"#if my great-grandfather #had not wagered everything... #to bring that church here #to the Bellinger River." "#Or if Lucinda Leplastrier #had not been given a Prince Rupert's drop." "Surprise!" "Happy birthday, Lucinda." "It's beautiful." " Your own Rupert's drop." " Careful, not too tight." "Gently." " See?" "Not even with the hammer." " I'll try the ax." "Lucinda, try the pliers." " I like it just as it is." " Go on." " Take the plunge." " You'll see." " Just there." " One, two, three." "Now!" "#My great-grandfather, Oscar Hopkins, #had skin like his mother's." "#Although the cancer had been removed #by acid dropped onto her tender skin... #she had died anyway." "Papa!" "Go!" "Leave me!" " Oscar!" " Papa!" "#The sea, from then on, #would always smell of death to Oscar." "It shall be a day like any other of the Almighty's days." "There will be no mockery of the Almighty with pagan rituals." "Others may judge and laugh... but they are in a darkness of their own making... and will burn in hell." ""And the light shineth in the darkness..." ""and the darkness comprehended it not. "" "Nay." "We shall not use the name, the popish name others confer upon it." "Christ's Mass." "You have reclassified your mama's buttons." "Yes, Father." "The taxonomic principle being color... with the spectrum from left to right." "With size the second principle of order." "Very good." " All right." " "Give me neither poverty nor riches." ""Feed me with food convenient to me. "" " Amen." " Amen." "Excuse me, sir, would Master Hopkins help with the pigswill?" "Very well." "Here." "What is it?" " It's Christmas pudding." " For you." "Eat up." "This is the food of Satan." "Sir, it be Christmas Day." "Some call it that, but none in my employ." "Well, Master Hopkins... you will be a good helper and fetch up the specimen buckets." "#Oscar had tasted the pudding." "#It did not taste like the fruit of Satan." "Dear God... if it is your desire that your flock eat pudding... in celebration of thy birth as a man... then show thy humble supplicant a sign." "Dear God... if it be thy will that thy people eat pudding, smite him." "#Oscar was frightened #by what he had begun." "The Brethren." "Baptists." "Catholics." "Anglicans." "#Now his father no longer knew #the true will of God..." "#Oscar devised a way #of asking the question directly." "Show me a sign that thou talkest to me." "Please, dear God, no." "#God repeated the message #again and again:" "#Anglican." "One, two, three, four, five, six..." "#Oscar did not wish to leave #the shelter of the Plymouth Brethren... #but this was where God wished him to go." "That is precisely my point, Hugh." "Divine grace cannot be sought." "It is given." "Look, Betty." "It's a new crack." "Look, it is new." " Stop." "You'll make it worse." " They appear overnight." "Do you know how much was in the plate this morning?" "The walls have always been damp." "We haven't died from it." "That dissenter steals our congregation, one by one." "We'll have nothing, while he gets fat." " That's his boy." " So it is." " Hugh, your back!" " Go on, go home." "Go away!" "Get off my lettuces!" "Off!" "Wait!" "I am called." "I am called." " They're only raisins." " He's probably unfamiliar with them." "What will your poor father do?" "Think of the pain you will cause him." "I know." "But he is in error, you see." "He is not saved." "But still, you will go home to him." "I cannot, no matter how much I want to." "Surely your father loves you." "Yes." "Very much." "I also love him." "But, Hugh, the cost." " The boy is called." " In what sense, "called"?" "He's called to Holy Orders." "You've had three glasses, Hugh." "I shall coach him in his articles, Betty." "He'll go to my old college." "Think of that." "#Oscar knew that the Brethren prayed #for the sinner to be returned to the fold." "#But it was as impossible #for him to return... #as it was for his father to order him home." "#Neither would budge." "#Lucinda's mother knew that she had #produced a proud square peg... #in the full knowledge that #from coast to coast... #there were nothing but round holes." "Good boy." "Eight eggs." "I went for a swim." "We should have returned home after your father's death." " "Returned home"?" " To England." "I can tolerate what I have done to myself, staying on... but I can't bear to think of what I've done to you." "Mama." "You're so hot." "I'm freezing." "Hey, Odd Bod!" "Hunt's on!" "No!" "#Alas, alack, I love the track" "#Alas, alack, I love the track #And I love Nancy Dawson" "I say, these are West's rooms." " No..." " Fish." "Fish, they are my rooms." "He has new rooms on this staircase." "Damn it, I'm sure the Scout said 2." " Maybe it was 1." " No, please, come in." "I say, Odd Bod, do you like a flutter?" " A "flutter," Fish?" " No, of course you don't." " What is a "flutter"?" " It is to do with the racetrack." " Athletics?" " Horse races." "Horses?" "And which part of the race involves the flutter?" "A wager, a bet." "A flutter." " You do know what a bet is?" " No, I don't." "You give your money to chaps... and if the horse you like is the one that wins... then they give you double your money