rupe." "Those duke's daughters must miss you." "The duke's daughters." "They haven't heard half the things I want to say." " Can't we go?" " Oh, I can't leave the till, Rupe." "Not yet." "Well, have I come to this?" "A cash register as a rival?" "Gert. I'm back, Gert." "How's the cold you had in your chest?" "Matter of fact, how's your chest?" " You miss me while I was gone?" " Certainly not." " Who the devil's this, Gert?" " Hello, Jack." "This here's Rupe Venneker." "Rupe, this is Jack Patchogue, mayor of Cawndilla." "He's a sort of friend." " Pleased to meet you, Venneker." " Patchogue." ""Sort of friend"?" "Gert, what's been going on here?" "Now, you pull your head in, Jack." "What I do with my spare time is my own affair." " Now, listen to me." " Yes, you do that, Your Worship." "And I'll be next door warming the cockles of my heart for you-know-who." "You're gonna die laughing at him, Jack." "And you should've heard the words." "When you think it's the same language, you say, "Pass the salt in"..." " You just can't understand how they..." " Sean." "Sean, have a beer." " What?" " Have a beer." "You went to the play with Rupe because that's what he likes." "Now have a beer with me because that's what I like." "All right." "Here, love, small beer." "Just wish Mum could see me now." "Now, where is the doctor?" "But he must have said when he'd be back, I... I'm sorry I yelled, but please, send him over the minute he gets in." "The doctor's at the Jameson place, 20 miles from here." "You think you might catch him before he leaves?" "I can have a go." " What will we do?" " Be a welcoming committee." "That baby's on its way, doctor or no doctor." "Well, I better help Liz get into bed." "Mrs. Carmody, I don't want Jean to be frightened." "Well, you think we should let Liz have that baby alone?" "Give Jean credit, Mr. Halstead." "She's a strong girl." "She'll do what she has to do." "Right." "Try Mrs. Firth's pub, see if our mob's there." "If not, try every pub in town." "They're bound to be in one of them." "Nobody home." "There's nobody home but me." "And I'm in terrible hurry." "We played lots of tennis at school and did a lot of surfing." "Sydney's lovely in the summer." "Couldn't find him." "Ida, I feel crook." " Starting to hurt quite a lot." " Not for nothing, Liz." "I'll try to be good." "Don't." "You scream the house down if it helps." "If she doesn't, I probably will." " lda, how long were you with Sean?" " lt's different every time, you know." "Bluey. I want Bluey." " Hang on, Liz." " l want Bluey with me." " You'll be all right, Liz." " Bluey." " l'll get him." " What?" "I'll go into town, find him, and bring him back." "All right, but don't be long." "Hello." "What are you doing here, Mrs. Halstead?" "I'm looking for Bluey." " Hello, love." " Have you seen Bluey Brown?" "Where is he, I said?" "Oh, get away from me." "Oh, here he..." "Bluey?" "Here he is, love." "Right over here." "Look at him." "Full as a goog." "It's just that after-hours drinking." "Well, sober him up and be quick about it." "Liz wants him." "Oh, hey." "Hey, Bluey!" "Hey." "Hey, Bluey." " You're having a baby." " l know that." "It's lambing time at Wattle Run!" " l'll lay a quid it's a boy!" " Neither one, it's twins!" "Come on!" "Come on, you!" " l'll lay a quid it's a boy!" " Neither one, it's twins!" "Come on, you blokes!" "I'm driving!" "I couldn't get the doc." "He's gone out to Big Billabong." "Bob, I must go and help lda." "See that the men get Bluey sobered up." "Well, here he is, ide." "All in one piece, and almost as good as new." "Shut up, all of you!" "Well, stone the flaming crows, if it ain't old ide." "Good on you, ide!" "Well, thanks for all your kind help!" "Now then, get him sobered up. I don't care how you do it, but do it quick." "What am I, his flaming keeper or something?" "Hello, Mum. I saw my first play and had my first beer tonight." "Aren't you his keeper either?" "Ida, hurry." "Come on now, Liz." "Push." "That's it." "Now harder." "Come on." "There's a girl." "Here, Jean." "Let her pull on your