what
brought Mr. Carew out here, to try and find you."

For some time the bushman smoked in silence, looking at each man in
turn, perhaps expecting them to laugh. He muttered once or twice to
himself under his breath. Then he turned on Gordon again.

"Now, look here, Mr. Gordon, is this square? Because, if it ain't, it'll
be a poor joke for some of you!"

"Man alive, why should we want to fool you? What good could it do us?
It's all right."

"Well, if it's all right, we'll all have a drink on it. Here, Maggie,
Lucy, Billy, come here. Get it pannikin. You won't mind me treatin' 'em
with your rum, I suppose, Mister?" he said, turning to Gordon. "I don't
come in for a fortune every day, you know, and there ain't a drop of
lush in the place, only yours."

"Fire away," said Charlie.

"Come on, Lucy. Come on, Maggie. Where's Ah Loy? Watch their faces,
Mister, it's as good as a play. Now then, ladies, I bin poor fella longa
teatime, now rich feller longa bedtime. You savvy?"

The gins grinned uncomprehendingly, but held out their pannikins, and
into each he poured a three-finger nip of raw overproof rum that would
have burnt the palate of Satan himself. They swallowed it neat, in two
or three quick gulps. The tears sprang to their eyes, and they contorted
their faces into all sorts of shapes; but they disdained to take water
after it.

"My word, that strong feller, eh?" said Considine. "Burn your mouth, I
think it. Now then, Ah Loy, how much you wantee? That plenty, eh?"

Ah Loy peered into the tin pannikin with a dejected air, and turned it
on one side to show that there wasn't much in it.

"Here y'are, then," said his boss. "Have a bit more. We don't come in
for a fortune every day. Watch him take it, Mister."

Ah Loy put the fiery spirit to his lips, and began to drink in slow
sips, as a connoisseur sips port wine.

"Good heavens," said Carew, "it'll burn the teeth out of his head."

The Chinee sipped away, pausing to let the delicate fluid roll well into
the tender part of his mouth and throat.

"Welly stlong!" he said at last; but he finished the lot. The two black
boys had their share, and retired again to their camp. Then the three
white men sat out in front of the house on some logs, smoking, and
looking at the blazing stars.

Considine had fifty questions to ask, and the more Carew tried, the more
helpless it was to explain things to him.

"D'you say there's a house left me with this here money?"