back, or treble, or whatever." "Treble your money for guessing?" "Guessing correctly." " You mock me." " No, this is all new to me." "I was raised in a little village in Devon, very much out of the way." " Look here, Odd Bod, I have to dash." " Perhaps you could call me Hopkins." "Call you what?" "My name." "Do not rattle your sovereigns." "You are not a plunger." " What is a..." " A "plunger"?" "West is a plunger." "He starts off with a couple of sovs, comes up trumps... dabs it all down in a second and loses the lot." "Look at her." "Revenger's Lass." "Three-to-one in the first." "It's the day for a powerful varmint like that." "Look at that backside." "Just look." "Now, number 10 is... the Sailor." " You have caught the germ." " No, thank you." " I am corrupting you." " No, Fish." "Don't you see?" " You should not be here." " You are an agent of the Lord." "Odd Bod, ease up." "I have been praying to God for funds... and now I shall be able to pay my bills." "Quick, or we'll miss the first." "I am already damned, of course." "That's the Sailor." "Fish, has that got a powerful bum?" "Odd Bod, come on." "#My great-grandfather won his first bet." "#In the case histories #of pathological gamblers... #you find the same story told #time and time again." "Stop!" "Those trees are mine!" "She would have talked of it to me." " She intended to return home." " But this is our home." "No, that is not my mother's signature." "Indeed it is." "She signed it in my office." "She had it all calculated." " Five farms at 4,000 acres apiece." " You say all this is mine?" " Held in trust by me." " Until you are of age." "My mother would not have done that." "Dear girl, with a fortune such as this, you'll be married in a jiffy." "Why was I not told this?" "I would have told you today, after your mother's funeral." " Lf you had not run away." " No, I'm staying here." "You cannot." "Your new home is with Mrs. Ahearn and myself in Parramatta." "You'll go to Mrs. Cousin's School for Young Ladies." "No!" " Come, girlie." " Do not touch me." "You will be rich one day." "That is not the point." "Not the point." "#Lucinda had never been on a boat." "#She had never been to Sydney." "#She carried with her a bank draft #for her entire fortune... #as well as an itchy impatience #to grasp what her mother had called..." "#"the working world. "" "#When Lucinda exploded her present #of the Prince Rupert's drop... #it was not something she easily forgot." "#She knew that glass is a thing in disguise." "#It is not solid at all, but a liquid." "#And even while it is as frail #as the ice on a Parramatta puddle... #it is stronger than Sydney sandstone." "#It was as good a material as any #to build a life on." "Thank you." "One is more than enough, miss." "Good luck, miss." "#This Frenchman, Leplastrier... #if he expects to find an expert on glass, #I'm afraid he'll find only an enthusiast." "However, he has found out my little hobby... and I shall try to advise." " Your visitor, sir." " Jolly good." "Show him in." "#Monsieur Leplastrier?" "This is from Botany." "And the other's from Hallet's, in London." "Hold them up to the light." "Compare them." "The London, this one." "It's quite yellow." "And this is..." "It is so clear." "It is lovely." "Now the pièce de résistance." " No, you must not!" " Why must I not?" "Because you know what will happen... when it is gone." "I'm sorry." "Nothing to be sorry for." "The glassworks that are for sale in Darling Harbor..." " I wish to buy them." " To buy?" "Would you help me?" "But I have no knowledge of the commercial side." "My theory is adequate, of course." "I'll be there in a minute." "Very good, sir." "Don't worry about him." "Stay, please." "Soon, though, I have clergyman's business to attend to." "You cannot help me." "On the contrary, of course I shall help you to buy your glassworks." " I have more than £10,000." " The deuce you do." "Will you take the plunge with me?" "#Monsieur Leplastrier." "15, 16, 17, 18, 19..." "Stop." "More for you, less for the poor." " But this is all I need." " You need new togs." "What is wrong with my togs?" "Everything." "You rake it in, then throw it away." "Look at you." "You look like a scarecrow." "Perhaps because I'm wearing your coat." "Pardon me." "You've paid your buttery bill, I inquired." "And drinking coffee." " No, not coffee." " No?" "I have a question for you." "It is this:" "Do you have an income?" "No, thank you." "I'd rather stand." "I will take it very ill if you trick me." "I have not tricked you." "It's 15 years since I could afford coffee." "You, a poor creature who has nothing in the world... save what I can scrape together, is so gracious as to send me... this luxury." "I only wish you not to worry." "God will provide for me." "Did you not enjoy your coffee?" "Do not be so simple." "You are poisoned by your father's ideas." " I may be simple..." " Your father is paying you." "I swear he is not." "He would not pay a penny to send me here." "We've only met four times since we parted." "Then where does the money come from?" "I am here in Oxford to raise funds for the restoration of my little church." "Now you must promise