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He sat down at the table as Sam poured a mug of tea and slid the milk and sugar across the table to him.
    ‘I’ve been out for a walk. Woke up early and couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk along the beach. Pretty place, this,’ he said to no one in particular.
    ‘Oh, Fannie Bay is just gorgeous,’ said Aunty Lou. ‘It’s right on a ley line, you know? A meridian of energy runs right through the area, and the rocks are really powerful energy beacons. I’ve lived here for years now, and I can just feel the power vibrating around me every time I go down to the beach. There is something about living near the sea, too, all those negative ions …’
    She carried on like this to Uncle Mungo for another few minutes. Darcy rolled his eyes at Sam and George, who made sure they kept their eyes on their cereal bowls.
    ‘Oh dear, look at the time! I better get ready for work.’ And with that she disappeared down the hallway.
    Uncle Mungo sipped his tea, and then set the mug down on the table. ‘I guess we might hear somethin’from ’em today, hey, once the surgeons have had a look at him. Yer mum’ll keep us posted.’ He picked his mug up again, and stared into it for a few moments. ‘Yeah, they won’t be home anytime too soon. Once we know somethin’, I reckon we’ll go back to Brumby Plains and keep things goin’ for Mac. It’ll make him feel better, knowin’ things are still goin’ on at home. And we have to finish repairin’ the fences too …’
    George piped up, ‘Tess and Darcy are coming out for the holidays. Maybe they can come out now and give us a hand?’
    Uncle Mungo looked a bit shocked at the thought of two extra kids to look after, but Tess stepped in immediately. ‘That’s right, Uncle Mungo,’ she said brightly. ‘We’ve done all kinds of work out there before – and lots of fencing. We really could help, you know.’ She paused for a moment. ‘And, well, Dad’s gone away again just now, so it’d be easier for Mum if we went out with you guys.’
    Sam looked up at Tess. Something in her voice didn’t sound right. And what did she mean by ‘Dad’s gone away again …’?
    ‘Well, I don’t know. I s’pose there’s Jaz and Old Jock to help look after you all. And it might be good for these two lads to have some company while their parents are away.’ He considered a moment, andthen nodded his head. ‘Yeah, it’s a good idea. I’ll tell yer mum.’
    And he disappeared out of the kitchen to look for Aunty Lou.
    ‘He makes his mind up quick, doesn’t he!’ grinned Tess. ‘I hope he’s as good at convincing Mum.’
    ‘Hey, d’you reckon he’ll mind if I bring Horrible out with me?’ said Darcy anxiously. ‘Mum won’t feed her.’ Horrible was Darcy’s pet snake, a metre long green tree snake that his father had brought back for him from a business trip to north Queensland a few months earlier. Horrible was bright green, with magnificent yellow markings along her back, and Darcy was totally in love with her. Tess liked Horrible too, but their mother barely tolerated her, and insisted she live out in the shed in the backyard. Darcy sneaked her into the house as often as he could.
    ‘Yeah, bring her out!’ said George enthusiastically. ‘Uncle Mungo won’t even know. It’s not like she’s noisy or anything.’
    Aunty Lou agreed that, seeing as it was almost the end of term and there were still some responsible adults at the station, Tess and Darcy could go back with them: ‘Only till Mac and Sarah come home, mind. They won’t want four of you underfoot when they get back from Adelaide.’
    Sam hoped it would be so quick, but privately he doubted that his father would be coming home anytime soon. He didn’t know much about injuries and backs, but he was pretty sure that something as serious as a fractured spine would take a bit longer than a school holiday to fix. If it can be fixed , said a small voice inside his head.
    That evening there was a phone call from