He'd Come Back

"He'd Come Back" is a poignant short story by Australian author Henry Lawson that explores themes of loss, memory, and the complexities of human relationships. Set against the backdrop of the Australian bush, the narrative centers around a woman whose thoughts are consumed by a former lover who has left her. As she navigates her feelings of longing and nostalgia, the story delves into the emotional impact of absence and the memories that linger in one's heart. Lawson's evocative prose captures the rawness of longing, making it a reflective piece on the nature of love and the haunting presence of those who have departed.

• Short story

								
The yarn was all lies, I suppose; but it wasn't bad. A city bushman told
it, of course, and he told it in the travellers' hut.

“As true's God hears me I never meant to desert her in cold blood,” he
said. “We'd only been married about two years, and we'd got along grand
together; but times was hard, and I had to jump at the first chance of a
job, and leave her with her people, an' go up-country.”

He paused and fumbled with his pipe until all ears were brought to bear
on him.

“She was a beauty, and no mistake; she was far too good for me--I often
wondered how she came to have a chap like me.”

He paused again, and the others thought over it--and wondered too,
perhaps.

The joker opened his lips to speak, but altered his mind about it.

“Well, I travelled up into Queensland, and worked back into Victoria 'n'
South Australia, an' I wrote home pretty reg'lar and sent what money
I could. Last I got down on to the south-western coast of South
Australia--an' there I got mixed up with another woman--you know what
that means, boys?”

Sympathetic silence.

“Well, this went on for two years, and then the other woman drove me to
drink. You know what a woman can do when the devil's in her?”

Sound between a sigh and a groan from Lally Thompson. “My oath,” he
said, sadly.

“You should have made it three years, Jack,” interposed the joker;
“you said two years before.” But he was suppressed.

“Well, I got free of them both, at last--drink and the woman, I
mean; but it took another--it took a couple of years to pull myself
straight--”

Here the joker opened his mouth again, but was warmly requested to shut
it.

“Then, chaps, I got thinking. My conscience began to hurt me, and--and
hurt worse every day. It nearly drove me to drink again. Ah, boys, a
man--if he is a man--can't expect to wrong a woman and escape scot-free
in the end.” (Sigh from Lally Thompson.) “It's the one thing that always
comes home to a man, sooner or later--you know what that means, boys.”

Lally Thompson: “My oath!”

The joker: “Dry up yer crimson oath! What do you know about women?”

Cries of “Order!”

“Well,” continued the story-teller, “I got thinking. I heard that my
wife had broken her heart when I left her, and that made matters worse.
I began to feel very bad about it. I felt mean. I felt disgusted with
myself. I pictured my poor, ill-treated, little wife and children in
misery and poverty, and my conscience wouldn't let me rest night or
day”--(Lally Thompson seemed greatly moved)--“so at last I made up my
mind to be a man, and make--what's the word?”

“Reparation,” suggested the joker.

“Yes, so I slaved like a n*gger for a year or so, got a few pounds
together and went to find my wife. I found out that she was living in
a cottage in Burwood, Sydney, and struggling through the winter on what
she'd saved from the money her father left her.

“I got a shave and dressed up quiet and decent. I was older-looking and
more subdued like, and I'd got pretty grey in those few years that I'd
been making a fool of myself; and, some how, I felt rather glad about
it, because I reckoned she'd notice it first thing--she was always quick
at noticing things--and forgive me all the quicker. Well, I waylaid
the school kids that evening, and found out mine--a little boy and a
girl--and fine youngsters they were. The girl took after her mother, and
the youngster was the dead spit o' me. I gave 'em half a crows each and
told them to tell their mother that someone would come when the sun went
down.”

Bogan Bill nodded approvingly.

“So at sundown I went and knocked at the door. It opened and there stood
my little wife looking prettier than ever--only careworn.”

Long, impressive pause.

“Well, Jack, what did she do?” asked Bogan.

“She didn't do nothing.”

“Well, Jack, and what did she say?”

Jack sighed and straightened himself up: “She said--she said--'Well, so
you've come back.'”

“Painful silence.

“Well, Jack, and what did you say?”

“I said yes.”

“Well, and so you had!” said Tom Moonlight.

“It wasn't that, Tom,” said Jack sadly and wearily--“It was the way she
said it!”

Lally Thompson rubbed his eyes: “And what did you do, Jack?” he asked
gently.

“I stayed for a year, and then I deserted her again--but meant it that
time.”

“Ah, well! It's time to turn in.”
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