hands." "Well, here he is, what's left of him." "The rest is down the hill." "Well, he looks shrunk, but human." "Ida." "Oh, lda, I feel crook." "No, you don't, Bluey." "Go on in and say hello to your son." "Oh, I gotta tell the fellas." "Well, this is the first baby born on Wattle Run that isn't a sheep." "Won't be the last, I hope." "What are you two talking about?" " Morning." " You're up early." "Well, I needed something to do." " l told Turk to tell you..." " Yes, yes, he told me." "Thanks." "Didn't want you to worry." " All right, look..." " Paddy." "Before you say anything, I..." " l'm sorry about last night." " lt's all right." "I'm sorry about Sean, for that matter." "I don't know what I was thinking about." " lt was just one beer, ide." " Well, won't kill him, eh?" "Everything all right, then?" "Yeah." "Only I'm turning in my time tomorrow." "We're leaving Saturday night, right after work." "We've been here six weeks, ide." "You needed a change, you said." "All right." "Well, ain't six weeks long enough?" "Listen, ide." "Everything's going wrong between us since we've been here." "We never see Sean anymore." "We never see each other." "When we do, we're dead tired or there's a hundred strangers hanging around." "It isn't staying I care about, it's the money we're making." "We don't need the money." "We've never needed it." "We need it now. I want a home, Paddy, just like Sean does." "I don't want to ride that wagon right into my grave." "Oh, what good does it do turning away every time I say it?" "I told you in the beginning, I couldn't get stuck in one place." "I had to keep on the move." "You kept on saying it was all right." "Now, what'd you wanna lie for?" "I never promised I wouldn't change." "I never promised I wouldn't get older and scared." "What do you mean?" "You think I can't take care of you and the kid?" "We're both getting older. lt's time we..." " Don't talk for me. I'm not finished yet." " l'm just trying to look ahead, Paddy." "Well, I'm not looking past Saturday." "That's when I'm gonna go." "You and Sean don't wanna come with me?" "Well, don't." "Hey, Paddy." "Wait a minute, will you?" "Everything's right for the contest with the Mulgrue bunch." "It's okay with the boss too, so we fixed it for Saturday." " We're depending on you." " l don't want nobody depending on me." " You better get somebody else." " Stone the crows." "You heard us make the plans last night." "You didn't stop us." "I was drunk last night." "I ain't gonna split a gut just so I can say I'm faster than some other bloke." "That dirty dingo." "A man ought to knock his head off." "He could have his reasons." "Oh, blast his reasons." "He's backing out like a yellow dog." "How we gonna look, going over to Mulgrue's, telling him it's all off?" "Oh, maybe we're better off this way." "A dingo like that, he'd probably throw his hand in halfway through the contest." "Dad just told the men he wouldn't be in the contest after letting them set it up for next Saturday." "He wants us to leave next Saturday." "Then how will we ever get enough money for a place?" "He doesn't care about a place." "He's going whether we go with him or not and that's how strong he feels about it, Sean." " But we never split up before." " And we're not gonna split up now." "I'm gonna stay, Mum." "And I think you ought to stay too." "Sean, you've got your whole life to live." "We're halfway through ours, your dad and me." "There are other people waiting for you but there's no one waiting for us except each other." "Don't ever ask me to choose between you and your dad because I'll choose him every time." "Good day." "Mum says you're leaving Saturday." "I got me own reasons, Sean." "You're too young to understand." "I get sick of being told I'm too young, like it's a disease or something." "I told Rupe there'd be no sense talking to you." "What right have you got going over our business with him?" "He was sticking up for you." "He didn't think you were a dingo, like Clint said." "I'll fix that Clint later." "The minute you turn your back, people go around talking