A cheat and a liar, p.1
A Cheat and a Liar, page 1
A Cheat
and
A Liar
BRUCE A SPURDLE
Copyright © 2023 by Bruce A Spurdle.
Library of Congress Control Number:
2023902118
ISBN:
Hardcover
978-1-6698-8032-5
Softcover
978-1-6698-8031-8
eBook
978-1-6698-8030-1
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
Rev. date: 02/13/2023
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Postscript
Chapter 1
George was born in 1872, the son of William and Elizabeth. Both their parents had emigrated from southern England in the 1840s and had settled in the Taranaki region. The couple had fallen in love not long before William’s family moved south to the flourishing town of Whanganui, and they married and settled in that town soon after. William, like his father before him, was a builder, well renowned for his workmanship, and they had both built a number of the first homes in New Plymouth.
George was the third child of the family, which grew to twelve in number—seven boys and five girls, and the boys took up various types of employment when it was time to leave school and face the real world. Their father was a builder, but only three of the boys became part of the building trade—George and sixth son, Reg, became builders, and fourth son, Charlie, was a plumber.
In 1892, father William suddenly died, but twenty-year-old George continued building, and, thanks to his late father, he had inherited the work ethic that already was proving to those seeking homes that he was very capable of continuing the work that his father had under way and well able to continue in his own right.
George, of course, had many friends and workmates and, being a good-looking, hard-working young man, had no trouble meeting attractive young ladies. In particular, there was one Anna Meadow. She was a twin and daughter of another pioneering family. Her mother and father had arrived from England in a ship that arrived in Wellington. Anna’s father, Henry Meadow, a qualified surveyor, had just married before they left, and he and his new bride, on arrival, actually walked up the west coast beach from Wellington to Whanganui. It would have been a journey of no mean feat; a rocky coastline for some way, five rivers to cross, sleeping in the sand hills, it barely sounds like the honeymoon of choice but showed the character of the family into which Anna would later be born. So, in 1898, George married Anna in Whanganui. She had trained as a teacher and loved children, and although she proved strict and at times a little harsh, with her ‘sit down and listen’ attitude, it always seemed that her follow-up comment ‘If you listen, you will learn’ was true, and children, and their parents, later in life appreciated her teaching method.
Times were becoming harder as the Boer War in South Africa caused New Zealand to send troops and horses to help in the fight, and that request caused tension throughout the country. But George and Anna were a very happy couple, and to make them even happier, their first son, Henry, was born in 1900. They seemed to be succeeding on all fronts.
In 1901, daughter Annie arrived, and a year later, James, and then in 1906, Fred. When Anna brought little Evelyn home in 1910, Henry asked his mother, ‘Where did she come from?’ She laughed and explained to him, ‘Well, your father and I thought that because we had three boys and only one girl, we should have another girl to even the numbers up a little.’ He accepted the answer without further question. Five lovely children, three boys and two girls; what could be better? All the children, except little Evelyn, were robust and healthy. She was born smaller than the others and was often in quite poor health, but everyone was happy as a family.
Into the first decade of the new century, the economy was very tight and continued to tighten more and more. Many families found it difficult to make ends meet, and businesses struggled as townspeople in particular lost their jobs and had less money to spend. New Zealand, of course, had sent thousands of men to the Boer War in South Africa, and many never returned. Now, as that conflict passed, Germany was threatening Europe and England, and everyone was afraid the whole world would be at war and more young men would be lost.
New Zealand, of course, was committed to England, and if war was declared, New Zealand would certainly send troops. Worldwide, economies were deteriorating, men in other countries also were losing their jobs as companies failed, and everywhere hardship and anxiety were on the increase.
George had started building two homes in late 1910 and had also completed renovations of a modest nature on three other houses for owners who had not entirely met their obligations to pay him, so he, too, was under extreme pressure. Suppliers of building materials were struggling; on one hand, many items and imports were hard to obtain, and, often, demand from builders and contractors outstripped supply.
As materials became scarce, George put more and more of his money into purchasing timber and roofing and ordering windows to be made. There were baths, sinks, plumbing fittings, and more; he had timber stacked behind his house. Fittings, pipes, and cement locked in sheds, piles of shingle, sand, and what he called ‘builder’s mix’ for concrete piled up beside the covered timber.
