oing to begin; or when
he was going to hit you. In our last camp, before we reached Solong, he
told two of his time-fuse yarns. I haven't time to tell them now, but
one stuffed up my pipe for a while, and made Jack's hand tremble when he
tried to light his. I'm glad it was too dark to see our faces. We lay a
good while afterwards, rolled in our blankets, and couldn't get to sleep
for thinking; but Peter seemed to fall asleep as soon as he turned in.

Next day he told Jack not to tell Clara that he'd come down with us. He
said he wouldn't go right into Solong with us; he was going back along
another road to stay a day or two with an old friend of his.

When we reached Solong we stopped on the river-bank just out of sight of
Jack's house. Peter took the ten-pound cheque from his pocket and gave
it to Jack. Jack hadn't seen Peter give the shanty-keeper the five-pound
note.

"But I owed Thomas something," said Jack, staring. "However did you
manage to get the cheque out of him?"

"Never mind, Jack, I managed," said Peter.

Jack sat silent for a while, then he began to breathe hard.

"I don't know what to say, Peter."

"Say nothing, Jack. Only promise me that you will give Clara the cheques
as soon as you go home, and let her take care of the cash for a while."

"I will," said Jack.

Jack looked down at the ground for a while, then he lifted his head and
looked Peter in the eyes.

"Peter," he said, "I can't speak. I'm ashamed to make a promise; I've
broken so many. I'll try to thank you in a year's time from now."

"I ask for no promises," said Peter, and he held out his hand. Jack
gripped it.

"Aren't you coming home with me, Joe?" he asked.

"No," I said; "I'll go into town. See you in the morning."

Jack rode on. When he got along a piece Peter left his horse and moved
up to the head of the lane to watch Jack, and I followed. As Jack neared
the cottage we saw a little figure in a cloak run out to the front
gate. She had heard the horses and the jingle of the camp-ware on the
pack-saddle. We saw Jack jump down and take her in his arms. I looked at
Peter, and as he watched them, something, that might have been a strange
look of the old days, came into his eyes.

He shook hands with me. "Good-bye, Joe."

He rode across the river again. He took the track that ran along the
foot of the spurs by the river, and up over a gap in the curve of blue
hills, and down and out west towards the Big Scrubs. And as he ro