Grand Deceptions. G. S. Willmott
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in the fancy vest, come here.’
Harmsworth slowly walked forward standing in front of the two women.
‘Give me your wallet please.’
Harmsworth was surprised by the politeness of the demand. He handed the bushranger his wallet.
John handed it to Mathew, who counted the notes, £200.
‘Which suitcase is yours?’
‘You work it out,’ he said defiantly.
Mathew fired his pistol, narrowly missing the gambler’s right foot.
‘Cooperate, or she’ll shoot you where it hurts.’
‘All right, it’s the red one.’
‘I should have guessed.’
Mathew grabbed the suitcase and opened it on the road, while John kept his pistol aimed at the group.
‘Well, look at this, a suitcase full of £20 notes. That’s an awful lot of money to be carrying around in your luggage.’
‘I don’t think we need any more loot than this, Betsy. Let’s get out of here.’
The two bushrangers mounted their horses but before they rode off, John addressed the victims. ‘You can tell everybody you were bailed up by the Banshees.’
They then rode at full gallop away from Ballarat to confuse the onlookers.
A couple of miles down the road, they stopped and hid in the bush until they saw the coach pass. They then returned to Ballarat, taking off their wigs and female attire before returning to the hotel.
Once safely in Mathew’s suite, they opened the case and began the pleasant task of counting the money. The total amount was £7,467 a significant haul for their first heist. Mathew counted out £6233 and handed the bundle to John.
‘So, John, you have your £5,000 Harmsworth stole plus an additional £1233 which is your share of the booty. What are you going to do with all that money?’
‘My big loss last night would be known by everyone in the town by now. If I turn up to the next game with plenty of dosh, it could arouse suspicion.’
‘I think you’re right. John, may I make a suggestion?’
‘Of course, what is it?’
‘The hotel turns over a significant amount of money each week. If I hold your cash and bank it then feed it to you each week, it will alleviate any suspicions.’
‘If it were anyone else I’d decline the offer, but seeing it’s you, I graciously accept. Thank you, Mathew.’
‘I think we’ve earned a whisky. What do you say, John? Or should I call you Betsy?’
‘Yes, where did you get that name from?’
‘I just thought the name suited you. While we’re discussing names where did you get The Banshees?”
‘Don’t you like it? I just thought Banshee encapsulated a couple of female bushrangers instilling terror along the Melbourne Road.’
‘Don’t get me wrong… I like it. If we ever do another bail up, I think we should use it.’
John bade his fellow bushranger goodnight and returned to his cottage feeling very pleased with himself.
Trust
But Always Verify
Chapter 9
March 4, 1857
George continued working on his own for he didn’t want to arouse suspicions. He could not descend into the shaft alone, so he worked on the tailings from previous digs. He did find a small amount of gold but nothing like the nugget they had uncovered.
Henry had been gone for four days. George had hoped he would have received a telegram by this time, but nothing had been received thus far.
The digger kept working for another five days and still no word from Henry. George began to worry that bushrangers had bailed his partner up. He decided to visit his good friend Mathew and ask his advice on what to do. Although he implicitly trusted his friend, he chose not to divulge to Mathew the size of nugget.
‘I’m at a loss, Mathew. My partner Henry took a sizable nugget into Melbourne to sell nine days ago, and I haven’t heard a word.’
‘That is strange. If he’d been robbed we would have heard about it by now. I suggest you take one of my horses and ride into Melbourne and see whether you can find him.’
George decided to take Mathew’s advice after his friend assured him he would have one of his employees keep an eye on his mine in his absence.
March 10, 1857
The following morning George began his two-day journey to Melbourne he arrived at 9 am 12 March he ate breakfast in a café in Bourke Street and then headed for the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank where the partnership’s account was held. He requested to speak with the manager Mr Simpson.
‘Good morning Mr Griffith; this is an unexpected pleasure. Don’t tell me you’ve uncovered another enormous nugget.’
‘So you are aware of the nugget we discovered?’
‘Why yes; of course. Your partner Mr Baynes brought it into the bank last week. It took two of my tellers to carry it.’
‘What value did the bank place on it?’
‘Surely, Mr Baynes would have informed you we put £10,300 on it?’
George said grimly, ‘Mr Baynes has not informed me of anything. He has not communicated with me since departing Ballarat ten days ago.’
‘Oh dear, would you like me to check the balance of the account?’
‘Yes I would, thank you.’
The bank manager excused himself, retiring to the back office to view the ledger. He returned ashen- faced. ‘Mr Griffith, I don’t know what to say. The account has a nil balance.’
‘It is as I expected. He’s stolen the entire amount.’
‘I’m sorry, Mr Griffith… if there’s anything the bank can do…’
‘I think you’ve done enough already.’
George left the bank in a daze. His big opportunity to create wealth and possibly return home to England was gone.
After walking the streets of Melbourne for a few hours trying to determine what, if anything, he could do, he decided to check the shipping reports. He made his way to Port Melbourne. Ironically the S S Great Britain sailed for Liverpool on March 6. He approached the shipping company and requested to view the passenger list. Surprisingly they agreed, but after scanning the list he could not find Henry Baynes. His conclusion was the bastard had used a false name, or he was still in Australia somewhere.
The following day, a dejected George departed Melbourne for Ballarat. His only hope was to find another nugget like the one Henry stole, although he knew the chances were minimal. The other conundrum he faced was finding another digger he could trust to work the shaft with him.
Once back in Ballarat, he returned the horse to the Golden Nugget stables and sought to meet with Mathew.
He found him in the manager’s suite and this time he told Mathew the entire story, including the value of the stolen nugget. Mathew was flabbergasted.
George left his friend and returned to his digger’s hut close to the mine to contemplate his future.
Mathew