He tossed the rock he held away and sat down beside her on the sand, his legs drawn up, his forearms resting on his knees. ‘I drifted west after the war,’ he said. ‘Took whatever work I could find. I was working on a ranch outside San Francisco and life wasn’t too bad. The work was physical but I relished it. Fixing fences and branding cattle was a relief after what I’d been through. I didn’t have responsibility for anyone else’s life.’

‘There was a woman?’ Adelaide said.

He paused. ‘Maria.’

‘Did you love her?’

He glanced at her. ‘Love is a strong word, Adelaide.’ He picked up a stick and began tracing patterns in the sand. ‘No, I didn’t love her, but I was fond of her and she seemed to return the feelings. For a little while, she kept me from my demons.’

He fell silent, the only sounds the rasp of the stick in the sand and the crash of falling timber as the burned trees surrendered their limbs to the freshening wind.

‘Maria died. An earthquake, not even a big one, but the walls of our cabin caved in on her. I tried to save her but …’ He held up his hands as if seeing them for the first time. ‘No skill I possessed could do anything.’

The wind picked up the ash and smouldering embers from the opposite slope and sent them skittering across the river, bringing with it smoke and the roar of approaching flames.

‘The fire’s turned. We need to get into the shelter,’ he said, rising to his feet.

Adelaide shivered, wrapping her arms around her damp shirt. The clothes that had seemed so heavy in the heat of the day now seemed inadequate. With the exception of Caleb’s waistcoat, neither of them wore any clothing that could be spared to make the boy more comfortable. She knew the fickle nature of the weather and never left home unprepared for the worst but in her haste to leave, she had left behind the heavy woollen jacket she always carried strapped to her mare when she came out bush.

Caleb rose to his feet and leaned both hands against the lintel in the adit’s entrance. ‘It goes back a fair way. We should be safe enough but I just need to make sure there are no more unwelcome lodgers.’

He found a sturdy branch with leaves still attached and set it alight using the embers from a smouldering tree. Using the branch as a torch, he ducked into the adit, sweeping it from right to left. The light faded from Adelaide’s view as he progressed.

When he came out, the branch had burned down to a stub.

‘It’s clear and dry,’ he said. ‘Let’s get Danny inside and see what he brought with him to eat. I’ve had nothing since last night.’