) "Chinaman woman no more savey
likee that," and bustling away, dinner was soon served inside the net.
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."
"My word, boss! Hear him sing-out sing-out. Missus plenty savey," he
reiterated, and then calling a Chinese friend from the kitchen, stood
over him, until he also declared that "missus BLENTY savey," with good
emphasis on the BLENTY.
The net was up by midday, and at ten o'clock at night the slow, dull
clang of a bullock-bell crept out of the forest. Cheon was the first to
hear it. "Bullocky come on," he called, waddling to the house and waking
us from our first sleep; and as the deep-throated bell boomed out again
the Maluka said drowsily: "The homestead's only won by a head. Mac's
at the Warlochs."
At "fowl-sing-out" we were up, and found Bertie's Nellie behind the black
boys' humpy shyly peeping round a corner.
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