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Speaker 1: Julius Adolphus Jenkins Christmas Alligator by Lewis Beck. When mister

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Julius Adolphus Jenkins arrived at the thriving little city of

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Townsville in North Queensland, he was at first greatly flattered

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at the amount of attention he attracted when he walked

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up Flinders Street to introduce himself to the manager of

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the Bank of North Australia, to which institution he had

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been appointed ledger keeper. But when, in addition to being

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stared at by every passer by, he found that people

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ran to their shop doors and either gazed at him

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in open mouthed wonder or laughed outright, he began to

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feel annoyed and was glad to enter the bank to

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escape observation. The manager of the bank and his accountant

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were at that moment discussing the expected arrival of the

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new chump ledger keeper, who was due that morning by

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the English mail steamer, and mister Jenkins thought it very

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strange and somewhat rude that they should stare at him

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as if he were some new species of animal. However,

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they were both very polite to him, inquired if he

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had had a pleasant voyage from London, and asked him

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what he would like to drink. This made mister Jenkins

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in turn stare at them and wonder if these two

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disreputably clad young men were really the manager and accountant

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of a bank or a couple of daring burglars who

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had taken possession of the building. I I, I thank you.

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I don't know, he stammered. Oh but please do, mister Jenkins,

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said Alec Macpherson, the manager, genialie, come into the dining room.

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Shut the door, Jimmy, if anyone comes, let him knock.

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And he led the way into the dining room, where

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missus Flaherty, Cook and General was laying the table for lunch.

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Without being told, she went to the deal dresser that

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did duty as a sideboard and dinner wagon, and brought

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a bottle of brandy, a bottle of whiskey, some bottles

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of soda, and three large tumblers and placed them on

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the table, apologizing for the want of ice, a rare

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commodity in Townsville in those days. Mister mac Pherson, on

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learning that mister Jenkins would take just a very little brandy,

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passed him the bottle told him to help himself and

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opened a bottle of soda water for him. Then he

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and the accountant Jimmy Badthurst, locally known as Jimmy bad Thirst,

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helped themselves to what mister Jenkins thought an appalling and

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disgraceful quantity of whiskey. Well, mister Jenkins, said the manager,

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as he cocked one leg over the arm of his

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chair and began cutting up a pipe full of black

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plug tobacco. We are glad to see you. Of course

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you'll have lunch with us. That's right. Where are your traps? Oh,

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at the Queen's Hotel. Well, it is about the decentest

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place in town to stay at Bathurst, and I live

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here bank rule, you know, and we manage pretty well. Now,

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then missus Flaherty kindly hurry up and give us a

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good lunch. Please. Hope you'll like Townsville, mister Jenkins. It's

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a beastly hot hole, but there are a lot of

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good fellows here, and you'll soon get into our ways.

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Mister Julius Adolphus Jenkins murmured in a dazed sort of

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way that he hoped so, and then asked when he

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was to begin his duties. Oh, in about a week,

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if you like. There's no hurry, and I am not

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going to rush you into work at once once, don't

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you smoke. Of course, your salary begins from to day.

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But Jimmy here and the exchange clerk will attend to

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the ledgers for a week or so more with pleasure.

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By the way, Jimmy, when is Fletcher coming back? Fletcher

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was the youthful exchange clerk. Bathurst grinned. When he does.

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You told him he could go fishing for an hour

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or two this morning, daaresayl he'll turn up tomorrow to

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call over at lunch. Mac Pherson and his subordinate did

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their best to put their guests at his ease, for

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they both saw that he was not at all happy.

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In fact, he really was miserable, for he felt that

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he had come to live among savages. Excusing himself as

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soon as possible, he went off to his hotel, and

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once he was out of hearing, the two young men

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burst out into irrepressible laughter, in which missus Flaherty, unchecked

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daringly joined swaying with her hands on her hips from

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side to side, whilst tears rolled down her perspiring cheeks.

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Never did I see such a thing like it in

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awe me loift, she panted at last, Sure the whole

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town will be a for following him up and down

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the strait. Get away out of this, missus Flaherty, gasped Bathurst,

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as with the tears streaming down his own cheeks, he

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pushed her out through the door, just as a big

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bearded man in the uniform of an inspector of mounted

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police came in and looked at the two young men,

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wondering what was the cause of their mirth. Closey, my boy,

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did you see it? Said Bathurst in a choky sort

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of whisper as he sank back in his seat. What

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is it? Asked the officer. Our new chum clerk from

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England just turned. Oh, cloesy, he's glorious. He's a wonderful sight,

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a circus, a panorama, isn't in it with him? You

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must bring your nigger troopers to look at him? Such

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a rig out for North Queensland you never saw in

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your life. Top hat, frock coat, collar half a foot high, monocle,

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spats on his boots, kid gloves and a beautiful cane.

