Ralph Stock, The Pyjama Man (Ainslee's, 1913… (1913)
“ Better an efficient machine than a human failure. To-night, after the inevitable damper, tea, corned beef, and pickles, he stood in the doorway, smoking and thinking, as he had smoked and thought every night for the past three months. The sun was sinking below the distant edge of the plain, and the glory of its dying rays touched with magic, rose-tipped fingers the vast snow plains of Mount Kosciusko. ”
Ralph Stock, The Pyjama Man (Ainslee's, 1913… (1913)
“ Under ordinary circumstances, the appearance of a tall, bearded man in work-worn moleskins might have created something of a sensation in Australia's haunt of winter fashion; but to-night a fancy-dress ball was in progress, and in the press Sprague went unnoticed, Up and down the stairs passed endless streams of Gretchens, Pierrots, and what not, filling the great hall with a restless sea of heterogeneous humanity ”
Ralph Stock, The Pyjama Man (Ainslee's, 1913… (1913)
“ What'er you supposed to be?” “A boundary rider,” said Sprague. “Bonzer; absolutely bonzer! Where did you rake up the beard?” “I grew it.” “Then, my oath, you've got the prize. Help!” For a moment the kangaroo seemed in danger of succumbing to the mirth provoked by this pleasantry, but rallied sufficiently to lean back in his chair and shake an aggressive fist at a knot of men gathered about the dining-room door. “Rotten lot!” he murmured. “Absolutely rotten lot! And the women—wouldn't have 'em on me mind! They're women, all right, down in Sydney ”
