He unbuckled the girths and as he bent behind the horses out of sight of his wife, he looked at the blue ranges and sang the anthem at the same time in a ribald and careless voice. “God save ’em grayous Gween, God save ’em grayous Gween ”

“Shut that shit, bloody Jack” shouted a voice from the stables. The white men found it offensive to hear Jack sing the anthem and church hymns, but they couldn’t deny that he was about the only decent black man in these parts. He washed, he shaved, he wore clean shirts and worked harder and better than any man and never went walk about like so many of the coons. “Murra, Murra Murra, Labilla Labilla” chanted Booraby as he moved through the tea tree groves at the edge of the