Then banks altered their lending criteria, and men lost their jobs, and less and less money was available for the purchase of existing homes, and although the building industry had stressed to the government that money for people wanting to have a new home built would mean more men were kept in work, the worldwide situation was preventing the government changing their lending criteria.
Some of those for whom George was building found themselves out of work. Most had families that had to be clothed and fed. Slowly at first and then with gathering momentum, customers stopped paying tradesmen for work done. George had spent his money on purchasing materials so he could continue to work, but less and less people paid. He calculated he could build another two modest homes, and even if the clients were slower than usual in making payments to him, he had enough material to almost complete both. He spoke to those whose homes were involved and explained his ideas, for which his clients were extremely grateful. George still needed and wanted to reduce the amount owed to creditors locally. He was not hugely behind in his payments and believed that a little cash paid to them as it trickled in would satisfy them month by month. He also had put aside a percentage of what he had received from his recent builds over the last six months, and only he and Anna, his wife, knew about the cash he retained, which was hidden at their home.
As the weeks ticked by and progress was made with the erection of the houses, it became clearer by the day that George would need more timber. He talked to Anna, who was not entirely happy, especially when he eventually made plans to take the money he had saved to an out-of-town timber yard and purchase at wholesale rates, sufficient to complete both builds. The savings he would make, he calculated, would far outweigh what he would need to pay if he purchased locally from his usual supplier. George reasoned that if he could finish the homes he had started with the materials he had stored and the timber he planned to purchase out of town, he would be able to not only survive but keep working and have a steady income also. If he could arrange with those for whom he was building to pay him a small sum weekly whilst the country was in recession and the world at war, then, surely, a little per week from each, plus a little earned per job from those who had engaged him to carried out odd repairs, would keep food on the table at home for Anna and the childre
There was also a final payment due to him for the building of the house he had completed about a month before, which was due to arrive about two weeks after he got back from buying timber out of town, which would be a huge help. He had received a letter from the solicitor acting for the owner, confirming such funds were held in trust. It was a clause that George always inserted in his contracts to give his customers peace of mind; their solicitor could hold a predetermined amount for a short period after a house was completed to ensure any adjustments or matters not to the owner’s satisfaction were remedied or fixed. So everything was in place, at least in George’s mind. He still worried; was he doing the right thing? He didn’t feel good about buying timber out of town. His local timber company had treated him well. They had extended his credit from time to time and only put pressure on him of late as things became financially tighter. However, there was more profit if he could buy material cheaper, he reasoned, and with that extra profit, he could pay more or even clear the local supplier’s account.
Anna was not happy. She and George had not spoken a lot about George’s financial situation. He had told her he had put some cash paid to him for casual and some smaller jobs in a suitcase in the back of their wardrobe. She had never opened it, but that particular night, she did. She was surprised how much cash was there, so . . . that night, when all the children were in bed, she shut the lounge door, sat husband George down, and asked him for an explanation. Why did there need to be as much as she had seen, and why could some of it not be used to reduce what was owed to suppliers in town? ‘I am going to buy timber from an out-of-town mill,’ he said. ‘You are not,’ she replied. ‘With the money in that suitcase, you are going to pay off what you owe, and then you are going to keep pressing the people who owe you money, and then we will use a little of it to feed us all and clothe your children.’
George tried to argue. Anna would not be moved. ‘Pay off our debts. We have a good name. We must not owe people money. Do it tomorrow!’ She was angry.
The next morning, George took money from the suitcase and did as Anna ordered.
George still had work, but income was very slow. For several jobs as a builder that he had completed, payment had not been received. Anna had often told George to spend part of his days chasing those who owed him. George wanted to wait and give debtors time and instead to carry on working as much as he could. ‘Everybody will pay me eventually,’ he would say. ‘The more work I do, the more will be owed to us, and one day we will be paid.’
The argument between the two was becoming very heated. George, however, was never going to win so followed Anna’s instructions and, the very next day, went to the timber mill, where he, and his father before him, had purchased whatever they needed as popular and respected builders in their hometown. He stepped inside the door of their office building and asked to see the manager and was duly ushered into his office.
‘Mr George,’ said the manager, rising out of his seat behind his fine wooden desk, ‘I have been hoping to see you for the last few weeks. Thank you for paying me the courtesy of a visit. I need to speak with you.’