about you." "There's not one of them game enough to say it to me face." "I think you're a dingo for running out on Mum and me." "Don't hit me, Dad, or you can leave and I'll never come after you." "Don't ever talk like that to me again, Sean." "I might have killed you." "You're not gonna leave, are you, Dad?" "Please don't." " Hey, Paddy, can we see you?" " Just a minute." "It's the men." "All of them, Dad." "I know, Sean. I feel crook about it, but..." "Well, they just can't back down." "If there was only some way..." "Yeah?" "We have a new plan, Carmody." " What plan?" " A plan for the competition." "We want the Mulgrues to see that we have a man in whom we're proud." "Cut it out, will you?" "But the main object is to raise money for a worthy cause." "Christening present for Bluey's baby." "Well, crikey." "Why didn't you say so?" "I didn't know it was anything like that." "Doesn't mean we can't bet on the side." "We can still make a pile of money." "As long as Bluey's nipper gets a big piece of it I'll be only too happy to give it a go." "You beaut, Dad." "Hey, let us in on the secret." "It's the shearing contest." "It's all set up for next Saturday." "Well, now." "I come over to give you all an invite to a party in honor of Bluey's baby." "But it seems to me as though he's gonna have to share it with Paddy, the people's choice." "Right-o, boys." "Next Sunday at the pub, beer, saveloys and sausage rolls." "Come on, Rupe." "Walk me to the car." "How does that bloke do it?" "ide, I was thinking since I have to stay here for the contest anyway might as well stay to the end of the season." "Well, how about a cuppa?" "You haven't had a bite all day, have you?" "Too right." " You hungry?" " No, I'll have an earbash with the boys." "See you later." "Carmody, there isn't a living soul in Wattle Run who hasn't bet on you." "Even a couple sheep have been trying to get a word with me." "I just hope this Mulgrue mob's brought enough money." "I'm not guaranteeing anything." "None of that." "No modesty." "It's confidence gonna win the day." "It is?" "Well, that's good." "I was afraid it was gonna be me." "Hey, here comes the Mulgrue mob." "Johnson." "Are you the challenger?" "I don't know why they picked me, I'm the worst man we got." "I ain't counting any chickens, Herb." "Don't rush it, Carmody." "Just keep a nice, steady pace." "Two hundred and ninety should be enough to win." "I've heard bull in me time, but that takes some beating." "Well, if you're gonna do it, let's do it." "You're here, stand number four." "Here, Wilson." "Keep your eye on those, will you?" "You gonna unscrew your wooden leg?" "No, we don't want to embarrass the champ." "They must be off their rockers, that Mulgrue bunch." " He's 80 if he's a day." " Paddy'll make a monkey out of him." "I wouldn't wanna show him up, anything like that. lt wouldn't be right." "Hey, Clint, lay a fiver for me, will you?" " You're on, mate." " Just win, Dad." "We got a quid on you, Mum and me." "Good luck." "The contestants will work in two-hour stretches with five-minute rests and one hour for a meal." "The score will be kept jointly by our Mr. Quinlan and Mr. Wilson of Mulgrue's." "May the best man win." " Stand by." " Come on." "Hey." "Go for your quota, Paddy." "You won't get any compo if you collapse, Herbie." "That little runt couldn't bag a hussy." "Work from the hip, Carmody." "Now, easy follow-through." "Follow through with that instrument, come on." " How does he look?" " Fresh as a babe." "You've been flat out like a lizard drinking, but he's been with you all the way." "It's shocking." "That cove ain't human." "Try not to show him that you're nervous." "In fact, it might be good psychology if you could manage a hearty laugh." "You laugh." "I can't think of anything funny." " We could tickle you." " Don't worry, Dad." "He can't keep it up." " That ain't what I'm worried about." " Paddy, his legs'll give out." " You got a long way to go yet." " That's what I'm worried about." "Stand by." "Break for lunch." "That little old weasel." " What I'd give to have