Kiwi Wars Read Online Free PDF Page B

amazement and surprise, ‘Is it you, Abe?’
    The man’s expression became a sidelong smile.
    ‘Young Harry! What, the army has sent you here, eh?’
    Harry Wynter jumped up and cried, ‘It’s me brother – me long lost brother, Abraham. Sarge, sir, it’s me next oldest kin!’
    Jack groaned and whispered, ‘There’s
two
of them?’
    An excited Harry ran to his sibling and threw his arms around the man. Abraham extricated himself very carefully without returning the affection in any way. Instead he held Harry by the shoulders at arms’ length and looked him up and down.
    ‘My God, Harry me boy, what ’ave they done to you? You’ve got less meat on you than a gypsy’s lurcher.’
    Harry looked puzzled for a moment, then realized his brother was referring to his physical condition. He shrugged. ‘Ah, well, you know – diseases and such. I got a terrible ague up there in the tropics. An’ I lost the eye to a bloody great thorn bush ’cause them buggers over there din’t get me out in time.’ Gwilliams scowled and Sergeant King opened his mouth to protest, but shut it when he saw Jack shaking his head slowly. ‘Me hair went white at the same time. Listen, I marched from Russy to the Indian continent, I did, an’ even the officer thinks that’s a great feat and saps the life-strength from your body. Stuff like that.’
    ‘Remind me never to join the army,’ replied Abe. ‘Not that I ever wanted to. Navy was bad enough.’
    ‘Where’d you get that scar then, Abe?’
    Abraham Wynter touched the crease in his face with his right forefinger.
    ‘This? From a Lascar, a shipmate, in Liverpool. I gave him a worse one back, you can be sure, brother.’
    Harry now stepped away from his big brother and looked him up and down.
    ‘But Abe – now look at
you.
Fine clothes. Fat as Christmas. You an’t in the navy still, that’s for certain.’
    ‘No, I an’t in the navy, nor ever will be again, thank you very much. I come out of the navy, all legitimate, up there in Austrailee. Me an’ two pals went to the goldfields in 1851 and struck it rich. We found a nugget as big as a sucklin’ pig. Now I’m as rich as crows is, Harry. I’m a respected citizen now, a landowner, and gettin’ richer all the time. I own more land in New Zealand than the railways in England, and it an’t long and thin like theirs, it’s good prime sheep grazin’ land, some of it bottom land and good for plantin’. I’m sittin’ pretty and like to be the biggest man in this new country afore very long.’
    Harry took off his forage cap and threw it into the air.
    ‘You hear that, lads?’ he screeched. ‘My brother’s a rich man.
My
brother.’ He tried to put an arm around Abe’s shoulders, but his brother slipped skilfully aside avoiding this clearly unwelcome display of filial affection for a second time. ‘My brother Abe. Rich as crows is.’
    ‘That’s Croesus,’ muttered Gwilliams, the classical scholar, who had winced when it was mispronounced the first time. ‘Croesus.’
    ‘Who the fuck cares?’ cried Harry. ‘Me an’ my brother is rich – rich, rich, rich. No more bloody army for me. You can keep your skulkin’ and conniving, Captain Crossman. I’m off with my brother Abe, to assist him in any way he needs me to.’
    Private Harry Wynter had been through a whole war in the Crimea with Jack Crossman supposedly as his tyrannical sergeant. Then through the Indian Mutiny with Jack as his despotic lieutenant. Now he was still with the same slave-driving officer in New Zealand in the Maori wars. But clearly Harry thought enough was enough. Here was an end to his time under a British satrap. The years of bloody Fancy Jack Crossman lording it over him were past. He had found a rich brother who would take care of him. He started to remove his coatee.
    Abe stepped away from his younger brother and brushed non-existent dust from the shoulders of his fine coat with a pale hand.
    ‘Now, now, Harry boy, we’ve never