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When will he be on show? Inquired the hairy man

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as he helped himself to a drink. Now, Julius Adolphus,

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as he was henceforth to be known, although a terribly

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conceited young man and an intense admirer of himself, had

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a certain amount of common sense. And when he found

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that his Piccadilly costume attracted such widespread attention and amusement,

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he began to feel uncomfortable. It was not pleasant, for instance,

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when he should owed himself in the street to hear

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a lot of rough diggers make such remarks as oh

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strike me, dick, just look at it, or for a

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great hulking bushman to deliberately stand in front of him,

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open mouthed, and then fall down in a pretended fit.

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He stood it for a few days, and then Macpherson

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came to his assistance and gave him advice. You, you see,

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mister Jenkins, your style of dress is so so very

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unusual in this part of the world that it well,

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it makes people stare. Now, I'm sure you won't mind

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my advising you to discard it for something more suitable

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and less striking. Do you wish me to discard wearing

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a coat? Inquired Julius Adolphus, hotly, adding with dignity that

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he would draw the line at that. Had Messrs Macpherson

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and Bathurst seen the very very descriptive letter which the

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young man wrote home to his parents, they would have

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at least been interested, if not flattered, at his remarks

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about the society of Townsville in general and themselves in particular.

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The people are the roughest and dirtiest imaginable. One half

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of them are diggers who are swarming in from the

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interior on their way to the new gold fields on

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the Palmer River. They all have horses, use the most

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frightful language, and when not fighting or intoxicated, are lying

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asleep in the shade on public house verandahs. When I

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first entered the door of the disgraceful building called a bank,

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I found therein two rough looking young men clad in shirts,

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trousers and boots socks I presume they had. Round each

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man's waist was a coarse leather belt, on which was

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also a greasy leather watch pouch. Neither had collar nor tie,

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and each was smoking a pipe. Imagine my disgust when

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I found that these two disreputable looking ruffs were, respectively

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the manager and accountant. Certainly they were civil, and I

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presume have been gentlemen. They addressed each other as Jimmy

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and Alec, and seemed to be on terms of the

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most shocking familiarity with their customers, and go out and

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have drinks with them at the low hotel opposite the

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bank at all times of the day, or invite them

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into their own dining room, and this in banking hours.

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And they keep a pack of savage kangaroo dogs which

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live in the bank. The exchange clerk is an unmitigated

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young ruffian of eighteen named Fletcher. He also smokes a

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pipe in the bank and out of it, and addresses

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me as Jenkins, and is hail fellow, well met with

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the rough and dirty diggers and bushmen who come into

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the bank on business. I wonder what these three beautiful

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creatures would think of an English bank and its tone.

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Six months had passed and Julius Adolphus had become used

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to and not entirely averse to his surroundings. One reason

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for this was that, being very musical, his evenings were

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not dull. And although Townsville was a new town, there

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was no lack of ladies society. For nearly all the

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government officials, merchants, doctors and other professional men were married,

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and some had families in which were some pretty girls.

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And as mister Jenkins began to lose his provincial English

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stiffness and where white ducks and unbid himself generally, he

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actually found that he was beginning to like some of

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the people who were always so hospitable to him. And

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for a miss Mary Brandon, the pretty daughter of a

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leading merchant, he had more than a liking like himself.

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She was very musical, and he visited her father's town

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house on Milton Hill several evenings a week. Mary was

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at first much inclined to make fun of her admirer

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and chaffed him a good deal, which only made him

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the more devoted to her. And as time went on

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he gradually lost much of his new chumishness and mixed

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with young men of his own age, attended an occasional

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race meeting, and even went so far as to join

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in a kangaroo hunt. But at the same time he

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always regarded himself as an infinitely superior person, and he

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hated Jimmy bad Thirst first, because that irresponsible young man

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openly expressed his admiration for Mary Brandon, and secondly because

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he was noisy in the bank, smoked incessantly even when

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cashing checks over the counter, and always spoke of banking

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as merely a pond broking business without the sign of

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the three balls over the door. Julius Adolphus had a

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holy reverence for banking as a dignified and gentlemanly pursuit,

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and it horrified him to hear loose talk like this.

