ll them old-fashioned sleepy old places near Sydney, for
cash, and cheap enough. The people that had them, and had lived a pokey
life in them for many a year, wanted the money to go to the diggings
with, and quite right too. Still, and all this land was rising in value,
and George's children, if he had any, would be among the richest people
in the colony.

After he'd married Miss Oldham--they were Hawkesbury people, her
grandfather, old Captain Oldham, was one of the officers in the first
regiment that came out--he didn't see why he shouldn't have as good a
house as any one else. So he had a gentleman up from Sydney that drew
plans, and he had a real stone house built, with rooms upstairs, and
furniture to match, a new garden, and a glass house at the side, for all
the world like some of them grand places in Darling Point, near Sydney.

Aileen wouldn't go in, and you may be sure I didn't want to, but we
rode all round the place, a little way off, and had a real good look
at everything. There wasn't a gentleman in the country had better
outbuildings of all sorts. It was a real tip-top place, good enough
for the Governor himself if he came to live up the country. All the old
fencing had been knocked down, and new railings and everything put up.
Some of the scraggy trees had been cleared away, and all the dead wood
burned. I never thought the old place could have showed out the way
it did. But money can do a lot. It ain't everything in this world. But
there's precious little it won't get you, and things must be very bad it
won't mend. A man must have very little sense if he don't see as he
gets older that character and money are the two things he's got to be
carefullest of in this world. If he's not particular to a shade about
either or both of 'em, he'll find his mistake.

After we'd had a good look round and seen the good well-bred stock in
the paddocks, the growing crops all looking first-rate, everything well
fed and hearty, showing there was no stint of grub for anything, man or
beast, we rode away from the big house entrance and came opposite the
slip-rails on the flat that led to the old cottage.

'Wouldn't you like to go in just for a minute, Dick?' says Aileen.

I knew what she was thinking of.

I was half a mind not, but then something seemed to draw me, and I was
off my horse and had the slip-rail down before I knew where I was.

We rode up to the porch just outside the verandah where George's father
had