‘Thank you, Mr Reid. I am glad, then, that my visit is timely,’ said George. ‘Perhaps I am here to help. What was it that you wished to discuss?’
‘Your outstanding account; we should never have allowed you to keep purchasing to such a level without some arrangement to reduce what you owe. What do you have to say?’ Mr Reid had a somewhat urgent tone. ‘Your father before you would never have let his account grow like you have, and he was a man who had an excellent reputation and was one we could trust and rely on month by month; but look at you, not even half the age he was—God rest his soul—and you already owe us more than he ever did.’
‘With respect, Mr Reid, my father in all the time I worked for him, and that was in excess of twenty years, never encountered such difficult times as presently exist. I remember when there was a shortage of work for us, but only on a few occasions did he have to put pressure on his debtors to obtain payment. I am owed considerably more than what I owe your company right now, and I have work ahead of me. I am embarrassed to owe money, but that is why I am here today. I cannot pay what I owe in full, but I will pay you now what I can afford. If it suits you also, Mr Reid, I will cease purchasing from your company until my account is cleared,’ replied George.
‘Well, no, no,’ replied the older man. ‘We don’t want you to do that. Do you know how much you owe?’
‘Yes, sir. One hundred and eighty-four pounds, ten and sixpence.’
‘And what do you think about that?’ was the reply.
‘You, sir, may think I should owe nothing, and I wish that also. I am sure you know, men are losing their jobs faster than timber is being milled, and if the world goes to war, there may be no work for any of us.’
‘As money comes to me, some will be passed to your company, Mr Reid, and when I owe you nothing, I will start buying from you again, but not until then.’
The two men were getting heated, and after a brief pause, Mr Reid asked, ‘How much are you going to pay now?’
‘One hundred pounds,’ said George.
‘And how are you going to keep working?’
‘I have some timber stacked for me to use, and if I need more, I guess I will have to purchase it elsewhere, if I still owe you money at that time,’ replied George. The manager was not happy. He was accepting of the £100 to be paid but was concerned the balance may not be paid in the near future. ‘Don’t blame me for the world’s problems,’ said George. ‘Blame Austria and Germany.’ Mr Reid was further concerned that building supplies might be bought by George at an opposition or out-of-town supplier. Further words were only getting both men heated.
The £100 was paid, and George took his receipt and left.
George called on two families that owed him money on the way back home. Both men of each family were at home having been laid off from their jobs. George explained how he was being pushed to pay for materials that had to be bought for past jobs. He asked the first family to promise to try and bring to his house even ten shillings per week. ‘You owe just over twenty-six pounds, so in just one year, you will owe me nothing,’ he explained. The second family showed him a letter from their solicitor. It read that the outstanding amount (£125) was held in trust and would be paid to him on a certain date, which George roughly estimated to be two months and one week away.
George got home at around five o’clock. Anna was waiting. ‘Paid the timber yard?’ she enquired.
‘Yes,’ he replied.
‘Don’t suppose you tried to collect any money for us?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ George replied. He explained how one couple said they would try and bring ten shillings per week to their house, and the other has a solicitor’s letter saying there would be a lump sum paid to George in the next couple of months.
‘Well done,’ said Anna. ‘So we don’t owe money to anyone?’ George left the question unanswered.
Anna hadn’t counted the money, so when George took a small wad of notes from his pocket and put it back in the suitcase, Anna was happy. She trusted him.
New Year 1913 came and went, but nobody wanted to welcome in the new year. Everyone wondered what was in store for the world and New Zealand. Everyone was unhappy, few had incomes, many went hungry, and families huddled together, anxiously waiting to see if mother Britain would call a New Zealand father or brother to help fight the brewing conflict in Europe . . . and would that father come home? Would they have money while he was away? How would anybody survive? Everyone knew, a world war would be far greater and have much more influence on a worldwide scale than had been experienced through the Boer conflict.
The mood in everyone’s house was sombre.
Then, after an epileptic attack at home, George and Anna’s youngest child, Maud, suddenly died, aged just two. The family was gutted. Little Maud had never been a robust girl, but she was a delight to all who saw her. The next few days were traumatic for all who knew the family. Many folk called to the house. There were many, many tears shed; many hugs, many flowers, but Anna and George had lost a treasure. The funeral was arranged, and little Maud was laid to rest three days later.
