"Hard words, master, I am only a pearl buyer, and it is my business to
secure the best I can for my clients. I have done the pearl no harm, and
my hands are as clean as most folks."
Jack knew he had spoken hastily and soothed the old man's feelings by
saying--
"If ever I want to part with it, Silas, you shall have first refusal."
Silas nodded, but he knew it was a very remote probability.
It took Barry some time to arrange affairs to his satisfaction, and
eventually it was decided to float the Redland-Barry Mine in London, as
he had had some experience in this line before.
Harry Marton was to be left in sole charge at Perth, with a power of
attorney to act, and the pearling was to continue as usual.
The "Falcon" duly arrived at Fremantle, with Agnes Dixon on board, and
her wedding with Harry Marton was celebrated, Jack acting as best man,
Barry giving a great feast in honour of the occasion. It was generally
acknowledged that Mrs. Harry Marton would be a decided acquisition to
Perth society.
Captain Seagrave was jubilant when he learned Jack Redland and Barry
Tuxford were to be passengers on the homeward voyage.
Jack had not informed Winifred of their intended departure for the old
country, as he wished to give her a surprise.
"The shock will be too much for her," said Barry, "you ought to warn
her, it's not fair."
The night before they were to sail, Jack sat on the verandah of Barry
Tuxford's house thinking over all that had happened during the past few
years. Fortune had indeed favoured him, and the words of the gypsy woman
had come true. Very few men he knew had done so much, or met with such
success in so short a time. His meeting with Harry Marton in London,
appeared to him like a direct intervention of Providence in his favour,
and then came Barry Tuxford, a crowning blessing upon his career. Jack
Redland was grateful for all his good luck, and felt that he ought to be
thankful all his life.
It seemed almost impossible that he should be a rich man, and yet such
was the case, for when the new mine was floated, many thousands would be
at his disposal. He did not pretend to misunderstand Barry Tuxford when
he said he regarded him as a son. He knew Barry's wealth was great, and
that in all probability he would leave him the bulk of it. He hoped
Barry would live for many long years, but in the natural order of things
the older man would go first. The voyage would do him good, add many
years to his life, the doctor said, and Jack looked forward with
pleasure to presenting his generous friend to Sir Lester and Winifred.
His pearl fishing experiences seemed like a dream; it was a rough time,
but he did not dislike it, nay, he had enjoyed it while it lasted, but
he would not care to go through it again.
The black pearl would always recall those days, when he saw Winifred
wearing it.
And Winifred, she was waiting for him, he was sure of that, and yet no
words of love had passed between them, no bond bound them to each other.
Yes, there was a bond, although not a tie, the bond of unspoken love,
and Jack looked forward to the time when he could put his real feelings
into words, and pour them into Winifred's willing ears.
How would she look, what would she do when she first saw him? The
picture he conjured up was wonderfully pleasant, and he kept it to
himself.
The "Falcon" steamed out of Fremantle harbour, and commenced her voyage
to England with Jack Redland and Barry Tuxford on board. As Jack looked
at the fast receding headlands, he wondered if he would ever see them
again. It was hard to say, but the chances were he was leaving Australia
for ever. It seemed ungrateful to cast off the country that had done so
much for him, and yet his lines were cast in other places, and he could
not avoid his fate, a pleasant one, if he would.
Every year, men who have succeeded in life, leave the land in which they
have toiled, to come home to that small spot so blessed amongst the
nations of the earth. They give of their best to other lands, but take
toll in return, and then when the time comes, and Fortune's smiles are
at their best they turn to home, to England, which every son of her soil
regards with a veneration too deep for words.
Jack Redland felt something of this as the "Falcon" steamed on her way.
He had come to love the land he was leaving behind, but he looked
forward with a greater joy to the land that lay beyond the seas. He
would never forget the country that gave him fortune, and helped him to
gain the dearest wish of his heart--the girl he loved.