Explore "An Outback Marriage" by Andrew Barton Paterson on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
On Monday, Hugh, Poss, and Binjie had to go out to an outlying paddock / to draft a lot of station-sheep from a mob of travelling-sheep. As this / meant a long, hard job, the three breakfasted by candlelight-a good old / fashion, this, but rather forgotten lately-and Blake also turned out / for early breakfast, as he wanted to get his drive to Tarrong over / while the weather was cool. Of the women-folk, Ellen alone was up, / boiling eggs, and making tea on a spirit-lamp; laughing and chattering / meanwhile, and keeping them all amused; while outside in the frosty / dawn, the stable boy shivered as he tightened the girths round the ribs / of three very touchy horses.
Poss and Binjie were each riding a station / horse to "take the flashness out of him," and Binjie's horse tried to / buck him off, but might as well have tried to shed his own skin; so he / bolted instead, and disappeared with a snort and a rattle of hoofs over / the hill. The others followed, with their horses very much inclined to / go through the same performance.