The little river-boat Greenwich was loading freight and passengers at one of the Grafton wharves.

Across the Clarence, on the south side, winches rattled bales of wool and bags of potatoes and maize into the coastal steamer, which traded weekly between Sydney and the fertile North Coast.

On the river bank above, blocking the roadway, were yet standing some of the teams which had brought the wool down from the New England tableland.

The dusty whips of the carriers cracked no longer, and their tired horses dozed contentedly in the sunlight.

Some of the carriers were at the water-side pub, beerily quarrelling over the merits of rival “leaders.” One was in the backyard of the hotel conducting amorous negotiations with a black gin, and another, who did not drink, had gone down to see about back loading.

It was three in the afternoon, and Donald Mac., the skipper of the Greenwich, took his place at the wheel.

On the river, up and down, there was no boat more popular than the Greenwich. The crew of the little[89] steamer consisted of Sam, the fat engineer, George and Bill, and the skipper. George and Bill were the deck hands, who put the cargo and passengers ashore at the various landings.

There was a general air of courtesy and good humour about the Greenwich. Nothing seemed a trouble to little Donald Macpherson, but the fact of the matter was that Donald’s troubles had made him lean, and somewhat sad.

He had all the responsibilities of a deep-sea skipper, with less than the pay of a third mate. It had taken him his life to learn the river, its depths and bars, its shallows and reefs, and banks, and currents, and as the river had a habit of changing its geographical features after each flood, Donald was always at school.

Then there was ever the possibility that some day, as he brought the Greenwich round the Devil’s Elbow, between the reef and the bar at the mouth in a swamping southerly, despite all his knowledge of the game, the Greenwich would stand on her head and kick her propeller at the Milky Way.

It was three in the afternoon, and the skipper swung the nose of his ship out from the wharf.

Sam, the engineer, with his ear at the gong, and his hand on the lever, stood to his post. George, the senior deck hand, who ranked as first mate, ran his eye down the cargo list. Bill stood by. There were coils of fencing wire to drop here and there, boxes of groceries, tins of kerosene, all sorts of sundries, mails, and newspapers.

Where the local newspapers had regular subscribers[90] along the banks, it was George’s custom to tie the paper round a stone (he kept a small pile of ballast for’ard for the purpose), and threw it ashore as the steamer slid by. He had become so expert at this practice that he could generally land a newspaper or a small package right at the farmer’s door.

Most of the farm houses were built on the river’s brink. Cool, comfortable-looking weatherboard cottages, surrounded by shade and fruit trees with maize paddocks, banana groves, or cane fields behind them. As the Greenwich steered past she would give a blast of her whistle, and the farmer, or his wife, or his boy, or often his pretty daughter, would come out and pick up the package and wave pleasantly to the skipper and his crew.

The skipper, with one hand to the wheel and one eye on the river, would wave back, and George and Bill and Sam mostly kissed their hands, in the case of a lady, and smiled cheerfully.

The skipper’s eye caught the waving of a handkerchief at the edge of a cane field on the opposite bank, and crossed to pick up a passenger and a consignment of produce. So they worked down the river. It was almost dark when the steamer tied up at the wharf, where she stayed for the night.

Donald, his duties over for the day, took his tucker basket and went ashore. His fancy went ahead of him, along the street of the little river town. He saw the wife standing at the front door, and in the lamplight behind her a white cloth laid for two, and a child’s chair drawn up to the table.

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And Donald forgot that he was tired.

Sam and Bill went ashore also, and left George to mind the ship.

George, being a bachelor, slept in the after-cabin on the transoms, and tuckered for himself aboard.

His chief amusement was fishing; mostly with heavy lines for dog sharks and “jews.”

So when he had had his tea he took his shark line, and baiting it with half a mullet, threw out astern.

Having passed a loop of the line round an empty kerosene tin, and placed it so that a tug at the bait would upset it and make a row, George filled his pipe and went for’ard to smoke.

After an hour’s lounge the first mate thought he would stroll aft and look at the line.

“I’ll bet,” he said to himself, “that the cursed bream have eaten my bait off.”

He drew in the slack of the line and commenced to haul up. The line tautened.

“Hullo!” cried George, &ldqu............