Pat Ritter. Books

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'Tilbaroo Station' - Page 75:
‘I understand why you wanted to be a member of this committee. Means a lot to you.’ Todd waited for Nat’s response.
‘If what Ryan did yesterday is any indication of how easy we can find water in these parts. Yes, I’ll be the happiest man in these parts. Water is everything. Pure gold.’ Nat finished his sermon.
‘I did find a couple of pigs yesterday. Don’t ask me where, I couldn’t tell you. After I dismounted from the horse I snuck up to where they were in a gully. I got off a couple of s. I may have wounded one, others got away.’ Todd wanted to share his story, a little intimidated.
‘Don’t worry. The one you hit with the will either lay down die or when we’re out mustering may find ‘The Pig Todd Shot’.’ Nat smiled. ‘You didn’t happen to sight any dingoes by any chance.’
‘No. Can’t say I did. After shooting the pigs, they ran off. By the time I remounted they were out of sight. Sorry.’ Todd had nothing else to say.
‘With lambing season, some time off, we’ll keep an eye out for them. Dingoes are more of a worry than pigs. In one night, a dingo with their mob can kill most of the lambs for the year’s tally.’ Nat started to rise. ‘We better be moving home to let you people be home before dark.’
‘Are you certain about Ryan?’ Melinda asked. ‘I don’t want him to become a burden or a nuisance.’
‘Ryan will be fine Melinda. Don’t fret. We’ll make certain he’s home before school starts.’ Joe said tapping Ryan on the shoulder.
‘Yes Mom. I’ll be right. Don’t worry.’ Ryan explained.
‘Todd. Before we leave. Have you recorded everything you need to report to Brisbane?’ Joe asked.
‘Yes. Actually, I’m impressed. When each bore is finished, I’ll report them to Brisbane where they’ll make a record of the date, place location of each bore. I’ve named them according to location on what property they’re on so everything will be on record.’ Todd explained.
‘We’ll leave all the technical details to you. We’ll be your goffers.’ Nat finished.
After the horses caught harnessed to each sulky each party entered their rigs left ‘Tilbaroo Station’. Nat, Martha, Ryan, Joe left the others at ‘Kahmoo Station’ turnoff to venture onto their homestead. Ryan rode Buttons beside Nat’s sulky smiling with excitement of what to look forward to next week.
IMPORTANT NEWS: I'LL BE ABSENT UNTIL 28TH DECEMBER 2020. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT WITH MY WRITING THROUGHOUT 2020. MUCH APPRECIATED. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
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'Tilbaroo Station' - Page 76:

Chapter 11

‘How’d you sleep Ryan?’ Martha asked when Ryan entered the kitchen. ‘Have a seat. The others had their breakfast earlier.’
Ryan sat at the kitchen table with a huge smile on his face. ‘I had a wonderful sleep thank you Mrs Young.’ Martha placed a plate filled with sausages and eggs, a slice of toast on the table in front of him. ‘Thanks Mrs Young. I love sausages.’ Ryan started eating.
‘What would you prefer to drink. I have sunshine milk, tea or water.’ Martha asked. She continued, ‘I’ve washed your clothes from yesterday. They’re hanging on the chair. How did Nat’s shorts work as pyjamas?’ Martha asked attending to her own meal.
Swallowing a mouth filled with food, Ryan finished to say with an empty mouth. ‘Water will be fine, thank you Mrs Young. Clothes fitted great. Thank you for doing my washing. I hate to become a nuisance for not having sufficient clothes. This is delicious. Sausages are the best food I like.’ Ryan’s manners impressed Martha.
‘I’ve got some old trousers Nat used to wear. I’ll sew them today so you’ll have something to wear tomorrow. Here’s your lunch with morning smoko. Catch up with you with the others at dinner tonight.’ Martha finished to attend to her daily chores cleaning the kitchen, washing up, repairing clothes.
Ryan completed his breakfast, picked up his plate and glass carried them to the bench. ‘May I be excused.’ He asked.
‘Yes. By all means.’ Martha couldn’t believe Ryan’s good manners.
After dressing in his clothes Mrs Young placed on the chair, he returned to Mrs Young said, ‘Thank you Mrs Young. I’ll tell the others. Where are they?’ Ryan asked.
‘Nat saddled Buttons tied him to the hitching rail outside. He told me to tell you they will be at the shearing shed when you’re ready to join them.’ Martha pointed south. ‘You can’t miss the shearing shed. Don’t forget to wear your hat. Have a good day, Ryan?’
Ryan bid Martha farewell left by the front door, pulled his hat firmly onto his head, walked to where Buttons was tied, mounted rode toward the shearing shed.
‘Bout time you got here. We need a hand, sleepy head.’ Nat called when Ryan rode toward him. ‘Tie Buttons over near the shed with the other horses. Help us with these stragglers.’
Ryan rode to the other horses, dismounted, tied his reins to the hitching rail near the shed, ran to Nat and Joe started calling to the sheep to move. A dog leaped on top of the sheep to help push them into the yards. Dust caused Ryan to sneeze.
‘You right Ryan?’ Joe called after forcing the final sheep into the yard.
‘I’m alright. Thank you.’ Ryan sneezed coughed. ‘Not used to this dust.’ He took a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the dust from his face, then blew his nose. After the dust settled they walked to their horses.
‘I contacted Ole Billy Campbell. He’s started boring where you divined yesterday. Wanta have a look if he finds water?’ Nat called.
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'Tilbaroo Station' - Page 77:

‘Yes Sir.’ Ryan shouted. A huge smile spread across his face. He couldn’t believe how important to find water. His self- confidence filled with expectations to find water below the surface where he divined. How deep. He had no idea. When the stick broke, showed water was deep because this had never happened to him before when he divined for water along the railway track.
They approached the drilling machine, a steam driven apparatus puffing smoke through a chimney stack. A huge pole type drill poised in front of the engine to bore into the ground. A man about the same age as Joe placed wood into the furnace of the engine.
‘How’re you going?’ Ole Billy Campbell walked to where the three horsemen stopped. They dismounted.
‘Ryan, would you take the horses tie them over near those trees. Thanks, mate.’ Nat instructed. Ryan collected the reins of the three horses walked them to the trees secured them to the branches returned to the men standing near the drilling machine.
‘So this is young Mister Ryan Carlson. I’m Billy Campbell. Pleased to meet you.’ Billy shook hands with Ryan. ‘A firm grip son.’
Releasing his grip Ryan said to Billy. ‘I’m pleased to meet you Sir. Hope you find water.’
‘From what I’ve been told about your exploits. I’m certain ‘Canadian Bill’ will find water even if we drill all of the way to China.’ Billy replied with a .
‘Who’s ‘Canadian Bill?’ Where’s China?’ Ryan asked. A frown formed on his forehead.
‘A small joke between the four of us. After what Joe told me about your stick breaking I believe we’ll find water with ‘Canadian Bill’. Might be deep, but we’ll find something.’ Billy said, tapping his hand on the side of ‘Canadian Bill’ boring machine. ‘How did you start divining?’ He asked.
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'Tilbaroo Station' - Page 78:

‘My Dad’s building the railway line from Charleville to Cunnamulla. Each time we moved camp I divined along the track to find water. Dad dug a hole where I divined. Everyone in the camp had sufficient water to use. Good clean water.’ Ryan explained.
‘If this works you’ll be employed divining for water all through this country. What class in school are you in?’ Billy asked.
‘Grade 6 Sir.’ Ryan said.
‘I never went to school. Me ole man wanted help with this rigging. I’ve been drilling ever since. I’d better be back to work. You can help if you want.’ Billy asked.
‘May I?’ Excitement in his voice. Joe nodded.
‘We’ll leave you two with the drilling. We have to ready the sheep for shearing tomorrow.’ Nat said, grabbed Joe by the arm. ‘We’ll call back this afternoon before we knock off.’ They left Ryan with Billy at the drilling site to return to the shearing yards.
Noise from the steam engine plus the bore rig caused Ryan to ask Billy a question. ‘Is this machine always loud?’ Ryan shouted above the noise.
‘The noise isn’t so bad. Works on your hearing. When you’ve been doing this as long as I have. No noise at all.’ Billy explained to Ryan. ‘Tell me about water here? I drilled over the other paddock all I got were rabbit warrens. To each their own. I suppose.’ Billy continued checking the plant and drill. In this type of soil, the drill only bored less than ten feet needed to be replaced. Pulling a lever, the drill stopped. Billy bought the drill to the surface. ‘I need to change the drill. They wear down quickly in this soft going. Won’t be a minute.’ Billy went ahead replaced the old one drill with a sharper one.
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'Tilbaroo Station' - Page 79:

Ryan nodded. Billy filled a billy with water from a canvas bag, placed the billy over the fire in the furnace soon bubbles rose to the top. Placing the billy onto the floor of the plant he threw in a handful of tea leaves, grabbed a rag nearby started to swing the billy around with his right arm. After he swung the billy three times to the right he placed the billy on the floor to wait while for the tea leaves to settle.
‘Why are you doing this?’ Ryan inquired.
‘Making a billy of tea. Don’t want to suck on tea leaves. Do you?’ Billy explained. He grabbed a couple of pannikins from his tucker box filled each one with tea. ‘Here you are. Have a go at this?’ Billy handed Ryan a pannikin plus a sandwich. ‘I made these this morning.’
They ate their sandwiches drank the tea. ‘This is good.’ Ryan said with half his mouth full of sandwich.
‘Which is good. Tea or sandwich?’ Billy asked.
‘Both. I’ve never drank tea this good before. Fresh or something like that. Sandwich is also good. Thank you.’ Ryan finished his sandwich slowly sipping his tea from the pannikin.
‘You never answered my question about water before. How can you tell water is down here?’ Billy asked pointing toward the ground.
‘When I’m divining, thoughts of water flows through my mind. I concentrate hard on finding water. Water is beneath the ground. I can’t say how far water is below the surface. Water is somewhere.’ Ryan explained. This was the first time anyone asked how he found water.
‘We better return to finding this water.’ Billy thought about Ryan’s comment hoped his summation right because drilling for water became expensive, hard work if not found. Like looking for a needle in a haystack. One needed the luck of the Irish or personal belief in Ryan Carlson.
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'Tilbaroo Station' - Page 80:

‘Have no idea how deep down. Only when the stick broke showed me water a lot further down than I’ve ever had before.’ Ryan explained.
‘We’ll keep going. I’ve got to have confidence in your divining on how you explained your method. I believe you when you tell me. We’ll keep going.’ Billy continued to monitor the drilling plant deepening the bore.
‘If you want to do something, gather more wood for the fire. I’ve got to keep this puffing billy going to continue boring.’ Billy commented.
‘I’ll be right back.’ Ryan left gathered branches of mulga or any other dead branches to use to keep the fire going.
Late in the afternoon Nat and Joe returned.
‘How far are we down Billy?’ Nat asked dismounting from his horse tying the reins to a nearby branch.
‘Almost three hundred feet. Haven’t found water yet. Long way to go. Young Ryan tells me the stick broke he used for divining so I can’t imagine how deep we need to go.’ Billy explained to Nat.
‘I don’t care how far you gotta bore. Keep going until you strike water.’ Nat instructed sternly.
‘What happens if I go further than we’ve ever gone before?’ Billy said.
‘Keep drilling. I don’t care about the costs. I believe in young Ryan.’ Nat admitted.
‘Okay. You’re the Boss. I’ll keep drilling. Might have to gather more wood for the furnace.’
‘Leave the gathering of wood to me. I’ll have a couple of workers gather enough wood to keep you going for a week.’ Nat finished. ‘We’d better be getting home Ryan. Martha will have kittens if we’re home after dark. You ready.’ Nat asked.
‘Yes Sir. Why would Mrs Young have kittens?’ Ryan said mounting Buttons. Nat and Joe ed.
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'Tilbaroo Station' - Page 81:

Before daybreak the following morning Ryan finished breakfast with Nat and Joe.
‘What’re you going to do today Ryan?’ Nat asked finishing his tea.
‘I’d love to help Mr Campbell. If that would be alright Sir.’ Ryan explained.
‘Fine by me. What about you Joe. Did you have any chores for Ryan to do?’ Nat asked Joe.
‘None at all. You ride over to help Billy today. We’ll come over this afternoon when we’re ready. Take some lunch with you. Billy would make you something but you take something from here just in case.’ Joe said as he rose to make sandwiches for Ryan to take with him.
After Joe finished making mutton sandwiches Ryan packed them into a saddle bag Joe handed to him. ‘I’ve saddled your horse. Buttons is tied up outside with the other horses. Have a great day. Don’t let Ole Billy talk you into too much. Catch up with you this afternoon.’ Joe finished. Ryan bid his friends good-day, left the house, threw the saddlebag behind the saddle on Buttons. After mounting Buttons rode toward the plant.
‘Good morning to you young Mister Ryan. Did you sleep well?’ Billy asked after Ryan tied Buttons to a nearby tree grabbed his saddlebag walked to the plant.
‘Have you discovered water yet Mr Campbell?’ Ryan sang in a cheery voice placing his saddlebag on a platform of the plant climbed upon the platform with Billy.
‘Went through some hard shale, thought I broke a couple of bits. Still boring. Down past seven hundred feet. The deepest I’ve ever drilled is one thousand feet. Hope to find water soon. Found moist soil late last night but this morning back to the hard grind.’ Billy explained to Ryan.
‘You worked all night?’ Ryan asked surprised.
‘The plant never stops mate. As long as we have sufficient wood to stoke the furnace. I never sleep.’
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