me... never to be involved in anything amiss." "I cannot have my name brought low." "My dear Mr. Stratton... there is no need for such a promise." "I sent you the coffee because I love you both." "I meant no offense." "Miss." "Would you leave the glass samples out, please, Kate?" " Just like that, miss?" " I have them all in categories, you see." "#The Rev. Dennis Hasset #knew his behavior was reckless." "#His diary recorded the first meeting #with this unusual girl... #and after that, many red slashes #across previous appointments... #even one parish meeting." "You were right in your choice of the navy." "Excellent." "Who is that creature?" "#Sydney got ready to be scandalized." "#It could not bear to see #the two of them together." "#Let her socialize with #the notorious Charley Fig, if she wished." "#Or with her accountant, Jimmy D'Abbs." "Oh, dear." "Harvey Briggs has bought himself a steamer." " He can take us up to Pittwater." " Or across to Mossman's Bay." " Who'd trust Briggsy with a steamer?" " I'd rather Pittwater." "We could take her out for the day." "Look at this." "Two weeks ago, she spilled them everywhere." " Have you had enough of cards?" " Please, just one more hand." "You have already lost three guineas, and it is after 2:00." "One more hand." "D'Abbs, you're meant to be looking after the girl's money, not taking it from her." "She is free to leave, Fig." " Pass." " Pass." " Five, with hearts." " Pass." "Eight, with spades." "A duck to water." "She has caught the bug." "We are corrupting you." "I am jealous of your passion, I must admit." " You are making fun of me." " Not at all." "I am a cold man warming myself at someone else's fire." "You will help me to exercise it carefully, with caution?" "Heat we shall co-opt." "I have a friend, a clever chap called Wilson." " Let me carry those." " They're nothing." "I worked on a farm." " London is where you should go." " London?" "But I've just arrived here." "To buy the very latest machinery." "That will make Sydney sit up." " Is he..." " Yes." "I have signed!" " I own the glassworks." " Congratulations." "I must confess to feeling scared." "I broke with my friend, Tom Wilson, this afternoon." "Why is that?" "He said things about you that are scurrilous." "What things?" "That you stay up all night gambling... with Jimmy D'Abbs, Charley Fig, and others of that type." "I told Wilson such stories are pure fabrication." "That they should not be repeated." "I told him D'Abbs was your accountant... that you did go and see him, that indeed I went with you." "There is no more to it, is there?" "I am sorry you argued with your friend." "Is there any truth in his story?" " I have been to Mr. D'Abbs' house." " Gambling?" "I was lonely." "But you have been here three or four evenings each week." "Wilson mentioned gambling parties on a boat at Pittwater." "And dancing." " Not once or twice." " There was no dancing." " Well, I must go." " But you came to celebrate." " I'm too sleepy." " We're having beef." " I have to meet Mr. Queale." " At this hour?" " There is another paper to sign." " But his office will be closed." "We are to meet at Petty's Hotel." "I am sorry about your friend." "#Lucinda had an immense feeling of relief." "#No responsibility, no choice." "#Every loss was one brick less #in the foundation of her fortune." "I inquired last week about the Church Missionary Society." " Sorry, sir." " Slow down, Odd Bod." " They will have me, if I wish." " For what?" "I enquired about New South Wales." "There is no need to frighten yourself with such ideas." "Look at me, Fish." "I have changed." " Look at what I have become." " Strike me." "What have you become?" "I have become vile." "You are not vile." "It's just that you do not fit." " Speak quietly." " You are perfectly unique." " Do you fit?" " Me?" "I fit." "I dare say, I fit all too well." "Look at me." "I'm about to marry a bishop's daughter." "You cannot fit more than that." "The school pays for all my needs." " But I cannot stop gambling." " But you give it all away." "You do not even have coal for a fire." "Look at how you live." "You have nothing." "Look at your togs." "And stop fidgeting." "I have sunk so low." "I gamble even on the Sabbath:" "On cards, on dogs, anything." "Whatever is going." "You do not have to go to New South Wales for penance." " Anyway, you cannot." " Why not?" "Because you cannot bear a little aqua." "You could not sail as far as Calais." "You wish me to flip this?" " Yes." " You know I only use my own coins." "Call." " I cannot." " Why not?" " I am frightened." " Then why do such things to yourself?" " Come, dear Odd Bod." " Heads." "#For a man #who could not bear a little aqua... #the Leviathan #was the only ship #to travel on." "#In second class, #you could go eight weeks... #and never find your way #to a porthole with a view of the sea." "#Poor cow." "#The owner of the Prince Rupert's #Glassworks had been told... #that on a clear day, from first class, #you could see all the way to China." "Up we go." "Hold tight." "In a trice, Hopkins." "I told you, in a trice." "Goodness!" "What a splurge all this is." "Is it you that paid the boy's