The Lost Man
Jane Harper
Contributed by Greta Venegas
Chapter 12
Summary

After getting back, Xander heads for the house while Nathan goes to speak to Liz who is sitting under the tree by her late husband’s grave. They hear a dingo howl, and Liz assures Nathan that Bub will take care of it, as he likes the bounty paid by the council from dingo scalps. Liz says Steve called from the clinic confirming that they would release the body unless the findings from the autopsy shows something other than dehydration, and that they would have the funeral on Christmas Eve or New Year. Liz wishes that she had spent more time with Cameron that morning before he left. Nathan wonders whether people will attend the funeral during Christmas; but his mother assures him they will, as most people in the town loved Cameron. He recalls how funerals were one of the few events that drew his mum away from the property. The two discuss that Cameron’s estate will go to Ilse and that they might find a farm manager to run the place in the long term.

Analysis

Liz reveals that people will be willing to come for Cameron’s burial even though she planned to have it during Christmas or the New Year, a sign that people respected him. When Sophie, Cameron’s daughter, suggests that their home is haunted, Liz relates it to the stockman’s story and the deaths of the children that occurred before 1920. During that time, most of the children that were born had died because of the harsh weather conditions. Liz had heard about the stockman’s story from a member of his family who was still living in the area when she moved there. The death of the stockman, and that of the children, presents a history of the harsh climate of this town.

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