od
many pretended to believe in. His "missus" was an animal of his own
species, but she was duller and didn't bellow.

[ * "Lamber-down," a shanty keeper who entices cheque-men
to drink. ]

He had a rather good-looking girl there--I don't know whether she was
his daughter or not. They said that when he saw the shearers coming he'd
say, "Run and titivate yourself, Mary; here comes the shearers!"

But what surprised me was that Jack Barnes didn't seem able to see
through Thomas; he thought that he was all right, "a bit of a rough
diamond." There are any amount of scoundrels and swindlers knocking
about the world disguised as rough diamonds.

Jack had a fit of coughing when we came in.

"Why, Jack!" bellowed Thomas, "that's a regular churchyarder you've got.
Go in to the kitchen fire and I'll mix you a stiff toddy."

"No, thank you, Thomas," said Jack, glancing at me rather sheepishly,
I thought. "I'll have a hot cup of coffee presently, that'll do me more
good."

"Why, man alive, one drink won't hurt you!" said Thomas. "I know you're
on the straight, and you know I'm the last man that 'ud try to get you
off it. But you want something for that cold. You don't want to die on
the track, do you? What would your missus say? That cough of yours is
enough to bust a bullock."

"Jack isn't drinking, Thomas," I said rather shortly, "and neither am
I."

"I'll have a cup of coffee at breakfast," said Jack; "thank you all the
same, Thomas."

"Right you are, Jack!" said Thomas. "Mary!" he roared at the girl,
"chuck yerself about and get breakfast, and make a strong cup of coffee;
and I say, missus" (to his wife), "git some honey and vinegar in a cup,
will yer? or see if there's any of that cough stuff left in the bottle.
Go into the kitchen, you chaps, and dry yourselves at the fire, you're
wringing wet."

Jack went through into the kitchen. I stepped out to see if the horses
were all right, and as I came in again through the bar, Thomas, who had
slipped behind the counter, crooked his finger at me and poured out a
stiff whisky. "I thought you might like to have it on the quiet," he
whispered, with a wink.

Now, there was this difference between Jack and me. When I was on the
track, and healthy and contented, I could take a drink, or two drinks,
and then leave it; or at other times I could drink all day, or all
night, and be as happy as a lord, and be mighty sick and repentant all
next day, and then not t