passage?" "I would not have him go away." "It certainly wasn't the Missionary Society." "Hopkins' old man writes about the Yea." "Melody." " Mr. Carlyle's "Eternal Yea. "" " Dear, you make no sense." ""... bestowed by him on his devoted pupils during their three... "" "Father." "Get up." "You're not one of them." "O, Lord God." "This is my son from whom I have been estranged." "These are his friends and fellow voyagers." "O, Lord... what can we do?" "This is your caul... from off your little head when you were born." "It is said to save you from drowning." "Will we never stand together with God on that happy day?" "All ashore that's going ashore!" "Get aboard!" "#Oscar knew it was only superstition... #that said a caul could prevent you #from drowning." "#Yet he clung to the belief anyway." "You can no longer put me off." "You played too much cat and mouse." "We did not think we were educating a wealthy man." " I'm not..." " I'm not a cadger." "I do not come here to beg." "But you must tell me how it is you managed all this." "If I told you and my father heard of it, it would be torture beyond his toleration." "You have my word." "He never shall." "Dear Oscar, accept my word." "I have gambled." "I knew it." " So, gambled." " The ship is moving." " You have a system, as you call it?" " A system?" "You have a system, and you will write it down for me." "It's not simple thing you can write down." "We have left it too late." " Write it down, boy!" "I beg you." " You must go." "Is it horses?" "It is." "Do you swear before God that you will send me your system?" "I do." "You must go." "Go!" "Round you go." " Okay, I'll raise you two even." " I'm in." "Right, well, looks like we're playing for a long time." "I'll have double in." "Thank you very much." "Eeny, meeny, miney, mo." "I am in the habit of making my confession." "Quite." " Lucinda Leplastrier." "How do you do?" " Oscar Hopkins." "How do you do?" " Do you hear confession?" " I have done, on occasion." "Perhaps it is not a habit you approve of." "No, I..." "No." " Would you hear mine?" " Of course." "Thank you." "Where shall I find you?" "I'm in first class." "#In order that I exist... #two gamblers, one obsessive, #the other compulsive... #must declare themselves." "You must excuse me for not coming earlier." "Of course." "You must come and look at my view." "The purser calls them "landscape windows... "" "but I argue they should rather be called "seascape... "" "You see..." "I have a phobia about the ocean." "My father was a naturalist." "He was in the ocean all the time." "I, too, when I was a little chap." "But I developed a nervousness about it, like some have with heights." "So to come up here, with all this glass, to hear your confession..." "I feared it was more than I could manage." "But I owe you an apology." "As you see, I was capable of coming all the time." "Confession?" ""The Lord be in thy heart and on thy lips..." ""and give thee grace to make a true and faithful confession. "" "So..." ""I confess to God Almighty..." ""and the whole company of Heaven..." ""that I have sinned. "" "I have attended rooms in Drury Lane... for the purpose of playing Fan Tan." "I have played dice on a train full of racing types." "I did not attend the racetrack... but I went on that train expressly to play dice." "I tried to persuade a business colleague of mine to take me to a cockfight." "He refused, but I would have gone." "I set up the table here like this as a trap for the steward... who I know to play poker." "I wished to play with them." "The dice that you played on the train... was it Dutch Hazards?" "Yes, it was." " We also played another game." " Old British, perhaps?" "Although in New South Wales, it is known as Seventh Man." " Who provided the Peter?" " "The Peter"?" " The term is unknown to you?" " No, I think it's quite familiar." "I thought so." "These terms, Mr. Hopkins..." " are they also familiar to you?" " I'm afraid so." " This is most improper." " I don't think so." " You have not absolved me." " Where is the sin?" "We bet." "It is all in Pascal, you know." "We bet that there is a God." "We bet our life on it." "We calculate the odds, the return... that we shall sit with the saints in Paradise." "Our anxiety about our bet wakes us before dawn in a cold sweat." "And God sees us suffer." "I cannot believe that such a God... whose fundamental requirement of us is that we gamble our souls..." "It's true, we stake everything on the fact of his existence." "I cannot believe that such a God can look unkindly on a chap... wagering a few quid on the likelihood of a dumb animal crossing the line first." "Unless it might be considered... a blasphemy... to apply to common pleasure that which is divine." "Shall we play?" " Yes." " Yes!" " One shilling." " I raise you a shilling." "I shall see you." "Your two." "Your four." "I raise you three." "I'll see you." " I have led you astray!" " What?" "No, I led you astray." "You must forgive me." "Of course I forgive you." " I played for pleasure." " No!" "Stop it!" "Oh, dear." "#The scandal kept Lucinda a prisoner #in her stateroom." "#She waited for Oscar to apologize... #but she did