Chapter 11 – Happy Days
“He’sanicekidMike”Jennywastalkingtoherhusbandasthey
satontheverandawatchingPetebottlefeedababygoathe’d
found abandoned in the bush.
“He’squiet– butI’msurehe’sstraightandhonestWewere
lucky to havegottensomeonesogoodfirstoff”Mikesmiledat
Jenny.
Little did they know that not 10 kilometres away, in a cave,
formed by a rock overhanging on a small hill rising from a patch
of rough scrub, Pete was hiding something from them.
Here, about half a kilometre from a small billabong in a channel
of the Warrego River, the children had made a permanent camp.
Pete had memorised a small section of the map in the
Employment Service office and had led them almost directly to
this place.
The ground around the rocky hills was strewn with gibbers, and,
as there was nothing for stock to eat – except close to the
billabong – Petethoughtthey’dbeunlikelytoeverbe‘visited’in
their cave. From the top of the hill they could just see the silver
flash of a new windmill, which marked the edge of some more
fertile country.
