"How's that?"
"Why, they transport a man for shooting a rabbit or a hare, don't they? My dad told me a friend of his was sent out for catching salmon and that his mother was frightened nearly to death when she knew he'd been off fishing one night. Of course, they don't transport to here any more. We wouldn't have it. But they do it to somewhere still, I suppose."
"I don't know, I'm sure," answered the lad. "I never heard much about that. I came out when I was fourteen."
"How was that?"
"Well, there was nothing to do in England that had anything in it and everybody was saying what a grand country Australia was and how everybody could get on and so I came out."
"Your folks come?"
"My father was dead. I only had a stepfather."
"And he wanted to get rid of you, eh?" enquired Ned, getting interested.
"I suppose he did, a little," said the lad, colouring.
"You came out to Sydney?"