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Updated: June 25, 2025
Unfortunately it did not fill the water-butts with water, but already the garden was holding up its head, and Billy was claiming that he had scored a win. "Well?" he said, waylaying Cheon in the garden, "Well, me rainmaker? Eh?" and Cheon's superstitious heart bowed down before such evidence.
But Cheon's cup of happiness was to brim over that day, for after answering every question hurled at him, the Dandy sang cheerfully: "He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum," and dragged forth a ham from its hiding-place, with a laughing, "What a good boy am I." With a swoop Cheon was on it, and the Dandy, trying to regain it, said, "Here, hold hard!
The lubras, however, refused to be taken off my visitor's list and Cheon insisting on them waiting on the missus while she was attending to the housework, no one gained or lost by the transfer. Cheon had a scheme all his own for dealing with the servant question: the Maluka should buy a little Chinese maiden to wait on the missus.
"Him Rosy!" he said, thus introducing his booty and without further ceremony Rosy requested permission to "sit down" on the staff. Like Cheon she carried her qualifications on the tip of her tongue: "Me savey scrub 'im, and sweep 'im, and wash 'im, and blue 'im, and starch 'im," she said glibly, with a flash of white teeth against a babyish pink tongue.
Fate, however, interfered to keep the missus at the homestead, to persuade Cheon that, after all, the Maluka was a fit and proper person to have the care of a woman, and to find a very present use for the house; an influenza sore-throat breaking out in the camp, the missus developed it, and Dan went out alone to find the Quiet Stockman and the "killers" for Happy Dick.
Cheon was brimming over with admiration for it "My word, boss! Missus plenty savey," he said. Myriads of flies, balked in their desire, settled down on the outside, and while we enjoyed our dinner in peace and comfort, Cheon hovered about, like a huge bloated buzz fly himself, chuckling around the outside among the swarms of balked flies, or coming inside to see if "any fly sit down inside."
What ho, Cheon!" as Cheon appeared and greeted him as an old friend. "Heard you were here. You're the boy for my money. You BALLY ass! Keep 'em back from the water there." This last was for the black boy. It took discrimination to fit the Fizzer's remarks on to the right person. Then, as a pack-bag dropped at the Maluka's feet, he added: "That's the station lot, boss. Full bags, missus!
Not only had we "struck the jolliest old josser going," but a born ruler and organiser into the bargain. He knew best what was good for us, and told us so, and, meekly bending to his will, our orders became mere suggestions to be entertained and carried out if approved of by Cheon, or dismissed as "silly-fellow" with a Podsnapian wave of his arm if they in no way appealed to him.
Right up to the house verandah they came, and the letter was presented to the Maluka, and the marrow to the missus in the presence of Cheon's glare and an intense silence; for most of the bush-folk had heard of the cabbage insult. Cheon had seen to that.
But long before we had done with brumbies Cheon was announcing dinner in his own peculiar way. "Din-ner! Mis-sus! Boss! All about!" he chanted, standing in the open doorway nearest to us; and as we responded to his call, he held the door of the dining-net and glided into the details of his menu: "Veg-e-table Soooup!" he sang: "Ro-oast Bee-ef! Pee-es! Bee-ens! Too-mar-toos!
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