“I want you to ask Mrs Hallam to forgive me my share of the past.”
“Is that all?”
“No, Sir Gordon. Tell Miss Julia that for her sake I did give up the drink; that I’m going up now into the bush; that for her sake I’m doing all this; and that I shall never forget the gentle face that bent over me outside the prison walls.”
He turned to go, and had gone a score of yards, walking quickly, but with the horse following, when Sir Gordon called out:
“Stop!”
Crellock stood still, and Sir Gordon walked up to him slowly.
“You are right, Crellock,” he said in a quiet, changed tone. “I believe you. You never had a chance.”
He held out his hand, which the other did not take.
“Shake hands, man.”
“I am a convict, sir,” said Crellock proudly.