money on him." " Ocker!" "Do you practice being a louse or does it just come natural?" "Dad, you've got an hour." " Go and lie down. I'll bring your..." " No, he mustn't." "It'd give Johnson an immense psychological advantage to know that Paddy's lying flat on his back." "He hasn't even come outside." "Has it occurred to you that he may be too exhausted even to reach the door?" "I'm gonna go lie down in the tent." " Paddy..." " Rupe." "We may be neck and neck in the shearing but psychologically, he's got me licked." " Ten for Johnny Sanford." " Ten for Johnny Sanford." " Two for Willis Jacobs." " Right, two for Jacobs." "Ten for Costello." "Four for Pierce." "All right, four for Pierce." "And a tenner for you, Wilson." "Do you want that now, Wilson?" "Bluey." "I'm sorry I didn't win for your little nipper, Bluey." "Don't worry about it, Paddy." "You did your best." "And three for Sandy Sanderson, and that's the lot." "Well, good day. I've enjoyed meself." "Thanks for asking us." "Poor Dad." "Just when he was feeling cheerful." "He'll stay cheerful, once we're on the move again." " Sean, remember that farm in Bulinga?" " Remember it?" "Whenever we talk about a place, that's the one I'm thinking of." "It's still for sale." "Mrs. Bateman wrote me." "I didn't wanna tell you about it before." "I suppose those farms don't get sold very quick." " Did she say how much it costs?" " Two thousand pounds." "At the end of the season, we'll have better than 400." "That's enough for a down payment." "That's if Dad wanted a place." "First we'll get the money, then we'll worry about Dad." "Speaking of Dad, this doesn't seem tactful, somehow." "Quiet." "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "Right-o, who's for peeling potatoes?" "Hey, fellas!" "Listen, there's a room outside with sawdust on the floor." "How is it for a game of two-up?" "I've got a feeling it's us for peeling potatoes." "Woman's instinct, I call that." "Well, go on, booby." "Come on, girls." "Where are all those big betters?" "Are we all here?" "I'm for five." " Here's five quid to say I can head them." " l'll set the center." " l'll bet he heads them." " Thirty bob." " A pound he heads them." " A pound he tails them." "Two bob he tails them!" " Yes, I'll set you." " Right." " You all set on the side?" " Yeah." "Right-o, come in, spinner." "Now, fair go." "Up they go, and it's a head up." "And it's... tails!" "I won." "You should've bet the same as me, Dad." " Son, you see, I only had a quid left..." " l'll bet the ten." "Excuse me, Dad." "Don't wanna miss the next toss." "Four bob, he tails them." "Four pounds, head." "Serving beer on Sundays and running a gambling joint?" "I could get 12 months in jail and lose me license." "Why don't you make them stop the game then?" "Oh, let them have their fun." "They don't get much, the men out here." "They battle all their lives just to try and stay ahead of nature keeping this part of the country alive." "And when they're dead, they're forgotten." "Nobody thanks them." "All they get is abuse." "Getting drunk on Sunday and gambling may be against the law but the law was made by city wowsers." "They don't know nothing of what it takes to keep a man alive out here." "Beer, that's what it takes, Gert." "Beer." "Well, it's not like you to leave a two-up game." "What happened, your luck run out?" "Anybody home?" "I'm the owner." "What'll it be, a room?" "Yes, missus, and tucker, if you can manage." "Evan Evans, the name is." "Just delivered a mob of sheep." "I'm a drover myself." "Paddy Carmody's my name." " You're late in the season." " Ran into a card game on the way." "Lasted a month." "Any place my sulky and horses can get shelter?" "Here, I'll put them up for you." "Oh, in case you're interested, there's a two-up game going on in there." " Where?" " All right, skinny, after you're fed." ""Skinny."" "You know how much I won already?" "Four quid." "What's the matter, Dad?" "You're not playing." "I ain't got no money." "Which, if you had eyes, you could see for yourself." "Well, do you want a loan?" "Take