the thorn birds colleen mccullough

fight, you know, it's the size of the fight in the dog! Come on now,
here's this little bloke game to try- what about some of you big
blokes, eh? Put on a glove and win a fiver, go the distance with one
of Jimmy Sharman's troupe!"
Gradually the ranks of the volunteers increased, the young men selfconsciously
clutching their hats and eyeing the professionals who
stood, a band of elite beings, alongside them. Dying to stay and see
what happened, Father Ralph reluctantly decided it was more than
time he removed Meggie from the vicinity, so he picked her up and
turned on his heel to leave. Meggie began to scream, and the farther
away he got, the louder she screamed; people were beginning to
look at them, and he was so well known it was very embarrassing,
not to mention undignified. "Now look, Meggie, I can't take you in
there! Your father would flay me alive, and rightly!"
"I want to stay with Frank, I want to stay with Frank!" she howled
at the top of her voice, kicking and trying to bite.
"Oh, shit!" said Father Ralph.
Yielding to the inevitable, he dug into his pocket for the required
coins and approached the open flap of the marquee, one eye cocked
for any of the Cleary boys; but they were nowhere to be seen, so he
presumed they were safely trying their luck with the horseshoes or
gorging themselves on meat pies and ice cream.
"You can't take her in there, Father!" the foreman said, shocked.
Father Ralph lifted his eyes heavenward. "If you'll only tell me how
we can get her away from here without the entire Gilly police force
arresting us for molesting a child, I'll gladly go! But her brother