his clothes and, with considerable exertion he shoved his hand down
into the pocket of his trousers, which were a tight fit. He brought
up a roll of pound notes and could find no silver.

"Here," he said to the Giraffe, "I might as well lay a quid. I'll
chance it anyhow. Chuck it in."

"You've got rats this mornin', Gentleman Once," growled the
Bogan. "It ain't a blanky horse race."

"P'r'aps I have," said Gentleman Once, and he turned to the
wall again with his head on his arm.

"Now, Bogan, yer might as well chuck in somethin ," said the
Giraffe.

"What's the matter with the --- jackaroo?" asked the Bogan, tugging his
trousers from under the mattress.

Moonlight said something in a low tone.

"The --- he has!" said Bogan. "Well, I pity the ---! Here, I'll chuck in
half a --- quid!" and he dropped half a sovereign into the hat.

The fourth man, who was known to his face as "Barcoo-Rot," and
behind his back as "The Mean Man," had been drinking all night, and
not even Bogan's stump-splitting adjectives could rouse him. So Bogan
got out of bed, and calling on us (as blanky female cattle) to witness
what he was about to do, he rolled the drunkard over, prospected his
pockets till he made up five shillings (or a "caser" in bush