"No, it is not that; but I cannot leave my friends. You must not press me to do so ungrateful an action," said Amy.
"I shall not say another word about it; but I must have a visit from you soon. I will call on Mrs. Lindsay after you have returned, and persuade her to let you come to Richlands for six weeks; it will be a change for you, and I shall enjoy your visit of all things. You agree to that, at any rate." And Mrs. Troubridge kissed Amy affectionately, and bade her good night.
The weather on the following morning looked lowering; the air felt thick and oppressive even at the early hour they took for their start. Mrs. Troubridge thought they should delay their expedition till they saw how the day was going to turn out; but they knew they had a long stretch for the horses, and thought they had better rest at midday. A great part of this day's journey lay through a most particularly Australian very ugly and barren tract of land. Allan knew as much about Bay of Biscay land, about various kinds of scrub, and about honeysuckle country and tea-tree swamps as Lufton did, and his surmises about the quality of the soil and the hopefulness or hopelessness of its ever being able to carry a paying number of sheep were quite as reasonable and
