Chapter 10 Summary

Within a week after the fire, new green shoots are growing in the pastures, although the land would bear the scars for years. Bob, assuming his father's position as head stockman at 29, shows no interest in any of the young women he meets. He is painfully shy and utterly preoccupied with Drogheda, to Meggie's disappointment. Jack and Hughie become more like him each passing day.

Bob hires a new sheep shearer named Luke O'Neill, who chooses the last vacant stockman's cabin, rather than bunk with the jackaroos. When Meggie first meets Luke, she is struck by how closely he resembles Father Ralph de Bricassart. A few days later, Luke invites Meggie to a dance and insists, over her protests that she attend. He even has the temerity to suggest that Bob lend him the Rolls Royce for the evening, since he will be...