anything, Dad." "Take it all." "A quid'll do me." "A quid he tails them." "Come in, spinner!" " Tails, it is." " Beauty." "You'll do me for a good luck charm." "Two quid he tails them again." "Fifteen years in a pub and I still prefer a good cuppa tea to a bottle of beer." "Of course, I gotta get drunk now and then to set an example to the customers." "More tea, ide?" "I'm going to miss the whole lot of you." "Just a couple of more weeks, isn't it?" "Don't give me much time to work on Rupe." "Heads!" " A fiver on tails." " You're on." "He's going again." "He's going again." "Oh, come on." "This is a party, and the food's ready." " ls that all the money you got?" " Yeah." " Another fiver he tails them." " You're covered." " Paddy's won 17 straight tosses." " What?" " l loaned him money, changed his luck." " All right, come in, spinner." "You got it, Paddy!" " How much has Paddy won?" " About 200 quid." "Sean, with what's left in the jar that's almost enough for a down payment on the farm." "Well, what do you reckon?" "You lost a packet already." "Don't worry about me, friend." "This is the air I breathe." "You've cleaned me out." "That's the way it goes." "I'll tell you what, mate." "You put up that horse you got outside I'll bet everything I've won tonight against him." "One toss of the pennies, what do you say?" "What do I say when I won him in a poker game anyway?" "You're on, friend." "And I call tails." "Chilla, you ready?" "Brother Carmody, you've got yourself a racehorse." " Make more of him than I did." " And the money, Mum." "And the money too." "Oh, you..." "You won!" "Gee, Dad, ain't he wonderful to watch?" "Ever since I was a kid the thing I wanted most in the world was a horse like that." "You reckon you could ride him flat out and not fall off him?" "Could I?" "You just watch me." "Go, Sean!" "Come on, you little beauty!" "Let's have it!" "Look at him go!" "You beauty!" "Well, how is he?" "Oh, darl, he's a beauty." " What you gonna do with him?" " When we quit here let's take him round to some of the small bush tracks, picnic races." "Everything works out, we'll head for a big race meeting." "Could we go back to Bulinga?" " They run a cup meeting and we..." " We could see Kylie Bateman?" "No, Mum." "That wasn't what I was thinking about." "Well, why not?" "All right, we'll make it Bulinga and we'll stop and talk to the Batemans on the way." "Got the makings of a real champion there, haven't we?" "Yes, if he's looked after properly, and I shall see to it that he is." "Why, you know something about training horses?" "is there anything he don't know about?" "I was brought up among horses, English horses." "Epsom Downs was my second home." "Come on, come on." "What do you think this is, bush week?" "I wonder where the nearest race course is?" "We could clean up a packet if Paddy'd race him." "Come on." "You're like a lot of flaming old hens!" "Can't you just see us, darl?" "Still moving, going from track to track." "The Carmodys, not just drovers anymore, but racehorse owners." "Come down to earth." "You'll be winning the Melbourne Cup next." "Well, why not?" "Did you ever dream you'd have 200 quid in the kick besides owning a racehorse?" " We'll have to name the brute." "Hey, that's right." "We could call him Dynamite." "Or what about Fireball?" "Fireball?" "Grotesque." "No, no." "Something classical would be more appropriate." "Wait." "Why don't we call him Sundowner?" "Yeah, I like that." "Sundowner." "What does that mean?" "I've been called that on occasion." "I assumed it was a term of abuse." "No, that's the Australian word for people like us." "A sundowner is someone whose home is where the sun goes down." "It's the same as saying someone who doesn't have a home." "Quinlan's gonna sack you if this keeps up." "Old friend Quinlan is the least of my worries." "Care for a cuppa?" "You're very chipper." "is it the prospect of wandering from race course to race course which delights you?" "Or Bulinga, with its farm for sale?" "If Paddy knew what was in my mind, he'd be scared to death." "I want him