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When the rainy season came in, there was a great

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wild goose shooting party on some swamps a few hours

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ride from the town, and he was induced to take

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part in it, clad in a wonderful sporting get up

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which caused great hilarity. Everything he wore from head to

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foot was new, and as every article except a huge,

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green lined solar topei had been made by local tailors

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and outfitters who had never made the like before in

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their lives, but had done their best, which was awful

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to look at. He presented such a curious spectacle that

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numbers of the townspeople cheered him, and almost every fourth

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person he met inquired if he was going far. Allusions

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to the solar topei were numerous, as being just the

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thing to attract geese and ducks and so on. But

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Julius Adolphus deigned no reply, and trotted along the street

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in dignified silence and chin in air. On his way

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to join the party, he called at Miss Brandon's house.

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She told him out of pity that he looked so

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nigh and so different from the others, that he flushed

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with pleasure, and said he would leave a goose at

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the house on his way home. Arriving at the swamp

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at dusk, the party camped for the night in tents,

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intending to begin the chute at dawn from three different

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sides of the Great Swamp, and Julius Adolphus was instructed

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as to the position he was to take up at

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a certain spot, and not to fire till his turn came,

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or he would, as young Fletcher observed, spoil the bloom

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and show. But he was determined to get more geese

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than anyone, so long before dawn he started alone, got

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to his appointed post under a clump of fig trees,

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and waited impatiently. For all around him he could hear

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hundreds upon hundreds of geese, some on the banks, some

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on the water, and at the first break of day,

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he saw on a little islet less than fifty yards away,

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thirty or forty birds standing at the water's edge. In

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an instant, he fired both barrels and uttered a shout

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of triumph as two birds dropped, and gun in hand,

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he dashed into the shallow water and promptly sank up

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to his chin in mud, as some thousands of geese,

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with a noise of wings like a hurricane, rose in

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air from all parts of the swamp and made off

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to another spot two miles away. Amid the curses of

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the rest of the shooting party, Julius Adolphus was rescued

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just in time from perishing miserably. Then his gun was

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found and he was brought back to camp, given some coffee,

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threatened with murder if he left the tent again, and

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the two geese he had shot thrown at him with

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much Queensland language. He waited till the party had gone, Then,

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burning with anger at his rude treatment, but proud of

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his skill, he caught and saddled his horse, and with

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the pair of geese, made his way back to town

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to his hotel, changed his clothes, and at lunch time

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carried the geese to his divinity. Her sweet words of

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praise filled his manly bosom with joy, and before an

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hour had passed, inspired him to confess his love. And

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whilst Mary did not actually say yes, she did not

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say no. But at the same time frankly told him

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that he must try and be less English, especially in

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his assumption that Colonials were an uncultivated lot of beings

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and quite inferior in intelligence to the Englishman born. And Adolphus,

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she added, just show all these young fellows that you

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are as good a sportsman as any one of them.

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I know you can be if you try, and Julius

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Adolphus Jenkins went home on air blessing those two geese.

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For some weeks he preserved a distinctly haughty demeanor to

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Jimmy Bathurst and young Fletcher, especially when the latter made

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rude allusions to the awful sight he had presented when

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pulled up out of the mud. He now paid the

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fair merry daily visits and promised her to learn to

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ride like a colonial and not mind a little chaff.

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Every new chum gets teased at first, Julius, She said, now,

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mister mac Pherson was such a dandified young scotsman when

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we first knew him ten years ago. But look at

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him now, any one would think he had been born

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and bred in the bush and lived among rough diggers

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and bush men all his life. I don't want you

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to be careless or untidy in your dress, but would

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like you to be just a little more colonial in

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your ways. And I want you to go shooting and

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fishing and kangarooing as much as you can like the

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other men here. And oh, Julius, do try and shoot

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an alligator. There were five killed in Ross River last

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week by different people, and I should like you to

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shoot one, could you not? It is not very dangerous

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if you are careful. Julius bridled up. What they can do,

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I can do, he said loftily. Mary's eyes sparkled. Oh, Julius,

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do try, and if you do, I will marry you

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when ever you ask me. The fact is, Julius, dear

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father laughs at you and says you are an awful duffer,

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and teases me terribly about you, and that horrid little

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beast of a fletcher boy mimics you so terribly. And

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you know what father is. He laughs at every one,

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but he won't let me marry a duffer, No, not

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if he were a duke or a bishop. A mile

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or two from Townsville, near the mouth of the Ross River,

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there was a small, muddy, banked and low mangrove island,

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in the center of which was a ramshackle hut raised

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on four piles. It was used by the local Chinese

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shrimpers and fishermen, and also by alligator shooters, occasionally as

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a good and safe spot to get an easy shot

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at close range at any sarian lying on the river

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bank a few yards distant. Here. One afternoon at four o'clock,

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two days before Christmas Day, Julius Adolphus found himself determined

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to kill an alligator before nine on the following morning.

