Author: Ambrose Pratt

Publisher: Good Press

Published: 2021-11-09

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13:

'The Remittance Man' is an adventure novel written by Ambrose Pratt. The story begins with the steamer, Tomki, who was signaled "off the bar" at sunrise. Although everyone knew that she could not enter the river until flood tide at 10.30 a.m., the inhabitants of Ballina drifted towards the public wharf as soon as they had breakfast. A dark-haired and rather sun-burned young man, who sat upon a flying pile industriously fishing, observed the crowd grow out of the corners of his eyes. He was at first indifferent enough. Ballina invariably assembled to welcome the mail boats. The fisherman, after a time, however, became aware of some unusual, and therefore noteworthy, features in the gathering. Major Reay, the richest mill owner and sugar planter of the district was seated on a camp chair about the center of the wharf, nursing a gouty foot upon a stool before him. A score of gaily costumed young women fluttered attentively about him, each armed with a huge bouquet of white and crimson roses. The fisherman, having grasped these phenomena, turned his head in order to consider them more narrowly. As he did so a well-dressed lad of seventeen detached himself from the crowd and came forward. The fisherman recognised the boy with a nod, then, as if ashamed to be caught indulging his curiosity, he resumed his former attitude, and stared fixedly at the float. The lad rapidly approached, but, halting half a dozen feet away, he sat down upon the edge of the wharf and dangled his feet over the water.