Harry and Travis had a lot of time on their young hands. Apart from three hours of lessons on weekdays, conducted over a two-way radio and supervised by a supine Mary Frances, their days were their own. Harry and Travis had both received toy guns for Christmas and they set about inventing a blend of cowboys and aboriginals. Isolation begets such syncretism. However Harry lost his enthusiasm for the game when Travis and another kid, Daryl Cockatoo, lassooed him to an anthill for an hour and danced around him, smirking at his tears.

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