not hear a word." "#My great-grandfather did not emerge #from his cabin... #until the Pinchgut cannons #saluted the great ship's entry... #into Sydney Harbor." "Do not fear for your wife's cloth, Dean." "Not a drop will spill." "You will see I was not boasting." "I'll take a small bet on it." "Will no one humor me?" " Half a crown, my Lord." "Double or nothing." " Done." "Now concentrate." "Watch." "You will not see this done by many other bishops." " Allow me to remove this." " No, leave it." "You did not believe that I could do it." "Well done, my lord." "I hear that your glass lady has returned." " I beg your pardon, my lord?" " Your #petite amie." "Miss Leplastrier is not that, my lord." "She has arrived just in time for your farewells." "I am told the parish is called Never Never." "Our last chap was run out of town." ""Never, never come back," they told him." "Miss Leplastrier?" "Is that the Miss Leplastrier who has just returned from England?" " Have you met?" " Yes." "Then I am responsible for your exile." "Yes, and you have tried to hide it from me." " I never thought..." " Hush!" "Do you hear me?" "You're wrong, quite wrong." "Please." " It is wholly theological." " You are not forced to go." "I have no choice." "I must go where I am sent." " By God?" " Of course." "Or a man, the bishop?" "Please." "Do leave it alone." "What will happen to you in a place where there is nothing... but mud and taverns?" "There's no church." " No church building." " Stay." "Please." "We can have the works together." "And neither of us lonely." "No, I must go." "So you will preach what you do not believe to men who do not care." "I shall preach what I do believe." "There's no virgin birth?" "That Christ died for our sins... that we might be redeemed through his blood... that we might sit at the side of God in Heaven." "There is a part of you that wishes to be sent away." "Quite a large part." "Who will I have to talk to?" "Does the track bother you, Reverend?" "A little, Mrs. Judd." "You grow accustomed to it... in time." "And 3 shillings and three pence." "That's every penny, Hugh." " We'll double it." " All my capital." "We'll treble it." "The system works." "It's foolproof." " It's not been thus far." " The boy has proven it." "Have faith." "Please, Hugh, I can't keep up." "Mrs. Chadwick." "I cannot find Paraguay, Mrs. Chadwick." "Have you looked in the index, Alice?" "#Even her duties as a governess... #did not prevent twice-widowed #Miriam Chadwick... #from chasing after #another possible husband." "I am sorry we have no better a place for service." "Why be sorry, Verger?" "Wherever we're gathered, isn't it true God is with us?" "In a cathedral, or under a tree." " As with our first settlers." " Our Lord was born in a stable, Verger." "I have brought flowers for the altar." "Thank you." "#Now Lucinda had lost her only friend... #she wrote to him almost daily." "#"What do you think of a glass arcade #to cover George Street?" "#"Or a little pyramid of glass #for the circular quay?" "#"I do wish you were here to advise me." "#"Are you homesick for Sydney?"" "Heads." "The Reverend's flowers!" "Whose dratted horse is that?" "Stupid bloody animal." "No, Mr. Hasset did not ask to go north." "He was sent." " I asked and was refused." " The Bishop refused you?" "Mr. Judd, what's going on?" "The Rev. Hasset, is he... a good friend?" "He is a very dear friend." "Look." " I'll tell you, sir!" " Mr. Judd, Mrs. Judd." "Please come in." "You've been gambling." "We'll not have this." "You can't deny it." " I'm not denying it." " She's slipping out." " I meant no offense." " She's putting on her hat." " She is my guest." " A pretty name for it." " Mrs. Judd..." " I will not be stopped." "He is a hypocrite." "We make him lovely vestments he will not wear." "It's true." "You think God wants to see you looking like a crow?" " No, I wear what I believe." " You dress like a scarecrow!" "He dresses like a scarecrow, he throws out our music and candles." "Here he is with cards and women in the temple." "You are a rude woman." "And you are a rude man." "You imagine you are civilized... but you are like savages with toppers and tails." "You should pray God to forgive you your rudeness." "You may leave." "The way you came." "Close it." "I am done for." "Surely not." "#"When I told #the Ecclesiastical Commission..." "#"that I have never gambled for #personal gain, they would not believe me." "#"They have cast me out." "#"I am sorry to have caused you #so much anguish, dear Papa." "#"I know that you will believe #that I am destined for eternal hellfire." "#"It does seem #there is nothing for a man to do..." "#"once he has gained the reputation #that has been so unjustly given to me. "" "Is Mr. Hopkins here?" "No, he is not." " Would you tell me where he has gone?" " No, I cannot." "I am only a savage." "Giddap, boy." "Mr. Hopkins?" "Forgive me." "Stand, boy." "Mrs. Smith, we have a visitor." " Too tight?" " No." "That's one paw." "Now the other." "Them cuts, they was made by praying." " Not fighting?" " Praying." "Like this." "Mr. Hopkins?" "Good morning!" "Mr. Hopkins?" "Mr. Hopkins, may I ask you something?" "I