"Oh," Said His Mate, "Any One Could See 'e Was A Toff - I Seed Him Black 'is Boots And Brush His Teeth." "Yes, And 'e Wears A - - Collar Too." Thus Was Exemplified The Old Adage "Fine Feathers Make Fine Birds."

Camped near Bayley's was Godfrey Massie, a cousin of Brownes and brother of the once famous cricketer.

He had taken a contract to sink a shaft on the adjoining lease, but, owing to the death of one of his mates and his own incapacity to work, due to a "jarred" hand, he was forced to throw up the job, and quickly agreed to my proposal that he should form one of my party. People get to a very casual way of doing things on the goldfields. There was no formality about my arrangements; Godfrey helping me pack at a store, and during our work I said without preface, "You'd better come too;" "Right," said he, and the matter was settled. Godfrey, a son of one of the leading Sydney families, had started life in an insurance office, but soon finding that he was not cut out for city life, went on to a Queensland cattle-station, where he gained as varied a knowledge of bush life as any could wish for; tiring of breeding and fattening cattle for somebody else's benefit, he joined the rush to the Tasmanian silver-fields and there he had the usual ups and downs - now a man of wealth, and now carrying his load of bacon and oatmeal through the jungle on the steep Tasmanian mountains.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 162 of 468
Words from 44396 to 44656 of 127189