When we overhauled the leather sack into which Jim had stowed all the notes and cheques we found that we’d done better than we expected, though we could see from the first it wasn’t going to be a bad night’s work. We had £370 in notes and gold, a biggish bag of silver, a lot of cheques—some of which would be sure to be paid—seven gold watches and a lot of silver ones, some pretty good. Mrs. Buxter’s watch was a real beauty, with a stunning chain. Starlight said he should like to keep it himself, and then I knew Bella Barnes was in for a present. Starlight was one of those chaps that never forgot any kind of promise he’d once made. Once he said a thing it would be done as sure as death—if he was alive to do it; and many a time I’ve known him to take the greatest lot of trouble, no matter how pushed he might be, to carry out something which another man would have never troubled his head about.

We, got safe to the Murdering Hut, and a precious hard ride it was, and tried our horses well, for, mind you, they’d been under saddle best part of twenty-four hours when we got back, and had done a good deal over a hundred miles. We made a short halt while the tea was boiling, then we all separated for fear a black tracker might have been loosed on our trail, and knowing well what bloodhounds they are sometimes.

Warrigal and Starlight went off together as usual; they were pretty safe to be out of harm’s way. Father made off on a line of his own. We took the two horses we’d ridden out of the Hollow, and made for that place the shortest way we knew. We could afford to hit out horse-flesh was cheap to us—but not to go slow. Time was more than money to us now—it was blood, or next thing to it.

“I’ll go anywhere you like,” says Jim, stretching himself. “It makes no odds to me now where we go. What do you think of it, dad?”

“I think you’ve no call to leave here for another month anyhow; but as I suppose some folks’ll play the fool some road or other you may as well go there as anywhere else. If you must go you’d better take some of these young horses with you and sell them while prices keep up.”

“Capital idea,” says Starlight; “I was wondering how we’d get those colts off. You’ve the best head amongst us, governor. We’ll start out to-day and muster the horses, and we can take Warrigal with us as far as Jonathan Barnes’s place.”