1932-10-31 — Page 37

CHINA MAIL CHRISTMAS NUMBER,

TOURING COMPANY

(Continued from Page. 11.)

has become emancipated in these days. Her ambition la to visit England, and in many cases to marry an Englishman. Sylvie had not met many Englishmen. but she had absorbed the yearn-

quiring mildly what the devil all the row was about, was told to mind his own business. by both parties and weighed in with" some toughish up-country invec-ings of her school friends in Syd- tive of his own. The acene, in short, presented another striking example of the lack of the sea- sonable peace-and-good-will stuff. Eventually Mr. Wally Günn. re- tired to his car with the Christ- mas present he had brought for Sylvie in his pocket and in his heart a fiery resentment against the English cricket team in gen- eral and our friend the rapturous Dandy in particular.

as

Tradition has made a master- ful man of the Australian stock- farmer. He has been tanned by the Sun and hardened by the roina, and altogether soused through and through by various extremes of weather' until he is stout of texture one of his own stock-whips. On the domestic side he is absolute boss, a-he-man in excelsis. "Not even the bold, bespangled female trainer of performing lions". would stand an earthly chance at the job of hen-pecking a squat- ter.

Sylvie knew that if she married Wally Gunn it would mean com- plete surrender, service, obe- dience, and devotion to duty, which would largely consist of the rather humdrum occupation of brewing, lashings and lashings ...of tea.

But the Australian girl

ney, and when the glorious figure of Dandy Stratton awam into her. ken, wallop went the cause of Wally Gunn. This gentleman, with a frame like wrought steel, and a mind almost as solid, was not the type to acknowledge a wallopped cause. He occupied the twenty mile run back to his own station from Jackson Ridge with dour schemes for the im mediate and abject crushing of England

Dandy being. Dandy, was al- lowed a belated mass of Chicken Maryland, after which he went with some of the boys to the pic- tures. On his return the hotel clerk delivered a further sage from Jackson Ridge.

"Ow, Mr. Stratton, Miss. Hile says don't start orf in the morn- ing. She's got a car, and 'll call for you here at ten."».

*mes-

"Good-oh!" cried Dandy en- thusiastically, in the idiom of the country.

Mr. Pogson, as luck would have it, was within earshot. He im-. mediately became aggressive.

What's this? What's this? You're expected to spend an en- tirely inactive and temperate day to-morrow in view of-❞

<

"I'm going to spend a cor- ker," said Dandy. "In view of

By Ben Travers

the fact that. I've discovered that peach."

"What? What's all this about starting off? How far do you intend going?""

"Only about a hundred miles." "Oh, preposterous! Think of the situation. We are both not out. With any fortune we should succeed in adding at least a hundred runs together on Mon- day. If you go gadding about all to-morrow we shall most certain- ly do no such thing, What time" do you intend getting buck here?"

"Oh, in time to run you out," said Dandy...

He went to bed; Gussy, bubbling with indignation, to "complain to the manager. But Mr. Braham proved regrettably obtuse and spinėless in the matter.

"I'd let Dandy be," he said.. "From what I know of him it'll do him good.""

"Will it indeed 1" cried Gussy. "You mark my words. He'll be dismissed on Monday without ad- dition to his overnight score."

She didn't want to keep you waiting. So we're to pick her up on the way back."

"Oh," said Dandy without marked pleasure." "I suppose you're the the fellow she spoke about on the 'phone?”

"Too right," 15sented Mr. "Gunn.

"Ten o'clock on Christmas morn-" ing found Dandy pacing the steps of the hotel like a panther at feeding-time. A brawny son of the soil wearing an open net-work shirt and an enormous hat disen- tangled himself from an obsolete, touring model and approached him.

"You, Stratton ?” . "Yes."

"Jump in. Sylvie

stopped half-way to call on iome friends. Christmas greetings and that

い

The tourer, though a pretty pacey vehicle for a veteran, pro- ceeded about as silently as a hot number played by a negro band. Nor did Mr. Gunn" himself en courage conversation.. In fact, after his opening statement, he confined himself almost exclu sively to replies of one syllable. But Dandy was not in an inquir ing mood, and was. content for the most part to gaze at somewhat. uninspiring country, consisting largely of gum trees, and to re- vel in the delights of anticipation. The route was attractive enough at first-across the Hawke.. River and bearing up towards the eastern foot of the Blue Moun tains. But soon Mr. Gunn'swung' off along an exceedingly secon- dary track and incited the steam- ing tourer to explore a very hot, dusty, and unfrequented afretch of country. Dandy wasn't wor-" rying what the district was like so long as it contained Sylvie. At length Wally Gunn brought the car to rest at a spot where an isolated bungalow stood about a hundred yards back from the road. in a plantation, and jerked horny thumb. "

Continued on Page 23,)

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