to look at the farm before he gets his back up." "Now, since this is nosy day at Wattle Run what are you gonna do about Mrs. Firth?" "Mrs. Firth?" "I'm going to say goodbye to Mrs. Firth." "She's a dear little body, isn't she?" "I just hope I don't hurt her feelings." "Don't you worry about her losing you." "She isn't losing one damned thing." " lda, I thought you were my friend." " l am your friend." " l just don't like you much right now." " l don't like myself very much." "Perhaps it would be better if I didn't accompany your family to Bulinga." "We'd be glad to have you, and you know it." "Though why you want to beats me." "Well, I'm a kind of elderly turtle, lda." "Hard shell, soft belly, wealth of experience." "Not much of a mind to make use of it." "Always in the soup." "No joke intended." "And this turtle can't share its shell with anyone." "But only when it finds people who really belong to each other as Paddy and you do it becomes attached, like a household pet." "Not a very well-trained one at that." "Oh, go on with you, Rupe." "Liz, you think the train trip will be too much?" "Not nearly as much as all this saying goodbye." "Here." "Hopeless." "Hey, look at Ollie." "Three times now he's run back to the cook house." "I don't think he wants to go." "I don't feel so good meself." "Listen, Sean, there's something I wanna say." "I just hope my kid turns out to be like you." " Hey, Bluey." " Yeah." "You hear the latest?" "Ocker's thinking of getting married." "What's so funny about it?" "I've been engaged eight years trying to decide." "Speaking of getting married, I hope the great lover's getting an earful." "Now then, Rupe, we've had a lot of fun, and no harm done." "And why you're getting this hangdog look, I don't know." "All I want to say to you is drop in again sometime, and take your chances." "Couldn't pin him down." "Not without breaking his leg." "Well, someone's gotta take the plunge." " Hooroo." " Hooroo, Turk." "Be seeing you." "Everybody for the track, in the truck." "Next stop, Big Billabong and another 50,000 wooly jumbucks." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "Bye-bye." "Come on, Sean!" "Come on!" "Yes!" "Marvelous!" "Look at the chest on him, huh?" "What do you think of him, Ern?" "I'd swap the missus for him any day in the week." "He'll pay for that." "All the same, he's a real champ." "He'll stand a chance being a champ if we start at the Bulinga Cup." "You can camp right on the farm, lda." "Just drop in on the agent as you pass through Bulinga. I told him you would." " What farm?" " Oh, the Owens' farm." "The one Sean and I were so keen on." "Annie wrote me it was still for sale." "It's a nice little place, Paddy." "You can grow anything on it." "I didn't think there'd be any harm taking a look at it, darl." "Well, looks like I got the Sundowner just in time." "Otherwise you'd have me pinned under a mortgage faster than you can say Bulinga." "But as you do have the Sundowner, why don't you camp at the farm?" "Then he can have a good roll in the sand." "It'll fix up just lovely, a room like this." "It's the kitchen I wanna see." "Oh, my." "Hey, they even left two beds in one of the bedrooms." "Why don't we stay in the house tonight?" "Because it don't belong to us." "Sean, run out and get my bag, will you?" "Do you like the place?" "It's a nice enough spread, all right, yeah." "What's a place like this cost?" "Two thousand's the asking price for it." "Two thou...?" "You ought to have your head read." "Now, why do you make yourself and Sean feel bad?" "We ain't got money like that." "Yes, we have, Paddy." "We've got enough for a down payment." "I thought maybe we could risk some tomorrow on Sundowner to get us started with the farm." "You reckon he's a sure thing." "You know how I feel about settling." "Look, Paddy, you can't race Sundowner for the rest of your life." "If you stay here, you can put him out to stud." "Did you ever see a better place for raising horses?" "Stay here, you could have the time of your life." "It's still getting stuck." "Rupe says he's off