road; Mr. E. shot himself through the head; Mr. F. fell asleep in the bush and never woke; and Mr. G. was drowned in a waterhole.  One officer was not quite so unfortunate as some of his friends.  His score at the Crook and Plaid became so long that he began to pass that hotel without calling.  Polly, the venerable landlady, took offence at such conduct, and was daily on the watch for him.  When she saw him passing, which he always did at a rapid pace, she hobbled to the door, and called after him, “Hey, hey!” Then the gentleman twirled his cane, whistled a lively tune, looked up, first to the sky, and then to the right and left, but never stopped, or looked back to Polly behind him.  At last his creditors became so troublesome, and his accounts so inexplicable, that he deserted the public service, and took refuge across the Murray.

Mr. H. fell into the habit of borrowing his collections to pay his gambling debts.  He was allowed a certain number of days at the beginning of each month to complete his returns, and send in his cash.  So he made use of the money collected during the days of grace to repay any sums he had borrowed from the public cash during the preceding month.  But the cards were against him.  One morning an Inspector of Accounts from Melbourne appeared unexpectedly in his office.

In those days there were no railways and no telegraphs.  Their introduction was an offensive nuisance to us.  The good old times will never come again, when we could regulate our own hours of attendance, take unlimited leave of absence, and relieve distress by having recourse to the Government cash.  When Grimes was Auditor-General every officer was a gentleman and a man of honour.  In the bush no bank account was kept, as there was no bank within fifty or a hundred miles; and it was an implied insult to expect a gentleman to produce his cash balance out of his pocket.  As a matter of courtesy he expected to be informed by letter two or three weeks beforehand when it was intended to make an official inspection of his books, in order that he might not be absent, nor taken unawares.

When the Inspector appeared, Mr. H. did not lose his presence of mind, or show any signs of embarrassment.  He said he was glad to see him (which was a lie), hoped he had had a pleasant journey through the bush; asked how things were going on in Melbourne, and made enquiries about old friends there.  But all the while he was calculating chances.  He had acquired the valuable habit of the gambler and speculator, of talking about one thing while he was thinking about another.  His thoughts ran on in this style:  “This fellow (he could not think of him as a gentleman) wants to see my cash; haven’t got any; must be near five hundred pounds short by this time; can’t borrow it’ no time to go round’ couldn’t get it if I did’ deuced awkward; shall be given in charge; charged with larceny or embezzlement or something; can’t help it’ better quit till I think about it.”  So apologising for his absence for a few minutes on urgent business, he went out, mounted his horse, and rode away to the mountains.