Mateship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mateship - Essay Example He spoke with his wife and they had determined that if they portioned there money properly they would be able to purchase a home, with a small amount of livestock and farmland. If they were able to reach their quotas they would be able to continue to support themselves and their infant daughter Abby. As Alex continued to look outside his window he became increasingly worried. While the first few years after moving to their new home had gone as they had hoped, in recent years they had experienced tremendous hardship. A spread of disease had overtaken much of their cattle, causing them to use the profits they had saved throughout the earlier years to buy new livestock. While the farmland had been the backbone of their existence, the recent drought had placed them once again on hard times. Added to this difficulty the couple’s infant daughter Abby was now a five year child with increasing demands; should be need to be sent to school in the upcoming year and the family worried abo ut having the money to support her education. Alex worried that if things did not soon improve he would have to sell the farm and admit catastrophic failure. While Alex and his family had enjoyed their lives and had become accustomed to the relative solitude, it did mean that they had to rely only on themselves in these challenging situations. Alex considered his solitude. He thought that of all the friends and family he had known throughout his life and recognized that there was nobody that could help him. He began to think about his surroundings. There was not another neighbor for nearly twenty-miles in any direction, except the lone estate on Douglas Hill. He had never ventured to this estate. It was clearly the home of a rich man, as it had fantastic architecture and was surrounded by a large and expensive fence. Alex recognized that there was farmland in the back and that the owner must have a reservoir of water he saved for droughts. Still, Alex had always been intimidated by entering the area of the home as he recognized the individual probably wanted nothing to do with a poor farmer like himself. Alex thought to himself – desperate times call for desperate measures – and set out to the estate. When Alex reached the estate he pressed the buzzer outside the gate. A light came on and he spoke into it identifying himself. He heard nothing on the other end and began walking away; as he was walking away the gates began to open. Alex turned around and walked towards the estate. When he reached the door Alex remained intimidated as he knocked on the door. He waited for a moment, expecting to be sent away or disregarded. Suddenly the door opened. ‘Howdy mate!’ a smiling middle-aged man in a hat said. Alex was taken aback. He had expected an old and serious gentleman, but had found an upbeat and casual person. Alex explained to the individual that he lived in the house a mile away. Before he could explain why he came, the man invited h im in. He introduced himself, saying his name was Steve. Alex was still slightly intimidate, but had become increasingly relaxed by Steve’s friendly demeanor. The two men walked into the home and onto the back porch. Steve retrieved some beers and they sat and talked about the area. Steve told him he had move there twenty-years ago and had started out from humble beginnings and built his farm and wealth up from nearly nothing. The conversation shifted to the drought and Alex told him about the dire straights his family had fallen into as a direct result. Understanding