When I looked round I saw the dog sleeping at Jim’s feet, old Crib. He never left father very far, so of course the old man must be home, or pretty close up. I was that dead beat and tired out that I turned over and went to sleep for another couple of hours, when I next woke up I was right and felt rested, so I put on my things, had a good wash, and went out to speak to father. He was sitting by the fire outside smoking, just as if he’d never been away.

Chapter XXXV

CHAPTER XXXV

“WE done that job to rights if we never done another, eh, lad?” says father, reaching out for a coal to put in his pipe.

“Seems like it,” I said. “There’ll be a deuce of a bobbery about it. We shan’t be able to move for a bit, let alone clear out.”

“We’ll show ‘em a trick or two yet,” says dad. I could see he’d had a tot, early as it was. “I wonder how them chaps got on? But we’ll hear soon.”

“How shall we hear anything? Nobody’ll be mad enough to show out of here for a bit.”

“I could get word here,” says father,“if there was a police barrack on the top of Nulla Mountain. I’ve done it afore, and I can do it again.”

“Well, I hope it won’t be long, for I’m pretty full up of this staying-at-home business in the Hollow. It’s well enough for a bit, but it’s awful slow when you’ve too much of it.”

“It wouldn’t be very slow if we was all grabbed and tried for our lives, Mr. Dick Marston. Would ye like that better for a change?” says the old man, showing his teeth like a dog that’s making up his mind to have ye and don’t see where he’s to get first bite. “You leave the thing to them as knows more than you do, or you’ll find yourself took in, and that precious sharp.”

“You’ll find your pals, Burke and Moran, and their lot will have their turn first,” I said, and with that I walked off, for I saw the old man had been drinking a bit after his night’s work, and that always started his temper the wrong way. There was no doing anything with him then, as I knew by long experience. I was going to ask him where he’d put the gold, but thought it best to leave that for some other time.

By and by, when we all turned out and had some breakfast, we took a bit of a walk by ourselves and talked it over. We could hardly think it was all done and over.