In the Land of the Long White Cloud

day. “So that fellow can start stealing again as soon as he gets to Australia?” he asked snidely. “You’re crazy, Gwyn!”
    Gwyneira shrugged. “Maybe, but she belongs to him. And it will be easier for him to find a decent job if he takes the dog along.”
    Paul snorted. “
He
’s not going to look for any decent job! Once a scoundrel, always a scoundrel.”
    Gerald was about to agree, but Gwyneira just smiled.
    “I’ve heard of professional gamblers who, later, came to be very decent sheep barons,” she remarked calmly.

    She set out for Lyttelton at the crack of dawn the next day. The way was long, and it took even the vigorous Raven five hours before she finally trotted onto the Bridle Path. Friday, who had trotted behind them, looked completely spent.
    “You can rest in the office,” Gwyneira said in a friendly tone. “Who knows, maybe Hanson will even let you go straight in to your master. And I’ll take a room in the White Hart. Paul and Gerald won’t be able to get into much trouble in one day without me.”
    Laurence Hanson was just sweeping his office when Gwyneira opened the door to the police office, behind which lay the prison cells. She had never been here, but she felt tingling anticipation. She would see James in just a moment. For the first time in almost two years!
    Hanson beamed when he recognized her. “Mrs. Warden! Gwyn Warden! Now isn’t this a surprise. I hope I don’t owe the pleasure of your visit to any unfortunate events? You don’t want to report a crime, do you?” The officer winked. Apparently, he believed that to be next to impossible—a decent woman would always have sent amale member of the family. “And what a beautiful dog little Friday’s become! How about it, little one, do you still want to bite me?”
    He bent over to Friday, who approached him trustingly this time. “What soft fur she has. Really, Mrs. Warden, you’ve taken first-class care of her.”
    Gwyneira nodded and quickly returned his greeting. “The dog is the reason I’ve come, Officer,” she said, coming straight to the point. “I heard that Mr. McKenzie’s sentence has been commuted, and that he’ll be released soon. So I wanted to bring the dog back to him.”
    Laurence Hanson wrinkled his brow. Gwyneira, who wanted to request to be admitted to James’s cell right away, stopped cold.
    “That’s very laudable of you,” the officer remarked. “But you’ve come too late. The
Reliance
pushed out to sea this morning, headed for Botany Bay. And following the governor’s orders, we had to take Mr. McKenzie aboard.”
    Gwyneira’s heart sank. “But didn’t he want to wait for me? He…he surely did not want to leave without the dog.”
    “Are you all right, Mrs. Warden? Is something the matter? Do sit down; I’d be happy to make some tea.” Concerned, Laurence pulled up a chair for her. Only then did he answer her question.
    “No, naturally, he did not want to leave without the dog. He asked me if he could go get it, but of course I couldn’t allow that. And then…then he predicted that you would come. I never would have thought…all this way for this rogue, and you’ve even grown fond of the dog! But McKenzie was certain. He asked for a delay; it would have broken your heart, but the order was clear: deportation on the next ship, and that was the
Reliance
. And he couldn’t pass up this offer. Oh, but wait! He left a letter for you.” The officer went to look for it straightaway. Gwyneira could have strangled him. Why hadn’t he mentioned that right away?
    “Here it is, Mrs. Warden. I take it he wants to thank you for looking after the dog.” The police chief handed her a simple, unopened envelope and waited expectantly. Clearly he had not opened the letter earlier because he had expected her to read it in his presence. However, Gwyneira did not do him that favor.
    “The…the
Reliance
, you said…are you certain that it has already set sail? Couldn’t it possibly still be waiting in the harbor?” Gwyneira slid the letter, seemingly without giving it much thought, into the pocket of her riding dress. “Sometimes there are delays pushing off.”
    Laurence shrugged. “I didn’t look. But if so, it wouldn’t be waiting on the docks but anchored out in the bay somewhere. You won’t be able to get out to it, except maybe in a rowboat.”
    Gwyneira stood up. “I’ll have a look for myself, Officer. One never knows. Before that, though, thank you very much.