Ben turned away abruptly and walked briskly to the stables. Minutes later he was astride his mare and heading for Brisbane.
By sunset Ben had returned to Jarrah. After he had seen to his horse he entered the house, and walked through to the drawing room where he poured a large brandy. He downed it in one gulp. Kiri came into the room just as he re-filled his glass. She crossed the room and laid a hand on his arm.
`Sky told me what the teamster said, Ben Luk,' she said softly. `Is it true the banks have collapsed?'
Ben drew a deep breath and moved to the fireplace. He leaned on themantelpiece. `It is true Kiri. No one is even able to enter the bank buildings for any reason—least of all to draw out money. It is creating much hardship. Already there are large crowds in the streets. The people are angry and their mood is ugly.'
Kiri followed Ben to the fireplace. `And what of us at Jarrah? How can we continue rebuilding without money from the bank?'
`I am not concerned about rebuilding the brickyard Kiri—for the present that can wait. What concerns me more, is how I can feed my family and pay my workmen what is owed to them. We have less than twenty pounds in cash in the house, and all our trade accounts have been assigned to the bank.'
Kiri took Ben by the hand. `Come, do not worry yourself tonight Ben Luk. Mrs Llewellyn has dinner prepared, and the children are already at the table. Let us go and join them.'
Much later, when Ben was sure everyone had gone to bed and he was sitting alone in the glow of two flickering candles, Mrs Llewellyn came into the drawing-room.
`Mr Luk. May I speak with you?' she asked quietly from just inside the door.
`Of course, Mrs Llewellyn.' Ben replied. `What is it?'
`Mr Luk, I cannot sleep with you sitting down here worrying. It seems you are just suffering one disaster after another, what with the flood and Mr Stark, and now the bank crash.'
Mrs Llewellyn moved into the dim light. She was clutching a straw sewing-box. She held it out to Ben.
What is this, Mrs Llewellyn?'
`It's my savings, Mr Luk. It's the greater part of the wages you have paid me over the years since you brought me home to Jarrah from Dunwich. If you would take this money, I would be more grateful than words can tell.'
`No,no, MrsLlewellyn.' Ben protested. `I could not possibly take money from you. But thank you so much for your concern.'
Another figure appeared at the doorway. It was Kiri.
`Do not let your pride prevent those who love you from helping you, Ben Luk,' she said gently. `You must know that Mrs Llewellyn is as much concerned for Jarrah and our family as you and I. She is so much a part of it, she may as well share the same flesh and blood.'
Ben got up from his chair and began pacing the room.
`I have decided to return to the Palmer River goldfields,' he said at last. `I left gold there, a great deal of gold, buried deep under Ah Sing's humpy. I left it there, knowing full well that if I had to travel so far to retrieve it, I would need to have suffered a reversal of fortune from which I could not possibly recover without it.'
Ben moved to the fireplace, and for the first time in years took down his carbine from its rack above the mantelpiece. He worked the action, then quickly raised it to his shoulder, and looked down over the sights with one eye almost closed.
`I will not take your money as a gift Mrs Llewellyn. But if I may, I will borrow it to journey to the Palmer River, and to meet household expense while I am away. When I return I will repay the money, and try to find a way to repay your kindness.'
The flickering light caught Kiri's and Mrs Llewellyn's faces. They were smiling.
`How long will you be gone, Ben Luk?' Kiri asked.
`No more than two months I would say. Two weeks aboard a coastal steamer to Cooktown. I have a good rifle and an ageing but strong horse. We will need no more than two or three more weeks to travel up and down the Palmer road. Then the two week sea passage back to Brisbane.' Ben weighed the carbine thoughtfully in his hands. `I think that without Jack here at Jarrah, I had best leave the carbine here for your protection while I am away.'
`You take the rifle with you, Ben Luk,' Kiri said sternly. `From the tales you have told me of the Palmer River, your need will be much greater than ours.'