to the fleshpots of Bulinga." "What do you think, Dad?" "Well, it makes sense, don't it?" "Suppose l better say yes." " Oh, Paddy." " We'll see the agent in the morning." "Well, I guess I better get in town and get our bets down before the odds shorten." "Yeah." " How much?" " Fifty'll be all right." "Right." "Well, see you later." "When'll you be back, darl?" "Around sundown?" "Soon as I can." "Did he mean it?" "Yeah." "Yes, he meant it." "Otherwise, he wouldn't have said it." "Well, he didn't seem too happy." "It's hard for him to get used to the idea." "He'll like it later, though." "I bet he'll like it." "Of course he'll like it." " Now can we stay in the house?" " l don't see why not." "Paddy?" "Paddy?" "I've done something, ide." "I lost the money." "Two-up." "We still got the money in the jar." "I wrote lou's. I lost it all." "I don't know what to say." "I looked at you both, you and Sean." "You were just like strangers." "I wanted you to have what you wanted but God forgive me, I must've hated you both." "I just wanted to get away from you, get drunk, get the taste out of me mouth." "That's all I meant to do, darl, was just get drunk." "That's all I meant to do." "I'll make it up to you, darl." "I promise you." " l'll get you a place." " No, no, no." "Don't talk about it." "Don't talk about it." "If it's of any use to you, I've got about a hundred pounds." "Oh, they'd never take that as a down payment." "Thanks, anyway." "Just by way of covering all the possibilities you could sell Sundowner for a goodly sum." "Not before the race, you couldn't." "You'll need this to settle the lou's." "Will we have enough to get us another job?" "Well, there's 50 pounds prize money if Sundowner wins the race." "We better leave right after the race, then." "Come on!" "Did he win?" "He had to, darl." "He just had to." "Wasn't he beaut?" "We had to go round the outside of him." "You'll be a better rider than I was." " Two champions on that course today." " And we won 200 quid." "We better collect our prize money, start looking for another job." "We're not going anywhere, darl." "I made a deal with a bloke before the race." "Two hundred pounds for Sundowner if he wins." "That means we've got 400 quid." "We've still got enough for a down payment." "I know what the horse means to you." "I know what the farm means to you, ide." "You keep him." "Yeah, Owens' farm isn't the only farm in Australia." "When we've earned something, race him again and make enough money for another place." "You know what I'm like when I've got a little money." " l don't trust myself, ide." " l trust you, darl." "We're not selling the horse." "Can't I do anything in my life without getting an argument from you?" " Mum, if Dad really wants to..." " Shut your gob." "This is between your dad and me, and it's settled." " lda, you want a home, don't you?" " Oh, we'll have a home someday." "This way, if we do it, you'll hate every inch of the place." "I don't wanna live with a martyr." "You're the only martyr to this family's got room for?" " You can stop being so damn noble." " Who said anything about being...?" "A protest has been entered in the last race!" "Jockey Carmody, will you report to the steward's room?" "I'll bet on the fences." "Ladies and gentlemen a change in the result of the last race!" "A protest was lodged and upheld." "Number 17, The Sundowner and number 8, Billabong, are disqualified for interference!" "The winner is now Cassidy Sheila!" "Well, you can't expect justice on a provincial course." "All right, where's the cow that squealed?" "Who's running this race track, anyway, a mob of bush rangers?" "Flaming robbers couldn't conduct a bazaar for..." "Well, there goes both our chances to be noble." "Hey, Carmody." "He didn't do it so good, but I tell what." "I'll give you 25 quid for him." "Oh, take off, friend." "The horse is not for sale." " But a deal's a deal." " She's the boss." "Come on, you two." " Coming, Rupe?" " Coming." "Twenty-five quid?" "Lucky for you, we've got a sense of humor." "Subtitles by sdl Media Group" "[english]"