Unknown by Unknown

hatchlings,' he informed her with evident pride. 'We had some trouble getting the young crocodiles to start feeding, but now they're supplied with warm, clean water, heat lamps around each pen, and a diet of fish, beef, chicken and vitamins.'
    They reached a fenced-off stretch of dark water flecked with leaves and floating twigs. Patches of reeds rimmed the man-made billabong. 'What's in here?' she queried.
    'My pride and joy.' He opened a metal locker alongside the pen and lifted out a pair of fat, very dead mullet which smelled ripe in the oven-like heat. At the sound of the locker opening, a prehistoric head lifted out of the reeds. It was shaped like an elongated triangle with yellowed teeth each as long as a man's finger, overhanging the jaw. As the great head lifted, its dark, noduled body emerged from the water.
    Ben had attached the fish to a long pole and he held it out over the pen. With a lightning-fast movement, the cavernous jaws closed over the fish and the crocodile sank from sight beneath the water.
    The leafy pool was soon tranquil again and Keri released the breath she had been holding. 'He must be at least fifteen feet long.'.
    'Sixteen and female,' Ben supplied. 'I'm going to find a mate for her and raise my own eggs right here.'
    'Have you been in touch with the Commission? We might be able to help you locate a mate for her.'
    He inclined his head. 'The Conservation Commission has offered to help, but I'd rather do things my way.'
    Which explained why she hadn't heard any talk about his project at headquarters. 'Still the independent type,' she breathed softly.
    'Always,' he confirmed. 'I don't believe in calling on the government for everything.'
    'I hope you'll let me help at least,' she offered, adding, 'in a private capacity if not an official one.'
    He looked pleased. 'I was hoping you'd offer. You're the only person I know whose enthusiasm for crocodiles is a match for mine.'
    His comment was absurdly warming. To cover her reaction, she said, 'What about Rick? Isn't this his land?'
    'It will be. The farm straddles both properties but he hasn't shown any interest so far. Luckily he has plenty of acreage left for whatever he decides to farm.'
    'What makes you so sure he'll take to any kind of farming?'
    His mouth tightened. 'I'm not. But the choice wasn't mine to make.'
    Her surprise was ill-disguised. 'I thought the land was left entirely to you.'
    A shadow darkened his even features. 'Remember, I was with Dad when he died. He felt badly about changing his will in my favour but by then it was too late. He begged me to sign Casuarina over to Rick when he married. I'm sure he believed Rick would have settled down by then.' His gaze was filled with irony. 'You didn't know that when you gave Rick, up, did you?'
    'I suppose it's no use saying it wouldn't have made any difference to me?'
    He shook his head. 'None at all.'
    It was late by the time they headed home and the sun had begun to paint the mountains with red and blue haze. As the light faded outside, the atmosphere in the vehicle became more intimate. She felt emboldened to ask, 'Ben, why didn't you ever marry?'
    His hands tightened on the steering wheel. 'I might have done once, but it didn't work out.'
    'What happened?' she asked, her voice soft.
    His expression became distant and he spoke as if to himself. 'She let me down badly, I didn't feel like trying again after that experience.'
    She cast her mind back to the parade of young women who used to visit Kinga Downs when Jake was still alive. There was Persia, of course, and the secretary from Red River and a young radio operator from Katherine. A few starry-eyed jillaroos had set their caps at the Champion brothers, but Keri couldn't remember Ben showing an interest in any of them. She was puzzled. Maybe the woman he referred to had appeared on the scene after Keri left.
    'What about you?' he asked, interrupting her thoughts.
    'I thought you said you'd been following my exploits in the