# Macquarie's Mate explained — While the Billy Boils > Chapter companion for While the Billy Boils by Henry Lawson. ## What happens In Stiffner's shanty, a group of men disparage the absent shearer Macquarie, calling him a scoundrel and a bully. Old Awful Example, a drunken wreck, defends Macquarie as his mate, insisting he was not a sneak or liar. The tension escalates as Awful Example reveals Macquarie is dead, then declares his mate is still alive. A scuffle breaks out, but Macquarie himself quietly appears and stops the fight, causing Barcoo to flee. ## Themes in this chapter ### Mateship and Loyalty Old Awful Example's fierce defense of Macquarie, even after his death, exemplifies the bushman's code of loyalty to a mate. ### Drink and Escapism The setting is a bar where characters drink heavily; Old Awful Example is a 'soaker' and his drunkenness is central to the scene. ### Death and Mortality The revelation of Macquarie's death shifts the tone, and the men grapple with how to speak of the dead. ## Character check-ins ### Macquarie Absent shearer being discussed; later appears quietly to defend his mate. ### Old Awful Example Drunken old man who fiercely defends Macquarie as his mate. ### Barcoo Loud critic of Macquarie; eventually flees when Macquarie appears. ### Stiffner Shanty-keeper who tries to calm the situation and later joins the scuffle. ### Sally Thompson One of the men in the bar; tries to mediate and criticizes sentimentality about the dead. ### Box Also called Box-o'-Tricks; participates in the conversation and scuffle. ## Key lines > Don't you—don't you talk about Macquarie! He's a mate of mine! Old Awful Example angrily tells the others to stop speaking ill of Macquarie, insisting he is a friend. _Shows the immediate defense of a mate._ > Macquarie's dead! That—that's what it is! Old Awful Example reveals that Macquarie has died. _Key plot point that changes the mood in the bar._ > His mate's alive! Macquarie's mate's alive! That's what it is! Old Awful Example declares that Macquarie's mate is still living, ready to fight. _Climactic moment leading to the scuffle and Macquarie's entrance._ > It's Macquarie, old mate! Macquarie quietly identifies himself to Old Awful Example, stopping the fight. _Resolution showing Macquarie is alive and loyal to his mate._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/while_the_billy_boils_se/chapters/macquarie-s-mate - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/while_the_billy_boils_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/while_the_billy_boils_se/chapters