It was no use thinking of that kind of thing, and I began to wonder how Starlight was getting on with his friends, when I saw the Dawsons’ drag come up the straight, with four upstanding ripping bay horses in top condition, and well matched. There was Starlight on the box seat, alongside of Jack Dawson, the eldest brother, who could handle the ribbons in style, and was a man every inch of him, only a bit too fast; didn’t care about anything but horses and dogs, and lived every day of his life. The other brother was standing up behind, leaning over and talking to Starlight, who was “in great form,” as he used to say himself, and looked as if he’d just come out of a bandbox.

He had on a silk coat buttoned round him, a white top hat with a blue silk veil. His eyeglass was stuck in his eye all the time, and he had kid gloves on that fitted his hands like wax. I really couldn’t hardly take my oath he was the same man, and no wonder nobody else couldn’t. I was wondering why Sir Ferdinand wasn’t swelling about, bowing to all the ladies, and making that thoroughbred of his dance and arch his neck, when I heard someone say that he’d got news that Moran and the rest of ‘em had stuck up a place about forty miles off, towards Forbes, and Sir Ferdinand had sworn at his luck for having to miss the races; but started off just as he was, and taken all the troopers but two with him.

“Who brought the news?”

“Oh! a youngster called William Jones—said he lived out there.

A black boy came with him that couldn’t hardly speak English; he went with ‘em to show the way.”

“Well, but how did they know it was true?” says I. “It might have been only a stall.”

“Oh, the young fellow brought a letter from the overseer, saying they might hold out for a few hours, if the police came along quick.”

“It’s a good thing they started at once,” says I. “Them boys are very useful sometimes, and blackfellows, too.”

I went off then, and had a laugh to myself. I was pretty middling certain it was Billy the Boy and Warrigal. Starlight had wrote the note before we started, only I didn’t think they’d be game to deliver it themselves.