While this was all in progress, a certain
disaster had struck. Our Sydney protagonist had met a former
acquaintance who greeted him with the cry: "Well, you're an
old queer from way back!" News spread like wild-fire (as it
will do in country towns) that a new poofter had arrived in
the Territory. Laurie soon learned that any single man who came
to town was suspected of being homosexual. Most of them pass
right through - he had a two-year contract.