‘Well, I did hear something,’ I says, and out it all comes. They wonder first whether the bushrangers will be caught; where they’re gone to that the police can’t get ‘em; how it was that one of ‘em was so kind to the young lady as to give her new watch back, and whether Captain Starlight was as handsome as people say, and if Mrs. Buxter will ever get her watch back with the big reward the Government offered. More than that, whether they’ll stick up more coaches or fly the country.”

“I’d like to have been there and see how Bill Webster looked,” says Maddie. “He was here one day since, and kept gassin’ about it all as if he wouldn’t let none of you do only what he liked. I didn’t think he was that game, and told him so. He said I’d better take a seat some day and see how I liked it. I asked him wasn’t they all very good-looking chaps, and he said Starlight was genteel-lookin’. but there was one great, big, rough-lookin’ feller—that was you, Jim—as was ugly enough to turn a cask of beer sour.”

“I’ll give him a hammerin’ for that yet,” grumbles old Jim. “My word, he was that shaky and blue-lookin’ he didn’t know whether I was white or black.”

We had a great spree that night in a quiet way, and got all the fun as was to be had under the circumstances. Barnes came out with some pretty good wine which Starlight shouted for all round. The old woman cooked us a stunning good dinner, which we made the girls sit down to and some cousins of theirs that lived close by. We were merry enough before the evening was out. Bella Barnes played the piano middling, and Maddie could sing first-rate, and all of them could dance. The last thing I recollect was Starlight showing Maddie what he called a minuet step, and Jonathan and the old woman sitting on the sofa as grave as owls.

Anyhow, we all enjoyed ourselves. It was a grand change after being so long alone. The girls romped and laughed and pretended to be offended every now and then, but we had a regular good lark of it, and didn’t feel any the worse at daylight next morning.

Jim and I were away before sunrise, and after we’d once got on the road that Jonathan showed us we got on well enough. We were dressed just like common bushmen. There were plenty on the road just then bringing cattle and horses to the diggings. It was well known that high prices were going there and that everybody paid in cash. No credit was given, of course.