Peter himself had been surprised by it, as he would have been surprised by a jack-in-thebox. So he ignored Mongrel, focusing instead on the old man, who was speaking again, more loudly this time, straining to be heard through Mongrel’s furious, full-throated barks. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve run out of petrol too,’ he said. ‘We have,’ Noel replied. ‘We all have.’ ‘There’s something wrong,’ Del added. ‘Mongrel! Shuddup! No one can get through to where they’re goin. Where are yiz headed, anyway – Broken Hill?’ ‘That’s right,’ the old man responded. ‘Well good luck, but yiz’ll need it to get there, on this road.’ ‘What do you mean? It’s the Silver City Highway. It goes to the Silver City.’ ‘Most of the time, yeah. Just lately, it hasn’t wanted to.’ The old man frowned. Mongrel continued to bark. Del screamed at him again, in a power-tool voice that made everybody grimace and Peter’s teeth vibrate. ‘Mongrel, dammit, shut the hell UP!’ The dog subsided – at least for a moment.
