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Article CATHERINE CARMICHAEL; on, THREE YEARS RUNNING. ← Page 6 of 15 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Catherine Carmichael; On, Three Years Running.
" He is a lazy skunk . " " Who is to get the wood ? " " What's that to you ? When you were down at Hokitika you could got wood for yourself . '' Not another word was said , and for a week she did cut the wood . After that , there came a lad who had been shepherding , and was now well-nigh idiotic ; but with such assistance as Catherine could give him , he did manage to hew the wood and draw
the water . Then one day a great announcement was made to her . "Next week John Carmichael will be here . " " -, John !" "Yes ; why not John ? He will have that room . If he wants a boil , he must bring it with him . " When this was said November had come round again , and . it wanted about six weeks to Christmas .
CHAPTER II . CHRISTMAS DAY . SO . 2 . JOHN CARMICHAEL was to come ! Ancl she understood that he was to come there as a resident;—for Peter had spoken of the use of that bedroom as though it were . to
be permanent . With no direct telling , but by degrees , something of the circumstances of the run at Warriwa had become known to her . There were on it 15 , 000 sheep ,- and these , with the lease of the run , were supposed to be worth £ 15 , 000 . The sheep and all were the property of , her husband . Some years ago he had taken John , when he was a boy , to act with him as his foreman or assistant , and the arrangement had been continued till the quarrel had sprung up . Peter had more than once declared his
purpose of leaving all that he possessed to the young man , and John had never doubted his word . But , in return for all this future wealth , it was expected , not only that the lad should be his slave , but that the lad , grown into a man , should remain so as long as Peter might live . As Peter was likely to live for the next twenty years , and as the slavery was hard to bear , John had quarrelled with his kinsman , and had gone away to the diggings . Nowit seemedthe quarrel had been arrangedand John wag to come
, , , back to Warriwa . That some one was needed to ride round among the four or five shepherds , —some one beyond Peter himself , —some one to overlook the shearing , some one to attend to the young lambs , some one to see that the water-holes did not run dry ,, had become manifest even to Kate herself . It had leaked out from Peter's dry mouth that some one must come , ancl now she was told that'John Carmichael would return to his old home .
Though she hated her husband , Kate knew what was due to him . Hating him as she had learned to do , hating him as she acknowledged to herself that she did , still she had endeavoured to do her duty by him . She coulci not smile upon him , she could not even speak to him with a kind voice ; but she coulcl make his bed , and iron his shirts , and cook his dinner , ancl see that the things confided to her charge were not destroyed by the old woman or the idiot boy . Perhaps he got from her all he wanted to get . He
did not complain that her voice was not loving . He was harsh , odious in his ways with her , sometimes almost violent ; but it may be doubted whether he would have been less so had she attempted to turn him by any show of false affection . She had learned to feel that if she served him she did for him all that he required , and that duty demanded no more . But now ! would not duty demand more from her now ? . Since she had been brought home to Warriwashe had iven herself freelto
, g up y her thoughts , telling herself boldly that she hated her husband , and that she loved that other man . She told herself , also , that there was no breach of dut y in this . She would never again see that other man . He had crossed her path and had gone . There was nothing for her left in the world , except her husband Peter and Warriwa . As for her
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Catherine Carmichael; On, Three Years Running.
" He is a lazy skunk . " " Who is to get the wood ? " " What's that to you ? When you were down at Hokitika you could got wood for yourself . '' Not another word was said , and for a week she did cut the wood . After that , there came a lad who had been shepherding , and was now well-nigh idiotic ; but with such assistance as Catherine could give him , he did manage to hew the wood and draw
the water . Then one day a great announcement was made to her . "Next week John Carmichael will be here . " " -, John !" "Yes ; why not John ? He will have that room . If he wants a boil , he must bring it with him . " When this was said November had come round again , and . it wanted about six weeks to Christmas .
CHAPTER II . CHRISTMAS DAY . SO . 2 . JOHN CARMICHAEL was to come ! Ancl she understood that he was to come there as a resident;—for Peter had spoken of the use of that bedroom as though it were . to
be permanent . With no direct telling , but by degrees , something of the circumstances of the run at Warriwa had become known to her . There were on it 15 , 000 sheep ,- and these , with the lease of the run , were supposed to be worth £ 15 , 000 . The sheep and all were the property of , her husband . Some years ago he had taken John , when he was a boy , to act with him as his foreman or assistant , and the arrangement had been continued till the quarrel had sprung up . Peter had more than once declared his
purpose of leaving all that he possessed to the young man , and John had never doubted his word . But , in return for all this future wealth , it was expected , not only that the lad should be his slave , but that the lad , grown into a man , should remain so as long as Peter might live . As Peter was likely to live for the next twenty years , and as the slavery was hard to bear , John had quarrelled with his kinsman , and had gone away to the diggings . Nowit seemedthe quarrel had been arrangedand John wag to come
, , , back to Warriwa . That some one was needed to ride round among the four or five shepherds , —some one beyond Peter himself , —some one to overlook the shearing , some one to attend to the young lambs , some one to see that the water-holes did not run dry ,, had become manifest even to Kate herself . It had leaked out from Peter's dry mouth that some one must come , ancl now she was told that'John Carmichael would return to his old home .
Though she hated her husband , Kate knew what was due to him . Hating him as she had learned to do , hating him as she acknowledged to herself that she did , still she had endeavoured to do her duty by him . She coulci not smile upon him , she could not even speak to him with a kind voice ; but she coulcl make his bed , and iron his shirts , and cook his dinner , ancl see that the things confided to her charge were not destroyed by the old woman or the idiot boy . Perhaps he got from her all he wanted to get . He
did not complain that her voice was not loving . He was harsh , odious in his ways with her , sometimes almost violent ; but it may be doubted whether he would have been less so had she attempted to turn him by any show of false affection . She had learned to feel that if she served him she did for him all that he required , and that duty demanded no more . But now ! would not duty demand more from her now ? . Since she had been brought home to Warriwashe had iven herself freelto
, g up y her thoughts , telling herself boldly that she hated her husband , and that she loved that other man . She told herself , also , that there was no breach of dut y in this . She would never again see that other man . He had crossed her path and had gone . There was nothing for her left in the world , except her husband Peter and Warriwa . As for her