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Although Rodney Marsh apparently kept his promise with regard to Hicky, and Tirau “cut out” (or, in other words, finished the shearing) without a hitch, trouble was in store for Dick Holmes. Almost within an hour after they had “cut out” at the woolshed, the weather changed. A bitterly cold gale from the south came up with torrents of rain. For five days it continued. Five disastrous days as far as the newly-shorn sheep were concerned.

Holmes, Marsh, Macdonald (the second shepherd), Pratt, and Dan, the Maori cow-boy, were working from dawn till dark; but though through their efforts they were able to effect some saving of stock, the loss in sheep and lambs was very heavy. The roads for a short period were almost impassable. One lorry taking wool bales down the coast got hopelessly bogged and Holmes was unable to get the rest of the clip to Wairiri in time for the November wool sales.

Though Biddy—in spite of Ann’s efforts to suppress her—had talked one morning of “the Bank” not being nice to Daddy about “the mortgage,” Ann thought Holmes’s harassed appearance might possibly be due more to the strain of hard work than to financial worry; for he gave no sign of any monetary embar-