About this story
You left before seven and have eaten almost nothing; sit before you ride into danger again. You step into this one-chapter preview with Mary Heathcote at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. You saddled for the nine-mile ride to ask a proud neighbour to dismiss a man on evidence neither of you could fully prove. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
How it opens
Two weeks before a Queensland Christmas, you returned after dark with heat still rising from the thirty-thousand-sheep run.
You left before seven and have eaten almost nothing; sit before you ride into danger again.
Old BatesThe gum leaves are crackling before Christmas; without rain, summer will strip every blade from the run.
Kate DalyWe kept the veranda blinds wet all afternoon, and even inside the air tasted scorched.
One careless match could cross miles before any rider reached the nearest fence break.
Choose
Bates and Mickey are still mounted, and I must inspect the western fences tonight.
Someone has been smoking near the boundary despite the fire order.