Read The Audrey of the Outback Collection for Free Online Page A

comes round at night, like a ghost, when you can’t see him. He’s got a cart they call a honey cart. If you’re rich, you can have a real flush, with water. They must have lots of water in the city if they can pour it down dunnies.’
    Price unscrewed the lid of the kerosene tin. Now there was also the smell of kerosene in the air.
    ‘If you want to be a man, you’ll have to do jobs like this one,’ said Price.
    With a firm shake of her head, Audrey said, ‘If I’m a man, I can say no. I’ll tell someone else to do it.’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘You.’
    ‘You’re a ning-nong.’ Price lifted the tin and splashed kero into the dark hole.
    ‘Dad doesn’t put that much in,’ said Audrey.
    Price shook more kerosene into the hole.
    ‘You’d better stop now.’
    ‘I know what I’m doing,’ said Price.
    ‘Do men always know what they’re doing?’
    Price shrugged.
    ‘Then why do you always say it?’ Audrey slowly scratched at her cheeks as though she had a beard growing there. Dad and Toothless did that. She wasn’t sure whether their beards were itchy or if they just liked scratching. There were lots of man-things she hadn’t yet worked out.
    Price gave another generous shake of the tin, replaced the lid and put it outside the dunny.
    ‘Be careful,’ said Audrey.
    ‘I know what I’m …’ Price cleared his throat. ‘It’ll be okay. Move back if you’re worried.’
    Audrey obeyed.
    Price took a matchbox from his pocket, lit a match and threw it into the open hole.
    There was an enormous whoomph , followed by a bang. A rush of heat knocked Audrey backwards.

Sixteen
    Hot, kerosene-soaked fumes filled Audrey’s throat. There was loud crackling and hissing.
    ‘Audrey … Price!’ Their mum’s anxious voice calling from the chookyard sounded like a distant echo.
    Audrey blinked. There seemed to be a lot of blue. Her head was fuzzy, as though she wasn’t properly awake. Then the fuzziness cleared. She realised she was lying on her back. The blue was the sky.
    She looked over at Price. He, too, was on his back.
    The hessian dunny walls were ablaze. Bluish flames leapt into the air.
    Audrey’s stomach squeezed into a knot. ‘You’re not dead, are you, Price?’
    He sat up. ‘I don’t think so.’
    ‘Lucky Stumpy is out bush for a while. He doesn’t like fire.’
    Mrs Barlow limped towards them, her face tight with worry. ‘Are you two all right?’ She sounded breathless.
    Dougie bounced along behind her as though his feet were on springs.
    ‘Yes,’ answered Audrey. ‘We’re all right.’
    She and Price had just meant to clean out the dunny hole with fire. They had almost cleaned themselves up with it. And now there was no hole at all. The sandy soil had collapsed in the explosion.
    Red-faced, Mrs Barlow flopped beside Audrey and grabbed her hand.
    Audrey felt her mother trembling.
    Douglas leapt up and down. ‘Pwetty fire.’
    ‘Lucky we cleared a good patch around the house,’ said Mrs Barlow at last.
    Price crawled across to sit beside his mother. He patted her shoulder. ‘Sorry, Mum. But you’ve been wanting proper walls and a door for a long time. Now you can have them.’
    His eyebrows and the front of his hair looked odd.
    ‘You’ve singed your hair,’ said Mrs Barlow.
    Price put his hand to his fringe and bits fell off.
    ‘Lucky he’s a man,’ said Audrey. ‘He knew what he was doing.’

    ‘Birds don’t read or write and they get on all right.’

Seventeen
    Mrs Barlow gently eased Douglas away from the kitchen meat safe. ‘Leave that, Dougie. It’s lesson time now.’
    Hessian sat in a shallow tray of water at the top of the safe. The wet hessian draped down each side of a wooden frame and helped keep the meat cool, especially when a breeze blew through it. The hessian also kept flies out. And to stop ants getting in, each of the meat safe’s four legs stood in a tin of water.
    Douglas flicked his wet hands. Damp spots appeared on the hard mud floor.
    Audrey crossed one