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He was due at the bank at ten. For the purpose.

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He had borrowed a heavy tarry police rifle, had had

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its mechanism explained, provided himself with twenty cartridges, some rope,

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and also some refreshment in case he had to remain

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the night. He had reached the islet by a punt

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belonging to the Chinaman, who lent it to him for

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the night for half a crown under promise of his

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not losing it. This he failed to do, for immediately

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he jumped out of it, the thing shot off stern

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first and went whirling down the muddy river and out

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to sea. This was disconcerting, for there was not a

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soul about, it was raining, and there were millions of

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mosquitoes stinging his face and hands. However, he was not alarmed,

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rather exhilarated in fact, at spending the night alone, though

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the loss of the punt and the rope, the latter

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to secure the alligator after it was shot, was annoying.

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The floor of the hut was six feet above the ground,

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and all around the four rough posts, and also hanging

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from the floor beams were folds upon folds of a

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stout fishing net put there to dry by the Chinaman.

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Ascent to the hut was by means of a notched

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pole slanting upwards from the ground. The interior was bare

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of any furniture, but there were plenty of Chinese smells.

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The hut, although such a rickety looking affair, was really

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strongly built, and every part of it, including the posts,

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were lashed together with instead of being fastened by nails.

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For two hours till darkness came on Julius Adolphus, rifle

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in hand, scanned the muddy banks opposite, but saw no

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sign of any alligators, although he was several times inclined

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to fire at some logs which he had been told

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very much resembled alligators. When those reptiles were asleep, he

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passed a wretched night. It poured with rain continuously, and

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as it wore on towards morning, he became conscious of

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an alarming fact. The river was rising fast, striking a match.

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He peered down through an opening in the roughly boarded floor,

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and his heart sank when he saw that the yellow,

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rushing water was within two feet of the boards. Then

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he went to the door, or rather entrance hole, of

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the now trembling shanty, and peered out. He could see nothing,

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for the blinding rain obscured everything. For a moment or two,

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wild terror possessed him, and seizing his heavy rifle, he

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fired shot after shot in quick succession through the doorway

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in the hope it would bring succor. No answer came.

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There was only the hum, the low, droning hum of

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the rushing flood as it swept through the mangroves, and

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the heavy plashing of the rain upon the pine boarded

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roof of the humpy. Then Julius Adolphus Jenkins, the dude,

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the howling new Chum, and the rank duffer, pulled himself

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together and became a man. He lit his pipe Mary's doings,

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for he had abhorred smoking a pipe, sat down on

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the quivering of the humpy, and waited for daybreak. Dawn

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at last, and Julius heaved a sigh of relief when

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he saw that the water was lower by several inches,

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but the ramshackle structure was canted over to an alarming degree,

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although the posts which upheld it had been planted several

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feet in the ground. Suddenly, there arose a strange and

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violent commotion immediately beneath the floor of the hut, which

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presently began to sway to and fro. Then came shakings,

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followed by a succession of thumps and bumps against the posts,

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and the hut canted over more than ever, and then

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began to move, and the occupant realized that he was

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adrift and being carried down to the mouth of the river.

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Most Fortunately, the posts did not become det hatched, and

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dragging along the bottom helped to keep the hut in

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a fairly steady position, although every now and then it

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would be shaken in a most violent and extraordinary manner,

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and occasionally turned completely round, knocking off some of the roofing.

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Julius thrust his head through and shouted with all his

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strength as he saw through the blinding rain a group

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of woodcutter's huts on the bank. But no one heard him,

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and on went the humpy, shaking and bumping and swaying

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to and fro. As Julius continued to look about him,

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the rain suddenly ceased, and his heart leapt with joy

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when he saw that right ahead was a long low

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point of land, and beyond that, and stretching across the river,

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several mangrove islets close together, and towards these, the hut

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was drifting fast, and he determined that if it did

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not ground upon one of them, he would swim to

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the nearest to avoid being taken out to sea. Ten

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anxious minutes passed, and then the floating hut crashed into

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the trees on one of the islands, and stuck fast,

