A Close Shave.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVI, Issue II, 12 January 1901, Page 59

A Close Shave.

There were five of us hunting and fishing in the Queensland bush when one rainy day a stranger appeared. He said he was a tramp barber, and as none of us had been shaved for a fortnight we gave him half a day’s work. About four hours after he had left us a band of six men rode up and the leader enquired if we had seen a tall, roughly dressed man pass that way. We told him of the barber and he looked from man to man and exclaimed: “Good gracious, but you are all freshly shaved!” “Yes, we gave the barber a job.” “And he shaved each one of you?” “He did. and did it well.” “Boys, do you hear that?” shouted the man as he turned to bin eompnnions. “What of it?” asked one of our party.

“* hy, he went insane yeatei-day and cut A man's throat, in his barber’s ehair over at Unadilla, and we re after him to put him in sn asylum.*' They rode away at a gallop and next morning returned to our camp with the man, who had been captured afteg a hard fight, and was tied ou his hornet He seemed to remember us when be was given a drink of water, and as he handed the cup back he quietly ol> served: ”1 say. gentlemen, please excuse rod. I meant to finish off the last man who got shaved, but I got to thinking of something else, and it slipped my mind!”

A close shave with vengeance!