Father opened his eyes at the price the first pen brought, all prime young bullocks, half fat most of them. Then they all went off like wildfire; the big men and the little men bidding, quite jealous, sometimes one getting the lot, sometimes another. One chap made a remark about there being such a lot of different brands; but Starlight said they’d come from a sort of depot station of his, and were the odds and ends of all the mobs of store cattle that he’d purchased the last four years. That satisfied ‘em, particularly as he said it in a careless, fierce way which he could put on, as if it was like a man’s impudence to ask him anything. It made the people laugh; I could see that.

By and by we comes to the imported bull. He was in a pen by himself, looking first-rate. His brand had been faked, and the hair had grown pretty well. It would have took a sharp hand to know him again.

“Well, gentlemen,” says the auctioneer, “here is the imported bull ‘Duke of Brunswick.’ It ain’t often an animal of his quality comes in with a mob of store cattle; but I am informed by Mr. Carisforth that he left orders for the whole of the cattle to be cleared off the run, and this valuable animal was brought away in mistake. He was to return by sea; but as he happens to be here to-day, why, sooner than disappoint any intending buyer, Mr. Carisforth has given me instructions to put him up, and if he realises anything near his value he will be sold.”

“Yes!” drawls Starlight, as if a dozen imported bulls, more or less, made no odds to him, “put him up, by all means, Mr. Runni mall. Expectin’ rather large shipment of Bate’s ‘Duchess’ tribe next month. Rather prefer them on the whole. The ‘Duke’ here is full of Booth blood, so he may just as well go with the others. I shall never get what he cost, though; I know that. He’s been a most expensive animal to me.”

Many a true word spoken in jest. He had good call to know him, as well as the rest of us, for a most expensive animal, before all was said and done. What he cost us all round it would be hard indeed to cipher up.