South of Capricorn Read Free

little hell of his life. But I’m sure he won’t have her, especially when he knows what she’s like.’
    ‘He won’t have time to discover what she’s like,’ was Gail’s grim reply. ‘I shall simply dump her on him, as I’ve said.’
    ‘She might begin right away—spit at him or some such thing.’
    ‘She won’t. You don’t know Leta as well as I. She can be bribed.’
    Her mother threw up her hands.
    ‘Another vice!’ she exclaimed.
    ‘Yes, she has them all. You name it and Leta has it. Lord, it makes you wonder if it’s safe to bring children into the world!’
    Mrs. Stafford had to laugh at this.
    ‘You’ll never produce a child like Leta,’ she told her with conviction. And for a quiet moment she gazed at her daughter, taking in the fine and noble lines of her face, a face of character and determination. And yet the full wide mouth was soft and Mrs. Stafford smiled faintly on recalling all those incidents when Gail had given forth compassion in abundance, whenever it happened to be called for. The eyes, of so unusual but attractive a colour, were large and widely-spaced be neath a high intelligent forehead. The dark brown hair with its bronze glints was long and silky and luxuriously thick. High cheekbones, attractive though they were, seemed not to fit in with the short nose and pointed chin. And yet it was an extraordinarily beautiful face and one that invariably brought the light of admiration to the eyes of the men with whom Gail came into contact both in her working and her social life. Mrs. Stafford was justifiably proud of her only child, just as Gail was proud of her pretty mother, with her slender figure and happy carefree way of life. Her husband was just as attractive, in a different way of course, and always Gail had thanked the stars for her having the kind of parents whose affection and understanding had gone such a long way in preventing any dissension whatsoever between them and their daughter.

    It was less than a fortnight later that Gail set forth, with Leta, for the cattle station known as Vernay Downs, situated in the Never-Never, just south of Capricorn. The child was dressed in denims and a bright red cotton sweater; on her head she wore a bright green knitted cap with a red bobble on top and over her shoulder she carried a red leather bag containing sweets and chocolate, and a toothbrush in a waterproof case. Gail’s mother had provided the entire outfit plus the contents of the shoulder-bag. Not one word of thanks had left the child’s lips. She had told Gail that the toothbrush would never be used.
    ‘I don’t like cleaning my teeth, so Mummy never made me,’ she said.
    ‘Nevertheless, you’ll clean your teeth whenever the opportunity presents itself,’ Gail told her. ‘You’re not to eat sweets without cleaning your teeth afterwards.’
    ‘You can’t always clean them. What about in the taxi?’ Leta had said when, all the luggage having been placed in the hall, they were waiting, with Gail’s parents, for the cab to arrive.
    ‘You mustn’t eat your sweets yet,’ said Mr. Stafford mildly. ‘You’ve only just had your breakfast.’
    ‘I’ll please myself,’ returned Leta, stamping on the floor to give emphasis to her words. ‘If I want to eat my sweets I shall eat them.’ At which Mr. Stafford looked across at his daughter and silently conveyed to her his anxiety about the journey over to Australia.
    ‘You’ve taken on more than you can chew,’ he managed to get in when Leta, having seen a small insect crawling along the path, went forth to put her foot on it. ‘What a horror! No wonder her mother gave up; I’d do so myself if I had a child like that.’
    ‘Paul,’ protested his wife, ‘you shouldn’t say such things. You know how any reference to poor Sandra makes our daughter sad.’
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered, then lapsed into silence, breaking it only on the arrival of the taxi when he gave the driver the necessary instructions for