# Stiffner and Jim explained — While the Billy Boils > Chapter companion for While the Billy Boils by Henry Lawson. ## What happens The narrator and his mate Bill, down on their luck and desperate for a drink, devise a scheme to outwit the formidable publican Stiffner. After running up a tab they cannot pay, they plan an escape. The narrator distracts Stiffner by pretending to repair his boot, secretly driving a nail through the sole, then bolts with their swags. Bill joins him in the bush, and they escape, though Bill later reveals he has saved nine shillings and sixpence from the night before. ## Themes in this chapter ### Mateship and Loyalty The narrator and Bill rely on each other to escape Stiffner, though their partnership is marked by bickering and mutual blame; ultimately, they work together to survive. ### Hardship and Poverty The narrator and Bill are destitute swagmen, desperate for a drink and a meal, forced to resort to trickery to avoid being beaten or losing their belongings. ### Humor and Irony The story is told with a wry, humorous tone, especially in the narrator's cunning trick with the boot nail and the ironic twist that Bill had secretly saved money all along. ## Character check-ins ### The Narrator The narrator (Jim) is a swagman traveling with Bill, who devises the plan to trick Stiffner and escape without paying. ### Bogan Bill Bill is the narrator's mate, a quiet young man from Sydney who claims to be a spieler but ends up losing most of their money; he later reveals he saved nine shillings and sixpence. ### Stiffner Stiffner is the hard, unscrupulous publican of the hotel, a large and mean man with a varied past; he is outwitted by the narrator's trick with the boot nail. ### Missus Stiffner's wife, who brings a shovel during the chase, presumably to attack the escaping swagmen. ## Key lines > We were tramping down in Canterbury, Maoriland, at the time, swagging it⁠—me and Bill⁠—looking for work on the new railway line. The narrator and Bill were traveling on foot through Canterbury, New Zealand, carrying their swags and seeking employment on a new railway construction project. _Sets the scene of itinerant labor in colonial New Zealand._ > We had to have a drink, anyway, so we chanced it. We walked right into the bar, handed over our swags, put up four drinks, and tried to look as if we’d just drawn our cheques and didn’t care a curse for any man. Despite having no money, they decided to risk entering the pub, pretending to be solvent workers who had just been paid. _Illustrates their desperation and the bluff they use to get service._ > I noticed that Stiffner was limping on his right foot this morning, so I said to him: “What’s up with your foot?” putting my hand in my pocket. The narrator observed Stiffner's limp and used it as an opportunity to offer help, setting up his trick. _Key moment where the narrator's plan begins._ > I rooted in the bag and found a good long nail, and shoved it right through the sole on the sly. While pretending to repair the boot, the narrator secretly drove a nail through the sole to hinder Stiffner's pursuit. _The clever sabotage that enables their escape._ > The first thing that Bill said when we got safe into camp was: “I told you that we’d pull through all right. You need never be frightened when you’re travelling with me.” Once they were safe, Bill boasted that his leadership had ensured their success, despite having contributed little to the escape. _Highlights Bill's self-aggrandizing nature and the ironic dynamic between the two mates._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/while_the_billy_boils_se/chapters/stiffner-and-jim - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/while_the_billy_boils_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/while_the_billy_boils_se/chapters