Haut’s first job was to sign about four hundred pages of documents on behalf of the fourteen companies he represented in his mining operations. He was nervous, but pretended he was cool and unperturbed as he sat down with Adams and Cullum.

Haut gestured to a menacing-looking, leashed Alsatian with one of the guards.

‘That reminds me of a joke,’ he said. ‘A guy walks into a bar and sees a man sitting near a dog. “Does your dog bite?” the guy asks. “No,” the man says. The guy pats the dog and gets bitten. He says angrily, “I thought you said he didn’t bite!” The man shrugs and says, “It’s not my dog.”’

This elicited a few smirks from on-looking bankers and lawyers. They all relaxed. This bloke from Tasmania was either a bit thick or remarkably calm, they thought, considering his financial plight.

Eighty minutes on and Haut was yet to complete the documentation for his companies. Some of the on-lookers lost interest and began talking among themselves or moved off to scrutinise other settlements. Haut had still not signed over a commitment to pay back the five million dollars he owed.

Lanky Sinclair Adams looked over half-moon glasses as Haut explained how he had been caught in a mining industry downturn. He told how he had been ‘claim jumped’. Adams’ eyebrows shot up, as if he were a little sympathetic. Otherwise, he was silent. Then he began to interject impatiently and wanted Haut to commit to pay up, with any asset he had, from money he had in the bank, or even his car. When Cullum was distracted, Haut said:

‘Looking around at the dough and people here, I can’t help thinking about the line: “To see what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.”’

Adams winced a smile. He either didn’t understand or like the remark. Haut tried again. ‘I saw a sign on the way into the city that said “Watch for children”. I thought that was a fair trade.’

Adams frowned and then smiled as if awoken from a stupor.

‘I like it,’ he said, animated. ‘I’m thinking about re-marrying my ex-wife, but I’m pretty sure she’ll figure out I’m just after her for the money!’

Haut chortled as Adams slapped his knees at his own marginally funny line.

‘My psychiatrist told me I was crazy,’ Haut grinned, ‘but I said I wanted a second opinion. He replied, “Okay, you’re ugly too.”’

Adams laughed hard and went red. He grabbed a sheet of paper and began scribbling down the joke.

Haut then told the joke about the burglar and the parrot who said: ‘Jesus is watching.’ Adams loved it. Cullum glanced at Adams as he scribbled down the joke. After twenty minutes of funny and counter funny, Adams was distracted by another banker. Haut referred to his little book of jokes and then turned to Cullum.