And meanwhile Purdy was stealing a march on him, was paying clandestine visits to Geelong.

Was it conceivable that anyone in his five senses could prefer Tilly to Polly?
It was not.

In the clutch of a sudden fear Mahony went to Bath's and ordered a horse for the following morning.
This time he left his store in charge of a young consumptive, whose plight had touched his heart: the poor fellow was stranded on Ballarat without a farthing, having proved, like many another of his physique, quite unfit for work on the diggings.

A strict Baptist this Hempel, and one who believed hell-fire would be his portion if he so much as guessed at the "plant" of his employer's cash-box.

He also pledged his word to bear and forbear with Long Jim.