An Outback Marriage | Page 2

then," said Pinnock; "don't have anything to do
with him. I know his sort--Government House young man the first
week, Coffee Palace at two shillings a night the second week, boiler on
the wharf the third week, Central Police Court the fourth week, and
then exit so far as all decent people are concerned."
The Bo'sun stuffed the telegram into his pocket and sat down.
"Oh, I don't suppose he'll be so bad," he said. "I've asked him here
to-night to see what he's like, and if he's no good I'll drop him. It's the
principle I object to. Country people are always at this sort of thing.
They'd ask me to meet an Alderney bull and entertain him till they send
for him. What am I to do with an unknown new chum? I'd sooner have
an Alderney bull--he'd be easier to arrange for. He'd stop where he was
put, anyhow."
Here Gillespie, the globe-trotter, cut into the conversation. "I knew a
Jim Carew in England," he said, "and if this is the same man you will
have no trouble taking care of him. He was a great man at his
'Varsity--triple blue, or something of the sort. He can row and run and
fight and play football, and all that kind of thing. Very quiet-spoken
sort of chap--rather pretends to be a simple sort of Johnny, don't you
know, but he's a regular demon, I believe. Got into a row at a
music-hall one night, and threw the chucker-out in among a lot of
valuable pot plants, and irretrievably ruined him."
"Nice sort of man," said the Bo'sun. "I've seen plenty of his sort, worse
luck; he'll be borrowing fivers after the first week. I'll put him on to you
fellows."

The globe-trotter smiled a sickly smile, and changed the subject.
"What's old Grant like--the man he's going to? Squatter man, I
suppose?"
"Oh, yes, and one of the real old sort, too," interposed Pinnock, "perfect
gentleman, you know, but apt to make himself deuced unpleasant if
everything doesn't go exactly to suit him; sort of chap who thinks that
everyone who doesn't agree with him ought to be put to death at once.
He had a row with his shearers one year, and offered Jack Delaney a
new Purdey gun if he'd fire the first two charges into the shearers' camp
at night."
"Ha!" said Gillespie. "That's his sort, eh? Well, if this Carew is the
Carew I mean, he and the old fellow will be well met. They'll about do
for each other in the first week or two."
"No great loss, either," said the Bo'sun. "Anyhow I've asked this new
chum to dinner to-night, and Charlie Gordon's coming too. He was in
my office to-day, but hadn't heard of the new chum. Gordon's a
member now."
"What's he like?" said Gillespie. "Anything like the gentleman that
wanted the shearers killed?"
"Oh, no; a good fellow," said the Bo'sun, taking a sip of sherry. "He
manages stations for Grant, and the old man has kept him out on the
back-stations nearly all his life. He was out in the Gulf-country in the
early days--got starved out in droughts, swept away in floods, lost in
the bush, speared by blacks, and all that sort of thing, in the days when
men camped under bushes and didn't wear shirts. Gone a bit queer in
the head, I think, but a good chap for all that."
"How did this Grant make all his money" asked Gillespie. "He's
awfully well off, isn't he? Stations everywhere? Is he any relation to
Gordon?"
"No; old Gordon--Charlie's father--used to have the money. He had a
lot of stations in the old days, and employed Grant as a manager. Grant

was a new chum Scotchman with no money, but a demon for hard work,
and the most headstrong, bad-tempered man that ever lived--hard to
hold at any time. After he'd worked for Gordon for awhile he went to
the diggings and made a huge pile; and when old Gordon got a bit short
of cash he took Grant into partnership."
"It must have been funny for a man to have his old manager as a
partner!"
"It wasn't at all funny for Gordon," said the lawyer, grimly. "Anything
but funny. They each had stations of their own outside the partnership,
and all Gordon's stations went wrong, and Grant's went right. It never
seemed to rain on Gordon's stations, while Grant's had floods. So
Gordon got short of money again and borrowed from Grant, and when
he was really in a fix Grant closed on him and sold him out for good
and all."
"What an old screw! What did he do that for?"
"Just pure obstinacy--Gordon had contradicted him or something, so he
sold him up