Dudgeon grabbed the document and read it through. The wording was as Eustace had said. He had played his card too soon.
"I'll beat you yet," he cried as he flung the paper across the counter. "No matter what it costs, I'll never have a woman owning one of my properties. You're a lot of scheming scoundrels, but I'll beat you yet."
He bounced out and flogged his horse to a gallop as he drove away.
"If the head office had sent off the gold at once when I wired, it would have been here by now," Eustace said to his assistant.
"Then everyone would have known it was here, and there is no saying what might have happened," Harding jestingly answered. "Anyway, it is due to-night."
Later, when the bank had closed for the day, a light waggon drew up at the door with a couple of men in it.
"We've some books and boxes of stationery for you from the Wyalla branch," one of the men called out as Eustace opened the door and looked out.
A bushman slouching past with his roll of blankets slung across his back, glanced round at the waggon and continued his way to the hotel. Eustace and Harding both helped to carry the bundles and boxes into the bank. When they were all inside Eustace turned to the men.
"You'll have some dinner with us before you go back?" he asked.
"Can't, old chap. Head office orders. Don't know what sort of people the general manager thinks you've got in this part, but the strictest secrecy in everything were our instructions, so Ted and I are teamsters and nothing but teamsters till we get back to our own branch. So long, old chap."