Page:The little blue devil (IA littlebluedevil00mackiala).pdf/46

land and the grey-blue station roofs. Tony drew a long breath.

“Well?” said Robertson. “What do you think of it?”

“It all looks so cool and clean,” said Tony. “I like this place.”

He never changed his mind about Paranui from that day. He learnt to love it in all moods—when the sea was blotted out with rain, and when the heat quivered over it in summer, and when everything seemed to shrink and hold its breath in the cold—and in all the states that lie between these three.

Robertson watched his growing interest and love for the place with quiet satisfaction. He was not going to single the boy out in any way, of course—that would not do. He must go with the other boys on the place, and work hard, and learn all he could. But it would be rather pleasant watching him grow keen and strong, as he would soon do here.

“It’s a beautiful place!” thought Robertson, with a warm glow of proprietorship, “and the best life in the world for anyone; and I must say I’ve got jolly fond of the boy, even in this time. I shan’t regret bringing him here. He’ll do.”

Tony plunged into station life at once; many changes had made him adaptable. He got on well with the other boys, though he formed no special friendships; he was older than them in every way except that of outdoor knowledge. The men liked him, with one exception, “and he wasn’t one of the men in any way,” as Tony said. The exception was Baldwin, the working manager.

Tony and five others from Paranui went to school on Starling Creek, the next station, twelve miles away. It was only in the mornings, as there was no resident schoolmaster there.