She came and stood beside Ben at the mantelpiece, and struggled to lift down the great gemstone encrusted broadsword Clive Waverley had brought from England. `If this great sword has defended Lord Waverley's ancestral home for centuries,' she said, `I am sure it will protect us here at Jarrah for just two months.'
*
Just over four-hundred-and-forty nautical miles south of the mouth of the Brisbane River, the five cruisers and two torpedo gunboats which made up the new Australian Squadron lay in the still waters of Farm Cove in Sydney Harbor.
The little fleet, permanently based in Sydney, was one of the fastest and best equipped squadrons in the world. It was responsible for the defense of all the Australian colonies, and in turn each colony was responsible for a portion of the cost of maintaining the seven ships, and for the cost of the officers and men of the Royal Navy who manned them.
It had been nearly two years since the ships had been commissioned and dispatched to Australia under the command of Commodore Lord Clive Waverley. During that time, their presence in the waters of Australasia and the South Pacific was seen as evidence of Britain's long term commitments to Australia, New Zealand, and the South Seas Protectorates in the face of ever-expanding territorial claims in the region by France and Germany.
Commodore Waverley had asked his squadron commanders to join him for dinner aboard the cruiser HMS Katoomba. When he entered the officer's dining quarters aboard his flagship, he found they were all in attendance and awaiting his arrival. Over the course of dinner he outlined the movements of the squadron over the coming months.
`Gentlemen, over the last few days I have received new orders from the Admiralty. It seems London has decided to deter the Germans, who are already well established in the North Solomon Islands, from expanding their interests in the islands to the south. Consequently the British Government is to declare protectorates over the islands of New Georgia, Guadalcanal, Makiri and Malaita. We are ordered to set sail immediately for the Solomons to be on hand as a show of force when the declarations are made.'
`Does this mean the planned goodwill visits by the squadron to the capitals of the Australian Colonies will not take place, sir?' one of the captain's asked. ﾁ
`On the contrary, Captain,' Clive Waverley replied. `We are to remain in the Solomons only for the declaration ceremonies, then we are to sail to Queensland for the first of our goodwill visits. The visits are seen to be particularly important to the bean-counters within the Colonial Office. It seems they are concerned that the straightened financial circumstances of the colonial governments, may lead to the complete cessation of the squadron's maintenance payments, which apparently have already become very difficult to extract from all the colonial treasuries.'
`That situation will hardly be helped in Queensland by the declaration of protectorates in the Solomon Islands, will it, sir?' another captain asked. `It will surely result in the natives of those islands coming under the protection of the Crown—not a move likely to endear us to Queensland Government and the labor-traders in that colony. I think we may well find ourselves in for a frosty reception when we sail into the Port of Brisbane.'
Commodore Waverley grinned. `We will just have to wait and see, won't we?' *
Silas Moser found Shamus McClintock MP already at the bar of the Colonial Club when he arrived for their luncheon appointment. When the grazier saw Moser he broke away from the group of bar-flies he was standing with, and the two men sat down at a small table in the members' lounge.
`Good to see you, Silas,' McClintock said warmly, and signaled to a club steward for drinks. `What can I do for you today?'
`Two things, Shamus, first: please tell me of the reaction of the meat exporters syndicate when you told them a B
ritish offer to buy the Stonehouse Shipping Company was in the wind? And secondly, what is the position within the Government regarding the bailing out of the Queensland National Bank?'
ﾁMcClintock ordered drinks from the steward then turned back to face Moser. `The graziers don't really care who owns the company Silas, just as long as the preferred positions they hold as meat suppliers within the syndicate are in no way compromised if the company changes hands.'
`And you reminded them as I asked you to, that under the present conditions that exist in the colony, they are fortunate to have their funds deposited with, and held for distribution by a London bank.'
`I did indeed, Silas, and they asked me to convey to you their confidence and gratitude. I was also told to let you know that they would support whatever position you might take with regard to the sale of Stonehouse's.'
