“Nobody’s likely to know but him and Warrigal. The knockabouts and those other three chaps won’t come it on us for their own sakes. We may as well stop here till Christmas is over and then make down to the Barwon, or somewhere thereabouts. We could take a long job at droving till the derry’s off a bit.”

“If you’ll be said by me,” the old man growls out, “you’ll make tracks for the Hollow afore daylight and keep dark till we hear how the play goes. I know Starlight’s as close as a spring-lock; but that chap Warrigal don’t cotton to either of you, and he’s likely to give you away if he’s pinched himself—that’s my notion of him.”

“Starlight’ll keep him from doing that,” Jim says; “the boy’ll do nothing his master don’t agree to, and he’d break his neck if he found him out in any dog’s trick like that.”

“Starlight and he ain’t in the same cell, you take your oath. I don’t trust no man except him. I’ll be off now, and if you’ll take a fool’s advice, though he is your father, you’ll go too; we can be there by daylight.”

Jim and I looked at each other.

“We promised to stay Chris’mas with mother and Aileen,” says he, “and if all the devils in hell tried to stop us, I wouldn’t break .my word. But we’ll come to the Hollow on Boxing Day, won’t we, Dick?”

“All right! It’s only two or three days. The day after to-morrow’s Chris’mas Eve. We’ll chance that, as it’s gone so far.”

“Take your own way,” growls father. “Fetch me my saddle. The old mare’s close by the yard.”

Jim fetches the saddle and bridle, and Crib comes after him, out of the verandah, where he had been lying. Bless you! he knew something was up. Just like a Christian he was, and nothing never happened that dad was in as he wasn’t down to.

“May as well stop till morning, dad,” says Jim, as we walked up to the yard.

“Not another minute,” says the old man, and he whips the bridle out of Jim’s hand and walks over to the old mare. She lifts up her head from the dry grass and stands as steady as a rock.

“Good-bye,” he says and he shook hands with both of us; “if I don’t see you again I’ll send you word if I hear anything fresh.”

In another minute we heard the old mare’s hoofs proceeding away among the rocks up the gully, and gradually getting fainter in the distance.