am searching for work as a clerk." "I won't trouble you much longer." "No, what I wanted to ask is why do you ignore me?" "I know you have been through awful pain, and I am sorry for it." "But now you hide in your room." "I never see you." "Or when I do, you will not look at me." "You barely speak to me." "I cannot gamble again." "I have not asked you to gamble." "No." "I am in constant fear, every moment of the day... that something we say or do will start it all over again." "I admit, yes, in that case, we do not have a good history." "I am weak." "It is like opium to me." "For years, I gambled and took what I needed and gave the rest to the poor." "I gambled for a purpose." "There was no sin in what I did." "But then when I had all my needs paid for, I still could not stop... even when I promised God." "We shall make a pact." "We shall?" "To never gamble again." "I promise I shall never invite you to a game of cards... or any other form of gambling." "We shall keep it and be friends." "Yes." " I am leaving." "I cannot stay." " What do you mean?" "The gentleman, so-called..." "I have been told who he is." "Your friends at church have been talking to you." " I cannot stay." " Well, do not stay then." "It will give me a bad name." "People will think I was part of it." "Part of what?" "Go!" "Both sides, Mr. Hopkins." " Do you know what I wish?" " No." "What do you wish?" "I wish I had 10 sisters." "Ten?" "Then maybe I could let people be simple, good chaps." "As my father could." "I am too critical." "Is this your confession?" "And you?" "I wish..." "I could walk on the path between the high downs and the sea... where my father lives." "I do not fit, I know that." "You do not give a hoot what people think of you." "My friend from home, Wardley-Fish... said it was of no matter." "He is right, your friend." "#The idea that Lucinda loved Dennis Hasset #had taken hold... #and would not easily be knocked loose." "Cheers to Mr. Hopkins." " Cheers." " Cheers." "It is a great pleasure to see our missus take up with a gentleman such as you." "When our window-making is at full tilt, just come along." "We'll be pleased to explain it to you." "Thank you, Arthur." "I will." "I have never seen anything so splendid as your glassworks." "You may approach." "It is not sacred." "It is merely a prototype." "I thought perhaps an exhibition hall." "It is..." "It is like a kennel for God's angels." "I am bowled over." "I feel extraordinarily happy." "It is so beautiful!" "I have an idea." "Are you curious?" "Yes, of course I am curious." "#Oscar's idea was born out of Christianity." "#That if you sacrifice yourself, #you will attain the object of your desires." "Yes, thank you." "#The odds were surely stacked against him." "#Had it been a horse, #rather than a woman's heart... #he would never have bet on it." "#Not even for a place." "How does your correspondent enjoy Bellingen town?" "Well enough." "Does he have a church built yet?" "No, they still hold the service behind the blacksmith's." "Mr. Hasset should have a church." "What is your idea?" "What would be his feeling... if he woke up one morning, he looked out of his window... and he saw a church... made of glass?" " A church?" " Of glass." " A glass church?" " Yes!" " It is not practical." " What is the practical purpose of a church?" "If it is only to provide shelter to Christians... and my father would take this view... then it is better to worship in rooms behind the blacksmith." "But if the purpose of a church is also a celebration of God... then I would say I am the most practical man you have spoken to all year." "It's like the stairs in the library." "It's what they call..." " Prefabricated." " Yes." "You can pack it in crates and transport it by cart." " Or by ship." " Yes, you can take it..." " across the Great Dividing Range." " We are mad to think of it." "No!" "We are not mad!" "We are not mad." "Can you imagine Mr. Hasset's face?" "You will deliver it to him." " I?" " Yes, surely you..." " I cannot leave the works." " But you wouldn't..." "No, it's quite impossible." "They're only just recovering from my last absence." "Then I shall, on your behalf." " Bellingen is approached by sea." " Then I shall go by land." "You cannot." "It is largely unmapped country." "You think it is outside my scope?" " There is no shame in that." " And no truth in it, either." "I wager you I can do it." "You may nominate the date." " This is madness." " I am prepared to wager you... that I can have the glass church in Bellingen by, say..." "Good Friday." "And what can you bet?" " 10 guineas." " It's not enough." "What is enough?" "Your inheritance." "My father may live until he's 100." "He's not a rich man, anyway." " That makes no difference." " You will bet?" " The same." " The same amount?" "The same." "My inheritance." " But you already have it." " Yes." " Your works?" " Yes, everything." " You will wager all that?" " Yes." "Five weeks without even a game of Penny Poker... and now this." "Very pretty, this fretwork." "It is quite ingenious." "Here is my head clerk." "Come in, Jeffris." "We have a question for you." "Miss Leplastrier, Mr. Hopkins." "This