Page:While the Billy Boils, 1913.djvu/276

 too; also an Irishman. Great Britain and Ireland do not seem to be learning anything fresh about Australia. We had a yarn with one of these new arrivals, and got talking about the banks. It turned out that he was a Radical. He spat over the side and said:―

'It's a something shame the way things is carried on! Now, look here, a banker can rob hundreds of wimmin and children an' widders and orfuns, and nothin' is done to him, but if a poor man only embezzles a shilling he gets transported to the colonies for life.' The italics are ours, but the words were his.

We explained to this new chum that transportation was done away with long ago, as far as Australia was concerned, that no more convicts were sent out here―only men who ought to be; and he seemed surprised. He did not call us a liar, but he looked as if he thought that we were prevaricating. We were glad that he didn't say so, for he was a bigger man. New chums are generally more robust than Australians.

When we got through the Heads someone pointed to the wrong part of the cliff and said:

'That's where the Dunbar was wrecked.'

Shortly afterwards another man pointed to another wrong part of the cliffs and observed incidentally:

'That's where the Dunbar was wrecked.'

Pretty soon a third man came along and pointed to a third wrong part of the cliff, and remarked casually:

'That's where the Dunbar was wrecked.'

We moved aft and met the fourth mate, who jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the cliffs in general, and muttered condescendingly:

'That's where the Dunbar was wrecked.'