‘His name is Caleb Hunt. He came up on the coach from Melbourne. Beyond that, I can’t tell you much more,’ he said. ‘Shall I fetch the doctor?’

‘That would be a good idea, Mr Penrose.’

The man nodded and after he had shut the door behind him, Adelaide turned to Danny, who sat on the bench Adelaide kept in the office, head in his hands.

She crouched in front of him. ‘Tell me what happened, Danny.’

‘I saw the coach had come in and Netty gave me some carrots for the horses. She was talking to Amos. Then there was an explosion up at the mine that frightened Mac.’ His lip wobbled. ‘I couldn’t move and the man grabbed me and flung me out of the way. I think the horse hit his leg.’ His eyes welled with tears. ‘Are you very cross, Mama?’

Adelaide shook her head. ‘No one’s cross with you, Danny. It wasn’t your fault.’ She brushed the dusty fair hair from his eyes and forced a smile. ‘You know Mac is a lovely, gentle horse. He would never hurt you. He just got a bad fright.’

‘But that man got hurt.’

‘It doesn’t look too bad,’ she lied. ‘Now you go and wash your face and tidy your clothes and Netty and I will see to—’ What had Penrose said the man’s name was? ‘Mr Hunt.’

She paused long enough to close the post office, turning the sign in the window. Amos still had to bring in the mail but he knew her well enough to use the back door.

A trail of blood drips marked the rescue party’s progress through her home and she found them in the kitchen, standing in a respectful circle around the table on which the unconscious man had been laid.

‘Thank you for your help, gentlemen,’ Adelaide said. ‘Mr Penrose has gone to fetch the doctor. You can return to your drinks.’

One of the men jutted his bearded chin at the man on the table. ‘Your boy’d be dead if it weren’t for him. Never seen a body move so fast.’

Adelaide gave a curt nod. ‘I will thank him properly when he is conscious.’ After the men shuffled out Adelaide turned to Netty. ‘If you hadn’t been flirting with Amos, this wouldn’t have happened. You’re a grown woman not a seventeen-year-old maid,’ she snapped.

‘I’ll fetch some clean cloths,’ Netty sniffed and flounced out of the room, leaving Adelaide alone with her guest.

The man’s jacket had fallen away, revealing a revolver in a well-worn holster. The sight of the weapon sent a chill down her spine. Very few men carried weapons even in this wild part of the world. She may not like guns but she knew enough about them to handle them correctly and she unbuckled the holster and withdrew the weapon.