is from the horse's mouth." "Jeffris is quite the explorer." "He has been there, up north." " On the road survey, wasn't it, Jeffris?" " Yes." "He knows all the ins and outs." "Would that road be of any use?" "If you were carrying cargo of any sort, it would be a fool's way to go." "We will have cargo, yes." " Then you must go by sea." " Mr. Hopkins is set on going overland." " Is that so?" " Yes, I'm afraid it is." "Going by land, of course, one of your main problems... is the butchering habits of the blacks up north." "But you must know that." "If you go, as all the incompetents have done... smack-bang through the center of their kingdoms, what can you expect?" "It is like thrusting your bare hand into a beehive." "It gets them hopping mad." "Ergo, you take your time... go around their boundaries, and you are left alone." " Who knows these boundaries?" " I do." "Ease up." "You are not stealing my head clerk." "Morning, Captain." " Mr. Hopkins." " I'm in rehearsal, Mr. Jeffris." "I shall need some assistance at Bellingen... though it need not be skilled." "I have learned to glaze." " Excellent." " It's a lot harder than Latin verbs." "No, Harry." "That's B. It should balance H." "He is a brave man, Mr. Jeffris." "Yes, he's an extraordinary chap." "He is far braver than you or I." "When I heard of this, I could not believe it." "Now I see it, I still cannot believe it." "It is a scientific expedition." "Here is a list of the party we have..." "The Australian sun will scorch your congregation... as though they are in hell itself." "How kind of you to come from Parramatta to tell me this." "Have you become so sarcastic?" " It is to be built beneath a tree." " Fiddlesticks!" " A shady tree in a cool aspect." " It will be as hot as hell." "Where will the rector change his vestments?" "He is like a fish in an aquarium for everyone to see." "Be calm." "You had such a start in life, and now this folly!" "Look at it, please." "Calmly." "It is so beautiful." "This celebrates God's name." "They will fry." "They will curse God's name." "You don't look well, girlie." "#"He has condemned himself #to everlasting hellfire." "#"He has cast himself out #from those who can ask God's forgiveness." "#"What brought your friend, #the Rev. Stratton, to this pass..." "#"we can only conjecture."" " Mr. Jeffris?" " Miss Leplastrier, Mr. Hopkins." "I'm offering you a bonus." "Mr. Hopkins will give this to you when he has been safely delivered." "Please, no." "As you wish." "So..." "Mr. Hopkins, if you please." " Oh, dear." " Surely he can wait." "Mr. Hopkins must lead the expedition." "The Lord keep you safe." "The legal document of our wager." "I have this for you." "Go." "Goodbye." "#When Oscar first talked #of going overland... #he had not known #there were six rivers to cross:" "#The Macleay, the Hastings, the Clarence... #the Manning, the Hunter, and the Namoi." "#He was sick with fear #at the thing he had begun." "Help!" " Help me, man!" "He's having a fit." " Help." " Hold his head." " No!" "You are to supervise him at all times, and not to let him out of your sight." "When you hold your cock, you will have your eye on him." "When you wipe your asshole, you will have your hand around his ankle." "When there are rivers to be forded... you will administer 5 fluid ounces of the laudanum." " Do I make myself clear?" " My duty is as collector of animals." "All other duties are second to this one." "#That she did not open Oscar's letter #was not forgetfulness." "#She did not wish to weep." "#They would carry him safely, #and they would bring him back." "#"I dare not hope, and yet I must" "#"that through this deed, I gain your trust"" "You had my trust." "Oh, you fool." "My darling." "#Lucinda did not know #it would be four weeks... #before the next steamer left for Bellingen." "One, two, three, heave!" "Lift it, you soft whores!" "Get those horses up here, man!" "Move this thing!" "Does your throat still pain you?" "It is not so bad." "If I coat the funnel with wax when you have your fits..." " I had no fit." " I found you in one." "That damn church of yours, sir, is costing us time." "He forced his medicine upon me." "I had no fit." "He fears your phobia, that you'll jump into the water." "He fears he will lose his bonus." "But he will not lose me." "I shall be here until the end." "I have much to live for." "Come on, put your backs into it." "Come on, some muscle." "Be quiet now." "Blacks!" "Niggers!" " Captain!" " Simpson, over the top." "Dalton, watch the provisions!" "One man secure the horses." "The rest of you, with me." " By the rocks!" " Come on, lads." "No!" "Talk to them!" "How goes life in the ladies' compartment?" "What do you say to this countryside?" "If it was my country, sir..." "I'd be feared to see you coming." "God, man, surely you're not going to drink with them?" "I have already traveled with them." "He's a padre... come to bring God to all you bastard sons of Bellingen." " Bastard sons and daughters." " The Lord help us." "Take this over to him." "Keep your eye on him." "He's not to leave." "Step through." "Dip your wee white toe in the holy well." "Compliments of Sir Roger