{"product_id":"2940013682962","title":"Send Round the Hat","description":"It was about nine o'clock in the morning, and, though it was Sunday\u003cbr\u003emorning, it was no harm to wake me; but the shearer had mistaken me for a\u003cbr\u003edeaf jackeroo, who was staying at the shanty and was something like me,\u003cbr\u003eand had good-naturedly shouted almost at the top of his voice, and he\u003cbr\u003ewoke the whole shanty. Anyway he woke three or four others who were\u003cbr\u003esleeping on beds and stretchers, and one on a shake-down on the floor, in\u003cbr\u003ethe same room. It had been a wet night, and the shanty was full of\u003cbr\u003eshearers from Big Billabong Shed which had cut out the day before. My\u003cbr\u003eroom mates had been drinking and gambling overnight, and they swore\u003cbr\u003eluridly at the intruder for disturbing them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe was six-foot-three or thereabout. He was loosely built, bony,\u003cbr\u003esandy-complexioned and grey eyed. He wore a goodhumoured grin at most\u003cbr\u003etimes, as I noticed later on; he was of a type of bushman that I always\u003cbr\u003eliked--the sort that seem to get more good-natured the longer they grow,\u003cbr\u003eyet are hardknuckled and would accommodate a man who wanted to fight, or\u003cbr\u003ethrash a bully in a good-natured way. The sort that like to carry\u003cbr\u003esomebody's baby round, and cut wood, carry water and do little things for\u003cbr\u003eoverworked married bushwomen. He wore a saddle-tweed sac suit two sizes\u003cbr\u003etoo small for him, and his face, neck, great hands and bony wrists were\u003cbr\u003ecovered with sunblotches and freckles.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I hope I ain't disturbin' yer,\" he shouted, as he bent over my bunk,\u003cbr\u003e\"but there's a cove----\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You needn't shout!\" I interrupted, \"I'm not deaf.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh--I beg your pardon!\" he shouted. \"I didn't know I was yellin'. I\u003cbr\u003ethought you was the deaf feller.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh, that's all right,\" I said. \"What's the trouble?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Wait till them other chaps is done swearin' and I'll tell yer,\" he said.\u003cbr\u003eHe spoke with a quiet, good-natured drawl, with something of the nasal\u003cbr\u003etwang, but tone and drawl distinctly Australian--altogether apart from\u003cbr\u003ethat of the Americans.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh, spit it out for Christ's sake, Long'un!\" yelled One-eyed Bogan, who\u003cbr\u003ehad been the worst swearer in a rough shed, and he fell back on his bunk\u003cbr\u003eas if his previous remarks had exhausted him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's that there sick jackeroo that was pickin'-up at Big Billabong,\"\u003cbr\u003esaid the Giraffe. \"He had to knock off the first week, an' he's been here\u003cbr\u003eever since. They're sendin' him away to the hospital in Sydney by the\u003cbr\u003espeeshall train. They're just goin' to take him up in the wagonette to\u003cbr\u003ethe railway station, an' I thought I might as well go round with the hat\u003cbr\u003ean' get him a few bob. He's got a missus and kids in Sydney.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yer always goin' round with yer gory hat!\" growled Bogan. \"Yer'd blanky\u003cbr\u003ewell take it round in hell!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"That's what he's doing, Bogan,\" muttered Gentleman Once, on the\u003cbr\u003eshake-down, with his face to the wall.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe hat was a genuine \"cabbage-tree,\" one of the sort that \"last a\u003cbr\u003elifetime.\" It was well coloured, almost black in fact with weather and\u003cbr\u003eage, and it had a new strap round the base of the crown. I looked into it\u003cbr\u003eand saw a dirty pound note and some silver. I dropped in half a crown,\u003cbr\u003ewhich was more than I could spare, for I had only been a green-hand at\u003cbr\u003eBig Billabong.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145708454128,"sku":"2940013682962","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013682962_p0.jpg?v=1763583941","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013682962","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}