Page:Triangles of life, and other stories.djvu/214

202 the day. Mary would call him in to have a cup of tea, when she made one for herself and Maggie, and James would drink it grumpily and never say a word to Maggie, except "'Ello, Maggie!" when he saw her, unless she spoke to him. She'd chaff him a bit sometimes, and he'd take it quietly—or sulkily, rather. He'd only talk about the drought and the rain, and station and Bush things, and only when he was asked about them. I've seen him squat and loll about the verandah all Sunday afternoon and for hours in the cool of a weekday evening, and never say a word to Maggie Charlesworth, or seem to take the slightest interest in her or what she was saying. James was one of these men who listen, or seem to listen, a great deal and think, or seem to think, a mighty lot.

And if I happened to pass Wall's and see James' horse hanging up there, and him squatting on his heels or leaning on a fence, smoking and yarning to young Billy Wall or one of the men, I'd know that Maggie Charlesworth was at home. But Billy Wall told me that he never heard James say a dozen words to Maggie, nor saw the slightest sign of spooning between them. James' idea of courting seemed to be to hover round and be within coo-ee, in case the girl made up her mind suddenly that she wanted him. But I noticed at home that he stuck about the verandah pretty close when Maggie was there and there happened to be another likely man hanging round.

But, Lord! with a character like James and a character like Maggie Charlesworth, you could never tell.