The Geological Spieler Page #3

"The Geological Spieler" by Henry Lawson is a collection of poems and stories that reflect the rugged Australian landscape and the experiences of its people. Lawson, recognized for his unique voice in Australian literature, weaves themes of identity, struggle, and resilience into his writing, often drawing on the natural environment and the hardships of life in the outback. The work captures both the beauty and challenges of the Australian experience, highlighting Lawson's deep connection to the land and his keen observance of its cultural narratives.

• Short story

								

light a fire when the weather was cold, and Steelman would lie on
the grass and read and smoke and lay plans for the future and improve
Smith's mind until they reckoned it was about dinner-time. And in the
evening they would come home with the black bag full of stones and bits
of rock, and Steelman would lecture on those minerals after tea.

On about the fourth morning Steelman had a yarn with one of the men
going to work. He was a lanky young fellow with a sandy complexion, and
seemingly harmless grin. In Australia he might have been regarded as a
“cove” rather than a “chap,” but there was nothing of the “bloke” about
him. Presently the cove said:

“What do you think of the boss, Mr Stoneleigh? He seems to have taken a
great fancy for you, and he's fair gone on geology.”

“I think he is a very decent fellow indeed, a very intelligent young
man. He seems very well read and well informed.”

“You wouldn't think he was a University man,” said the cove.

“No, indeed! Is he?”

“Yes. I thought you knew!”

Steelman knitted his brows. He seemed slightly disturbed for the moment.
He walked on a few paces in silence and thought hard.

“What might have been his special line?” he asked the cove.

“Why, something the same as yours. I thought you knew. He was reckoned
the best--what do you call it?--the best minrologist in the country. He
had a first-class billet in the Mines Department, but he lost it--you
know--the booze.”

“I think we will be making a move, Smith,” said Steelman, later on, when
they were private. “There's a little too much intellect in this camp to
suit me. But we haven't done so bad, anyway. We've had three days' good
board and lodging with entertainments and refreshments thrown in.” Then
he said to himself: “We'll stay for another day anyway. If those beggars
are having a lark with us, we're getting the worth of it anyway, and I'm
not thin-skinned. They're the mugs and not us, anyhow it goes, and I can
take them down before I leave.”

But on the way home he had a talk with another man whom we might set
down as a “chap.”

“I wouldn't have thought the boss was a college man,” said Steelman to
the chap.

“A what?”

“A University man--University education.”

“Why! Who's been telling you that?”

“One of your mates.”

“Oh, he's been getting at you. Why, it's all the boss can do to write
his own name. Now that lanky sandy cove with the birth-mark grin--it's
him that's had the college education.”

“I think we'll make a start to-morrow,” said Steelman to Smith in the
privacy of their where. “There's too much humour and levity in this camp
to suit a serious scientific gentleman like myself.”
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