`I am grateful for that, Shamus.' Silas Moser smiled his tight smile. `Their loyalty may well be put to the test before the future of Stonehouse's is finally resolved.'
McClintock took a swallow of whisky. `And what of Catherine's belly. Any sign of the heir Clare isdemanding of her?'
`None that I've noticed.'
McClintock laughed. `Clare wouldn't settle for Alexander's little darky I suppose.'
Silas Moser's face showed that he was not amused.
`I take it, you are still having two bob each way, Silas,' McClintock said.
`Yes, it matters little to me who owns Stonehouse's as long as I am at the helm.'
Moser wetted his lips with sherry. `Now, Shamus, tell me what is happening with the Queensland National?'
`McClintock checked the nearby tables for open ears, then leaned forward toward Moser. `A rescue plan is going ahead, just like you expected it would Silas,' he whispered, `Just this morning Cabinet approved a plan of reconstruction. Within a few weeks the National will open its doors again, and it's expected a good number of the other banks following suit shortly after.'
`Do you know yet if there are banks which may never reopen?'
`There are some,' McClintock hesitated and looked anxiously around the nearby tables again.
`Which one's Shamus?'
`Silas... all this really is privileged information you know.'
`Come now, Shamus, just name me one.'
`It appears the Queensland Imperial Bank is not likely to reopen, unless it can sell off the major part of its portfolio of property loans.'
`Thank you Shamus..' Silas Moser rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then stood up and said cordially, `Shamus, let's go through to the dining room, shall we?' *
Silas Moser acted swiftly. The day after his meeting with Shamus McClintock, he sent an urgent message to the directors of the Queensland Imperial Bank. He advised them the Stonehouse Shipping Company was prepared to consider any or all proposals the bank may care to present, with a view to selling any at-call loan agreements which were secured real property.
The bank's response was immediate. Early the following day a delegation from the bank, headed by James Whitworth arrived at South Brisbane. They brought with them a large number of boxes, crammed with documents which were carried into Charles' office and opened up.
`We have brought with us exactly what you asked for, Mr Moser,' James Whitworth said. The banker's face and hands were perspiring profusely. `These boxes contain hundreds of promissory notes, mortgages, and bills of sale. As you requested, we have brought only those securities in which the bank has a great deal of equity, but are impossible for us to convert into cash in the short term. My instructions are to allow you to scrutinize these securities in the presence of myself and my staff, and to listen to any reasonable offer you may be prepared to make. I...'
`Yes, yes, of course,' Moser cut Whitworth short and gestured toward Charles. `Now, Mr Worthington-Jones and myself, will begin immediately to assess each of these securities, and I would appreciate it if you would answer any questions we may have as we go along.'
The examination of the documents went on all day. Those which Moser was prepared to purchase he passed on to Charles who went over them again, and then recorded in a journal the bank's book value of each one, which was in turn verified by one of Whitworth's clerks.
By late afternoon the mammoth task was completed and James Whitworth anxiously awaited Silas Moser's offer for the securities he had selected.
Moser listened attentively for some time as Charles whispered into his ear. Then Moser turned to Whitworth. `Mr Worthington-Jones tells me the book value of the paper we have selected amounts to a little over one million pounds, Mr Whitworth, for which we are prepared to offer you seventeen pence on the pound—cash on the barrel-head. Please do not attempt to haggle with me, seventeen pence is my first and final offer. Considering that the principal component on many of these loan agreements has already been repaid to the bank, and considering the difficult times we live in, I think it is more than fair.'
James Whitworth's jaw sagged in disappointment. `But sir, you can't be serious. These securities are iron-clad. Even though the principal of some loans has been repaid in full, the amount of the interest now remaining is only a fraction of the value of the property which secures the loan.'
'Moser shrugged. 'Which is exactly why I have selected them, Mr Whitworth.'
Whitworth wiped the sweat from his face with a large red handkerchief. `And do you realize that many other loans, for which title deeds are held as security, were never drawn down in full before the bank was forced to close its doors?'
