“We’ll do all we can, Aileen dear, for you and poor mother, won’t we, Jim?” I felt soft and down-hearted then, if ever I did. “But it’s too late—too late! You’ll see us now and then; but we can’t stop at home quiet, nor work about here all the time as we used to do. That day’s gone. Jim knows it as well as me. There’s, no help for it now. We’ll have to do like the rest—enjoy ourselves a bit while we can, and stand up to our fight when the trouble comes.”

She took her hand away, and rode on with her rein loose and her head down. I could see the tears falling down her face, but after a bit she put herself to rights, and we rode quietly up to the door. Mother was rocking away in her chair, and father walking up and down before the door, smoking.

When we were letting go the horses, father comes up and says—” I’ve got a bit of news for you, boys; Starlight’s been took, and the darkie with him.”

“Where?” I said. Somehow I felt struck all of a heap by hearing this. I’d got out of the way of thinking they’d drop on him. As for Jim, he heard it straight enough, but he went on whistling and patting the mare’s neck, teasing her like, because she was so uneasy to get her head-stall off and run after the others.

“Why, in New Zealand, to be sure. The blamed fool stuck there all this time, just because he found himself comfortably situated among people as he liked. I wonder how he’ll fancy Berrima after it all? Sarves him well right.”

“But how did you come to hear about it?” We knew father couldn’t read nor write.

“I have a chap as is paid to read the papers reg’lar, and to put me on when there’s anything in ‘em as I want to know. He’s been over here to-day and give me the office. Here’s the paper he left.”

Father pulls out a crumbled-up, dirty-looking bit of newspaper. It wasn’t much to look at; but there was enough to keep us in readin’, and thinkin’, too, for a good while, as soon as we made it out. In pretty big letters, too.

IMPORTANT CAPTURE BY DETECTIVE STILLBROOK OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE.

That was atop of the page, then comes this: