and passed me a cuppa and let me be. And I noticed how that mob of wet townies were all sort of … I dunno … changed. Calmer. Kind of glowing in the firelight and acting like everything’s all okay with the world. I didn’t get it then. I kind of liked it but I didn’t get it. Never been big on the God stuff. It was nice, but. They went away and I thought that’d be that. Nup. Doesn’t rain but it pours. About a week later another mob – from Roma of all places – rock up. Looking for the “preacher” they said. I asked them why and they said they just wanted to talk, so I let ’em in. Follow ’em down. Same story. They all got dunked and they come up all clean and happy and weird. After that it was every day or so and another mob’d turn up. Then it was two or three mobs a day. The paddocks were getting ripped up with all the vehicles, so I started making them walk down to the river, thinking that’d put them off. Dreamin’. They got out of their cars. They walked. They got dunked. They skipped back home. I thought about charging admittance, but I figured if Jonno didn’t charge for the dunkins then I would have been cutting it a bit rough, asking for money. Mate, we had all sorts. Graziers, townies, city folk. A bunch of nuns. A bishop! Then the local cops turned up. I thought they were gonna run him out of town but no, they come for a dunking. I went down for that one. I swear he held them under a bit longer. Or maybe I just hoped he would. And they all came up saying they’d change their ways. All looking scared then looking hopeful. I made them walk too. Even the local Indigenous mob came one night. They’re always welcome here and they don’t ask permission. I figure it was their place before it was my place. They fish, they yarn, they shut the gates, they don’t cause any trouble. This night they sat at Jonno’s fire and sang. I wasn’t invited so I didn’t go. Heard the songs all night. Language songs. Songs about this place, I reckon. Next day Jonno looked alive with something new. Don’t know if anyone got dunked that night. And if they did, don’t know who dunked who. 15
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