'Yes, I do.'
Whitworth took a deep breath. `Can you give me an assurance, sir, should the bank accept your offer, that you will not exercise the considerable powers of foreclosure which pass to you with the transfer of any of these securities, with respect to loans presently in arrears?'
`I am not prepared to give you any such undertaking,' Moser said flatly. `And please do not take the high moral ground with me, sir. After all, foreclosure is part of any bank's stock in trade, and you would have had no hesitation in using it, if it would have solved your bank's self-inflicted problems. The simple truth is, possession of the securities we have offered to purchase, is only an asset to someone who has the time and resources to ride out the storm.' Moser eyed a clock on the wall. `Now, it's late. Seventeen pence on the pound. Take it or leave it. Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock we can make a settlement, or the Stonehouse Shipping Company can spend its money elsewhere.'
There was a long silence. Eventually Whitworth said softly, 'Very well, until tomorrow at ten.'
When the last of the bank delegation had filed out of his office, Charles turned to Moser and asked, `Did you notice among the securities there was a mortgage, and an assignment of debts given over Ben Luk's property at Graceville, Silas?'
`I certainly did, Charles. And please remind me to be sure that Mr Luk is given the honor of being the very first of our new mortgagors to be served with a letter of demand, calling up his loan.'
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
For the first time since the death of her husband, Clare Stonehouse had something to look forward to which was not overshadowed by Catherine.
It had been a week since she had received a cable from Percival Fairweather in London thanking her for, and graciously accepting, her kind offer of hospitality in Brisbane during his upcoming visit to the colony. Unlike Alexander Stonehouse, who knew his London agent personally, Clare had never met Percival Fairweather, but because of his long-standing association with her husband, she was more than pleased to receive him as her house-guest at Castlecraig.
She had become convinced that Fairweather's visit to the Stonehouse family home would somehow bring back to the austere old house, some of the atmosphere of graciousness and excitement which had always filled its rooms in the old days, when she and Alexander had received and entertained visitors from around Australia and the world.
Clare had begun to dress for dinner again, and to take the evening meal with Catherine and Charles in the dining-room, whe
re she took pains to try and make pleasant conversation. She had even taken charge again of the everyday running of the household at Castlecraig, responsibility she had relinquished to Catherine several years earlier.
At dinner one evening, Catherine mentioned she wasn't happy with the reception she was planning for the officers of the Australian Squadron in the austere surroundings of Government House and would prefer a more informal venue.
Clare was quick to suggest the function be held at Castlecraig.`After all,' Clare said enthusiastically, `I'm sure the officers of the fleet would feel more at home and at ease here. And with Mr Fairweather being a house-guest here at that time, it would be a wonderful opportunity for him to meet the Governor and to socialize with the colony's leading businessmen and politicians.'
Catherine's eyebrows rose. `Mother, if I didn't know you better, I would say you might be trying to impress Percival Fairweather. It's not like you to want to have anything to do with an important social function. Are you really sure you want to be a part of it?'
`Why shouldn't I?' Clare countered quickly. `Your father and I entertained the cream of Queensland, and indeed Australia, at this house long before you were toilet trained.'
Catherine rolled her eyes. `Please, Mother.'
Charles sipped his port and smirked.
Catherine managed a short smile and said, `Well,I must say it seems to be a good idea and if that'swhat you would like, Mother, I'll arrange for the garden-party to be held here.'
`That will be very nice, Catherine.'
`But,' Catherine cautioned, `my reputation depends on this affair being absolutely topdrawer. So you will understand, Mother, that I must insist on making all the arrangements, attending to all of the catering details, and to the selection of the entire guest list.'
Clare Stonehouse, always amused by her daughter's seriousness and intensity when it came to social correctness, smiled and said, `Oh, of course my dear. I wouldn't presume to interfere in any way.'
`Thank you Mother,' Catherine said, then added quickly. `But if there is anything I can do to make the occasion more enjoyable, you will let me know won't you?'
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