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but curiously enough, now began to shake and heave about

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more than ever, Satisfied that he was now safe, and

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that he would soon be seen. Julius clambered out on

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the roof and looked about him. No habitation was visible,

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but he could see some horses and cattle about a

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mile away on the left hand bank of the river,

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And as the sudden flood was now subsiding very rapidly,

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he decided to wait a few hours where he was,

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instead of trying to swim across whilst the current was

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so strong, and perhaps be carried out over the shallow

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bar or be seized by an alligator. In an hour,

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the water had fallen quite two feet and Julius was

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eating some sandwiches when he noticed that, although the hut

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did not shake as it did before, the net, some

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00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,400
loose folds of which he could see beneath him, was

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00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,559
every now and then agitated in a peculiar manner, and

378
00:27:16,599 --> 00:27:20,480
that the folds were being drawn in against not flowing

379
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out with the current. Clambering down the other side of

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the roof, he looked beneath the flooring, which was now

381
00:27:29,079 --> 00:27:32,880
many feet above the water, and noticed swathed round and

382
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,400
round in the folds of the net, a huge something

383
00:27:36,839 --> 00:27:41,000
which certainly moved, and then a chill of horror passed

384
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:45,279
through him as he saw the protruding forearm of an alligator.

385
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For a moment or two, the sight unnerved him and

386
00:27:50,839 --> 00:27:55,200
he trembled. Then, hardly knowing what he was doing, he

387
00:27:55,279 --> 00:27:59,200
climbed the roof again, got his rifle and descended to

388
00:27:59,279 --> 00:28:03,920
the ground. Fired shot after shot into the monster, and

389
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,119
a savage delight filled his veins as he saw it.

390
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:11,039
Writhe and quiver as each heavy bullet plowed its way

391
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into his carcass. In a few minutes it lay quiet

392
00:28:16,279 --> 00:28:21,519
and dead. Half an hour later a party of Chinese

393
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fishermen appeared in a boat, and the exultant Julius Adolphus

394
00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,920
struck a bargain with them for a pound and ten

395
00:28:30,039 --> 00:28:34,640
shillings to bring the sari into Townsville. He accompanied them,

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00:28:35,079 --> 00:28:38,759
and a little after noon they landed at the steamer wharf,

397
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and the giant reptile, one of the largest ever seen

398
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:48,160
in North Queensland, was hoisted up by a steam wench

399
00:28:48,279 --> 00:28:52,599
amidst a scene of the greatest excitement, and amongst the

400
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:56,920
first to offer their sincere congratulations were mac Pherson and

401
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:02,400
Jimmy bad Thirst. Fall By a cheering crowd, they marched

402
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,599
to the Queen's Hotel, and there Julius Adolphus became the

403
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:10,839
hero of the day. When leaning his rifle against the bar,

404
00:29:11,359 --> 00:29:14,759
he called out, come in, gentlemen, every one of you,

405
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,759
and have as many drinks as you like. I am

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00:29:17,799 --> 00:29:22,559
good for five sovereigns. A burst of applause greeted this

407
00:29:22,759 --> 00:29:27,559
welcome announcement, and the news spread like wildfire. Then the

408
00:29:27,599 --> 00:29:30,680
dead alligator was dragged by a pair of horses up

409
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:35,759
to the hotel for exhibition, and Julius Adolphus's cup of

410
00:29:35,839 --> 00:29:41,000
happiness was full. Mac Pherson took him aside, go and

411
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,559
change your clothes, Jenkins, and added, with a twinkle in

412
00:29:44,599 --> 00:29:48,400
his eye, and don't bother about the bank to day.

413
00:29:49,759 --> 00:29:54,799
Julius Adolphus, inwardly blessing him, took himself off and within

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00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:59,960
an hour was with Mary Brandon. On the following morning,

415
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:05,079
the local herald contained an interesting item of news. We

416
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:08,119
are happy to be in a position to state that

417
00:30:08,359 --> 00:30:12,720
mister Julius Adolphus Jenkins, of the Bank of North Australia,

418
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the hero of a thrilling adventure with an alligator, narrated

419
00:30:17,519 --> 00:30:21,640
on page three, will shortly lead to the altar. Miss

420
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:26,400
Mary Brandon daughter of W. S. Brandon, Esquire, j P

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00:30:27,079 --> 00:30:34,440
of this city, and of Julius Adolphus Jenkins. Christmas Alligator

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00:30:34,839 --> 00:30:35,759
by Lewis Beck