Rogerer... and Lord Pupslaughter." "He's going walkabout." "How thin my wrist is." "This wrist God made me." "How could I smite you?" "That's right, Father." "Give us a sermon on the mount." "I will... play you poker." "And I will win." "This money will be your gift to God's work in Bellingen." "No!" "I have a pot of £100." "I forbid this!" "I would shoot you dead and go to hell for it." "You murderer." ""The Lord is my shepherd." "I shall not want." ""He makest a table for me in the presence of mine enemies."" " Out." " I warn you." "Percy?" "Did I not murder a man?" "We did." " Where is our party?" " They're off." "Gone south." "In pursuit of Mr. Jeffris." "He went off with their pay, so they believe." "So they've chased after him." "Oh, Lord." "You must not fear." " I have killed a man." " It is a bad man we have killed." "Your maker will forgive you." "In truth, I have felt more sorrow to have slain a beast." "They were nice enough to leave us tea, sugar, and a billy." "For the rest, they were in too much of a hurry." "Our church." "Look around you." "I'll take Bubba, Miriam." "Alice, bonnet, please." "It's tempting fate to have thrown away your widow's weeds." "Why?" "I have no one left to mourn." "My father, my mother, my husband:" "All gone." "If you'd nabbed young Rev. Hasset..." "I did not attempt to nab him." "Although he's been properly nabbed now." "Jealousy killed the cat." ""Curiosity."" "Don't forget to do the butter." "Not "jealousy."" "O Lord... all thy glory surrounds me... but I am afraid." "O Lord, I thank thee for granting me this day." "#The newly-married Dennis Hasset #thought many things at once:" "#That it was a miracle... #a broken thing, a tragedy... #a dream." "Lucinda." " Are we there, Percy?" " Yes." "They're all waiting." "There you are, Mr. Hopkins." " Safe and dry." " Thank you, Percy." "I will go alone now." "Sir." "The Rev. Mr. Hasset?" "Yes." "Then it is my pleasure, sir... to present this splendid glass church to you." "It is a gift to the people of Bellingen... all these people... from the most... wonderful woman in New South Wales!" "How you can stand there, sir... while Miss Leplastrier pines in Sydney... is quite beyond my..." "Come with me." " Mrs. Chadwick, could you help us?" " Yes, certainly." "I must hurry home before my wife hears all this puffed up by gossips." "Would you be a good Samaritan?" "Here's a crown." "Buy bandages, whatever he needs." "And here are the keys to the meeting room." "Lock the door to keep out the busybodies." "Can you manage?" "Will Mrs. Trevis permit you?" "Dear Dennis, you must hurry home to Mary." "Leave this wounded soul to me." "You poor man." "What trials have you been through?" "There, there." "Up we go." "#Although his whole heart #cried out for Lucinda..." "#Oscar believed that he would have to #marry this woman he had compromised." "#It did not occur to him #that she had compromised him." "Till tomorrow." "#That he had been nabbed." "Forgive me..." "Almighty God... for the murder of the blacks." "Forgive me for... the death of Mr. Stratton." "Forgive me for the murder of Mr. Jeffris." "Forgive me, Almighty God... for the seduction of Mrs. Chadwick." "Forgive me for my pride." "Forgive me for my ignorance." "Forgive me... for betraying Lucinda... and my father." "Will we never again stand together?" "Forgive me." "Help!" "Help me!" ""... always abounding in the work of the Lord..." ""as much as you know that your labor is not in vain." ""Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live..." ""and is full of misery." ""He cometh up, and is cut down like a flower." ""He fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay." ""In the midst of life, we are in death." ""Of whom may we seek for succor, but of thee, O Lord..." ""who for our sins are justly displeased?" ""Yet, O Lord God most Holy..." ""O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merciful Savior..." ""deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death." ""Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts." ""Shut not thy merciful ears to our prayer..." ""but spare us, Lord most holy..." ""O God most mighty, O holy and merciful Savior..." ""that thou most worthy judge eternal..." ""suffer us not in our last hour for any pains of death to forfeit."" "Would you care for our church?" "We could surely have it made useful... with some weatherboards attached, or some such..." "What a gift that would be." "I shall hold you to that." "Thank you." "#If Miriam had known #of Oscar's wager with Lucinda... #she would have moved heaven and earth #to claim Lucinda's fortune." "#Before my great-grandmother died... #she had time to see that her baby #had the same red hair as his father." "Oscar Theophilus Peter..." "I baptize thee... in the name of the Father, and of the Son... and of the Holy Ghost." "Amen." "We receive this child into the congregation of Christ." "#When Dennis Hasset told Lucinda #the baby's history... #she had only one thought in mind." "#A dream, a lie... #a wager, love." "#This is the story Lucinda gave #to my grandfather... #and I give to you." "All right, let's go home, yeah?" "Check for rocks."