Davey - 1838
Davey, hiding up the old fig tree while wearing a mask pretends to shoot at a target with a stick. It is revealed that he is playing a game with Rupert and Harold Owen, whom outnumber him and win. When Davey falls from the tree and hits the ground, the two Owen boys tiptoe over and nudge him to see if he is alright. Davey fails to respond and Harold concludes that they should bury him, while Rupert suggests leaving him for the crows.
Davey wakes up and gives the other two boys a shock. They tackle him in revenge but are frightened by the arrival of John Owen. He scolds both them and Davey for wasting time playing before telling them to go and change into clean clothes.
John orders Davey to go back to work in the stable, where he strokes the mane of his favourite horse Duchess. George, another stablehand, reminds Davey not to spend too much on one horse at the risk of neglecting the others.
Outside the stables, Mr Owen is teaching Rupert and Harold how to crack a whip. Rupert excitedly asks to try first, only to make hardly any noise with the whip. Harold then pushes his brother to let him have a turn and when he does no better, Rupert teases him. Harold whines in response and his grandfather quietens him down. Davey is asked to demonstrate the proper way and he does it with ease.
Mr Owen asks Davey and George to see him afterwards so as to inform them that he is sending Duchess to the tannery. Davey tearfully protests against it tears, but Mr Owen insists that it is necessary and the least that can be done to give the horse a comfortable last night. Mr Owen leaves the stables and Davey hugs Duchess in grief, while George watches hopelessly.
Davey takes Duchess out for a walk in the bush with his pregnant sister Alice. He laments that they will never achieve his dream of being able to travel freely around the country as they please. The sound of a gunshot excites Davey and he looks up to see a bushranger riding around on horseback. He smiles in admiration at the young man's boldness, only to frown when two mounted police enter the scene and scare the bushranger away. He gives the policemen wrong directions as to where the bushranger went and they ride off.
The bushranger gallops out of his hiding place and tips his hat to Davey in gratitude. Davey proudly proclaims to his sister that he wants to be a bushranger too, but she tells him to wait until he is older and he has grown some whiskers to think about it.
Rupert and Harold ambush Davey on his way back and taunt him about Duchess' impending fate. Davey tries unsuccessfully to get rid of the two boys and Alice comes to his rescue, scaring them away with threats.
Davey comes up with a plan to save Duchess and the next day, he lets all of the Owen family's sheep loose to create a distraction. As the Owen men try to prevent the sheep from escaping, Davey runs into the stable and leads Duchess out. Once he is safely away from the Owen property, he mounts the old horse and rides slowly into the bush.He stops to leave Duchess under a rocky shelter before making his way back to civilisation.
He arrives just as John Owen is gathering all the servants together to determine who was responsible for the fleeing sheep. He catches the shifty look on Davey's face and asks him if it was his doing. Davey feigns innocence and denies that he would ever do such a thing. John then questions George about Duchess' disappearance and demands that the stable hand read the tracks outside the stable to find out the truth.
George kneels down to study the soil and lies that the marks were left by John Owen himself. Everyone giggles in response before being told to leave.
Once they are away from everybody else, George lets Davey know that he is roughly aware of Duchess' whereabouts and that it is unsafe to leave an old horse alone in the wild. Davey only grows more anxious when he hears John and his father discussing searching for the horse in the bush. He goes home and takes a loaf of bread from his mother Sarah before giving her a heartfelt hug. She is taken aback and wonders if something is wrong, but he reassures her that he is fine.
Davey steals a saddle and travels back into the bush. He is relieved to find Duchess right where he left her and mentally prepares himself to leave his home for good. Things begin to get out of control however when he reaches a hill and sees Mr Owen riding down below. He pulls his stick out and points it at the old man, secretly yearning to be able to shoot him. Actual gunfire sounds to his shock and Mr Owen falls, landing motionlessly onto the ground. Davey's heart races when he sees three armed men approach the fallen man and mercilessly rob him.
As the gang of bushrangers flee the scene, one of them aims his pistol at Davey but lowers it when he recognises the boy who saved him earlier.
Davey's morals tell him to approach Mr Owen to see if he is alright and the man lets out a cough. Knowing that Mr Owen is still alive, Davey offers to get help and helps him up on to Duchess's back. Mr Owen passes out from his wound along the way and Davey urges him to wake up, confessing that it was he whom let the sheep out so he could take Duchess.
Mr Owen's bleeding grows heavier and he loses energy, becoming unconscious for the rest of the journey. It is evening by the time when they arrive back in town and Davey immediately takes him to his house. Mrs Owen is horrified to see her husband in such a state and helps take him inside, while John bitterly tells Davey to come back in the morning. George arrives to comfort Davey, but his attempt is rejected.
Davey admits his wrongdoings to his mother and sisters over dinner, but neither woman's words have any effect in relieving his turmoil. He ends up going straight to bed when he cannot bring himself to eat.
John comes to deliver some good news the following day: Duchess will no longer be going to the tannery and Davey will be free to look after her until she dies. Davey is ecstatic to hear this and soon takes her along on an outing with his sisters.
