ce bruised, her eyes wild with grief and terror, her head tied up in a blood-stained strip torn from La

Lathy-chap before pollis-man come. That feller pollis-man take Wombo long-a gaol. Mithsis'-the gin i

ng?' asked Lady Bridget.

to me.' And Oola dropped and knocked her head upon the ground, w

, alive to the seriousness of the situation

feller husband alt

lf of an effectual weapon, and fled away with the gun. The offended blacks had discovered the guilty pair on the outskirts of Breeza Downs, and Oola's husband, with a company of braves, had attacked their gunya. Then-to quote O

mbo now?' B

's camp. That feller Harris catch 'im Wombo-fetch um long-a Tunumbur

arch of Unionist incendiaries, and seizing Wombo instead, had acted promptly without waiting for a warrant or consulting McKeith. Wombo would be charged at the township with theft of the gun and m

ing, Maule, on his way back from the tailing-mob, overtook them, and dismounting, walked with Lady Bridget to the house.

d for a min

arris feels some respect for my knowledge of constabulary law, which, I take it, is p

eel that she was relying on his ast

That leaves only Joe Casey and the other extra hand. Ninnis put me in authority here. Somebody has got to tak

d shakily

this sort of affair better than you do,' he

no

sponsibility. And if I seem to be taking too much on myself-or, on the oth

was shrieking and pointing frantically to the track down from the upper

k-boy. Now, as they pulled up at the fence, Wombo presented a sorry spectacle-a spear wound in his left shoulder, a spear graze on

which coincided with Bridget's idea of what had happened. It was too late to push on to Tunumbu

up a horse stealer, whom he had in charge, in the

should be imprisoned in the very room he

e thongs, and Oola, who had crept up the off side of the black-boy's horse, was wailing anew. Maule che

and most of the others are camping out to-night on the run, and I seem to be the only responsible man in the place-of course you know that Mr McKeith asked me to stop an

ant looked a lit

ng another attempt on his head-station that he's pushing the imported shearers on with the shearing for all he's worth, and keeps any man he can get hold of on guard night and day round the house and sheds, while I and my lot have been doing a bit of riding after Unionists.... Now, if you please, w

o Lady Bridget, who stood stonily apart. Then on pretext of getting

padlock which secured the hide-house door, and he forthwith fastened it to

im out myself,

e angry. I have a better plan, in

le, I would have cut those horrible thongs straight away and let the poor wretc

e safe in the gidia scrub befo

ake services from you, after....'

at has got to be settled between us, Bridget-for good and all. I thought it out as I rode behind the tailing-mob to-day. But for the moment,' he f

u can manage it better than I could

If you knew the torture I have been going through....' He checked

here must

nd. Later on, we'll deci

compel him. She sat waiting. When, after about a quarter of an hour, he came back, she was still in the office

umphantly, exh

imself with a warrant there's no obligation on him to stand over his prisoner with a loaded gun, eased his mind of responsibility. The man is in a beast of a temper though, he evidently expected to be enter

or ointment with which to dress the black-boy's w

oats which should have been penned by now, were busy nibbling at the passion vines on the garden fence. But all this made little impression on Bridget's preoccupied brain. She had the thought of that coming interview with Maule before her. Oola's continuous wa