Every evening the fun commenced about sundown, and the entire community
assembled to watch it; for it was worth watching--fowls dodged, and
scurried, and squawked, as the staff and the rejected, under Cheon's
directions, chivied and danced and screamed between them and their
desire, the lubras cheering to the echo every time one of the birds gave
in, and stalked, cackling and indignant, up the ladder into the branches
of the coolibar; or pursuing runaways that had outwitted them, in
shrieking, pell-mell disorder, while Cheon, fat and perspiring, either
shouted orders and cheered lustily, bounded wrathfully alter both
runaways and lubras, or collapsed, doubled up with uncontrollable
laughter, at the squawk of amazement from fowls which, having gained
their old haunt, had found Jimmy there waiting to receive them. As for
ourselves, I doubt if we ever enjoyed anything better. A simple thing,
perhaps, to amuse grown-up white folk--a fat, perspiring Chinaman, and
eight or ten lubras chivying fowls; but it is this enjoyment of simple
things that makes life in the Never-Never all it is.
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