. Another city had been
started at the western side of Wandong Creek, but its existence was
ignored by the eastern pioneers.

The shepherd soon began to forget or despise the advice of his wife,
Julia; his tongue grew loose again, and at the bar of the inn of the
crossroads his voice was often heard loud and abusive. He felt that
he had become a person of importance, as the possessor of a secret
which nobody could discover. What he said and what he did was
discussed about the township, and the chief constable listened to
every report, expecting that some valuable information would
accidentally leak out.

One day a man wearing a blue jumper and an old hat came down the
road, stepped on to the verandah of the inn, and threw down his swag.
Nosey was there, holding forth to Bill the Butcher, Dick Smalley,
Frank Barton, Bob Atkins, Charley Goodall, and George Brown the Liar.
A dispute occurred, in which the presumptuous stranger joined, and
Nosey promptly knocked him off the verandah into the gutter. A valid
claim to satisfaction was thus established, and the swagman showed a
disposition to enforce it. He did not attempt to regain his position
on the boards, but took his stand on the broad stone of honour in the
middle of the road. He threw up his hat into the air, and began
walking rapidly to and fro, clenched his fists, stiffened his sinews,
and at every turn in his walk said:

"You'll find me as good a man as ever you met in your life."

This man's action promised real sport, and true Britons as we all
were we were delighted to see him. Nosey stood on the verandah for a
minute or two, watching the motions of the swagman; he did not seem
to recollect all at once what the code of honour required, until Bill
the Butcher remarked, "He wants you, Nosey," then Nosey went.

The two men met in the middle of the road, and put up their hands.
They appeared well-matched in size and weight. The swagman said:

"You'll find me as good a man as ever you met in your life."

Nosey began the battle by striking out with his right and left, but
his blows did not seem to reach home, or to have much effect.

The swagman dodged and parried, and soon put in a swinging blow on
the left temple. Nosey fell to the ground, and the stranger resumed
his walk as before, uttering his war cry:

"You'll find me as good a man as ever you met in your life."

There were no seconds, but the rules of chivalry were strictly
observed; the str